Computers and Technology

In my my city Port Saint Lucie and all over the great state of Florida, say the words Spyware, Adware, or malware and Business owners, along with any technically average Windows PC user will shudder in horror. That's because these programs not only are incredibly stubborn when you're trying to remove them, but they often change administrator or security settings on your computer, Workstation, or Server, such as what sites you allow trust or the settings in your HOST files. Spyware or adware, a malicious program that can add, change or remove values in the Windows registry allowing the program to fully install on the opening of Internet Explorer or Firefox, or on the next reboot of your computer repair, even after deleted if not removed completely.

Today's spyware is more common than a virus for the average Windows user surfing the internet. Spyware has hundreds of successful ways to disable or infect your computer via all the common exploits or software bugs, like errors within the Windows operating system allowing spyware the use of your CPU cycles, to spam others, and to solicit your desktop to show you pop ups for everything from pornography to other spyware programs that will claim to be able to remove the currently installed spyware or clean a virus from your computer, when in fact it can make it worse by installing more spyware. Spyware can copy secure data from your desktop computer or PC and send it off to another country, or even some where else in our own country where a malicious hacker waits to sell or use your stolen data for anything from ID theft, to pirating your Audio and or Video collection and posting it online. It is very important to remove spy ware as soon as its detected as you can see by all the harm it can cause besides just slowing down your computer and making its use a miserable experience.

The best path to take is to try stopping the spyware before it is able to fully take hold or control of your computer, server or workstation if you already have some installed. If you have a clean spyware computer follow the tips below to keep it that way. It is just as important to verify complete removal once you feel the spyware has been uninstalled to make sure, it cannot reinstall on the next reboot and that your data is once again secure from theft of prying eyes. Simply put Spyware is part of a big online business of data theft and forced marketing along with the fake software to remove the spyware for another $50 dollars then they can go for your credit card info next. If you are seeing a major slowdown in the functions of your windows desktop computer you need to have the computer cleaned and probably a little spyware removal depending on your internet surfing habits and what you like to Google for. Worst case you have to reinstall your Windows operating system and all programs then copy your data over from a back up if you have one.

If you are not backing up please allow me to introduce you to a great little program called Carbonite. Carbonite provides a great solution to the problem of backing up your home or office compueter. Carbonite includes unlimited size online or off site storage for for your files at a very reasonable price of $59.99 or so per year. Not only do I recommend the program I use it my self for years I was a beta tester and have it installed on three of my home servers protecting my data with off site storage day and night. I have personally witnessed this program save 4 companies from complete data loss due to the person in charge at that office not testing there backup tapes, a raid went bad in another and they never complained about the error on reboot of the server until it was to late, and one company who claimed they backed up to a USB hard drive and said don't worry about us, well they forgot for a year and had no back at all when there server got hit by lightening. Each of the companies listed were saved by the great little program for off site backups called Carbonite. After the problem was repaired in all cases the software they lost was immediately downloaded to the new location and re shared to the office allowing them to get back to work.

Follow my free tips below to attempt to remove installed spyware from your PC server or workstation.

(Please remember this is done at your own risk I take no responsibility for the outcome of your work.)

Step 1.) To remove spyware, first you should download the programs listed below then disconnect your computer from the Internet. After you complete the downloads unplug your computer from the modem or router to ensure that you are offline. You'll need the right programs to remove spyware from your computer. If you are unable to surf the internet with your browser correctly you will need to download the free software for removal from another computer that is connected to the internet, like a friend or family member PC. Once you have downloaded the files from Google, Yahoo or Bing You'll need to burn the spyware removal programs to a cd or copy them to a USB memory stick and then install them on your PC and use them from there. There are hundreds of programs to remove or repair a PC or computer infected with spyware.

The programs I would like you to download are:
a.) Cleanup.exe to remove temp files
b.) Spybot Search And Destroy to search through its definitions after you update it like anti virus software and remove the spyware from both the folders and registry and also cleanup the Host files
c.) Sysinternals process explorer to view the running process or services to see what is hogging your resources
d.)Unhackme for rootkit removal

You can use all programs listed or one or two if your problem is easily removed. For the do it yourselfer these will work unless you have a very deep infestation and would then need to call in a pro like myself. The easy way to get each of these files except unhackme is to open your favorite search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing then type download programname MG. The program name will be the name of the software listed above. The download will bring up this type of page or link for downloading, the MG stands for and will take you to "Major Geeks" a great place to download free or paid applications to help with anything you can think of on the PC or MAC. To download the unhack me software you need to type in download unhackme the first result gratis inc will be the one you want to download from.

Now that you have the correct software to cleanup your PC it's time to get dirty.

Step 2.) Once you're offline, click start button the look for the control panel icon. Once in the control panel go to your add/remove programs screen by clicking the add/remove programs icon. Many times spyware will have uninstallers that will allow you to completely remove them without too much effort. Remove as many as you can this way some will give you errors or take you online for feedback and force you to answer to close. just put unhappy and click remove. If you are unsure of an item in the add remove programs section do not just delete it.

All your real programs along with your Windows updates are also within this list. To learn what something is click or highlight the item and it will have more information under it like programmed by and company name. Now armed with a little more info than a program name open your favorite search Engine once again Google, Yahoo, Bing and type in the program name and find out what it is. If it shows up as marketing or pop ups or ads or there are how to remove this or that yep of spyware you are on the right path to get rid of that spyware. If you see many warning and info on spyware when you look it up 9 times out of 10 it would be safe to remove unless you have a program with the same name running in your office or home that you really need. Please ask your boss or double check, then delete.

Step 3.) Now we install and run the cleanup.exe program selecting the first button top right cleanup. The program will ask you if you want to run in demo mode which does not do anything you will select no and really run for the first time. Your pc stores many temp files in multiple locations to save settings for faster loading and use in those apps. By deleting these backups or cached settings you computer will run better allowing faster removal and will also remove the spyware saved in the temp folders. Once you have ran first the cleanup program to remove trash your pc will run slightly faster. This does not delete you files only the temp and saved settings in the browser which you need to run to clean up spyware. No book marks or favorites are deleted.

Step 4.) Now we need to install then allow the full update process during install of the Spybot program. Once installed the first thing you need to do is click the immunize button in the upper left and it will run once and will need to be run twice for all items to turn green. the good in green should now be the large number and the bad or unprotected in red should go down to zero. Once your computer has been immunized, now it's time to run a full search of the computer files and registry for spyware. This is completed by clicking the Search and destroy button on the upper left, then click search for problems button with the magnifying lens image to start the search for spyware.

Once the program searches the whole computer you will be shown a list on the right side of the screen and they will have open check boxes or squares to the left of each. You will notice the search for problems button has now changed to fix problems in the upper left. To remove all spyware you need to click this button again and the spybot program will attempt to remove and delete and files it has found associated with spyware. For ones it is unable to remove it will ask if you can run one more time when completed after a full restart of your computer. You need to say yes to this and let the program work its magic once again. If at this point the computer shows clean, all green checks to the left of each removed spyware file or registry entry. You are most likely clean and can continue happy surfing. If not please follow the additional steps below to remove a more aggressive type of problem called a root kit or hijacked browser.

