Saturday, November 19, 2011

Editorial Review of a-Squared HiJackFree

No matter how much anti-spyware protection you've got on your PC, it's not enough. Spyware is notorious for being able to slip through the cracks of anti-malware software, and you're best off if you have more than one anti-malware tool on your PC. That's where this freebie comes in. Use it as a backup to your main anti-spyware program for extra protection.
It doesn't offer "live" protection like some other programs. Instead, use it to examine your system, to see if it's been infected, then kill the malware. It's a surprisingly powerful tool, and with far more features than we can cover here.
But here are the basics: Run it and click the Online Analysis button, and it will check your system for malware, and issue a report online. If it finds any nasties, it will tell you. If the program finds malware, it can walk you through removing it.
There's plenty more here as well, including tools for viewing what programs are using your TCP ports, and examining programs that run on startup. For a free program, it's surprisingly powerful.
Note: The vendor states that this software's functionality is limited on 64-bit systems.

a-Squared HiJackFree

  • Version: 3.1.0.19 
  • License Type: Free
  • Price: Free
  • Operating Systems:  Windows XP, Vista & 7          
  • File Size: 1.719 MB

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Your Next Computer Intel’s Ultrabook

A new type of laptop is headed our way. It’s ultra-thin, ultra-light, ultra-desirable and not that expensive either. Harsimran Julka and Hitesh Raj Bhagat have the details on Intel’s new wonder child

Worldwide PC shipments are expected to grow by just 2.8% in 2011, a downgrade from the previous forecast of 4.2%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). This is worrying for PC makers and especially Intel, the world’s largest manufacturer of PC chips. This is why Intel devised a whole new platform of notebooks, designed from the ground up to be sleeker, lighter and more desirable.

artical Picture

WHAT EXACTLY IS AN ULTRABOOK?
The word Ultrabook is an Intel trademark. Ultrabooks are ultra-light and sleek notebooks with Intel's Core i5 and i7 processors, they weigh less than 1.4kg and are less than 20 mm thick (see Intel’s Ultrabook checklist on the right). The form factor was devised by Intel as a strong competitor to Apple’s Macbook Air, but at a cheaper price point. Paul Otellini, Intel’s president and CEO sums it up nicely; “The Ultrabook is our most satisfying and complete computer experience. It's lighter, sleeker and lasts long with a single charge so that you can carry it almost anywhere.”
THE ULTRABOOK RATIONALE
Not only does the Ultrabook form factor have to compete with the MacBook Air, but also with the tablet, which a lot of consumers are seeing as a viable, everyday alternative to a bulky notebook computer. Other desirable features include a lower power consumption (Ultrabooks use ULV or ultra low voltage Intel processors) and a design that has to be at least 20mm or less. “We’re fairly optimistic about Ultrabooks and have noticed an increased demand for this sort of form factor,” said Rajesh Thadani, director - consumer, Lenovo India. “It’s an evolution of the traditional laptop and a potential game-changer,” he added. “With an evolving IT market in India, we are confident that Ultrabooks will be a worthwhile investment for any consumer,” said S Rajendran, chief marketing officer, Acer India, in a conversation with ET.
THE ROAD AHEAD
“Intel's focus is to make Ultrabooks capture about 40% of the worldwide laptop market by next year”, said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel. This was at Intel’s Developer Forum 2011.
“The market share of Ultrabooks will increase more in 2013, when Intel plans to launch its ‘Haswell’ processor. Haswell will offer more than 20 times reduction in connected standby power," Eden said.
In 2012, Ultrabooks will come with Windows 8, Microsoft’s newest operating system which uses a grid of live tiles as the start menu. Since the OS is optimised for touch, Ultrabooks with touchscreens or those with detachable screens (an Ultrabook-tablet hybrid) are being developed.
Going forward, Ultrabooks will offer a built in anti-theft technology from McAfee. A stolen or lost Ultrabook will be unusable by anyone other than the actual owner. Prices are also expected to drop further to $800 from the current $1,000.
Acer Aspire S3 Review
Officially the first ultrabook to launch in India, the Aspire S3 is a handsome, wellbuilt machine. It has a super-bright LED backlit display, multi-touch trackpad, 6 hour battery life and all the features you would expect. Acer pulled off a neat trick with the S3 – by including a 20GB SSD and 320GB hard drive, it manages ultra-fast boot & wake from sleep with extended storage for all your files while keeping costs low.
Thanks to the Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM and Intel HD graphics, the performance on tap is more than enough for all your HD multimedia and office needs.
Compared to the Lenovo, the Acer has better build quality with tighter shut lines. However – and this could be a dealbreaker for some – the tapered design, black bar above the keyboard, the keyboard itself and the overall shape itself is very similar to the MacBook Air. The brushed aluminum on the lid is beautiful, but we wished there was more of it, especially on the palm rest and underside. Plus the cursor keys are absurdly small. Overall a solid device if you don’t mind the physical similarity with the Air. Lenovo IdeaPad
U300s Review
The U300s marks a new design language for Lenovo’s IdeaPad – and it is refreshing. Unlike the Acer, the U300s has an even thickness throughout and clad in sandblasted aluminium (both top and bottom). With the lid closed, the machine resembles a book or folder.
For storage, it includes a 128GB SSD – so not as much space as the Acer, but it is faster, and there are no moving parts, so your data is more secure. Hands down, the U300s also has a better keyboard than the Acer – layout, key size and general feel of the keys is better.
Performance and battery life is similar to the Acer – since most of the specs are the same. Unlike the Acer which has all ports at the back, the U300s is more conventional and has ports on both sides. However, the U300s scores extra points for including a USB 3.0 port for faster data transfers.
It’s not all good though — some of the aluminum edges are quite sharp and the airflow design is noisy – air is sucked through the keyboard and blown out the back, but with the fan on full tilt, it sounded like a mini jet engine. Plus, the keyboard is not backlit, something which the Acer S3 could do with as well.

Who Manages Cloud Services to the Home?

Users are frustrated trying to connect all their home devices to a wireless network. Who will fill the gap?

The enterprise is where the big bucks used to be, but home is where the hearts of consumers are. As the Web becomes more integrated in people’s lives, the home will become the battleground for a coming generation of startups and big companies. There’s a huge hole in the market where broadband hits the home, and normal people struggle to connect their ever-growing number of devices to a wireless network they may not understand.

