Anti-virus software is software that you install on your computer so that you can be alerted when you have a virus. Anti-virus software will help to keep your computer safe against worms, viruses, Trojan horses, and other uninvited programs.

The software can also help you clean your computer if you should happen to have a virus. The important thing to remember about anti-virus software is that you make sure to update it often so that you get the latest computer virus definitions installed into the software program. There is no point in having the anti-virus software if you’re not going to update it. You’ll be able to get updates from the vendor that sold you the anti-virus software, such as Norton.

Many times you may already have anti-virus software on your computer in which case you be sure to uninstall it before installing your new software. To find out if you have virus software check under your Start menu to see if you one listed, such as McAfee or Norton. Keep in mind that just because you have anti-virus software already installed on your computer that it (1) might not be working, and (2) hasn’t been updated for a long time.

Once you’ve installed anti-virus software on your computer you’re going to want to make sure that you use it correctly. Make sure that the settings in your computer automatically turn the anti-virus software on when you boot up your computer. You always want to be protected. If you’re downloading something off the Internet your anti-virus software will let you know if there is a problem.

You can also use the anti-virus software to specifically scan any downloads, or files, that that have been sent to you via e-mail. If you are alerted that you have a virus your software will guide you with the right steps to removing it. Make sure that you don’t continue to use your computer until the virus, or worm that you have, is removed. You don’t want to send e-mail to friends and help in the spreading of the virus.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at http://www.anti-virus-software-guide.com

If you have Norton Anti Virus, do you have reason to have 100% peace of mind? I know I worry constantly about computer viruses. I know too many people and more than one company who have lost one or more computers to a bad and incurable virus. I worried so much, in fact, that I have done a great deal of research on anti virus software, how it works, and whether or not the major providers like Norton Anti Virus give me reason to rest easy when it comes to the threat of viruses to my hard drive and privacy.

What is important when you talk about anti virus software, whether it be a big company like Norton Anti Virus or not, is for you to know how they work. As you likely are aware, computer viruses can come from any number of places, but are usually brought into your computer via either an email attachment or going to a website with an infected server. Either way, getting a virus on your computer can spell doom for your hard drive. So how does the software from companies like Norton Anti Virus work? You may not be quite so confident in your computer’s safety once you find out. Bare in mind, though, that currently this is the best way we have of combating viruses.

For example, Norton Anti Virus, which is owned by Symantec, is widely considered to be the best anti virus software available for home users. Basically, the software is working off of a list of known viruses and it is watching for them while you work on your computer. It scans each and every file that you download, intentionally or not, and then checks it against a list of viruses. If it finds one, it goes to work repairing the file, quarantining the file, or deleting it. However, even with Norton Anti Virus, you are not 100% safe from virus infestation. You see, the list of viruses the company has is based on ones they find on their own, or users like you send them after they have been infected. So, there is always a chance that you will get a virus and be the first one to be infected by it. You will have no idea about the virus until something is wrong with your computer and you report it to Norton Anti Virus. They will then, likely, have you send them the suspected file so they The truth is that Norton Anti Virus is not perfect, in fact no anti virus software is.

Because of the constantly changing nature of viruses and the creativity of those who make them, there will likely never be a best answer to the problem. No, you can not rest with 100% peace just because you have Norton Anti Virus on your computer with all of the updates. That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it, just that you still need to be careful. Be aware of what files you are downloading, what attachments you are opening, and even from whom emails you look at are sent. Keep your anti virus software up to date and use precautions and you will give yourself the best chance of surviving the virus storm on the internet.

If you would like to find more of my personal articles on computer software please check out my technology website!

With the pace at which the Internet is growing, the need for anti virus software is increasing. Anti virus software is crucial for anyone that owns a computer, whether it is used for professional purposes, personal reasons, or both. Not having the proper anti virus software, can find people in a serious bind within a relatively short time.

Today’s anti virus software frequently comes bundled with a variety of additional programs that are truly beneficial to the computer operator. Not only are anti virus software designers creating programs to fend off those nasty worms, Trojans, and viruses that threaten harm to your computer, but they also provide PC users with firewalls and spyware removal tools for added protection.

Spyware can be just as nasty as a virus as it can sometimes download its own updates and clog a computer up so that it runs ineffectively. The more malicious versions of spyware can steel personal information and can fill your mailbox up with nasty spam advertisements. Further, malware can really mess things up by making your computer run slowly and forcing it to crash. Thus, anti virus software is definitely needed if you are a computer owner with Internet access.

