machine

Viruses get their name because, like human diseases, they can spread and multiply quickly. Now, Microsoft believes some of the tactics used to protect public health should be applied to the world of technology. Computer Virus Prevention is Key to ... Deterring Further Infections The idea comes from Scott Charney, a senior figure in Microsoft's security team. He's just published a paper named "Collective Defense: Applying Public Health Models to the Internet." In Charney's paper, he argues that while preventing individual machines from getting infected -- for example through security software -- ... (view more)

Have you ever considered how much of your work and your life is captured and dependent on your computer? That's why it's foolish, generally expensive, and sometimes just plain crazy to continue relying on your computer without some sort of disaster ... recovery plan -- in case the inevitable happens, and your computer becomes unusable. How disruptive would it be, then, if you were without your computer for a day, a week, or even a month? Registry / System Cleaners / Disk Imagers versus Reimage Repair There are many recovery products on the market designed to improve upon your system's speed and ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned users of its Windows Home Server technology that they could have problems using newer hard drives. It follows earlier warnings that the drives are also problematic for Windows XP users. Drives Use Advanced Format Technology The ... situation involves sectors, the individual chunks into which a hard drive is divided. The standard size of each sector has traditionally been 512 bytes, but some drives are already using a 4 kilobyte sector, and this will become the standard size for all drives after 2011. The new drives are referred to as having "Advanced Format" ... (view more)

Comodo Time Machine Comodo Time Machine (CTM) is an alternative to the Windows System Restore. It is a rollback utility that allows users to quickly restore their computers to an earlier point in time using CTM 'snapshots'. Snapshots are contain ... system properties, including the registry, critical operating system files and user created documents. http://www.comodo.com Windows Double Explorer Windows Double Explorer manages two or more Windows Explorers in one application. Also you can add your favorite folders with drag and drop to the toolbar for quick access. It's similar to Norton ... (view more)

Many users are taking up the offer for Windows 7 "Upgrade," which requires the user to have a pre-existing, legitimate copy of Windows 2000, XP, or Vista already pre-installed on the user's machine. However, Microsoft has recently confirmed it is ... technically possible to install an upgrade-only edition of Windows 7 on a machine that doesn't already have another version of Windows pre-installed. That said, the firm has also pointed out that doing so is an illegal breach of licensing conditions. Several websites have printed what they describe as 'workarounds', which use an upgrade ... (view more)

Over the next four years, Australia's New South Wales region will be dolling out 240,000 Lenovo laptops. The goal is to give every high school student a computer by 2012 -- and protecting that many computers has become a matter of top priority. ... Machines Use RFID and Tracking The machines will be equipped with Windows 7 and Microsoft Office, and thanks to bulk pricing, will cost no more than $500 each. To keep costs down, officials have arranged for the machines to be customized with a range of security measures. As well as password protection, there's also tracking software and an RFID chip ... (view more)

You might not call it the traditional hack, but law enforcement officers in Las Vegas have reportedly removed a suspicious ATM (Automated Teller Machine) after security experts attending the DEFCON 17 conference noticed something strangely peculiar ... about its design. The ATM in question was located at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, not far from the DEFCON 17 conference, an annual gathering of international hackers and security experts. Those attending the conference -- and let's face it, they're the type that would notice this kind of behavior before anyone else -- realized early on that ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Larenal' writes: " Dear Dennis, I want to be able to backup my entire laptop's hard drive (including the Windows Registry ) and in case I have to change my laptop, I'd like to be able to restore the image in the new computer. Is ... this possible with Acronis True Image? Thank you. " My response: This is a great question. There is a workaround -- but unfortunately the scenario you've asked isn't possible. Here's why: You want to transfer MS Windows onto another PC. This isn't allowed by Microsoft because they want you to obtain a separate license for every PC you own. I've ... (view more)

Test Windows 7 RC On A Virtual Machine: Part 1 This handy guide takes an in-depth look at Windows 7's Release Candidate , which was recently just a few weeks ago. Its author shows you how to install a virtual machine in order to test out the new ... operating system easily and safely. http://www.makeuseof.com Test Windows 7 RC On A Virtual Machine: Part 2 This continuation of the previous Windows 7 RC guide now moves beyond the installation of a virtual machine to the installation of Windows 7 itself. http://www.makeuseof.com Today's fresh software picks were provided courtesy of Bob Helmer at ... (view more)

Security researchers believe they have found a problem with Windows 7 that cannot be fixed. Thankfully, it can only be exploited by people with physical access to a computer. Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar demonstrated how to attack a machine using the ... security gap at a conference in Dubai known as Hack In The Box. They've created an application named VBootKit 2.0 which takes up just 3KB of space. Once installed on a machine, the application can temporarily remove the user's password, then give anyone connected to the machine (through a local area network or the Internet) the ability to remotely ... (view more)