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After watching big firms aim products at the home consumer and talking to venture firms trying to see which business models might have the most success, we believe the question boils down to whether an application or hardware is a better way to deliver connected home services? Fundamentally, every entrepreneur should realise that in a broadband world, what they will deliver is a service, and the rest is just the wrapping.
CONSUMERS LIKE HARDWARE
Earlier this week we saw the launch of Nest, a smart, connected thermostat, which is both beautiful and simple to use. All its complexity is hidden in the simplistic touch-wheel design, but it aims to control the heating and cooling in your home in a manner that will save consumers up to 30 percent of their energy consumption. At $250, this isn’t a cheap thermostat, but what people are buying here is the intelligence that resides in the service (and a pretty thermostat).
A similar example is the Sonos system, which is awesomesounding hardware that acts as a music delivery service. Again, the Sonos system isn’t cheap, but it does offer consumers aesthetically
pleasing (in sound; the boxes aren’t all that attractive) hardware with the true purpose of delivering music from the Web.
The box is also easy to set up and manages to mask any problems with the quality of a user’s home Wi-Fi network, so the consumer doesn’t need to worry about allocating bandwidth to the box. The list goes on with such devices as the Roku, which, like Sonos, is easy to set up and helps ensure a solid experience. And I can’t avoid mentioning Apple, which might be the king of building hardware that hides its complexity and is heading toward becoming a means of delivering such services as iTunes, iCloud, and MobileMe. It’s not quite there on the service side, yet, but I have no doubt it will get there.
UNCLEAR APP-ORTUNITY
While the app economy is huge on mobile devices, its ability to deliver services designed to be consumed at home is unclear. So far, apps designed to help consumers manage network-based services inside the home have faltered.
On the energy management side, Google’s PowerMeter and Microsoft’s Hohm products were abandoned after low adoption. That may reflect a lack of interest in home energy monitoring, so we’ll have to see if Nest makes an impact where these services failed.
The television industry hopes to build apps for its screen, and pay TV providers are offering apps in the form of TV Anywhere products that might count as an example of success. But it’s hard to pinpoint specific apps that provide a connected experience tied to the home or gadgets residing in the home. I wonder if services such as security and TV apps might be the best way to hide a service in the form of an application.
With TVs and TV content, an app strategy makes sense, because the content will come via IP to a multitude of devices from different manufacturers (although for traditional TVs, a settop box might work, too). For security, which would require a professional installation of equipment, an app strategy may also work.
MANAGING THE HOME NETWORK
The other area where I’d love to see some sort of user-centric app or device is in managing the network.
Right now, I don’t have the ability to allocate bandwidth easily to certain areas of my home or to certain applications. I think that, as more devices compete for limited Wi-Fi, such services make more sense. It could be built into a router or perhaps managed through the Web via an ISP-provided app.
Either way, consumers are beginning to get frustrated with the toll of maintaining, updating, troubleshooting, and having mediocre experiences on their connected devices.
Instead of bringing the glitchy PC experience to homes, let’s get it right this time with something that looks more like electricity. I don’t care if it’s hardware or an app; I just want to be able to flip a switch and have it work.

How to login into Facebook via linked accounts



Are you fed up of entering your Facebook password multiple times a day? Facebook provides a simple way to skip this step. Login to your Facebook account and click on the arrow next to 'Home' on the top bar.


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Select account settings and it will open 'General' settings. Now, click on Linked accounts and select one of the account providers from the drop down box (includes Google, My-Space , Yahoo, openID and verisign) and click on 'link new account'.

You will need to provide your Facebook password to confirm the action. Next time around, Facebook will not ask for your password if you are logged in to your linked account on the same browser.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

20 Linux System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know

Need to monitor Linux server performance? Try these built-in command and a few add-on tools. Most Linux distributions are equipped with tons of monitoring. These tools provide metrics which can be used to get information about system activities. You can use these tools to find the possible causes of a performance problem. The commands discussed below are some of the most basic commands when it comes to system analysis and debugging server issues such as:
  1. Finding out bottlenecks.
  2. Disk (storage) bottlenecks.
  3. CPU and memory bottlenecks.
  4. Network bottlenecks.


#1: top - Process Activity Command

The top program provides a dynamic real-time view of a running system i.e. actual process activity. By default, it displays the most CPU-intensive tasks running on the server and updates the list every five seconds.
Fig.01: Linux top command
Fig.01: Linux top command

Commonly Used Hot Keys

The top command provides several useful hot keys:
Hot KeyUsage
tDisplays summary information off and on.
mDisplays memory information off and on.
ASorts the display by top consumers of various system resources. Useful for quick identification of performance-hungry tasks on a system.
fEnters an interactive configuration screen for top. Helpful for setting up top for a specific task.
oEnables you to interactively select the ordering within top.
rIssues renice command.
kIssues kill command.
zTurn on or off color/mono


#2: vmstat - System Activity, Hardware and System Information
The command vmstat reports information about processes, memory, paging, block IO, traps, and cpu activity.
# vmstat 3
Sample Outputs:
procs -----------memory---------- ---swap-- -----io---- --system-- -----cpu------
 r  b   swpd   free   buff  cache   si   so    bi    bo   in   cs us sy id wa st
 0  0      0 2540988 522188 5130400    0    0     2    32    4    2  4  1 96  0  0
 1  0      0 2540988 522188 5130400    0    0     0   720 1199  665  1  0 99  0  0
 0  0      0 2540956 522188 5130400    0    0     0     0 1151 1569  4  1 95  0  0
 0  0      0 2540956 522188 5130500    0    0     0     6 1117  439  1  0 99  0  0
 0  0      0 2540940 522188 5130512    0    0     0   536 1189  932  1  0 98  0  0
 0  0      0 2538444 522188 5130588    0    0     0     0 1187 1417  4  1 96  0  0
 0  0      0 2490060 522188 5130640    0    0     0    18 1253 1123  5  1 94  0  0

Display Memory Utilization Slabinfo

# vmstat -m

Get Information About Active / Inactive Memory Pages

# vmstat -a

#3: w - Find Out Who Is Logged on And What They Are Doing

w command displays information about the users currently on the machine, and their processes.
# w username
# w vivek

Sample Outputs:
17:58:47 up 5 days, 20:28,  2 users,  load average: 0.36, 0.26, 0.24
USER     TTY      FROM              LOGIN@   IDLE   JCPU   PCPU WHAT
root     pts/0    10.1.3.145       14:55    5.00s  0.04s  0.02s vim /etc/resolv.conf
root     pts/1    10.1.3.145       17:43    0.00s  0.03s  0.00s w

#4: uptime - Tell How Long The System Has Been Running

The uptime command can be used to see how long the server has been running. The current time, how long the system has been running, how many users are currently logged on, and the system load averages for the past 1, 5, and 15 minutes.
# uptime
Output:
18:02:41 up 41 days, 23:42,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00
1 can be considered as optimal load value. The load can change from system to system. For a single CPU system 1 - 3 and SMP systems 6-10 load value might be acceptable.

#5: ps - Displays The Processes

ps command will report a snapshot of the current processes. To select all processes use the -A or -e option:
# ps -A
Sample Outputs:
PID TTY          TIME CMD
    1 ?        00:00:02 init
    2 ?        00:00:02 migration/0
    3 ?        00:00:01 ksoftirqd/0
    4 ?        00:00:00 watchdog/0
    5 ?        00:00:00 migration/1
    6 ?        00:00:15 ksoftirqd/1
....
.....
 4881 ?        00:53:28 java
 4885 tty1     00:00:00 mingetty
 4886 tty2     00:00:00 mingetty
 4887 tty3     00:00:00 mingetty
 4888 tty4     00:00:00 mingetty
 4891 tty5     00:00:00 mingetty
 4892 tty6     00:00:00 mingetty
 4893 ttyS1    00:00:00 agetty
12853 ?        00:00:00 cifsoplockd
12854 ?        00:00:00 cifsdnotifyd
14231 ?        00:10:34 lighttpd
14232 ?        00:00:00 php-cgi
54981 pts/0    00:00:00 vim
55465 ?        00:00:00 php-cgi
55546 ?        00:00:00 bind9-snmp-stat
55704 pts/1    00:00:00 ps
ps is just like top but provides more information.

