Web Bugs

Have you ever heard the term Web Bug? How about Web Beacon or Clear GIF? Well, don't feel left out if you haven't, it's not everyday terminology. The terms I mentioned are different names for the same thing. For the sake of remaining simple I'll stick with one name Web Bug. So what are Web Bugs and what to they do? They are small (1 by 1 pixel), usually transparent gifs hidden on websites or e-mails within other images like banner adds. Web bugs come from a different site than the one you are viewing but are most often affiliated with the site being viewed.

They are a lot like cookies in that they allow sites to recognize you and track where you've been. Web Bugs have a couple of major differences however. Web bugs share your information with any site that you may visit with the same type of web bug imbedded on it. The personal information bugs are sharing can be harmless information or very personal information, it depends on what information you have put on one of these sites. If you have given one of these sites information like your email address, then every other site you visit with the same bug will have your email address and can now send you spam. By sharing this personal information between sites these entities using bugs can get your email address and send out more spam and web bugs right to your front door. If you visit a site that recognizes you from a Web Bug then that server can not only track you but also send images and blocks of text to you. Web Bugs are also harder to detect than cookies because they are hidden, extremely small, and invisible.

These Web Bugs can also be placed in e-mails, a favorite trick of spammers is to hide a Web Bug in a random email. Opening or even previewing this e-mail can initiate the Web Bug process, which tells spammers that this is a valid e-mail address when someone views it. This validates your address, essentially making you part of their list of e-mails to spam. Most of the more recognized e-mail clients are affected by this such as Outlook Express, Gecko for Linux, Netscape, AOL, and more.

So, how do you stop or prevent these web Bugs from tracking you? As far as e-mail, make sure you don't open or even preview e-mails from unknown sources. Another thing you can do to prevent the Web bugs from biting is to block images in your e-mail all together, this will stop the GIFs from getting through your defenses. Win XP Service Pack 2 turns this setting ON by default in Outlook Express, and other e-mail clients have similar options (i.e. MSN/Hotmail and AOL).

You can also configure tougher cookie settings in your browser, but keep in mind all of these settings will affect the way you surf the web and view your e-mail. You can get advertising blocking software, but these programs have a hard time distinguishing between images that show information and images that are crawling' with Bugs. You can also go through the HTML code and look for the img tag that relates to a cookie (sounds like fun).

So are these bugs really something to get all worked up about? Well if you really don't like the thought of constantly being tracked and evaluated. If you don't like spam or pop-ups then this could be something you might want to at least regulate. You can figure out exactly what a web bug is doing by viewing the privacy policy which should be located on the website of the owner of the bug. If you don't find the privacy policy, you can always send the company e-mail and ask for what purposes do they have web bugs on their site.

How to Use the Zone Alarm Free Firewall

Zone Alarm's free firewall program is designed to help protect your computer from hackers and viruses. Basically, a firewall is like a castle wall surrounding your computer. Only those programs and users that you choose to lower the drawbridge for can enter. The rest, including harmful programs and hackers, will be unable to access your computer. There are a variety of firewall programs out there, but Zone Alarm is one of the most trusted and well-known.

The first step in installing Zone Alarm is, of course, to download it. Visit www.zonealarm.com to get the free version of the software. Unlike some "free" software, Zone Alarm won't expire after so many days or require any sort of code to access all of its features. Before you start the install, you should disable (or, preferably, uninstall) any other firewall programs you have on your computer.

After going through all the normal installation steps (agreeing to the user license, entering your email, etc.), you'll see the option to install Zone Alarm Pro instead of the Free version. This version costs money. Although you may eventually want to upgrade to this product, select the free option for now. You will also get the option of having Zone Alarm update itself automatically. That's not a bad idea if you don't want to have to deal with installing updates.

Now it's time to configure Zone Alarm. Once this is done, Zone Alarm more or less runs by itself, and you won't have to do much with it on a day to day basis. First, you'll see the overview screen. If you click on preferences, you should see that Zone Alarm loads at startup (check it if it's not). Then click on Firewall. Here, you can decide how tight your firewall settings should be. The higher the setting, the fewer online programs and web scripts your computer will be able to run. Generally, you want the internet zone to be set to high to keep out viruses and such.

