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	<title>Technibble &#187; Viruses, Adware &amp; Spyware</title>
	<atom:link href="http://www.technibble.com/categories/viruses-adware-spyware/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://www.technibble.com</link>
	<description>A Resource for Computer Repair Technicians &#38; to get PC tech support help.</description>
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		<title>Reimage.com &#8211; An Amazing Tool For Computer Technicians</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/reimage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/reimage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:17:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work Smart]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/?p=1059</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We have been talking about automating our computer work on Technibble a fair bit lately and I have recently been introduced to a tool called &#8220;Reimage&#8221;. Reimage is designed to automate the repair of severly damaged Windows installs.
Through the Reimage website via an ActiveX control, they scan the system files, folders, registry keys and drivers [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/reimage/">Reimage.com &#8211; An Amazing Tool For Computer Technicians</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We have been talking about automating our computer work on Technibble a fair bit lately and I have recently been introduced to a tool called &#8220;Reimage&#8221;. Reimage is designed to automate the repair of severly damaged Windows installs.</p>
<p>Through the Reimage website via an ActiveX control, they scan the system files, folders, registry keys and drivers looking for something missing or something that shouldnt be there. This can be anything from missing critical system files to an adware infection of your computer. Once they find the problem, the website fixes it.<br />
<span id="more-1059"></span><br />
As a computer technician I am always sceptical about something that promises so much. So, I took the software for a test drive. I created a virtual machine on my computer which is a copy of Windows, running in a window on my desktop. Its great for testing the effects of viruses and other nasties without putting your computer in danger.</p>
<p>For this test, I installed the application &#8220;Starware&#8221; (which is known as adware by many companies) because it installs a toolbar, changes your start page and creates ads on websites you are viewing. I also deleted my win.ini file found in c:\Windows\System\. </p>
<p><a href='http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage11.gif'><img src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage11-220x165.gif" alt="" title="Reimage" width="220" height="165" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1064" /></a></p>
<p>Anyway, I went to the Reimage website, logged in using the test account I was given for this review and pressed the &#8220;Start Repair&#8221; button. I installed the ActiveX control that the website uses to scan for problems and let it begin its analysis. This process took around 5-8 minutes on my test runs.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage6.gif'><img src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage6-220x165.gif" alt="" title="Reimage" width="220" height="165" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1061" /></a></p>
<p>Once the analysis was complete I pressed the &#8220;Fix&#8221; button and it began the fixing process. During this stage, the website downloaded a few megabytes of information so running this on a cable connection is ideal, but not required. Two minutes later the application asked me to reboot the computer so it can make changes to any in-use or locked system files and once the computer boots up again I am taken to the following page:</p>
<p><a href='http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage8.gif'><img src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage8-220x165.gif" alt="" title="Reimage" width="220" height="165" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1062" /></a></p>
<p>As you can see, my Starware toolbar has been removed. I went to check on my win.ini file shortly after and saw that it had been recreated. </p>
<p><a href='http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage9.gif'><img src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2008/06/reimage9-220x165.gif" alt="" title="Reimage" width="220" height="165" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1063" /></a></p>
<p>Reimages slogan is &#8220;PC Repair. In Minutes&#8221; and my test runs took around 10-15 minutes, So they definitely live up to their name. Reimage is also is a complete support solution because they will call you if they detect any problems with your repair and help you through it.</p>
<p>As I said earlier Reimage is designed to &#8220;automate the repair of severely damaged Windows installs&#8221;, but something I would consider a &#8220;severely damaged Windows install&#8221; is when Windows doesn&#8217;t boot at all. If I cant boot the system, I cannot use IE to access the Reimage website right? Well, Reimage have solved this problem by offering a boot CD similar to Knoppix or UBCD4Win so you can rescue easily non-booting Windows installs.</p>
<p>The Reimage website has been created with computer technicians in mind because it allows you to brand the Reimage pages with your own logo so you can safely use it onsite while your client watches without them thinking &#8220;I could have just bypassed you and used Reimage directly&#8221;. As far as the client knows, its an inhouse application. </p>
<p>The pricing for Reimage works on a per use scale is $150 for 5 uses, $250 for 10 or $500 for Monthly plan (100 repairs). This works out to $30 each when you buy the lowest package or $5 each when you buy the largest. It is a small price to pay considering the amount of time you can save with this application and you can always pass the cost onto the client.</p>
<p>I am really pleased with the results of the repair on my test PC and I would recommend it to anyone. But, you don&#8217;t have to take my word for it. I have managed to acquire 3 free uses for Technibble readers so try it out yourself. Grab them quick because they are only valid until the 13th of June.</p>
<p><strong>Get your free uses here:</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.reimage.com/registration.php?package=technibble&#038;invitation=e5126f">http://www.reimage.com/registration.php?package=technibble&#038;invitation=e5126f<br />
</a></p>
<p><strong>For more information about Reimage, check out their website here:</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.reimage.com">http://www.reimage.com</a></p>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/reimage/">Reimage.com &#8211; An Amazing Tool For Computer Technicians</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>52</slash:comments>
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		<title>Why do People Create Computer Viruses?</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/why-do-people-create-computer-viruses/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/why-do-people-create-computer-viruses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2007 07:05:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/why-do-people-create-computer-viruses/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a computer technician, my clients frequently ask me &#8220;Why do people create computer viruses?&#8221;, especially after I have been called out to remove a virus from their computer.  This is what I tell them.

