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Bill Gates floats new company

Bill Gates reportedly has started new company named 'bgC3' which supposedly is an abbreviated form for bill gates Company (no. 3) or bill gates Catalyst. It remains to be seen what the focus of his new company will be.

Source: techflash

10 tips for Secure Wifi @ home

As the investigation of recent Delhi blasts progressed, interesting developments took place that need to be taken care of. The mail sent by terrorists to the news agencies was through an unsecured wifi connection. This can happen from your home tomorrow! Some precautionary measures will ensure a relatively safe wifi account.

1. Change default router password.

Not many of us change the default password that is highly likely to be cracked down. Use special characters, digits and letters in good mix for a strong password. The same is applicable for user name as well (if you've an option to change it).

2. Rename the SSID on the router

Change the default name of SSID (service set identifier). With broadcasting off, wireless clients must first know the SSID before they can connect. If you have multiple PC's on your home network simply type the new name in your wireless client's setup to connect to your router when SSID is disabled.

3. Enable infrastructure mode

When using the "ad-hoc" mode, which lets clients set up peer-to-peer networks, rogue users will be able to connect to your network through a legitimate wireless client. This setting configuration can be found on your PC wireless network card.

4. Use MAC addressing filter on your wireless router

Many routers let you restrict access to known MAC (Media Access Control) addresses. Each network device, such as a computer network card (NIC) has a unique MAC address. By allowing access only to pre-defined MAC addresses you can reduce the risk of rogue clients connecting to your home network.

5. Change the default router IP address setting

Router manufacturers set every router with an IP address. For example, Linksys routers are configured with an IP address of 192.168.1.1. These address settings are well known and published, and can be easily discover by hackers if they know the router manufacturer and type.

Changing the IP address during the setup process, for example to 192.168.80.1 does not secure the router, but will make any attackers guessing for the IP address. Changing this setting, will automatically change the DHCP IP addresses handed out by your router to PC's allowed on your network.

6. Use WPA or WPA2 encryption

When possible use WPA or WPA2 PSK over WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). Both Windows XP and Mac OS X support them, along with any access point manufactured within the past few years. WPA and WPA2 both have a mode called the PSK mode that will allow you to use a password in lieu of using a full-blown 802.1X setup, which is perfect for the home user.

If your hardware does not support WPA2 use WPA. Creating a strong shared key (PSK) will lessen the chance of attackers successfully breaking in to your network. If you router only supports WEP, and your concerned about security, considered upgrading to a new router along with your PC NIC cards.

7. Firewall, HTTPS settings

Make sure HTTPS is enable for connecting to the router administration setup over your local network. Verify the firewall is enabled and all incoming ports are blocked. Disable remote access over the Internet setting.

If for any reason you need to provide remote access via the Internet, enable it only when needed and change the default management port setting to something other than 8080.

8. Enable and monitor your wireless access logs

Check your logs frequently for rogue access points (AP) or clients attached to the network. If you spot unknown clients or AP's connected to your network, change your WEP or WPA code, and do a little detective work in identifying unknown connections to your network.

Also check the status screen that shows the MAC addresses of all clients currently connected to the network and verify they are known devices.

9. Backup your router configuration settings

Although, not considered a security setting, backing up the router configuration before making changes will allow you to easily restore the settings in the event you make a mistake. This will prevent your router from being vulnerable if you are unsure about any changes you have made.

10. Turn off your router when not in use!

Why would you want to do this? When your router is powered off, your network cannot be compromised. Consider doing this when you go on vacation or you will not be using you network for extended periods of time. Just turning off your PC may prevent the PC from being attacked, but it will not prevent someone from breaking into your network via your router if it is powered on.

P.S: Most of the information used is from http://www.watchingthenet.com/10-tips-to-secure-a-home-wireless-network.html

Avoid peeping, enjoy browsing!!

Beware of Wardrivers

People working on unsecured wireless internet networks, beware!!
You are in a high risk of being caught for sending anonymous terror emails or accessing confidential info that you haven't actually done.Welcome to the dark world of "wardriving".

A Wardriver is a person who moves in a vehicle with a laptop -or a PDA which has a software that detects WiFi neworks. If an immoral wardriver finds a WiFi network that is not password-protected, he can perform mischievous activities with virtually impossible chance of being caught using the IP adress of the network.Only the person who owns the WiFi network is vulnerable for apprehension. Softwares for wardriving are readily available on internet for free and some devices have these softwares preinstalled.

The terror emails by "India Mujahideen" recently were sent from WiFi connections of an american in Navi Mumbai and Mumbai's Khalsa College are examples of such misuse.

So, Beware of Wardrivers...Be secure Be Safe!!

Windows Command Prompt

With Windows 2000 and then Windows XP, the use of the Windows Command prompt has been on the decline. Almost everything today is dependent on the user interface of Windows. There are still many tasks that can be done just from a Windows Command prompt and it can be handy for things like removing viruses or stubborn files that Windows Explorer can’t do anything about. The command prompt can be started by going to Start > Run, entering cmd and hitting [Enter].

