Insider charged with hacking California canal system

A former employee of a small California canal system has been charged with installing unauthorized software and damaging the computer used to divert water from the Sacramento River.

Michael Keehn, 61, former electrical supervisor with Tehama Colusa Canal Authority (TCAA) in Willows, California, faces 10 years in prison on charges that he "intentionally caused damage without authorization to a protected computer," according to Keehn's Nov. 15 indictment. He did this by installing unauthorized software on the TCAA's SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, the indictment states.

Keehn accessed the system on or about Aug. 15, according to the indictment. He is set to appear in federal court on Dec. 4 to face charges of computer fraud.

As an electrical supervisor with the authority, he was responsible for computer systems and is still listed as the contact for the organization's Web site.

With a staff of 16, the TCAA operates two canals -- the Tehama Colusa Canal and the Corning Canal -- that provide water for agriculture in central California near the city of Chico. Both systems are owned by the federal government.

The security of SCADA systems, which are used to control heavy machinery in industry, has become a hot-button topic in recent years. In September, video of an Idaho National Laboratory demonstration of a SCADA attack was aired on CNN, showing how a software bug could be exploited to destroy a power generator.

In the video, the turbine was gradually worn out and left shuddering and smoking. Sources familiar with the hack say this was done by turning the generator off and on while it was out of phase with the power grid, putting excessive stress on the turbine and causing its components to wear out.

It's not clear how much damage the attack on the Authority's SCADA system could have caused, but in 2000, a disgruntled former employee was able to access the SCADA system at Maroochy Water Services in Nambour, Australia, and spill raw sewage into waterways, hotel grounds and canals in the area. That man, Vitek Boden, was eventually sentenced to two years in prison.

Even if an attack were to knock the TCAA's SCADA system offline, the canals could continue to operate, said Robin Taylor, assistant U.S. attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, which is prosecuting the Keehn case. "When the computer doesn't work they have to go to manual operation," she said.

The intrusion cost the TCAA more than $5,000 in damages, Taylor said.

info :infoworld.com

Protect Your Email in Microsoft Outlook with a Password ?

To protect your email in Outlook Express with a password:

• Select File -> Identities -> Manage Identities from the menu.
• Highlight your identity.
• Click Properties.
• Make sure Require a password is checked.
• Type the desired password under New Password and Confirm New Password.
• Click OK.
• Click OK again.
• Finally, select Close.

Currently there is no way to password protect Microsoft Office Outlook® 2003 on startup . However, you can set a password on your Personal Folders file (.pst) (Personal Folders file (.pst): Data file that stores your messages and other items on your computer.

1. On the Go menu, click Folder List.
2. Do one of the following:
• If you have a POP3 e-mail account, right-click the Personal Folders folder, and then click Properties For "Personal Folders" on the shortcut menu.
• If you have an HTTP e-mail account (not supported in Outlook 2000), such as MSN® Hotmail®, right-click the Hotmail folder, and then click Properties For "Hotmail" on the shortcut menu.
3. On the General tab, click Advanced.
4. Click Change Password.
5. In the Change Password dialog box, type your new password and verify it by typing it a second time. The password can be up to 15 characters.
6. Make sure that the Save this password in your password list check box is cleared. This prevents the password from being cached, and you need to type the password each time you run Outlook. Don't forget the password.
7. Click OK three times.

Gaming to Blame for England's Football Failures?

Think we would have the best team if we could go into every household and throw away every PlayStation, Xbox and video game,” said West Ham goal keeper Rob Green (pictured) following England’s failure to qualify for next summer’s European Championship finals.

"Other countries seem to bring on world class players, countries like Brazil and Argentina where, often, it's football or nothing. In contrast, we live in a country where we have choices, and perhaps the will to do it and the need to escape from situations you're in are not so clear."

Green’s comments echo those of Portsmouth - and potentially England’s next - manager Harry Redknapp, who said last month that Xbox culture was having a negative effect on the state of the beautiful game.

"Now I rarely see a kickabout in the park. All I see are the dazzling lights of bedroom windows from the glare of TVs and computers. It seems football cannot compete with an Xbox."

info: CVG

Top five antivirus software reviews 2008

Anti-virus software should be easy enough for a computer novice to both use and install. The software should effectively seek out and identify virus threats, as well as clean or isolate infected files. There should be understandable reporting available for each scan and plenty of help support available, so you can be well informed of the software’s activities and capabilities. You can see criteria used to evaluate anti-virus software here.

