Technology Guide

Every computer user is confronted everyday by computer security threats. Threats may be from viruses or other harmful software’s like malware, spy-ware and root kits. To stay safe in a world full of hackers and malicious software’s all that is needed is computer security solutions that would give total protection from viruses and worms. Reviewed in this article are the best security solutions from the best anti-virus software’s, registry cleaners to the best firewalls.

The best firewalls

A firewall gives a computer user protection against hackers. Hackers may attack one’s computer and infringe on ones private information. Without a trusted firewall ones computer is left open to the world of illegal coders whose main goal is to infiltrate computer systems of unsuspecting computer users. The best firewall available in the market is Zone Alarm Firewall. Zone Alarm Pro Firewall 2010 offers protection against intrusions by hackers. With zone alarm online privacy is guaranteed. Zone alarm firewall also has anti-virus and anti-spy ware tools. There is also a free version of this firewall. The advantage of zone alarm is that it is easy to use. Other highly rated firewall includes Prisma firewall and Eset smart security firewall. These all offer reliable computer security solutions for both home PC’s and office PC’s.

The best anti-virus software’s

The main protection offered by any anti-virus application is protection against viruses, worms, ad-ware, spy-ware and malware. An anti-virus usually scans the whole system checking for any intrusive software and subsequently notifying the user. The strength of an anti-virus lies in its update’s. Because viruses are invented daily, anti-virus software should usually be updated regularly either automatically or manually. The top ranking anti-virus applications are Bit Defender, Kaspersky, Webroot and Norton anti-virus. These anti-viruses are easy to use and install and are also available in free versions.

Superb Registry cleaners

Registry cleaning is a Contemporary development in the PC world. It is always assumed that inefficiencies in a computer such as slow speeds and constant freezing are caused by viruses or malicious software’s. However problems with a computer registry may cause the computer to be inefficient. A computer registry is spoiled by leftover files and links of removed programs. It is also spoiled by some add on and plug gins. Registry cleaners repair the registry by fragmenting it and removing from it unnecessary files and links. “CC cleaner” and “Easy cleaner” are one of the best registry cleaners available. The free version of CC cleaner cleans the registry entirely returning it to top form.

The world of contemporary computer security solutions contains many PC security products than those listed above. There are anti-malwares, anti-spy wares, and root kits removal among other products. These when combined with the above offer ultimate security to ones computer.

There are a few different types of network servers, and they are all intended to perform a very specific task. The question that many people have pertains to what exactly a server is, and for that reason we are going to talk about the concept, and then we will take a look at a few of the network servers that perform the various tasks within a business.

A server can refer to a piece of software, or it can refer to an entire computer. When you have an entire computer functioning as a server it is referred to as a dedicated server. If you have a computer housing multiple servers, it is a non-dedicated server. In many cases this is referred to as a ‘box’, and no business would be complete without at least one of these.

VoIP

The types of servers out there are quite varied. First of all there is the VoIP server. It stands for Voice over IP, or Voice over Internet Protocol. This is not a server type that you would normally see in a private home, but in business you might see it quite a bit. The size and power of a VoIP server will depend highly on the number of users that need to access it.

Web

Another type of server that you will find common in businesses is the HTTP server. This is a fairly powerful type of server that hosts web pages and in some cases can become a file server. It is not often used as a file server however, because this is the job of the FTP server.

File Hosting

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is used solely for hosting and the distribution of files. FTP can be used for either small or large files, and is available in two varieties: Client and Server. Both of these can be obtained as free open source, or they can be paid for. Paid versions obviously have more support, but free versions have the advantage of being…well…free.

This is a list of some of the more basic servers in a business. The file server will be the most useful in any business as you are no doubt going to find out. The others will come in handy, and web servers will be useful for advertising. There are a number of other different server types out there that you might be interested in using however, among them being a mail server. The important thing to remember is that you should of course only strive to use the servers that your business truly needs. In other words don’t overreach, and don’t invest in technologies that simply will not be useful to you.

Stick to these guidelines every time you find a new server that may be worth using. Figure out what your exact requirements are and what system would best suit it, then find the quickest way to implement it. You will find that in this modern age of e-commerce, servers are of great use to large and small businesses alike.

The Orbit downloader is an effective speed download manager which is created on a technology, often known as P2P. It is much quicker and makes use of memory that’s minimum in comparison with browsers with out accelerators. Its features include a multithread and algorithm that’s robust and characterized by high quality downloads. It works best with internet explorer. It makes downloading of flash games, videos, music, enormous files and media easy through its easy and clear interface which is user friendly. In this article, I will explain how to use orbit downloader.

