How to Temporarily Disable your Anti-malware Scanners

AD-AWARE AD-WATCH in Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition (and Pro
version)

Start Ad-Aware

Click the Ad-Watch tab

Click the Settings button

Ensure all highlighted options bellow are unchecked:(some
settings may be used or changed only in the Pro version)



Under the General tab

·
Processes Protection

·
Registry Protection

·
Network Protection

Under the Detection
Layers tab:

·
Spyware heuristics

·
AntiVirus engine

OK your way out, and close the main Ad-Aware window.

Shut down Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch Live! by
right clicking on the system tray icon, and selecting Exit Ad-Aware.

OK the change.

AVG ANTI-SPYWARE

·
Launch AVG Anti-Spyware.

·
From the "Status" menu, select "Change state"
to inactivate 'Resident Shield' and 'Automatic Updates'.

·
Then right click on AVG Anti-Spyware in the system tray and
uncheck "Start with Windows".

COMODO BO CLEAN

·
Right-click the system tray icon.

·
Select Shut down BO Clean button.

·
Restarts on reboot or open from Program Menu.

COUNTERSPY

·
Right-click on the running CounterSpy
icon in the sytem tray.

·
Hover your mouse over "Active protection".

·
A menu will slide out and then you need to left click on
"Disable Active Protection".

·
Disabling CS Active Protection should cause the systray icon to turn orange/red and hovering your mousing over the icon will then state "Active
protection is disabled".

(When we are done,
re-enable Counterspy by launching the program from Start > Programs, click
on the Active Protection. It will either say Active Protection enabled or
disabled. On the right side, you can select each of the tasks (scroll down to
see all of them) individually, then either enable or disable them on the bottom
right, individually. If you have a problem doing that then click on help,
choose run setup wizard, click next 2 times, make sure automatic updates is set
to yes, click next, make sure enable active protection is set to yes, click next,
then click finish, then exit. Then open CounterSpy to
make sure that the active protection has been enabled.)



PREVX

·
Right click on the Prevx icon in your
system tray and choose Show Management Console.

·
On the Management Console click the Protection Level drop-down
menu.

·
You will see three levels:

·
Maximum

·
Off

·
User Defined

·
To disable all protection set the level to Off.

·
You will receive a prompt asking "You are about to change
your security settings. Do you wish to continue?" Click Yes.

·
Click the X on the upper right hand corner to exit the Management
console.

PROCESS GUARD

·
Right-click the blue lock ProcessGuard
icon located in the system tray.

·
Uncheck 'protection enabled'.

·
Click yes.

REG DEFEND

Right click the icon for RegDefend in the systray and select Exit.



SPYBOT TEATIMER

·
Launch Spybot S&D, go to the Mode
menu and make sure "Advanced Mode" is selected.

·
On the left hand side, click on Tools, then
click on the Resident Icon in the list.

·
Uncheck the "Resident "TeaTimer"
(Protection of overall system settings) active." box.

·
Click on the "System Startup" icon in the List

·
Uncheck the "TeaTimer" box and
"OK" any prompts.

·
If Teatimer gives you a warning that
changes were made, click the "Allow Change" box when prompted.

·
Exit Spybot S&D when done and reboot
your computer.

(When we are done, you can re-enable Teatimer using
the same steps but this time place a check next to "Resident TeaTimer" and check the "TeaTimer"
box in System Startup.]

Please download ResetTeaTimer.zip
(http://s3.invisionfree.com/HijackThis_Heaven/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=8231698) and save to your Desktop. Extract (unzip) the file and
double-click ResetTeaTimer.bat to run the script.
This will remove all entries set by TeaTimer and it
from restoring them upon reactivation).



SPY SWEEPER

·
Open Spy Sweeper and click on Options > Program Options and
uncheck "load at windows startup".

·
On the left click "shields" and then uncheck everything
there.

·
Uncheck "home page shield".

·
Uncheck "automatically restore default without
notification".

·
Exit the program.

·
(When we are done, you can re-enable it using the same steps but this time reverse them.)

SPYWARE DOCTOR

·
Click the Spyware Doctor icon in the System Tray.

·
Click Settings.

·
Click Startup Settings under Pick a Category.

·
Uncheck "Run at Windows startup".

·
Click Apply and Exit Spyware Doctor.

·
From within Spyware Doctor, click the "OnGuard"
button on the left side.

·
Uncheck "Activate OnGuard".

