10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements

10 Fast and Free Security Enhancements
PC magazine.

Before you spend a dime on security, there are many precautions you can take that will protect you against the most common threats.

1. Check Windows Update and Office Update regularly (_http://office.microsoft.com/productupdates); have your Office CD ready. Windows Me, 2000, and XP users can configure automatic updates. Click on the Automatic Updates tab in the System control panel and choose the appropriate options.

2. Install a personal firewall. Both SyGate (_www.sygate.com) and ZoneAlarm (_www.zonelabs.com) offer free versions.


3. Install a free spyware blocker. Our Editors' Choice ("Spyware," April 22) was SpyBot Search & Destroy (_http://security.kolla.de). SpyBot is also paranoid and ruthless in hunting out tracking cookies.

4. Block pop-up spam messages in Windows NT, 2000, or XP by disabling the Windows Messenger service (this is unrelated to the instant messaging program). Open Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services and you'll see Messenger. Right-click and go to Properties. Set Start-up Type to Disabled and press the Stop button. Bye-bye, spam pop-ups! Any good firewall will also stop them.

5. Use strong passwords and change them periodically. Passwords should have at least seven characters; use letters and numbers and have at least one symbol. A decent example would be f8izKro@l. This will make it much harder for anyone to gain access to your accounts.

6. If you're using Outlook or Outlook Express, use the current version or one with the Outlook Security Update installed. The update and current versions patch numerous vulnerabilities.

7. Buy antivirus software and keep it up to date. If you're not willing to pay, try Grisoft AVG Free Edition (Grisoft Inc., w*w.grisoft.com). And doublecheck your AV with the free, online-only scanners available at w*w.pandasoftware.com/activescan and _http://housecall.trendmicro.com.

8. If you have a wireless network, turn on the security features: Use MAC filtering, turn off SSID broadcast, and even use WEP with the biggest key you can get. For more, check out our wireless section or see the expanded coverage in Your Unwired World in our next issue.

9. Join a respectable e-mail security list, such as the one found at our own Security Supersite at _http://security.ziffdavis.com, so that you learn about emerging threats quickly and can take proper precautions.

10. Be skeptical of things on the Internet. Don't assume that e-mail "From:" a particular person is actually from that person until you have further reason to believe it's that person. Don't assume that an attachment is what it says it is. Don't give out your password to anyone, even if that person claims to be from "support."

