Saturday, April 14, 2007

Ransom Virus

These companies have developed many programs which are very effective in helping those people who use those programs to work. Many of the offices are dependent on such soft wares. Normally these soft wares are developed with the intention of creating a program which can be helpful for people to work by improving the efficiency. But human mind is a genius and when people start using their minds towards the negative side, the problem becomes serious. Ransom Virus is one such problem. The viruses are actually those programs which are created by the people to create problems in the use of computers. Virus may be of many different types. Some of the viruses are so strong that the whole computer system may crash if any such virus enters your system. Some of them simply effect by reducing the speed of your system. Ransom virus is a virus which creates a lot of trouble for those in whose computer this virus enters.

Ransom virus is usually sent by along with a spam e-mails. Till now this virus has been detected in Russia most commonly. The e-mail which actually is a spam is sent to the people with a subject line which is very interesting and due to this people may open the e-mail. Now if the e-mail is opened the ransom virus will enter your computer system. Ransom virus is attached to such e-mails which have higher open rate. The statement in the subject line may be an attractive job offer or something like that which forces the people to open rate e-mail. In this way ransom virus enters your computer.

It is very important that you protect your computer from ransom virus. The ransom virus will affect the performance of your system. It will not let your computer to work at its normal pace. Its accuracy and efficiency may also be affected. Protecting your computer from ransom virus is very important. There are many small steps you should take to protect your system form ransom virus. You must install the virus firewalls to protect it from ransom virus. Other such techniques as suggested by the software experts should also be used to protect the computer from ransom virus. You must also be choosy about the e-mails you open. The spam e-mails are the major tool used by the people to spread viruses like ransom virus. Normally the open rate of the spam e-mails is not very high. People do not open spam e-mails as every one is tired of receiving lots of such e-mails on daily basis. To avoid getting ransom virus or any other virus you must be careful about the spam e-mails.

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Search Information Like Professionals Do - Use File Masks And Search Syntax

Do you know what file mask is? If you are a computer specialist, I'm sure you do and you know a lot of ways how you can benefit from this. But if you are not a computer guru, I'll tell you few secrets, that will really help you to make any search much more effective.

First, let's think about what the mask looks like and why we need it. Assume, you are looking for file "file2356.doc", I guess, you have not remembered the name, but you might remember some part of the file name, for instance that it starts with "file...", so if you search for this file over the local disk, then you can specify the file mask: "file*", telling that the file name started with "file" word.

There are some other characters which will help you to describe file name or text you are searching for. But please, make sure that this kind of mask is really supported by the system you are using.

For instance, it Windows to search for file you can use the following characters to explain your search request. "*" character is for some string of chars, it's not limited in lengths. So, if you are using a*.* mask, you will find a.txt, ab.txt, and abc.txt, but you will not find the file babc.txt. What if you need to find the file with name that looks like "...a..."? Use the "*" characters instead of "...", so the resulted must will be *a*.*

Let's discuss some other tricks. If you don't remember only one character in the file name (it's rare, but it's possible), you can replace this character with ? symbol. For instance, a?b.txt will find "abb.txt", "acb.txt".

Another important character is ";", use it to combine two masks, for instance, if you need to files that start with "Sam" or "Mary", then you should use this mask: "sam*;mary*". It's a great time saver.

What we have talked about above are masks that you can use in Windows when searching files. Most file search programs suggest the same masks syntax, but there still may be some specific. Also, there are a lot of non-Windows related search tasks.

In google, you will be using "+" and "-" symbols, to include and exclude word from the search, but you will not be able to specify the word mask.

For popular forum engines also have a built-in search capability, which allows to search forums archive for a certain keywords. For instance, mask may looks like +test*, and mask syntax depends on the engine rules.

It's a good idea to check syntax rules for certain search engine, understanding the search syntax is great way to make your search really time-efficient, so invest few minutes in learning search engine rules and applying them to your search practice.

Where to find the description of rules that this particular search engine use? Most forum engines will provide you with a link to search syntax, as for Windows then it's good idea to check Windows help and search for file masks and file searching information.

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Sunday, April 08, 2007

Club Membership Software with Secure Database

A database is integral in an organization or club as this is where all information of the members are stored. But the problem with a typical database is it does not offer you guarantee of security and safety of the stored information. When the database is lost, it would be hard (sometimes is impossible) to retrieve or restore all information. If you are running a club organization, it is essential that you keep it with membership software. This is a tool which most organizations and clubs employ because of the total efficiency and accuracy of maintaining memberships and their accounts.