There are hundreds of thousands of viruses out there (if not millions) and they often designed for different objectives. Most [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/why-do-people-create-computer-viruses/">Why do People Create Computer Viruses?</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As a computer technician, my clients frequently ask me <em>&#8220;Why do people create computer viruses?&#8221;</em>, especially after I have been called out to remove a virus from their computer.  This is what I tell them.<br />
<span id="more-755"></span></p>
<p>There are hundreds of thousands of viruses out there (if not millions) and they often designed for different objectives. Most of them fall under the following categories:</p>
<ul>
<li>To take control of a computer and use it for specific tasks</li>
<li>To generate money</li>
<li>To steal sensitive information (credit card numbers, passwords, personal details, data etc.)</li>
<li>To prove a point, to prove it can be done, to prove ones skill or for revenge purposes</li>
<li>To cripple a computer or network</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>To Take Control of a Computer and Use It for Specific Tasks</strong></p>
<p>
This is the most common type of virus, which is better classified as a trojan. These types of viruses are usually downloaded unknowingly by the computer user thinking that the file is something else, such as a file sent from a instant messenger friend or email attachment.</p>
<p>Once the host computer has been infected (known as a zombie computer), the trojan joins a private chat channel and awaits orders from its &#8220;Zombie Master&#8221;. This Zombie Master who is often the virus creator, will gather thousands of infected machines called a botnet and use them to mount attacks on web servers. The Zombie Master can command each of these infected computers will send a tiny bit of information to a web server &#8211; because there are potentially thousands of computers doing this at once, it often overloads the server.</p>
<p>The Zombie Master may want to do this to another website because it is a rival website, a figurehead website (such as whitehouse.gov) or it may be part of an extortion plan. <em>&#8220;Send me $5000 or your Toy selling website will be offline over the Christmas holidays&#8221;</em>.</p>
<p>The Zombie Master can also use these infected computers to send spam while the zombie master remains anonymous and the blame goes to the infected computers.<br />
</p>
<div align='center'><img src='http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2007/11/irobot.jpg' alt='i Robot: This movie was definitely about a DDOS' /></div>
<p><strong>To Generate Money</strong><br />
These types of infections often masquerade as free spyware or virus removal tools (known as rogueware). Once ran, these fake applications will &#8220;scan&#8221; your computer and say it found has someviruses (even if there arent any) and in order to remove them, you must pay for the full version of the application. A good example of such a infection is called Myzor.fk which <a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-syssecuritysitecom-w32myzorfk/">we have written about in the past</a>.</p>
<p><div class="ad-content">
<script type="text/javascript"><!--
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<script type="text/javascript"
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</div><strong>Steal sensitive information</strong><br />
These types of viruses can sniff the traffic going in or out of a computer for interesting information such as passwords or credit card numbers and send it back to the virus creator. These types of viruses often use keylogging as a method of stealing information where it maintains a record of everything that is typed into the computer such as emails, passwords, home banking data, instant messenger chats etc..<br />
The above mentioned methods also allows an attacker to gather an incredible amount of data about a person which can be used for identity theft purposes.</p>
<p><strong>To Prove a Point, To Prove it Can Be Done, To Prove Ones Skill or For Revenge Purposes</strong><br />
A perfect example of this type of virus was the famous MS.Blaster virus (aka Lovesan) which infected hundreds of thousands of computers back in August 2003.</p>
<p>This virus would cause the system to restart after 60 seconds and had two hidden messages written in its code:<br />
One was <em>&#8220;I just want to say LOVE YOU SAN!!&#8221;</em> which is why the virus is sometimes called Lovesan, and the other message was <em>&#8220;billy gates why do you make this possible ? Stop making money and fix your software!!&#8221;</em><br />
It is believed that purpose of this virus was to prove how easily exploitable a Windows system is.</p>
<p><strong>To Cripple a Computer or Network</strong><br />
Few viruses now days are intended to disable a computer because it stops viruses ability to spread to other computers. Computer crippling viruses still exist, but nowhere near as common as the viruses mentioned above. The worst type of computer crippling viruses were back in the days of the 486 computers where the virus would overwrite the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the computer which would often prevent the computer from starting up at all.</p>
<p>Unlike computer crippling viruses, network crippling viruses are all too common now days. Most viruses that are designed to launch a Denial of Service attack will cause a significant load on a computer network, often bringing it down completely.</p>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/why-do-people-create-computer-viruses/">Why do People Create Computer Viruses?</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>33</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Test Antivirus Programs with the Eicar Test File</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/test-antivirus-programs-with-the-eicar-test-file/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/test-antivirus-programs-with-the-eicar-test-file/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Aug 2007 06:37:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[On the Job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/test-antivirus-programs-with-the-eicar-test-file/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Did you know there was a way to test anti-virus/anti-malware applications to make sure they are working correctly? Well, there is. &#8220;Eicar&#8221; is a string of code which most antivirus applications detect as a virus, typically with an obvious name like EICAR-AV-Test. In the past, each antivirus vendor had their own test code to set [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/test-antivirus-programs-with-the-eicar-test-file/">Test Antivirus Programs with the Eicar Test File</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Did you know there was a way to test anti-virus/anti-malware applications to make sure they are working correctly? Well, there is. &#8220;Eicar&#8221; is a string of code which most antivirus applications detect as a virus, typically with an obvious name like <em>EICAR-AV-Test</em>. In the past, each antivirus vendor had their own test code to set off their product. However in recent years the Eicar test file has become somewhat of an industry standard and most major antivirus software will spot it. In this article, we&#8217;ll tell you what it can test and show you how to make a test file.<br />
<span id="more-601"></span><br />
<!--adsense--><strong>What Eicar <em>Wont</em> Do</strong><br />
