Software piracy hammers the growth of software industry. For the software industry to prosper and further develop useful software for consumers, piracy must be controlled and gripped seriously as the developer does not get any compensation for his work. There are several kinds of software piracy.
Kinds of Software Piracy
Reseller Piracy
This kind of piracy occurs when a corrupt reseller circulates multiple copies of a single software package to different customers without providing original manuals & diskettes knowingly. Sometimes, reseller also sells fake versions of software to innocent customers to make money.
End User Piracy
End user piracy means using multiple copies of a single software package on several different systems or circulating registered or licensed copies of software to others. This kind of piracy also takes place when a cracked version of the software is used. Hacking into the software and disabling the copy protection or illegally generating key codes that unlocks the trial version making the software a registered version creates a cracked version.
Trademark/Trade Name violation
Violation piracy occurs when an individual or dealer claims to be authorized either as a technician, support provider or reseller, or is improperly using a trademark or trade name.
BBS/Internet Piracy
BBS/ Internet Piracy occur during the electronic transfer of copyrighted software. If system operators and/or users upload or download copyrighted software and materials onto or from bulletin boards or the Internet for others to copy and use without the proper license. The developer does not get any credit for the hacked software distributed.
Effects of Software Piracy
Software piracy harms not only the software developing companies but also effect consumers, software developers, and resellers. This increases the risk of corruption in consumer's computers by defective software and infected with viruses. Pirated software usually has inadequate documentation, which prevents consumers from enjoying the full benefits of the software package. In addition, consumers are unable to take advantage of technical support and product upgrades, which are typically available to legitimate registered users only. Pirated software can cost consumers lost time and more money.
Minggu, 18 Januari 2009
Software Piracy: A Serious Threat
Keeping Your Laptop Like New – ALWAYS
Laptops are expensive. Therefore you need to take real good care of it. And laptop maintenance is not a one time thing. It should be a regular exercise. To prevent your notebook's LCD from becoming smudged or dirty you should clean it regularly. We recommend spraying a diluted window cleaner onto a soft, non-abrasive cloth and then lightly wiping the screen with it. It might be simpler to just spray the detergent directly on the screen but it’s not recommended as the fluid can trickle down into the bezel at the screen's bottom which could in turn damage the computer's circuitry.
When it comes to getting rid of dust, dirt and food crumbs off the keyboard, a vacuum cleaner's brush attachment is ideal. There are handheld vacuum cleaners, specifically intended for PCs that can remove the dust and food from in between the gaps on the keyboard. But if you’re traveling, a vacuum cleaner would be quite cumbersome. In such cases, you can use a canned aerosol cleaner to spray a blast of air between keys. And in case you spill something on the keyboard, you should immediately switch off the laptop and place a towel over the keyboard, and turn it upside down to drain the fluid and prevent it from leaking into the computer's circuitry.
And if you happen to travel a lot, your laptop is only as good as its battery. Luckily, most laptops today use lithium ion batteries that aren't afflicted with the memory-loss problems of the older nickel-cadmium batteries. However, in time it’s inevitable that your notebook's battery will lose its ability to fully hold a charge. So, make sure that you replace the battery every 18 to 24 months. However, if you don’t use your laptop often then you might not need to change the battery so frequently. One way to make sure that your battery lasts as long as it can is to reduce your screen's backlighting. Also, configuring your power settings so that the display shuts off after inactive periods can significantly increase the life of a battery.
However, there’s more to the maintenance of a laptop than just making sure that the exterior is clean and neat. When using it, always remember to keep it in a cool environment. A laptop computer generates a lot of heat and too much heat can damage the internal circuitry. So always try and keep your laptop in a well-ventilated and cool environment. Also it’s important to ensure that the fan grills on the sides, back, or bottom of the machine are not blocked while it’s in use. Also, LCD displays are fragile devices that need special care. So as much as possible, avoid touching or playing with your LCD screen. And clean the screen only with the approved cleaning materials.
Another risk to your laptop is viruses. So make sure to get hold of an anti-virus program and keep it updated. Buying an anti-virus one-month and not updating it regularly makes the whole process useless. Your laptop could be exposed to hundreds and thousands of new viruses every month and if you don't update your virus definitions then some viruses will go undetected by the program. And to make the whole process less complicated, most anti-virus programs have automatic update methods, so that you don’t have to remember to do it manually.