·
(When we are done, you can reenable
Spyware Doctor)

SPYWARE GUARD

·
Right click the running icon of Spywareguard
in the system tray to open the program.

·
Then go to Menu, File, and choose Exit.

TROJAN HUNTER

·
Go to TrojanHunter Guard in the the system tray. It is a light blue icon with a magnifying
glass and red handle.

·
Right click on it and select settings.

·
Uncheck "Load at startup" and "Enabled". Make
sure that the program, TrojanHunter itself, is also
closed/not running.

WINDOWS DEFENDER

·
Click Start > Programs > Windows Defender or launch from the
system tray icon.

·
Click on Tools & Settings > Options.

·
Under Real-time protection options, uncheck the "Real-time
protection" check box.

·
Click Save.

·
Go to Start > Control Panel > Security > Windows
Defender, at the bottom of the Window Defenders page uncheck under
Administrator Options "use Windows Defender" and then Save.

·
(When we are done, you can re-enable Defender using the same steps
but this time place a check next to "Turn on real-time protection"
check box.)

WINDOWS ONECARE

·
To Disable Antivirus: Open the Windows OneCare user interface.

·
Click View or Change Settings > Antivirus Tab.

·
Click the radio button to turn the anti-virus off.

·
To Disable Firewall: Open the Windows OneCare user interface.

·
Click View or Change Settings > Firewall Tab.

·
Drag down the slider to turn the firewall off.

WINDOWS LIVE ONECARE

To Disable AntiVirus and AntiSpyware
protection

·
Right click the system tray icon and select Open Windows Live
OneCare.

·
On the main page click Change Settings > click Viruses and
Spyware Tab.

·
Tick "Off" radio button > Apply and OK.

To Disable Firewall
protection

·
Right click the system tray icon and select Open Windows Live
OneCare.

·
On the main page click Change Settings > click Firewall Tab

·
Tick "Off" radio button > Apply and OK.

WINPATROL

Right-click the running icon of Winpatrol in the sytem tray and choose exit.

How to use Autoruns for malware hunting.

One of my favorite tools for hunting malware is Autoruns from Sysinternls. When malware infects a computer it will register itself as an autorun in the registry. Autoruns are programs that start when the system boots up ensuring that the malware starts when Windows starts. Autoruns shows you these entries and allows you to remove them.

From the image you can see that there are lots of entries to look through. Here is how to find suspicious entries. First narrow down the list by clicking options and check Verify Code Signatures and Hide Signed Microsoft Entries.
Now scan the list looking for entries that are missing a description or publisher. If you are not 100% sure what it is, Google the entry and the search results should tell you if it is a malicious program. Once identified you can disable or delete the entry.

How to spot a Phishing scam

Phishing is electronic deception designed to steal your valuable personal data, such as credit card numbers, account data, passwords and other information.

Phishing messages take a number of forms, often appearing to come from a service that you trust like your bank, Internet Service Provider, credit card company or social networking site.
Phishing e-mails often include official-looking logos and other identifying information taken directly from legitimate Web sites and may include convincing details about your personal information that scammers found on your social networking pages.

No one is immune to these scams. The following example was recently received by numerous ISP customers and employees and includes six tell-tale signs of a phishing scam:

From: Technical Support Team [mailto:technsupportteam@mail2webmaster.com] (4)
Sent: Sunday, July 19, 2009 6:12 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Confirm your ISP (1) account information.

Dear ISP (1) Account Holders,

This is to inform all ISP account holders that upgrading/maintenance of our server has been schedule (3) for July 27, 2009 to help serve you better. You may experience login problems during this period. We are also having congestion due to the anonymous registration of accounts and on this note, we are deactivating some accounts that are no longer active and your account maybe (3) deactivated if no response to this e-mail within 1 week. (5)
To confirm and to keep your ISP account active during and after this upgrade and maintenance, you are advice (3) to e-mail your account information as below
* E-mail: (6)
* User ID: (6)
* Password: (6)
* Home/Office Address: (6)
* Date of Birth: (6)

Your ISP account shall remain active after we have successfully confirmed and upgrade (3) our server.

We apologise (3) for any inconvenience.

Thank you for your swift response to this notification.

Technical Support Team. (2)
Copyright © 2009
All Rights Reserved.


The six tell-tale signs – common to most phishing scams – included in the above example are:

1. Incorrect name or logo usage
   
2. Spacing and punctuation errors: often the result of careless “cut and paste” or “search and replace” functions – The success of these scammers rests with the volume of phishing, not necessarily the accuracy.
   