Step 5.) If you are unable to remove all spyware with Spybot or have many pop ups on the start up of your computer without even going on line, you will need to next download the program unhackme then install it to stop the rouge service from starting when your computer boots up. This is risky because you need to be careful what you stop to keep your windows programs, and your good software from becoming damaged. Next step open your internet browser and then pay another visit to your favorite search engine Google, yahoo, Bing and type your search request download unhackme, the first result or the one from gratis inc is the place you need to be. Open the link and click the download free trail in the center of the page. Next we run the installer when downloaded then remove what it can with the spy ware removal tool button.

Once that is done you will be given a few more choices the only one you want to hit is remove rootkit. The software will run then tell you to restart so it can run and stop processes from starting as they try to start. This is the be careful moment while it runs you will be asked after each find to remove or if it is a false positive. There will be a help button under each which will tell you most times if the file is good or bad and the answer given is usually safe to follow. Once you have clicked through all removal screens the software will not start on the next log in and you will need to run spybot one more time to clean what ever programs where running before that could not be removed. Now that windows did not load them to memory they will be easily deleted. If your problems are now removed you are good to go if not you can try step siix.

Step 6.) If you are still here unfortunately you have a bad infestation of spyware or possibly a virus. Lets try to remove the virus first, unless you feel comfortable diving in the repair posts available on Google, yahoo, Bing and trying registry fixes this would be a good time to call in a professional computer repair person or an online computer repair expert to help with your problem. You can download a free year worth of anti virus protection offered by Grisoft inc by going to your favorite search engine once again and typing in download avgfree mg. Download then install the AVG anti virus software, during the install it will have you run a full update for the virus definitions. Your computer will need to be online for this to take place so please plug back to modem or network. Once the update is completed open the software by clicking the avg icon and select run full computer scan. After your scan has completed you will be given a list of files found select to delete all or clean if one is a document you need or want.

You may need more programs to fully remove the spyware infection on your computer depending on the severity of the infection. Programs are easy to find and use depending on your computer experience, be careful not all that is free is good it may be more spyware. Look up any software before you try it. Google, Yahoo, and Bing are your friend. It's a good idea to scan your computer in safe mode just to ensure that you can complete any PC repair that needs to be done within Windows you are locked out of certain changes for security reasons and safe mode will allow you to complete the same task.

When the PC starts up after you press power tap the F8 key until you get the menu to enter safe mode then you can select the first choice safe mode and try your new cleanup software. The programs must be installed outside of safe mode in a regular boot for the most part. The best way to remove spyware is to not get it in the first place. Keep your system and anti-virus updated, be very selective about what programs you download. There are many websites that offer computer help and or repair you should be able to find anything that you need online. Nothing is truly free remember that the next time you see a pop up and you will be one step closer to staying spyware free.

1- What is a computer virus:

A computer virus is a software program which is able to replicate itself and spread from one infected computer to another. The infected objects can be system, program or document files. After infecting your computer, it might slow it down, damage the contents of the infected files, mislay the data or defect your computer systems normal operation.

The virus can also use your computer to propagate illegal adverts and send spam emails that exploit security (adWare), steal your personal information such as bank account number, credit card number etc. (SpyWare). Some types of viruses might use your computer to create a bot net (virtual computer network) to attack other server systems and websites etc.

2- Type of viruses on Windows based computers:

There are a number of computer viruses that can impede the functioning of your computer. Here are some of the different types of viruses:

Trojan Horse: It is an email virus that is created by a file attached to the email. If opened, it may scour your hard drive for any personal and financial information such as your social security, account and PIN numbers. Once it has collected your info, it is sent via the internet to a hacker or thief.

Macro Virus: It is a computer virus that infects the Visual Basic language documents for applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel etc. This type of virus can cause damage (such as removing data on the hard disk for example).

Worms: It is a program that has the ability to self-replicate itself. It can move from one computer to another and replicate itself in your computer system then spread hundreds of its copies to other computers that might cause wide spread damage.

Rootkit Virus: It is a program that is possible to cover the processes, files and data in the computer Registry (a database which is used to save Windows's system and program settings). Rootkit is usually used to hide the activities of viruses and processes which harm your computer. It is to help a hacker to control the system.

Bootsector Virus: A virus which attaches itself to the first part of the hard disk that is read by the computer upon bootup. These are normally spread by floppy disks.

Logic Bombs: It is a program that is used to send many data to the same email address and overwhelm the system or block the server connection. It is also used to threaten others (for example mail bomb etc.).

Memory Resident Virus: This type of virus dwells in the RAM. From there it can overcome and interrupt the operations executed by the system. It can corrupt files and programs that are opened, closed, copied, renamed etc.

Multipartite Virus: These viruses spread in multiple ways. It might vary in its action depending upon where it's installed and the presence of certain files.

3- How do you get a virus and Prevention:

These are 3 common ways that your computer may get infected by viruses:

Email: You get an email from a person that contains one or more viruses. If the attachment is opened, the viruses may infect files in the computer. The viruses might also send emails to people from your email address book or email folders automatically. So, you should not open unknown attachments in emails or do a virus scanning after opening them.

Internet: If you download an exe file or a data file from the Internet or other shared networks, viruses might be transferred to your computer. Sometimes the free software programs on the Internet have viruses especially if downloading from sources such as Torrent or Usenet news groups. Therefore, if necessary, you should download files from trusted resources.

Peripheral devices: The devices such as MP3 player, USB thumb drive, Memory card or CD Rom are also means for spreading viruses. So, remember to do a virus scan for them after they are connected to your computer.

4- Symptoms of virus infection:

These are some of symptoms which may indicate virus activity:

• Your computer has unusual activity (e.g. programs crashing a lot or running slowly).

• Messages or images (unrelated to your current task) come up unexpectedly.

• A program may start up unexpectedly.

• Your firewall informs that a certain application is trying to connect to the Internet (unrelated to what you are working on).

• Your friends say that they get emails from you but you did not send any to them.

• You receive many system error announcements. (Note: This may also come from another activity such as a hardware problem or genuine system error)

• Windows does not run when you start up your computer. (Note: This may also come from a hard disk problem)

• You realise that folders and files are removed or changed.

• You find that there's an access to your hard disk (one of the small light is blinking) even though there are no programs running.

• Your web browser has abnormal indications, for example it opens an unknown web page or you cannot close the browser tabs.

• Advertising pages pop up, desktop wallpaper changes.

• Exe files occur and have the same names as the folders.

• On the right corner of your computer, there is a small symbol written "Your computer is infected" or "Virus Alert" etc.

• When you open an USB thumb drive, unknown files such as Autorun.inf, New Folder.exe etc. appear.

• Cannot press Control + Alt + Delete (Task Manager) and you are warned that Administrator banned it.

• Folder Options disappears.

