New Tool Bar

Hai friends RYU-System is now out with new toolbar its in excremental stage and soon you can see the final version. The toolbar is not as fancy and feature rich as others but soon we will make it the best bar It will help you track new utility that we update and keep an watch on tech news and geek works . Thanks for supporting us. Will meet you soon with more powerful bar. You can download it from here.

14 Ways to stay away from VIRUS

Computer viruses are deadly. They often spread without any apparent contact and can be a nuisance, or even worse, fatal to your computer. Individuals who create these viruses, estimated at 10-15 new ones a day, are the electronic version of terrorists. Their goal is to inflict havoc and destruction on as many people as possible by disabling, stealing, damaging, or destroying computer and information resources. Often, they have no specific target in mind, so no one is safe. If you access the internet, share files or your computer with others, or load anything from diskettes, CDs, or DVDs onto your computer, you are vulnerable to viruses.

Fortunately, there are good guys working just as hard as the hackers to develop cures for viruses as quickly as they send them off into cyberspace. And there are many things you can do to keep your computer from catching viruses in the first place.

Defining Viruses:

A virus is a small computer program that can copy and spread itself from one computer to another, with or without the help of the user. However, viruses typically do more than just be fruitful and multiply, which is bad enough in itself because it hogs system resources. Anything else viruses are programmed to do, from displaying annoying messages to destroying files, is called their payload. Often, they cannot deliver their payload until an unsuspecting user does something to make the virus execute its programmed function. This could be as simple as clicking on an innocent looking file attachment with the .exe (executable) extension.

Catching a Virus:

Most viruses are spread through e-mail attachments because it's the easiest way to do it. Although Macintosh, Unix, and Linux systems can catch viruses, hackers are particularly keen on exploiting the security weaknesses in anything Microsoft, particularly Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express. Because of the popularity of this software, hackers get maximum bang for their buck, and they probably get some satisfaction from continually reminding Microsoft that being big doesn't mean you're perfect.

Solution 1: Anti-virus Software

Your first line of defense is to install anti-virus software. To be extra safe, also install firewall software, which is now included in some anti-virus packages. This software can scan all of your drives for viruses and neutralize them. Here are some features to consider when evaluating anti-virus software.

- Compatibility with your operating system - Make sure the software works with your system, particularly if you are using an older operating system like Windows 98.

- Firewall software - If it's not included, find out if it's available. If you must, buy it from another vendor.

- Automatic background protection - This means your software will constantly scan behind the scenes for infections and neutralize them as they appear. This provides some peace of mind.

- Automatic, frequent updates - Because new viruses appear every day, you'll want regular updates. It's even better if they occur automatically when you connect to the internet. If automatic updating isn't included, you'll have to check the vendor's website and download updates yourself. This is vitally important, because you will not be protected from new viruses if your software is out of date.

- Disaster recovery - Software with a recovery utility to help you get your system back to normal after a virus attack is always good to have.

- ICSA certification - The International Computer Security Associatioin has standards for the detection rates of anti-virus software. Make sure your software has the ICSA certification.

- Technical support - It's a good idea to select a package that offers free technical support, either online or through a toll-free number. If you're ever felled by a virus, you may need it. Some anti-virus software vendors are Symantec Corporation (Norton AntiVirus), McAfee Corporation (McAfee VirusScan), Trend Micro Inc. (PC-cillin), and Zone Labs Inc. (Zone Alarm Suite).

Solution 2: The Virus Scan

If you receive a particularly juicy attachment that you're dying to open, save it on your Windows desktop and run your anti-virus software on it first. To do this, click once gently on the file on your desktop ... don't actually open it ... then right click and choose Scan with (Name of Anti-Virus Software) to activate a virus scan.

If it's infected, your anti-virus software may neutralize it, or at least tell you the attachment is too dangerous to open. On the other hand, don't feel guilty if the very thought of saving a potentially damaging file anywhere on your system is enough to quell your eagerness to open it and make you delete it immediately.

Solution 3: Delete first, ask questions later.

When in doubt about the origin of an e-mail, the best thing to do is delete it without previewing or opening it. However, some viruses, such as Klez, propagate by fishing in people's address books and sending themselves from any contact they find to another random contact. You can spread a virus just by having people in your address book, even if you don't actually e-mail them anything. They'll receive it from someone else in your address book, which really makes life confusing. Because of the proliferation of porn on the internet, e-mail viruses often tempt victims by using sexual filenames, such as nudes.exe. Don't fall for it.

Solution 4: Beware of virus hoaxes

E-mails warning you about viruses are almost always hoaxes. You may be tempted to believe them because you typically receive them from well-meaning friends, who received them from friends, etc. These e-mails themselves usually aren't viruses, but some have actually fallen into the hands of hackers who loaded them with viruses and forwarded them merrily on their way as a sick joke.

The proliferation of e-mails about virus hoaxes can become nearly as bad as a real virus. Think about it, if you obey an e-mail that tells you to forward it to everyone in your address book, and they THEY do it, and this goes on long enough, you could bring the internet to its knees. If you ever want to verify a virus warning, your anti-virus vendor may have a list of hoaxes on it website. It's in the business of providing the fixes, so it will know which viruses are real.