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How to save Windows xp updates.txt
how to search google for RAPIDSHARE links.txt
How To See Hidden Files, Using Dos.txt
How to send ICQ Bombs.txt
How To Set search For All Files In Winxp.txt
How to set up a http server running from you computer.txt
How To Set Up A Proxy In Flashget, As Requested.txt
How to set up a server with Apache , PHP , MySQL , Perl , phpMyAdmin.txt
How To Set Up Direct Connect.txt
HOW TO SET UP FTP SERVER.txt
How To Set Up Proxies In Your Browser.txt
How To Set Zone Alarm Settings!, Fix for ZA ports.txt
How To Setup Your Own Dns (Domain Name Server).txt
How To Speed Up A Slow Computer.txt
How To Speed Up Http Requests On Internet Explorer, as above.txt
How To Stop Spam.txt
How to swear in all languages.txt
How To Unload Cached Dll Files To Free Memory.txt
How to Use and How to Chain Multiple Proxies!.txt
How To Use File Compression In Windows Xp.txt
How To Use Google To Download Mp3's, and applications.....txt
How To Use Newsgroups.txt
How to use the Web to look up information on hacking.doc
How To Use You Gmail With Msn Messenger.txt
How-to Get Videos And Dvds Onto Your Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) for free.txt
HOWTO Change Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro.txt
Important Faqs For Sp2.txt
Improve Doom 3's Performances!!, simple but efficient trick for every1.txt
Improve your dialup modem preformance.txt
Increase XP Folder Settings.txt
Information of Hacking AngelFire Websites.txt
Insert Your Serial For Office 2k, auto install office.txt
Install A New Hard-disk.txt
Install Xp From Dos.txt
Installing Apache on Windows.txt
Installing Gentoo Linux, Amazing step by step tutoria.txt
Installing IIS On Windows Xp Pro.txt
Installing Slackware Linux.txt
Instructions For Removal Of Advertising In Msn Messenger.txt
Introduction to Denail of Service.txt
Ip Address Structure, Expilinatin OF IP Address {A short way}.txt
IP addressing, and gaining IP's.txt
IP Addressing.txt
IP how to.rtf
Irc How To Downlaod From, How to downlaod from IRC.txt
Irc Servers On nix, For people who want to start own IRC net.txt
ISSN Numbers- An Introduction.txt
Junk Mail- How Did They All Get My Address.txt
Keep Files Private.txt
Keep Folders Hidden.txt
Keyboard Shortcuts Result in Excel 2000 - Movement.txt
Keyboard Shortcuts, Microsoft Word.txt
Keyboard Shortcuts, must read.txt
Kill Microsoft Instant Messenger.txt
Lamination Tips, Its a Fast TUT......txt
Leet Way To Get Your Ip In Windows Xp.txt
LENROS~1.TXT
LENROS~2.TXT
Linking Your Xbox To Your Computer.txt
Linux Howto's.txt
List Of Sites Not To Go To.txt
Little help for anonymous mailer.txt
Lots Of Windows Xp Tips, Take A Look !.txt
Lyrics With Google.txt
Make A Autorun File For Ur Cd.txt
Make A Batch File To Clean UR PC!!, All In One!!.txt
Make A Roughly 16 Hour Video Dvd.txt
Make Acrobat Reader 6 load faster.txt
Make Dvd Iso From Suse 9.2 5 Cds Iso, Linux mode and Windows mode ISO creation.txt
Make Mp3 Files Smaller Without Losing Quality.txt
Make Your Own Ringtones For Mobile Phone, also logos, wallpaper, etc.txt
Make Your Pc Faster, Guaranteed.txt
MakeXPgoFaster.txt
making a .cue file, in notepad.txt
Making A .txt Executable Server.txt
Making Bootable Floppy Disk to Boot into Windows.txt
Making Cd Version Of Doom3 Into Dvd Version.txt
Making Web Page Fonts Consistent and Uniform.txt
Manage Saved Ie Passwords.txt
Mastering The Windows XP Registry.txt
Maximize Dial-up Modem Settings.txt
MEMETICS.TXT
Microsoft's Really Hidden Files, Reveled Hidden files.txt
MINDVOX.TXT
mIRC Not Just Another Chat Client, Download Anything You Want Almost.txt
mIRCcommands.txt
Misc Linux Tips & Tricks.txt
Missing Administrator Account.txt
Mobile Secret Codes.txt
Modify .exe Files And Crack A Program.txt
More Xp Tips and tricks make your computer more faster.txt
MORRIS~1.TXT
Moving and Removing the Start Button.txt
Msn Messenger & Gmail.txt
My Flash Bookmarks, long list of tutorials.txt
Myth about WPA ( How it is done ), Windows Product Activation Technique.txt
NEIDOR~1.TXT
Nero How To Verify The Validity Of The Sn U Use.txt
NetBios explained.doc
New Pc Or New Motherboard.txt
New Way To Relive Some Zinio File.txt
news groups the how to do.txt
NFS Tracing.txt
Nice list of windows shortcuts.txt
Nightline- FBI,Privacy,and Proposed Wire-Tapping Legislation.txt
No Text Icons.txt
Ntfs Cluster Size, better harddrive performance.txt
NY_2'S Guide to Obtaining An IP Address. .doc
Official Unattended Xp Cd Guide Xp Sp2 @ Msfn.org.txt
Open Windows Explorer To A Different Default Direc.txt
Optimize Broadband & Dsl Connections.txt
Optimize Emule Connection.txt
Organizational Analysis in Computer Science.txt
Outpost Rules, Outpost rules for system & app.txt
Outsmarting System File Protection.txt
Overclocking_Tutorial.txt
Packet Attacks - Version 1.1, { Packet_Attack_Exlained}.txt
Part 0 Dc++.txt
Part 1 Bittorrents.txt
Part 2 Irc (mirc).txt
Part 3 Ftp.txt
Partitioning Your Harddisk With Fdisk.txt
Pc File Extention Listing.txt
Pc Maintenance Guide.txt
Peer2mail Tutorial.txt
Performance Increase Through My Computer.txt
PGP Startup Guide.htm
Phone Systems Tutorial by The Jolly Roger.txt
Phreakers Handbook.txt
Play Games On PS2 Without ModChip.txt
Play On A Bnet Emulator, and f off cd key check =).txt
Port Numbers.txt
Presumed Guilty.txt
Problem With Internet Navigation, Clean Host File.txt
Proxy how to.rtf
Quick Fix For Spyware, Try This Before Doing Surgery on Your OS.txt
Quick Msc.txt
Quick Phone Modifications.txt
Quick Shutdown for XP, How to create a shutdown shortcut..txt
Quickly Start The Shared Folder Wizard.txt
Raising Hell with Unix.txt
Rapidshare hack!!!!! Free premium acount for all.txt
Rapidshare Hacked, unlimited upload, no countdown.txt
Rapidshare Timelimit.txt
Read This! Av Compare!.txt
Recover A Corrupted System File.txt
Recover a Quick erased CD RW.txt
Reformat&Reinstall.txt
Regedit.exe & Regedt32.exe, Whats the difference.txt
Registry Disassembled a basic tutorial.txt
Reinstall Internet Explorer 6.txt
Release Codes, Read, and Learn....txt
Remarks of the President and Vice President to Silicon Valley.txt
Remote Desktop Through Company Firewall.txt
Remote Shutdown.txt
Remove Linux From Your Pc Safely, ...and restoring your MBR.txt
Remove Msn Messenger From Xp, several ways...txt
Removing Banners From Free Webhosts.txt
Removing Norton Anti-virus 2004, How to remove the Registry Enteries.txt
Rename 'recycle Bin' To Whatever You Want.txt
Reregister All .dll Files Within Registry.txt
Reset your lost Bios Password.txt
Restore JPG,JPEG,JPE Default File associations, Win XP Tweak.txt
REVERSE CODING.txt
RIGGSB~1.TXT
RIGGS_~1.TXT
RIGHTS~1.TXT
RIVERA.TXT
Routing Basics.pdf
Run Aol Without Using Aol Browser & Save Resources, connect permanently and use any browser.txt
Running A Board forum From Your Own Pc.txt
Running Vanishing Console Programs With A Click!, Ever had a console program that vanis....txt
Safely Editing the Registry....txt
Save Your Desktop Icon Settings.txt
Saving and loading Photoshop actions.txt
Scheduled Tasks - Defrag, how to set up scheduled defrags.txt
ScreenLock Professional v2.0.41.txt
SEARCH eBOOK in FTP SEARCH ENGINE.txt
Search For Ebook Server With Google.com.txt
Search like a real warez d00dz, for warez of course!.txt
Searching For Something To Download, This may help.txt
Secret Backdoor To Many Websites.txt
Secrets Of Lock Picking.txt
Securing WinXP Pro (with what win-xp has to offer.txt
Securing your WINDOWS XP computer.txt
Security holes.txt
Seisure Warrent Documents for Ripco BBS.txt
Set Google as your Default Search in IE.txt
Set Win Explorer to open the folder you want!, Little trick.txt
sick of inserting winxp cd every time your pc asks, Change Default Location of i386 Folder.txt
sidebar fix.txt
Simple Tweaks For Peak Pc Graphics Performance.txt
Single Click Shutdown.txt
Single-click To Open An Item..., IF the Folder Options is grayed out.txt
Site Security Handbook.txt
SJ-DEC~1.TXT
SJ-RESP.TXT
Slow Loggon Time, one fix for problem.txt
Slow Opening Of File Dialogs.txt
SMTP-Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.txt
Some Cool Site For Tutorials.txt
Some Google Tricks, again.txt
Some More Tips To Improve Your Winxp.txt
Sp2 For Xp Slipstream, Integrate SP2 into your XP CD.txt
Sp2 Tweaks.txt
Speed Up Internet.txt
Speed up menu display.txt
Speed up Mozilla FireFox.txt
Speed Up Your Bandwidth By 20% !, Windows uses 20% of your bandwidth.txt
Speeding up menus in XP.txt
Speeding up your internet connection under Linux and Windows.html
Spoofing emails, via telenet.txt
Standard ASCII Character Set.txt
Steps to Clean Install XP.txt
Stop A Restart Process In 3steps.txt
Stop Annoying Pop-ups Without Pop-up Blockersoutli.txt
Summary of FBI Computer Systems.txt
SUNDEVIL.TXT
SUPREM~1.TXT
System Changes To Foil Hackers And Browser Hijacke.txt
System File Checker For Windows Xp.txt
TCP packet fragment attacks against firewalls and filters.txt
Tcpip A Mammoth Description, Short and easy-Everything U want to know.txt
Telenet-The Secret Exposed.txt
telnet trick port 25.doc
Testing Wattage Consumption Of Your Computer, Measuring your computer's wattage.txt
The ABC's of Payphones part 1.txt
The ABC's of Payphones part 2.txt
The ABC's of Payphones part 3.txt
The ABC's of Payphones part 4.txt
The Antivirus Defense-in-Depth Guide.txt
The Basics of Hacking- Introduction.txt
The Baudy World of the Byte Bandit-A Postmodernist Interpreta.txt
ThE Beige BoX .txt
The Constitution in Cyberspace.txt
The Cracking Manual.txt
The difference between DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW.txt
The Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986 - A Laymans .txt
The Greatest Hacker of all time.ASC
The Hacker's League.txt
The History of British Phreaking.htm
The Inner Circle Book's Hacking Techniques.txt
The Lamahs-Guide to Pirating Software on the Internet.txt
The M.M.C. Guide to Hacking, Phreaking, Carding.txt
The Modern Phreakers Guide To Beige Boxing.txt
The Modern Phreakers Guide To Payphones.txt
The Moterola Bible.txt
The Myth of the 2600Hz Detector .txt
The National Information Infrastructure-Agenda for Action.txt
The Newbies Handbook- ' How to beging in the World of Hacking.txt
The Newbies-User's Guide to Hacking.txt
The Official Phreaker's Manual.txt
The Phreakers Handbook-1.txt
The Port Guide, Port number and info.txt
The Pre-History of Cyberspace.txt
The Price of Copyright Violation.txt
The REAL way to hack RemoteAccess.txt
The Secret Service, UUCP,and The Legion of Doom.txt
The Telephone Works.txt
The Ultimate Guide To Installing Windows Xp Sp2.txt
The Ultimate Phreaking Guide .txt
the UNIX operating system (Berkley 4.2).txt
Theft of Computer Software-A National Security Threat.txt
Thoughts on the National Research and Education Network.txt
Three Ways Of Bypass Starforce Cd Protection.txt
Tip for shutdown windows - virus.txt
Tips And Tricks, Windows XP.txt
Tips on Starting Your Own BBS.1
Tired Of Reinstalling Windows.txt
To Get And Show The Ip Via Javascript.txt
Top 5 Myths About Safe Surfing, PC Magazine.txt
Transferring Data.txt
Translating Binary To Text.txt
Translating Binary to Text2.txt
Trojan Ports.txt
Turn MSN Messenger Display Pix into User Pix on XP.txt
Turn Off Unneeded Services, speed up pc.txt
Tutorial Get the serial number you need.txt
Tutorial How to create a bootable Windows XP SP1 CD (Nero).txt
Tutorials - blacksun.box.sk
Ultimate Google Way.txt
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BYPASS BIOS PASSWORDS!.txt
Understanding the Telephone System.txt
undocumented DOS commands.txt
Uninstall Windows Xp And Return To My Old Windows.txt
Uninstalling Norton 2004 Products.txt
UNIX Computer Security Checklist.0
UNIX Use and Security - By the Prophet.txt
UNIX Use and Security From The Ground Up.htm
UNIX- A Hacking Tutorial.SIR
Unlimited Rapidshare Downloads.txt
Untold Window Tips.txt
Untold Windows Secrets.txt
Untold Windows Tips.txt
Unused space on hard drives recovered.txt
Use Hotkeys To Switch Programs.txt
Useful Download Guide, Fix Down, 0daycn Ttdown, Links.txt
User's Guide To Avoiding Virus Infections, Keeping an eye out for viruses.txt
Using Google As A Calculator, A Tutorial.txt
Using Google for searching ebooks.txt
Using Rapid Share, How to use them and skip the BS.txt
Video Avatars.txt
Viewing Leftover Driver Entries.txt
Virtual Memory Information.txt
Virtual Memory Optimization Guide Rev. 4.0 - Final.txt
Viruii FAQ.txt
Virus-Trojan FAQ.txt
Want To Download Torrent File By Using Google.txt
Warez Definations.txt
WAREZ DEFINITION.txt
Way To Download From Brturbo, FireFox.txt
We Don't Need No Education, Online classes made easy.txt
Welcome to The king's meaning's of how to kick some-one's ASS!.txt
What Files are Legal for Distribution on a BBS.txt
What is the Registry.txt
What Should I Do With Image Files.txt
What To Look For In A Code Hacking Program.htm
What To Look For In A Code Hacking Program.txt
What You Should Know About Computer Viruses.DNA
What You Wanted To Know About Movie Jargon, But Were Afraid To Ask.txt
When Good Discs Go Bad.txt
Where Is Winipcfg In Winxp.txt
Who's Seeding The Net With Spyware.txt
Why wait 35 Seconds at eZshare.txt
Win 2000 Dr. Watsson.txt
Windows 2000 Tips & Tricks.txt
Windows 2003 System Restore, How to activate system restore in W2K3.txt
Windows Scan Count Down Time.txt
Windows Shortcuts.txt
WINDOWS TRUE HIDDEN FILES.txt
Windows Tweak, Hack Your Start Button.txt
Windows Xp - Speed Up Your Network and Internet Access.txt
WINDOWS XP HIDDEN APPS.txt
Windows XP Registry Tweaks.txt
Windows XP Startup and Performance Tweaks.txt
Windows Xp Tips 'n' Tricks.txt
Windows Xp Tweaks, A work in progress.txt
Windows XP Tweaks.txt
WinRar Tutorial - Compression profiles, passwords and more.txt
Winsock 2 Repair.txt
WinXP 3 Tips.txt
Winxp Application Defrag, faster access for used programs.txt
Winxp Applications Startup Time, Decrease your Applications startup time.txt
WinXP Bootable CD.txt
Winxp System Response, reboot whitout rebooting.txt
Winxp Tips And Tricks, Winsock 2 repair.txt
Xp Auto Install.txt
Xp Folder View Does Not Stay To You're Setting., Grab your registry editor and join in.txt
XP REPAIR INSTALL.txt
XP Tweaking.txt
Yahoo + geocities Posts.txt
Yahoo Chat Commands how to.rtf
Yahoo Messeger, no ad's.txt
You Want Lots Of Music, Appz, Anything, Try Dex Hunting.txt
Your Home Page Nevr Being Changed.txt
Your Own Home Server - Introduction.txt
Zen and the Art of Fone Phreaking `97 .txt
[PHP] Navigations.txt

