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Energizer Bunny infects PC’s?

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:40:31 +0000

According to US-Cert the USB battery charger may carry a trojan horse that allows the attacker to take total control of the users computer.

Energizer DUO is a USB battery charger. An optional Windows application that allows the user to view the battery charging status has been available on the Energizer website. The installer for the Energizer DUO software places the file UsbCharger.dll in the application’s directory and Arucer.dll in the Windows system32 directory. When the Energizer UsbCharger software executes, it utilizes the UsbCharger.dll component for providing USB communication capabilities. UsbCharger.dll executes Arucer.dll via the Windows rundll32.exe mechanism, and it also configures Arucer.dll to execute automatically when Windows starts by creating an entry in the HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run registry key.

Arucer.dll is a backdoor that allows unauthorized remote system access via accepting connections on 7777/tcp. Note that Windows XP SP2 and later systems include a firewall by default.

Occasionally product manufacturers produce products that become infected and distributed to the public. Enegizer stated it removed the infected file from production.

Infoworld sums up a few other products with virus here:

This isn’t the first time that a hardware company has planted malware on unsuspecting customers’ PCs. In 2007, Seagate Technology admitted that an unknown number of its hard drives left an Asian manufacturing plant with Trojan horses, while the year before that Apple warned iPod owners that some of the music players carried a Windows virus .

In early 2008, electronic retailer Best Buy confirmed it had sold digital picture frames with attack code that spread to connected PCs.

Pandora App

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:19:59 +0000

The latest app I added to my Ipod is the Pandora app. Pandora is a great web application that plays music you like. You can create custom radio stations to your liking. Just enter a song or artist that you like and it will recommend other songs and artists based upon your music tastes.

Pandora’s claim to fame is the “music genome”. They have people who organize thousands of songs and catalog them by their “genome” . In other words if the song title you just entered has a lot of pianos in the song, it may recommend other songs with similar sounds.

Each song in the Music Genome Project is analyzed using up to 400 distinct musical characteristics by a trained music analyst. These attributes capture not only the musical identity of a song, but also the many significant qualities that are relevant to understanding the musical preferences of listeners. The typical music analyst working on the Music Genome Project has a four-year degree in music theory, composition or performance, has passed through a selective screening process and has completed intensive training in the Music Genome’s rigorous and precise methodology. To qualify for the work, analysts must have a firm grounding in music theory, including familiarity with a wide range of styles and sounds. All analysis is done on location.

They have apps for the ipod touch and iphone. This is one of my favorites for listening to music, check it out at Pandora.com

Copying a CD to Netbook

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:12:16 +0000

What do you do when your net book or laptop has no DVD/CD drive and you need to install software from a disk? The newest Netbooks and laptops are great but often do not have DVD drives installed. Don’t fret there are alternatives to get that information onto your Netbook.

Computer A= computer with DVD drive

Computer B= Computer with no DVD drive

Go to www.isodisk.com and download and install this program on both computers
Insert disk on computer A and open ISO Disk program , then click “create ISO image from cd rom”
It will create a file with the extension ISO, i.e. school-program.ISO. Copy that file to a thumb drive or if possible email that CDfile to the other computer.
Open the ISO Disk program on computer B and choose the “mount ISO image as virtual drive” this will cause the file to show up as a cd drive installed on computer B. Just go to “My Computer” and double click the cd drive as you would normally. When you’re done with the program, don’t forget to unmount the ISO image, or it will always show up as a drive on Computer B

The other alternative is to purchase a USB DVD rom player. This could be your external DVD player but I prefer the first option so you don’t have to tote around additional hardware.

Firefox add ons with a touch of Malware

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:55:21 +0000

According to an article at techjaws.com there have been some add on with malware included. Even after you unistall the add on your computer remains infected. If this is true we better start paying better attention to what plugins and add on we use on Firefox.

According to Mozilla, version 4.0 of Sothink Web Video Downloader is infected with password sniffer Win32.LdPinch.gen and Master Filer is infected with the backdoor Trojan Win32.Bifrose. This Malware has infected Windows systems following installation of the infected browser add-on.

This comes at no surprise as a recent study indicated that nearly half of all computers are infected with some sort of virus or spyware. 2009 was a record year in the amount of attacks on residential and business class computers.