• Your computer keeps restarting when you try to shut it down.

• You cannot log in your Windows account with the right logon details.

5- What to do when infected:

• Make sure that your Antivirus software is the latest update. If necessary, download the update from another computer and update it manually.

• Disconnect from the Internet or Local Area Network (LAN).

• If Windows is not running, start it in Safe Mode (when turning on your computer, keep pressing F8 as soon as the computer starts running, then choose 'Safe Mode' from the Menu).

• Run a full Anti-Virus scan.

• If your computer is quite infected but you have important files or documents on it, do a full scan with your updated Antivirus software. If it finds viruses, delete all of them then open each ancillary disk (USB, Thumb drive etc.) and look for Autorun.inf files and remove them. Afterward, restart your computer.

• If you have any difficulties with finding a way to remove bad programs, refer to your Internet Security Software Supplier to look for an essential dedicated tool to remove them.

• If you find a bad program, follow the instructions of your Internet Security Software Supplier. Good Security software will provide with options such as disabling infected files, isolating possibly infected files, Worms and Trojans removal.

• If you do not have any important files on your computer disks, format the disk and then re-install your Windows and applications. This is quite an extreme and lengthy process and it's recommended to back up your computer settings prior to commencing. When finished, do not open on any ancillary disks (USB, Thumb drives etc.) yet, install the Antivirus software, do a full scan, find Autorun.inf files and remove them. Restart your computer after that.

• If the Anti-Virus software does not find anything, your computer is possibly not infected. Check your hardware and software that is installed on your computer meets the hardware specifications of the Operating System. Delete unnecessary or unwanted programs to save resources and ensure you have updated your Windows OS via Windows Update.

I get asked the same question very often, how to build a computer? It can be very deceiving to the average person's eyes when they glance into an open computer. There are different "pieces" to be found and quite a few wires running around from one part to the next. All of this can be quite confusing and discouraging. The best advice I can give is that it looks more complicated that what it actually is. Don't be afraid to do some trial and error to figure things out, within reason. Of course you have to be careful and not force components in spots they do not belong, but it is difficult to mix up as most things can only go one way, and will only fit in the correct location. Over the years it is how I learned most of what I do today, trial and error. One something goes wrong, there is always a way to fix it, and sometimes it just takes some patience and research to figure out a way to fix the problem.

I started building computers around 1996, when I was ten years old, and it became a hobby of mine which led into a business about 16 months ago. Over the years there has been a lot to learn and pick up on, and that is the thing with technology and computers. Computers are always changing and updating for more performance, reliably, smaller size, ease of use and less energy consumption in more recent years to become "green" on the environment.

But that is enough with the history, it is now time to move onto the actual computer building process from start to finish. There is quite a bit to cover and there are many ways to go about the process, but I will share my personal views and opinions along the way.

To start things off you have to ask yourself what you want the computer for. It could be a basic machine for simple web browsing, such as Facebook and E-mail. Another need could be simply for a media center, a computer hooked up with an entertainment center for movie watching purposes, music, recording, and internet television as well as any other uses hooked up to a television full time. The machine may be used primarily for gaming. A gaming computer can be a touchy subject as everyone's views are different. Some may just be happy with playing a game on lower setting, and others may want everything turned up to the max with room to spare for future game titles. The final use I will touch into would be photo and video editing. A lot of times a high end gaming computer, and a photo/video editing machine will have many similarities. You do not necessarily have to have an extremely powerful system for videos and photos, but it will certainly cut down on the time required. If someone is looking to produce lengthy videos, it could take ages to accomplish on a less powerful computer. One thing I will say is no matter what you are looking to build a computer for, figure out a budget of available funds and go from there. There is no sense in looking at very costly premium components, when there is just no budget for it. Many would be quite surprised at how inexpensive a fairly powerful system can be "now days." I never recommend to buy the latest and greatest as it will cost a premium and will be replaced by something better in around six months' time. That is just how the computer world works.

Once the purpose of the computer and a budget is planned out, there are a handful of main components that are required to assemble a fully functional computer. These core components include;

The chassis which houses and protects all of the components,

The power supply (PSU) which supplies power to the computer from the wall,

Motherboard which is the central location for all the components to communicate with each other,

Graphics card, which is responsible for putting an image on your computer screen that you can see and interact with,

Processor (CPU) which functions as the brains of the operation, calculating millions of operations every second,

Memory (RAM) which stores temporary information calculated by the processor for fast access,

Hard drive, or hard disk which is the permanent storage device, holding all of the user's data and programs,

Removable storage such as CD/DVD/Blu-Ray readers and burners, USB drives and other storage devices.

The first component we will start with is the motherboard. This is pretty much the central location where everything plugs into. The motherboard is full of "highways" which pass data between all the components. There are many kinds of motherboards available, most commonly there are AMD and Intel based boards. An AMD bases motherboard must be matched with an AMD processor and vice versa. An Intel based motherboard with an Intel processor. There are also different form factors, or sizes available, which must be matched with a proper case for a proper fit. Most commonly there are Micro ATX, ATX, Extended ATX, and more recently Mini ITX which is of a very small size for when space is extremely limited, such as in an entertainment center. There are also other sizes available but these are the most common platforms I deal with. The computer case chosen must be compatible with the size of the motherboard, if the motherboard is an ATX form factor, the case has to support an ATX size. Another main factor to take into consideration is the type of socket. The processor (CPU) mounts onto the motherboard and the socket must be the same. Both AMD and Intel have their own sockets and naming schemes. For example a modern Intel machine may be a socket 1155, and AMD machine may be an AM3 socket. So if the motherboard is an 1155 board the CPU must also be an 1155. Just be sure to do your research and make sure that the chosen CPU and motherboard are compatible with each other. It is worth noting that a CPU cannot be returned after purchase unless it is defective. So a mistake pairing up an incorrect CPU with a motherboard would not be a good thing to happen

The processor or CPU is a small chip made of silicon wafers that calculates millions of numbers extremely fast. In the computer world everything is a binary system which is made up of ones and zeros. Different combinations result in different things. The CPU is usually referred to as the brains of the computer. On modern Intel processors the contact side contains a large amount of pads which make contact with pins on the motherboard socket. AMD is the opposite having the pins on the CPU itself, and the pads on the motherboard. Quite a few years ago, Intel also had the pins on the CPU but that changed over the years. I remember having bent pins and straightening them out with a tiny pointy object. That would be very hard to do now days as there can be in excess of over 1,000 pins in close proximity to each other.

A processor makes a significant amount of heat, and needs something to keep the temperatures under control. Otherwise in a matter of seconds under a lot of work, a CPU would "burn" itself up and become a paperweight. In most cases a heat sink and a cooling fan will accomplish this task. A thin layer of thermal compound is applied in between the surface of the processor and the heat sink to optimally unload heat. A heat sink will usually be made up of several cooling fins which are then cooled by a fan blowing air across. Many retail boxed AMD and Intel processors will come with a stock cooling solution which is sufficient for the average user. The manufacturer will not sell a cooler along with their product that is not adequate. An aftermarket cooler may be chosen for less fan noise, or for those who like to push their computers passed the manufactures settings, which creates more heat, resulting in a higher performing cooling unit.