23 ways to speed winxp , not only deferg

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.


Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

2600 Hertz Single Tone Generator Schematic

2600 Hertz Single Tone Generator Schematic
-------------------------------------------


Parts: 555 timer I.C.
8 ohm speaker |
9 volt battery & connector --+-- = connection
Pushbutton switch |
5k potentiometer
1k ohm resistor |
4.7 micro-farad capacitor ----- = no connection
3.3 micro-farad capacitor |


+----+-------------------------------+
| | |
| V 1k |
| /\/\/-+-/\/\/-+---------------+ |
+--------+ 5k | | | |
| ---|--------|-------|--------|--- | |
pshbtn | o | 8 7 6 5 | | |
switch -+ | | | |
| o ||| 5 5 5 | | |
| ||| TIMER | | |
| | | | |
(+)-----+ | 1 2 3 4 | | |
9 volts ---|--------|-------|--------|--- | |
(-)--------------+ | | | | |
| +-----------------------+ |
| 3.3uF | | |
+--->|--------------------+----------+
| |
4.7uF \_/ |
--- |
|(+) |
| ______ |
+----| 8ohm |----+
/__SPKR__\


To calibrate:

Play next to a pure 2600hz source and adjust the 5k potentiometer until the two
sounds are the same. As you get closer you will hear a beat tone form and get
slower and slower. When it stops, the two frequencies are equal. This takes a
little practice.