First of all, lets clear up the fact that the Eicar test file will not test how comprehensive an antivirus product is with detecting viruses because most mainstream products have detection by default. Any antivirus software that doesn&#8217;t detect it doesn&#8217;t acknowledge the standard and wont detect it as a virus because as I mentioned earlier, it contains no virus code.</p>
<p><strong>What Eicar <em>Will</em> Do</strong><br />
Eicar will test real-time/resident scanners to make sure they are activated and working properly. It will also partially test how good the real-time/resident scanner is. For example, McAfee antiviruses real-time scanner wont even let you save the test file. AVG Antivirus wont pick it up until its opened or scanned.</p>
<p><strong>Ok, Lets Make a Test File</strong></p>
<p>Copy and Paste the following line into a text file:</p>
<p><code>X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*</code></p>
<p>Now, save it with the file name <strong>eicar.com</strong>. Thats pretty much all you need to do to create a basic Eicar test file. However, we have provided some samples to test antivirus applications in a little more depth. You may need to deactivate your antivirus software to download these:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="/downloads/misc/eicar/eicar.com">eicar.com</a> - Basic test file (right click, save as)</li>
<li><a href="/downloads/misc/eicar/eicar.com.txt">eicar.com.txt</a> - Some people may have trouble downloading the above file. Rename this one to just eicar.com (right click, save as)</li>
<li><a href="/downloads/misc/eicar/eicar_com.zip">eicar_com.zip</a> - Tests whether the antivirus software scans within zip files.</li>
<li><a href="/downloads/misc/eicar/eicarcom2.zip">eicarcom2.zip</a> - Tests whether the antivirus software will scan a zip file within zip file.</li>
</ul>
<p>If you plan to carry the test file around on your USB memory stick with your computer repair tools, be sure to put eicar in a <em>passworded</em> archive. Otherwise, some clients antivirus software will detect and delete it off your USB drive. If its passworded, the antivirus cant see into the archive and therefor doesn't get deleted. Another option is to put it on a read only device such as a CD.</p>
<p>[warning]For some antivirus software, once the antivirus discovers the eicar test it may disallow access to the file because it quarantines it. Instructions for unlocking the file are antivirus brand specific, so you'll have to contact the vendor for steps of how to unlock it. However, in most cases if you just clear the quarantine area of your antivirus software, that usually fixes it.[/warning]</p>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/test-antivirus-programs-with-the-eicar-test-file/">Test Antivirus Programs with the Eicar Test File</a></p>
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		<title>Rogueware Being Spread Via Forums</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/rogueware-being-spread-via-forums/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/rogueware-being-spread-via-forums/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:33:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/rogueware-being-spread-via-forums/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Most experienced computer users know how adware and spyware is spread. Typically free programs that are designed for a certain purpose such as KaZaA (for downloading music) are bundled with other applications which contain adware or spyware. A new threat on the scene is called &#8220;Rogueware&#8221;, Rogueware are meaningful files which in reality can be [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/rogueware-being-spread-via-forums/">Rogueware Being Spread Via Forums</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Most experienced computer users know how adware and spyware is spread. Typically free programs that are designed for a certain purpose such as KaZaA (for downloading music) are bundled with other applications which contain adware or spyware. A new threat on the scene is called &#8220;Rogueware&#8221;, Rogueware are meaningful files which in reality can be quite malicious. The most common type of Rogueware are fake anti virus/adware/spyware progams that once installed, say you have lots of viruses/malware installed and in order for the program to remove them you must pay for the full version. In the past, these programs typically spread by advertising on other sites with banners saying things like <em>&#8220;1023 Viruses detected on your computer! Click here to fix it now!&#8221;</em>.</p>
<p>Recently, one of our Technibble forum members, <a href="http://www.technibble.com/forums/member.php?u=2513">Buzz</a>; spotted a pattern in posts across a few forums he visited and reported it to us. It appears to be another method of spreading rogueware.<br />
<span id="more-537"></span><br />
Buzz read <a href="http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1018">this thread</a> on our forums which has a user named &#8220;robart&#8221; posting the following:</p>
<blockquote><p>I got this Trojan Virus from a &#8216;Noble Poker&#8217; program I haven&#8217;t used in years. My Norton Anti-Virus and XsoftSpySE wont get rid of it. Is there anyone out there that can help me remove it before my computer crashes?</p></blockquote>
<p>A few Technibble forum members (Buzz, Mac, Blues and Myself) suggest some legitimate ways to get rid of it and then someone called &#8220;marina_meggy&#8221; posts the following:</p>
<blockquote><p>I recommend you to download the free program called Spyware sweeper from &#8211;URL Removed&#8211; This is one of the very few tested anti-spy ware programs that can help you to remove the Trojan successfully. You would find detailed instructions at the site</p></blockquote>
<p><!--adsense-->What makes this interesting is that Spyware Sweeper (not to be confused with the legitimate application Spy Sweeper) is a known Rogueware program that masquerades as a spyware removal program which asks for money to remove the fake infection.</p>
<p>This same group have been doing the exact same thing on other forums where one of them creates a post saying that they have an infection, and the other replies recommending SpywareSweeper as if they were a helpful forum member.</p>
<p>If you look at the original post on Technibbles forums located <a href="http://www.technibble.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1018">HERE</a>. And then look at the post on VirtualDr.com&#8217;s forums located <a href="http://discussions.virtualdr.com/showthread.php?t=221493">HERE</a>. You can see that the posts are almost exactly identical.</p>
<p>After doing a Google Search, I can find <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&#038;rlz=1B3GGGL_enAU176AU215&#038;q=%22I+have+a+trojan%21%21%22+%2B+robart&#038;btnG=Search">many other forums with the exact same post</a>.</p>
<p>Technical forums are still an excellent way to get some computer help, just look at who&#8217;s giving the advice on the forum. If the person just signed up and has a post count of 1, it might be worth double checking what they say.</p>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/rogueware-being-spread-via-forums/">Rogueware Being Spread Via Forums</a></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Create a Windows XP Virtual Machine</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-create-a-windows-xp-virtual-machine/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-create-a-windows-xp-virtual-machine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:32:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[On the Job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/how-to-create-a-windows-xp-virtual-machine/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In this article we will show you how to create a Windows XP Virtual Machine. What is a virtual machine you may ask?