Solution 5: Beware of filename extensions

The extension of a filename is the three characters that come after the dot. Windows now defaults to hiding filename extensions, but it isn't a good idea. Just being able to see a suspicious extension and deleting the file before opening it can save you from a virus infection.

To see filename extensions in all your directory listings, on the Windows XP desktop, click Start button | Control Panels | Folder Options | View Tab. Clear the check box for Hide extensions of known file types. Click Apply | OK. System files will still be hidden, but you'll be able to see extensions for all the files you need to be concerned with. Viruses often live on files with these extensions - .vbs, .shs, .pif, .Ink - and they are almost never legitimately used for attachments.

Solution 6: Disable the .shs extension

One dangerous extension you can easily disable is .shs. Windows won't recognize it and will alert you before attempting to open an .shs file. The extension is usually just used for "scrap object" files created in Word and Excell when you highlight text and drag it to the desktop for pasting into other documents. If this isn't something you ever do, or you have Word and Excell 2000 or later, which allow you to have 12 items on the Clipboard, click the Start button | Control Panel | Folder Options | File Types tab. Under Registered file types, scroll down and highlight the SHS extension. Click Delete | Yes | Apply | OK.

Solution 7: Dealing with double extensions

When you turn on your extensions in Windows, you'll be able to detect viruses that piggy-back themselves onto innocent looking files with a double extension, such as happybirthday.doc.exe. NEVER trust a file with a double extension - it goes against Nature.

Solution 8: Beware of unknown .exe files

A virus is a program that must be executed to do its dirty work, so it may have an .exe extension. Unfortunately, this is the same extension used by legitimate program files. So, don't panic if you find files named Word.exe or Excel.exe on your system - they're your Microsoft software. Just don't EVER open any file with an .exe extension if you don't know what the file's purpose is.

Solution 9: Watch out for icons

Viruses in attachment files have been known to assume the shape of familiar looking icons of text or picture files, like the wolf in the hen house. If you recieve an unexpected attachment, don't open it without first running it through your anti-virus software.

Solution 10: Don't download from public newgroups

What better place for a hacker to lurk and stick his virus than in the middle of a crowd? Sooner or later, someone's bound to download it and get the virus going. Don't download files and programs from newsgroups or bulletin boards, or open attachments sent from strangers in chatrooms ("Let's exchange pictures!") without first scanning with your anti-virus software.

Solution 11: Avoid bootleg software

This may seem like a no brainer, but sometimes that tiny price tag on a popular but expensive package can be too good to resist. Resist it! Likewise, be careful about accepting application software from others. You don't know where it's been, and what may have started out as a perfectly clean package could have become infected during installation on someone else's infected computer.

Solution 12: Protect macros in MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint

A common type of virus uses macros. Macros are sets of stored commands that users can save as shortcuts to perform long functions in just a few keystrokes. A macro virus may perform such mischief as changing file types from text files or spreadsheets into templates, locking up keyboards, and deleting files. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint come with macro virus protection. To make sure yours is activated, open each application, then click Tools menu | Macro | Security. On the Security Level tab, make sure Medium or High is selected. Clcik OK. If you are already infected with a macro virus, you may find that the steps of this procedure are unavailable becasue the virus has disabled them. In that event, run a virus scan on your system to see if your anti-virus software can kill the virus.

Solution 13: Use passwords

If you share your computer, it's a good idea to assign everyone a password. Passwords should be a combination of letters and numbers no less than eight characters long, and preferably nonsensical. Never write passwords and stick them anywhere near the computer. To assign passwords in Windows XP, click the Start button | Control Panel | User Accounts. Follow the prompts to assign/change passwords.

Solution 14: Update application software

Microsoft constantly issues patches for the security holes in its operating system and applications software. however, don't be lulled into complacency if you have Windows Update automatically checking things for you. Update checks for patches to repair bugs in the operating system, not for security problems.

To get the latest security hotfixes (as Microsoft calls them), visit www.microsoft.com and look for hotfixes for all your Microsoft software, particularly Outlook and Outlook Express.

Microsoft also has a free downloadable package called Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) that scans your system for missing hotfixes. It works with Windows 2000 and XP Home and Professional only. It doesn't support Windows 95, 98, or ME.

To download the MBSA, go to the TechNet section of the Microsoft Website. Be warned that the information is written in techie language, so you may find it daunting.

Last Words:

Now that you know some ways for avoiding and dealing with viruses, let's wrap things up with some solution you've probably heard before but have ignored.

- Back up your files regularly - If a virus crashes your sytem, you'll feel much better if you've got backup copies of all your important files. Make the backup copies on a media that's separate from the computer, such as on diskettes, CDs, or zip disks. Scan them for viruses before you put them away to make sure they aren't infected. If they are, they'll do you no good if you ever have to use them because they will just transmit the virus right back onto your computer.