To use the orbit downloader, people need to make sure that they’ve safe internet connections. Additionally they need to make sure that their disks have a Random Access Memory RAM of about sixty four MB which is a system requirement. The size of the orbit downloader is 2.03 MB and it requires an operating system of windows 2000, XP, Vista and 2003 amongst others. They then visit the official website.

The program installed can now be run and people sign up if they’ve downloadable providers similar to YouTube, Pandora, Megaupload, Rapidshare and Megashares. The process to get them right here is first clicking on ‘tools’ after which ‘preferences’ on the tab. They should be able to read ‘browser monitoring’ on their screens. They then choose website manager. To type in their log in information, they click on the button labeled ‘new’ within the ‘website manager’. Customers should select their preferences when still inside the tool’s settings.

These might be exceptions, most numbers and bandwidth amounts of downloads after which the specified files are downloaded. Customers then click on the displayed webpage. Here, they choose ‘grab video by orbit’ which is run by the system. The files are first copied to the link with the download where they are picked up automatically by the orbit software. The benefits of using orbit downloader are that broken downloads are resumable and incomplete downloads can be resumed from where they had been stopped.

The orbit downloader has the capability to streaming media or flash and it shows a button automatically to indicate that it has detected a download. A user will only be required to click on the small button and the download process starts automatically. The orbit download gives customers an opportunity to edit their downloads and sound effects can also be added to images. It requires associated software program to run like the download accelerator plus, download express, Flash get, a free download manager and a free YouTube tool which converts iPods in video conversions.

If you are a TV lover and have spent any time at all walking past the displays of big screen TV’s in your local stores, I can fully understand what happens — your remote control finger starts to twitch, your rear end starts to long for that comfortable spot in your favorite recliner, and you have a sudden urge to take your shoes off. At least that’s what happens to me. I admit it, I am a TV junkie. Not that I spend a lot of time in front of the TV but when I am there, I require quality, and the more quality in video and audio, the happier I am.

But with the technology available today to the consumer, the choices almost boggle the mind. And Joe Average doesn’t follow the technology closely enough to be able to understand which technology is best for his needs. In fact, Joe’s only gauge of quality is the unit’s price tag, which is probably about the LEAST reliable gauge of them all. So let’s take a quick look at the various technologies available for big screen TV so that you better understand what you are looking AT, as well as understanding what you are shopping FOR.

Regular tube TV: Yes, depending on your budget, this needs to be mentioned as a viable option, although unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past 50 years, there is little new that you need to know about it. It’s a TV, plain and simple. Tube TV’s are typically limited to about 36 inch pictures, with a couple top-end brands even getting to the 40 inch mark. The picture is good, and most of today’s upper-end sets also allow the viewing of HDTV on the same unit. My only word of caution here is that I cannot recommend a set that has a built-in VCR and/or DVD player. The built-in units are typically not high quality with limited functionality, and for the additional money you would pay for such a combo unit, you can get an external VCR or DVD player for far less money.

Now on to the big stuff. But first, since I already mentioned it, a word about HDTV. HDTV is great, providing an incredible picture quality, provided of course that you have the screen that can display that quality. With HDTV, without getting all techie about it, the digital signal contains much more information, and the picture is created in PROGRESSIVE mode rather than INTERLACED mode, meaning that the ENTIRE picture is refreshed with every scan instead of just every other line as is done with interlaced.

I would also recommend a unit with the wide aspect ratio, like 16:9 or sometimes 16:10. This is the ratio of width versus height of the display, and the wide aspect ratio is the one you see when you go to the movie theatre. You can still watch broadcasts on the wide aspect ratio that are designed for the old traditional 4:3 aspect ratio, but it is much harder to watch something designed for 16:9 on a 4:3 display.

Another word of warning: there are big screen units that cannot do HDTV but they can do EDTV. Be aware that these are not the same. In fact, with the next step (SDTV) right around the corner, I don’t see a long lifespan for EDTV. EDTV provides better quality than standard analog TV, but not as sharp and crisp as HDTV.

The different types of big screen TVs are discussed below.

Plasma TV

Advantages: long life (30,000 to 40,000 hours from brand names, significantly less with noname brands), very bright – up to 4-5 times a standard TV, viewing angle is huge – you can be 75-80 degrees off center and still see a clear picture, instant-on feature – there is virtually no warm-up time required, small footprint – since these units are very thin and could even be wall-mounted.