In more extreme cases, there may be liquid cooling or sometimes called water cooling. Technically water should not be used as it is conductive and will create corrosion over time without proper additives. In a water cooling setup, there will still be a block attached to the top of the processor, which allows liquid to pass through the inside and keep it cool. There will then be a radiator just like an automobile, and a fan(s) to cool the liquid as it passes through the radiator with the use of a pump.

Next, we will move onto the memory (RAM). RAM stands for random access memory. It is used to temporarily store data and will lose all stored data upon power loss. Memory is very fast and is right in line with the processor to quickly pass data back and forth to be calculated. Memory comes in different forms as well. On most modern computers, the type of memory being required is DDR3. There are different speeds which memory comes in and must be matched up with the chosen motherboard as well, just like the processor. Memory comes in various capacities. Different memory kits will have a varying number of modules and capacities. I would recommend either 8GB or 16GB of memory as it is in a very good price range this day and age. For a memory hungry video editing/photo editing machine, 16GB would come in very handy or possibly even 32GB if going all out!

For the graphics card there are several possibilities. Many times the chosen motherboard/CPU combination will have integrated on board video. Which means the graphics card is already built into the computer. No additional hardware would be needed. In some cases, a discrete graphics card can be used in conjunction with the on board video to further performance. In other situations there may be no integrated video at all and a graphics cards is required for the computer to function. Current graphics cards will occupy a PCI express slot (PCIe). AMD and their A series processors are a great solution currently for integrated graphics. They perform very well and are plenty for a general use computer and light duty gaming. For higher end gaming a dedicated graphics card will be needed, and if wanting some bragging rights, many modern day graphics cards can be paired up to work with each other. Sometimes two, three, or even four graphics cards to extreme gaming performance. But most likely if you are reading this, you would not be looking into that as it is fairly advanced and requires a fair amount of knowledge to master.

Next, we will move onto the power supply, which is responsible for taking the AC (alternating current) power from the outlet in the wall, and converting it into DC (direct current). The power supply or PSU (power supply unit) is another crucial component as without it, there is no juice to get the computer running. Power supplies come in different wattage's and efficiency ratings. Recently the power requirements of computers have gone way down from what they were a couple of years ago. What once required a 1200 watt power supply can be accomplished with an 800 watt power supply on new hardware. Of course that is just an estimate I threw out there, but you get the idea. Many general use computers will be just fine somewhere along the lines of a 500 watt unit. It is always good to go a little bigger just to allow for expansion in the future. Depending on the chosen components, various amounts of power will be required. It is always best practice to get a decent, quality unit and not the cheapest one available. A cheap unit can actually cause problems in the future with "unclean" power and may not last for a decent length of time. A quality power supply should last for many years to come and may be reused in a future build as well. In most cases a standard ATX power supply with a 24 pin main power connector will do the job. There are other cables as well to take account for such as SATA, Molex, and 4/8 pin EPS connectors which supply modern motherboard with extra power that the 24 pin connector cannot provide.

Moving on the chassis to house the computer, there are many possibilities to choose from. There are so many designs to take into consideration and different sizes. Some may have an acrylic window on the side to see all of the components once they are inside. As noted above with motherboards, the case has to match up to support the correct form factor motherboard. Be it ATX or Extended ATX, or whatever else it may be. Same cases may just be plain and simple for a nice clean look, while others may be all futuristic with their design and flashy lights. It all comes down to personal preference and what the case has to offer. Good airflow is key to keeping all of the components cool and quiet. Cases can be customized with many different size fans featuring different air flows and noise levels, again depending on personal preference. A case will last for a very long time and can be reused in multiple computer builds. I prefer a full tower chassis for my personal computers as they allow plenty of space inside and upgrade ability to last for years and years to come.

Moving onto the hard drives, there are a couple different possibilities. This is the device that stores all the data and programs, even when power is turned off, unlike with memory or RAM. Many get the memory and hard drives confused when looking into computer purchases. They are not the same thing and come in completely different sizes. There are the traditional mechanical hard drives which are very cheap now days. The cost per Gigabyte is extremely low and they work great for large amount of storage room at a very good price. More recently we now have affordable SSD (solid state drive) solutions which have no mechanical moving parts and are much faster and more responsive then a tradition mechanical drive. An SSD makes for a much snappier system, and is one of the best upgrades that can happen for many modern computers. Computers are so fast now that traditional mechanical drives act as a bottleneck in many cases. This is where the computer system has to take a break and pause while it waits for the drive to gather its data and send it out. With an SSD this process is considerably faster, resulting in a much faster overall system. I tell many first time SSD users that they will be greatly amazed at the difference in the responsiveness of their computer after swapping out a mechanical drive for an SSD. The fallback to an SSD is that they come in much smaller capacities and the price per Gigabyte is much higher, even though it continues to drop. To get the best of both worlds, an SSD drive can be used to install the operating system onto, such as Windows, as well as frequently used programs. Then a mechanical drive can be used as well for tasks like less used programs, backups, and large files that would otherwise take up way too much space on an SSD.

In my opinion CD and DVD drives are starting to become a thing of the past. They like to fail and have read and write errors after a while and can be not so reliable at time. A successful computer can be build now days without even having an optical drive installed. Just about anything you could possibly need can be download from the internet or installed with a USB device such as a thumb or pen drive. These devices are much faster and more reliable, not to mention they can be erased and written to over and over again with different data and application. Sure there are re-writable CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drives, but it is just not nearly as practical or convenient in my opinion to other non-mechanical solutions. Personally I have a computer with all my programs and data on it, which can be accessed over the network where I can then pull all that information onto another computer and install and run those programs. No CD's or thumb drives even needed. There are a lot of external storage options to choose from, external USB/eSATA hard drives can be a great solution for performing backups or moving data from one computer to another.

Well there you have it, a rundown on what the components inside a computer are and what their role is. This is in no way an all inclusive list, but it does cover the main components to get a fully functional system that will satisfy most of the population. By purchasing your own computer parts, and putting everything together, it gives off a certain sense of pride and ownership knowing that the system was put together with your own hands. It is always nice to know what each component is and what its job is in the compute cycle. One big bonus to a custom built computer, and not going with one from the big companies, is you don't have to deal with all the so called "junk" they load them with. Such as a hold bunch of trail versions and other software which is really not needed and hogging up resources. Taking the DIY route, you decide what goes on the computer and what does not, which is a big plus in my opinion!

If you are thinking of changing your computer because of its bad performance, may be you need to try some simple steps to improve computer performance which will not cost you anything. May be the steps to improve computer performance will help you think about the decision to change the computer. The computer can perform much better than you think you if take good care of it.