- Make a boot disk - Create an emergency boot diskette before you have a problem so you can start your computer after a serious security problem To make a boot diskette with Windows XP, put a blank floppy disk in the drive. Open My Computer, then right click the floppy drive. Click Format. Under Format options, click Create an MS-DOS startup disk. Click Start. Keep the disk in a safe place. With luck, you'll never need to use it.

- Turn off you computer - DSL and cable connections that are "always on" may be convenient, but you should always turn off your computer when its not in use. Hackers can't get to a machine that's powered off.

Lock Folder Easily

There are number of software which locks folder and drive to protect our confidential data. But there is a simple way of doing it this article will cover it in a nutshell.
Difficulty: Easy(Work with Notepad)
Risk: Medium(Registry Editing)
Ok then why waste money on such tools when we can do it with a simple!! registry tweak? But dont blame me i did not warn you,Before you attempt these tweaks, please make sure that you have a backup of your registry, just in case something locks us down before we do.

1) Locking Folders: Within control panel
Consider we want to lock a folder named secret in our drive D:\ whose path is D:\secret then all we have to do is open the Notepad and use ren(rename command) as
ren secret secret.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} Where "secret" is your folder name. Save the file as lock.bat in the same drive. Open another new notepad file and type the following ren secret.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} secret Save the text file as unlock.bat in the same drive. Now to lock the secret folder, simply click the lock.bat and it will change into control panel icon which is not accessible. To unlock the folder click the unlock.bat file. Thus the folder will be unlocked and all of its contents are accessible once again.

2) Locking Folders: Within Image file
Step 1: Create a folder in D:\Lock
Step 2:. Put all the files you want to hide in it, along with an JPEG image that you would like to show when double clicked.
Step 3: Select all of the files you want to hide, and create a ZIP or RAR file with them using a program you like some of them are 7Zip , WinRAR , WinZip etc.
Step 4: Now you should have your archive zip or rar file next to your files that you want to hide, even though they are in the archived file already with the JPEG image we would like to hide all of them in it.
Step 5: Now open command prompt Go to “Start,” “Run,” and type cmd.
Step 6: Now navigate to the Drive and into our lock folder the path must be like this D:\Lock> change lock to the folder which you have created.
Step 7: Now type copy /b fake.JPG + lock.rar fake.jpg
(Note: Replace the name “fake” with the name of your image, and replace “lock.rar” with the name of your compressed file.)
Step 8: If all goes well we should receive a response “1 file(s) copied.”
Step 9: Bingo thats it now we have hidden all our files inside the jpg image.
Step 10: Now to retrieve the files in our image, all we need to do is right-click on the image and select "Open With"and select “7zip” or the name of the program you used to archive the original files.

AMD kicks Intel with six-core processor

AMD launched its first six-core processor, which will compete against Intel's "Dunnington" chip. The "Istanbul" Opteron processor is for high-end server computers that use two, four, and eight processors or "sockets." Intel has been shipping a six-core processor for this market since September of last year and will bring out a processor based on its new Nehalem architecture for this segment later this year. The Istanbul processor is slated for mass-availability sometime in mid 2009 and will directly compete with Intel's six-core Dunnington chip. According to the die-shot, the new AMD chip will feature 6 MB of L3 cache shared among all the cores. Each core, however, will come with 512 KB of L2 cache.

It is expected to come with either DDR2 or DDR3 support, depending on the CPU socket. While the backwards-compatible AM2+ chip will feature DDR2 support, and AM3 version will only work with DDR3. Systems based on six-core AMD Opteron processors are expected to be available beginning this month from server suppliers including Cray, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun Microsystems, AMD said Monday. Istanbul boasts up to 34 percent more performance-per-watt over the previous-generation quad-core processors.

(Source: http://www.chip-architect.com, http://news.softpedia.com,http://news.cnet.com/)

To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

When is the right time?

This is a question that is asked frequently from many people in different walks of life. Do I upgrade, or should I just buy a new system? This guide is intended to provide an outline to help you answer this question based on your needs.

Your personal computer is a tool that can be used for many different things, but most users have a primary and/or secondary set of applications that they use most often.

If you are hardcore gamer who likes to surf the net and download lots of large files, your goals would be different for upgrading or buying a new system choice, than say someone who uses their system for playing the stock market, typing letters and working with business software. Prices on the different systems vary in amount with high-end gaming or media encoding machines topping the Rs.1,00,000 range, to office and email machines down as low as Rs.15000.00 for complete systems.

You have to first determine your systems functionality and then decide what your major and minor uses are going to be. Sit down and really think about what you are going to be doing, not only now but also in the near future and plan around that goal before you just rush out and make a rash purchase. These steps can be a very efficient method for determining what your system needs actually will be.

Let's take a look at a series of questions that can help you determine if its time for a quick upgrade or time to junk that old system and just buy a new rig. A few quick steps and then you decide what is best for you.

Analyse your current system

Take a good hard look at your current system, and then decide in what area your system is not performing to your expectations or needs. Some problems can easily be fixed by adding additional memory, changing video cards, or upgrading the CPU. This can be a critical decision for the user to make, so just take your time and analyze what it is you most need to accomplish your goals.

Can a memory upgrade fix my problems?

If your system was bought within the last two years chances are a memory upgrade can alleviate many system performance problems.