Listed in order of rating:
1. BitDefender

The best line of defense against computer viruses, spyware, hackers and spam is BitDefender 2008, our #1 ranked anti–virus software and winner of “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award.” BitDefender 2008 is an outstanding product with a user–friendly interface that will scan all existing files on your computer, all incoming and outgoing emails, IM transfers and all other network traffic.

This latest version of BitDefender has a new Gamer Mode feature that minimizes impact on gaming performance so you can play safe. The software still has all of the reliable features for which Bitdefender is known such as “Privacy Protection” for outgoing personal information, “Web Scanning” while you’re using the Internet and “Rootkit Detection and Removal,” which detects then removes hidden virus programs.

BitDefender has also improved their existing B–HAVE feature that runs pieces of software on a virtual computer to detect code that could be an unknown virus. In addition, a setup wizard makes it easy to customize security settings.

2. Kaspersky

This software is perfect for the average home user and advanced users. For home users, who don't want to get too technical, there is recommended settings and an easy-to-find scan button that will instantly start to scan your computer based on these settings. More advanced users can go into the settings tab and completely customize what they would like the program to do.

Kaspersky comes with three types of scan levels: Maximum - thoroughly scans all files, self-extracting archives, startup objects, disk boot sectors, system memory and email format files. Normal - covers everything the maximum setting covers minus email format files. High Speed - scans everything minus the email format files, archives and startup objects.

3. ESET Nod32

of customization features. Nevertheless we wouldn't discourage the average home user from using this product-it just may take some time to learn everything.

Nod32 has two different ways to run the program. You can run a simple Nod32 scan or you can spend more time using the control center. Within the control center you can have access to tons of customiztion feature and differnet types of scans-DMON, IMON, EMON and more. Here is an overview of the different scans:

• AMON - the resident (running in operating memory at all times) or "on-access" antivirus monitor. This program is the most crucial antivirus defense tool.
• NOD32 (also referred to as the "on-demand" scanner) - this is the scanner executed manually by the user, or automatically by the scheduler.
• IMON - this scanner provides the first line of defense by monitoring Internet traffic (SMTP, ftp, http and other Winsock protocols).
• EMON - the Nod32 Mail Scanner provides protection from email-borne viruses.
• DMON - scans Microsoft office documents and files directly downloaded from Internet Explorer.

Nod32 is a first-rate antivirus program that offers several levels of superior protection. However, the product is somewhat hard to understand because of the technical jargon and wouldn't be our first choice for the average home user.

4. Trend Micro (PC-Cillin)

This security program has protocols for protecting PCs against viruses, worms and Trojan horses as well as spyware, rootkits and malware. It scans incoming files real–time, including emails, downloads and files from portable storage devices. You can also schedule scans, run customized scans or conduct a scan on demand. However, it does not offer P2P file sharing or registry start up protection, but this is not uncommon, of the products we reviewed only BitDefender offers both of these features.

this program performs about as well as its competitors but BitDefender is more affordably priced and Kaspersky, for the same price, scans faster and updates more often.

5. F-Secure Anti-Virus

F-Secure not only thoroughly scans for viruses, but also has a built-in anti-spyware scanner. You can run one or the other or both to cut down on scan times and best fit your needs.

Additionally, the program scans outgoing and incoming email in real-time, does a great job of protecting your registry against possible hijackers and controls which programs startup automatically.

F-Secure has a news section where you can sign up for virus alerts and updates of what's going on in the virus world.

The average person can install F-Secure and be worry free about viruses infecting their machine. With just a glance at this program, you can quickly tell if you are up to date on your virus definitions, and see if there is anything you should be concerned about.

info:toptenreview.com

What to look for in Anti-Virus Software ?

Top anti-virus software should be easy enough for a computer novice to both use and install. The software should effectively seek out and identify virus threats, as well as clean or isolate infected files. There should be understandable reporting available for each scan and plenty of help support available, so you can be well informed of the software’s activities and capabilities. Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate anti-virus software.