One of our guest writers explains it in great detail in one of our previous articles titled Virtualization and its Uses in the Tech World:
A Virtual Machine is a piece of software which [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-create-a-windows-xp-virtual-machine/">How to Create a Windows XP Virtual Machine</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In this article we will show you how to create a Windows XP Virtual Machine. What is a virtual machine you may ask?<br />
One of our guest writers explains it in great detail in one of our previous articles titled <a href="http://www.technibble.com/virtualization-and-its-uses-in-the-tech-world/">Virtualization and its Uses in the Tech World</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>A Virtual Machine is a piece of software which emulates (pretends), to be machine (computer) to do an abnormal task such as running Windows on a Macintosh computer for example, to occur via the trapping of computer instructions. It is quite literally a computer running ON a computer. One of the by-products of this is that the two systems can be entirely separated from each other, which allows a level of security that just can&#8217;t be matched.</p></blockquote>
<p>Now, lets make your own XP Virtual Machine.<br />
<span id="more-453"></span></p>
<ul>
<p>	<!--adsense-->
<li>To begin, download and install <a href="http://www.vmware.com/products/player/">Free VMware player</a> (you will need to fill out a few questions before download). This is what our virtual machine will be running inside of.</li>
<li>Choose what size you would like your Virtual Machine hard drive size to be (this will take up real hard drive space). I have created several different sizes available for download (right click, save file as..). For testing purposes, the 4Gb is a good choice:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WinXP-4g.vdmk">4GB Version</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WinXP-8g.vdmk">8GB Version</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WinXP-10g.vdmk">10GB Version</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WinXP-15g.vdmk">15GB Version</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WinXP-20g.vdmk">20GB Version</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Download the appropriate file based on which Windows XP you own (right click, save as..) and save it in the same folder that you saved the previous file in:
<ul>
<li>For XP Pro: <a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WindowsXPPro.vmx">WindowsXPPro.vmx</a> </li>
<li>For XP Home: <a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/windows-tools/winxp-vm/WindowsXPHome.vmx">WindowsXPHome.vmx</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Insert your WindowsXP CD into your CD Rom.</li>
<li>Run VMware player which you installed in the first step and click the &#8220;Open&#8221; button and find the .vmx file you downloaded. Windows Setup should now begin.</li>
<li>To interact inside your virtual machine, double click on the Window or press CTRL+G. This will make anything you do with the mouse or keyboard work inside the Virtual Machine only and not the desktop you are currently using. To escape the Virtual Machine so you can control your regular desktop, press CTRL+ALT. </li>
<li>Install WindowsXP as you normally would by following the prompts. When the installation finishes you will see your new Windows XP Virtual Machine Desktop.</li>
<li>To quit the Virtual Machine, either shutdown the VM version of Windows XP as you do for your normal desktop, or simply close the VMWare Player.</li>
</ul>
<p><center><br />
<img src='http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2007/06/virtual-machine-xp.jpg' alt='Windows XP Virtual Machine' /><br /><i>Window XP Virtual Machine. Windows XP being run from within Windows XP</i></center></p>
<p><strong>For anyone who wants to experiment further with these Virtual Machines (for techies and geeks):<br />
</strong><br />
If you want to try this with other Windows operating systems such as Windows 2000. Open up the .vmx file with Notepad and it will look something like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>
config.version = &#8220;8&#8243;<br />
virtualHW.version = &#8220;3&#8243;<br />
ide0:0.present = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
ide0:0.filename = &#8220;WindowsXPPro.vmdk&#8221;<br />
memsize = &#8220;64&#8243;<br />
MemAllowAutoScaleDown = &#8220;FALSE&#8221;<br />
ide1:0.present = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
ide1:0.fileName = &#8220;auto detect&#8221;<br />
ide1:0.deviceType = &#8220;cdrom-raw&#8221;<br />
ide1:0.autodetect = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
floppy0.present = &#8220;FALSE&#8221;<br />
ethernet0.present = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
usb.present = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
sound.present = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
sound.virtualDev = &#8220;es1371&#8243;<br />
displayName = &#8220;Windows XP Pro&#8221;<br />
guestOS = &#8220;winXPPro&#8221;<br />
nvram = &#8220;WindowsXPPro.nvram&#8221;<br />
MemTrimRate = &#8220;-1&#8243;</p>
<p>ide0:0.redo = &#8220;&#8221;<br />
ethernet0.addressType = &#8220;generated&#8221;<br />
uuid.location = &#8220;56 4d 5c cc 3d 4a 43 29-55 89 5c 28 1e 7e 06 58&#8243;<br />
uuid.bios = &#8220;56 4d 5c cc 3d 4a 43 29-55 89 5c 28 1e 7e 06 58&#8243;<br />
ethernet0.generatedAddress = &#8220;00:0c:29:7e:06:58&#8243;<br />
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = &#8220;0&#8243;</p>
<p>tools.syncTime = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;<br />
ide1:0.startConnected = &#8220;TRUE&#8221;</p>
<p>uuid.action = &#8220;create&#8221;</p>
<p>checkpoint.vmState = &#8220;&#8221;
</p></blockquote>
<p>Change the guestOS value to &#8220;windows2000pro&#8221; and the other WinXPPro values to Win2000 (the rest are just names so they dont matter as much).</p>
<p>Also, these .vmx files are optimized for computers with only 256mb of ram which is why &#8220;memsize&#8221; equals 64. If you are running 512mb of ram then you might want to set this value to 128 for added performance.</p>
<p>If you would like to customize the size of the .vdmk files. Download Qemu located <a href="http://free.oszoo.org/ftp/qemu/win32/release/QemuInstall-0.7.2.exe">here</a> and install it to a location such as &#8220;c:\program files\qemu&#8221;.</p>
<p>Goto Start > Run and type CMD.</p>
<p>In the command window, while in the qemu directory (eg, c:\program files\qemu>) type:</p>
<blockquote><p>qemu-img.exe create -f vmdk WindowsXPPro.vmdk 13G</p></blockquote>
<p>Replace the 13G with whatever file size you want the VM partition to be (in this case, 13 gig) and it will create it in your qemu directory. You might want to move this out of this directory. Now all if you have to do is repeat the steps in this article using your own .vmdk and .vmx files and you have a custom Virtual Machine.</p>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-create-a-windows-xp-virtual-machine/">How to Create a Windows XP Virtual Machine</a></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Remove Winstall.exe / SpySheriff</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-winstallexe-spysheriff/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-winstallexe-spysheriff/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 17 Dec 2006 04:19:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-winstallexe-spysheriff/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Winstall.exe is part of a program called SpySheriff which is a fake anti-spyware program that is designed to fool users into paying for a full version of the program in order to remove a supposed infection which the &#8216;free version&#8217; put there in the first place. Here are the removal instructions for SpySherrif / Winstall.exe.