Show Long Format Output

# ps -Al
To turn on extra full mode (it will show command line arguments passed to process):
# ps -AlF

To See Threads ( LWP and NLWP)

# ps -AlFH

To See Threads After Processes

# ps -AlLm

Print All Process On The Server

# ps ax
# ps axu

Print A Process Tree

# ps -ejH
# ps axjf
# pstree

Print Security Information

# ps -eo euser,ruser,suser,fuser,f,comm,label
# ps axZ
# ps -eM

See Every Process Running As User Vivek

# ps -U vivek -u vivek u

Set Output In a User-Defined Format

# ps -eo pid,tid,class,rtprio,ni,pri,psr,pcpu,stat,wchan:14,comm
# ps axo stat,euid,ruid,tty,tpgid,sess,pgrp,ppid,pid,pcpu,comm
# ps -eopid,tt,user,fname,tmout,f,wchan

Display Only The Process IDs of Lighttpd

# ps -C lighttpd -o pid=
OR
# pgrep lighttpd
OR
# pgrep -u vivek php-cgi

Display The Name of PID 55977

# ps -p 55977 -o comm=

Find Out The Top 10 Memory Consuming Process

# ps -auxf | sort -nr -k 4 | head -10

Find Out top 10 CPU Consuming Process

# ps -auxf | sort -nr -k 3 | head -10

#6: free - Memory Usage

The command free displays the total amount of free and used physical and swap memory in the system, as well as the buffers used by the kernel.
# free
Sample Output:
total       used       free     shared    buffers     cached
Mem:      12302896    9739664    2563232          0     523124    5154740
-/+ buffers/cache:    4061800    8241096
Swap:      1052248          0    1052248

#7: iostat - Average CPU Load, Disk Activity

The command iostat report Central Processing Unit (CPU) statistics and input/output statistics for devices, partitions and network filesystems (NFS).
# iostat
Sample Outputs:
Linux 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5 (www03.nixcraft.in)  06/26/2009
avg-cpu:  %user   %nice %system %iowait  %steal   %idle
           3.50    0.09    0.51    0.03    0.00   95.86
Device:            tps   Blk_read/s   Blk_wrtn/s   Blk_read   Blk_wrtn
sda              22.04        31.88       512.03   16193351  260102868
sda1              0.00         0.00         0.00       2166        180
sda2             22.04        31.87       512.03   16189010  260102688
sda3              0.00         0.00         0.00       1615          0


#8: sar - Collect and Report System Activity

The sar command is used to collect, report, and save system activity information. To see network counter, enter:
# sar -n DEV | more
To display the network counters from the 24th:
# sar -n DEV -f /var/log/sa/sa24 | more
You can also display real time usage using sar:
# sar 4 5
Sample Outputs:
Linux 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5 (www03.nixcraft.in)   06/26/2009
06:45:12 PM       CPU     %user     %nice   %system   %iowait    %steal     %idle
06:45:16 PM       all      2.00      0.00      0.22      0.00      0.00     97.78
06:45:20 PM       all      2.07      0.00      0.38      0.03      0.00     97.52
06:45:24 PM       all      0.94      0.00      0.28      0.00      0.00     98.78
06:45:28 PM       all      1.56      0.00      0.22      0.00      0.00     98.22
06:45:32 PM       all      3.53      0.00      0.25      0.03      0.00     96.19
Average:          all      2.02      0.00      0.27      0.01      0.00     97.70

#9: mpstat - Multiprocessor Usage

The mpstat command displays activities for each available processor, processor 0 being the first one. mpstat -P ALL to display average CPU utilization per processor:
# mpstat -P ALL
Sample Output:
Linux 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5 (www03.nixcraft.in)   06/26/2009
06:48:11 PM  CPU   %user   %nice    %sys %iowait    %irq   %soft  %steal   %idle    intr/s
06:48:11 PM  all    3.50    0.09    0.34    0.03    0.01    0.17    0.00   95.86   1218.04
06:48:11 PM    0    3.44    0.08    0.31    0.02    0.00    0.12    0.00   96.04   1000.31
06:48:11 PM    1    3.10    0.08    0.32    0.09    0.02    0.11    0.00   96.28     34.93
06:48:11 PM    2    4.16    0.11    0.36    0.02    0.00    0.11    0.00   95.25      0.00
06:48:11 PM    3    3.77    0.11    0.38    0.03    0.01    0.24    0.00   95.46     44.80
06:48:11 PM    4    2.96    0.07    0.29    0.04    0.02    0.10    0.00   96.52     25.91
06:48:11 PM    5    3.26    0.08    0.28    0.03    0.01    0.10    0.00   96.23     14.98
06:48:11 PM    6    4.00    0.10    0.34    0.01    0.00    0.13    0.00   95.42      3.75
06:48:11 PM    7    3.30    0.11    0.39    0.03    0.01    0.46    0.00   95.69     76.89


#10: pmap - Process Memory Usage

The command pmap report memory map of a process. Use this command to find out causes of memory bottlenecks.
# pmap -d PID
To display process memory information for pid # 47394, enter:
# pmap -d 47394
Sample Outputs:
47394:   /usr/bin/php-cgi
Address           Kbytes Mode  Offset           Device    Mapping
0000000000400000    2584 r-x-- 0000000000000000 008:00002 php-cgi
0000000000886000     140 rw--- 0000000000286000 008:00002 php-cgi
00000000008a9000      52 rw--- 00000000008a9000 000:00000   [ anon ]
0000000000aa8000      76 rw--- 00000000002a8000 008:00002 php-cgi
000000000f678000    1980 rw--- 000000000f678000 000:00000   [ anon ]
000000314a600000     112 r-x-- 0000000000000000 008:00002 ld-2.5.so
000000314a81b000       4 r---- 000000000001b000 008:00002 ld-2.5.so
000000314a81c000       4 rw--- 000000000001c000 008:00002 ld-2.5.so
000000314aa00000    1328 r-x-- 0000000000000000 008:00002 libc-2.5.so
000000314ab4c000    2048 ----- 000000000014c000 008:00002 libc-2.5.so
.....
......
..
00002af8d48fd000       4 rw--- 0000000000006000 008:00002 xsl.so
00002af8d490c000      40 r-x-- 0000000000000000 008:00002 libnss_files-2.5.so
00002af8d4916000    2044 ----- 000000000000a000 008:00002 libnss_files-2.5.so
00002af8d4b15000       4 r---- 0000000000009000 008:00002 libnss_files-2.5.so
00002af8d4b16000       4 rw--- 000000000000a000 008:00002 libnss_files-2.5.so
00002af8d4b17000  768000 rw-s- 0000000000000000 000:00009 zero (deleted)
00007fffc95fe000      84 rw--- 00007ffffffea000 000:00000   [ stack ]
ffffffffff600000    8192 ----- 0000000000000000 000:00000   [ anon ]
mapped: 933712K    writeable/private: 4304K    shared: 768000K
The last line is very important:
  • mapped: 933712K total amount of memory mapped to files
  • writeable/private: 4304K the amount of private address space
  • shared: 768000K the amount of address space this process is sharing with others

#11 and #12: netstat and ss - Network Statistics

The command netstat displays network connections, routing tables, interface statistics, masquerade connections, and multicast memberships. ss command is used to dump socket statistics. It allows showing information similar to netstat. See the following resources about ss and netstat commands:
  • ss: Display Linux TCP / UDP Network and Socket Information
  • Get Detailed Information About Particular IP address Connections Using netstat Command

#13: iptraf - Real-time Network Statistics

The iptraf command is interactive colorful IP LAN monitor. It is an ncurses-based IP LAN monitor that generates various network statistics including TCP info, UDP counts, ICMP and OSPF information, Ethernet load info, node stats, IP checksum errors, and others. It can provide the following info in easy to read format:
  • Network traffic statistics by TCP connection
  • IP traffic statistics by network interface
  • Network traffic statistics by protocol
  • Network traffic statistics by TCP/UDP port and by packet size
  • Network traffic statistics by Layer2 address
Fig.02: General interface statistics: IP traffic statistics by network interface
Fig.02: General interface statistics: IP traffic statistics by network interface
Fig.03 Network traffic statistics by TCP connection
Fig.03 Network traffic statistics by TCP connection