• Leave your main drive enough space
Storing minimum amount of data in the main drive (where you install your windows operating system) will give windows a lot of space to work and will certainly improve the computer performance. Try installing games and other software in other drives of the computer and not filling up the main drive with files.
• Increasing Windows virtual memory
Increasing windows virtual memory can help boost your computer performance. However it is advised that you never exceed the maximum limit given. It can be done by going to My computer / properties/ advanced / performance settings/ virtual memory.
• Turn off system restore option
The system restore option is turned on then it will take a lot of space from the hard drive. Disabling system restore can free a lot of physical memory. Cleaning the prefetch folder in windows file can also do good as it stores many files in it which are less important. This can be done in a regular basis which will help in a consistent performance of the computer.
• cleaning the temporary files
Your browser speed can also be affected if the system is not cleaned of temporary internet files. Deleting temporary Internet files, cookies and cache will improve browser speed and performance as well as your system at the same time. It can be done manually by going to 'tools' in internet explorer and selecting 'internet options'.
• Managing Start up menu
Removing unwanted startup items will improve the booting speed of the computer and will certainly improve the processing speed as less number of programs will be started automatically by the computer.
• Maintaining Your Disk
Defragmenting disks on a regular basis will certainly improve computer performance. This can be done just by right clicking on the drive and clicking 'defragment now' on the tools tab. There are many other steps which are little confusing. So such simple steps if done on a regular basis can maintain and improve computer performance by a noticeable margin.
• Maintain Your Registry
Today Registry cleaner is as important as anti virus software as today we often use Internet and more programs. System registry is easily and quickly saturated with corrupt files that cause many errors. Maintaining system registry regularly in order to keep it clean can help maintain and even improve computer performance. Free registry cleaner scan is considered the fair way to first observe whether your registry is the problem of your slow computer.

I bet you would not try to do all those things manually if you know that there is a better way to optimize your computer. Automating all the tasks is smart move that is why people install a registry cleaner software on their system so they never have to worry about computer speed again.

You can as well adopt the smart solution, check out how can i improve computer speed for more information.

The moment I placed myself in front of the computer screen a whole new world beckoned me to join it. And years of strolling have proved incompetent to get me acquainted with the full panorama of computers. You have always wanted one in your home. But something is stopping you. Bad credit? Do I hear bad credit? You think bad credit can stop you from getting your computer financed. Which world are you living in? You certainly need a computer. Computer financing for bad credit can enable you to get your very own home computer, lab tops, desk top or any other computer requirement.

Credit can be marred at any stage due to a number of reasons. Late payments, inflating debts, bankruptcy, county court judgments, arrears, any court case - all can result in impaired credit. Jaundiced credit report can falter you probability for getting computer financing. Yet the odds are not that diffuse for bad credit computer financing. First of all realize that computer financing for bad credit is not a Gordian knot. Any person with bad credit can find a loan including the one for computer financing. Envision your own position before you make a loan application for bad credit computer financing.

Bad credit has some obvious disadvantages that cannot be ignored. Bad credit is synonymous with greater rate of interest. You can't escape increasing rate of interest for bad credit computer financing. What you can do is shop for a comparative lower rate of interest. First make your own stand clear with respect to bad credit loan. Before you make your claim as a bad credit loan applicant, check out your credit status. This will canonize your computer financing for bad credit with little or no impediment.

Very few people actually understand the meaning of the terms credit report and credit score. These are integral to bad credit loans inclusive of computer financing. A credit report contains a list of any credit cards you may hold, loans you may have taken out, how much your monthly payments are and any actions taken against you for any unpaid bills you may have accumulated over the years. Before providing you with finance for your computer, the loan lender will probably check your credit activities, to rule out any bad credit details. Credit score will be extracted out of your credit report. Your credit score is not good, that you already know. Otherwise you would not have been reading this article. Knowing your credit score will facilitate the prevention of abuse at the hands of the loan lender. He might take advantage of your ignorance and charge you higher rate than valid in context to bad credit computer financing. Forewarned is forearmed. You have heard that.

Now hear this, it really works.

Another term that directly connects with bad credit is no credit. 'No credit computer financing' is not similar to 'bad credit computer financing'. Bad credit computer financing entails that at least you have installed credit through a bank account or credit card company. In the no credit specimen, no credit you have never owned a credit card or ever inaugurated a bank account. This is altogether an entirely different struggle. Some argue that it is better to have no credit instead of bad credit while contemplating computer financing. But the fact is, in order to establish yourself as a reliable borrower you at least need to have credit. And this can't be done unless you establish a credit.

The facilities that come with bad credit computer financing are a conscientious recompense. The loan lenders are increasingly being innovative with bad credit computer financing products. Computer financing for bad credit permits you to purchase a computer instrument that comes with a full 2-year replacement warranty on parts and service. Also, all machines come with 1-year toll-free tech support. The loan lenders have notebooks and desktops, so that you can choose the machine you want. AMD powered machines that provide the latest processing speeds are also available as bad credit computer financing options. You can avail the latest software programmes through bad credit computer financing. Bad credit computer financing can release new possibilities for students. Computers are indispensable in relation to education.

All said and done - I must tell you that even the loan lenders realize that sometimes things go wrong and can lead to bad credit situation. Financial setbacks can undoubtedly affect your life unexpectedly. Therefore the essence of finding a bad credit computer financing is finding a loan lender that is ready to work for you. Bad credit computer financing can get you not only a powerful highly sophisticated computer system. Not only that the added ascendancy is the building up of positive payment history.
Your computer has waited in vain for retirement. But what could you do, you yourself were groping due to bad credit. This time oblige him with a well deserved annulment of services. And compliment your own specialization with state of the art computer system. This season reboot your computer system with bad credit computer financing.

Nowadays desktops and laptops are much more durable and dependable that they were just five years ago. Therefore, buying a used or refurbished computer is becoming more of a trend.

Suppliers replace their computers on average every 6 months and companies frequently upgrade their equipment. Buying one of these used or refurbished computers can save you a lot of money while still using a quite up to date technology. This is even more relevant if you are not a heavy user (i.e. most of your time on a computer is spent online, you may use a few standard applications once in a while). Even modestly priced computers will more than suffice for these types of demand.

Thinking about buying a used or refurbished desktop or laptop?

Buying a computer is not at all an easy job, one has look get detailed information of the available computers of good and reputed brands. One must take into consideration the size, color, configurations, features etc... While your computer should correspond to your personality and lifestyle, you should always keep in mind the reputation of the brand in the market. Brand counts a lot; you can render good service by the manufacturer if your computer is damaged.

Important handy Tips before buying a computer...