This [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-winstallexe-spysheriff/">How to Remove Winstall.exe / SpySheriff</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Winstall.exe is part of a program called SpySheriff which is a fake anti-spyware program that is designed to fool users into paying for a full version of the program in order to remove a supposed infection which the &#8216;free version&#8217; put there in the first place. Here are the removal instructions for SpySherrif / Winstall.exe.</p>
<p><span id="more-209"></span><br />
This infection displays a message that is designed to look like it is part of the inbuilt Windows XP Security Center. Up the top it has the Internet Explorer security warning bar which says <em>Ã¢â‚¬Å“Warning: possible Spyware or Adware infection! Click here to scan your computer for Spyware and Adware&#8230;Ã¢â‚¬Â</em></p>
<p><center><br />
<a href="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/casestudy-virus/virus1.gif"><img src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/casestudy-virus/virus1_thumb.gif" border ="0" alt="Fake Windows Security Center" /><br />View Full Size</a><br />
</center></p>
<p>It also pops up fake Windows security alerts:<br />
<center><br />
<img src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/casestudy-virus/virus2.gif" alt="Fake Windows Security Popup" /><br />
</center></p>
<p><strong>How To Remove Spy Sheriff / Winstall </strong></p>
<ul>
<li>First you will need to print out these instructions as you will be required to close all windows in order to do the fix.</li>
<li>Now, download <a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/removal-tools/SmitFraudFix.zip">SmitFraudFix.zip</a> and save it to your desktop. Once it has downloaded, double click on it which will extract it. Do not run the actual program yet as it must be done in safe mode.</li>
<li>Load into Windows Safe mode by restarting the computer and just before the Windows XP screen comes up, press F8 and choose safemode.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Once in Safemode:</strong><br />
<!--adsense--></p>
<ul>
<li>Close all open windows and open the SmitFraudFix folder which is on your desktop and double click the SmitFraudFix.cmd file which will start the removal process. This whole cleanup process can take a few hours depending on your computer so please be patient.</li>
<li>You will see a blue screen with white text with a series of options, Press number 2 on your keyboard and press Enter key which will choose the &#8220;Clean (Safe mode recommended)&#8221; Option.</li>
<li>The program will go though a series of processes to clean your computer including the disappearance of your desktop icons for a split second. One it is finished it will open up the Disk Cleanup program. This will clean up all Temporary Internet Files, Temp folders and other files which may have been left over by the infection. When it is finished it should close automatically.</li>
<li>When Disk Cleanup is complete you will be given the option &#8220;Do you want to clean the registry? Y or N&#8221;. Press the Y button on your keyboard and press the Enter Key</li>
<li>When the registry cleanup is finished you will get a red screen which will say &#8220;Computer will reboot now, Close all Applications&#8221;. Press Spacebar and let it restart the computer.  Once rebooted you will be shown a log file with a list of all the files that were removed. Close this.</li>
<li>You should now have succesfully removed the Winstall.exe / SpySheriff Infection</li>
<li>Be sure to visit the Windows Update site at <a href="http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com">http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com</a> and get all critical updates to minimise your chances of getting this again.</li>
</ul>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-winstallexe-spysheriff/">How to Remove Winstall.exe / SpySheriff</a></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to Remove MSN Virus Project 1/ Generic2.EXO / Backdoor.Generic3.SAT</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-msn-virus-project-1-generic2exo-backdoorgeneric3sat/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-msn-virus-project-1-generic2exo-backdoorgeneric3sat/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:44:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-msn-virus-project-1-generic2exo-backdoorgeneric3sat/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This MSN virus is a new virus which spreads via MSN Messenger. Once a computer is infected it will send copies of itself to every online contact on the infected users contact list.

