Remove Downadup/Conficker/Kido Worm from your PC

Conficker worm is the most widespread worm in today's date. It has been making news since last few weeks.
This worm is one of the most deadly worm which attacks your network and modify your system settings. It gets launched automatically at system startup and stays in memory in stealth mode to prevent its detection. It spreads itself through pen drives, network holes and it also features a method of cracking administrator password.
Almost all the antivirus vendors have released separate tools to remove the worm. These standalone programs do not require any installation. Just download, unzip/extract if required and then run on the infected PC.

There are lot of tools available on web which can remove various versions of Conficker aka Downadup aka Kido worm.

Some Conficker Removal or Deletion tools are as follows:
1. Avert Stinger Standalone tool from McAfee
2. F-Secure Worm:W32/Downadup.AL Removal Tool from F-Secure
3. Symantec W32.Downadup Removal Tool from Symantec
4. Conficker Single PC Removal Tool from Bitdefender
5. Conficker Network Removal Tool from Bitdefender

You can download any of the above tools to remove conficker or downadup or kiddo virus from your computer safely. Leave a comment if none to the above tools works for you.

Impress your audience with professional cliparts and sounds in your presentations

If you find the accompanied Clip Art and sounds in Microsoft Office insufficient, then you can try out Microsoft office online Clip Art at Microsoft Office Online. Here you can find plenty of professional Clip art, Sounds and much more rich media for your documents, presentations, etc. The media is well categorized as well as you can search for your choice.

Beautiful March 2009 wallpapers

Here are some beautiful high resolution wallpapers to decorate your desktop for this March.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/27/desktop-wallpaper-calendar-march-2009/

Updating BitDefender 2008

MANUAL METHOD

Click on this link : http://download.bitdefender.com/updates/bitdefender_2008/x86/weekly.exe

download the file and run it.

AUTOMATIC METHOD

To configure the automatic update do the following:

1. Open BitDefender and click Update to open the Update module.

2. Click Settings.

3. Configure the Update location settings.

BitDefender 2008 includes two update locations, allowing one of them to point to a local mirror. The default update location is http://upgrade.bitdefender.com/. This is the location recommended for normal users.

4. Configure the Automatic update settings.
BitDefender checks for updates every 1 hour. You can change the period BitDefender updates from Time interval. By changing the number displayed in the box you will modify the number of hours after which a check for updates is performed.

Leave the Confirm update to Silent update unless you desire to be prompted before downloading the updates or before installing them. A similar option is available for the manual update under the Manual update settings.

5. Configure the Advanced settings.
To prevent prompts asking for reboot, select Wait for reboot, instead of prompting.

6. Click Apply to save the settings.
7. Click Default to restore the default settings.

Occasional updates can be perfomed at any time, even when the product is set to update automaticaly:

1. Open BitDefender and click Update.

Click also Update at the top of the window if the Settings are displayed

2. Click Update now to start the update process.

If the option Prompt before downloading updates was selected in the Settings, and when updates are available, a list of the updates available for download is displayed. Select the product to install and click Details to see the file download details. Select Switch to silent update (don't ask me again) to stop being prompted on manual update. Click Ok to download and install the new files or Cancel to postpone the update.

For more help, follow the following links :

http://kb.bitdefender.com/KB233-en--Updating-BitDefender-9.html

http://www.bitdefender.com/site/view/Desktop-Products-Updates.html

Create hidden private storage area on Pen Drives and Hard Disks - SafeHouse Explorer

If you want to protect your personal data from curious eyes, you need to hide and encrypt it on your USB memory stick, local hard drive or any removable media like ipod. In this way nobody can view it without your permission. Here is a free, reliable application, SafeHouse Explorer which hides, locks and encrypts any documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and anything else. It uses super strong 128-bit advanced encryption technology which ensures total protection of your data. Moreover unlike other similar product, you can create unlimited number of private storage vaults as large as 2,000 GB each.