Power jack tester

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:42:01 +0000

Not sure if the power jack is bad? Try a power jack tester.

My latest laptop came in the shop with the customer reporting a bad power jack. After taking apart the the entire laptop and finally getting to the main board the jack looked fine. Often you can tell a bad jack just by looking at it. They may be loose or disconnected all together. They could look burnt around the motherboard or inside the actual jack. What happens when every thing looks good? This customer insisted the power jack was bad. I didn’t think so.

If you have ever replaced a power jack before you know it can be difficult on some models. This model was not too hard, but I didn’t want to do the job if I didn’t think that was the root cause. I suspected a failed main board.

What you can do to test the power jack is detailed in the following information. Go to Radio shack and get a size N adapter. Solder two leads onto the adapter, one for power and the other for ground. Attached the power lead to the power source end of the jack and the other end to the ground.
This allows you to hook up another working jack with out all the work of removing the old jack. Especially if it’s not bad.
Use a multimeter to identify which lead is the power lead and which lead is the ground. Power usually is the middle lead in the group of holes on the motherboard. If comes directly off of the main pin inside the jack. NOTE: Some jacks are switch like and use flexible peices of metal in the back, and the lead may not be the middle. Use a multimeter to check for continuity from the jack to the opposite side of the motherboard.

No Sound HP DV6000

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:26:33 +0000

If you don’t have sound on any of the HP DV6000 series laptops here are a few trouble shooting tips to try out.

Check speakers are not blown out, do they make noise at all? if so does it sound very scratchy and distorted? If so replace the speakers.
Is speaker cable connected, located directly under power button bezel (only attempt removal if you have done this type of repair before)
Check hardware devices and see if sound card is installed? If not, verify that “view hidden devices is checked” then try reinstalling the software directly from the HP support website.
finally if nothing else works you can replace sound card with a express card sound card. Determine which type of express slot you have open and install an external sound card.

If you need help getting sound to work on your computer, we’re experts! We can fix any computer in the country with remote service. Call now to set up an appointment.

Repairing a USB thumb drive

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:23:49 +0000

If you store more and more data on a USB thumb drive you’re not alone. More people are turning to the convenience of the portable storage devices. These small portable devices are also growing in size. You can now store huge amounts of data with ease. The problem with these devices are they are easy to lose and take more risk of being damaged because of their portable nature.

One of the most common ways these devices become inoperable are from being damage while inserted into a laptop or other portable device. For example a laptop gets dropped while the USB device is attached.

When the USB device become detached or broken from the “base” of the storage device the unit stops working properly. Don’t worry often the data can be recovered. The USB male adapter can be reattached to the storage area.

With some care full work and a microscope many times the solder that attaches the USB to the head can be reattached. Data can then be removed and recovered. If you have a USB device that needs data recovered give us a call. We specialize in removing data from USB devices at affordable rates.

AnitVirus Elite

admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 14:05:35 +0000

The latest virus removal for a client was an interesting one. The computer had become infected with anti virus 2010. A known virus that infects machines and then ask for money to take care of the “virus”. Before calling me, the customer bought a program to get rid of anti-virus 2010, it was called Anti-Virus Elite. This purchase turned out to make things worse. One or both of these programs were making the computer unusable by blocking access to nearly everything. You could not get the task manager up, start menu or almost anything. Safe mode just blue screened.

Removing a virus like these becomes difficult when you can’t even install a single tool to try and remove the threat. Unfortunately the customer now has to pay twice as much because I have to remove the product she installed and the anti-virus 2010.

I see an increase in the number of computer viruses that tote themselves as the solution. This trojan horse activity must be an effect method since nearly 80 percent of the virus calls I see have some form of this malware.

If you need assistance removing anti-virus elite or anti-virus 2010 give us a call and we’ll get this stinker off your system!