3. Misspelled words: often the result of a phishing scam originating in a country unfamiliar with our language and grammar
   
4. Misdirecting links: Check all links in an e-mail by moving your cursor over the link and then looking at your browser window. Phishing scammers frequently create legitimate-looking links that deceive viewers and misdirect them to another site altogether.
   
5. A sense of urgency, often coupled with a threat: features of phishing scams intended to scare the individual into acting quickly, without thinking the request through.
   
6. A request for your personal data: The main goal of phishing scams is the gathering of your personal data for financial gain. CenturyTel and other reputable businesses will not ask for your personal data via e-mail.

Please remember these six indicators of phishing scams and you will make it that much harder for the scammers to hook you.

How to block malicious websites using the HOSTS file

Malware is often bundled with browser hijackers. Browser hijackers redirect web browser to rogue websites. These websites are dangerous because they are the storefronts set up to sell fraudulent products and services. Depending on your browser settings some of the websites opened by browser hijackers are able to infect your computer without any notification.

Find and open the HOSTS file.The Hosts file is located in WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc.
Open the file using Notepad or any other text editor.

Type an entry containing the website you want to block.The entry must have two parts: an IP address and the address of the website you want to block.

Choose 127.0.0.1 as an IP address, leave a space and then type the address of the rogue website. Here’s an example:

You can find a very comprehensive blocklist at http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.txt

For more information on the hosts file and how it can be used check out my earlier post HERE

How to use MSCONFIG

MSCONFIG, the Microsoft System Configuration Utility, is a handy tool you can use to manage startup applications.




This application has been bundled with all Microsoft Windows operating systems since Windows 98 except Windows 2000 however Windows 2000 users can download the utility as well. MSConfig allows a user to modify which programs run at startup, edit startup configuration files, and simplifies controls over Windows services. To launch this application click on Run type in 'msconfig' and enter. This command will only run for users who have administrator rights.

How to install Firefox from a command prompt

cmd
ftp
open releases.mozilla.org
anonymous
anonymous
cd pub
cd mozilla.org
cd firefox
cd releases
cd latest
cd win32
cd en-US
type imagel
cd C:\get "Firefox Setup 3.5.exe"
bye
exit

List of how to enable the wireless radio on most laptops

ACER

Acer (General) - FN+F5

Aspire 1000/1640Z/1690/2012 - Launch Keys above the keyboard

Aspire 16xx (General) the satellite-like launch button above the keyboard

Aspire 2000 Series (less Aspire 2012, See Above) - Button on the Front of the Laptop

Aspire 3005 on the lower right-hand side of your laptop

Aspire 3500 -

Aspire 5612 sliding button on the side of the laptop

Aspire 9302 the blue button on the left-hand side of the laptop

Aspire 94xx (General) the key found below the Lock key

Aspire One, in the lower right corner of the palm rest is a small strip with a picture of an antenna on it. An LED to the right of the strip lights to indicate the wireless is turned on.

Aspire One Series ZG5 - Extensa 2000/2500 Series - Far Right launch button above the keyboard

Ferrari 3000/3020/3400/4000 - Button on Front of Laptop

Travelmate C Series - Far Left hot key and then choose WLAN from menu that appears



ADVENT

7086/7096 - Button next to the power button

7100 /7104 - Fn+F2

7201 - Wireless key top Right and then Fn+F2

8117 - Small slide switch on the Front of Laptop



ALIENWARE

M17x - Fn+F2



ASUS

ASUS (General) - Fn+F2 (some models may have a seperate switch)

F5R - Toggle switch located on the Left side of the notebook

G1S - This laptop supports multi-model switching of the wireless and bluetooth radios via the key command Fn+F2:

1st press: On both Bluetooth / On WiFi

2nd press: Off Bluetooth / On WiFi

3rd press: On Bluetooth / Off WiFi

4th press: Off Bluetooth / Off WiFi



BENQ

Joybook 5000u-d09 - Fn+F12



DELL

General - Fn+F2 or Fn+F8 or Fn+F12

600m - Fn+ F2

E6400 on the right above the headphone and microphone ports, (next to "Dell Wi-Fi Catcher" button.)

Inspiron series (Less 5100, See Below) - Fn+F2

Inspiron 1510/500M/600M/1150 - Fn+F2

Inspiron 1505 - Wireless icon next to the time (lower right hand corner of screen) right-click & turn radio on.