• Ease of Use –Exceptional anti-virus software is simple to use, regardless of a person’s computer experience or knowledge of viruses.
• Effective at Identifying Viruses and Worms – The best anti-virus products identify infected files quickly through real-time scanning, searching for viruses in a multitude of sources, including email, instant message applications, web browsing and so on.
• Effective at Cleaning or Isolating Infected Files –Truly capable anti-virus software thoroughly cleans, deletes or quarantines infected files—keeping them from spreading throughout the hard drive or network.
• Activity Reporting – Anti-virus programs should give immediate notification of viruses found by real-time scanners and should provide an easy-to-read report of scan results, including what it found and what it did with infected files.
• Feature Set – A well-rounded feature set allows anti-virus software to provide absolute protection. The best programs are those that offer a wide variety of tools, from basic real-time scanning to more advanced, heuristic scanning and script blocking—when it comes to virus protection, the more options the better.
• Ease of Installation and Setup – Anti-virus programs should be a breeze to install, making it easy to go from installation to initial scan in just a couple clicks of the mouse.
• Help Documentation – High-end anti-virus software come with plenty of help, including support via email, online chat or over the telephone. There should also be online resources, such as knowledge bases and FAQs available for quick and convenient help.

So, no matter how serious a computer virus is or how quickly it is passed around, with today’s anti-virus software, you’ll always have a cure.

info:toptenreview.com

An impressive virtualization software released under the GPL license.

VirtualBox application is a family of powerful x86 virtualization products for enterprise as well as home use. Not only is VirtualBox an extremely feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, it is also the only professional solution that is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL).

Presently, VirtualBox runs on Windows, Linux and Macintosh hosts and supports a large number of guest operating systems including but not limited to Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista), DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), and OpenBSD.

VirtualBox is being actively developed with frequent releases and has an ever growing list of features, supported guest operating systems and platforms it runs on. VirtualBox is a community effort backed by a dedicated company: everyone is encouraged to contribute while innotek ensures the product always meets professional quality criteria.

Some features:

· Modularity.
· Virtual machine descriptions in XML.
· Guest Additions for Windows and Linux.
· Virtual USB Controllers.
· Remote Desktop Protocol.
· USB over RDP.
· Shared folders.

The Good

VirtualBox is a very fast and easy to use virtualization software which provides a clean interface and advanced features found in other proprietary programs. VirtualBox is also released under the GPL license, which makes it a free program.

The Bad

Too bad the guest additions for Linux don't provide the same useful features as the ones for Windows.

The Truth

VirtualBox is an impressive piece of software. It allows you to boot and manage various operating systems within a Windows or Linux system, fast, easy and at a high performance level. All this at no cost whatsoever. Sure, there are some functions you gain once you purchase a specific license, but the most needed functions are free. VirtualBox has made a huge step towards virtualized desktops and naturally, it can only become a normal and popular thing to have on your PC.

info: virtualbox.org

The phone's battery exploded in the man's top pocket

A South Korean man has died after a mobile phone apparently exploded in his pocket.

Local police and doctors said that the phone's battery appeared to have exploded in the man's top pocket, causing severe chest injuries.

A fellow worker at the quarry where the 33 year-old victim worked discovered the man, surnamed Seo, lying on the ground at around 8.00am on Wednesday morning.

Seo's mobile phone was on fire and he was bleeding from the nose, the witness told police, according to reportsChosun Ilbo. in the

"The subject was dead on arrival at the hospital," Professor Kim Hun, the doctor in charge of the emergency room at Chungbuk National University Hospital, told the Kookmin Ilbo.

"There were injuries on the bottom left side of the chest, and X-rays showed that the ribs were broken and that his lungs and heart were injured."

The doctor added that the cause of death appeared to be a severe impact, most likely caused by an explosion.

Based on photographs of the badly damaged handset supplied by police, some Korean reporters have claimed that the phone appears to be an LG model.

However, Korean phone makers have long complained that Chinese manufacturers sell fake versions of their phones. It is also not clear whether the battery was manufactured by LG.

The photographs also showed the victim's work overalls with apparent burn marks and a hole in the centre of the top left-hand pocket.

"We will fully cooperate with the police investigation," a representative of the phone's manufacturer told the Korea Times, which initially identified the likely manufacturer as LG, but later retracted the statement.

"But we believe that the battery was very unlikely to explode. Our battery is wrapped in aluminium foil so, when there is an external shock, it should just melt, not explode."

info: vnunet.com

Nintendo score 0/10 in Greenpeace's Guide to Green Electronics

Nintendo has scored the first ever zero rating for environmental friendliness in the Guide to Green Electronics published by Greenpeace.