Ask your self the following questions.

1. Is your system sluggish when you are multitasking or when you have many windows open at one time?
2. Do programs take a long while to load?
3. Is your Internet slow and unresponsive between page loads?
4. Is your installed memory less than your Operating System's minimum requirements?

If you answered yes to one or more of the above questions a memory upgrade may be in order.

These are all symptoms that are commonly associated with memory and can usually be resolved by adding additional memory to your system. Memory prices have dropped significantly in the last few years and adding memory is a simple pop in a chip procedure that anyone can accomplish. Just read your manual to find out which slots the memory go in and the rest is easy. Always upgrade your memory to the fastest speed that your motherboard supports.

Windows XP needs at least 512Mb of memory to really run well so keep that in mind if you are using that OS. Microsoft states a lower memory requirement, but anything lower results in program lags in the multitasking environment.

Can a new video card fix my problem?

If you have a mid-range to high-end system bought within the last year chances are that if you are a gamer a new VGA card may help you play the latest and greatest game on the market. Most games are GPU, not CPU intensive these days so there is most assuredly a card that will handle all the games currently playing even if you do not have the highest speed processor.

Your motherboard plays a crucial role in determining what parameters you have to work within when deciding a VGA card upgrade. Check your manual to see what type of AGP/PCI-X slot your board has as some boards only support the current 1.5V spec others only the older 1X-2X slot, while still some others offer a universal slot that works with the older 1X-2X cards as well as the later 4X-8X cards. PCI-X is the new kid on the block that replaces the AGP slot on your motherboard. Both Intel and AMD will be supporting PCI-X graphics via the PCI 16X Express slot so there will be many cards to choose from for this new graphics interface standard.

Ask yourself the following questions.

1. Does your VGA card specs fall below the minimum requirements of the games you want to play?
2. Is the visual quality below the level you are satisfied with?
3. Do your games lag in frame rates resulting in chugging graphics?
4. Are the games you want to play the latest FPS titles using current Direct-X features?
5. Do you have to run your games with all the features turned to low?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions a new VGA card might solve your problems.

Be sure you analyze what your needs are clearly going to be before researching your next VGA card as that will be the criteria for making your decision. If you are a light gamer a mid range $150.00-$250.00 card may be the solution you need, but if you are an avid gamer buy the best card you can afford, even if that means spending more money. The reason for this advice is that top-end VGA cards maintain their status for usually at least six months and then still perform well through the next few VGA upgrade releases. If you buy a low-end card its life span will be much shorter and you will probably want to buy a card just a few months down the line as newer games keep getting released requiring more powerful cards to run them.

Can a new CPU fix my problems?

This is the probably the second most expensive and definitely important upgrade you can attain, its upgrade options are dictated by what motherboard you have and what its upgrade capabilities are. Sometimes a quick BIOS flash can solve the dilemma of new CPU recognition and allow that old board just a little more life. Check the website of your motherboards manufacturer and see what BIOS options are available.

Ask yourself the following questions.

1. Is your system slow to boot or respond to commands?
2. Is your CPU under the minimum requirements of the applications you are trying to run?
3. Can your system be upgraded to the latest CPU of its line?
4. Is your CPU below the minimum requirements of your Operating System?
5. Do you have an old slow CPU on a good modern board?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, a new CPU may just be the answer to your systems inability to perform in the way you want. This can be an easy to do upgrade for most users. Say you have an older Celeron or Duron processor in your system; if that is the case a CPU upgrade would be a major performance improver as both the Pentium and Athlon series of CPUs offer much greater power than their budget brothers. You will notice a significant change in the overall running of your system with a descent CPU upgrade. Jumping from a 500MHz CPU to a 750MHz CPU will not show much of a difference, but on the other hand going from a 1.2GHz CPU to a 2.4GHz CPU will show dramatic differences.

What about my sound options?

If you currently have a 2.1 speaker configuration and want to move into the 5.1 or higher surround sound environment, and you are using either an on-board or discreet audio controller that is limited to 2.1 only, you need an upgrade. As long as you have an open PCI slot chances are good that you can find a discreet card that will suit your needs and connect to whatever 5.1 speakers you want to use.

What about changing my motherboard?

Changing your motherboard out is a quite the challenge for the beginning user, and it can be a very daunting process for those not so mechanically inclined so think hard on this one. The biggest problem with changing out your motherboard is migration of the other system parts. Many times when you change out a board, things like the memory, CPU and the video card will not migrate over to your new board and this is why it is such a hard decision choice. With SDRAM, RDRAM, DDR and now DDR2 boards in circulation it can be a bit confusing. These are all different specs of memory that only work within their own slot, so look carefully, and make sure if your budget does not include funds for additional parts, that you positively can use your old parts on your new board.