• Verify if the brand is reputed and always buy a good reputed brand. Read about customer service experience for that specific computer issues
• Check the warranty/guarantee of the computer (seek out computers which still have warranty/guarantee remaining)
• Compare the price of the new model in the market with what price your buying your used computer, try to get the best bargain. i.e. a two year old computer should not be bought for more than half of its original price.
• Check if the computer is outdated (if out of production it is difficult to get spare parts)
• Is the operating system current (Windows Vista/Windows XP). Earlier versions probably run slower (windows 2000) and would not be advisable unless your needs are limited (i.e. web surfing, Word...). In any event, stay away with computers running on Windows 98 (granted you don't find many anymore). Also be aware of Windows Vista. Many users are reverting back to XP and that is even more obvious in the corporate world. Why? Vista looks nice but doesn't bring many technical improvements; therefore IT managers are not willing to implement something new when what they have works just fine. Some domestic users just don't like the new way of navigation within the Vista Operating System.
• Check if the configuration of the computer you are buying is good.
• Check the speed of the processor. If possible start the computer and see how long it takes to fully turn on. If its slow just turning on, imagine the lack of speed once you start adding software..

• Is the battery life good? (search for the computers with a very good battery backup (2 hours minimum).
• Check for the screen size of the computer your buying and see to it that it is not exceeding the Normal (normally the screen size should be between 15-17). Less than that generally translates in older computers and increases the chance of age failure. Once the screen breaks, you are often better of changing the whole computer.
• Review the connectivity of the computer (Network, USB, Video, Audio...) look to it that it has a good connectivity including wireless
• Check out the weight. Ensure the computer is light enough for you to carry (light 7pounds)

• Online auctions. Pro: Often offer the best prices. Cons: Cannot validate the accuracy of the described item. No warranty. Tip 1: Some companies will offer warranty for up to two years, the cost is about 12% to 18% of the purchase price. Tip2: Buy from sellers with great feedback, do not hesitate to contact the seller with questions prior to bidding
• Online marketplaces: Pro: Set prices and quantities - Sometime warranty is available. Cons: Prices can vary a lot, do your homework
• Craiglist.com Contacting sellers on Craiglist.com in your local area gives you a chance to meet with the owner and physically test the computer before the purchase

Refurbished computers can be a great way to buy as they have warranties and are generally sold by manufacturers or companies affiliated with them.

Manufacturers websites will tell you how to buy directly from them or from their authorized sellers. Pros: Warranty, established companies. Cons: Prices are higher than regular auctions (you pay more for peace of mind)

Buying a used or refurbished computer can be a great way to save money. If you use some of the advice discussed above you can avoid many pitfalls. One last thing concerning laptops, make sure you have a good bag to protect your computer from a fatal accident. Your bag should be big enough for a 17 inch screen computer as it is rapidly becoming the norm, you will probably change your computer within a few years, the bag you may keep a lot longer.

Good Buy!

Getting a new computer should be a cool thing, especially a cheap computer. After all that time struggling with you old machine, probably fighting with it to get the latest software to run, your new computer should be a ray of light for your computing future.

Oh, if it were that simple. If things were really that easy or simple when buying a cheap computer, life would be much easier, but just like every other thing, its not that simple.

Barebones computers have become extremely popular, and for good reason. Getting a barebones computer which does not include a monitor and comes with the bear minimum of parts makes them an upgradable, practical and cheap computer.

But not all things are rosy in barebones computer land...

1. Missing parts

Although barebones computers do come with the essential pieces, most people need at least one or two extras for their day to day barebones system. This is simply due to different applications people use them for. Don't get caught missing that extra part from your barebones system that you then need to get later. You still need to do some homework and research to find out what you really need from your barebones system.

2. Super cheap computer deals

Beware, many corners can be cut to get those sub $200 dollar barebones systems. They can be great, but not always, carefully analyse the components of the package. Also remember that a barebones system couldn't possibly include a monitor for that price, which adds a lot to the price.

3. Mismatched parts

This could become a problem if building your own computer, but it even happens in pre-assembled barebones computer deals. There is a chance that you get something that doesn't fit with the barebones system. There are lots of different connections and speed ratings between parts. Make sure the ones you get match up to the other parts and your needs. Although not common, incompatibilities between parts are not unheard of.

4. Outdated components

To get super-cheap deals older parts are sometimes used in cheap computers. Although this can be a great cost-saver and some old parts are fantastic, there is nearly no chance of an upgrade without putting a major amount of money into your barebones computer again, perhaps as much if not probably more than you paid for your great deal.

5. Defective parts

Although this is another one that has gotten better as the competition has gotten stronger, there is a chance of defects in cheaper products. Your motherboard could be faulty, your power supply might give up after a month or two. These may not be intentional problems, but come hand in hand with "cheap computer stuff".

6.Refurbished computer parts

Refurbished computer parts are a great way to save some money. Not always the biggest saver, but there can be problems with the updates to these computers in much the way as mismatches happen in barebones systems. Often the computer is slightly updated to meet needs, but is really quite an old model, just with upgrades. Can be fine, but the parts they replace might be replaced with something newer but inferior.

7. Claims of great warranty

To try and entice you into feeling safe, offers of long warranties are made. Most of the parts in the computer could have past their warranty dates, so the warranties are purely from the company that put the computer together. They can be hard to contact and take their time to get replacements to you as well as expect you to mail the computer to them so that they can do the repairs.

Barebones computers can be a great way to put together a second computer, build a computer for simple purposes, like writing documents and casual web surfing. Barebones fit perfectly as a second computer. Just keep these things in mind and you won't get bitten by the bargain bin monster.

Did you know you can get remote computer help, when you have a problem with your computer? If you are like many people, you dread calling for your on-site computer repair service because you are afraid it is going to cost too much money. Of course, you have to consider the loss of productivity when your computers are down, but with remote computer help, you can save the mileage and travel charges, besides saving you time and money.

There are many types of real-time assistance and support you can receive remotely, when you have computer problem. In fact, it is possible that much of the computer tech support will be handled remotely in the future. When you are considering the advantages of remote computer help, it is possible there are some problems that can be fixed with the help of phone support or fixed remotely by a dedicated phone line, where the tech support can dial into your computer and fix the ailments quickly and easily.

Troubleshooting Issues:<

With remote computer help, you can get immediate troubleshooting assistance that can save you from unplugging the computer and lugging it into the repair shop or save the expenses of your on-site computer repair service. Many times, it may only take a few minutes for an expert computer repair tech to figure out your problem and there are some problems that can be fixed through simple instructions given over the phone.

Speed and Performance Issues:

If your computer is running slower than usual or acting strange, it is possible that you can save the cost of on-site computer repair service by getting computer help over the telephone or through sending an email. Trained experts will be able to identify many issues that affect speed and performance without coming to your computers location. There are administrative tools and disk cleanup functions they may have you try and there are some other tasks, like defragmenting the computer, that they can assist you with over the phone.

Virus Removal:

Many customers need help with virus removal and this doesn't always mean you need on-site computer repair service. It is possible that you can receive instructions for virus removal through remote computer help, with a trained virus removal expert assisting you. While your computer data can be corrupted by viruses and there are some cases where virus removal might require your on-site computer repair service, there are many times that you can have virus removal performed through a phone call with experts that are specially trained to give you instructions.

Finding Your Restore Point:

If all else fails, it is possible that you can receive computer help remotely to restore your computer to the last restore point. A trained expert can help you achieve this over the phone through tech support and they may be able to instruct you on loading from an internal or external backup of your data.