And always use a firewall on your Internet or network - enabled laptop. Also block out all the unnecessary ports and close all loopholes to prevent a hacker or virus from entering your hard drive. And whatever you do, don't drop your laptop. And finally always keep it safe inside a carrying case, especially when moving it or traveling.
Using a Laptop to Manage Your Life More Efficiently
Nowadays everyone needs a computer, especially if you’re a student. Academic life can be hell without a computer. Gone are the days when you could hand in handwritten papers. Also, in this fast-paced world typewriters are too slow and cumbersome. So, be it for writing essays, crunching mathematical calculations, researching the Web, or collaborating with fellow students via instant messaging and e-mail, no one can efficiently manage student life without a handy computer. So, if you’re one of those students wondering what sort of a computer to invest in, then you should seriously consider getting a laptop instead of a desktop.
There are many reasons why laptops are better than desktops. Laptops are now accessible with improved upgrade-ability, dazzling large LCD screens, powerful processors and multi-media features as advanced as those on any desktop. And laptops have the added advantage of mobility as well as the fact that they require less space. In fact that is their strong point. Laptops provide you advantages and privileges in learning and obtaining information everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you are, with a laptop the world of information is at your fingertips. You can take them with you to make power point presentations at seminars. This is not possible with a desktop. Just imagine lugging your desktop all the way to a seminar!
With a laptop you can work anywhere, not just in your room. So, if you suddenly feel like it, you can decide to get some work done at the park or while you’re in a train, car or airplane. Also laptops are a valuable investment because they’ll be a great help not only during your academic years but also later on when you start working. For example, in a situation where you’ve to take your office or vital data along with you on your business or personal trip, a desktop is useless. On the other hand, with a laptop you’ve no problems. A laptop is lightweight and easily fitted into the overhead storage bin of an airplane. That brings us to its next advantage, size.
Laptops come in a variety of sizes to suit your needs and purposes. However, depending on the size, the price of the laptop tends to vary. Also, many laptops come with impressive technical specifications that are better than most ordinary desktops. With hard drives of up to 100GB or more, with RAM up to 2MB or more supported by Intel Pentium 4, most notebooks are able to handle almost all computing applications and functions with ease. Also, the laptop can be used as a convenient backup for your vital files and programs. It’s a cheaper and safer way of protecting all your sensitive data.
So, laptops are the smarter option, not only if you travel a lot and you need the computer to be accessible to you at all times. However, it has its disadvantages as well. For example, laptops are very delicate and need regular care. Also, they’re not as durable as desktops that are made of stronger stuff. So, a desktop has the advantage over the laptop when it comes to pricing, durability, and ease of maintenance. However, nowadays, laptops are becoming cheaper by the minute. And as more and more notebooks are being sold, the price will drop even more. Even if the price is currently a little higher than a desktop, the gap is closing really quickly. When compared to all the other advantages that a laptop has over a desktop, I don’t think that it’s that difficult a choice to make.
Senin, 12 Januari 2009
Get Rid Of Spyware From Your Computer
The Internet has revolutionized the whole ambit of communications and has proved to be a boon to mankind. However, its privacy and security is being threatened with Spyware, which can intrude into the computer and cause great damage to the whole system. Most malicious Spywares can access the valuable personal data that might be stored in your computer and cause financial and personal losses. If you don’t protect your computer from spyware, it will be just like keeping your doors open to unwanted elements.
Your computer can get affected with Spyware or Adware very easily but this happens mostly through “pop up” ads, downloadable games, music and screensavers. Spyware is a term which covers a vast variety of illicit software that has the capability to intrude, intercept and take control of the operations of the computer that it invades without the approval of the owner or user of the computer.
Spyware can help someone do the following illegal functions:
1) Read your e-mails
2) Access your e-mail list
3) Watch which keystrokes you are typing
4) Access your credit card information that might be stored in your computer
5) Get to know your passwords listed in your computer
6) Steal your social security number
7) Track all the websites that you visit
It is, therefore, essential for you to know whether your computer is infected with spyware or not and the following are the positive signs regarding the existence of spyware:
1) If your computer starts running slower
2) If some programs do not run correctly
3) If you notice some programs that you were previously not aware of. These could have been installed by the spyware.
