Table of ContentsBoot disks can be made for Windows operating systems so that you can boot your PC without using the operating system on the hard disk. Boot disks can be very helpful for many different applications and therefore, no computer user should be without one. If you have the misfortune of having your machine infected by a computer virus that attacks the master boot record, or if some of your important operating systems files get accidentally deleted or corrupted, a boot floppy will be crucial to repairing your machine. Also, if you ever want to reformat your hard drive or reinstall Windows, you'll need a boot floppy disk.
Windows:
95/98
Make sure the diskette you intend to use is either new and formatted or does not contain any files which you intend to keep. If it contains files you need, they WILL BE lost! Copy them to your hard drive before proceeding. You might be prompted to insert the Windows Start Up CD, so have it handy when you begin.
To boot your machine from the disk, simply insert the floppy disk in the
drive and restart the machine.
In Windows 2000 or Windows XP follow the procedures below to create the boot disks.
1. Have available four
blank, formatted, 3.5-inch, floppy disks.
2. Put one disk into the floppy drive on a computer running
any version of Windows.
3. Put the Windows 2000 CD into the
4. Go to Start, then click Run.
5. In the Open box, type the drive letter of the
CD-ROM followed by \bootdisk\makeboot a:,
and then click OK.
Antivirus protection begins with.....
Virus Detection
Viruses are detected by anti-virus software in two ways; a full scan of your
hard drive, or in real-time as each file is accessed. It is critical that
anti-virus software provide both these features, especially real-time
protection. Full and real-time scans detect known viruses using scan strings
(like virus fingerprints) that identify a program as (containing) a known virus.
Some anti-virus software also uses advanced techniques to identify potential
viruses and will check memory and system files as well. The total number of
viruses an anti-virus software program can detect is known as its detection
rate.
Many reviews of anti-virus software start (and unfortunately end) with just a comparison of detection rates. While detection is an important consideration, it is just one aspect of the software. Detection rates will vary dramatically depending on the types of viruses used for testing. One program may detect 90% of several thousand test viruses while another may detect 80%. Results like these are not conclusive and can be misleading.
As of mid-2001, there are over 55,000 known computer viruses in existence but the vast majority are contained in virus research labs and have had little or no general distribution. A researcher named Joe Wells started the WildList, which has come to be considered the industry standard listing of viruses actually spreading and causing problems. The most important detection rate to consider when choosing anti-virus software is its ability to detect and cure viruses in the wild.
It continues with....
Management
Keeping anti-virus software up to date is critical; more so than with any other software. Computer viruses are being written every day. Periodically, a new virus spreads rapidly in the wild and can end up on your desktop. Antivirus software that is not frequently updated will be unable to detect new viruses. Fortunately, most anti-virus software companies provide frequent (and often free) software updates. These updates include scan strings that can detect recently written viruses. Updates are typically available for modem download, from the www, online services, or a company FTP site.
To determine which anti-virus program best suited my needs, I looked to PC magazine for their editor's pick. The choice was.... Norton Internet Security 2003. It has a high reliability rate and seems easy to configure and use. I have used Norton anti-virus on my Dell for the past 6 months and have been very pleased. I like the live updates and the fact that it is can be configured to automatically run a scan without having to do it manually. The Norton Internet Security also includes a personal firewall with added features such as parental control, ad-blocker and spam filtering.
A firewall
is a piece of software that monitors all incoming network traffic and allows in
only the connections that are known and trusted.
You could manually grant or restrict access to each of the 65,535 ports available under the Internet Protocol. Every time you add a new program that requires Internet access, you would need to determine which port(s) it uses, and reconfigure your computer accordingly. You've likely got better ways to spend your time.
Firewall software takes on this burden for you, allowing access to the ports you need open, and closing off those you don't. It also makes your computer "invisible" on the Internet; if hackers can't find you, they will have a hard time attacking you.
More advanced firewall software also monitors outgoing traffic. This is crucial since malicious code spreads by accessing the Internet and pushing copies of itself to other computers (often those of your friends and family!). Outbound protection can keep even brand-new Trojan horses and spyware from doing their damaging work. The ultimate protection is program-level control, so that only those applications that you trust are allowed to access the Internet.
Without a
firewall, your computer is operating under an "open door" policy. Bank
account information, Passwords, Credit card numbers, Documents and photos that
you don't want to share with the world are all available to anyone with bad
intentions and basic computer
skills. Hackers can get in, take what they want, and even leave open a
"back door" so they can turn your computer into a "zombie"
and use it to attack other computers.
Every minute that your computer is connected to the Internet, either through a dial-up (modem) connection or through a broadband (DSL or cable) service, it is at risk
Windows 98/ME:
Windows NT WS/2000 Pro/XP:
Macintosh:
Macintosh OS X:
** See anti-virus recommendation for firewall pick.
Stealthware and spyware are basically programs that are downloaded onto your computer, either knowingly or unknowingly, that allow remote users to track your surfing habits and/or collect information about you. This information can be stored into databases. These programs, which are also sometimes referred to as "adware", can deliver advertisements targeted to your lifestyle (based on surfing habits). Spyware is usually downloaded onto a person's computer when they download freeware programs off the net. Companies often allow adware to tack onto their downloads because they say doing so is the only way they can offer their software for free; adware companies pay to have their software carried.