[notice]A new MSN Virus removal tool has been created. It is recommend you try this first by downloading and running this before trying [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-msn-virus-project-1-generic2exo-backdoorgeneric3sat/">How to Remove MSN Virus Project 1/ Generic2.EXO / Backdoor.Generic3.SAT</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This MSN virus is a new virus which spreads via MSN Messenger. Once a computer is infected it will send copies of itself to every online contact on the infected users contact list.<br />
<span id="more-156"></span></p>
<p>[notice]A new MSN Virus removal tool has been created. It is recommend you try this first by downloading and running this before trying the instructions below. You can download the tool <a href="http://www.technibble.com/downloads/removal-tools/MSN-Virus-Removal-Tool.exe">HERE</a>. Please let us know if it worked for you so we can keep improving our products.[/notice]</p>
<p>The message says (or similar to):<br />
 Ã¢â‚¬Å“is that u on that photo <img src='http://www.technibble.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_neutral.gif' alt=':|' class='wp-smiley' /><br />
http://lollypics.xx.funpic.org/pictures.php?photo656.jpgÃ¢â‚¬Â (link edited to prevent people getting further infected)<br />
<strong><br />
Other links may include:</strong><br />
http://www.picture-database99.com</p>
<div align="center"><img id="image198" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/10/msn-virus-1.gif" alt="MSN Messenger Infection Message" /></div>
<p>Once clicked, it will open Internet Explorer and prompt you to download a file called photo656.pif or another file with a similar name (note: it is now a .pif file being downloaded, not a .jpg). Once run, the computer will be infected.</p>
<p>This virus also installs a toolbar into Internet Explorer called Ã¢â‚¬Å“Toolbar888Ã¢â‚¬Â.</p>
<div align="center"><img id="image199" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/10/msn-virus-2.gif" alt="Toolbar888 Installed by MSN Virus" /></div>
<p><a href="http://free.grisoft.com">AVG Antivirus</a> Detects this threat as:<br />
- Trojan horse Generic2.EXO<br />
- Trojan horse BackDoor.Generic3.SAT</p>
<p><strong>How to Remove MSN Virus Project 1/ Generic2.EXO / Backdoor.Generic3.SAT:</strong></p>
<p>Goto: Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.<br />
Find Toolbar888 and click the Ã¢â‚¬Å“Change/RemoveÃ¢â‚¬Â button to uninstall it</p>
<div align="center"><img id="image200" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/10/msn-virus-3.gif" alt="Removing Toolbar888" /></div>
<p><!--adsense#KB-->Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE all at the same time so you are viewing the Ã¢â‚¬Å“ProcessÃ¢â‚¬Â Tab.</p>
<p>If you find any (or all) of the following (don&#8217;t worry if you cant find all of them):</p>
<ul>
<li>Update.exe</li>
<li>goll.exe</li>
<li>loadadv455.exe</li>
<li>drsmartload.exe</li>
<li>goll.exe</li>
<li>two.exe</li>
<li>vcncr.exe</li>
<li>rorjxk.exe</li>
<li>eyewblbby.exe</li>
<li>cgqrvrva.exe</li>
</ul>
<p>Highlight the name and click the button Ã¢â‚¬Å“End ProcessÃ¢â‚¬Â to each of the above you find in the list.</p>
<p><strong>Find and Delete The Following Folders and their Contents:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>C:\Program Files\Common Files\{28676FB5-0AE9-3081-1205-03030930003d}\</li>
<li>C:\Program Files\Common Files\{38676FB5-0AE9-3081-1205-03030930003d}\</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Find and Delete the Following Files with the Folder (NOT the folder itself):</strong></p>
<p>In the folder: C:\Windows\system32\ (don&#8217;t worry if you cant find all of them)</p>
<p><strong>Find and Delete:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>goll.exe</li>
<li>drv.exe</li>
<li>loadadv455.exe</li>
<li>one.exe</li>
<li>two.exe</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>In the folder: C:\Documents and Settings\[current user]</strong><br />
(replace [current user] with the name you are currently logged on as, don&#8217;t worry if you cant find all of them)</p>
<p><strong>Find and Delete:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>goll.exe</li>
<li>drv.exe</li>
<li>loadadv455.exe</li>
<li>one.exe</li>
<li>two.exe</li>
</ul>
<p>In the folder: C:\ (main level of C drive, be careful here, don&#8217;t worry if you cant find all of them)</p>
<p>Find and Delete:</p>
<ul>
<li>goll.exe</li>
<li>drv.exe</li>
<li>loadadv455.exe</li>
<li>one.exe</li>
<li>two.exe</li>
<li>drsmartload.exe</li>
</ul>
<p>Update your Antivirus with the most current virus definitions and run a full system scan to clean up any remaining files. If you do not have any antivirus software. AVG Free is a great option.</p>
<p>You may need to reinstall MSN Messenger again.</p>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-remove-msn-virus-project-1-generic2exo-backdoorgeneric3sat/">How to Remove MSN Virus Project 1/ Generic2.EXO / Backdoor.Generic3.SAT</a></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to stop Messages from Messenger Service</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-stop-messages-from-messenger-service/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/how-to-stop-messages-from-messenger-service/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Sep 2006 03:50:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[On the Job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/how-to-stop-messages-from-messenger-service/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Some users, especially those who aren&#8217;t running Windows XP Service Pack 2 occasionally receive messages to their computers with the title Ã¢â‚¬Å“Messenger ServiceÃ¢â‚¬Â. This is not to be confused with Ã¢â‚¬Å“MSN MessengerÃ¢â‚¬Â. These messages commonly say you have viruses, adware, Spyware or other nasties on your system and you can fix them by going to [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
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]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Some users, especially those who aren&#8217;t running Windows XP Service Pack 2 occasionally receive messages to their computers with the title Ã¢â‚¬Å“Messenger ServiceÃ¢â‚¬Â. This is not to be confused with Ã¢â‚¬Å“MSN MessengerÃ¢â‚¬Â. These messages commonly say you have viruses, adware, Spyware or other nasties on your system and you can fix them by going to their site and buying their software.<br />
<span id="more-135"></span><br />
<strong>Here is an example of a Messenger Service scam message:</strong><br />
<center><br />
<img id="image172" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/09/messenger-service.gif" alt="Messenger Service Scam/Spam Popup" /><br /><i>Messenger Service Scam/Spam Popup</i><br />
</center></p>
<p><!--adsense-->These messages are not error messages from your system. They are sent by spammers on the internet trying to scam you into buying their software by causing fake error messages on your computer.</p>
