RPC Worm Removal Guide

So you are one of the hundreds of thousands of people that did not update your computer in time.  No problem, just follow the instructions below to remove the worm from your system.

1. Some users that are infected with the worm have a hard time updating and removing the worm because the system automatically pops up a message informing the user that the machine is going to shut down in 60 seconds.  To stop your machine from shutting down one this message is displayed, simply go to the start menu and select run.  Then type shutdown -a in the text box and click the OK button.  This will stop the machine from shutting down.
2. Now the first step is to apply the security patch to your system.  We will remove the worm in step three but first it is important to update your system to make it secure.   To update your system, click the link below for your operating system and download the file to your computer.
    - Windows XP Users - Click Here
    - Windows 2000 Users - Click Here
    - Windows NT Users - Click Here
    - Other Versions of this patch - Click Here
   
   Now that you have the patch downloaded to your computer, simply run the file from the location that you saved it at.  Follow the on screen directions and keep clicking next.
3. Now that the security hole in your system is fixed, it is time to remove the worm.  To remove the worm, just download a special program that Symantec developed by clicking here.  Once you have downloaded the program, run it and click the start button to start the search for the worm in your system.   When it finds traces of the worm, allow the program to delete the files to rid your system of the worm.

That's it.  Now you should have a worm free system.

Remove Shutdown button from Logon Screen

To remove the shutdown button from the logon screen in WinXP and 2K, use regedit and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system
change the value of the dword 'shutdownwithoutlogon' to '0'. exit regedit.
that's it!

Broadband Internet Connection Tweaking

If you are reading this then you are looking to maximize your bandwidth by tweaking your computers registry and other settings. There are a few things you must know and understand prior to optimizing your connection.

•    Your goal in tweaking is to get 90% of your ISPs bandwidth caps, but remember that sometimes due to factors beyond your control such as routers, nodes, distance from your CO or congestion etc. you WILL NOT obtain that goal.

•     You need to know your ISPs caps in kilobits, for example I have Cox Internet Service and my caps are 3000/256. This information is usually found on your ISPs website.

•     You need to download CableNut from here, it is the most comprehensive internet connection tweaking app available.

•     You need to know what your maximum anticipated latency is by following the instructions here.

•     Once you know what your ISPs caps and your maximum anticipated latency are you just need to input it into the CableNut Live webpage. Our own Moderator here j79zlr made this page and it uses the proper formula for finding all you optimum registry settings.

•     You need to make sure your MTU (maximum transmission unit) is set properly since other settings are based on this, to check yours do a TCP/IP Analyzer Test. This will tell you what your current TCP/IP registry settings are. The proper MTU values are as follows, make sure yours is set accordingly: Cable – 1500, Normal DSL – 1500, PPPoE DSL – 1492, XP Native PPPoE DSL – 1480.

If you are using XP's native PPPoE setup and your MTU is not set to 1480 then copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry to correct it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NdisWan\Parameters\Protocols]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NdisWan\Parameters\Protocols\0]

"ProtocolType"=dword:00000800
"PPPProtocolType"=dword:00000021
"ProtocolMTU"=dword:000005c8

•     It is important to test your speed properly, the most accurate test is to download a large file from a fast reliable FTP server such as the following two:
     
OOL FTP TEST

AOL FTP TEST

RoadRunner FTP Test (Tampa FL)

Another fairly reliable test is from Speakeasy, it is a java based test and isn’t as accurate but if you do multiple tests from around the US it will give you a fairly accurate result. Here is a full list of their test sites:

New York City
Chicago
Washington D.C.
San Francisco
Denver
Dallas
Atlanta
Boston
Philadelphia
Los Angeles
Cleveland
Houston
Miami
Minneapolis/St. Paul
Seattle

Make sure you clear your browsers cache prior to each test.

For all the definitions to the values in CableNut read here.

The Windows 2000 White Papers – The official Microsoft papers on how TCP/IP works in Windows 2000 & XP.

Along with properly optimizing your TCP/IP & AFD values there are also a number of other things you can do to help maximize your bandwidth.

