Remove A Virus or Trojan Horse (general)

The best way to remove a virus or trojan horse that cannot be repaired or deleted in Normal Mode (regular Windows) is by going into Safe mode with Networking, going to an online anti-virus website such as Trend Micro and doing a complete scan of your system. In safe mode, only necessary Windows processes are running, and trojans/virus/spyware generally are not, which makes it much easier to get rid of them.

You were correct to delete svcinit.exe, a trojan horse that logs your keystrokes. You should also delete all references to it in your startup files, including win.ini. You’ll probably need to edit the Registry as well as win.ini. DO NOT edit the registry unless you are experienced. To delete useless entries, use a program such as TweakNow RegCleaner, which will do this automatically.

Hubs, Switches, and Routers

HUBS
Think of a hub as a splitter, splitting a single incoming line into multiple destination lines. The most common use for a hub is for small home or work networks. The problem with hubs is that they are practically brainless. Every time a packet of information is received by a hub, it is broadcast over all outgoing ports. This can lead to network congestion and packet collisions.

SWITCHES
A switch is a hub taken to the next level. On the outside, a switch can appear cosmetically identical to a hub; it’s what’s on the inside that makes the difference. A switch has the ability to filter and send data to specific hardware ports. If a packet comes into the switch, it can choose the correct path rather than broadcasting it to the entire network and help eliminate network congestion. Switches also tend to offer advanced filter options, bandwidth metering, and traffic statistics.

ROUTERS
A router is a piece of equipment that typically connects at least two networks and forwards packets the most efficient way based on its knowledge of the connected networks. Routers typically maintain routing tables that contain available route, distance, and network congestion information. The router uses these tables along with complex algorithms to determine the most efficient way to send a packet across the network.

For most home users with casual file transfers, a simple hub is sufficient. However, anyone transferring large amounts of data or using network-intensive applications should highly consider purchasing a switch. Users looking to run Internet Connection Sharing should consider purchasing a firewall/router combo.

Internet Speeds

Ethernet comes in three flavors: 10 megabit, 100 megabit, and gigabit. That’s geek speak for 10 million bits per second, 100 million bits per second, and one billion bits per second. In all three cases the actual speed is more like 60 to 70 percent of the maximum speed.

The most common form of Ethernet, 10 megabit, offers actual throughput of six to seven megabits. USB 1.1 tops out at 12 megabits. It’s nominally faster than generic Ethernet. For sharing Internet access either is fine, since even the fastest broadband connection never exceeds one or two megabits per second.

On the other hand, if you’re shipping large files from computer to computer inside your network you might want a faster connection such as 100 megabit or gigabit Ethernet.

Companies have introduced USB 2.0 network adapters that are theoretically much faster. USB 2.0 is nominally capable of 480 megabits per second. However, this isn’t the actual speed in real world conditions.

DLLs Explained

A DLL is a file that .exe files (programs) can call when they want to execute a certain feature. Different programs can access the same DLL to make similar calls. It keeps the size of the program smaller, and generally speaking, quicker to download if you already have the DLLs on your system.

Benefits of Defragmentation

Defragmenting a hard drive, or more accurately, a file system, involves rearranging the bits of data on disk so that all of the pieces of a file are laid out in sequence. As data is written to a disk, many small chunks of a file can be spread over a large portion of the hard disk. Over time, this lack of organization can result in a very significant performance impact, much as your day would be shot if you have not defragmented in a while. Be sure to turn off the screen saver before doing this, or it may interrupt the process.

To access the Defragmentation utility in Windows 2000 and XP:

1. Click the Start Menu

2. Click All Programs

3. Click Accessories

4. Click System Tools

5. Click Disk Defragmenter.

Blocked images on the internet

Possible Workarounds:

1. You can use SHIFT+F10 or the “context menu” button on your keyboard to bypass blocking before.                           2. left click to select and hold it, tap Windows+D to bring up your desktop, then drop the object anywhere.                       3. try viewing the source for the Web page to find the direct URL for the image.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security when you try to “block that kick.”
If you don’t want your images to be copied or duplicated, don’t post them on the internet!

Dual Channel RAM

You’ll need two RAM sticks to get dual channel. It works like RAID for memory, and you’ll get a speed boost. However, you probably won’t notice a difference. Your system will probably experience a 5 percent performance boost. You need to improve performance at least 10 percent to see a difference.

To really see a significant difference, add more memory or get a faster hard drive.

Anti-virus Uninstall

When you uninstall an anti-virus program, your system may alert you that it is missing DLL files aftewards, or alert you to some other problems. 

Norton Anti-virus saves your quarantined virus to an archive. It’s probably still on your system and inactive, so don’t worry. Antivirus programs are notoriously hard to uninstall. You’ll often see missing DLL error messages or other errors, try uninstalling and installing the program again through the Control Panel via Add/Remove Programs. If that fails to work, refer to the manufacturer’s website by typing the name in a search engine such as Google.

Flash Your BIOS

BIOS (basic input/output system), a chip on your motherboard, contains the first program that runs on your computer. The program tells your computer how to recognize and read the hard drive so it can boot your operating system.

When you flash your BIOS, you change the BIOS program. You shouldn’t do it unless you have a specific issue you need to deal with — when you’re installing hardware the old BIOS won’t recognize, or if your manufacturer tells you to do it, for example. If something goes wrong during the flash, including a power outage, your computer won’t work. The hard drive will be fine and you can put it in another machine.

The safest way to flash your BIOS is to visit the website of your motherboard manufacturer, find the exact model of your motherboard, and locate the downloads for that motherboard, and download the upgrade to your BIOS from there. It should come in an .exe file. Simply double-click it, and follow the instructions, then restart your computer to finish the installation.

Paypal Virus

If you see an email from “PayPal” claiming it needs your account information, delete it immediately. If you open the email for some reason, don’t click the link in it. Instead of launching a website, it launches an application that collects your personal information and sends the info back to the bad guys.

In general, never give out your personal or account information over email. A reputable service won’t ask for information this way. Shred paperwork containing your personal info if you want to protect yourself from identity theft.