Command Prompt History
In the DOS days when everything ran on command prompt, there was something called Doskey, which would keep a history of all the commands entered, which could be recalled as and when required. Windows has a better and easier way to display previously entered commands.

All previous commands can be access by a simple shortcut

Simply press [F7] and use the up and down arrow keys to select the command from the list you want to run again. You can also use the up and down arrows without the list, to cycle through the commands. To enter the previous command, type [F3]. If you want to enter a command line number from the list, press [F9] and enter it.

Command Prompt After Running Application
Many a times, a DOS or command line based program is run through the usual Start > Run method—say something like chkdsk or a network tracert command. The program executes and then shuts the command line window with it. Ideally, we want to see what happens during the execution of an application. To do this, type the name of the application or the command after cmd /k. For example, cmd /k chkdsk d: will scan the disk, display the results and leave the command prompt window open.

Copy And Paste
Most of us have, at some point or the other, tried to copy something from and into the command prompt window but the shortcuts [Ctrl] + [C] and [Ctrl] + [V] just wouldn’t work. To copy text from the command prompt, you need to first right-click on the title bar of the window and click on Mark. Now drag a box around the text you want to copy. Right-click again and the text will be copied into the clipboard. To paste any text into the command prompt window, right click in the window itself and click Paste.

the PROMPT command allows changes to be made to the command prompt

If you want to copy and paste stuff quickly, you can enable it by right clicking on the title bar for the window and then on Properties. Check the box for QuickEdit Mode. Click OK. You can choose to enable this for a single window or for all command prompt windows. Now simply drag and select the text to be copied. A single right-click will paste the contents of the clipboard to the window.

Using AutoComplete
Like the Linux console, Windows’s command prompt too has an auto complete feature, which allows you to complete file names without typing the entire name. Type the first few characters of the filename or folder and press [Tab]. If there is more than one result, you can use [Tab] to cycle through all the possibilities.

Full Screen Mode
If you try and run a console or DOS application that looks right when run on full screen, you can do it by pressing [Alt] + [Enter]. Use the same shortcut again to get back to the window mode.

Customising The Command Prompt
The typical grey-on-black theme can get boring. There are a few changes that can be made to the command prompt to look a little friendlier. The prompt itself can be customised, which by default displays C:\ or the path you’re currently on.

the PROMPT command allows changes to be made to the command prompt

The prompt can be changed by typing PROMPT followed by the parameters. PROMPT $P$G will restore the prompt to the default one. Some of the parameters that can be used are as follows—
$D—Current date
$T—Current time
$P—Path
$G—>
$V—Windows Version
$M—Network path for mapped drives

You can also have the text on the title bar changed. Enter the command TITLE in the command prompt, followed by the text you want to display on the title bar. For example, title %username% %date% %time% will display the currently logged in user name followed by the current date and time.

If all this seems unnecessary, and you want a change of colour, the simplest way out is to right-click on the command prompt title bar and click on Properties. The fonts, colours and layout can be changed from here.

Open Command Prompt In A Specified Directory
The command prompt, when initialised, starts in the logged in users default directory—C:\Documents and Settings\Username. From there, you have to navigate using DOS commands to the respective directory, if you have to run an application or work on some files. If you want to launch the command line at a different location, first create a shortcut on your Desktop or your Quicklaunch folder by right clicking on it and clicking New > Shortcut. Enter the location of the item as C:\windows\system32 \cmd.exe. Give a name to the shortcut and click Finish create it. Right-click on the created shortcut and choose Properties. Click the Shortcut tab and enter the path where you want the command prompt to start. For example, C:\. Click OK. Double click the shortcut to run it.

Malicious Programs

Virus - Attaches itself to a program and propagates copies of itself to other programs.

Worm - Program that propagates copies of itself to other computers.

Trojan Horse - Program that contains unexpected additional functionality.

Backdoor (trapdoor) - Program modification that allows unauthorized access to functionality.

Exploits - Code specific to a single vulnerability or set of vulnerabilities.

Down loaders - Program that installs other items on a machine that is under attack. Usually, a downloader is sent in an e-mail.

Auto-rooter -Malicious hacker tools used to break into new machines remotely.

Kit (virus generator) - Set of tools for generating new viruses automatically.

Spammer programs - Used to send large volumes of unwanted e-mail.

Flooders - Used to attack networked computer systems with a large volume of traffic to carry out a denial of service (DoS) attack.

Keyloggers - Captures keystrokes on a compromised system.

Rootkit - Set of hacker tools used after attacker has broken into a computer system and gained root-level access.

Zombie - Program activated on an infected machine that is activated to launch attacks on other machines.

Computer Acronyms

---A---
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

--- B ---
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

--- C ---
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft�/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

--- D ---
DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

--- E ---
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

--- F ---
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

--- G ---
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

--- H ---
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

--- I ---
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

--- J ---
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

- K ---
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

--- L ---
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Are Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

--- M ---
MAC - Media Access Control
MB � MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

--- N ---
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

--- O ---
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

--- P ---
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

--- R ---
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

--- S ---
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

--- T ---
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

--- U ---
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

--- V ---
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

--- W ---
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

--- X ---
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

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