•     Setting your NIC (Ethernet card) duplex mode properly. Duplex modes are as follows:

Cable Modem – 10mb half duplex*
DSL – ISP dependant
If using a router set it to 100mb full duplex.
*OOL users should set their duplex mode to 100mb full duplex

To set yours do the following:

Open your control panel – select the network icon – right click on your LAN connection and select properties - under the ethernet adapter icon click the button configure - select the advanced tab - in the property box, the property name to be selected varies according to model of ethernet card. Examples are: Network Link Selection, Media Type, Connection Type, Duplex Mode, or any similarly named property which can have Values looking like Auto-Negotiation, or 10BT, or 10BaseT - in the Value box, select a value which either (a) explicitly says half-duplex or semi-duplex, or (b) at least does not say full-duplex [e.g. 10BaseT on its own is OK] – if there is a choice between 10 and 100 with half-duplex, choose the 10. Do not choose 10Base5, 10Base2, or AUI - click OK to exit the Adapter settings - click OK to exit the connection properties.

•     Setting your TCP/IP metric setting properly, it should be set to a value of 1. To do so do the following:

Open your control panel – select the network icon – right click on your LAN connection and select properties – highlight Internet Protocol TCP/IP and select properties – advanced – select the IP settings tab – in the interface metric box put the value 1 – ok.

•     Speeding up network browsing.

Open regedit and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RemoteComputer/NameSpace

Delete the key: {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF}

•     Faster webpage tweak by giving priority to DNS lookup.

Copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider]

"DnsPriority"=dword:00000001
"HostsPriority"=dword:00000001
"LocalPriority"=dword:00000001
"NetbtPriority"=dword:00000001

•     Forward buffer memory tweak, this controls how much RAM TCP/IP uses for storing packet data in the router packet queue.

Copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters]

"ForwardBufferMemory"=dword:00024a00
"NumForwardPackets"=dword:0000024a
"MaxForwardBufferMemory"=dword:00024a00
"MaxNumForwardPackets"=dword:0000024a

•     By default Windows 2K & XP cache everything in the DNS cache service, both correct and faulty DNS lookups. To increase performance by eliminating the caching of faulty DNS lookups, copy and paste the following and make it a .reg file and merge it into your regstry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dnscache\Parameters]

"NegativeCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NetFailureCacheTime"=dword:00000000
"NegativeSOACacheTime"=dword:00000000

•     Internet Explorer important settings:

Open Internet Explorer and select Tools - Internet Options - under the General tab in the Temporary Internet files section select the Settings button.      

Select "Every visit to the page" and set the amount of disk space to use: to no more than 80MB. Now select the Connections tab and select LAN Settings make sure EVERYTHING there is unchecked and select OK.

For IE6 ONLY - select the Privacy tab and choose Advanced check the box "Override automatic cookie handling" and for First-party Cookies - Accept, Third-party Cookies - Block and check "Always allow session cookies. Now NO MORE SPYWARE COOKIES.

Another thing to do about once a week if you modem is on 24/7 is to power cycle your modem, just completely disconnect power from it for at least 15 seconds and then power it back on.

Set your temporary internet files to 80mb and delete them regularly.

•     DSL users may want to check out the DSL Wiring Guide for possibly increasing your DSL speed.

DSL users also want to make sure they do not have any halogen lights close to their modems or 900mhz or 2.4ghz phones in the same room.

•     Always connect your modem via ethernet (Network Interface Card) instead of USB, ethernet is faster and much more stable. Also ALWAYS make sure you have the latest drivers for your NIC from the manufacturer NOT Microsoft, usually the drivers from the manufacturer have advanced settings that help optimize the performance of your NIC that the native Microsoft drivers don't have. If you are using a router always keep your firmware up to date.

•     Remove any uneeded protocols:

Open your control panel – right click your LAN connection - properties - general tab, uninstall all the protocols there that you do not need. If you are a stand alone pc then all you need Internet Protocol TCP/IP. If you are on a network then you will need them except QoS Packet Scheduler, it is never needed.