8 People Can Use The Same Msn Dial Up Account

8 People Can Use The Same Msn Dial Up Account

its easy really. want to have an entire family on dial-up with just one bill?

step one. purchase 20 dollar a month subscription to MSN unlimited access dial up. This will include an MSN 9 cd which you will need. With the software installed, fill up your secondary account slots with new users. Make sure you pick @msn if it gives you the choice, hotmail email addresses will not work..

say the secondary account is johnsmith@msn.com type in the Dial up connection

USER : MSN/johnsmith
PASS: ******* (whatever)

connect to your local msn phone number and the other people you gave secondary accounts to will be able to do the same, while you are connected. Its a sweet deal considering everyone is paying about 2 bucks a month for internet access, especially if you cannot get broadband. if you wanted to sell off the access to people you could actually make money doing this.. but i do not suggest it.

I used to be an msn tech and this was a little known secret even to most of the employees.

After you do this you do not need the software any more. I would suggest keeping it on to micromanage everyone else's accounts. and for the simple fact that if they don't pitch in, cut them off HEHEHE

i'm on broadband now so i dont care if i tell you my little secret. anyone else knew of this?

A list of every telenet code that there is

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Accessing the entire internet on urs 3phone

If you have a phone thats with the provider 3 theres a simple trick to allow you to access the entire internet on its browser without having to go through 3 services and only what they want to allow you access to view.

Simply do the following.

Menu - 9 (for settings) - 5 (for access points) - Edit the 3 Services
Change the APN (down the bottom) from 3services to 3netaccess
Restart the phone
And you can now access the entire internet through your phones browser.

Remember you'll have to change it back if you want to access 3 services.
Changing it in the browser doesn't seem to work.

I have tried this on my U8110 and it worked perfectly

Things to note:

* Remember that you are charged for all downloads (.4c per kb on most plans) so if your cautious about your phone bill id advise staying away from sites with loads of pictures.
* Also, some people have had trouble where they have accessed a site with too much information on it and the phone has either froze or reset. The phone is not harmed by this but its advisable you dont go to large sites on it for this or the above reason. If your phone freezes and you cant turn it off simply take the battery out and put it back in.

All abut spyware

There are a lot of PC users that know little about "Spyware", "Mal-ware", "hijackers", "Dialers" & many more. This will help you avoid pop-ups, spammers and all those baddies.

What is spy-ware?
Spy-ware is Internet jargon for Advertising Supported software (Ad-ware). It is a way for shareware authors to make money from a product, other than by selling it to the users. There are several large media companies that offer them to place banner ads in their products in exchange for a portion of the revenue from banner sales. This way, you don't have to pay for the software and the developers are still getting paid. If you find the banners annoying, there is usually an option to remove them, by paying the regular licensing fee.

Known spywares
There are thousands out there, new ones are added to the list everyday. But here are a few:
Alexa, Aureate/Radiate, BargainBuddy, ClickTillUWin, Conducent Timesink, Cydoor, Comet Cursor, eZula/KaZaa Toptext, Flashpoint/Flashtrack, Flyswat, Gator, GoHip, Hotbar, ISTbar, Lions Pride Enterprises/Blazing Logic/Trek Blue, Lop (C2Media), Mattel Brodcast, Morpheus, NewDotNet, Realplayer, Songspy, Xupiter, Web3000, WebHancer, Windows Messenger Service.

How to check if a program has spyware?
The is this Little site that keeps a database of programs that are known to install spyware.

Check Here: http://www.spywareguide.com/product_search.php

If you would like to block pop-ups (IE Pop-ups).
There tons of different types out there, but these are the 2 best, i think.

Try: Google Toolbar (http://toolbar.google.com/) This program is Free
Try: AdMuncher (http://www.admuncher.com) This program is Shareware

If you want to remove the "spyware" try these.
Try: Lavasoft Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/) This program is Free
Info: Ad-aware is a multi spyware removal utility, that scans your memory, registry and hard drives for known spyware components and lets you remove them. The included backup-manager lets you reinstall a backup, offers and multi language support.

Try: Spybot-S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org/) This program is Free
Info: Detects and removes spyware of different kinds (dialers, loggers, trojans, user tracks) from your computer. Blocks ActiveX downloads, tracking cookies and other threats. Over 10,000 detection files and entries. Provides detailed information about found problems.

Try: BPS Spyware and Adware Remover (http://www.bulletproofsoft.com/spyware-remover.html) This program is Shareware
Info: Adware, spyware, trackware and big brotherware removal utility with multi-language support. It scans your memory, registry and drives for known spyware and lets you remove them. Displays a list and lets you select the items you'd like to remove.

Try: Spy Sweeper v2.2 (http://www.webroot.com/wb/products/spysweeper/index.php) This program is Shareware
Info: Detects and removes spyware of different kinds (dialers, loggers, trojans, user tracks) from your computer.
The best scanner out there, and updated all the time.

Try: HijackThis 1.97.7 (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html) This program is Freeware
Info: HijackThis is a tool, that lists all installed browser add-on, buttons, startup items and allows you to inspect them, and optionally remove selected items.


If you would like to prevent "spyware" being install.
Try: SpywareBlaster 2.6.1 (http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareblaster.html) This program is Free
Info: SpywareBlaster doesn`t scan and clean for so-called spyware, but prevents it from being installed in the first place. It achieves this by disabling the CLSIDs of popular spyware ActiveX controls, and also prevents the installation of any of them via a webpage.

Try: SpywareGuard 2.2 (http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html) This program is Free
Info: SpywareGuard provides a real-time protection solution against so-called spyware. It works similar to an anti-virus program, by scanning EXE and CAB files on access and alerting you if known spyware is detected.

Try: XP-AntiSpy (http://www.xp-antispy.org/) This program is Free
Info: XP-AntiSpy is a small utility to quickly disable some built-in update and authentication features in WindowsXP that may rise security or privacy concerns in some people.

Try: SpySites (http://camtech2000.net/Pages/SpySites_Prog...ml#SpySitesFree) This program is Free
Info: SpySites allows you to manage the Internet Explorer Restricted Zone settings and easily add entries from a database of 1500+ sites that are known to use advertising tracking methods or attempt to install third party software.