Perfect Solution for detecting and removing Spyware from your computer
The perfect antidote to the menace of spyware is to download a spyware detection tool, which will run a spyware detector and scan your computer for signs of existence of spyware. Most anti-spyware companies offer free trials for scanning and finding out whether the spyware is present or not. If the result is positive, you would have to use the full software to get rid of the spyware and safeguard your computer.
After using a reputable anti-spyware tool, if you still having problems then what’s the solution?
It is quite possible that even a good anti-spyware tool might not be able to obliterate unwanted malicious software from your computer. The reason could be that a single scan might not be enough and that you might need to operate a number of scans and you might even need to use a second program to completely erase all spyware and adware. It has been noticed that there is no anti-spyware that can attack all the threats posed by the spywares. Some anti-spyware programs can tackle certain threats and these are listed in the software. As such, it might be necessary to employ two or more anti-spyware tools to get rid of all unwanted software that might have heavily infested your computer.
Since most anti-spyware tools specify which spyware variants they can detect and remove, it is advisable to use such a devise at the vendor’s premises in order to see its effectiveness and the areas that it can work on. You will thus get familiar with the various anti-spyware tools and with their names and functions. However, it is important to remember that when you apply these tools to remove the spyware from your computer, you should disconnect the same from the Internet connection.
Just as a virus can invade your body and cause various diseases and even death, spyware can also invade your computer and cause irreparable damage. Use the anti-spyware tools as soon as you notice any spyware signs.
Digital Camera Printer: Making the Printing Process Easier
Gone are the days of the box-camera – it is the age of digital technology and digital cameras have taken over the entire range of photography. However, at its early stages, digital photography had eclipsed the most exciting aspect of seeing what you have clicked on photographic prints. Things have changed and various digital camera printers with many unique and useful features are now available to take care of this deficiency.
As these digital camera printers do not need a computer to give you the prints, you can print directly from the camera and this makes it very convenient and portable. However, deciding which printer, out of the hundreds flooding the market, would suit you best is the most important question. Given below are the special features and other information relating to these cameras that will help you make the right choice.
In order to get prints at home, digital camera printers have special features ranging from paper sensors that recognize photo media to built-in editing tools. The other special features are given below:
• Memory Card Slots: If you have a memory card slot, all that you have to do is to insert your camera’s memory card and print. You don’t need a computer or any cables.
• Color LCD screen: You can see the photos on a color LCD screen before you print.
• Front-panel buttons: If you want to preview, edit or remove the red eyes, you should choose a printer that has front-panel buttons for this purpose.
• Photo proof sheets: Thumbnail images on a printed page can be displayed on photo proof sheets to enable you to preview and choose the photos you wish to print.
• One-touch connections: You can have one-touch connections to your printer, TV, and PC if you place your camera in a built-in dock for printing directly from your camera. The other advantage is that you can recharge your batteries every time you connect.
Besides considering the above factors you should also consider the following paper-handling factors before you decide which digital camera printer you wish to buy.
• Capacity: It is cumbersome to keep on adding paper to the printer. As such the number of sheets a printer can hold is important. Generally personal printers hold between 100 and 300 sheets.
• Versatility: Choose the printer that can print on the type of paper you wish to use. Some printers cannot print on certain types of papers that other printers can.
• Paper size: Your choice of a printer should be such that it can handle letter (8 1/2" x 11") and legal (8 1/2" x 14") sizes, as well as borderless 4" x 6" and 5" x 7" photo paper, panoramic paper, and envelopes.
• Image Quality: The prices of the printers of color photographs, though high in the beginning, have now come down and are within the reach of the average buyer but you must ensure that the printer can deliver photo realistic results, which should be as close to real photographic prints as possible.
• Print Resolution: For fine details and smooth gradation the print resolution should be about 2,400 x 1,200 dpi and this would be more than sufficient.
These digital camera printers store the images we capture on a memory storage device like a memory stick, a memory card, or even the camera’s built-in memory. There are many people who would also like to have actual copies of their photographs. It is a matter of choice and depending on your needs you can choose the best digital camera printer. The above-mentioned features will help you in making the right choice.
Is Your PC Crowding Your Desk?
When your personal computer eats up almost the entire space in your computer table, it’s time to have a little re-organizing. Desktop computers, especially those bulky CPU’s and monitors could eat up quite a space which could be a room for other essentials such as folder stackers, telephone or fax machine. Nowadays, bulky personal computers can be really heavy to the eyes, especially since in today’s technology, the adage, “bulk is out, thin is in” is the mainstream.