#14: tcpdump - Detailed Network Traffic Analysis

The tcpdump is simple command that dump traffic on a network. However, you need good understanding of TCP/IP protocol to utilize this tool. For.e.g to display traffic info about DNS, enter:
# tcpdump -i eth1 'udp port 53'
To display all IPv4 HTTP packets to and from port 80, i.e. print only packets that contain data, not, for example, SYN and FIN packets and ACK-only packets, enter:
# tcpdump 'tcp port 80 and (((ip[2:2] - ((ip[0]&0xf)<<2)) - ((tcp[12]&0xf0)>>2)) != 0)'
To display all FTP session to 202.54.1.5, enter:
# tcpdump -i eth1 'dst 202.54.1.5 and (port 21 or 20'
To display all HTTP session to 192.168.1.5:
# tcpdump -ni eth0 'dst 192.168.1.5 and tcp and port http'
Use wireshark to view detailed information about files, enter:
# tcpdump -n -i eth1 -s 0 -w output.txt src or dst port 80

#15: strace - System Calls

Trace system calls and signals. This is useful for debugging webserver and other server problems. See how to use to trace the process and see What it is doing.

#16: /Proc file system - Various Kernel Statistics

/proc file system provides detailed information about various hardware devices and other Linux kernel information. See Linux kernel /proc documentations for further details. Common /proc examples:
# cat /proc/cpuinfo
# cat /proc/meminfo
# cat /proc/zoneinfo
# cat /proc/mounts


17#: Nagios - Server And Network Monitoring

Nagios is a popular open source computer system and network monitoring application software. You can easily monitor all your hosts, network equipment and services. It can send alert when things go wrong and again when they get better. FAN is "Fully Automated Nagios". FAN goals are to provide a Nagios installation including most tools provided by the Nagios Community. FAN provides a CDRom image in the standard ISO format, making it easy to easilly install a Nagios server. Added to this, a wide bunch of tools are including to the distribution, in order to improve the user experience around Nagios.

18#: Cacti - Web-based Monitoring Tool

Cacti is a complete network graphing solution designed to harness the power of RRDTool's data storage and graphing functionality. Cacti provides a fast poller, advanced graph templating, multiple data acquisition methods, and user management features out of the box. All of this is wrapped in an intuitive, easy to use interface that makes sense for LAN-sized installations up to complex networks with hundreds of devices. It can provide data about network, CPU, memory, logged in users, Apache, DNS servers and much more. See how to install and configure Cacti network graphing tool under CentOS / RHEL.

#19: KDE System Guard - Real-time Systems Reporting and Graphing

KSysguard is a network enabled task and system monitor application for KDE desktop. This tool can be run over ssh session. It provides lots of features such as a client/server architecture that enables monitoring of local and remote hosts. The graphical front end uses so-called sensors to retrieve the information it displays. A sensor can return simple values or more complex information like tables. For each type of information, one or more displays are provided. Displays are organized in worksheets that can be saved and loaded independently from each other. So, KSysguard is not only a simple task manager but also a very powerful tool to control large server farms.
Fig.05 KDE System Guard
Fig.05 KDE System Guard {Image credit: Wikipedia}


#20: Gnome System Monitor - Real-time Systems Reporting and Graphing
The System Monitor application enables you to display basic system information and monitor system processes, usage of system resources, and file systems. You can also use System Monitor to modify the behavior of your system. Although not as powerful as the KDE System Guard, it provides the basic information which may be useful for new users:
  • Displays various basic information about the computer's hardware and software.
  • Linux Kernel version
  • GNOME version
  • Hardware
  • Installed memory
  • Processors and speeds
  • System Status
  • Currently available disk space
  • Processes
  • Memory and swap space
  • Network usage
  • File Systems
  • Lists all mounted filesystems along with basic information about each.
Fig.06 The Gnome System Monitor application
Fig.06 The Gnome System Monitor application

Difference Between Linux and UNIX

What is the difference between Linux and UNIX operating systems?

UNIX is copyrighted name only big companies are allowed to use the UNIX copyright and name, so IBM AIX and Sun Solaris and HP-UX all are UNIX operating systems. The Open Group holds the UNIX trademark in trust for the industry, and manages the UNIX trademark licensing program.
Most UNIX systems are commercial in nature.

Linux is a UNIX Clone

But if you consider Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) standards then Linux can be considered as UNIX. To quote from Official Linux kernel README file:
Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance.
However, "Open Group" do not approve of the construction "Unix-like", and consider it misuse of their UNIX trademark.

Linux Is Just a Kernel

Linux is just a kernel. All Linux distributions includes GUI system + GNU utilities (such as cp, mv, ls,date, bash etc) + installation & management tools + GNU c/c++ Compilers + Editors (vi) + and various applications (such as OpenOffice, Firefox). However, most UNIX operating systems are considered as a complete operating system as everything come from a single source or vendor.
As I said earlier Linux is just a kernel and Linux distribution makes it complete usable operating systems by adding various applications. Most UNIX operating systems comes with A-Z programs such as editor, compilers etc. For example HP-UX or Solaris comes with A-Z programs.

License and cost

Linux is Free (as in beer [freedom]). You can download it from the Internet or redistribute it under GNU licenses. You will see the best community support for Linux. Most UNIX like operating systems are not free (but this is changing fast, for example OpenSolaris UNIX). However, some Linux distributions such as Redhat / Novell provides additional Linux support, consultancy, bug fixing, and training for additional fees.

User-Friendly

Linux is considered as most user friendly UNIX like operating systems. It makes it easy to install sound card, flash players, and other desktop goodies. However, Apple OS X is most popular UNIX operating system for desktop usage.

Security Firewall Software

Linux comes with open source netfilter/iptables based firewall tool to protect your server and desktop from the crackers and hackers. UNIX operating systems comes with its own firewall product (for example Solaris UNIX comes with ipfilter based firewall) or you need to purchase a 3rd party software such as Checkpoint UNIX firewall.

Backup and Recovery Software

UNIX and Linux comes with different set of tools for backing up data to tape and other backup media. However, both of them share some common tools such as tar, dump/restore, and cpio etc.

File Systems

  • Linux by default supports and use ext3 or ext4 file systems.
  • UNIX comes with various file systems such as jfs, gpfs (AIX), jfs, gpfs (HP-UX), jfs, gpfs (Solaris).

System Administration Tools

  1. UNIX comes with its own tools such as SAM on HP-UX.
  2. Suse Linux comes with Yast
  3. Redhat Linux comes with its own gui tools called redhat-config-*.
However, editing text config file and typing commands are most popular options for sys admin work under UNIX and Linux.

System Startup Scripts

Almost every version of UNIX and Linux comes with system initialization script but they are located in different directories:
  1. HP-UX - /sbin/init.d
  2. AIX - /etc/rc.d/init.d
  3. Linux - /etc/init.d

End User Perspective

The differences are not that big for the average end user. They will use the same shell (e.g. bash or ksh) and other development tools such as Perl or Eclipse development tool.