Conclusion

If you answered yes to any questions in one or two of those areas above chances are good you can probably get away with just some parts upgrades. However, if you answered yes to questions in all three areas, chances are its going to be time for a new PC upgrade here in the near future anyways so replacement may be a better option here, especially if financially feasible to your current budget. Shop around online and in the stores before you buy as prices vary and you would be surprised at how much you can save with a little research. Give yourself a few different options in case something you want is not in stock or not readily available at the time you want to do it. Take your time, evaluate all your needs or wants and then make a move. To upgrade or replace has some grey area and you must decide what most fits your situation

Cooler Master Aim's New Sniper

Cooler Master has again proved their innovation in technology and design by unraveling their new and advanced Storm Sniper series of cabinet for the high end and gaming segments. They are available in two mode

1) CM STORM SNIPER and


2)CM STORM SNIPER AMD DRAGON PLATFORM.


But the core of the cabinet is the same just the graphics has been changed in the AMD model This is one of the best we have seen in recent days among the best high end cabinet around the market. It comes with an attractive front front panel which can control the LED and FAN speed of the cabinet. Both the series specification are the same.

SPECIFICATION :


As you can see the space for mounting the power supply is provided at the bottom where there is also an space for mounting fan which will keep the air flow cool in and around the PSU, At top there is a huge 200mm fan which almost single handed maintains the over all air flow the side panel is full of air holes and they also help to remove dust easily the screw less design is the most important in here. Also you can easily secure the most important parts of your cabinet by locking all the internal parts with an inbuilt lock feature provided in the cabinet.




Along with the button to control FAN and LED it also holds button for power on/off and a small reset button with 4 USB port, 1 eSata, 1 Firewire port and two 3.5mm audio connector.

Its based with strong leg which rise it above the ground and its well stable. The whole setup is screw less its really hazel free setup for Harddisk , Optical drive , and also all expansion slot. The hard disk is just slide into and a small pin holds it firm and a small button is been provided which will help to unlock the HDD, The expansion slots in other hand is based on a clip mechanism to hold it tight.


The cooling system is realy pushed hard here with 2 X 200mm fan 1 X 120mm fan and 1 X 140mm fan ensure your cabinet never suffocates with intelligent control system in your hand its really the best you can get but do be aware that it does not cost you ant it will cost you an elephant dude the price is higher than any other high end cabinets around.

The cabinet is really good and a must for those who consider their gaming pc to be supported with top in the field cabinet to ensure safety to their overall internal components.

Editing Hijack This Log

HijackThis lists the contents of key areas of the Registry and hard drive areas that are used by both legitimate programmers, hijackers and various other spyware and malware developers. The program is continually updated to detect and remove new hijacks. It does not target specific programs and URLs, only the methods used by hijackers to force you onto their sites. so false positives are imminent, and unless you're sure about what you're doing or altering you always should consult with knowledgeable folks before deleting anything. The key to start editing the log is as following...

* R0, R1, R2, R3 - Internet Explorer Start/Search pages URLs
* F0, F1 - Autoloading programs
* N1, N2, N3, N4 - Netscape/Mozilla Start/Search pages URLs
* O1 - Hosts file redirection
* O2 - Browser Helper Objects
* O3 - Internet Explorer toolbars
* O4 - Autoloading programs from Registry
* O5 - IE Options icon not visible in Control Panel
* O6 - IE Options access restricted by Administrator
* O7 - Regedit access restricted by Administrator
* O8 - Extra items in IE right-click menu
* O9 - Extra buttons on main IE button toolbar, or extra items in IE 'Tools' menu
* O10 - Winsock hijacker
* O11 - Extra group in IE 'Advanced Options' window
* O12 - IE plugins
* O13 - IE DefaultPrefix hijack
* O14 - 'Reset Web Settings' hijack
* O15 - Unwanted site in Trusted Zone
* O16 - ActiveX Objects (aka Downloaded Program Files)
* O17 - Lop.com domain hijackers
* O18 - Extra protocols and protocol hijackers
* O19 - User style sheet hijack

* O20 - AppInit_DLLs Registry value autorun
* O21 - ShellServiceObjectDelayLoad
* O22 - SharedTaskScheduler
* O23 - Windows NT Services.

But this is just a intro on what is what in the hijack log since there is an entry in some of the above area it does not mean its a spyware or malware entry you have to judge by its location and file name else deleting necessary system entry will cripple your system. visit http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.php to know more and its an wonderful tutorial which has covered almost all necessary entries to check for but dont expect to understand the whole in one go take your time.

Seagate Free Agent Pro Review

Seagate is well known for its innovation in technology around storage devices and its often said as the leader in the industry of data storage and security. Now they again strike back with their FREE AGENT series of hardisks which is according to me one of the best to choose if you are looking for an external storage monster. The various series available under FREE AGENT are...

• FreeAgent | Desk™
• FreeAgent | Desk™ for Mac
• FreeAgent | Go™
• FreeAgent | Go™ for Mac
• FreeAgent | XTreme™
• FreeAgent | Theater™
• FreeAgent | Pro™

But now we are going to focus on FREEAGENT PRO which is not a portable solution but an powerful "External" solution which can easily store your multimedia data and also as an backup drive for you personal files. First why do you need an External solution,there are various reason but the most common are..

1. Unavailable internal IDE/SATA connectors.
2. Ability to keep your data separate and safe from internal disk corruption.
3. Flexibility to move the drive to various location without much risk or hassle.