<p>Messenger Service is not adware that snuck onto your computer. It is a part of Windows that is designed for computers on a network to send messages to each other on the same network.</p>
<p>Unless you use this service to send messages to other computers on your network we can safely switch it off to stop them showing up.</p>
<p><strong>How to stop Messenger Service Popups</strong></p>
<p>Go to Start > Run and type in Ã¢â‚¬Å“services.mscÃ¢â‚¬Â (without the quotation marks)</p>
<p>You will see a window called Ã¢â‚¬Å“ServicesÃ¢â‚¬Â with a list of services which are available on your system. Scroll down though this list until you find a service called Ã¢â‚¬Å“MessengerÃ¢â‚¬Â.</p>
<p>Once found, RIGHT click on the word Ã¢â‚¬Å“MessengerÃ¢â‚¬Â and choose Ã¢â‚¬Å“PropertiesÃ¢â‚¬Â.</p>
<p><center><br />
<img id="image173" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/09/messenger-service-2.gif" alt="Finding the Messenger Service" /><br /><i>Finding the Messenger Service</i><br />
</center></p>
<p>Now Press the Stop Button and wait for the service to stop.</p>
<p><center><br />
<img id="image174" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/09/messenger-service-3.gif" alt="Stopping the Messenger Service" /><br /><i>Stopping the Messenger Service</i><br />
</center></p>
<p>When the service stops we now need to make sure it doesn&#8217;t start up again, so under the Ã¢â‚¬Å“Startup TypeÃ¢â‚¬Â dropdown choose Ã¢â‚¬Å“DisabledÃ¢â‚¬Â. Then press OK.</p>
<p><center><br />
<img id="image175" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/09/messenger-service-4.gif" alt="Disabling the Messenger Service from Starting Up" /><br /><i>Disabling the Messenger Service from Starting Up</i><br />
</center></p>
<p>Done, you should no longer receive Messenger Service popups.</p>
<p><strong>Why did this happen?</strong></p>
<p>By default, Messenger Service is switched on when Windows XP is installed. However, you shouldn&#8217;t be getting any of these messages from the internet. This is due to you not having an active firewall. Unless you have a good reason not to run a firewall, you should turn on your Windows firewall or install a 3rd party firewall.</p>
<p></p>
<div align="center">
<p><img alt="Symantec Norton Internet Security? 2006 Full Version for PC" src="http://img.shopping.com/cctool/PrdImg/images/pr/177X150/00/01/a1/65/6d/27354477.JPG" border="0"/> <iframe src="http://www.ttzmedia.com/adserve/price/product.php?view_id=1030&#038;code=27354477&#038;mode=3&#038;fcolor=%23000000&#038;color=%23000000&#038;bgcolor=white&#038;bcolor=white" width=323 height=125 hspace=0 vspace=0 frameborder=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0 scrolling=no align=no></iframe></p>
</div>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/how-to-stop-messages-from-messenger-service/">How to stop Messages from Messenger Service</a></p>
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		<title>Virtualization and its Uses in the Tech World</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/virtualization-and-its-uses-in-the-tech-world/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/virtualization-and-its-uses-in-the-tech-world/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Sep 2006 19:41:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Bryce Whitty</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[On the Job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/virtualisation-and-its-uses-in-the-tech-world/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Written by Guest Writer: Luke Shillabeer; Virtualisation is a term that&#8217;s been floating around the computer world since its start in the 1950&#8217;s. Recently however, due to increases in computer processing power and storage space it has become somewhat of a hot topic as it gives simple, powerful solutions to some of the biggest computer [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/virtualization-and-its-uses-in-the-tech-world/">Virtualization and its Uses in the Tech World</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Written by Guest Writer: Luke Shillabeer;</strong> Virtualisation is a term that&#8217;s been floating around the computer world since its start in the 1950&#8217;s. Recently however, due to increases in computer processing power and storage space it has become somewhat of a hot topic as it gives simple, powerful solutions to some of the biggest computer issues; security, privacy, compatibility and portability.</p>
<p>I know, I know, it sounds like a horrible buzz-word from the dot-com era that a marketing guru would have used to drum up some investment capital, but fortunately there&#8217;s quite a bit more to virtualisation than the flashiness of its name!<br />
<span id="more-119"></span><br />
<strong>Introduction</strong><br />
<em>The Background Stuff you kinda need to know a little bit about&#8230;</em></p>
<p><!--adsense-->Virtualisation is a very broad topic in computing, and for a fantastic overview of the topic click <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtualization">here</a> to visit Wikipedia; otherwise it&#8217;s enough just to say that virtualisation is the process of grouping or trapping computing resources (processing power or storage space for instance) in order to complete tasks either impossible otherwise or to increase efficiency.</p>
<p>Today however, we&#8217;ll be narrowing the focus to one topic within virtualisation; Virtual Machines. A Virtual Machine is a piece of software which emulates (pretends), to be machine (computer) to do an abnormal task such as running Windows on a Macintosh computer for example, to occur via the trapping of computer instructions. It is quite literally a computer running ON a computer. One of the by-products of this is that the two systems can be entirely separated from each other, which allows a level of security that just can&#8217;t be matched.</p>
<p><strong>Practical Usage</strong><br />
<em>Read: The Interesting Stuff.</em></p>
<p>In the previous section the idea of virtualisation was explained in order that from here-on in, you will have not only an idea of what a Virtual Machine&#8217;s advantages are but also how they work and why they are important; here we go!</p>
<p><b>Security (and Privacy!)</b></p>
<p>In a Windows Environment, security is a precious commodity. People spend hundreds of dollars to make sure that their scanner of choice is up to date and keeping the baddies out and their personal information in. Security packages, virus scanners, programs that wipe all traces of browsing, the list goes on and on.</p>