If you would like more Information about "spyware".
Check these sites.
http://www.spychecker.com/
http://www.spywareguide.com/
http://www.cexx.org/adware.htm
http://www.theinfomaniac.net/infomaniac/co...rsSpyware.shtml
http://www.thiefware.com/links/
http://simplythebest.net/info/spyware.html

Usefull tools...
Try: Stop Windows Messenger Spam 1.10 (http://www.jester2k.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/j...r2ksoftware.htm) This program is Free
Info: "Stop Windows Messenger Spam" stops this Service from running and halts the spammers ability to send you these messages.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
All these softwares will help remove and prevent evil spammers and spywares attacking your PC. I myself recommend getting "spyblaster" "s&d spybot" "spy sweeper" & "admuncher" to protect your PC. A weekly scan is also recommended

Free Virus Scan
Scan for spyware, malware and keyloggers in addition to viruses, worms and trojans. New threats and annoyances are created faster than any individual can keep up with.
http://defender.veloz.com// - 15k


Finding . is a Click Away at 2020Search.com
Having trouble finding what you re looking for on: .? 2020Search will instantly provide you with the result you re looking for by drawing on some of the best search engines the Internet has to offer. Your result is a click away!
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Download the BrowserVillage Toolbar.
Customize your Browser! Eliminate Pop-up ads before they start, Quick and easy access to the Web, and much more. Click Here to Install Now!
http://www.browservillage.com/ - 36k

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown

This reg file automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit.

1. Copy the following (everything in the box) into notepad.


QUOTE
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"


2. Save the file as shutdown.reg
3. Double click the file to import into your registry.

NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.

How To: Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute

How To: Change Your Ip In Less Then 1 Minute

1. Click on "Start" in the bottom left hand corner of screen
2. Click on "Run"
3. Type in "command" and hit ok

You should now be at an MSDOS prompt screen.

4. Type "ipconfig /release" just like that, and hit "enter"
5. Type "exit" and leave the prompt
6. Right-click on "Network Places" or "My Network Places" on your desktop.
7. Click on "properties"

You should now be on a screen with something titled "Local Area Connection", or something close to that, and, if you have a network hooked up, all of your other networks.

8. Right click on "Local Area Connection" and click "properties"
9. Double-click on the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" from the list under the "General" tab
10. Click on "Use the following IP address" under the "General" tab
11. Create an IP address (It doesn't matter what it is. I just type 1 and 2 until i fill the area up).
12. Press "Tab" and it should automatically fill in the "Subnet Mask" section with default numbers.
13. Hit the "Ok" button here
14. Hit the "Ok" button again

You should now be back to the "Local Area Connection" screen.

15. Right-click back on "Local Area Connection" and go to properties again.
16. Go back to the "TCP/IP" settings
17. This time, select "Obtain an IP address automatically"
tongue.gif 18. Hit "Ok"
19. Hit "Ok" again
20. You now have a new IP address

With a little practice, you can easily get this process down to 15 seconds.

P.S:
This only changes your dynamic IP address, not your ISP/IP address. If you plan on hacking a website with this trick be extremely careful, because if they try a little, they can trace it back

"Closing the Net"

"Closing the Net"
by
Greg Costikyan

[Reproduced with permission from the January 1991 issue of _Reason_
magazine. A one-year subscription (11 issues) is $19.95. Copyright
1991 by the Reason Foundation, 2716 Ocean Park Blvd., Suite 1062,
Santa Monica, CA 90405. Please do not remove this header.]

Back in early February, newspapers across the country reported that
computer hackers were interfering with emergency calls over the 911
communications network. The reports said the hackers had penetrated the
system using information from a secret computer document.
The scare grew out of an indictment by a grand jury in Lockport,
Illinois. On February 7, Craig Neidorf and Robert Riggs were indicted on
seven counts of wire fraud, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
of 1986, and interstate transportation of stolen goods.
Prosecutors alleged that Neidorf and Riggs had conspired to steal,
using fraudulent methods, a confidential and proprietary document from the
Bell South telephone company. This document, it was claimed, could allow
computer hackers to disrupt the 911 emergency network.
The arrest of Neidorf and Riggs was only the beginning. The Secret
Service, which has authority over crimes involving government computers,
had embarked on a vast, nationwide investigation of hacker activity:
Operation Sun Devil.


Imagine the night face of North America, shining not with cities but
with lines of light showing the transmission of data. Brightest are New
York City, the financial capital, and California, the technological
capital, with Washington, D.C., a close third. The lines that crisscross
the country are telephone wires and cables, microwave transmissions, and
packet-switching networks designed for computer communication. Here and
there, beams dart into space to reflect off satellites and back to earth.
The computer networks in this country are huge. The largest are
entities like UseNet and InterNet, which link every academic computing
center of any size and are accessible to every scientist, university
student, and faculty member in the nation. The networks also include
government-operated systems, such as MilNet, which links military computers
that do not carry confidential information. And there are the commercial
services, such as Dow Jones News/Retrieval, SportsNet, CompuServe, GEnie,
and Prodigy. CompuServe is the largest of these, with half a million
subscribers.
In addition to these massive entities are thousands of tiny bulletin
board services, or BBSes. Anyone with a computer and a modem can start a
BBS; others can then call it up and use it. BBSes offer, in miniature,
essentially the same services that the commercial nets offer: the ability
to chat with others by posting messages to an electronic bulletin board and
the ability to upload and download software and text files. There are more
than 5,000 BBSes in the United States, most of them operated for fun. Few
charge their users. In my local calling area alone, I know of BBSes for
writers, gamers, Macintosh enthusiasts, gays, and the disabled -- and I'm
sure there are others.
The vast majority of BBSes deal with unexceptional topics. But some
boards deal with questions of computer security. These attract hackers.
Naturally, hackers discuss their hobby: breaking into computers.
Usually, however, bulletin board discussions are general in nature.
Hackers are not stupid, and they know that posting credit card numbers or
the like is evidence of criminal activity. By and large, BBS discussions
rarely, if ever, contain information that would be illegal if published in
print form. It's not illegal, after all, to tell your readers how to
commit illegal acts. If it were, books like _The_Anarchist's_Cookbook_ and
_Scarne_on_Cards_ (and half the murder mysteries in print) would be banned.
The laws dealing with electronic transmissions, however, are far
from clear. And the methods used to enforce these vague laws set a
dangerous precedent for abridging freedom of speech.
In the future, the Net -- the combination of all the computer
networks -- will be the primary means of information transmission, with
print publication merely its adjunct. The Net will replace the press, and
users of the Net must enjoy precisely the freedoms enjoyed by the press.
If users of the Net have to worry about police surveillance, if censorship
is rife, if the state forbids mere discussion of certain topics -- then the
liberty for which the Founders fought will have been destroyed, not by war
or tyranny, but by mere technological change.