Greenpeace included TV and console manufacturers for the first time in its regular survey of the IT industry as it believes they generate a significant proportion of new electronic waste, particularly with the digital switchover.

Nintendo managed to get the Guide's only recorded 0/10, a first for the industry.

"Nintendo has the dubious honour of being the first company to score 0/10 in the Guide," said Greenpeace.

"Microsoft did little better, scoring only 2.7. Philips is the lowest TV maker scoring only 2.0. The companies are new to the Guide, so they have plenty of room for improvement."

There was also bad news for mobile phone companies in the Greenpeace report. Nokia and Motorola fell in the rankings after failures in the handset makers' hardware return services.

Greenpeace used hidden cameras to determine whether shops were taking back old handsets, and found that staff were either unaware of company recycling schemes or gave misleading information.

Nokia dropped from top position to ninth, and Motorola dropped from ninth position to 14th.

"Companies should not be under any illusion that we will not check up on their claims of green greatness," said Iza Kruszewska, toxics campaigner at Greenpeace International.

Returns problems were a issue for most brands, including the greenest manufacturer Sony Ericsson.

Samsung and Sony surged into the number two and three slots in the Greenpeace rankings after eliminating toxic chemicals from their products.

source :vnunet.com

Rent your soul for charity

Pierre Ayotte, noted in a press release to be a "friendly upcoming Internet opportunist"--i.e. not The Devil Himself, just to be clear--would like to rent your soul for 10 bucks a week.

It's a new twist on an old nonprofit business model. He's gambling that the soul-leasing business will earn enough to keep him afloat from the charities that pay weekly to advertise on his site, RentYourSoul.com.

Ayotte swears he's not working for Beelzebub. He'll pay you $10--via PayPal, check, or bank note--and also donate $10 to the charity of your choice, selected from the nonprofits posting to RentYourSoul.

Instead of skirting the fiery pit of eternal damnation, why not simply lease your soul for a good cause? It only takes a few minutes to post a photo of yourself, and if Ayotte displays it on the home page, you're soul-free for a week and 10 dollars richer afterward. No, you can't have hordes of dancing girls and wealth beyond your wildest dreams in exchange. But you can have the satisfaction of a deed well done for the good of others.

Am I really renting my Soul ? Not really. You’re basically lending a cheerful face and a nice intention for a limited time. There is no paper contract, just a goodwill one.

www.news.com

174 run command for windows XP

source : http://www.adamsdvds.co.uk

All of the Run Command below Work in the Windows XP Operating System Some do Require that you have the application installed.
To provoke the run dialogue box where you can enter the run commands hold down the Windows key and press 'R' then enter your command.