To uncover stealthware that is already lurking in your system, you can use a utility that scans for it in much the same way that antivirus programs scan for viruses. If you have freeware on your machine that you cannot live without, keep in mind that once you use a utility to remove stealthware, the freeware may stop working because certain files are missing. One solution is to use a firewall and control what the program does via the connections that you either allow or disallow. A firewall can monitor for unwanted background traffic.
Unsolicited e-mail, sometimes referred to as “spam” or “UCE”, is electronic mail which is unsolicited and sent for the purpose of selling the recipient goods, services, or properties. Commercial UCE advertisements are most often used for multi-level marketing schemes, get-rich-quick schemes, work-at-home schemes or for questionable products or pornography.
There are two main types of spam, and they have different effects on Internet users. Cancellable Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet newsgroups. (Through long experience, Usenet users have found that any message posted to so many newsgroups is often not relevant to most or all of them.) Usenet spam is aimed at "lurkers", people who read newsgroups but rarely or never post and give their address away. Usenet spam robs users of the utility of the newsgroups by overwhelming them with a barrage of advertising or other irrelevant posts. Furthermore, Usenet spam subverts the ability of system administrators and owners to manage the topics they accept on their systems.
Email spam targets individual users with direct mail messages. Email spam lists are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists, or searching the Web for addresses. Email spams typically cost users money out-of-pocket to receive. Many people - anyone with measured phone service - read or receive their mail while the meter is running, so to speak. Spam costs them additional money. On top of that, it costs money for ISPs and online services to transmit spam, and these costs are transmitted directly to subscribers.
One particularly nasty variant of email spam is sending spam to mailing lists (public or private email discussion forums.) Because many mailing lists limit activity to their subscribers, spammers will use automated tools to subscribe to as many mailing lists as possible, so that they can grab the lists of addresses, or use the mailing list as a direct target for their attacks.
Why would you want to do anything about spam? For the most part, it is ANNOYING! It is a waste of valuable time sifting and deleting unwanted emails from your inbox when you are trying to get to what is important to you. Spam may also contain hidden viruses that could attack your computer. There is also the possibility that some spam may contain illegal matter. This is NOT the kind of advertising you want your child to come across when they are on the net.
*There's no guaranteed way to keep your inbox clear of junk e-mail, but there are steps you can take to minimize it.
One way is to educate yourself about filtering. A number of e-mail programs, including Eudora Pro, Microsoft's Outlook Express and Pegasus, have filtering features that let you set criteria to kill unwanted e-mail before it reaches your computer, or, once it does, to move it to a trash box where you can delete it without reading it.
Something else you can try: Alter your e-mail address. For example, if your true reply address is [email protected], change it in your e-mail program to say [email protected], so that it becomes the default "reply to" address.
Separately, include a note in your signature line (a note at the bottom of your e-mail message) reminding recipients to "remove xx"' to reply. This will foil spam programs that automatically harvest e-mail names from newsgroups and the like.
The problem with this solution is that it can create another kind of inconvenience: Family members and friends accustomed to simply pressing the reply button to write back to you may become confused or irritated.
Don't count on any "remove me from your list e-mail" response option to work. Often the return address is fraudulent, and the spammer is counting on you to dial or fax a phone number or send "snail mail" to a post-office box.
In addition, there are special anti-spam programs that include databases with addresses of known spam sources. Some of the programs include features that automatically download updated databases to keep pace with the changing addresses of spammers.
For a list of some of these programs, see http://tucows.tierranet.com/spam95.html.
Warning: It's easy to go overboard when filtering, and you can inadvertently kill or divert e-mail you don't want to. Go slow to start with.
For help removing your name from many e-mail marketing lists, the Interactive Services Association, a trade group that represents leading online and Internet services, suggests visiting the No Spam Web site at http://www.kenjen.com/nospam and the No Junk E-Mail Web site at http://www.glr.com/nojunk.html.
In addition, you can go to these sites to report fraudulent e-mail offers: Federal Trade Commission and the National Fraud Information Center.
A great site to check out is...
Dreamweaver~
I have seen a lot of websites in the past and wondered how they achieved those impressive effects. A lot of them utilized the macromedia Dreamweaver software to author their sites. I had heard that it was complicated and took considerably more effort to manipulate than other web authoring tools but the overall results were well worth it. Due to the cost of the software, I have not been able to work with it.
It took me a while to make FrontPage do what I wanted it to do. I am still learning. I had hoped to have a chance to work with Dreamweaver. My first impression was that what I heard is TRUE. It appears much more complicated. I was frustrated after the first few minutes! I am sure that with time, one could become comfortable using this software. I am positive that learning to use it will provide more impressive web site design.
I will possibly take a closer look at it this summer when I have a little more free time.
FINAL EXAM QUESTION~
The answer is......... PUBLISH!
