How do I remove a computer virus?

Here are a few things you can try to remove a computer virus:

Keep your antivirus program up to date. If you have already installed an antivirus program on your computer, it's important that you keep it up to date. Because new viruses are being written all the time, most antivirus programs are updated frequently. Check your antivirus program's documentation or visit their website to learn how to receive updates. Be aware that some viruses block common antivirus websites, making it so you cannot go to the website to download antivirus updates. If this happens, check with your antivirus vendor to see if they have a disc you can use to install the latest updates. It might be possible for you to create this disc on a computer that is not infected (for example, on a friend's computer).



Use an online scanner. If you don't have antivirus software installed, visit the Windows Security Software Providers website for more information about security and virus prevention. Some of the partner sites offer free online scanners which will search your computer for the latest viruses. These scanners will not protect you from getting a virus, but they can help find and remove viruses your computer already has.



Use the Malicious Software Removal Tool. Microsoft offers the Malicious Software Removal Tool, which is updated once a month. Visit the Malicious Software Removal Tool website to install the tool and learn more about it. The tool scans your computer for most new viruses and malicious software. After you run the tool, you will get a report that describes any malicious software found on your computer and lists all the viruses it scanned for.



Stop a runaway virus. Viruses are often created specifically to take control of your computer and send copies of themselves from your computer to other computers. You can usually tell this is happening if your computer is performing slowly and accessing the network more frequently than normal. If this is happening, you should disconnect from the Internet and network (if you're on one). If you are connected to the Internet through a physical connection, disconnect the network or phone cable from your computer. If you're connected to the Internet through a wireless connection on a laptop, turn off the wireless adapter on the computer (either by turning off a switch or removing your wireless adapter card). Once your computer is disconnected from the Internet, run your antivirus software (from a disc or software on your computer) to remove the virus.



Manually remove viruses. Sometimes a virus must be removed manually. This is often a technical process and should only be attempted by computer users who have experience with the Windows registry and who know how to view and delete system and program files in Windows.



The first step is to identify the virus. Run your antivirus software to identify the name of the virus. If you don't have an antivirus program, or if your program does not detect the virus, you can still identify the virus by looking for clues about how it behaves. Write down the text in any messages displayed by the virus or, if you received the virus in e‑mail, write down the subject line or name of the file attached to the message. Search the antivirus vendor's website for references to those specific things you wrote down to try to find the name of the virus and instructions for how to remove it.



My virus is gone. Now what? Once a virus is removed, you might have to reinstall some software, or restore lost information. Doing regular backups can go a long way toward easing the pain of a virus attack. If you haven't kept backups, start now. To learn how to help prevent future attacks, see How can I help protect my computer from viruses?

General cleaning Tips

Below is a listing of general tips that should be taken when cleaning any of the components or peripherals of a computer as well as tips to help keep a computer clean.

Never spray or squirt any type of liquid onto any computer component. If a spray is needed, spray the liquid onto a cloth and then use that cloth to rub down the component.

2 Users can use a vacuum to suck up dirt, dust, or hair around their computer on the outside case and on their keyboards. However, do not use a vacuum for the inside of your computer as it generates a lot of static electricity that can damage the internal components of your computer. If you need to use a vacuum to clean the inside of your computer, use a portable battery powered vacuum designed to do this job.

3 When cleaning a component and/or the computer, turn it off before cleaning.

4 Never get any component inside the computer or any other circuit board damp or wet.

5 Be cautious when using any type of cleaning solvents; some individuals may have allergic reactions to chemicals in cleaning solvents and some solvents can even damage the case. Try to always use water or a highly diluted solvent.

6 When cleaning, be careful not to accidentally adjust any knobs or controls. In addition, when cleaning the back of the computer, if anything is plugged in, make sure not to disconnect any of the plugs.

7 When cleaning fans, especially the smaller fans within a portable computer or laptop it's suggested that you either hold the fan or place something in-between the fan blades to prevent it from spinning. Spraying compressed air into a fan or cleaning a fan with a vacuum may cause damage to some fans or in some cases cause back voltage.

8 Never eat or drink around the computer.

9 Limit smoking around the computer.

Getting the most out of the rulers in CorelDRAW

Whether you need to move, size, create, or align objects and text in your project, you can accomplish the task at hand with precision by using the rulers available in CorelDRAW®. The rulers consist of a vertical bar and a horizontal bar. Both bars are marked off in units and are displayed by default in the upper-left corner of the drawing window.

The rulers displayed in CorelDRAW

When you move the pointer in the drawing window, the rulers find the pointer's position in relation to their origin. The ruler origin is the point on the drawing page that corresponds to the points marked by zero on both rulers. By default, the ruler origin is located at the lower-left corner of the drawing page. The pointer's position is displayed on the status bar, which is useful when you need to use precision in dragging an object to a new position.