Disadvantages: possible burn-in or “image retention” if the same image is left displayed on the screen for an extended period of time (although when used as a TV this is probably not a concern), can be very pricey at the largest sizes possible (currently around a 50 inch display), very few have a tuner/amplifier built in so you will be required to get an external tuner, pixel failure – where a single pixel just remains white all the time although this is much more common on noname brands and may (check!) be covered under your warranty.

LCD TV

Advantages: Great brightness levels, also very thin and could be mounted on the wall, long life (about 40,000 hours on brand names, substantially less on noname brands), viewing angle is about 45 to 50 degrees from straight on.

Disadvantages: Ghosting – where there may be “artifacts” left on the display during a fast-action movie scene because the LCD cannot keep up with it that fast, viewing angle is not as good as plasma, very expensive technology today, not as good at reproducing accurate color as plasma.

DLP Rear Projection

Advantages: Low purchase cost although this is typically offset by higher operating costs. At the sizes above 42 inches, the DLP big screen is approximately the same price as plasma.

Disadvantages: high operational cost (the single bulb in the projector can cost upwards of $300 to replace), large footprint – you will need to allocate about 15-18 inches from the wall to accommodate the unit, not wall-mountable, poor viewing angle – not much more than 20-25 degrees from straight on, gradually decreasing bulb brightness over time which means your picture is not as sharp or bright.

Understanding the various display technologies available should help you, but keep in mind that this is not the whole story. Also know that as technology advances, prices will continue to fall and there may be more options in the future. There are many other factors to be considered which are discussed at my web sites below. But at least now you have a good feel for the type of technology that will work with both your desires and your budget.

Norton Antivirus 2007, or shortly NAV 2k7, is the latest product to come from Symantec, the industry leader in the field of security software. Norton Antivirus is well known to pc users around the world and it’s designed to protect computers against spyware, adware, worms, viruses and other related risks. According to Symantec, there are two major improvements in their latest development which include security technology and performance.

Stats show that there are about 53,000 computer viruses in existence and a new is being created on every 18 seconds! A virus can do anything from showing ads, deleting system files to stealing your personal and credit card information. Most users get infected by an email attachment or by downloading a pirated software, or any other type of software that has a virus attached to it. There are some facts that one must be aware of, but at the end of the day, having an anti-virus installed is an absolute must. First of all, you shouldn’t open any attachments send from a person that you don’t know or you are not sure about. That’s how the majority of computers get infected. And even if you do have a virus scanner, keep your eyes open all the time.

According to the definition given by Wikipedia.org, a computer virus is a ‘program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user.’ This self-reproduction is now made even easier with the popularity of the Internet, because a virus can spread easily across the network – by email or file sharing. Some viruses can damage programs that you already have installed, delete files or even format your entire hard drive. Regardless the type of virus, it will slow down your system and cause system crashes and data loss.

1. Installing Norton Antivirus

The system requirements that your computer must meet to support Norton Antivirus 2007 are:

-Windows® XP Home Edition/Professional

-300 MHz or higher processor

-256MB RAM

-150MB of available hard disk space

Although the installation is quite straight forward, there are some facts that you should have in mind. Symantec strongly advices that you don’t have any other anti-virus applications installed. If you do, go into the Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs and Uninstall them. During the installation process itself, it’s also a good idea to close as many programs as you can, in order to keep the system load at minimum.

Installing Norton Antivirus 2007 can be done from a CD or by downloading it from the Internet.

A pre-install scan will be performed, which only takes a few minutes, cause it’s not that thorough. When you start NAV for the first time, LiveUpdate will start and after your confirmation, it will check for the latest virus definitions and software updates available at official website.

If you can’t install NAV 2007 and not even the Pre-Install scan, but you have a present Internet Connection, then you can use the Web-based Symantec Security Check, at uses the most current protection updates, including updates that were released after you purchased your product, located at http://security.symantec.com.

2. Activating Norton Antivirus

Activation of the product is required so that you can prove to Symantec you are a legitimate customer. It only takes a few minutes and can be done during the installation or after it. There is a time period in which you are obligated to activate NAV. If you don’t do it at the time of the installation, then click on the Activate Your Product alert and select Activate Now. In case you ran into some problems, use the ‘Activate by Phone’ feature.