Program Control is another section that you'll want to check. You always want to have it set at medium or high; otherwise, programs like adware or viruses on your computer will have free access to send information to other computers online.

Once all of this is configured, you'll get a pop-up box every time a program wants to access the internet. For the first week or so, you'll see these often, but once Zone Alarm learns which programs should have access, the pop-ups will stop and you can rest assured that the Zone Alarm firewall is protecting your computer and the personal information stored there.



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4 Benefits of a Microsoft Registry Fix Program Uncovered

Every time a new update is downloaded or new software is added to a computer, the files go directly into the computer registry. Over the lifetime of a computer, the system registry gets packed full of all types of files and downloads, many of which end up being unnecessary when new downloads are complete.

Because of this, a computer can start to run slow and even errors can result, which is why a Microsoft registry fix program is essential for practically every computer.

Benefit #1

A Microsoft registry fix program is a great way to keep a computer running like new, even after various updates are completed. It is a program that is installed on any computer run on the Windows program, and it goes to work to get rid of anything and everything that is taking up extra space.

Because the system registry is important for holding all of the essential files for updates and new software, there needs to be plenty of room to hold the files that are needed. Once the Microsoft registry fix program is installed on the computer, it goes to work to clear out the system registry in only a few minutes.

Benefit #2

A Microsoft registry fix program can work in about as little as ten minutes, and it can turn a slow running computer into one that seems brand new. It will get rid of everything from old updates that have occurred, old versions of software that were installed, and even partial downloads or files that are only taking up space.

It knows how to recognize the essential files and software that is necessary for the computer to run, and they are left alone to ensure the computer is able to function properly.

Benefit #3

Not only is a Microsoft registry fix program beneficial for speeding up the performance of a computer, but it can help to fix errors and even prevent errors from happening in the future. Some common errors can result when new updates are being installed or new software being added, since the new files can interact with old files that are no longer in use.

By getting rid of the files that are no longer necessary, there is no need to worry about an error occurring when new software or updates are being added to the computer. The Microsoft registry fix program works to get rid of any possible errors that can occur, and even works great if you are experiencing an error when trying to update the software on your PC.

Benefit #4

Just like many other electronics, a computer requires regular maintenance in order to maintain its life. By performing a Microsoft registry fix program on the computer every couple of months; it can keep the computer in perfect working condition. Getting rid of old files, partial downloads, and even old software that was overrun by newer versions, the system registry will be able to fully manage all of the necessary files.

A Microsoft registry fix program is a great accessory for all computer owners, since it helps to keep a computer in perfect working order. It is great for cleaning out the system registry to help the computer run smoothly, and is even great for fixing errors and preventing system registry errors from happening in the future. By performing a Microsoft registry fix program on a regular basis, you can extend the life of your computer and keep it running smooth.



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How to Speed Up Firefox

Firefox is a great browser. It is the first to give Internet Explorer a run for its money. According to W3Schools, Firefox has over 40 percent of the browser market. This is due in part to its usability, flexibility and speed. Although Firefox is a fast browser there are ways to make it even faster. We will show you several ways to maximize Firefox's performance.

Disable History Cache
Every time you visit a page Firefox saves the page so when you press the back button the page will display right away. To disable this type "about:config" in the address bar. Do a search for browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers. Double-click on browser.sessionhistory.max_total_viewers and change the -1 to 0. Remember that this will slow down how fast pages come up when you press the back button.

Only Keep the Extensions You Need
When you have a lot of extensions in Firefox your computer needs to load the extensions to memory for when needed. The fore extensions you have, the more Firefox becomes. Go to Tools the Add-ons. Remove the extensions that you are not using. There is a possibility that one extension is causing the problem. To see if this is the case, start Firefox in safe mode. Go to the run command in Windows and type "firefox.exe -safe-mode". Once you click on OK, Firefox will start without skins or extensions.