<p>A Virtual Machine can give you a very simple, 100% secure browsing environment. The process would go as follows; Download <a href="http://www.vmware.com/products/player/">VMware Player</a>, install it; download the <a href="http://www.vmware.com/vmtn/appliances/directory/browserapp.html">VMware browser appliance</a> and run it. Inside the VMware Player window, a BIOS-like boot will occur, Ubuntu will start (fantastically fast I might add!) and you&#8217;ll be in front of a Firefox browser window. You&#8217;ll be browsing in a Linux environment, so you are essentially virus and spyware free, but even if somehow your Virtual Machine became infected the degree of separation between your Virtual Machine and actual machine means you can simply just re-install the virtual machine and the ENTIRE infection will be gone and your real machine will be perfectly fine.</p>
<div align="center">
<img id="image144" src="http://www.technibble.com/articlecontent/2006/09/virtualization-1.jpg" alt="Loading the Ubuntu based Browser Appliance in Windows XP" /><br /><i>Loading the Ubuntu based Browser Appliance in Windows XP</i></p>
</div>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/virtualization-and-its-uses-in-the-tech-world/">Virtualization and its Uses in the Tech World</a></p>
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		<title>Basic Computer Protection and Defense</title>
		<link>http://www.technibble.com/basic-computer-protection-and-defense/</link>
		<comments>http://www.technibble.com/basic-computer-protection-and-defense/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Jul 2006 01:44:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Boris M</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viruses, Adware & Spyware]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.technibble.com/basic-computer-protection-and-defense/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The internet is not a safe place. I hope the sentence got your attention, because it&#8217;s completely and undeniably true. Although the Internet is a place to search for information and download just about anything, you can never just assume whoever is letting you download is friendly and helpful. Sometimes, whatever you download has an [...]<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
To get started with your own computer business, check out our <a href="http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/">Computer Business Kit</a>.

If you want to learn how to repair laptops, check out <a href="http://www.technibble.com/want-to-learn-how-to-fix-laptops-check-out-these-videos/#more-3786">these narrated, high definition videos</a>. These would pay for themselves in 1 repair job.<br/><br/><a href="http://www.technibble.com/basic-computer-protection-and-defense/">Basic Computer Protection and Defense</a></p>
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>The internet is not a safe place.</strong> I hope the sentence got your attention, because it&#8217;s completely and undeniably true. Although the Internet is a place to search for information and download just about anything, you can never just assume whoever is letting you download is friendly and helpful. Sometimes, whatever you download has an invisible, but potentially problematic component.<br />
<span id="more-93"></span><br />
In order to protect yourself, there are three key software pieces to defend your machine, each of which is a layer of protection on its own. By using all three together you&#8217;re increasing your operating system&#8217;s longevity, because a well-protected system is a healthy system, and runs a lesser risk of needing a complete reinstall than a completely or partially protected one. Note that you only ever need one of each layer &#8211; programs on the same layer usually don&#8217;t play together well and will interfere with each other, effectively crashing the protection layer.</p>
<p><strong>Anti-virus</strong><br />
Anti-virus software is by far the best-known layer of protection, and which most users get with one of their computer components, usually bundled with the motherboard. There&#8217;s a whole variety of virus types &#8211; from trojan horses, which act as a legit program but do something entirely unwanted, to worms, which exploit holes in the operating and security systems, to e-mail viruses, which copy themselves onwards to people in your address book and send themselves onward like a chain-letter on steroids.<br />
<!--adsense-->Anti-viruses generally attempt to either disinfect any infected file by removing the virus from the contents or delete the file completely. Some even have a much safer option of shredding, which wipes the infected file more thoroughly than even deletion. Generally, if the virus hasn&#8217;t been started, it&#8217;s best to destroy or shred it.</p>
<p>While an unleashed virus (if the virus is a destructive type) may cause total file destruction, some files may be recovered by disinfection (or healing) which removes the virus from the contents. This typically fails on any executable file such as a program, but has been known to fix documents like Word and Excel files &#8211; in case you have no backup, it might help salvage at least part of the original.</p>
<p>While all AV programs can work in a so-called on-demand scan mode, which means the user starts the antivirus manually and sets it to work, some offer on-access scanning, which checks files before they&#8217;re actually opened, ensuring that you don&#8217;t accidentally unleash a virus. A commonplace feature on some AV programs is called a chest or quarantine, since all infected files are usually moved there and become unopenable so they wouldn&#8217;t affect the computer &#8211; it&#8217;s best to think of the quarantine as a sandbox where the viruses are kept inactive.</p>
<p>To recapitulate, when deciding on your AV, these key factors should affect your<br />
choice.</p>
<ul>
<li>modes of scanning &#8211; antiviruses that offer both on-demand scanning and<br />
on-access scanning are generally more thorough as well as more convenient,<br />
although on-access scanning can sometimes slow down computer performance by a<br />
bit</li>
<li>action choice &#8211; any antivirus worht its salt will be able to delete the<br />
infected file. Check for the ability to disinfect (or heal), quarantine and<br />
shred &#8211; the more options the antivirus has, the better</li>
<li>library size &#8211; obviously, the greater the library of known viruses is, the<br />
more viruses can be detected and eliminated</li>
<li>update intervals &#8211; the closer the time between updates, the better. A week<br />
between updates is not good. A day between updates is good. Multiple updates per<br />
day are a godsend, but they come at a steep price</li>
<li>critical acclaim &#8211; although biased, and sometimes fueled by commercials, it&#8217;s<br />
a good overall measurement because antiviruses are commonly pitted against each<br />
other in a stress test</li>
<li>price &#8211; last but definitely not the least, how much you&#8217;ll shell out for it </li>
</ul>
<p>&copy; Technibble - A Resource for <a href="http://www.technibble.com">Computer Technicians</a> to start or improve their <a href="http://www.technibble.com">computer business</a><br />
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