System Administrator Perspective

Again, the differences are not that big for the system administrator. However, you may notice various differences while performing the following operations:
  1. Software installation procedure
  2. Hardware device names
  3. Various admin commands or utilities
  4. Software RAID devices and mirroring
  5. Logical volume management
  6. Package management
  7. Patch management

UNIX Operating System Names

A few popular names:
  1. HP-UX
  2. IBM AIX
  3. Sun Solairs
  4. Mac OS X
  5. IRIX

Linux Distribution (Operating System) Names

A few popular names:
  1. Redhat Enterprise Linux
  2. Fedora Linux
  3. Debian Linux
  4. Suse Enterprise Linux
  5. Ubuntu Linux

Common Things Between Linux & UNIX

Both share many common applications such as:
  1. GUI, file, and windows managers (KDE, Gnome)
  2. Shells (ksh, csh, bash)
  3. Various office applications such as OpenOffice.org
  4. Development tools (perl, php, python, GNU c/c++ compilers)
  5. Posix interface

A Sample UNIX Desktop Screenshot

UNIX Desktop - IRIX 6.5 Desktop
Fig.01: UNIX Desktop - IRIX 6.5 Desktop

A Sample Linux Desktop Screenshot

Linux KDE desktop environment
Fig.02: Linux KDE desktop environment

UNIX and Linux Hardware

Commercial UNIX hardware has more advanced initial boot options such as:
  • Decide how to boot
  • Check system health
  • Set hardware parameters etc
The BIOS that is standard in PCs which is used by Linux has few, of these features. UNIX hardware or servers are pretty expensive as compare to Linux server systems.

Installation of RedHat Linux 6.2

These instructions can be used to install and configure RedHat Linux 6.2 on a typical PC. They may need to be tweaked slightly, depending on the exact configuration of your PC.

  1. Install Linux
    1. Turn on computer and quickly insert disk 1 of RedHat Linux Professional 6.2
    2. If system fails to boot Linux, insert boot disk into floppy drive and restart
    3. At the boot prompt, press the 'Enter' key
    4. Make the following selections:
      1. Language Selection: English
      2. Keyboard Configuration:
        1. Model: Generic 101-key PC
        2. Layout: U.S. English w/ ISO9995-3
        3. Dead Keys: Disable dead keys
      3. Mouse configuration:
        1. Microsoft: IntelliMouse (PS/2)
        2. Uncheck 'Emulate 3 Buttons'
    5. Welcome to Red Hat Linux, click next
    6. Install options:
      1. Install: Custom
      2. Check 'use fdisk' only if you want full control over the partition layout
        Note: Only 4 primary partitions are allowed. One of these may be an extended partition, which can contain up to 12 logical partitions. Some older BIOS limitations require that the Linux /boot directory be contained in its own partition which does not extend beyond cylinder 1024. DOS/Windows requires a primary partition from which to boot, and additional drives must be logical partitions.
    7. Add the following partitions (sizes suggested):
      1. /boot 32MB
      2. swap 1024MB
      3. / 3072MB
      4. /usr 5120MB
      5. /home 8192MB
      6. /var 2048MB
      7. /scratch 1MB and Click 'grow to fill disk'
    8. Choose partitions to format: accept defaults
    9. Lilo configuration
      1. Lilo configuration: verify that 'Create boot disk' is checked
      2. Install Lilo Boot Record On: /dev/hda Master Boot Record
    10. Network Configuration
      1. Uncheck 'Configure using DHCP'
      2. Make the following settings: (talk to you network adminstrator for correct values)
        1. IP address: <ip_address>
        2. Netmask: <subnet_mask>
        3. Network: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (Fills in automatically)
        4. Broadcast: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (Fills in automatically)
        5. Hostname: <hostname>
        6. Gateway: <gateway>
        7. Primary DNS: <dns_server>
        8. Secondary DNS: <dns_server>
    11. Time Zone Selection:
      1. America/Detroit
      2. Leave 'System Clock uses UTC' unchecked for Linux/Windows dual boot systems
    12. Account Configuration:
      1. Set Root Password
      2. Add user accounts
    13. Authentication Configuration (accept defaults)
    14. Selecting Package Groups:
      1. Printer Support
      2. X Window System
      3. Gnome
      4. KDE
      5. mail/WWW/news/tools
      6. Graphics Manipulation
      7. Multimedia Support
      8. Networked Workstation
      9. SMB (Samba) Server
      10. Anonymous FTP Server
      11. Web Server
      12. Authoring/Publishing
      13. Emacs
      14. Development
      15. Utilities
    15. X Configuration
      1. Generic: Generic MultiSync
      2. Adjust sink rates as follows
        1. Horizontal sink: 30-64 kHz
        2. Vertical sink: 50-75 Hz
      3. Video Hardware: (Pick appropriate video card)
      4. Check Customize X Configuration
        1. Click next
        2. Choose 1024 by 768 @ 16 bits per pixel
      5. Click 'Test this configuration'
        NOTE: (Control + Alt + Backspace) exits X immediately
      6. Click 'Next'
    16. About to Install. Click Next, and wait a very long time. A log will be written to /tmp/install.log
    17. Congratuilations, Linux has been installed. Click exit
    18. Insert floppy and make boot disk
    19. Remove floppy and press Enter to reboot
  2. Verfify the date and time
    1. Login as root and type "date"
    2. Adjust the date and time if necessary with
      # date mmddhhmmyyyy
    3. Write the new date and time to the system's CMOS clock with
      # clock -w
  3. Verify Linux has correctly detected all of your machine's RAM
    1. Login and type "free"; verify that your machine's amount of RAM is correctly reported
    2. If Linux reports less RAM than is installed your system, following instructions
  4. Customize Linux
    1. Setup networking correctly. Login and startx to start windows, open a terminal, su to root,
      1. Run linuxconf, navigate to Config: Networking: Client tasks: Basic host information.
      2. On hostname tab, set hostname to <hostname>.
      3. On adapter 1 tab, set primary name plus domain to <hostname.domain>.
      4. Click accept. Click 'Act/Changes'. Click 'Activate the changes'. Quit
      5. Reactivate changes if necessary, then quit.
      6. Test network connectivity by browsing and telnetting to server.
    2. Create useful mount points
      # mkdir /mnt/zip
      # mount -t vfat /dev/hdd4 /mnt/zip
      # ls -alF /mnt/zip
      # umount /mnt/zip
      If the following line is added to /etc/fstab
      /dev/hdd4 /mnt/zip vfat noauto,owner 0 0
      then the mount command can be simplified to
      # mount /mnt/zip
    3. Scratch directory
      # cd /scratch
      # rm -r lost+found
      # chmod 777 /scratch
      # chmod +t /scratch
    4. Configure tcp_wrappers
      # vi /etc/hosts.deny
      Add the line,
      ALL: ALL
      # vi /etc/hosts.allow
      Add the line,
      ALL: <network>/<subnet_mask>
      where <network> can be determined from
      % ipcalc --network <ip_address> <subnet_mask>
    5. Change to a graphical login
      # vi /etc/inittab
      Change the line
      id:3:initdefault:
      to
      id:5:initdefault:
  5. Install additional packages from Red Hat CD's
    1. f2c
      Obtain f2c-19991109-2.i386.rpm from Linux Power Tools Applications CD-ROM, /redhat/i386. Insert CD-ROM. # mount /mnt/cdrom
      # cd /mnt/cdrom/i386
      # rpm -Uhv f2c-19991109-2.i386.rpm
      # umount /mnt/cdrom
    2. g77
      Obtain egcs-g77-1.1.2-30.i386.rpm from Linux installation CD-ROM disk 1, /RedHat/RPMS. Insert CD-ROM. # mount /mnt/cdrom
      # cd /mnt/cdrom/RedHat/RPMS
      # rpm -Uhv egcs-g77-1.1.2-30.i386.rpm
      # umount /mnt/cdrom
  6. Install update packages from RedHat
    • Option 1: Manually download selected updates and install them Visit Red Hat website and determine which RPMS need to be updated:
      http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/index.html
      The bare minimum update must include the following packages (or more recent versions):
      wu-ftpd-2.6.0-14.6x.i386.rpm
      nfs-utils-0.1.9.1-1.i386.rpm
      Earlier versions of the above packages have well-known and widely available remote root access security holes. This list is not guaranteed to be complete, as additional root access security holes may have been uncovered since the time this document was written.
      Create a directory for package updates:
      # mkdir /home/download/RPMS
      Download appropriate RPMS into the above directory. You can check to see whether a package is installed by using the following command:
      # rpm -qa | grep package
      Install the updates using the following command:
      # rpm -Fvh [filename(s)]
    • Option 2: Purchase Official Red Hat CD-ROM and automatically install updates # mount /mnt/cdrom
      # cd /mnt/cdrom
      # ./install-updates
      Answer 'y' to all prompts
      If the update fails during the dependency check due to krb5-configs, then this package must be installed manually with
      # rpm -ivh 6.2/krb5-configs*
      and ./install-updates must be run again
      After the update is complete, restart your computer with
      # shutdown -r now
      Note that the root file system fails to unmount during shutdown and is therefore automatically checked upon restart; several inodes have zero dtime and are deleted
      A log of the update may be found in /tmp/update.log, and any error messages or warnings may be found in /tmp/update.err
  7. Configure Samba
    # /sbin/chkconfig smb on
    # cd /etc
    # cp -p smb.conf smb.conf.000
    # vi smb.conf, make the following changes
    [global] section Set (uncomment if necessary)
    workgroup = <workgroup>
    server string = <hostname>
    Comment out
    ; printcap name = /etc/printcap
    ; load printers = yes
    Set (uncomment if necessary)
    guest account = nobody
    Add
    browseable = yes
    Set (uncomment if necessary)
    security = share
    Comment out
    ; log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m
    Set (uncomment if necessary)
    max log size = 50
    local master = no
    os level = 0
    domain master = no
    preferred master = no
    wins support = no
    wins server =
    preserve case = yes
    short preserve case = yes
    Restart Samba web server
    # /etc/rc.d/init.d/smb restart
    instructions.
  8. Configure Apache
    # cd /etc/httpd/conf
    # cp -p httpd.conf httpd.conf.000
    # vi httpd.conf, make the following changes
    Uncomment the section
    <Directory /home/*/public_html>
    ....
    </Directory> Uncomment the line
    AddHandler cgi-script .cgi
    Add the lines
    <Directory /home/*/public_html/cgi-bin>
    Options ExecCGI
    SetHandler cgi-script
    </Directory>
    To disable directory browsing (Recommended)
    Search for and delete any instances of "Indexes" within "Options" statement. For example, change
    Options Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks
    to
    Options Includes FollowSymLinks
    Important note: The users home directory must be set to mode 755 in order to access it through the web browser. Accounts created during setup are 700 (?), and are not accessible. To fix this, become root and do a chmod 755 on all /home/user directories.
    Restart Apache web server
    # /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart
    Some administrators choose to install cgiwrap so that all cgi cripts run as the user in whose directory they are installed, instead of 'nobody'. If desired, cgiwrap can be installed using the following
  9. Cgiwrap is a program that allows cgi scripts run as the user in whose directory they are installed, rather than 'nobody'. This can be convenient both for security and practical reasons. If desired, cgiwrap can be installed using the instructions below.
    1. Obtain a copy of the cgiwrap source code
      Visit the cgiwrap download page and download the most recent version of cgiwrap (cgiwrap-3.6.4.tar.gz).
    2. Uncompress the cgiwrap archive
      % su
      # cd /download_dir
      # tar zxvf cgiwrap-3.6.4.tar.gz
    3. Configure and compile cgiwrap
      # cd cgiwrap-3.6.4
      # ./configure
      # make
      If httpd is running as a different user, e.g., User=web, then the --with-httpd-user=web option must be appended to the ./configure command
    4. Install cgiwrap
      # cp cgiwrap /home/httpd/cgi-bin/
      # cd /home/httpd/cgi-bin/
      # chown root:root cgiwrap
      # chmod 4755 cgiwrap
      # ln -s cgiwrap cgiwrapd
      # ln -s cgiwrap nph-cgiwrap
      # ln -s cgiwrap nph-cgiwrapd
    5. Update Apache configuration file
      # cd /etc/httpd/conf
      # cp -p httpd.conf httpd.conf.000
      # vi httpd.conf, make the following changes
      Add the lines RewriteEngine On
      RewriteRule ^/~(.*)/cgi-bin/(.*) /cgi-bin/cgiwrap/$1/$2 [PT]
    6. Restart Apache web server
      # /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd restart