There are many ways that your computer can be quickly and easily repaired through computer help that is offered remotely. While there may be some cases where you need on-site computer repair service, there are many cases where a phone call to your computer tech may be all that is needed.

First programmable computer

The Z1 originally created by Germany's Konrad Zuse in his parents living room in 1936 to 1938 is considered to be the first electrical binary programmable computer

The first digital computer

Short for Atanasoff-Berry Computer, the ABC started being developed by Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and graduate student Cliff Berry in 1937 and continued to be developed until 1942 at the Iowa State College (now Iowa State University). On October 19, 1973, US Federal Judge Earl R. Larson signed his decision that the ENIAC patent by Eckert and Mauchly was invalid and named Atanasoff the inventor of the electronic digital computer.

The ENIAC was invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania and began construction in 1943 and was not completed until 1946. It occupied about 1,800 square feet and used about 18,000 vacuum tubes, weighing almost 50 tons. Although the Judge ruled that the ABC computer was the first digital computer many still consider the ENIAC to be the first digital computer.

Because of the Judge ruling and because the case was never appealed like most we consider the ABC to be the first digital computer. However, because the ABC was never fully functional we consider the first functional digital computer to be the ENIAC.

The first stored program computer

The early British computer known as the EDSAC is considered to be the first stored program electronic computer. The computer performed its first calculation on May 6, 1949 and was the computer that ran the first graphical computer game

The first personal computer

In 1975 Ed Roberts coined the term personal computer when he introduced the Altair 8800. Although the first personal computer is considered to be the Kenback-1, which was first introduced for $750 in 1971. The computer relied on a series of switches for inputting data and output data by turning on and off a series of lights.

The Micral is considered the be the first commercial non-assembly computer. The computer used the Intel 8008 processor and sold for $1,750 in 1973.

The first workstation

Although never sold the first workstation is considered to be the Xerox Alto, introduced in 1974. The computer was revolutionary for its time and included a fully functional computer, display, and mouse. The computer operated like many computers today utilizing windows, menus and icons as an interface to its operating system.

The first PC (IBM compatible) computer

In 1953 IBM shipped its first electric computer, the 701. Later IBM introduced its first personal computer called the "IBM PC" in 1981. The computer was code named and still sometimes referred to as the "Acorn" and had a 8088 processor, 16 KB of memory, which was expandable to 256 and utilizing MS-DOS.

The first PC clone

The first PC clone was developed by Compaq, the "Compaq Portable" was release in March 1983 and was 100% compatible with IBM computers and software that ran on IBM computers.

Everything in the world today revolves around computers and that is the reason why there are times when people would scream to them, "my computer is freezing!" Ever since people began to use computers and have found that they are very easy to use and make it easier for people to do their tasks, computers have become a priority. However, what people fail to see is that computers are just products of technology and they also get tired and exhausted when they are overused.

The longer that people have their computers, the more chances of it getting sick after two years or so of non-stop use. And then people will just hear themselves scream, "My computer is freezing!" When this happens, people usually blame the computer for not functioning properly. And yes, some of them resort to hitting the computer hoping to bring it back to top shape. My computer is freezing, therefore there is a problem and it needs to be fixed.

There are also others who shake the computer believing that when they do it, things that are not in their proper place inside the computer will go back to where it was really supposed to be. When people find them in situations where they just want to scream, 'my computer is freezing', it is then that they realize that perhaps their computer system needs to rest too. Older computer units take longer time to boot up.

There are 'my computer is freezing' moments that will make people see the reality that their old computer unit needs maintenance and they need it fast. Since computers are used to store up programs and files of different types and sizes, they pile up in the computer system causing it to lose the efficiency it used to have. More often than not, people who experience 'my computer is freezing' moments do not know that by default, most of these programs that were stored in their computers need to boot up when the computer is booting up and thus making the booting up process longer than it should be.

Although there are other programs that wait until the Windows have booted before they start booting up, but there are others that could be out of your control. They end up messing your computer system causing its screen to freeze. In the beginning, installing programs in your computer could be very exciting because they help you explore different technologies; however, through time even technology loses its spark when they are bombarded with different programs booting up while the main system is doing it.

This puts a lot of people into thinking 'my computer is freezing' and then they feel helpless after. If other people share your computer, your family, most likely, you do not know all the programs that have been installed in it. Perhaps it would be more advisable if each member of the family gets to keep his own computer where he can save his own programs. In this way people would stop having 'my computer is freezing' moments.

Most industries today have become so dynamic that organisations have to consistently seek and adapt to change, in order to survive and prosper. Factors like more diversified customer preferences, technological advances, increased competitive threats and an intensified global economy are among the forces inducing change. Organisations need to become more adaptable embracing Charles Darwin's view that "it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that is the most adaptable to change".

A survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers in March 2004 shows that 47% of the CEO's of the US's fastest growing companies believe that their most critical success factor is having flexible strategies to respond to accelerating business changes. However, many recently implemented Information Systems still tend to ignore this need for flexibility and at times are hard to scale and customise, thereby limiting the ability of an enterprise to react fast to its evolving business needs.

In the last two decades we constantly experienced a dramatic change in the way we store and process digital information. Every few years there has been an industry breakpoint; an important new computing concept that changed radically the way computers are used and Information Systems are implemented. Examples include graphical and more user-friendly interfaces, the clientserver concept and the Internet. Such factors have somehow aided and contributed to position computers as a necessary commodity. Additionally, with the constant drop in the cost of hardware, and better and cheaper network bandwidth, computers have become even more ubiquitous. The Internet has evolved tremendously and is today considered as probably the most effective communication medium. Whilst technology tends to evolve in a non-linear fashion, Moore's Law has ensured that processing power has been increasing exponentially.

Though this is contributing to easier hoarding and dissemination of information, ICT professionals today still face tough challenges. ICT budgets grew rapidly in the late 90's in anticipation of the Y2K problem. In these last years many ICT departments have been even asked to cut their budgets while they were expected to continue providing an appropriate information infrastructure so as to enable the organisations to augment their products and possibly gain a competitive edge. Hardware replacement cycles are perceived to have increased. Generally speaking, ICT budgets did not grow in these last years in line with the computational needs of the organisations; whilst workloads are still increasing, the capacities to handle them are not.

In some cases increasing a firm's computational needs might end up in a lot of computational power which is not appropriately utilised. Why? Consider for example the utilization of a server machine. Most of the time its real processing capacity is not used at all. However maybe sometimes because a large and long process is executed or the number of connected users temporarily increase, the server might endup experiencing a processing overload. It has been estimated that on average a desktop computer uses only about 5% to 8% of its processing power (EuropeanCeo, 2005). Whilst, as Hendry (2004) reports, load balancing can aid in the distribution of processing and communication activity, similar servers that experience spikes in processor usage are barely used for the rest of the day and eventually end up with a large amount of unused computing capacity.