Change the Number of Connections
The more connections you have going out for information the faster the page will load. To increase the amount of connections Firefox uses type "about:config" in the address bar. Find and change the following:
* content.interrupt.parsing - true
* content.max.tokenizing.time - 2250000
* content.notify.interval - 750000
* content.notify.ontimer - true
* content.switch.threshold - 750000
* nglayout.initialpaint.delay - 0
* network.http.max-connections - 48
* network.http.max-connections-per-server - 16
* network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy - 16
* network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server - 8
* browser.cache.memory.capacity - 65536

When done restart Firefox and check out the difference.
That's it for this one. With these three tips, Firefox should lean and built for speed. There is a lot more you can do to tweak Firefox. These are a few of the big ones.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Man

How to Speed Up Your Computer With Windows XP Registry Repair

If your Windows XP operating system is running slow and it is making your PC experience miserable, then you need Windows XP registry repair. It is the best way to get your PC back running the way it is supposed to be.

Windows XP registry repair will clean up and organize your registry. Why is this necessary? It is because the registry constantly has new files and entries added to it. Because of this process, the registry eventually gets too big. Most files are deleted right away, but some stick behind, and they cause the other applications to slow.

So what are the options to achieve Windows XP registry repair, or registry repair for all types of Windows operating systems? You can attempt to edit the registry on your own, but this is a very difficult process, and even people who know a tremendous amount about computers will often decide not to try it. Why? Because if you make one little mistake, that mistake could end up being fatal and spelling the end of your computer. Or, you could end up having to reinstall Windows. Either way, you could cause yourself big, unnecessary problems.

Your best option for Windows XP registry repair is to use a registry cleaner. It will safely scan your PC and backup the registry in the process, so no important information will be lost. Also, you can use your registry repair program to schedule system scans in the future. Because of this, you will never have to worry about your registry becoming too big ever again.

The best way to achieve Windows XP registry repair is to use a registry cleaner, and we have found that RegCure is the best software product for this.Click here for a FREE SCAN of your registry


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Farley

Benefits of Using a Microsoft Registry Cleaner

As a daily PC user, not just once have you found several processes to be slow, tedious or even unstable because of extensive Windows clutter that has been created as a result of various software installation packages, incomplete uninstalls, temporary data and many other similar problems that affect the Windows registry. The windows registry is part of the operating system responsible with storing configuration data and software settings, global variables and many other parameters that make the system dependent to it.

A vital component of your operating system, the Windows registry integrity, shape and structure is very important and reflected in the level of performance that your PC has, fo this reason, it is recommended to use a Microsoft registry cleaner in order to optimize, clean and constantly maintain this database repository of settings and system information. This ensures that your Windows registry will no longer become fragmented and filled with junk data or old software installation traces, drastically improving your desktop stability and performance. Then again, keeping this part of your system in perfect condition ensures that you will be able to work or enjoy your daily PC activity without being disturbed by errors, application crashes and other unwanted situations.

Even if you are already using one or more Microsoft registry cleaner solutions, it is highly recommended to backup your entire registry to a safe location, for the reason that scanning, which means extensive reading and querying for invalid registry key and cleaning your registry which involves massive editing can and sometimes will bring a few extra problems which are out of your control. In such situations you will simply be able to restore your registry package from backup and retry proper cleaning using other tools or lower risk options.

The process of cleaning and even compressing the Windows registry using microsoft registry cleaner tools can surely bring a lot of benefits, regardless of operating system. Even if many have debated the need of such solutions on the newest Windows platform versions such as Vista, the basic concept of the operating system is still the same and the registry has remained a crucial, vital and of course vulnerable part of the system. After a proper cleaning it is always recommended to defragment and compress all registry areas in order to keep your system at its speediest level of performance.

Reaching an unprecedented level of system instability, many PC users have tried to remove various registry keys on their own. This is not advised and should not be taken into consideration unless you are an expert in what you plan to do as minor mistakes could cause damaging of your operating system installation beyond recovery, unless using proper backup strategies and maintenance plans. For the average PC user, timely scanning and optimizing the Windows registry with the help of Microsoft registry cleaner solutions can greatly improve and maintain the quality of your PC experience.