It features all possible modules required for running a club organization. It acts as the club secretary without the actual person in the works. It makes it extremely easy for you to track and keep connected with the. With this membership software, you will boost a robust relationship with all your members.

A database of club membership software will store the following details:

- Surname


- First name


- Birthday


- Address (with postal code)


- Email addresses


- Internet or website address


- Occupation title


- Join and renewal dates


- Membership number


- Notes


- Picture (optional but most software ask for it)


- Searches and lookups


- Contact telephone numbers (include personal, home, office, mobile, and fax)


- Membership fee payment

The software will store all of the information in one database. It is secured so the database and its contents would not get easily lost. An advantage of using a database with the membership software is members retrieve their information in cases where they forgot. The most common requested of retrieving information is the password. With the system, this is easily provided by restoring the lost password.

The club membership software will also allow you to sort or search all your members. In most cases, one of more of the following details is needed for you to do this:

- Surname


- Post code


- Membership type


- Membership renewal dates


- Membership number

The software will allow you to print a list of the members which is typically provided in a variety of formats. You can have it printed in an HTML version and is available straight from the browser. You can also import the database and arrange it into application programs such as excel and word.

The membership software also features a module which allows you to setup a default email. This is particularly needed when there are newsletters, announcements that you have to make. You can also include attachment and sending the email is simultaneous so you do not have to do it manually.

Membership software could work on almost all operating systems so you only need to purchase it and let it run on your browser. Most of the company offering this software makes a deal by allowing you to download free of charge their sample software wherein you can use it in 30 days at the most.

You can test the software if it works for your club organization well. Once you have been satisfied with the program, you have the option to purchase the full version which has the strengthened feature of the sample membership software.

Where to find club membership software

Membership software programs are available in wide varieties offering different features and versions through online. In order for you to choose the best one for your club, take time to investigate and never fall for the first product which attracts your fancy.

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

How to Design DVD Menus Like a Pro

You have created a brilliant video. You have utilized a insightful combination of images, graphics, and sound to truly convey your message to the public. Now it would be nice if they could see it. Out of the many ways to distribute your video, maybe you have chosen DVD. Full Resolution video and nonlinear interactivity make DVD-video a wonderful distribution choice.

If it is executed properly, that is.

One of the major issues with creating graphics for DVD menus, much like creating graphics for within your video, is that they will be translated to NTSC video. This translation is the biggest problem I see when reviewing amateur DVD menus.

The most confusing issue is pixel size. Computer monitors use square pixels. Television monitors, on the other hand, use rectangular pixels. If not handled properly, your final menu may become distorted. You should start with a 720x540 size to design your menu images and then resample the menu to 720x480 when you are ready to take your final product to DVD.

Photoshop Tip: Photoshop CS has a rectangular pixel setting in the pixel aspect ratio selection on the Image pull-down menu. Use this setting and you can keep your size at 720x480.

Another issue arises from safe title. I am sure we all know that, unlike computer applications, video displays cut off a percentage of the edge of the screen. Menu text should always be at lease 10 percent from the edge, all critical elements should be at lease 5 percent from the edge, and the background should extend all the way to the edge. This assures nothing will be cut off when viewed on all television monitors.

Photoshop Tip: When you create a new file in Photoshop CS, you can choose the "NTSC DV with guides" setting. This will provide you with the action safe and title safe guides.

Interlacing can also create problems. Because a video image uses two interlaced fields to create one frame, a distinctive "jittering" effect can be created by using extremely thin horizontal colors. This is particularly important when choosing your text. As a rule, be sure that the horizontal bars in your text are more than one pixel tall. Also, watch the contrast between your text color and the background. "Jittering" or "crawling" can also be limited if you keep your highly saturated reds and blues to a minimum.

Photoshop Tip: Photoshop CS has a video filter called NTSC colors. Use this to limit the saturation on you reds and blues.