Bear in mind that individuals that have a high-speed connection and do not have anti-virus software installed on their computer, run a higher risk of getting a virus than those individuals that access the Internet through a dialup connection. The reason is that virus updates can be downloaded faster on a computer with a high-speed connection. Nevertheless, high-speed or not, you’d best get anti virus software protection as fast as you possibly can.

Anti virus software can be purchased with little expense and can save you significant hassles later. In fact, some viruses are known to completely destroy computers and some are so malicious that their removal is next to impossible without. What’s more, viruses can cost you a bundle when you are forced to pay for unexpected and unwarranted computer repairs.

Today, there is absolutely no excuse for not having some form of anti virus software installed on your PC. In fact, many free versions of anti-virus software are available to download and install. Simply visit any search engine and look for anti-virus software. Within moments you will find hundreds of listings that will provide you access to various applications. Simply follow the instructions for downloading and you will be protecting your computer in no time.

Finally, no matter what anti-virus software you obtain, you must make sure that you update it regularly. If you fail to do so, you run the risk of getting the latest viruses on the net. Therefore, regular, weekly updates are essential to keeping your computer virus free. Thus, with regular maintenance and anti-virus software, you can keep your computer successfully protected and save yourself time, money, and hassles.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Anti Virus
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Introduction

Designing a disaster recovery system requires planning and consideration of the available options that will best fit your company’s needs, SLA and budget. This guide will help you design an Exchange Disaster Recovery plan in conjunction with SANRAD Replication. The guide assumes that you have basic knowledge of SANRAD V-Switch and Exchange Administration.

Exchange Disaster Recovery Planning

This section discusses both general and Exchange specific considerations that need to be addressed when designing a disaster recovery solution combining SANRAD replication and Microsoft Exchange Server.

General Considerations

SANRAD replication solution allows for flexibility with Exchange Disaster Recovery design.

The most influential factors affecting design consideration are:

• Budget limitations

• Recovery Time Objective (RTO) requirements (the time until the data is back online)

• Recovery Point Objective (RPO) requirements (the amount of data that can be lost)

• Network bandwidth between the local site and remote site

• Replication method: Synchronous versus Asynchronous

• Replication frequency (only for Asynchronous replication)

• Initial volume synchronization

RTO (Recovery Time Objective)

• With high level RTO, duplicate hardware is required to allow quick recovery making the solution more costly.

RPO (Recovery Point Objective)

RPO requirements are best defined by the amount of data that the company is willing to lose.

• High level RPO requires more bandwidth for both Synchronous and Asynchronous replication.

• Low level RPO requires less frequent replication and increases the risk of losing more data.

Network Bandwidth between the Local and Remote sites

Bandwidth between the sites is generally the most crucial factor affecting the replication component of a Disaster Recovery solution.

• T1 (1.5Mb) links impose less frequent data replication and the use of asynchronous replication methods.

• T3 (45Mb) links or a 1Gb links allow frequent replication and the flexibility to choose between synchronous replication or asynchronous replication methods.

Replication method

When considering which replication method to choose it is important to remember:

• In Synchronous Replication the I/O commands are written to the local disk and to the remote volume at the same time. Every IO command requires an acknowledgment from both the local and remote sites before the next command.Consequently, synchronous replication is best deployed with a high bandwidth connection in order to allow the remote acknowledgment to arrive back to the local site as fast as possible and the replication can run faster.

• In Asynchronous Replication the I/O commands are written to the local volume and local journal volume which in turn is replicated periodically to the remote volume as periodically defined by the user. Consequently asynchronous replication can work well with lower bandwidth (minimum recommended for Exchange replication is 1.5 Mb) since both acknowledgements are local (from the primary volume and the journal volume) and thus the replication is fast by default.

• For Asynchronous replication, you must decide the data replication frequency. There are three factors that must be considered:

1. The size of the network bandwidth between the sites.

2. The amount of data changes that need to replicate each time. For example, large amounts of data changes take longer to replicate using T1 links.

3. The RPO requirements.

Initial Volume Synchronization

SANRAD replication solution can be used to protect existing production Exchange data. SANRAD Disaster Recovery solution supports both online and offline synchronization. When using SANRAD replication with existing Exchange data, an Initial synchronization of the Exchange volumes on the local site to the remote site must be performed. The initial volume sync method depends on:

• The size of the volumes needed to be synchronized.

• The network bandwidth between the sites. For example, the bigger the volume size, the longer it will take to synchronize over a T1 link.

Online synchronization starts immediately when replication is started and uses the same network link that will be used during the replication.

Offline synchronization is a manual process where SANRAD replication prepares the volumes on the primary site and the user must copy the data to the remote site. It is the user’s responsibility to make sure the volumes on the remote site are synchronized.