Program	Run Command
Accessibility Controls	access.cpl
Accessibility Wizard	accwiz
Add Hardware Wizard	hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs	appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools	control admintools
Adobe Acrobat ( if installed )	acrobat
Adobe Distiller ( if installed )	acrodist
Adobe ImageReady ( if installed )	imageready
Adobe Photoshop ( if installed )	photoshop
Automatic Updates	wuaucpl.cpl
Basic Media Player	mplay32
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard	fsquirt
Calculator	calc
Ccleaner ( if installed )	ccleaner
C: Drive	c:
Certificate Manager	cdrtmgr.msc
Character Map	charmap
Check Disk Utility	chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer	clipbrd
Command Prompt	cmd
Command Prompt	command
Component Services	dcomcnfg
Computer Management	compmgmt.msc
Compare Files	comp
Control Panel	control
Create a shared folder Wizard	shrpubw
Date and Time Properties	timedate.cpl
DDE Shares	ddeshare
Device Manager	devmgmt.msc
Direct X Control Panel ( if installed )	directx.cpl
Direct X Troubleshooter	dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility	cleanmgr
Disk Defragment	dfrg.msc
Disk Partition Manager	diskmgmt.msc
Display Properties	control desktop
Display Properties	desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected )	control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility	drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility	verifier
Ethereal ( if installed )	ethereal
Event Viewer	eventvwr.msc
Files and Settings Transfer Tool	migwiz
File Signature Verification Tool	sigverif
Findfast	findfast.cpl
Firefox	firefox
Folders Properties	control folders
Fonts	fonts
Fonts Folder	fonts
Free Cell Card Game	freecell
Game Controllers	joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor ( xp pro )	gpedit.msc
Hearts Card Game	mshearts
Help and Support	helpctr
Hyperterminal	hypertrm
Hotline Client	hotlineclient
Iexpress Wizard	iexpress
Indexing Service	ciadv.msc
Internet Connection Wizard	icwonn1
Internet Properties	inetcpl.cpl
Internet Setup Wizard	inetwiz
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration)	ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents)	ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents)	ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections)	ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections)	ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS)	ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID)	ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID)	ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel ( if installed )	jpicpl32.cpl
Java Control Panel ( if installed )	javaws
Keyboard Properties	control keyboard
Local Security Settings	secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups	lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out of Windows	logoff
Malicious Software Removal Tool	mrt
Microsoft Access ( if installed )	access.cpl
Microsoft Chat	winchat
Microsoft Excel ( if installed )	excel
Microsoft Diskpart	diskpart
Microsoft Frontpage ( if installed )	frontpg
Microsoft Movie Maker	moviemk
Microsoft Management Console	mmc
Microsoft Narrator	narrator
Microsoft Paint	mspaint
Microsoft Powerpoint	powerpnt
Microsoft Word ( if installed )	winword
Microsoft Syncronization Tool	mobsync
Minesweeper Game	winmine
Mouse Properties	control mouse
Mouse Properties	main.cpl
MS-Dos Editor	edit
MS-Dos FTP	ftp
Nero ( if installed )	nero
Netmeeting	conf
Network Connections	control netconnections
Network Connections	ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard	netsetup.cpl
Notepad	notepad
Nview Desktop Manager ( if installed )	nvtuicpl.cpl
Object Packager	packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator	odbccp32
ODBC Data Source Administrator	odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard	osk
Opens AC3 Filter ( if installed )	ac3filter.cpl
Outlook Express	msimn
Paint	pbrush
Password Properties	password.cpl
Performance Monitor	perfmon.msc
Performance Monitor	perfmon
Phone and Modem Options	telephon.cpl
Phone Dialer	dialer
Pinball Game	pinball
Power Configuration	powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes	control printers
Printers Folder	printers
Private Characters Editor	eudcedit
Quicktime ( if installed )	quicktime.cpl
Quicktime Player ( if installed )	quicktimeplayer
Real Player ( if installed )	realplay
Regional Settings	intl.cpl
Registry Editor	regedit
Registry Editor	regedit32
Remote Access Phonebook	rasphone
Remote Desktop	mstsc
Removable Storage	ntmsmgr.msc
Removable Storage Operator Requests	ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy ( xp pro )	rsop.msc
Scanners and Cameras	sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks	control schedtasks
Security Center	wscui.cpl
Services	services.msc
Shared Folders	fsmgmt.msc
Sharing Session	rtcshare
Shuts Down Windows	shutdown
Sounds Recorder	sndrec32
Sounds and Audio	mmsys.cpl
Spider Solitare Card Game	spider
SQL Client Configuration	clicongf
System Configuration Editor	sysedit
System Configuration Utility	msconfig
System File Checker Utility ( Scan Immediately )	sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility ( Scan Once At Next Boot )	sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility ( Scan On Every Boot )	sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility ( Return to Default Settings)	sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility ( Purge File Cache )	sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility ( Set Cache Size to Size x )	sfc /cachesize=x
System Information	msinfo32
System Properties	sysdm.cpl
Task Manager	taskmgr
TCP Tester	tcptest
Telnet Client	telnet
Tweak UI ( if installed )	tweakui
User Account Management	nusrmgr.cpl
Utility Manager	utilman
Volume Serial Number for C:	label
Volume Control	sndvol32
Windows Address Book	wab
Windows Address Book Import Utility	wabmig
Windows Backup Utility ( if installed )	ntbackup
Windows Explorer	explorer
Windows Firewall	firewall.cpl
Windows Installer Details	msiexec
Windows Magnifier	magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure	wmimgmt.msc
Windows Media Player	wmplayer
Windows Messenger	msnsgs
Windows Picture Import Wizard (Need camera connected)	wiaacmgr
Windows System Security Tool	syskey
Windows Script host settings	wscript
Widnows Update Launches	wupdmgr
Windows Version ( shows your windows version )	winver
Windows XP Tour Wizard	tourstart
Wordpad	write
Zoom Utility	igfxzoom

Minesweeper Game secret

you can reveal mines with this secret.