How a DVD menu is put together can be just as important as how it looks. A poorly executed DVD menu can be frustrating to understand and to navigate. This can result in a poor experience for the final user. Due to the size and resolution of NTSC video, there is a relatively small area with which to work. This means that it is not desirable to try to squeeze too many buttons on one page. If your buttons have text only representations, I would recommend no more than 12 buttons on a page. If your buttons include a thumbnail of the video, much like chapter menus often do, then 6 should be your maximum. If you have more chapter selections than this, consider splitting the choices between multiple pages with "next" and "previous" buttons. Be sure not to make your text too small, as it will be hard to read.

Next, you have to program the directional controls. Most programs offer an automatic directional programming by trying to figure out the closest button in any given direction. I do not recommend this approach as sometimes the closest button is not the best choice. It is easier for a user to navigate if you minimize the need to change the direction button they are using on their remote. This means that if your menu choices are displayed from top bottom make sure that by continually hitting the down button on the remote that your user visits each choice, even though one of the choices may be slightly to the left or right. This way the user does not have to move their finger to another button on the remote and try to follow a navigation maze to their choice. The bottom choice should then jump back to the top when the down button is selected again. In this manner the final user really only needs one button to go to any choice they desire. This should also apply if, in general, your menu choices have a right to left flow.

Chapter selection menus, as well as any other menu that has a numerical order, should be navigated in that order. This means that no matter how you have the menu buttons arranged on the page, when you navigate right, or down, from chapter one it should go to chapter two. If your chapters are arranged in a grid, navigating right from the end of a row should send you to the first choice in the next row. Sometimes this is not directionally logical, but it make your menu much easier to navigate.

Now, lets discuss auto-action buttons. These can add to your menu that brings it up to the next level of functionality. Suppose you are navigating right to left through your chapter selections and you reach the last selection on your page. The next chapter selection is the first button on the next menu. You can take the right navigation from the last selection on the previous page and link it to a hidden auto-action button that takes the user to the next menu page and the next chapter selection button. This way the user only needs one button to navigate down the entire list of chapter selections.

Finally, here is a little known fact about how menus are put together. There are actually two ways to make a menu work. The first and most common is with a sub-picture. A sub-picture allows for certain areas of your menu to be highlighted with up to three colors. This can result in certain areas to be lit up or change color, or you can make a very simple bitmap image appear next to the menu choice. However, there is a second way that menus can work. You will find this way in use on the Lord of the Rings DVDs or the Loony Tune Gold collection of DVDs. Both these titles utilize many hidden auto-action buttons. Each selection actually takes you to another menu entirely. In this way you can make almost any change happen when navigating through your choices. Whole pictures can change or you can make a very complex image move next to the menu choice. The main reason that I rarely recommend using this second approach is that the menus are incredibly slow. Moving down a list of chapter sections can border on tedious. Menus designed like this can look very flashy, but at what price?

By keeping these few things in mind, you should be able to create an attractive user friendly menu and look like a pro while doing it.

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

How To Rip A CD

MP3 is a common way of storing music on the computer. It is widely used because it compresses the audio file to a small size so you can ultimately squash more files on the hard-drive. If you are any sort of music fan, you probably would have heard of this already and both possess a CD Ripper and a Portable MP3 Player.

The reason MP3 is so popular is because you can organise your MP3 to play tracks for hours on end back to back. You do not need extra room in the house to store your CDs, you can rearrange songs and play them to your hearts content with the convenience of them being at your fingertips.

For those of us who have little knowledge in this arena, this article is written for you.

The reason MP3 has become popular is it's specific aspect of utilizing all the space you have available on your computers hard-drive.The average CD uses around 700mb of memory whereas the MP3 file uses close to 60mb of memory. This is a huge saving of space, almost a tenth of the memory of a CD.

The most common question people ask and the most vital one is 'Does it affect sound quality at all?'

The simple answer: There is no difference at all. Your album should ultimately sound exactly like your CD.

Having that answered the next big question asked about MP3 is 'How to rip a CD?'

Converting a CD into an MP3 file is relatively a simple task to do providing you have the right software. It literally comes down to the software you are using, but most of them on the market are simple to use and self explanatory.

Here are a number of steps you can take to rip your favourite album.

1. Purchase a good quality CD Ripper Software

2. Insert your CD into the CD-Rom drive - The software should start immediately and present you with the various tracks, the artist and the track listing.

3. You press the appropriate button and the software will 'extract' the disc and compress it into a smaller size and then save it with an MP3 file extension.

Voila...You are done!

Once you get the hang of it you can rip any CD.

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