Exchange Considerations

Any Exchange Disaster Recovery planning should (at the very least) consider the following requirements:

• Quick access to the most recent copy of the Exchange database and the transaction logs. In a disaster situation SANRAD replication provides fast access to the replicated data on the remote site.

• The Exchange database and its related transaction logs must be replicated together to the remote site. SANRAD replication uses consistency groups to ensure simultaneous replication of all volumes assigned to a consistency group.

• Exchange is integrated into Active Directory. An Active Directory domain controller (running Global Catalog) which is part of the same Active Directory domain that exists in the primary site, must exist in the remote site as well (or at least the capability to rebuild one and reconnect it to the existing Active Directory Domain).

• The most up to date replicated copy of the Windows backup set (which includes system state) to expedite Exchange Server recovery.

SANRAD is a leader in IP Storage Networks enabling organizations to effectively Access, Share & Manage Stored Data across Standard Ethernet Environments.

SANRAD delivers simplified networked storage with excellent price/performance by coupling open IP storage connectivity with comprehensive network-based data management using IP Storage Area Networks (IP-SANs).

With SANRAD, organizations of all sizes can leverage the benefits of networked storage to link employees and clients with stored data for full storage availability, flexible and scalable storage using an economical Ethernet (IP/SCSI) network.

For more information click http://www.sanrad.com/objects/support/Library
%5CExchangeDisasterRecoverySANRADPlanningGuide-APP-009-01.pdf

Windows is Your Friend!

This is actually a feature built in to all versions of Windows, a free gift from Microsoft. The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is there to help you. Sometimes people work too hard, and they need a break from the computer. Windows automatically senses this (although sometimes it is fooled by excessive cursing and/or pounding on the keyboard), and forces you to take a break by displaying the BSOD.

Most people find that if they shut down the computer, consume a mind-altering substance, and then resume working, things work pretty much better for the rest of the day. However, if you find that the BSOD is popping up even when you’re NOT over-worked or over-stressed, there may be a hardware and/or software issue involved.

What Causes the Blue Screen of Death?

Sometimes bad or flaky memory (RAM memory, not your hard drive) can cause seemingly random system crashes. If you have just the right combination of programs open and system memory in use, and your computer tries to access a "bad spot" on a RAM chip, the results can be unpredictable. Or they can be the Blue Screen of Death. You can try replacing your RAM sticks one at a time to see if the problem goes away. This involves opening up the system unit and looking at scary wires and stuff, so for some people just living with the problem may be a workable option.

More likely, you have a software problem. Some programs just don’t get along… they trample on each other’s memory spaces and confusion (or the BSOD) results. And it seems that Windows just gets old and cranky the longer you have it installed. You may solve the problem by re-installing the Windows operating system and/or your software packages. If the problem seems to be limited to one particular program, try re-installing just that one first.

Time For a New Computer?

And sometimes, bad things just happen to good computers. If your computer is more than three years old, it may be functionally obsolete. Read How to Buy a Computer article for help in determining if a new PC is the right solution for you.

BOB RANKIN… is a tech writer and computer programmer who enjoys exploring the Internet and sharing the fruit of his experience with others. His work has appeared in ComputerWorld, NetGuide, and NY Newsday. Bob is publisher of the Internet TOURBUS newsletter, author of several computer books, and creator of the http://LowfatLinux.com website. Visit Bob Rankin’s website for more helpful articles and free tech support.

Anti-Virus on the Cheap

For some odd reason, I have this image of George Foreman in my mind, saying "I’m not gonna pay a lotta money for this virus scanner!" But I have good news for you… I just saved a load of money on my, oh wait… wrong commercial. There *are* some excellent free virus scanners, and some can even be run online.

I recommend Trend Micro’s Housecall for starters, which will scan your computer for viruses directly from the web. They also offer a free online spyware scanner. This site is trustworthy and uses an ActiveX applet to do the scanning. If you have trouble starting the scan, your security settings may be too high. Follow the instructions on the site to modify your settings and things should work fine.

Use an Offline Virus Scanner

For maximum protection, I recommend that you also install a good anti-virus program on your computer, which will scan your system at startup and continuously thereafter. McAfee virus protection is now included with AOL membership, and Road Runner offers their users the EZ-Armor package at no charge. If your ISP isn’t offering any freebies, check out the free AVG package from Grisoft at http://free.grisoft.com

Want to learn more about viruses and spyware? Read my article How Can I Avoid Computer Viruses?

BOB RANKIN… is a tech writer and computer programmer who enjoys exploring the Internet and sharing the fruit of his experience with others. His work has appeared in ComputerWorld, NetGuide, and NY Newsday. Bob is publisher of the Internet TOURBUS newsletter, author of several computer books, and creator of the http://LowfatLinux.com website. Visit Bob Rankin’s website for more helpful articles and free tech support.