Inspirion 1521 - Sliding switch (WiFi Catcher) is on the right side of the laptop (with light).

Inspiron 1525 - Wireless icon next to the time (lower right hand corner of screen) right-click & turn radio on. There may also be a little on/off switch on the side or front of the laptop that you need to check is on.

Inspiron 1720 - on/off switch on the left side of the laptop*

*Inspiron 5100 - No Built-in Wireless for this model

Inspiron 6000/8600/9300 - Fn+F2

Latitude D400/D500/D600/D610/D400/D500/D600/D610/D620/D800 - Fn+F2

Latitude D630 (D640 and Newer???) - toggle switch on the Left side towards the Front by the PCMCIA slots and headphone jack

Latitude E6400 - Fn+F2

Latitude X300 - Fn+F2Vostro 1500 - Big button on Left side at rear (No Fn+F# combo to toggle wireless on/off for this model.)

XPS1210 -

*Wifi activation on Dell d610*

Wifi on D610. You can also go to the BIOS by pressing F12 on boot,

In the WiFi section, choose 1 of the 3 options:

*(Off) (By Application) (By pressing Alt+F2)



E-MACHINES

E-machine (General) - FN+F2



E-System

3115 - Slide switch on Front of Laptop (Also has Fn+F5 function)



FUJITSU/SIEMENS

Fujitsu (General) - Fn+F10

Fujitsu/Siemens (General) - Use either the sliding “Wireless” button on the right-hand side of the laptop or use the Fn+F2 key comboSome models have the ON/OFF wireless button just below the touchpad.

*Amilo A & D Series - Button above the keyboard on top RightAmilo K Series - No Built-in Wireless for this model

Amilo L/EL Series - Fn+F1

Amilo La Series - Fn+F2

Amilo Li Series - Easy launch button (one of 3) on top of keyboard



GATEWAY

Gateway Laptop (Not Further Identified0 - Switch on side and then Fn+F2

7805u FX - Wireless toggle is on front right. Software switch is Fn+F2. Fn is not in normal position and is located on the bottom left of the keyboard where CTRL is typically located.



GERICOM

Cinema 16100 model use the Fn+F1 key combo



HP (HEWITT-PACKARD) / COMPAQ

HP/Compaq (General Older models) - Button on upper Left on keyboard deck

HP/Compaq (General Newer models) - Button on lower Left below keyboard

Compaq (General) Press and hold the antenna-button on the upper section of your keyboard

* Compaq Armada Services - No Built-in Wireless for this model

Compaq Pavilion ZX5190 - Wireless switch is on the keypad, slightly separate from the keys. It has a wireless symbol on it.

Compaq Presario - Button on the Back

Compaq Presario CQ Series - Button above the keyboard (antenna icon on button)

Compaq Presario M2000 - Button above the keyboard (antenna icon on button)

HP/Compaq 6910p Notebook PC above keyboard to left, 2 buttons to the right of the power button.(Wireless on/off LED is on the lower left. left of power/standby light.)

HP 600 - Button on lower Left below keyboard

HP NC4000/4010 - Button above Keyboard

HP NC4220 - Button on Left Side of Laptop Near USB Port

HP NC6000/6220 - Button above Keyboard

HP NX9010 - Button on Front side of Laptop

HP Omnibook 6200 - Button on Left side of LaptopI



BM / LENOVO

IBM General - Some models have the wireless slide button on the side of the laptop.

IBM DV series - use the antenna-like button found on the upper section of your keyboard.

IBM R40 - Use the Fn+F5 key-combo.

IBM Thinkpad (General) - Most have software switch or button on Left hand side.

IBM Thinkpad (model not further identified) wireless switch on Front edge of case.

IBM T43/X32 - Fn+F5 -Click "Turn On"

IBM ZD series use the antenna-like button just below the “Lock” key.

Lenevo - button on the front

On most models, Fn+F5 opens the menu to display the wireless radio statusLenovo T-61 - Slide button on the front of the laptop

Lenovo X61 - Front edge on the bottom half of the clam shell, to the right of center and facing somewhat downward as the bezel is beveled there.



MEDION

General - Fn+F1 or Fn+F2

MSI

General - Antenna-like button close to the power switch

U100 - Fn+F11



PACKARD BELL

Easynote B3600 use the Fn+F1

EasyNote E2/MV46/008 - Fn+F1

Easynote W7730, Antenna-like wireless button on the side of the laptop.