Free Agent Pro disks are available at 500GB, 640GB, 1TB according to your requirement. At first look we can see the disk is very sleek and looks great also its design is brand new it comes with an inbuilt light which glow when connected of course you have the option to turn it off but you wont since its very nice, lot of R&D has been done by seagate.The disk has a well stable flat base in which the disk is rested upon but you can also use it in sleeping position.

Specification :

• Dimensions: 6.89 in H x 1.33 in W x 6.77 in L (175.0 mm x 33.7 mm x 172 mm)
• Weight: 3.06 lb (1.39 kg)
  
• Interface : USB 2.0: up to 480 Mb/s
• FireWire 400: up to 400 Mb/s (Module Not Included)
  
• eSATA: up to 3Gb/s (Module Not Included)
• Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM

Inside the Box :

• FreeAgent Pro drive.
• FreeAgent software pre-loaded on drive (Windows only).
• Quickstart guide.
• Base stand.
• USB cable.
• Power supply adapter.
• FireWire 400 cable and module.
  

*eSATA cable not included
**FireWire 400 cable and FireWire module not included in all drive.

The disk comes preloaded with software exclusively developed by seagate for their Free Agent drive you can also download the latest from their site, the utility has number of features like...

1. Backup And Restore (The AutoBackup software included with your FreeAgent drive allows you to back up folders on your network, Flash Drives, and iPods; back up over the Internet; and use Shutterfly to share photos over the Internet. )
2. System Rollback (You can use FreeAgent Tools System Rollback to return your computer to an earlier state, called a Restore Point)
   
3. Internet Drive (The Internet Drive lets you access your files from any computer and share them with anyone.The Internet Drive provides password-protected space on Seagate servers so you can store data that you want to access remotely or share with others.)
   
4. Utility (Running Drive Diagnostics,Adjusting Drive Sleep Intervals,Adjusting the Drive Lights)

For this review we tested with USB interface When writing a 15GB folder of mixed file types, it took the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 14 minutes, 16 seconds for a rate of 18 MBps~. Reading back the same file took 11 minutes, 32 seconds for a rate of 21.5 MBps ~. This makes the disk one of the front runner for the spot of RYU's Best Buy due to their price per performance ratio.

Choosing Linux Distro(Basic)

This is a basic article for those who want to go LINUX way. A Linux distribution is also called GNU/Linux distribution. Is a member of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions consist of a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications.There are currently over three hundred Linux distributions. Most of those are in active development, constantly being revised and improved.

Because most of the kernel and supporting packages are some combination of free software and open source, Linux distributions have taken a wide variety of forms from fully featured desktop and server operating systems to minimal environments. Aside from certain custom software a distribution simply refers to a particular assortment of applications installed on top of a set of libraries married with a version of the kernel, such that its "out-of-the-box" capabilities meets most of the needs of its particular end-user base.One can distinguish between commercially backed distributions, such as Fedora as REDHAT, OpenSUSE asNovell , Ubuntu byCanonical Ltd., and Mandriva Linux.


Some known distributers are:

1. CentOS-A distribution derived from the same sources used by Red Hat, maintained by a dedicated volunteer community of developers.
2. Debian-A non-commercial distribution maintained by a volunteer developer community with a strong commitment to free software principles.
3. Fedora-Which is a community distribution sponsored by Red Hat,and widely used in academy side.
   
4. Gentoo-A distribution targeted at power users, known for its FreeBSD Ports-like automated system for compiling applications from source code.
5. Knoppix-The first Live CD distribution to run completely from removable media without installation to a hard disk. Derived from Debian.
6. Linux Mint-A popular distribution based on and compatible with Ubunt,its also lightweight version.
7. Mandriva-A Red Hat derivative popular in France and Brazil for its native support and wide spread user community.
8. OpenGEU-Derived from Ubuntu: The project's goal is to combine the power of GNOME desktop with the eye-candy of Enlightenment 17.
9. OpenSUSE-Originally derived from Slackware, sponsored by the company Novell .And now it has grown to a great extent.
   
10. Pardus-Developed in Turkey, as a product of the Pardus Project. It was named after the Anatolian Leopard.
11. PCLinuxOS-A derivative of Mandriva, grew from a group of packages into a popular, community-spawned desktop distribution.
12. Red Hat Enterprise Linux-Which is a derivative of Fedora maintained and commercially supported by Red Hat.
13. Slackware-One of the first Linux distributions, founded in 1993.This was created by the famous Patrick Volkerding
    
14. Ubuntu-A popular desktop distribution derived from Debian, maintained by Canonical and its predicted that it will be at the top of linux distributors in next few years.
    
15. Kubuntu-The KDE version of Ubuntu.

AT&T stands hard on antipiracy !!!

Things are changing fast in this digital world for good, The latest is here AT&T, one of the nation's largest Internet service providers, confirmed on Tuesday the company is working with the recording industry to combat illegal file sharing.
At a digital music conference in Nashville, Jim Cicconi, a senior executive for AT&T told the audience that the ISP has begun issuing takedown notices to people accused of pirating music by the Recording Industry Association of America, according to one music industry insider who was present.