Let’s start with your computer table. Its size may vary depending on your design. It may be wide enough to accommodate two “bulky” PC sets, or it could barely hold one, and you don’t have enough space left for the keyboard or the mouse.
First things first, remove all unnecessary files, folders, papers, trash, coffee mugs and saucers, ashtrays, etc. on your desk. Clear the area. Your computer table should be just that, a computer table and not a hodgepodge of everything else. However, top designers say that there are some essential things that should be within reach (especially for an office desk). The telephone, for one should be within reach. Some very important and frequently used documents could be stacked inside an upright holder which can cover only a little space and is still within reach compared to when just piled up on top of the table.
However, if the area is already clear, but you can still barely fit a small pen holder on top of it, you should think of getting yourself a bigger desk or… a new set of personal computer.
Super space-saving computers have flooded the market nowadays. Try checking out flat monitors to replace your old, bulky one. Have your CPU re-designed or buy one of those small and slim tower CPUs. Small and compact keyboards are also available, reducing the size of a regular keyboard to almost a half. And, if you do not have a place to slide your mouse in, try using a trackball mouse. That way, it occupies just that small space and you don’t have to glide it across a wider area.
Or have all of those pieces in one super sleek laptop notebook. People on the go prefer to have a laptop which they can take along whenever and wherever they go. And nowadays, laptops are not at all far behind in terms of technical capabilities vis-à-vis PCs.
It is always a good thing to see a clear and organized computer table. It would compel one to work well, without the mess adding up to the already full and cluttered working brain. And, admit it, it’s nice not seeing those bulky gadgets anymore. It helps ease the heaviness in the mind as well.
Optical Mouse: Smarter Way To Move Ahead
One of the most important tools of a computer is the mouse, which is indispensable for the operation of the computer. Yet, it is not a very complex item although modern technology has brought in many advances in its design in order to make it more convenient to use. Many options are now available, each with their own unique features.
Whenever you are using your computer your fingers are constantly on the mouse clicking away. You would naturally like to choose a mouse that would operate smoothly, be precise and easy to use and optical technology has just the answer for these requirements. The Optical Mouse is a far cry from the conventional ball/roller assembly of the earlier mechanical mice and operates with a beam of light and an optical sensor making its operation as smooth as silk. The movement of the mouse is tracked by the sensor using the light thrown by the light beam on the surface below the mouse.
Optical Mouse is now being preferred at homes and at offices by everybody. The prices have dropped to the level of $15 to $50 much in line with the earlier mechanical mouse. Installation is easy, as you just have to plug it in the computer. Optical mice with either PS/2 or USB plugs are available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux platforms.
How Does It Work?
A miniature camera inside the optical mouse takes about a thousand pictures per second and a small light emitting diode (LED) helps to highlight the small differences in the surface under the mouse by providing the necessary light. When these differences are beamed back into the camera, the pictures are compared with the help of digital technology to find out the speed and direction of the movement. In the earlier mechanical mouse, the movement was indicated by a round ball rolling against the mouse pad.
Benefits of Optical Mouse Over Traditional Mouse
• Increased precision and better control: There are no moving parts in the optical mouse – only a small optical sensor that gives the silky smooth under surface to the mouse. The accuracy and response of the mouse will continue to be present for a very long time due to its digital design.
• Lighter in weight: Due to the absence of the ball and roller mechanism, the weight of an optical mouse is much lesser than that of a mechanical mouse. In addition to its much higher precision, an optical mouse has a resolution from the low hundreds to the high hundreds (in dpi, dots per inch).
• No more cleaning: The earlier mechanical mouse was always very susceptible to dirt, dust or grime getting stuck in it thereby causing the pointer to move erratically. Now, you don’t have to disassemble your optical mouse every now and then as there is no question of any dirt accumulating in it as there are no moving parts.
• No need for a mouse pad: The optical mouse can work on any surface without the need of any special mouse pad. However, you should avoid using it on a highly reflective surface such as a glass or mirror. You should also not use it on surface with a solid color as all the pictures taken by the mouse are identical and as such it would be better to use it on a surface with pictures or patterns. So, the next time you find that your optical mouse is not working properly in spite of being installed correctly you should know where the problem lies. Just move it away from the solid color surface.