Everything you should know about computers, if you are not a master of high technologies, is that the most important tool should simply work! That for it needs special ads and helpers, as the processes it performs are dynamic and some parts of it could be really vulnerable at too much work attacks. Too much work for a computer means too many tasks in no time, too many fraternized devices connected to it, too many programs installed and un-installed etc.

What might seem simple too you, in our age of technological “speech”, could be a real challenge for your machine. So, do not leave it alone in its fight against weakness. What is weakness for a computer?

Well, the essence of its activity is totally based on the operating system and, as we all know, the most popular operating system of all the times is Windows. Windows operating system, though, is not popular for its weak parts and that for you should get informed.

Now we are talking about windows registry, this is the mysterious windows internal database, the warehouse of all precious data, your computer cannot miss. What happens when the very drawer containing your entire computer’s information faces disorders caused by viruses or little parts of useless information left here from the recent un-installations?

In the last minutes of an ordinary hurry, you try to open an absolutely needed program and see that the screen betrays you and shows you an error sign! The worst of all is the ultimate crash of your computer, probably caused by a problem occurred in the registry area.

In the above mentioned cases, the first thought that comes to user’s mind is to take care of the PC, this is generally understood, and the next question is HOW?

You definitely need an aid, a potion or a magic stick to prevent the wrath of a crash, or simply a program able to clean up in time your registry. First of all this kind of program will identify the problem and then it will repair it.

What is also important in this kind of procedures is the back up. You see, by cleaning up your registry, there are not excluded the possibilities of modification of data, so that useful information can be unrecognizably changed. This is why you need a registry tool with back up.

Other matters to be taken into consideration when choosing a registry tool, is the possibility to clean each infected item identified by this kind of program, or to save time by repairing them all at once.

In conclusion, you should cover your friendly-faced computer with care, so that it will provide you the sense of safety, protection, speed and success!

Each of the features put in discussion could perfectly describe the Registry Mechanic 5.0. You could try it keeping in mind that in our days everybody needs a Mechanic!

Ted Peterson writes for Adolix. You can visit http://www.coredownload.com and check la the latest addition to our archive. We have over 30.000 products like registry tools, dvd rippers and computer optimization utilities.

It was inevitable with the birth of the Internet that pornography would wind its way into this new digital territory. With all of the value provided by online information and communication technologies, these advancements have nonetheless also become inextricably linked with developments in pornography distribution. Fortunately, new technology brings not only new outlets for pornography, but also new ways to protect against it.

There are several sources of unwanted pornography. The web is the most obvious one, but adult content also makes its way on to external drives (floppy, CD-ROM, DVD and flash), into email attachments and on to files that may be shared in a networked environment. The right software can protect you across all of these distribution avenues.

The first factor to evaluate when choosing protection software is how the software does its job. Many products designed to protect against pornography rely on databases of known pornographic web sites. Unfortunately, the speed of life on the Internet means that web sites are added and edited around the clock, and databases quickly grow outdated. The best software solutions use technology that dynamically blocks offensive images before they are displayed and viewed. This type of technology, unlike database-driven software, means that even new threats are recognized and blocked before they hit your screen.

Monitoring computer usage goes hand in hand with detecting pornography on the PC. Strong protection software uses two monitoring weapons: a visible deterrent that lets users know they are being monitored, and a reporting function that keeps detailed records of what, when and where pornography is viewed. Sometimes the visible deterrent is enough to ward of inappropriate behavior. When it’s not, automated record-keeping tracks behavior so that you can handle it at your own discretion.

Flexibility also impacts the effectiveness of a software solution, which means the software you select should be customizable. The right level of protection depends on the audience, and you need to be able to set the appropriate controls accordingly. This includes both setting sensitivity levels and defining your own known safe (white) and unsafe (black) web sites.

The last two key components in protection software are where it works and how much it costs. The where is important because, as the world moves to laptops, a server-based solution is no solution at all. Protection must extend to stand-alone PCs or mobile computers (when not connected to a network). Wherever the user goes, the software shield against pornography should follow.

Cost can be either a one-time fee or an ongoing subscription. Are you are willing to shell out dollars on a monthly or annual basis, or would you rather spend money once and avoid ongoing payments? Most filtering protection software products require ongoing payments via a monthly or annual fee, but others that are installed on home computers or business networks are obtained through a one-time license fee. If you prefer to “buy” a solution rather than “rent” it at an ongoing cost, look for one that offers that option.