Red Hat releases RHEL 6




"RHEL 6 is the culmination of 10 years of learning and partnering," said Paul Cormier, Red Hat's president of products and technologies, in a webcast announcing the launch. Cormier positioned the OS both as a foundation for cloud deployments and a potential replacement for Windows Server.

"We want to drive Linux deeper into every single IT organization. It is a great product to erode the Microsoft Server ecosystem," he said.
Overall, RHEL 6 has more than 2,000 packages, and an 85 percent increase in the amount of code from the previous version, said Jim Totton, vice president of Red Hat's platform business unit. The company has added 1,800 features to the OS and resolved more than 14,000 bug issues.
The company focused its development efforts on improving the Linux kernel, contributing more than 3,500 changes to the Linux kernel, Totton said. Work was also done in power management. The OS uses the new power-saving techniques in the AMD Opteron 4000- and 6000-series processors. The OS detects when its server is not being used and can power down components so they don't consume as much energy.
The OS has also been future-proofed, in the view of the Red Hat executives. It can support up to 16 terabytes of working memory, even though no physical system could now actually run that much memory under a single server. It has been configured to run up to 4,000 processors under a single OS. This release also introduces management of NUMA (Non-Uniform Memory Access), which allows the kernel to understand the varied memory resources across a variety of processors, a needed feature for tomorrow's multicore, multinode systems, Totton said.
Along with this release, Red Hat also announced a new RHEL 6 certification program for partners. This program will certify applications that are written for RHEL 6 will be able to operate for the lifetime of the customer's use of that OS.

Monday, October 24, 2011

How To Configure Hotmail for Domain With Sitelutions

Spending only few bucks today, you can easily establish your presence on the Internet and start your business. Of course, you should remember a basic but important lesson that you will only have what you have paid for. A serious business needs “pro” fundamental factors which will surely let you run out of investment quickly however. So, you should take advantage of free but reliable services to economize your expense.
Why few dollars can help you build a successful business? In this case, I mean you can build a blog/portal or even a sale page and a branded email system with no cost. Domain is only the things to have to purchase. Using this way, recently I have taken part in online marketing and I think everything is going well. In this article I will initially show you how to build your fame on the Internet with nearly zero cost by instructing the way to configure branded email system (or customizing your domain with some free email service) using free DNS service Sitelutions.
Email for domain is really important today since each time you send a message to a customer or partner, you will also advertise your brand/website. Using a customized domain email address, your identity will be surely evaluated higher than usual. Do you remember one of my advise for those who want to apply a Google AdSense account that he/she should use a customized domain email address to register, the change to be successful will be more.

Google App or Hotmail for Domain?