MZ36-U024 - Fn+F2



PHILIPS

General - Fn+F2 key combo

X54 - Antenna-like button close to the power switch.



SAMSUNG

General - Blue button found in the middle section of the keyboard



SHARPGeneral - Fn+F2



SONY

General - Software Switch, "Wireless Device Switch icon" in systems tray (Gray square labled LAN)

(Many models use both a physical and a software switch)

Sony Vaio (General) - Switch on front left

VAIO (General, not further identified) - Button (or slide switch) on the Front Left or Right side

VAIO - VGW-AW125T - Button on Front Left, below keyboard

VAIO - VGN-AX570G - Button on Front Left

VAIO - VGN-B2560 - On top left of Keyboard (light say's wireless when on)



TARGA

Companion 811 - Fn+F2



TOSHIBA

General - Fn+F5 or Fn+F8 or physical switch

A100-078 - Sliding button on the right-hand side of the laptop

Eqium Series - Slide switch on Front of Laptop

Libretto Series - Slide switch on Left hand side

M1 & M2 - Switch on Left side of Laptop, towards Front

M40 and M70 - ON/OFF antenna-like button.

Portege & Qosmio Series - Slide switch on the Left hand side

Quantium Series - Slide switch on the Left hand side

R100 - Switch on Right side of Laptop

Satego Series - Slide Switch on the Right hand side

Satellite (General) - Physical switch on front of case, below keyboard deck, to left of center. (FN+F8 shows wether wireless communications is enabled or disabled. )

Satellite (Model Not further identified) - On the Front of case, below keyboard deck, to left of center, (may require Fn+F8 to turn on)

Satellite 1400/1405 - (may/maynot have wireless) For models w/wireless radios, right side of case, below Floppy Drive.

Satellite L355D-S7825 - switch is on the front edge of the case, below keyboard just left of center.

Satellite A60-S1662 - Slide switch on right side between USB Port and Mic & headphone jacks

Satellite Pro - On the Side or Front

TE2000 - Switch on Left side of Laptop, by volume control

Tecra 2100 - Switch on Left side of Laptop, by volume controlFN+F8 shows whether wireless communications is enabled or disabled. _____________________________________________________________________________For MAC/Apple Based ComputersMAC OS X 10.4.x (Tiger & Earlier)Open MAC Hard Drive > Applications > Utilities folder > Set the Configure pull-down to Airport. Make sure the "Airport Power:" says On. (This is the status or your Mac's Airport card.) If not, click "Turn Airport On" button.



MAC OS X 10.5.x (Leopard)Click on the: Apple Icon > System Preferences > Network > Airport > Airport Power - On/OffAirport power can also be toggled off/on fom the WiFi idon on the top bar menu.



_______________________________________________________________
This list is a compilation of information gathered both internally and externally by numerous tech support agents from a variety of sources. It is not all enclusive and is subject to change as more information is gathered on both older and newer, makes and models of computers & wireless radio equipment. Please leave a comment if your model is not listed and we will add it as soon as possible.

How to Create a Distribution List in Outlook

I get this question quite a bit so here are the instructions on how to set up a distribution list from your Outlook Contacts list. These instructions apply to both Outlook 2003 and 2007.

First, create the Distribution List

From Outlook, open the Tools menu and click Address Book
In the Show Names from the list, click Contacts.
On the File menu, click New Entry, or click the New Entry button on the toolbar.
Under Select the entry type, click New Distribution List.
Under Put this Entry, click In The Contacts. This selection determines where your new distribution list is saved. This is the default location.
Click OK. Your new distribution list is now set to be saved in the Contacts folder, and an untitled distribution list form opens. At this point, you can begin adding contacts to your new distribution list, as outlined in the following section.

Now you can Add Contacts to Your New Distribution List

In the Name box, type the name of your new distribution list.
Click the Select Members button to add members from any of your Address Book entries or Contacts.
Click Save And Close to save the new distribution list.
The name of the distribution list appears bold as compared to the other entries in the contact folder. In table views, the distribution list name appears in the Fill Name field. You can view the members of the list by opening the entry.

How to Connect a Nintendo Wii to the Internet using a wireless connection

From the Wii console’s main menu. Click on the Wii button located in the lower left corner of the screen. Open Wii Settings.

You are now at the first page of Wii System Settings. Click the blue arrow on the right to reach the second screen.On the second screen, click the Internet button.

Click the Connection Settings button.

Click on one of the three numbered connections to configure it. Using any of the connections is acceptable.