3. Navigating through the interface

The whole program interface has been redesigned and simplified. Double click the Norton Antivirus icon and the main window of the application opens up. On the left side are the links, options are in the center, providing access to all Norton AntiVirus features, options, Help, and Support.

The Quick Links on the left side are:

-Norton Account-managing all your Norton product information

-Help-opens up the online help

-Run LiveUpdate-connects to the Symantec server to check for program updates

-Scan Now-immediately scan the pc for threats

-View History-review of the details of your lates scans
The following options are available at the center of the screen:

-Tasks & Scans-invokes functions that are specific for your version

-Settings-to customize the options

-Reports & Statistics-to check the Activity Log and the Online Virus Encyclopedia

-Support-let’s you get in touch with live support, security and account info.

4. Getting Support

Sometimes you will need assistance for using Norton Antivirus and you can’t find the information in the Help files or at Symantec Website. In such cases, you turn to the Support personnel. To contact technical support, go to http://service.symantec.com/techsupp/.

There is also the option for free-based phone support available for all registered users. Since the support solutions vary from one country to another, check out http://service.symantec.com for a list of the addresses of the Symantec’s International Partner locations outside of USA.

You can contact the free online chat (http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/support/index.jsp), which requires about 15 minutes waiting time, considering how popular this product is, this shouldn’t be surprising.

5. The technology behind Norton Antivirus

The detection mechanism has been improved drastically for this version. At Symantec, the developers know that most attacks are aimed at financial gains, instead of notoriety and that the majority of virus writers are mostly modifying existing malicious code rather than developing entirely new threats. NAV 2007 addresses this trend with its new technology designed to detect these viruses and worm families. The product is stronger than ever before and will even located new types of viruses that use rootkits to hide themselves from security software. This is a brand new, patented technology that recognizes all those threats camouflaged as system processes. The scanning capabilities are also improved, you can run it in the background, with low priority requiring less CPU power.

6. New features in Norton Antivirus 2007

There are plenty of new features available in Norton Antivirus 2007. The computer security market is really intense, but there are few other programs quite as robust as this one. In addition to anti-virus capabilities, NAV is packed with some great spyware and adware detection tools and it will automatically detect and block high-risk spyware and adware before they are installed on your system, by scanning your emails and all files being downloaded.

The Rootkit Protection is a tool designed to detect and delete hidden threats in Windows OS. The Norton Protection Center provides a central place to easily check overall security settings.

7. Improvements

The improvements in Norton Antivirus 2007 include protection during file-sharing and instant messaging along with the active system scanning. The application automatically updates itself and detects viruses, spyware and adware. Scan times and the interface are also improved. Basically, Symantec has rewritten most of the source code, instead of modifying or adding to the old one. NAV automatically fixes most viruses instead of confusing the user with series of technical questions.

8. Performance

Symantec have done their best to improve performance compared to prior versions. The Full System Scan is now faster than ever before and there is also the ability to let NAV run in background mode, taking minimum system resources.

In terms of memory usage, scan speed, user interface launch speed and HTTP download speed, there major improvements. Stats show that NAV 2007 runs a full scan on a 1GB file set in 2:15 minutes, which is by 30% faster than the competition. The user interface in Norton Antivirus 2007 launches in under 1 second. Individual file scans are also drastically improved as they take only 117 seconds compared to the 320 seconds last year.

9.Cons

There some disadvantages and potential problems related to the use of NAV 2007. It takes up too much hard drive space – 180MB compared to 75MB by McAfee VirusScan Plus. But this shouldn’t much of a problem for the standard computer configuration, which features at least a 100GB HDD. Uninstalling the program is not as straightforward as it should be. Perhaps the developers made everything possible to make life difficult for users trying to remove their product. When you remove NAV, there is a chance that you will loose some or all of your remaining subscriptions with Symantec. Some Symantec references will still be present in the System Registry. Taking the performance into account, it turns out that this year’s NAV loads up 4 seconds longer than its predecessor (62 seconds).

Another fact that you must be familiar with is that, because NAV is probably the most popular antivirus program, more hacker are targeting it so that they can compromise more machines. Just like they tend to focus on other well known products like Outlook, Internet Explorer or Windows itself (compared to Linux).

10. Final Words

Bottom line is that Norton Antivirus 2007 is not just an updated version, it’s a brand new software, with new interface, new protection techniques and improved performance. For a secure download, go to http://www.freesecuredownloads.com.