Today, you can choose one among many free email for domain services. However Google App and Hotmail (or Windows Live) are the best choice. If you need less than 50 email addresses, I recommend Google App service. You can apply here. If you apply for a Google App account with free package, you can only create less than 15 email addresses. The link I mention you will be redirected you to Google App offer for Education organization.
Most webmasters prefer Google App to Hotmail in this case. But why don’t you give Windows Live an opportunity? I am sure Windows Live for domain is wonderful and honestly I think it is no longer behind Google App. Windows Live allows you create total 500 email address and support range of other userful services such as online editing tools, share files, photos, archive data, instant message and more. You can apply here.

Configure Hotmail for Domain with Sitelutions

You can use the default DNS service within your domain ‘s control panel to “connect” your domain with Google App or Windows Live Mail. Almost registrars including Register, NameCheap, Godaddy and others provide their own control panels to manage domain. However, I choose a separate DSN service for more option while managing my domain. EveryDNS is no longer available, Zoneedit is only free for 2 domains, so I recommend Sitelutions, a long time free and reliable DNS services to manage your domain with more choice.
STEP 1: Register an account at Sitelusions here. Activate your account.
STEP 2: Login your domain control panel and change the current DNS to Sitelutions (ns1.sitelutions.com …. ns5.sitelutions.com, the same with ns2,ns3,ns4.)

STEP 3: Login Sitelutions. Choose Domain Control Center and hit Add domain. You can transfer your domain to Sitelutions or register a new one there. Might be you have to wait few minutes to some hours before your new DNS will be activated.
Windows Live for custom domain
STEP 4: Apply for a Windows Live for custom domain here. Click on the Get Started link. You need to assign a domain administrator for your account. Use your current Live email address or register a new one. At the next page, you need to fill up your information to register.
STEP 5. After successfully registering, at first you need to set up your mail service for custom domain. Here are what you need to configure in Sitelutions to verify your domain owner and get started using Windows Live for your custom domain.
Live mail for custom domain
STEP 6. Login back to Sitelutions. Choose root domain and hit Advanced Config & DDNS. 

configure Sitelutions for Windows Live mail
At the MX Records option, choose Add Record. Add the same record (MX server) that Windows Live requires. Remember to add a DOT at the end. See the image below.
configure Sitelutions for Windows Live mail
That is all. You need to wait few minutes before Windows Live informs that your account has been successfully activated and set up.
STEP 7: You should customize the link to login your email provided by Windows Live. Back to Sitelutions and create a new sub-domain such as http://mail.starblogger.net or so. Then create a CNAME record for sub-domain and point to go.domains.live.com.
Congratulation! Your domain will be severed with a wonderful email service and you can provide your partners, friends free, up to 500 addresses!

Install Google Plus for Android Outside US

Google Plus or Google + is becoming hotter day after day. As an early Google Plus user, I feel Google Plus is really interesting and perhaps it will be the Facebook killer, or at least the arch rival of the current # 1 social network. Though Google + is operating in the close beta phrase, the newest promising social network seems to be extraordinary. Tons of Google ‘s fans, who can not get a Google Plus invite, are eagerly waiting for the first time they can “circle” others, update status and more within the social network.
Google is testing their product, you can use a number of supporting platforms and extra services however in which, as far as I know, the nicest Google + feature is that it supports Android very well.
Google Plus
Nevertheless, although Google has released a particular version for Android operating system, only users inside US can download and install it.  Perhaps as a Google + and Android user living outside US, you are waiting to get the application as soon as possible.
Some friends in my country said they can not find out Google + application on Android Market after a long time of searching. However, in fact, Google + application is still available on Android Market, perhaps some minutes after Google Plus went public. In case you are an US resident and want to download Google + application for your Android device, just visit this link.
Smartphone is more popular than ever, especially Android ecosystem. So it is natural with the presence of exclusive Google + application version for Android, earlier than other platforms.
Google Plus application
Although Google Plus application for Android is still an experiment, it is really polished and works seamlessly. There are total 5 icons to explore including: Stream, Photos, Circles, Profiles and Huddle. Using this application, you can control your profile on the social network easily. One of nicest feature is Instant Upload. Whenever you take a picture on Android, your photos will be automatically uploaded to your Google Plus folder. Then you can choose your own way to use these pictures.
Download Google + (Google Plus, G+) application for Android
As I mentioned above, there is no hassle to download it if you are living in US. However,  you will be out of the party in case you are a guy coming from Asia, Euro or other regions. You are not alone in this situation for sure.
I tried to look for a possible solution for this matter last few hours and lastly found some ways.
Method 1: “Mask” Google
You can “mask” Google in this case but no worry about any illegal problem and it works well with a little effort.
Step 1: Access Google Market as regular and look for MarketEnabler. Just install the free tiny application.
Google Plus application for Android
Step 2: Enable and run MarketEnabler. Hit Setting list and choose T-Mobile. In the appearing popup, choose f–e this provider now.
Google Plus application for Android
Now your smartphone will connect to Google as a… subscriber of the popular  service provider T-Mobile.
Step 3: Searching and install Google + for Android without any drawback.
Google + application for Android
Method 2: Download .APK file
This method is also simple. Just download this specific file and start installing Google + for your Android device.
Click here to download Google + .apk file.
I am really interested in Google + and I guess this social network will soon replace or at least has a reasonable percentage on the market in comparison with Facebook.
Though Google + does  not open up now, you can drop a comment here including your Gmail address to receive my invite! Hope see you soon on Google Plus social network.

How To Update Facebook and Twitter from Google Plus and Vice Versa

Google Plus is now the most wanted social network with many advanced features. However, perhaps almost of us are not able to leave Facebook and others, Twitter for instance, in a short time ahead. I am using both Facebook and Google Plus to connect with friends and relatives because some of them like Google Plus and some others still put theirs loyal on Facebook. It is a bit of wasting time and effort when we have to spend on two places but with only one goal. So it is wonderful if there is some kinds of combinatorial solution these social networks.
Today, I will introduce you two handy ways to update Facebook and Twitter inside Google Plus and vice versa. Nothing special here but only two Chrome  and Firefox extensions.
When you can lump these social network into all in one place, you will get many benefits from it. Not only you can receive and follow information, link, photo and status from friends on other social networks inside Google Plus but also easily spread your words to all of your followers on different sites. If you are a marketer, definitely you will appreciate it very much since it will help you save a lot of time.
social update Facebook from Google Plus
Today, Chrome and Firefox are very popular browsers with various extension that can add more features to them. Two following extensions is promised to help you combine Facebook, Twitter and Google into one place only.

1. Publish sync for Google + & Facebook (Green Edition)

The plugin is developed from a well-known developer who has already got lot of attention with the PhotoZoom, an extension for Facebook that will instantaneously enlarge any picture in this social network when you hover in it. Download the plug-in here .
After installing Publish sync for Google+ & Facebook (Green Edition), you can simultaneously update your status, link, video and photo on Google + and Facebook and Twitter. In fact, the plugin also support more social network than that, including LinkedIn, Digg, MySpace and some Chinese ones.  There will be a green leaf icon on the header of the bar on Facebook and Google +.  Hit this button to get started authenticate your social network accounts and synchronization process. You can view the connection status here, enable the social you want to connect and the others you are no longer interested in.
view content Facebook on Google Plus with plugin
When you want to publish a status, photo or others on Facebook or Google +, you just hover the status compile box. There will be an option check box under the Publish (Share) button that allows you to share (synchronize) the content on more platform.
I tested the plugin and everything seemed well. However, this plugin does not allow you to view contents from other social network, just support update them only.