Backup 

This term means “safety copy”, so do it as often as possible, to have an option in trouble. Computers "crack" sometimes because of operating system errors, sometimes due to a physical failure of any vital components, or even because of any current banal feathers, and there is risk to lose data hard disk. If you have important data on your hard disk, make sure you backup them regularly. From time to time (especially if these files change), renew the copy! You can copy important files on DVDs, and if the volume of data is higher, you can backup to another hard disk or on another computer.

 Physical disk and logical disk

A hard disk is a physical disk, meaning a unit of magnetic memory. The total area that can register information can be divided into several logical disks, for a more efficient use. In MS-DOS and Windows, each logical drive is associated with a point followed by the symbol ":" after a simple rule: with the letters A and B we note the floppy disk and start with the letter C: the logical disks. After logical disks, the next letters are used by CD-ROM, pen drives and other similar devices that could exist in the system.

Increase Hard Disk speed in Windows 

If you like to increase/optimize your Hard Disk I/O - read/write speed without buying expensive software utilities to do that job or changing the HD, just follow next steps. With doing these steps you will increase Hard disk speed (depends of manufacture and specification, but its worth to try). The most speed improvement is visible with IDE drives; however there are reports that this tweak also does good for SCSI disks.

In any case, it won't harm your system, so try it yourself and let me know what you find!

Steps:

1. Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the start & then Run command.
2. Expand the system.ini file window.
3. Scroll down almost to the end of the file untill you find a line called [386enh].
4. Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type
5. Irq14=4096 (note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE)
6. Click on the File menu, then choose Save.
7. Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.
8. Restart windows!

The speed improvement will be noticed just after the system reboots, any system info. software can be used to check the improvement.

How to Rename the Recycle Bin

To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, open Regedit and go to:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} 

and change the name "Recycle Bin" to whatever you want (don't type any quotes).

How to Upgrade Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition Profiles to Windows XP Domain User Profiles


This guide describes how to upgrade a Microsoft Microsoft Windows 98-based, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition-based client that has user profiles to a Microsoft Windows XP-based client. 

The following steps enable the Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition (Me) profiles to be retained throughout the process. 

Your best method to retain the profiles is to join the domain during the upgrade installation process. 
Otherwise, you must use a workaround method to transfer the profile information over to the Windows XP profile. 

During the upgrade installation process, at the networking section, the administrator is offered the choice to join a domain or a workgroup. 
If you join the domain at this juncture, you ensure that all the existing profiles are migrated successfully to the Windows XP-based installation. 

If you did not join the computer to the domain during the upgrade process, you must use the following workaround method:

Join the upgraded computer to the target domain. 

All applicable users must log on and log off (which generates a profile). 

Copy the appropriate Application Data folder from the Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me profiles to the newly created user profiles.

Upgrading to Windows XP


You can upgrade a computer that runs Windows 98, 98SE, or Me to Windows XP Home Edition. Those same versions, along with Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000 Professional, can be upgraded to Windows XP Professional.

(1).To ensure a smooth upgrade and avoid networking problems, follow these tips before starting the upgrade: 

(2)Install all network cards. XP will detect them and automatically install the right drivers. 

(3)Have your Internet connection available. The XP setup process will connect to a Microsoft server to download the latest setup files, including changes that have been made since XP was released. 

Some programs are incompatible with XP and can cause networking problems. Un-install these programs. After the upgrade is complete and the network is working, re-install XP-compatible versions of these programs: Internet Connection Sharing, NAT, Proxy Server Anti-Virus Firewall.

How to Remove Windows XP's Messenger

Theoretically, you can get rid of it (as well as a few other things). Windows 2000 power users should already be familiar with this tweak. 

Fire up the Windows Explorer and navigate your way to the %SYSTEMROOT% \ INF folder. What the heck is that thingy with the percentage signs? It's a variable. For most people, %SYSTEMROOT% is C:\Windows. For others, it may be E:\WinXP. Get it? Okay, on with the hack! In the INF folder, open sysoc.inf (but not before making a BACKUP copy first). Before your eyes glaze over, look for the line containing "msmsgs" in it. Near the end of that particular line, you'll notice that the word "hide" is not so hidden. Go ahead and delete "hide" (so that the flanking commas are left sitting next to one another). Save the file and close it. Now, open the Add and Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Click the Add / Remove Windows Components icon. You should see "Windows Messenger" in that list. Remove the checkmark from its box, and you should be set. NOTE: there are other hidden system components in that sysoc.inf file, too. Remove "hide" and the subsequent programs at your own risk.

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