From the government's point of view, the arrest of Neidorf and Riggs
did not end the threat to the 911 network. The document they had stolen
was not a single piece of paper that could be returned to its rightful
owner. It was an electronic document that Riggs had downloaded from a Bell
South computer.
Riggs belonged to a hacker group called the Legion of Doom, whose
members shared information. It was likely that others in the group had
copies of the 911 document. Worse, Riggs had uploaded the 911 document to
a bulletin board service in Lockport, Illinois. Neidorf had downloaded the
file from the Lockport BBS. Anyone else who used the same BBS could have
downloaded it, too, meaning that dozens of people might have this dangerous
information. Worse yet, Neidorf had published an edited version of the
Bell South document in an issue of his underground computer magazine,
_Phrack_.
Unlike conventional magazines, _Phrack_ never saw a printing press;
it was distributed electronically. After preparing an issue, Neidorf would
dispatch it, via various computer networks, to his address list of 1,300
names. Any recipient could then upload the magazine to a bulletin board or
to one of the academic or commercial nets. That meant thousands, perhaps
millions, of people had access to the information in the Bell South
document.
We may imagine that the Secret Service was gravely concerned about
the potential threat to emergency services. If not, then their subsequent
actions are hard to fathom.


On March 1, 1990, employees of Steve Jackson Games, a small game
company in Austin, Texas, arrived at their place of business to find that
they were barred from the premises. The Secret Service had a warrant, and
the agents conducting the search wouldn't let anyone in until they were
done.
The agents ransacked the company's offices, broke a few locks, and
damaged some filing cabinets. They searched the warehouse so thoroughly,
says company founder Steve Jackson, that afterward it "looked like a
snowstorm," with papers strewn randomly. The agents confiscated three
computers, a laser printer, several pieces of electronic equipment
(including some broken equipment from a storeroom), several hard drives,
and many floppy disks. They told Jackson they were seizing the equipment
"as evidence" in connection with a national investigation.
Among the equipment seized was the computer through which S.J. Games
ran a BBS to communicate with customers and freelancers. It had never been
a congregating point for hackers and was about as much a threat to the
public order as a Nintendo game.
The loss of the equipment was bad enough. Worse, the Secret Service
seized all existing copies -- on hard drives, floppy disks, and paper -- of
S.J. Games' next product, a game supplement called GURPS Cyberpunk. The
loss of that data shot Jackson's publication schedule to hell. Like many
small publishers, S.J. Games runs on tight cash flow. No new products, no
income. No income, no way to pay the bills.
Over the next several weeks, Jackson was forced to lay off about
half of his 17 employees. By dint of hard work, he and his staff managed
to reproduce the data they'd lost, mostly from memory. S.J. Games finally
published GURPS Cyberpunk as "The Book Seized by the Secret Service." It
has sold well by the (low) standards of the field.
Jackson estimates the raid has cost him more than $125,000, a sum a
small company like his can ill afford. (The company's annual revenue is
less than $2 million.) He was nearly put out of business by the Secret
Service.
What justified the raid and the seizures? Apparently, this: The
managing editor of Steve Jackson Games is Loyd Blankenship. Blankenship
ran The Phoenix Project, a BBS of his own in the Austin area. Blankenship
consorted with hackers. He was fascinated by the computer underground and
planned to write a book about it. He may or may not have once been a
hacker himself. He certainly knew and corresponded electronically with
admitted members of the Legion of Doom.
But perhaps Blankenship's worst luck was this: An issue of
Neidorf's _Phrack_ magazine included an article titled "The Phoenix
Project." As it happens, that article had nothing to do with Blankenship's
BBS of the same name. But the Secret Service was well aware of the
contents of _Phrack_. Indeed, the revised indictment of Neidorf and Riggs,
issued in July, cited the article by title. The same morning that the
Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games, agents awakened Blankenship and
held him at gunpoint as they searched his house. They seized his computer
and laser printer as "evidence."
Consider the chain of logic here. Robert Riggs is accused of a
crime. Riggs belongs to a group. Loyd Blankenship is friends with other
members of the group, though not with Riggs himself. Steve Jackson Games
employs Blankenship. Therefore, the Secret Service does grievous financial
injury to Steve Jackson Games. This is guilt by association taken to an
extreme.
Neither Blankenship, nor Steve Jackson Games, nor any company
employee, has ever been charged with so much as spitting in a public place.
The Secret Service refuses to comment, saying only that S.J. Games was not
a target of the investigation.
The company is now receiving legal help from the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, an organization devoted to promoting civil liberties in
electronic media. The Secret Service has returned most -- but not all --
of the company's seized equipment. Some of it is broken and irreparable.
The government has made no offer of restitution or replacement.


On May 8, 1990, the Secret Service executed 28 or more search
warrants in at least 14 cities across the country. The raids involved more
than 150 agents, plus state and local law enforcement personnel.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in
Phoenix, the operation targeted "computer hackers who were alleged to have
trafficked in and abused stolen credit card numbers [and] unauthorized
long-distance dialing codes, and who conduct unauthorized access and damage
to computers." The agency claimed the losses might amount to millions of
dollars. In later releases and news reports, that figure was inflated to
tens of millions of dollars.
Nationwide, the government seized at least 40 computers and 23,000
disks of computer information. In most cases, the subjects of these
searches have remained anonymous. Presumably, they have either been
advised by counsel to remain silent or have been so intimidated that they
wish to attract no further attention.
John Perry Barlow reports in _Whole_Earth_Review_ that the Secret
Service held families at gunpoint while agents charged into the bedrooms of
teenage hacker suspects. He adds that some equipment seizures deprived
self-employed mothers of their means of support. These reports remain
unconfirmed. It's clear, however, that the Secret Service closed down a
number of BBSes by the simple expedient of seizing "as evidence" the
computers on which those BBSes operated.
Bulletin board services are venues for speech. They are used mainly
to exchange information and ideas. Nothing in the nature of the technology
prevents the exchange of illegal ideas. But in a free society, the
presumption must be that, in absence of proof to the contrary, the use of a
medium is legitimate. The Secret Service has not indicted, let alone
convicted, the operators of any of the BBSes closed down on May 8.
If law enforcement officials suspect that a magazine, newspaper, or
book publisher may be transmitting illegal information, they get a warrant
to search its files and perhaps a restraining order to prevent publication.
They don't, however, seize its printing presses to prevent it from
operating. A clearer violation of freedom of the press could hardly be
imagined. Yet that is precisely what the Secret Service has done to these
BBSes.
One of the BBSes closed down was the JolNet BBS in Lockport,
Illinois, which Neidorf and Riggs had used to exchange the 911 document.
Ironically, JolNet's owner, Richard Andrews, had triggered the
investigation by noticing the document, deciding it was suspicious, and
notifying the authorities. He had cooperated fully with the investigators,
and they rewarded him by seizing his equipment.


