Is It A Virus Or A Hoax

Everyone who has an ISP, understands, or at least knows about how hackers use viruses, Trojans and other web nasties, to infect and mess up your computer. No headline news there. (Unfortunately, we still don’t understand why they do it, or at least I don’t.) But hackers don’t have to write malicious code or hijack your browser to do some serious damage to your system. Oh no… A well written email with no attachments, can do the trick. They only have to start a rumor.
Hackers can easily manipulate you into trashing your own computer. All they have to do is begin a hoax.

What do I mean by that? Let me explain.

Ahem

Have you ever gotten emails from people you know that say something like: Scan your hard drive for such and such a file! If you find it delete it immediately! Pass this on. Warn everyone you know!

These emails are originally generated by a hacker and spread throughout the Internet to get you to delete files you need, thus creating havoc for your system. They are hoaxes.

Hoaxes work incredibly well for getting average people to cause their own computers to malfunction. the hacker doesn’t have to spend any time creating malicious code and a method of distribution, all they have to do is play on the human tendency for hysteria; send out a warning that something evil is spreading, and if you find it on your computer, get rid of it!

Recently I was tracking a thread on a forum, where the moderator warned everyone about a file that he found on his system that was a keylogger. (A keylogger is a malicious program designed to track your every move through monitoring your keystrokes.) He warned everyone to search for a file, ans2000.ini and, “delete the parasite.”

I scan my system every day, with several different virus/ spyware programs, and I never picked up this file with any of them, so I decided to do a Windows Explorer search for it. Sure enough, I found it on my hard drive. Oh My!

Before hitting the delete key though, I looked it up on the web. I Googled the specific file and found quite a bit of information on it. The file ans2000.ini is used in the keylogger program known as ProBot SE. However, it is also used in many other legitimate programs as well. Ok, so now what do I do?

Well, I being a tech guru decided to open the ini file, in Notepad, and read it. Sure enough, this file did have an association to another program on my system. It is part of ActivEbook Compiler. It was right there in print, at the top of the file.

Now had I just freaked out when I found the file, and deleted the parasite, I would’ve trashed my ebook compiler, making it useless to me. Two points for the hacker who started the hoax!

Hoaxes are just as dangerous as live viruses, because they inspire you to destroy your own programs. I am sure they are a particular kick for the one starting the hoax, as they are getting you to do bad things to your own system. Fear is a powerful motivator, and hoaxes, by design, are created to cause panic and fear in the less experienced Internet traveler.

So, before going and deleting files from your hard drive, go check them out or ask me… Do a google search for them and read the information you find. Don’t just go deleting things without learning about them first, or you just may end up cutting your own throat. And, NEVER forward these types of warning emails to others until you know for a fact that the information is correct, or you’re likely to have your friends and family after you for misinforming them.

think before you oops

Another thing to watch out for in emails are scams:
Scams are illegal schemes that are operated and run through the Internet. The scammers send legitimate-seeming email messages to random email addresses. The content of the email varies but the object is the same: to separate gullible people from their money.
Some email messages tell the recipient that they have won a very large prize in an international raffle. The scammer may use the name and logo of an internationally recognizable institution. There would usually be a deadline for claiming prizes, a contact number and, later on, demands of money for opening an account, paying taxes, bank service charges, etc.
There are also email scams that ask the recipient for help in transferring a large amount of money into a bank account in exchange for a very generous commission. The sender masquerades as a wealthy philanthropist, a bank manager, etc. who merely wishes to honor the deceased owner’s wish (or his wish, if the sender is supposedly the owner) that money be transferred to an overseas bank account so that a son can be sent to hospital or so that the authorities won’t be able to get their hands.

Tell-tale signs for scam emails are when they ask you to deposit a large sum of money into their account, if he had the money in the first place – why would he ask you for it?

Resources for validating virus/ hoax/ scam information:

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/
http://vil.mcafee.com/hoax.asp
http://www.vmyths.com/
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html
http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/

How To Hack a Hacky Sack

How to Play Hacky Sack

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Footbag, more commonly known as Hacky Sack(A name trademarked by Wham-O!) is a sport that can be played individually or with a group of people by kicking a bag with your feet. In addition to the feet, pretty much any other part of the body can be used except for the hands or arms – just like in soccer. This article introduces the basics kicks and stalls used that form the foundation kicking with a group or performing tricks.