So the inevitable questions are, is it really feasible to increase and upgrade the firm's single source of computational power if most of the time the existing processing power is not being used? How can we ensure that a firm's computational resources are well balanced and allocated, so as to minimise wastage and eventually, justify any further investment in the ICT infrastructure?

The basic concept that gives insight to the answer to these questions extends back to the 70's when the notion of distributed computing was born. Today, we are seeing increasing interest among business communities in what is termed as, Grid Computing.

Definition

World-renowned organisations are promoting the Grid in a big way and several definitions can be found. It has become a fashionable term. Dr. Ian Foster, a professor at the University of Chicago and director of the Distributed Systems Lab at Argonne National Laboratory, a pioneer in Grid Computing, provided his definition for the layman as being the "technology to enable the sharing of computing resources across institutional boundaries". Research firm, Gartner, Inc., defines grid computing as a way to solve computing tasks using resources that are shared by more than one owner and coordinated to solve more than one problem.

The concept of Grid Computing was initially popular among academics, research and scientific communities. It was used for functions that required a substantial amount of computing power. However in these last years, an increasing number of organisations are early adopting and trying to reap benefits from this technology.

There are numerous examples where Grid computing has been applied. Among the research communities, Oxford University is using Grid technology to analyse 3.5 billion molecules to work out their cancer fighting potential. Same is being done by Stanford University in order to analyse the role protein plays in keeping people healthy. The search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project is another example. Here, volunteers download and install a free program so as to process and analyse massive amounts of data in search of evidence of possible radio transmissions from extraterrestrial life. When tallying up all the processing power that these PC's provide, it's like having one big supercomputer. Grid technologies also played a major role in identifying the world's largest known prime number. This was part of the Marsenne project where scientists identified the 43rd Marsenne Prime 230,402,457-1. - a figure that contains 9,152,052 digits.

Business Applicability

Within business communities, the Grid concept is far more popular among large corporations. Baum, the publishing editor for Oracle Corporation, states that these corporations are initially attracted by the amount of savings that the technology can provide. Mainstay Partners conducted an ROI study to evaluate the enterprise grid technology platforms currently in use at seven participating companies. It was concluded that the adaptation of grid technology yielded an average of 43 percent savings in hardware cost. Much of the savings were credited to the shift from a large symmetric multiprocessor server to a number of lower cost servers. With the use of Grid technology the latter setup delivered similar or at times even more computational power than the larger system, however with fewer costs. Baum's report adds that the grids within these companies were being used for a variety of applications, including enterprise resource planning (ERP), decision support, customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM).

Still, companies that operate in the financial services industry, drug discoveries and weather modeling are initially more prone to benefit from Grid technologies, as they are involved in complex scientific and mathematical calculations and therefore require an added amount of computational power. So are companies that tend to process large amounts of data for their business intelligence activities. However, organisations are increasingly being enticed to adopt Grid technologies even for their transactional based systems, given that Grids may further facilitate storage space Issues.

Challenges faced by Grid Computing

IDC, the market intelligence and advisory services firm, are referring to Grid computing as the fifth generation of computing, after client-server and multi-tier (Table 1).

Yet, according to IDC, the technology still needs to be 'normalised' and has to overcome various challenges. IDC believes that these concerns, in some cases, are more perception than reality, and as organisations gain more experience with this distributed approach, their concerns will be laid to rest.

Additionally, a research conducted by the 451 Group shows that software licensing, security and bandwidth matters are among the things that can disturb grid rollouts.

Conclusion

Whilst Grid computing still needs to find broad acceptance in the commercial space, yet, market analysts state that the technology is here to stay. As Tom Hawk, the general manager of Grid computing for IBM says, "The Web is about sharing information. The grid is about sharing resources".

Online computer repair is the most convenient way to repair computers for individuals and corporate sectors. The main reason is because it is one of the most economical ways to sort out any kind of hardware or software problems. It is also the most self-sufficient service offered to anyone and online help is always fruitful as it enhances one's knowledge of computers and computer related problems.

Many software problems can readily be solved by getting tutorials online and gathering enough information to identify the problem and there by upgrading your own level of understanding the computer. Most online computer vendors use cutting edge technology to fix computer problems online. Their highly trained technicians use the power of the Internet and specialized software to securely access to your computer. This connection allows them to diagnose computer problems and fix them immediately.

Online services include eliminating computer viruses, enhanced computer performance, troubleshooting and fixing errors, removing spyware and configuring systems.

A new way of getting online computer repair work done is to allow a remote user to take control of your computer. This is done by giving the repair person some basic information about the identity of your computer, which is usually a string of numbers. The repair technician can tell you how to discover those numbers. He or she will then ""meet"" you online and you will allow them to take over your keyboard and mouse from the computer that they are using. This is often done as a diagnostic measure, before going in for onsite repair.

It's very common to have your computer freezing up one you at least once in a while when you have too many applications running at the same time. But having a constant freeze of your computer wastes your time and you will find it difficult to get any work done. So the question is how to fix your computer from freezing?

Fix your computer from freezing is not simple but the more effective way is to prevent it from happening. That is exactly what you are going to read here. Each and every computer has something called as a computer registry which stores your data in files and folders for your use. At start up your computer will sort through the different folders and start any of the folders which have instructions to run at startup. But what if there are quite a few downloads you have got from the Internet and all are designed to run at startup?

The computer gets confused and cannot decide what to do and typically shuts down while trying to decide what to do! As a result you get the typical static scene where nothing seems to work and everything is frozen! Typical frozen computer! But you should be able to detect your computer getting stuck on you and here are a few computer signs and symptoms you will see of a slow computer.
One very common reason for your computer freezing up is because it is using nearly every availed amount of random access memory or RAM memory at that specific point of time. As a result the computer is running on almost nothing and you will have to wait till your computer has about released some extra RAM for your computer to start working again.

How to fix your computer from freezing? Well, try to avoid having many programs running at the same time. Sometimes we are tempted to get better and more software of the internet to install on your computers. But please be aware that these software programs may not be designed specifically for your computer programming system and when your computer tries to run these programs an error is caused which takes some time to process, resulting in a screen freeze.

Running multiple programs at the same time is really not a good idea at all. Select what programs you want and then delete the remaining of the free downloads which you've not used more than at least five times with a program that is given from Microsoft. But that is temporary because the root of the problem, the invalid files in your registry are not yet fixed. This is why you need a good registry cleaner program that can sort through the different programs in your computer to remove the bits and pieced of old and faulty programs which are cluttering up your system.

A big fault in your computer Windows registry or a system fault may also cause your computer to freeze and you will not be able to work well.

Now you have the answer to how to fix your computer from freezing. Well, another cause of having frequent computer freezes can also be due to viruses and make sure you run your disk protection software regularly to have your computer protected for functioning.

As said before fixing your computer from freezing is easy but to prevent it you have to maintain your computer, by using registry cleaners you can easily clean up your RAM to remove all old and unused pieces of soft ware to prepare free RAM for the computer's daily processing in a regular basis automatically. Please do get good registry cleaners to clean out your computers at least once a week.