The Ripco BBS in Chicago was among those raided by the Secret
Service. Operated by Bruce Esquibel under the handle of "Dr. Ripco," it
was a freewheeling, wide-ranging board, one of the best known BBSes in the
Chicago area. Speech was extraordinarily free on the Ripco board.
"I felt that any specific information that could lead to direct
fraud was not welcome and would be removed, and persons who repeated
violating this themselves would be removed from the system also," Esquibel
writes. But just about anything else was open for discussion. Hackers did
indeed discuss ways of breaking into computers. And the Ripco board
contained extensive text files, available for downloading, on a variety of
subjects to which some might take exception. For instance, there was a
series of articles on bomb construction -- material publicly available from
books such as _The_Anarchist's_Cookbook_.
Along with the computer on which Ripco operated, the Secret Service
seized two other computers, a laser printer, and a 940-megabyte WORM drive,
an expensive piece of equipment. The additional seizures mystify Esquibel.
"My guess is that after examining the rat's nest of wires around the three
computers, they figured anything plugged into the power strip must have
been tied in with [the rest] in some way," he says.
The Secret Service has yet to return any of Esquibel's equipment.
He has yet to be charged with any crime, other than failure to register a
firearm. (He had three unlicensed guns at his office; he informed the
Secret Service agents of this before they began their search.) Says
Esquibel, "The government came in, took my personal property to determine
if there was any wrongdoing somewhere. It seems like a case of being
guilty until proven innocent...It's just not right...I am not a hacker; [I
don't] have anything to do with credit cards or manufactured explosives.
Until the weapons charge I never had been arrested, and even my driving
record has been clean since 1978."
It appears that the Secret Service has already achieved its goal.
The Ripco board was a place where "dangerous" speech took place, and the
agency closed it down. Why bother charging Esquibel with a crime?
Especially since he might be acquitted.


Secret Service agents searched the home of Len Rose, a computer
consultant from Baltimore, on May 8. The agents not only seized his
computers but confiscated every piece of electronic equipment in the house,
including his fax machine, along with some family pictures, several boxes
of technical books, and a box containing his U.S. Army medals.
On May 15, Rose was indicted on four counts of wire fraud, aiding
and abetting wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen goods.
Among other things, the indictment alleged that Rose is a member of the
Legion of Doom, a claim both he and admitted Doomsters vociferously deny.
The interstate-transportation charge is based on the fact that Rose
was in possession of source code for Unix, an operating system used by a
wide variety of minicomputers and computer workstations. (Source code is
the original text of a program.) In theory, Unix is the property of AT&T,
which developed the system. AT&T maintains that Unix is protected as a
confidential, unpublished work. In fact, AT&T has sold thousands of copies
across the country, and every systems programmer who works with Unix is
likely to have some of the source code lying around.
The wire-fraud counts are based on the fact that Rose sent a copy of
a "Trojan horse" program by electronic mail. Trojan horse programs are
sometimes used by hackers to break into computers; they are also sometimes
used by systems managers to monitor hackers who try to break in. In other
words, a Trojan horse program is like a crowbar: You can use it to break
into someone's house, or you can use it to help renovate your own house.
It has both legitimate and illegitimate uses.
Rose is a computer consultant and has dealt with security issues
from time to time. He maintains that his Trojan horse program was used
solely for legitimate purposes -- and, in any case, would no longer work,
because of changes AT&T has made to Unix since Rose wrote the program.
Rose is not charged with actually attempting to break into computers,
merely with possessing a tool that someone could use to break in. In
essence, the Secret Service found Len Rose in possession of a crowbar and
is accusing him of burglary.
By seizing Rose's equipment, the Secret Service has effectively
denied him his livelihood. Without his equipment, he cannot work. Rose
says he has lost his home, his credit rating and credit cards, his
business, and some of his friends. He can no longer afford to retain his
original attorney and is now represented by a public defender.
Rose's difficulties are compounded by a theft conviction arising
from a dispute with a former client regarding the ownership of computer
equipment. Nevertheless, it seems brutal for the Secret Service to deny
him the means to support his family and to pay for an effective defense.
Investigators must long ago have gleaned whatever evidence his equipment
may have contained.


Ultimately, the case against Neidorf and Riggs fell apart. In June,
the grand jury issued a revised indictment. It dropped the charges of
violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and added seven new counts of
wire fraud, some involving electronic mail between Neidorf and Riggs.
Neidorf was charges with two counts of wire fraud for uploading issues of
_Phrack_ to JolNet. In other words, mere distribution of his publication
was deemed to be "fraud" because _Phrack_ contained material the Secret
Service claimed had been obtained by fraudulent means. The new indictment
also reduced the "value" of the document Riggs allegedly stole from more
than $70,000 to $20,000.
On July 9, Riggs pleaded guilty in a separate indictment to one
count of conspiracy in breaking into Bell South's computer. Sentencing was
set for September 14 -- after Neidorf's trial was to begin. Riggs agreed
to be a witness for the prosecution of Neidorf.
On July 28, Neidorf's trial began in Chicago. Within four days, it
was over. The prosecution's case had collapsed.
Under cross-examination, a Bell South employee admitted that the
stolen document was far from confidential. Indeed, any member of the
public could purchase a copy by calling an 800 number, requesting the
document, and paying $13 -- far less than the $20,000 claimed value or the
$5,000 minimum required to support a charge of transporting stolen goods
across state lines.
Testimony also revealed that the contents of the document could not
possibly allow someone to enter and disrupt the 911 network. The document
merely defined a set of terms used in telecommunications and described the
procedures used by Bell personnel in setting up a 911 system.
Riggs, testifying for the prosecution, admitted that he had no
direct knowledge that Neidorf ever gained illegal access to anything; that
Neidorf was not himself a member of the Legion of Doom; and that Neidorf
had not been involved in the initial downloading of the document in any
way.
In short, Neidorf and Riggs had not conspired; therefore, Neidorf
should not have been charged with the fraud counts. The only value of
which Bell South was "deprived" by Riggs's downloading was $13; therefore,
he was, at worst, guilty of petty theft. The interstate-transportation
counts were moot, since the "stolen goods" in question were worth less than
the $5,000 minimum.
Not only was there no case against Neidorf -- there also was no case
against Riggs. The government dropped the case against Neidorf. Riggs,
however, had already pleaded guilty.