In December, the RIAA, the lobbying group of the four largest recording companies, announced the group would no longer pursue an antipiracy strategy that focused on but rather would seek the help of broadband providers to stem the flow of pirated content. The RIAA said an undisclosed number of ISPs had agreed to cooperate but declined to name them. In January, CNET News reported that AT&T and Comcast were among the group.

Representatives of the RIAA and AT&T could not be reached late Tuesday evening for comment.

Cicconi told attendees of the Leadership Music Digital Summit that the notices are part of a "trial." AT&T wants to test customer reaction, he said. Whether AT&T included any warnings that repeat offenders would see their service suspended or terminated is still unclear. Music industry sources said AT&T told managers at the top labels the trial letter would include strong language about the consequences of illegal conduct, but would stop short of mentioning service interruptions.

This is important because the RIAA has said that repeat offenders faced the possibility of losing service at least temporarily--as part of the music industry's "graduated response" plan.

AT&T's test is likely the first stage in what promises to be a long and drawn out process of turning ISPs into copyright enforcers.

ISPs have traditionally tried to stay out of the fray between the big entertainment companies and those who download music illegally. They remain squeamish about the possibility of alienating customers, according to music industry sources. The ISPs also don't like plans that call for them to cut off access and chase away a source of income.

But it may atleast take another two years or more for talks to begin with ISP in ASIA which is said to be the largest consumer of piracy.

Source CNET.COM

AMD AM3 Unleashed

Its a great news for every AMD fan boys out there, Yes the AM3 socket for the latest and future AMD processor has been released and what else it supports DDR3 memory. ASUS and Gigabyte are the first to release this sockets with respective 790FX and 790GX chipset to blast the DRAGON platform of AMD. Ok whats about all this buzz actualy at pressent Phenom II processors are similar to AM2 AM2+ chips, expect for chip memory controller(CMC). Where the current phenom has to run at 1.8ghz but AM3 phenoms and future processors will run at 2.0ghz. Also the including of support for DDR3 makes it more special where it will clock 1333 as its stock minimum. Then have to mention about HT where it has leaped from 1.8Ghz to 2.0Ghz. Also models has been released which has 4MB or 6MB L3 cache which will add uo to the previous L1 and L2 to provide better performance.

Then the AM3 processors will be built at 45nm die which will minimize the power required and also heat generated by this silicon ,Early tests have also revealed that when at idle the phenoms are capable to run as minimum as less than 1000Mhz which is a very good improvement, but as usual all this buzz around socket will eventual cool down and the credit will be taken by Processors which use the technology in the new socket.

Conclusion: If you are looking for future proof then this is the technology you have to relay on from AMD, At present DDR3 memory are priced high and may not be affordable to all so go for an DDR2 for time being. The Phenom 940 are top end for now and should be choosen only if you like to overclock or else go for an 920 which is cheaper yet holds the punch. AM3 has initialy proved to be very success but time will tell us how it does for the rest of its age.

Create Autorun.inf File :

Autorun.inf file is commonly used in Pendrive and CD/DVD-ROM to customize them according to our requirement. This tool is very flexiable and helps us to automate certain tasks.This file is simple text file which can be edited with any basic text editors.

As in any other program or file Autorun file also has the header which starts with [Autorun] below this we can add different options as required the most commonly used options are...

1) Change Icon :
To change icon its piety simple eg:Icon=Autorun\Ryu.ico now what it does is sets Ryu.ico which is inside the folder Autorun as the drive icon, We can also specify icons which are as resource in .exe file for eg:Icon=Autorun\Ryu.exe,0 or icon=\Autorun\fileabcd.dll,5

2) Autoplay Option :
To open an program we use OPEN option eg:Open=RunRyu.exe now what it does is that opens up the Ryurun.exe file automatically or when double clicked, we also use action=Runs the program now by doing this we have added the text to XP's autoplay dialog box.(May not work for pendrive so use shell option shown below.)
Now for the advanced customization have you ever thought how cool it would be if we can add some thing to Context Menu of our drive so that its easy to run an task or program just by clicking them from outside the drive without even entering your drive.

3) Context Menu :
For that we will use shell option Eg:shell\Run=Run program 1 this will display Run program 1 on context menu what we have done is called shell and assigned a name(Run)and gave an display name(Run program 1), but windows will not know what to do when pressed so we will use command attribute Eg:shell\Run\command=P1.exe this will run the P1.exe program when clicked,note that Run which is the name we created remains unchanged.

4) Automation :
The shell option is very powerful we can use it to run any file as required eg:shellexecute=http://www.Ryusystems.com will open the site in default browser. another eg: shell\readme = Read Me
shell\readme\command = notepad readme.txt.

Now i think its time for you to try them on your own, and to mention we have covered only basic concepts but you can use them to perform extreme tasks.