For a complete breakdown of the best registry cleaners on the market visit us at RegistryCleanerGeeks.com - and read our review of Regcure, our most recommended registry cleaning solution.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Wesley_Atkins

How to Choose the Best Registry Cleaners For Windows

The Microsoft Windows operating system is a very powerful processing environment used by billions of people around the world. This popular PC platform OS uses the Windows registry in order to store and quickly access various data representing settings, default configurations of software applications and other system specific data entries serving various purposes.With a constantly changing database that has the size of the Windows registry, problems do not fail to arise as this part of the operating system becomes crowded with temporary data, software installation variables, partially uninstalled applications and other similar entries, making it both increasingly difficult to access resulting in larger reading times and highly hard to manage due to the high chances of operating system damaging if not done by an IT expert.

With such a problem in front of almost every PC user, software companies are constantly developing solutions and tools able to quickly scan and identify Windows registry invalid entries, fragmented sections, temporary data and orphan registry keys, generating reports and carrying fully featured tools capable of fixing each one of the most commonly found problems. These applications are some of the best registry cleaners on the market and they help non-technical PC users properly maintain and administrate their computing platform for best performance and faster overall processing times combined with greater operating system and application level stability.

When choosing which one of the market's best registry cleaners to acquire a license for, you should consider several differentiating criteria such as features, customer support, reliability, satisfaction guarantee and documentation versus, of course, price, as we are all looking after obtaining the best buy when shopping for software products. On the other hand, the best registry cleaners for the Windows registry do not have to necessarily cost a fortune in order to bring quality features, reason why you, as the end user, should consider some free alternatives while looking for the solution which best suits both your requirements and budget.

Fix your slow PC by reviewing our top registry cleaner reviews - you will also learn how to fix windows registry errors manually is you so wish.

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How to Compare Spyware Removal Programs

If you are one of the many people who has spyware on your computer, you need to get rid of it in a quick fashion, and the best way to do that is with a spyware removal program. In this article, we will look at what you should be watching for when you decide to compare spyware removal programs.

When you compare spyware removal programs, the very first thing you should look at is the number of spyware threats that the spyware removal program in question contains in its database. New threats are being added to the online world every day, so you need to have a spyware remover that is well aware of these new threats. Because of this, you also want a spyware remover that updates itself on a regular basis. All spyware removal programs will scan your PC for intruders, but not all of them have an accurate count. Some actually list necessary files as spyware. And the final thing you should consider when you compare spyware removal programs is whether the software provides an anti spyware function.

You want to keep spyware off of your computer in the future, and these types of spyware removers will do that. Still, no matter how good your anti spyware program is, some spyware will probably still get through, so when you compare spyware removal programs, you want one that will allow you to schedule future scans to get rid of any new threats that might have kept onto your PC.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Farley

Where to Get the Best Spyware Adware Removal Software Download? - Compare Adware Spyware Remover

Are you searching for the best spyware adware removal software download from the internet? Most PC users who have access to the internet will experience a spyware or adware infection in their computers at some point.

It is commonly thought of as a minor problem when in actual fact it can be the root cause of bigger problems like identity theft. It is important that you protect your computer from spyware and adware to prevent sensitive information like your bank account details or passwords from being stolen.

1. My Own Experience With Spyware Adware Infection
My own computer started slowing down a couple of months ago, and I simply dismissed it as a case of low memory space. However, I quickly realized that I was wrong as I started seeing popups appearing all over the screen. I ignored the problem thinking that it was no big deal. But it got worse and worse by the day as more popups appeared and the processing speed slowed down tremendously.

2. Is Your Computer Infected By Spyware Adware?
No one wants to believe that their PCs are infected, but if you have never scanned your system for spyware before, it is highly possible that it is infected. It is better to be safe than sorry and to download an anti spyware application to scan for such problems.

3. How I Managed To Get Rid Of All The Spyware And Adware In Less Than 5 Minutes
I managed to download a really good piece of software that found hundreds of spyware on my PC, and it managed to get rid of all of them in just a few minutes. Once my PC was rebooted, no more popups appeared again and it was running much faster like new again. You can find out more and download the software that I have used at the website link below.