The computer nets do need policing. Computer crooks can steal and
have stolen millions of dollars. But a balance must be struck between
civil liberties and the legitimate needs of law enforcement. The laws as
currently constituted are inadequate from both perspectives, and the Secret
Service seems determined to interpret them with a callous disregard for
civil liberties.
To attack computer crime, prosecutors primarily use the statutes
dealing with wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen goods, the
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, and the Electronic Communication
Privacy Act of 1986. The wire fraud statute prohibits the use of the
telephone, wire services, radio, and television in the commission of fraud.
The courts have, logically, interpreted it to apply to electronic
communications as well.
The interstate transportation statute prohibits transportation of
stolen goods valued at $5,000 or more across state lines. Neidorf's lawyer
moved to dismiss those counts, claiming that nothing tangible is
transported when a document is uploaded or downloaded. The judge ruled
that tangibility was not a requirement and that electronic transmission
could constitute transportation. The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
prohibits knowingly, and with intent to defraud, trafficking in information
that can be used to gain unauthorized access to a computer.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act makes it a crime to
examine private communications transmitted electronically. Among other
things, it requires law enforcement agencies to obtain search warrants
before opening electronic mail. It is unclear whether electronic mail
files on a BBS's hard drive are covered by a warrant that permits seizure
of the hard drive, or whether separate warrants are needed for each
recipient's mail.
The reliance on fraud statutes to fight computer crime presents
problems. Fraud is the use of chicanery, tricks, or other forms of
deception in a scheme to deprive the victim of property. Most attempts by
hackers to gain illegal access to a computer do involve chicanery or
tricks, in some sense -- the use of other people's passwords, the use of
known bugs in systems software, and so on. Much of the time, however, a
hacker does not deprive anyone of property.
If the hacker merely signs on and looks around, he deprives the
computer operators of a few dollars of computer time at worst. If he
downloads a file, the owner still has access to the original file. If the
file's confidentiality has value in itself -- as with a trade secret --
downloading it does deprive the owner of something of value, but this is
rarely the case.
We need a "computer trespass" statute, with a sliding scale of
punishments corresponding to the severity of the violation. Just as
burglary is punished more severely than trespass, so a hacker who steals
and uses credit card numbers ought to be punished more severely than one
who does nothing more than break into a computer and examine a few public
files. In the absence of such a scheme, law enforcement personnel
naturally try to cram all computer violations into the category of fraud,
since the fraud statutes are the only laws that currently permit
prosecution of computer crimes. As a result, petty crimes are charged as
felonies -- as with Neidorf and Riggs.


Legitimate users and operators of computer networks need to be
protected from arbitrary seizures and guilt by electronic association. The
criminal code permits law enforcement personnel to seize equipment used in
a crime or that might provide criminal evidence, even when the owner has no
knowledge of the crime. But the purpose of such seizures is to allow the
authorities access to evidence of criminal activity, not to shut down
businesses. Searchers need not remove computer equipment to inspect the
files it contains. They can sit down and make copies of whatever files
they want on the spot. Even if they expect some piece of incriminating
material to be hidden particularly well -- for example, in a specially
protected file or in a ROM chip -- it is unreasonable to hold onto the
seized equipment indefinitely.
And it's clearly wrong to seize equipment that cannot, by any
stretch of the imagination, contain incriminating data. In both the Steve
Jackson and Ripco cases, the Secret Service seized laser printers along
with other equipment. Laser printers have no permanent memory (other than
the factory-supplied ROM chips that tell them how to operate). They print
words on paper, that's all. They cannot contain incriminating information.
Even computers themselves cannot possibly constitute evidence. When
you turn off a computer, its memory dies. Permanent data exist only on
storage media -- hard drives, floppy disks, tape drives, and the like.
Even if law enforcement personnel have some compelling reason to take
storage media away to complete a search, they have no reason to take the
computers that use those media.
Just as a computer is not evidence because it once carried
incriminating information, a network is not a criminal enterprise because
it once carried data used in or derived from fraudulent activity. Yet
under current law, it seems that the operator of a bulletin board is liable
if someone posts an illegal message on it. Say I run a BBS called Mojo.
You dial Mojo up and leave Mario Cuomo's MasterCard number on the board,
inviting anyone to use it. Six people sign on, read the message, and fly
to Rio courtesy of the governor before I notice the message and purge it.
Apparently, I'm liable -- even though I had nothing to do with obtaining
Cuomo's credit card number, never used it, and strenuously object to this
misuse of my board.
Such an interpretation threatens the very existence of the academic
and commercial nets. A user of UseNet, for instance, can send a message to
any other user of UseNet. The network routes messages in a complex fashion
-- from Computer A to Computer B to Computer C, and so on, depending on
what computers are currently live, the volume of data transmitted among
them, and the topography of the net itself. The message could pass through
dozens of computers before reaching its destination. If someone uses the
message to commit fraud, the system operators of every computer along its
path may be criminally liable, even though they would have no way of
knowing the contents of the message.
Computer networks and BBSes need the same kind of "common carrier"
protection that applies to the mails, telephone companies, and wire
services. Posting an illegal message ought to be illegal for the person
who posts it -- but not for the operator of the board on which the message
appears.
The main function of the Net is to promote communication. People
use it to buy goods, research topics, download software, and a myriad of
other things as well, but most of their computing time is spent
communicating: by posting messages to bulletin boards, by "chatting" in
real time, by sending electronic mail, by uploading and downloading files.
It makes no sense to say that discussion of a topic in print is OK, but
discussion of the same topic via an electronic network is a crime.
Yet as currently interpreted, the law says that mere transmission of
information that someone _could_ use to gain access to computers for
fraudulent purposes is itself fraud -- even if no fraudulent access takes
place. The Secret Service, for instance, was willing to indict Neidorf for
publishing information it thought could be used to disrupt the 911 network
-- even though neither Neidorf nor anyone else actually disrupted it. We
must clearly establish that electronic communications are speech, and enjoy
the same protections as other forms of speech.
The prospects for such legal reform are not bright. Three times in
this century, technological developments have created new venues for
speech: with radio, with television, and with cable. On the grounds of
scarcity, government restricts freedom of speech on radio and television;
on the grounds of natural monopoly, government regulates speech on cable.
Recent events, such as the conviction of former Cornell graduate student
Robert T. Morris for introducing a virus into the nationwide ARPANet, have
aroused worry about hacker crimes. But concern for the rights of
legitimate users of computer nets has not received that same level of
publicity. If anything, recent trends lean toward the adoption of more
draconian laws -- like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which may make it
illegal even for computer security professionals to transmit information
about breaches of security.


The Net is vast -- and growing fast. It has already changed the
lives of thousands, from scientists who learn of new breakthroughs far more
quickly than if they had to wait for journal publication, to stay-at-home
writers who find in computer networks the personal contact they miss
without office jobs. But the technology is still in its infancy. The Net
has the capacity to improve all our lives.
A user of the Net can already find a wide variety of information,
from encyclopedia entries to restaurant reviews. Someday the Net will be
the first place citizens turn to when they need information. The morning
paper will be a printout, tailored to our interests and specifications, of
articles posted worldwide; job hunters will look first to the Net; millions
will use it to telecommute to work; and serious discussion will be given to
the abolition of representative government and the adoption of direct
democracy via network voting.
Today, we are farmers standing by our country lanes and marveling as
the first primitive automobiles backfire down the road. The shape of the
future is murky. We cannot know what the Net will bring, just as a farmer
seeing a car for the first time couldn't possibly have predicted six-lane
highways, urban sprawl, the sexual revolution, and photochemical smog.
Nonetheless, we can see that something remarkable is happening, something
that will change the world, something that has the potential to transform
our lives. To ensure that our lives are enriched and not diminished, we
must ensure that the Net is free.


-- Greg Costikyan is a writer of fiction and nonfiction who has designed 23
commercially published games.