1. Minimize or close all running applications.
2. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy.
3. hold down either shift key for one second.
4. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen.
5. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine.
6. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color to see the pixel.

Idiot crooks snared by Facebook accounts

James Rivington

Some criminals reckon it's a very clever idea to borrow large sums of money and then 'go missing' to avoid paying it back. But some of these crooks may not be as smart as they like to think.


Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs department in the UK says it's tracking felons like this down on a regular basis by finding them on Facebook. Speaking to the Inquirer, an anonymous Customs officer says that social networks are proving to be a valuable source of information in such cases.

Found on Facebook

The Inquirer's source says due to his success, he's now a wanted man by some members of the criminal underworld. So either he's very good at his job, or he's a paranoid delusional.
Either way, it's not hard to believe that social networks like Facebook and MySpace are helping some of the security services track people down. It makes sense.

And if you're a villain looking to go missing with someone else's money in your pocket, don't think you can get away with it simply by not creating a Facebook page. The source says some people have been tracked down simply by finding the profiles of their friends or family and working from there.

Japanese firm turns old phones into new PCs

J. Mark Lytle

Next time you throw an old mobile phone away, spare a thought for the engineers at Hokuto System in Japan, who have recycled their old handsets to make fully functional computers.
The result of their labours is a simple PC on a business-card-sized circuit board that they've dubbed the DVIEW and it is about to go on sale in Japan for an unspecified price.
Miniature marvel Not all parts used in the DVIEW come from mobile phones, although the 2.2-inch QVGA LCD screen is the most obvious cannibalised part.

Other components on the board include an 81MHz ARM CPU, a 16-bit stereo soundcard that can handle MP3s and 40Kb of SRAM. Hokuto is currently taking pre-orders at prices determined by the volume needed and any customisation, such as support from external storage, USB and Wi-Fi. It expects its main customers to be shops keen to use cheap point-of-sale displays that are self-contained. Other possibilities for the micro PC include acting as a home-control computer that handles lighting, security and thermostats or as a simple PDA-like electronic guidebook for museums.

How To Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Window.s XP

1.Click Start, click Run, type sigverif, and then click OK.
2.Click Advanced.
3.Click Look for other files that are not digitally signed.
4.In the Look in this folder box, type x:\Windows\system32\drivers, where x is the letter of the drive where Windows XP is installed.
5.On the Logging tab, make sure the Save the file signature verification results to a log file check box is selected, and then click OK.
6.Click Start.

After you find unsigned drivers, you can disable them by using any of the following methods:
•Disable the device in Device Manager (you may have to click Show hidden devices on the View menu, and then disable the device under the Non-Plug and Play Drivers branch).
•Uninstall the software that installed the third-party driver by using the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.
•Rename the driver in the Winnt\System32\Drivers folder.

Top 12 Mozilla Firefox add-ons for web designers

by : Sumesh

Mozilla Firefox is the most popular browser among techies(if you haven’t got it, go get it now). Its main advantages are that it is open-source(which means there is a large community to help), is standards-aware and renders all standard coding correctly(unlike Internet Explorer), and of course, has a plethora of extensions, themes and plugins.

Extensions is the biggest selling point of Firefox - they add in a lot of functionality. Adding those extensions by default would be disastrous - Firefox will be a large install, not to mention that most users will never use those extras. So, guys at Mozilla(developers of Firefox) have devoted a website to Firefox add-ons.

Here’s a list of 5 quality extensions for Firefox, aimed at web designers:

• Web Developer: A comprehensive tool for any designer, it includes several options to apply modifications to a page you are viewing, without actually saving the changes. Think of a preview tool! You can edit the CSS of any site, to view the changes instantly. Once you close the “Edit” dialog, the changes will be removed. Very handy for everyone from beginners to advanced users.
• FireFTP: FireFTP, as the name suggests, is an FTP client. It stays inside Firefox as a tab, and allows you to transfer files easily via FTP. It can be very handy, if you are on a friend’s computer, and need immediate FTP access. Weighing in at just over 100 KB, it is lighter than any other stand-alone FTP client. Of course, it may miss a few power-functions, but I have not missed them in my last 4 months of usage.
• Firebug: (No, it is not a bug But it does help you to remove bugs in your code). Firebug is another tool for inspecting documents, finding out bugs/errors etc. It can measure the loading times of various elements of a site, like scripts, images and stylesheets. Very useful in optimizing your site.
• JS View: It shows you the CSS and Javascript files loaded in a page. Similar to Firebug, you can quickly check to see if a extension has loaded on a given page without viewing the source code. It is a great tool for newbies, as you can see how others build their pages.
• EditCSS: Great for all CSS junkies. It lets you tweak CSS and see changes in real-time. It is helpful especially for positioning and structuring elements via CSS.
• View Formatted Source: Every now and then, I find myself scurrying to view the source code of a page, to find out that bit of magical code, which makes sites great and cool-looking. VFS shows you source code in a more readable way.
• Greasemonkey: Greasemonkey is my newfound love. I had to install it to see some Blogger.com hacks. Later, I found many other killer scripts like Comment Pre-fill, Google search focuser, and My Own Google logo. There are hundreds more at UserScripts.org
• Aardvark: Aardvark is a relatively simple add-on, which shows class/id name for any element that you place the cursor on.
• ColorZilla: It is a tiny utility for colour-picking , among other things like advanced page zoom. Until I found this, I had used GIMP’s colour-picking tool! Overkill
• IETab: As I said earlier, Internet Explorer is a pain in the … for every web developer. What works on Firefox, Opera and Safari will not work on IE. This handy add-on helps you test your site for IE compatibility, right inside Firefox!
• MeasureIt: As the name suggests, it is an add-on for measurements. This little Firefox extension stays at the bottom of status bar and allows easy measurement of any element of a site.
• W3 XHTML Validator: This is crucial, whether you are building a generic site design, or somthing particular, like a WordPress theme.

Lenovo to build first European plant

By:Iain Thomson,

Chinese PC giant Lenovo has announced plans to build its first manufacturing plant in Europe.

The 30,000 square metre facility will be sited in the Legnica Special Economic Zone in Poland.

Lenovo said that the facility should be operational by the end of 2008, and will produce two million PCs a year for countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

"Selecting Poland as the location for a European manufacturing facility is a significant step in demonstrating our increasing presence in Europe and our strategy to grow in this market," said Milko van Duijl, president of Lenovo EMEA.

"The state-of-the-art facility in Europe will focus on improving the customer experience, and Lenovo is leveraging its 'world sourcing strategy' to recruit the best local talent and international management where they are."

The new plant will employ around 1,000 local workers and is part of a rapid expansion by the Chinese computer manufacturer, which bought IBM's PC business in 2004.

This year the company has opened new offices and plants in Shanghai, China, India and Mexico.

"Our new plant in Poland is an example of Lenovo's world sourcing strategy in action," said Gerry Smith, senior vice president for global supply chain at Lenovo.

"In a world with just one time zone, i.e. 'now', Lenovo must source materials, assemble managerial and technical talent, and concentrate logistics, infrastructure and production wherever they are best available."

Five Ways to Share Music Without Getting Sued

By : Dan Tynan

Have the recording industry's evil minions scared you off of swapping tunes online? Tremble in fear no more. There are plenty of ways to legally share music across the Internet, far from the clutches of the RIAA's attorneys.

Music-sharing sites also provide a great way to connect with people who share your excellent musical taste, as well as to get recommendations for new music that you'll like just as much. You might even make a few friends along the way.

Of course, there are more search engines and social networks based on music than there are cover versions of "Louie Louie," so winnowing the list down to just five wasn't easy. If we've overlooked your favorites, post them below. And thanks for sharing.

We do have a few caveats, of course. In most cases you are limited to streaming music to your PC or handset, not downloading it. A couple of sites permit you to upload your own tunes for others to enjoy, but they don't work with DRM-protected music. In other words, there's nothing to stop you from sharing MP3 files that you downloaded illegally (and you know who you are, you naughty little monkeys). But music you purchased from the iTunes store--or ripped from a CD using the iTunes software? No can do.

1. Last.FM

The world's largest social music network is built around what it calls "scrobbling." Download the Last.FM software, and it scans (or "scrobbles") your most recently played songs on iTunes, WinAmp, or Windows Media Player to build a profile of your musical interests. Enter the name of an artist into the FM software, and it plays a song at random and creates a playlist of others you might like. Thus The Clash begets the Ramones, Dead Kennedys, and Green Day. Norah Jones leads to Billie Holiday, Diana Krall, and John Coltrane. And if by some dark confluence of events Justin Timberlake comes on, you can click the 'Ban' button and never have to hear that song again. (Wouldn't it be great if everything worked like that?)