Are you looking for Spyware Adware Removal Software Download? Don't do it yet, because the author has found many bad spyware and adware cleaning software on the web. Read the author's review of the Top 5 Spyware & Adware Removal Software on the market now at http://www.review-best.com/spyware-adware-removal-software.htm first!

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Slow Startup - Windows XP

You have a PC with windows xp slow startup. Wasn't it great! Your spanking new Desktop or laptop was running like a dream. Fast as lightning. Then as time progressed things started to happen. It takes a while to startup when you switch on.
Occasionally things just seem to go at a crawl. Hah, Lets try one of those amazing fixit programs advertised. Shell out bucks and she'll be OK. Humm.... Things seem to be a little bit better.What about that program that says you have a register problem. That will fix it. Well believe it or ot they may fix a lot of problems but they may not be the one you have got. They most probably not be what a lot of people have got.

I will tell you something about new PC's and laptops. They have something in them that is mechanical. Yes a hard drive. They are these days a sophisticated item but they are still mechanical.

My first PC was made by Wang. My first laptop was made by Wang. (I have still got it. Probably a collector's item now). Some people may remember Wang. They were one of the original Word processing systems companies. Way before MS Word and they were good. (At the time) Well, they produced a PC. It had a 10 megabyte disk drive and I thought that was BIG. Yes it was mechanical and yes today's disks reare still mechanical. Now we consider gigabyte disk drives small. Eventually disk drives will disappear as static (means it does move anything but bits) ram (for the un-initiated "random access memory") becomes so cheap that this will do away with them.

In the meantime you have your mechanical disk drive.

Well to get these "bits", in which a number of them make up your file, a mechanical head has to move over a recorded surface. Occasionally it may pick a bit up wrong. That's OK the manufacturers knew this would happen so put in things called "checksums" that can up to a certain amount actually figure out what was missing and replace it. Good, that's fine. What about those it can't? Well hard luck you have a corrupted file! The only way to fix that is to restore it from somewhere. But that is another subject.

The main thing is that if this is some sort of system file it may cause some problems and slow down your PC until it either sorts itself out or gives up. (WOW a system crash) That makes a system really slow (like stopped). Back to your slow system.

Let me explain the manufacture of hard disks. One thing the manufacturers know is that the disks they manufacture will have defects on the surfaces of them. They produce millions of them. Do they chuck away the ones with defects? No! Each one goes through a test. As they are tested and a defective part of the disk is found they use a bit of smarts and make that bit of disk unavailable. If the number of defective parts go over a certain number then they reject the disk. It may be that you have a labelled 80gbyte disk. But in actual fact you may have only a 79.9999 gigabyte disk. What the heck, what's a few bits between friends.

Unfortunately, sorry I had to say that word. Parts of the disk surface may become defective afterwards. You may not know it until months (or even a year) after you have bought your state of the art PC or laptop.

Why?

Well when you first got your PC you may only have used 6 or 7 gigabytes of your 80 gigabyte disk. Over the months or year you put on all your good stuff, (photo's, games and such) Your disk gradually uses 30 gigabytes. (Got lots of photos you know) Then bingo one photo is written across the defective part.

One thing about windows xp is that it goes checking all the time around the used portion of the disk. It hits the defective part and hey hold on have a look at this again, and again, and again as it tries to recover the file. Eventually if it can't it times out. Wow your system springs back to life again. Now if this happens to a system file it may take longer. Your system may not crash but it will take longer checking it out.

This can manifest (yes, I know some posh words) in a slow startup when you first switch on. This is because windows does a lot of checking at this time. Unfortunately windows keeps a lot of this stuff to itself. That's what these purveyors of good stuff to fix everything up for you depend on.

Now I have got all that out of the way you had better go to Windows XP Slow Startup site at http://www.windowsxpslowstartup.how-do-you-do.info and follow the instructions there. You will also find other instructions that will help you in other areas that cause a slow startup.

Wilf Gerrard-Staton lives in Country Australia.
He is retired with over 35 years in the computer industry under his belt.
He started this windows blog because he was cheesed off with all those sites that basically offered nothing but skipping to advert site after advert site.
You will find further information on this irritating problem at his blog windowsxpslowstartup.how-do-you-do.info and his main site at http://www.how-do-you-do.info

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