Tyan Thunder n3600R S2912G2NR motherboard extended ATX

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 04:22:10 +0000

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Tyan Thunder n3600R S2912G2NR - motherboard - extended ATX - nForce Pro 3600 Price Comparison

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FAQ about Tyan Thunder n3600R S2912G2NR - motherboard - extended ATX - nForce Pro 3600

do you know how to solve this?

i have a Tyan THUNDER K7 S2462 Dual AMD SCSI Motherboard i just put it into my new computer case i turn on the computer i can get to the bios setup but after that the montior shuts off the litte blinking light keeps blinking what does this mean? any help

Answer

cant decide on which mother board to go with?

lest just pretend they were all the same price Tyan Thunder K8WE (S2895) http://www.pacificgeek.com/product.asp?id=54924 GIGABYTE GA-2CEWH http://www.pcplanetsystems.com/abc/product_details.php?item_id=2274&category_id=122 skulltrail BOXD5400XS http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0013LRLRK/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=AKKDUPYSO4ZG0&v=glance im going to use this comp for a lot of multy tasking as well as a lot of game playing /game making so having a dual processor is a use full thing to have as is the sli certification, or cross fire if you have any additions of other mother boards fitting these specs, dual proc and sli/crossfire please add them. also i wont just be gaming dual processor is kinda over kill for that. i dual screen so i run about 5- 6 programs at a time with my pos comp now and cant really take it its worth the $ for me ill probbley be building a matx acomp as well JUST for gaming but that is about a year off, or more so quad sli is not too imp thanks for helping me out with this moose 10 points to the best answer

Answer
I cba clicking the links , just make sure your board is future proof. Sli 6 Sata Ports i7 compatible Suppers nice speeds of ram

FAQ Results are from Yahoo Answers http://answers.yahoo.com/

ebaylistings

	TYAN Thunder K8WE S2895 for HP Dual Socket 940 SCSI MB End Time: 2010-03-25 12:38:26. Time Left:14 Days 19 Hours 47 Minutes 3 Seconds	Current Bid: $ 199.99 #Bids: 2 Bid Now
	Tyan Thunder K8SR (S2881) Motherboard "NEW" End Time: 2010-03-11 20:50:10. Time Left:1 Days 3 Hours 58 Minutes 47 Seconds	Current Bid: $ 45.00 #Bids: 5 Bid Now
	TYAN S2469 THUNDER K7X PRO DUAL SOCKET 462 MOTHERBOARD End Time: 2010-03-12 03:47:27. Time Left:1 Days 10 Hours 56 Minutes 4 Seconds	Current Bid: $ 89.00 #Bids: 0 Bid Now

Biostar TA790GXE w/ Phenom II X4 955

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:51:26 +0000

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	Biostar TA790GXE Motherboard & AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core w/ Fan Bundle	$ 239.99	Visit Store

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FAQ about Biostar TA790GXE w/ Phenom II X4 955 Bundle

how big of a power supply do i need for this computer?

i have: AMD Athlon X4 620 2.6Ghz quad core Ati 1GB 4670 BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard and i also want to buy another card so that i can Crossfire, what is the minimum amount of power i need? if there are any other details you need just tell me

Answer

Questions about the ram and processor compatibility of a AMD based computer?

I am going to be building a computer but i have some questions i would like answered first. I already have 2 sticks of DDR2 800 ram (www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=T800UA1GC4. ) so I want a motherboard that can handle that AND an AMD Phenom II X4 Processor (www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=HDX810WFBX. ). I was hoping to buy a BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M 5.x motherboard (www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138146. ) which I think would work but I would like another opinion first. any info/feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Additional Info: To be build as a gaming computer. XFX GeForce 9600 GSO Video card. (www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150340) Would be playing Fallout 3, Call of Duty 4 & 5 and World of Warcraft Yahoo cut off the links but here they are again... RAM : http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=T800UA1GC4 Motherboard : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138146 CPU: http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=HDX810WFBX Video Card : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150340&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

Answer
It looks like the CPU & memory are compatable with the motherboard. If the PC is to be used for gaming build it with the fastest/newest parts you can afford. The parts you list will work fine & still leaves you a bit of room to upgrade down the road once a newer game is released where your PC does not meet the recomended requirements.(haveing a PC that only meets the minimum requirements tend to run slow & lag at times) The 9600 GSO is only a mid-level card so buying a better card to start with would be a better choice as you shell out the money to buy it & after a couple months find it wont preform as expected & you need buy a second better card gets expensive. For a top end gaming rig the 4 biggies are CPU, RAM, video card & MOBO.