2. gplusplus

This is a better plugin than the above since it can help you view content from other social networks and also allowing you to update status from one network Google +  to various sites.
The name of this plugin, in my opinion, can be written like Google ++ (GPlusplus) works on both Firefox and Chrome browsers. But the downside is that it only supports Google +. After installing this plugin, your Google + will be able to update content (Feed) from Facebook and Twitter in the main stream.
update Facebook status from Google Plus
There is a bit of confusing when you want to update content inside Google Plus to other social networks. At least, you have to take 2 steps to do that. At first, after you fill up the content on the writing box, you have to choose the social networks you will update from Google +, then hit the Google ++ Share button. And then, at the second step, you will have to hit the Share button to update the contents on Google +. I think it will be more convenient for users if the plugin be able to integrate deeper with Google +.
Meanwhile, there is a little of latency during the synchronization process. Although you can view the Facebook, Twitter ‘s contents inside Google +, the process is not in the real-time. Also, Google ++ plugin can help you update only status on other social networks. Other kinds of content including image, video and link…  will not appear on the main stream of Google Plus. I think G ++ need improving a little for a better solution.
You can download Gplusplus here.

USB Disk Security 6.0 – Protect Your Computer from USB Virus

USB nowadays is one of the must- have devices for all computer users, but this tiny and handy tool sometimes brings us lot of frustrated emotions. Though there is no better solution for geeky users take their data no matter where they go than USB, this device is also the bridge that let virus along with you and then infect your own computers.
I am always concerned seriously each time go to a public internet spots to download data (for faster speed) or print something. Public PC ALWAYS lets my USB get tons of virus without any possible solution to prevent it from being happen again. Then, as I always experience, I highly recommend you to scan your USB with a strong and updated antivirus such as Kaspersky or Avast before continuing to use it.


Time goes by and not long ago, I discovered a very helpful solution for this matter. Thanks to Google, I found USB Disk Security, a quite popular virus-killer software, particularly on USB. Few days back, Zbshareware, the software vendor announced the USB Disk Security 6th version and I was very happy with this update.
Not only does it have an attractive and professional interface but USB Disk Security 6.0 also supplements many powerful features that protects you from being infected by virus and any threats via USB flash.
Here are some highlighted features:
100% protection against any malicious programs via USB drive
USB Disk Security uses innovative technology to block known and unknown threats via USB drive. It supports USB drive, flash disk, secure digital card, thumb drive, pen drive, removable storage, ipod, and more.
The best solution to protect offline computer
Other antivirus software should update virus database regularly, and they cannot effectively protect offline computers that are not connected to the Internet. When new viruses, worms and other malicious attacks strike, traditional signatures are insufficient. Every minute one waits for a virus signature update creates a window of vulnerability that could have devastating consequences. USB Disk Security uses advanced proactive detection techniques, and closes the window of vulnerability left open by other reactive, signature-based responses.

Data Protection
Deliver high level of protection against theft and accidental disclosure of confidential data. This feature can prevent unauthorized persons from copying your data to USB drives, and it also can stop the threats from USB drive.
The world’s fastest and lightest security software
With USB Disk Security, it’s not necessary to sacrifice speed for detection and scanning. Compare antivirus software and you’ll discover that USB Disk Security is by far one of the lightest applications in the industry.
Compatible with other security software and all popular Windows platforms
Incompatibility between antivirus programs is an issue; However, USB Disk Security is fully compatible with other security software. Supports Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2008, 2003.
Simple to use
USB Disk Security has been specifically designed to perform effectively regardless of the user’s level of computer expertise. Just install and forget it.
Free updates
Other antivirus products should be paid for updates every year. The USB Disk Security keys are lifetime. You receive all future program updates free of charge.

One of the features I love the most is the ability to block threats via USB drive automatically. Whenever you insert your USB, it will scan automatically then informs you the result via USB Shield tab. Just click on Delete All button to destroy all threats.
In case you are hurry and have not much time to scan your USB, just choose Safe Open. This feature will allow you to open any USB in a safe environment. All virus and threats are not able to operate, even you had not scanned the USB before doing this task.
In order to scan USB manually, you just need to choose USB Scan in the left, then hit Scan button. The next step is so simple by clicking on Delete All to kick out all threats!
Another helpful feature is USB Vaccine (under USB Scan tab). Whenever you turn on this option, your Windows computer will disable its auto-play feature. I recommend you to do it in order to help your computer safer.

There are many other new and helpful features in USB Disk Security 6.0 such as Data Protection and System Tools. The former includes Access Control (allows you to protect your data on PC by diable copying feature) and USB Drive Control (disable USB connection). The later has 3 system tool that help you clean up your private information, repair system due to virus and control all process operating in the startup period.
               
Click And Download here.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 12.0.0.374

Kaspersky Anti-Virus is powered by a unique integrated technology for unknown virus searching, based on the principals of second-generation heuristic analysis.

Because of this, the program is able to protect you from even unknown viruses. By using the integrated Control Center in Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal, it enables you to create a flexible schedule for the program components to be started and to automatically download and apply updates to your anti-virus databases via the Internet.



Kaspersky Anti-Virus inherits all the strengths of the previous version and adds increased speed and efficiency based on new technologies as well as a more convenient user interface.

One of the important improvements is a powerful heuristic analyzer which when combined with Proactive Defense previously developed by the company's experts is capable of detecting and disabling unknown malicious programs based on their behavior. Thus, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 8.0 provides unique triple protection from all types of malware, known or otherwise, alongside the traditional signature-based method. This kind of multi-tier defense is unparalleled anywhere in the world and of unequalled efficiency.

New Key Features of Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 :

General features

· Check new and changed files option
· Advanced damage clean-up (the windows registry, command files, *.lnk files, hosts)
· Proactive defense module with history and roll-back option
· HTTP traffic checking (AV)
· Outlook Express(AS) and TheBat! plugins (AS,AV)
· Anti-Rootkit technology (Anti-Rootkit)
· E-Mail IMAP and NNTP protocol checking support (AV,AS)
· Registry Monitor with preinstalled and updatable database

Anti-Virus new features

· Advanced damage clean-up (against Spyware)
· Check new and changed files option
· HTTP, IMAP and NNTP traffic check
· ODS Scan suspend technology (when user-activity is detected)
· Startup Scan with updateable database
· Differential update (further reduction of the AV database update size)
· Script-Checker with Internet Explorer GUI plug-in
· New scan scope: Scan Critical Areas task
· Scan Startup Objects – full control of the task execution
· TheBat! plugin
· Ban-list of blocked computers by IDS subsystem (with un-block feature)





What's New in Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 :

Improvements :
· Implemented support for Microsoft Windows 7.
· Improved methods of dealing with complex threats.
· Improved vulnerability scan, which facilitates security threats' search and elimination in the applications installed on your computer and in operating system settings.
· Improved module of Kaspersky Lab news delivery – News agent.
· Compatibility problems between safe environment and some applications.
Bug Fixed :
· Problem with system instability after long period of program operation has been fixed.
· Error causing BSOD while updating the emulator driver has been fixed.
· Pop-up message in the URL checking module has been fixed (for the Spanish version).
· Problem with pausing the scan task while third party programs are running in full-screen mode has been fixed.
· Problem with the update task freezing at system startup has been fixed.
· Vulnerability that allowed disabling of computer protection using an external script has been eliminated.
· Driver crash in rare cases while processing a write operation has been fixed.
· Crash while processing data incompliant with the protocol of Mail.Ru Agent has been fixed.
Link

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2012 12.0.0.374