Steps

1. Understand the game. The ultimate goal for group “sacking it up” is to keep the bag in the air for as long as possible. In a group, if every person kicks the bag at least once then the group has completed a “round” or a “hack.” When every person kicks the bag at least two times around, they have completed a “double helix” and so on. The objectives are different if you’re by yourself. Individual freestyle sack has evolved to a very complex sport with a myriad of kicks and stalls strung together to form tricks.
2. Buy a good quality sack (Or make one), preferably a bag filled with sand or very small beads. The larger the beads, the harder it will be to stall the sack. If you have a bag with large beads, consider rolling over it with something very heavy, such as a car, to break them down.
3. Wear shoes that have very flat inside and outside surfaces and a wide flat top on the toe. Skate shoes can be good to learn with; they provide many areas from which you can kick and stall the bag. Beyond the basics, however, tennis shoes are a favorite among even the professionals.
4. Wear shorts. Pants restrict your movement and provide a surface that increases the likelihood of knocking the sack off its intended path.
5. Practice the 3 basic kicks – inside (left and right), outside (left and right) and toe kick.
   • Inside kick: Gently drop the sack in front of you. Use the inside of the foot, almost directly in the center of your shoe where the arch of your foot is, to kick the bag directly straight up. Angle your ankle so that the inside of the foot is parallel to the ceiling. This will ensure that the bag will go directly up and not off to the side. It helps to bend the other standing leg as well. After one kick, catch the sack in your hand. Repeat dropping, kicking, and catching until you are consistently kicking the bag straight up. Next, try kicking the bag using alternating feet and no hands. See how many you can do in a row!
   • Outside kick: Gently drop the sack with your arm outstretched to the side, and use the middle of the outside of the foot to kick the bag. This is harder to do, but remember the tips above – angle your ankle to keep the outside of the foot parallel to the ceiling, and bend the standing leg.
   • Toe kick: Gently drop the sack in front of you, but at a greater distance than the inside kick. Use the toes to kick the bag straight up in the air. This kick is similar to the one commonly used to juggle a soccer ball.
6. Practice the 3 basic foot stalls – inside (left and right), outside (left and right) and toe.
   • Inside stall: Drop the sack in front of you. Using the inside of the foot, in the middle of the shoe, catch the sack with the foot by gently lowering the foot a couple of inches (a few centimeters) in a cradling motion. This will help absorb the impact of the bag on the foot and keep it from bouncing off the side. Imagine catching the bag as you would a raw egg or water balloon.
   • Outside stall: Drop the bag to the outside and cradle the bag by lowering the foot a couple of inches.
   • Toe stall: Drop the bag to the front and again, cradle the bag by lowering the foot a couple of inches.
7. Combine kicks and stalls. Try doing patterns, such as outside left, inside left, inside right, outside right, or whatever you want to make up. This will help you learn to control where you want the bag to go.
8. Keep your feet low; it may seem hard at first, but you skill will undoubtedly increase if you can kick low sacks. Also, this helps with kicking too hard, or having kicks go off in random places; the knee is a pivot, and it will not go perfectly straight up.
9. Get used to ending up with a sack in weird places. In order to keep a hack going, you may need to stall it on your back, chest, neck, face, knee, or even between your chin and neck. The important thing here is to keep it going.
10. Stay relaxed while kicking. This will undoubtedly increase the length of your kicking sessions and cause less strain on your muscles.
11. Practice regularly. Like most motor skill activities it is better to practice for a few minutes or a half-hour each day than to practice for hours at a time every once in a while.
12. Set goals for yourself, such as 100 inside kicks in a row, or 20 rainbow kicks (left outside above your head to a right outside kick), or 20 toe stalls.
13. After becoming proficient in the basic kicks and stalls, join a sack circle or check out the internet to learn more advanced sack moves.