There are a lot of products on the market designed to protect against pornography. Choosing the right one for your home, office or organization will make a critical difference in the quality of your digital life. Evaluate your options and select software that blocks offensive images at the point of display, includes monitoring capabilities and meets the specific needs of your environment. These key elements will steer you toward the highest quality solution for improved online security and productivity.

Nate Baslow enjoys writing about Internet security topics, and recommends Guardware products to block pornography.

Installing an application is an easy task for most users. But what about uninstalling? Do you know how to completely remove an application from your system? Did you know that most applications leave permanent files or registry entries on your system? In order to keep your system clean, you need to properly install and uninstall applications. Correctly uninstalling an application can ensure that it will not cause you any problems in the future. The right way to uninstall software is definitely not the delete key. And it’s not always the familiar Add/Remove Programs dialog. In many cases, you need to follow a series of steps in order to completely remove a program from your system.

Many applications tend to leave permanent files laying around on your hard disk. Your system does not need these files and so, apart from wasting space, sometimes they may adversely affect the performance of your system (e.g. an older version of a library may cause compatibility issues with newer applications). On the other hand, there are also programs that leave useless registry entries on your Windows registry that can cause similar problems. Using the following Windows tools, however, will certainly help you in keeping your system cleaner and in better shape!

Add/Remove Programs: This is the familiar application you can find on your Control Panel. It is (obviously) the most important tool that you use to remove an application. It is primarily intended for applications that don’t offer an Uninstall program on their own as we’ll see below. Most of the times however, it can be safely used to uninstall these applications as well, since their own uninstall program will be started by the Add/Remove Programs dialog. It can be found at Start - Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs

Uninstall Software: Many software applications offer their own uninstall program. It can usually be found inside the application folder on the start menu, just go to Start - Program X - Uninstall. Just because they exist, these uninstall programs doesn’t mean the rid you of all the old and unnecessary files the application might leave behind or any of the registry entries.

Disk Cleanup: Although you will probably not see amazing gains in terms of speed and storage space, Disk Cleanup can help rid your PC of all kinds of useless files, temporary files or shortcuts. It can be found at Start - Programs - Accessories - Systems Tools - Disk Clean Up.

Program Files: It is often the case that removed applications don’t delete the folders where their executable or other files used to live. Bear in mind, that this is not the only place an application may have "forgotten" some of it’s files. If it was, things would be so much easier, but unfortunately many applications tend to place files inside the windows/system or other system directories and just leave them there. Still, it’s a good idea to delete the empty folders you may find in the Program Files directory, which can be found at Start - My Computer - C: - Program Files.

Registry Editor: You can use your registry editor to search for entries created by an application you have decided to uninstall. Applications also hold uninstall information in the registry, so you should start searching and deleting registry entries only AFTER you have actually uninstalled the application. The registry editor does not exist anywhere in the start menu. You have to run it yourself. Just go to Start - Run and enter "regedit.exe" in the option box.

Alternatively, you can also use a registry cleaner, which is a software program specifically designed for cleaning up your registry.

No need to clean up your PC manually. Check out the Best Registry Cleaners out there!

While running Windows and common applications, your computer is also silently operating a vast number of tasks, in the background and behind the scenes. These "invisible" tasks or processes often reduce the processing power of your computer consuming large amounts of memory. Booting time becomes longer and performance degrades to the point where your computer becomes extremely sluggish. Other background processes pose a direct security threat that will disrupt or cause critical damage to your system. Reports show that these harmful background processes like spyware, viruses and worms infect 90% of computers with an internet connection.

Based on years of research, the award-winning WinTasks 5 Professional is now one of the most popular tools in the war against malicious software, and the perfect complement to your firewall and anti-virus software. Whether you are new to Windows, a business professional, or a systems administrator, you can rely on WinTasks to quickly improve your computer’s security and speed.

WinTasks 5.0 Professional provides you with a wealth of information and a powerful set of tools that will help you enhance the protection against system security threats while dramatically increasing computer performance. WinTasks 5.0 Professional gives you detailed information about each and every process that is running. It provides you with the tools to terminate and eliminate any program that may disrupt, damage, slowdown or crash your system..

WinTasks 5.0 Benefits:

- Stop ALL security threats to your PC! - Completely protect your privacy and security! - Locate and stop all unwanted processes dead in their tracks! - Increase the speed of your computer! - Enjoy the highest performance and stability of your PC! - Get up and running quickly with WinTasks! Software so friendly, anyone can use it! - Supports Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

You can download from:
http://www.downloadsplaza.com/pd-WinTasks-5-Professional.html
http://www.downloadsplaza.com/pd-Spyware-Doctor.html