Cleaning Your LCD monitor :

This is the last ages of CRT monitor very soon not more than next 2 years we surely will not be able to buy them after all we wonder who would still need an CRT monitor especial when there are lot of LCD manufactures coming to India and prices are dropping even as we talk, Now every one are moving towards flat screen LCD/TFT Monitors and TVs, but most of the owners do not realize that cleaning and LCD screen is as bathing a baby, the skin of an LCD monitor is as soft as that of an baby so here are some useful tips to take care of your LCD. It also applies for cleaning your Laptop,TFT or HDTV.

Items Required: Distilled Water,White vinegar or Isopropyl Alcohol,Microfiber cloth or similar.

Step 1: The first process is to switch off your monitor and wait at least for half an hour so that the screen is not hot, allow some time to cool down.

Step 2: In the meantime mix a little Distilled water with either Vinegar or Isopropyl Alcohol in an 50-50 ratio, if you are little cautious use 75-25 its all good.

Step 3: Now take an soft cloth and dip it in the mixture and now wipe the screen gently never put pressure on the screen or it may burn the pixel, Always follow a pattern eg;From left to right or right to left,or circular(square) motion by starting at the edge and eventually ending near to the center of the screen,or Top to bottom or bottom to top. If the dust is still there don't put pressure just repeat the process.

*The cloth that can be used are the one used for cleaning eyeglasses or old cotton handkerchief will also do the tip but see to it that its very soft and clean, Electronic wipe would be the best choice than any other.

Step 4: Clean the panel with same cloth don't use any other cream or liquid since it may find its way to your screen which is harmful.

Step5: Switch ON your monitor when all the excess liquids if any is fully cleaned.

Tips:

• Before cleaning with wet cloth you and try dry since most dust can be removed in this process itself if you still find any oil or dust then use the wet cloth.
  
  
• Never use paper even tissue or soft toilet papers has to be avoided since small wooden grains in paper may scratch the screen.
  
  
• Don't leave any liquid on the screen, remove all excess moisture as it may damage your screen and never use Toluene, Ethyl alcohol, Ammonia, Ethyl acid, Methyl chloride, acetone, using these will leave white patches on your LCD which may be permanent.
  
  
• Also see to it that you don't sprinkle/spray the water directly on the screen since excess liquid is not advisable.
  
  
• Another good habit is to check your user manual for cleaning procedure or even call them for help if you need.
  

Hope this will at least help you to be cautious when next time you clean your LCD monitor.

Assembling Gaming PC Under 50K

Do you have ever wondered how you can get a gaming PC that does not bite your pocket much but do hold the crush power to bring the monsters of ancient world to your living room. We do love that and here is a guide that may help if you are looking for best bang for your buck. Actually we recently assembled the following system which we think is very good for all gamers in India.

The first thing you have to see when it comes to gaming is Graphic card (GC) and RAM ofcource Processor do play important role. Graphic cards have evaulved lot in couple of years as the games did some year back, I found games (farcry) which brought even the finest GC to knees but now the wheels have come full circle, GDDR5 is the current standard and its must to see your card is supported as we searched for the solution we found "Palit Radeon HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition" is the best choice, ok fine fine lets go by order.

RYU-Mini Gaming Rig:

Components	Best Pick	Specification	Price in Rs*
MotherBoard	Asus M3A78-T	AM2+ & AM2 Platform , 790GX/SB750 chipset , Express Gate , PCIe 2.0 support , Hybrid CrossFireX Support.		10000*
Processor(CPU)	AMD Phenom X4 9650	2300Mhz , 3600Mhz system bus speed , L1 128KBx4 L2 512KBx2 L3 2MB , HT 3.0.	7500*
Memory(RAM)	Transent/Kingston 2x2GB.	DDR II, 800Mhz, 5-5-5 Latency.	3500*
Storage (HDD)	Seagate 500GB	SATA II, 32MB cache.		3000*
Graphic Card	Palit HD 4870 Sonic Dual Edition	PCI-E 2.0, 512MB GDDR5, Sonic Memory clock 750 MHz, DX 10.1 Shader Model 4.1 support.	9750*
Monitor	Dell UltraSharp 1909W	TN Panel, 1440x900 at 60Hz, 1000:1 Contrast Ratio, Analog DVI-D with HDCP.	8700*
PSU (SMPS)	Coolmaster eXtreme Power Plus	600W, Dual+12V outputs, 120mm fan, Efficiency 70+%.		4200*
Total				46650*

Advantages of this RIG is that we used the best Motherboard which is future proof leastwise for the next 36 months also our graphic card is the best in its category and if you are crazy then pair it in crossfire mode and see the difference (PSU used above support only one such card either you have to use converter or choose another PSU), also about the RAM you may ask why not DDR3 search our blog on DDR3 for answer. The Phenom processor which we used is very good we found no application fully using all four cores in out test 60% of applications did not even cross 3 cores the applications we used are NERO,3Ds Max to render 30sec of 800x600 animation with elements and V-ray, WinRar to compress 1GB data, Video encoding with DivX 6.8. Hope this will at least set your mind how to approach before getting your hands dirty in addictive games.

* Let me tell you these price may not be the one that you get in street, you may get even cheaper or some time little more it depends up on various other factors, but these are the approximate price that you will end up. And as always if you wish to contact us or have any doubt do mail us we are happy to help you.