Video

Tips

• Games are great for practice and help build up your response to different passes. A good game for first-timers and pros alike is death( mainly known as Elimination and also known as; kill, slap, battle, two to boot, and triplets). In death the group picks a juggling count and the number of people that the juggles must pass between, 3 between 2 different players is the norm. When the count has been met, the player who has the footbag can choose to kick the footbag at another player, if it hits them and they are unable to recover it before it hits the ground they are out and game play resumes in this fashion until only one player remains.
• Once you have the fundamentals down, it’s a lot more fun to hack with other footbaggers. You can get a group of friends together, or you can find a club. There are footbag clubs in just about every urban area.
• Be patient. It can take a lot of practice to learn the fundamentals, but if you are diligent you can quickly get good. Some championship-caliber freestyle footbaggers only have a couple years’ experience, but they practice daily.
• When hacking with a group, you may need to learn some special etiquette. For example, you shouldn’t serve to yourself.
• Although many people may be familiar with the term Hacky Sack, it is actually an incorrect name for the sport, and is a trademark. Footbag is the true name of the sport, and Hacky Sack comes from the brand name given to one type of footbag. It happened to be the first type of footbag, so the name stuck.
• Hacking can be expanded from kicking a hack in a circle to games like “word”. In “word”, choose a word with 3 – 10 letters. Take the word “bet” – if the footbag is kicked 3 times someone must grab the hack and “peg” another player. This player then receives a ‘b.’ Once a player spells out “bet” he or she is eliminated. This game can be shortened to ‘be’ for new players so that he or she only has to hit it twice. Or it can be extended to longer words for more experienced players. An important note is that a stall counts for 2 hits and the same player cannot count more than one hit in a row.
• This game is also known as “kill” in the midwest. Once the Sack is kicked 3 times(or however many times you want, 2-hit is also popular), it is fair game to kick the sack at another player or “peg” him, giving either him, or you, a point(based on your scoring system). If a player gets hit and then continues to keep the sack in the air (a “save”), the hit doesn’t count and the game continues. In this variation (midwest style at least), hits or pegs that land below the knee do not count. Some variations stipulate that the sack must be kicked (however many) times in a row by an individual before they can attempt a kill. But you could just as easily play the other way, letting all players contribute to the total hit count.
• One of the more common games is Red Dot. In this, a group attempts to get a normal hack. However, a person receives a red dot if the break rules. A red dot is given by having the offender stand 5 feet away from the person who passed the bag to him; the bag is then hurled at the offender as hard as possible. This thus gives them a “red dot.” Standing forward, with hands covering privates and face bowed, is the best approach (A kidney shot hurts if you decide to stand backwards). Red dots are usually given for self-serving, “denying” (Knocking the sack down in mid-air), a “window” (having the sack go through a opening made by a limb), failure to serve, hogging the footbag (Usually set to 4 self hits; then it must be passed.), grabbing the footbag, or hitting it with the hands and/or arms, failed stall, and also kicking the footbag with excessive force. Other rules may be included.
• Another game type is more of a variation of “word” and its called battle-hack more commonly known as 3 Hack Slap, rules to this variation are also much like “word” only instead of grabbing the sack to “peg” someone you smack it with an open palm. A person gets out in this variation by getting hit three times or whatever the designated number is at the beginning of the match.

Warnings

• You may injure your ankles, knees, legs and back if you are not careful.
• You may possibly get kicked by the person next to you, or get hit in the face and/or testicles with the footbag. (Or a foot, if someone is extra-exuberant)Play at your own risk.
• It may be a good idea to stretch out your legs before you begin to play, to avoid muscle strain/pull from the repetitive movement.

Things You’ll Need

• A footbag or koosh ball
• A good place to play
• Some friends if you want to play with others

Related wikiHows

• How to Bend a Soccer Ball
• How to Build a Bean Bag Game
• How to Play Ultimate Frisbee
• How to Dribble a Soccer Ball Past an Opponent
• How to Throw a Boomerang
• How to Play “Keep It Up”

Sources and Citations

• Footbag.org International Footbag Players’ Association site. Forums, footbag club locator, pics and videos
• www.modified.in/footbag Worldwide forum with the best resources of any footbag site. View/contribute videos, trick tips, and get the low-down on all the equipment used by the pros!

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Play Hacky Sack. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Grab a Coffee and Free Wireless In The USA

Libraries usually offer free wireless internet along with coffee shops and some airports and bus terminals. These Websites may point you in the right direction: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/free-wireless-internet-on-your-laptop-through-your-cell-phone.html http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-starbucks-wifi-20100615,0,6032769.story http://www.govtech.com/gt/765692?topic=117699

Problem with MS Paint? How to restore to default settings?

Q

So, I dunno what happened.. but, the size of the page of the MS Paint became astronomically long that when I open a new document, there is a pop up that says, there is not enough memory or resources to complete operation. close some programs and then try again. But the problem comes if i would open a new file, that’s when that pop up appears. what should i do?

A

You can change it in the registry…

Firstly close all instances of Paint

In windows Vista or Windows 7, click start button, and in the search box type in regedit and hit enter.
In windows XP, you would click start and then run and type in regedit and hit enter.

Once in Registry, navigate to the following:
You can change it in the registry…

Firstly close all instances of Paint

In windows Vista or Windows 7, click start button, and in the search box type in regedit and hit enter.
In windows XP, you would click start and then run and type in regedit and hit enter.

Once in Registry, navigate to the following:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets

Now delete the key on the left column labelled “Paint” this will restore back to default settings.

Restart Paint and all settings will be have been reset to factory defaults.

To answer your question about the pop up…
Make sure you have enough free space on your hard drive and consider asking a technician whether you are able to install extra RAM in your machine.

Windows Defender is turned off by my group policy. Any way to turn it back on again?

Change it in the registry…

In Vista or Windows 7, click start button, and in the search box type regedit and hit enter.

In windows XP, click start and then click run and type in regedit and hit enter.

Once in Registry, delete the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\windows defender

If your machine is a part of a domain, then this policy is likely to be changed back according to the schedule determined by your domain administrator, this is usually when the computer is restarted.