The site itself is chock-full of goodies. You can download free tracks from artists like David Byrne and Juvenile, upload or watch videos, see what stuff other Last FMers have scrobbled, and so on. Before you know it, 3 hours have passed and you've blown another deadline. Sigh.

2.Social.FM

Newly launched in beta, Social.FM (formerly Mercora) features a nice iTunes-like interface, but it's still a little buggy. Download the player to your desktop or your mobile phone, or put a Social FM widget in your Facebook, MySpace, or Xanga profile. Then you can upload your fave tunes, create playlists or "channels," and become a world famous DJ--or something like that. One cool feature is the ability to access your music via your smart phone (though my LG phone's IQ apparently isn't high enough to conceive of such a thing).

You say you'd rather listen than play DJ? Type the name of an artist into the Web search engine, and it will show you biographical info, plus songs and YouTube videos (provided that another Social FM DJ has uploaded them). The search engine needs a little fine tuning, however--a search for the seminal LA punk band X turns up songs from Abba's "Mystic Xmas Night" (!) and videos of Malcolm X. You can also send e-mail invites so your pals can enjoy your musical selections (though this feature wasn't working properly when I tried it).

3. Lala.com

Lala.com is one of the few music-sharing schemes that involves transferring actual molecules--in this case, trading your old CDs with other Lala members. Sign up with Lala and post the names of the discs you're willing to surrender, as well as the ones you desperately crave. If another Lala member wants something from your collection, you'll receive an e-mail message containing instructions on where to send the disc, and you'll get a CD from your wish list in return. Total cost: $1.75 for shipping and handling.

But Lala is also a digital music service. So you can take the CD you just got, rip it into MP3s, upload the tunes to Lala, and access them from any Net-connected computer or sync them to your iPod. Or you can cruise other Lala members' playlists, stream 30-second samples to your PC, and get recommendations from the popular Lala forums. If you discover a CD that you like so much you can't wait for a trade, you can buy it through the Lala store. In many instances the site will automatically add the appropriate MP3s to your Lala playlist so you can listen to them without delay.

4. iLike.com

As its name implies, iLike is more about sharing tastes than about swapping tunes. But this social network/music site also serves up plenty of free MP3s, along with links to online music stores and concert tickets.

When you download the iLike software, it installs a 'sidebar' that sits beside your iTunes or Windows Media Player software. Play, say, Crowded House, and the sidebar displays recommendations for similar bands (along with 30-second samples), offers free downloads from lesser-known artists, and shows you other Crowded House fans on iLike. Click the Friends tab, and you can see what your iLike buddies are listening to; meanwhile, the Artists tab gives you the downlow on your favorite bands.

If you don't use iTunes or WMP, you can accomplish the same things from within the iLike site, or add a widget to your MySpace or Facebook profile. The Facebook app is particularly slick: Fill out a quick survey on the artists you like, and it creates a Facebook page that displays news about the bands as well as song samples.

5. Songza and SeeqPod

You need to hear that special song right now or you will simply die. We know, we've been there. That's why God invented sites like Songza and SeeqPod that scour the Net for tunes that other people have posted, and then stream them to your PC.

Songza is dead simple to use. There's no registration, no software to download, and barely any interface. Type the name of a song or artist into the search box, pick the one you want from the search results, and click on it. A flowerlike menu appears that lets you play the song, rate it, watch the YouTube video, embed it on your blog or social networking page, or e-mail a link to friends. You can also create a playlist, which will be available the next time you visit Songza (assuming you ever decide to leave, that is).

SeeqPod offers similar features in a more conventional (and commercial) package. Hit the Search button to find songs and videos from your fave artist and enjoy them in the site's embedded media player. The Options button lets you share the tune with friends, embed it on your blog, scan the lyrics, get news and tour information, and buy CDs and download ringtones from partner sites like Amazon and Jamster.

Clicking 'Discover' leads you to similar artists, though it's a bit more hit-or-miss. A search on Nick Lowe leads to Elvis Costello, The Jam, Ian Dury, and dozens of other new wavers. But Graham Parker serves up Meat Loaf, Peter Frampton, and--I'm not sure I can even type this--Rick Springfield. The horror, the horror!