SafeHouse Explorer works with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2003, 2008 and
64-bit XP/Vista/Server and very easy to use. You can drag and drop file on to SafeHouse Explorer window for encrypting it (After creating a private storage vault). Your files are completely invisible until you enter your password. After you enter your secret password, you access your files using SafeHouse Explorer's familiar drag-and-drop Explorer-like interface.

With SafeHouse Explorer, you can protect any files residing on any drive, including memory sticks, external USB drives, network servers, CD/DVDs and even iPods.
Features of this 100% free, full featured application include:

* Complete full-featured stand-alone security solution.
* Hides, locks and encrypts documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and anything else.
* Perfect for USB memory sticks and other portable media - even iPods
* Super strong 128-bit advanced encryption ensures your total protection.
* Unlimited number of private storage vaults as large as 2,000 Gigabytes each.
* Graphical password strength meter helps you choose strong passwords.
* Can be run directly from USB memory sticks without prior Windows installation.

Download SafeHouse Explorer from here

Rs 500 laptop display on Feb 3

NEW DELHI: A $10 laptop (Rs 500) prototype, with 2 GB RAM capacity, would be on display in Tirupati on February 3 when the National Mission on
Education through Information and Communication Techology is launched.

The $10 laptop project, first reported in TOI three years ago, has come as an answer to the $100 laptop of MIT's Nicholas Negroponte that he was trying to hardsell to India. The $10 laptop has come out of the drawing board stage due to work put in by students of Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras and involvement of PSUs like Semiconductor Complex. “At this stage, the price is working out to be $20 but with mass production it is bound to come down,” R P Agarwal, secretary, higher education said.

Apart from questioning the technology of $100 laptops, the main reason for HRD ministry's resistance to Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was the high and the hidden cost that worked out to be $200.

The mission launch would also see demonstration of e-classroom, virtual laboratory and a better 'Sakshat' portal that was launched more than two years ago. Sources also said that the ministry has entered into an agreement with four publishers — Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing — to upload their textbooks on 'Sakshat'. Five per cent of these books can be accessed free.

The mission, with an 11th plan outlay of Rs 4,612 crore, is aimed at making a serious intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. The mission has two major components. One, content generation through its portal 'Sakshat', and two, building connectivity along with providing access devices for institutions and learners.

In this context, government would give Rs 2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and subsidise 25% of costs for private and state government colleges.

The mission would seek to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18,000 colleges in the country, including each department of nearly 400 universities and institutions of national importance. The mission would focus on appropriate e-learning procedures, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, online availability of teachers to guide and mentor learners, and utilization of EduSat and DTH.

Acer updates Aspire One netbook

New model has 10.1in screen and is XP-only
Acer has unveiled a new version of its Aspire One mini laptop with a larger screen and more memory.
Widely regarded as one of the more polished mini laptops launched in the wake of the Asus Eee PC, the Aspire had an 8.9in display and could only be fitted with up to 1.5Gb memory.
The new Aspire One ships with a 1,024 x 600 10.1in screen and can be fitted with up to 2Gb of memory. As with earlier models and most other so-called netbooks, it is based on Intel's 1.6GHz Atom processor.
However, while the original Aspire was available in versions with Linpus Linux, the new model appears to be available only with Windows XP. Also out is any mention of Flash SSD storage options, with the new specifications listing only a 160GB 2.5in hard drive.
Acer said that the new Aspire One combines style, great features and a new form factor to provide the best combination of ultra-portability and maximum screen size for navigation and data input.
As well as 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the Aspire one can be fitted with an optional internal 3G broadband modem, or a WiMax adapter in territories where there are such networks available.
Acer has kept the starting weight down to 1.18kg, but this is with the standard three-cell battery pack which will deliver up to three hours of use. Two larger six-cell packs are available, one rated at 4400mAh for up to six hours use, the other rated at 5200mAh for up to seven hours. Choosing one of these bumps the weight up to 1.33kg.
The new Acer Aspire One is expected to be available in February, but no pricing information was available at the time of writing.