How to Remove unnecessary files from Windows 7 start menu

from: Youtube

ST-Ericsson & Nokia to deliver dual-core Windows Phones

Qualcomm’s reign on Windows Phone chipsets is soon to end, as ST-Ericsson have teamed up with Nokia to deliver new Windows Phones with their NovaThor platform on the inside. ST-Ericsson claim that their technology would help bring WP devices to new markets and price points.
As The Verge points out, the NovaThor line-up currently consist only of dual-core chipsets, which don’t exactly fit with the statement that they will be bringing it to new price points. The ST-Ericsson chips will no doubt have to go head-to-head with Qualcomm’s own Snapdragon series three chips that have already presented themselves in several Android devices, such as the HTC Sensation.

In case you’re wondering when you might be seeing dual-core Windows Phones, it’s still somewhat far down the track as rumors would have it. You’ll probably have to wait until Windows Phone “Apollo”, currently is slated for a 2012 release, which will support dual-cores with Windows Phone chassis 3. At this stage it looks like ST-Ericsson will be only delivering their chipsets to Nokia, so bad luck if you’re after one in your next HTC or Samsung device.

Oh, and for those people wondering, ST-Ericsson is a joint venture between STMicroelectronics and Ericsson; they are not the same company as phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson.

HP to use ARM-based processors for new server program

If you have a big server operation, it is very likely that the processors that are running things inside were made at Intel. Now HP, the world's number one server maker, has announced Project Moonshot, a new way to build server operations that will cut costs and energy use. The most interesting thing about Project Moonshot is that, at least at first, the servers will use ARM-designed Cortex processors created by Calxeda.
This is pretty huge for the server market as it represents the first time ARM-designed chips will be used inside an HP server machine. According to the press release, the first ARM-based servers will be used in the first part of 2012 via the HP Redstone program. It states, "It incorporates more than 2,800 servers in a single rack, reducing cabling, switching and the need for peripheral devices, and delivering a 97 percent reduction in complexity."

While HP said that future versions of this program will also incorporate Intel's Atom processors, the fact that ARM-based chips are now being used in servers is a huge break from the x86 design. It also shows that Intel had better watch out. ARM-based chips are already being used in a ton of smartphones and tablets. They could be used in desktop and notebook PCs now that Microsoft has plans to offer a version of Windows 8 specifically for ARM processors. All of this could cause both Intel and AMD to fight for market share in the server market.

 Credit to: John Callaham

Need an instant WiFi hotspot? Here's how

From time to time you might run into a situation where you have a computer connected to the internet (maybe via Ethernet), and you have a device you want to connect to the internet as well, except there is no WiFi hotspot to connect to. I was in a situation like this today, so I simply created a hotspot using a nifty app called Connectify.
As long as your computer is running Windows 7 and connected to the internet via some form, whether that is via WiFi, Ethernet or even a 3G/4G dongle, you can use Connectify to share that same connection through a new WiFi hotspot. It’s really simple to set-up and allows any device to connect via secure WPA2-PSK.
All you need to do is download the application here, install it while making sure your antivirus software doesn’t prohibit the installation (ESET Smart Security, for example, prohibited the service from starting), then run the app. From here you simply need to choose a hotspot name and password, choose the incoming network you want to share and through which WiFi card you have in your computer, then click start hotspot.

It’s even possible to share incoming WiFi out through the same WiFi card, which is awesome for increasing range for when your computer can connect to a WiFi network, but your phone may be out of range. The Pro version of Connectify also allows you to do more things than just create a hotspot, such as repeat the exact same network through your WiFi card rather than having to create a new SSID and password to use.
Performance using the software is also very good. I was able to almost max out my connection’s speeds on my phone, connected through Connectify, with only a slightly longer ping time; I could even watch YouTube on both my computer and phone at the same time if I wanted. It was certainly much faster than through 3G and without a small data cap.
Connectify is a very handy app, and it’s available for free with enough functionality to create instant WiFi hotspots whenever you might need to. Try it out whenever you find yourself annoyingly without WiFi.

credit to: Tim Schiesser