How Can i Be shure the motherboard is the right type for the case im buying?

i wanted to build my computer, and wanted to know if all the things i would put in there would fit: Here is a couple things: The case : COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case My graphic Card: ASUS EAH4770 FORMULA Motherboard: BIOSTAR TA790GXE AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard Processor cooling fan: VANTEC CCB-A1C Ball VGA Cooler Kit And the processor :AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz So could someone tell me if all these things would fit in the case, and the fan and processor would also fit in the motherboard, my main question is is all the hardware ( such as the motherboard and graphic card) built to standard specs?

Answer

I am newer to building computers and I have the following parts, could someone tell me if this is an okay set?

Parts: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor BIOSTAR TA790GXE AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 2x1GB DDR2 667MHz/533MHz/400MHz 550 Watt BFG Tech Power Supply 640 SATA Hard Drive (WD Caviar Green) I have a few CD and DVD drives floating around somewhere. Do I have any parts that I should most definitely have before I try to put it together (other than the computer case) What else would you suggest I get to make it run more efficient. P.S. I am on a tight budget and have been sitting on the RAM and Power Supply for almost a year (I have tested to see if they still work though recently) Parts: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor BIOSTAR TA790GXE AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (I got the processor and motherboard on www.newegg.com in a combo and it is compatible) 2x1GB DDR2 667MHz/533MHz/400MHz 550 Watt BFG Tech Power Supply 640 SATA Hard Drive (WD Caviar Green) I have a few CD and DVD drives floating around somewhere. Do I have any parts that I should most definitely have before I try to put it together (other than the computer case) What else would you suggest I get to make it run more efficient. P.S. I am on a tight budget and have been sitting on the RAM and Power Supply for almost a year (I have tested to see if they still work though recently)

Answer

is this a good gaming computer?

how well will this be able to play Crysis? say at a 1024x758 resolution? around what fps would i get if i have all setting up at that resolution with no AA Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard 3GB RAM

Answer

what am i forgetting in this custom computer?

besides RAM a hard drive and a disk drive, what am i forgetting in this build? XION AXP 100 Gaming Series AXP100-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 35$ BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 80$ RAIDMAX QUANTUM RX-700 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC SLI Power Supply - Retail 60$ AMD Phenom X4 9750 Agena 2.4GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD9750XAJ4BGH - OEM 90$ Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM 105$ ASUS EAH4670/DI/1GD3/V2 Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card 58$

Answer
CPU cooler and fans (stock coolers are terrible).

is this a good gaming build for the price?

im considering buying these items from newegg.com and building a gaming computer, (i already have the RAM, Hard Drive Disk Drive etc) i want a computer that is capable of Crossfire and i dont want to exceed 500$ budget and i want to spend as little as possible. are these the best parts for the price?, keep in mind ALL these parts currently have free shipping. all together these parts amount to $479 APEX Vortex 3620 SGCC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case - Retail $39.99 BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $79.99 SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail $74.99 OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $79.99 AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail $99.99 Windows 7 Home Premium $104.99

Answer

what is a good video card for this rig?

im looking for a good video card for this setup, i dont want to go over 500$ and with this im up to 391$. i already have RAM, disk drive, and hard drive. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 105$ AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core 100$ Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified 75$ Open Box: BIOSTAR TA790GXE 128M AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard 72$ APEX Vortex 3620 SGCC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case 40$

Answer

FAQ Results are from Yahoo Answers http://answers.yahoo.com/

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	NEW! Biostar TA790GXE 128M 5.x Socket AM2+ AMD 790GX MB End Time: 2010-03-19 22:11:18. Time Left:9 Days 5 Hours 19 Minutes 54 Seconds	Current Bid: $ 88.99 #Bids: 1 Bid Now
	Biostar TA790GXE w/ Phenom II X4 955 Bundle End Time: 2010-04-06 15:10:32. Time Left:26 Days 22 Hours 19 Minutes 8 Seconds	Current Bid: $ 249.99 #Bids: 0 Bid Now
	Biostar TA790GXE Motherboard & AMD Athlon II X4 62 End Time: 2010-04-06 03:41:14. Time Left:26 Days 10 Hours 49 Minutes 50 Seconds	Current Bid: $ 184.99 #Bids: 0 Bid Now