Click on the Wireless Connection button.

Click on the Search for an Access Point button.

The Wii console will then search for available wireless networks. When it has finished searching, you will be presented with the screen pictured. Click the OK button to continue.

A list of wireless networks will be displayed. Click on the wireless network (SSID) you wish to connect to.

Networks with an open padlock are unsecured. Networks with a closed padlock are secured and require an encryption key.

A green icon indicates an acceptable wireless signal. Yellow and red icons indicate wireless interference or a weak signal.

If the network is not secure, skip the next step. If the network is secured, you will be prompted to choose the type of wireless security or encryption. Consult your router manufacturer if you are not certain which option to choose.

You will need to provide the security password or key for your wireless router. To provide the key, click on the white box. A keyboard will be displayed. Click on the letters to input the key. Click the OK button when finished.

Click the Confirm button.

Click the OK button to save the settings specified.

You will be prompted to run a connection test. Click the OK button to start the test. Once the test completes successfully, you will be prompted to perform a Wii System Update.

Your Nintendo Wii is now connected to the Internet.

Nintendo recommends you allow your Wii to run the System Update. The process may take several minutes. During this time, do not turn off the Wii or disconnect the power.

How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 8

IE8 can be uninstalled by using Add or Remove Programs module in Windows XP, but in Windows Vista, it is a little different.

To uninstall Internet Explorer 8 using Vista, go to the Control Panel and click on the Programs and Features icon. Open the Tasks pane on the left and click on View installed updates. Locate and select Windows Internet Explorer 8 in the list of installed updates and click on Uninstall button. Click on Yes when asked that are you sure want to uninstall the update.

If there is no option for IE8 in Programs and Features or Add or Remove Programs, or you get the following error message (Setup cannot continue because a more recent version of Internet Explorer has been detected on this computer), you will need to run spuninst.exe.

To do this, go to C:\WINDOWS\ie8\spuninst\ folder and run spuninst.exe.

Sending Perfect-Sized Pictures for Email

Image Resizer is the answer!

You have some wonderful pictures on your hard drive, and you want to send them to family and friends. What are you going to do now? You have received photos that came in and have experienced some strange problems with, haven’t you? Sometimes, they were so big that it doesn’t fit in your monitor, or it took forever to come up. In some other cases, they were embedded in a bunch of to’s, from’s and other gobbledygook, and indented too far as well. Still there are times when pictures came in as attachments and you were afraid to click on them. You may have even experienced receiving little, tiny pictures or those with bad resolutions.

You may have even received really cute or silly pictures that a lot of people keep forwarding to you through email. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if your friends were sending you their own pictures, however, in some cases they get carried away.

Starting today, I assure you you’ll be sending perfectly-sized picture email attachments which appear in the right place. To start with, we need to figure out what size you want, and then we’ll tell you HOW to get the size you want.

Let’s start with the original size of your picture. At the time you took your pictures, your camera was set for a specific size. This is true whether you took those pictures from a cell phone, a web cam, or a regular digital camera. These devices came from the factory set to make pictures at a preset size. Even if a picture was just scanned, the scanner was set to output images of a certain size.

If you’re a tech wiz and familiar on how to configure your camera settings, you may already know how to set the size on your camera; however, this doesn’t mean that your picture is email-ready. If you send this photo in high-resolution, then you’ll end up with a picture that will be jumbo-sized in your email.

So, do you have to go all the way back to the Grand Canyon and take your pictures with a different setting? Fortunately, you don’t have to (unless of course you want to get other angles or scenes). If your pictures are really big, you can use a picture resizer software to convert them to just the right size.

The question is: what size is the right size? There is no universal standard size. Even if your camera has an “email” setting, this simply means that the manufacturer of the camera offers a feature to allow a smaller size that would be easy to send by email. It doesn’t necessarily mean that pictures taken with this setting will already be perfect to be attached to email.

To help you decide on what the right size is, start with the question: why you’re sending the picture? To show someone what an amazing and artistic photographer you are, then you want a big, high-resolution photo. This is also true if you need to show a great deal of detail for some reason.

Now, the question is how big is too big? It’s best to resize the picture based on a typical computer screen. You don’t need to worry too much about the different screen sizes or resolutions. It would be bothersome to call everyone and ask them what their settings are for that. They’re probably not aware of this anyway. We recommend that you choose a very common size, and subtract some width to make up for the program their using. For example, Hotmail or Yahoo Mail has columns on the side of the email that take up some space.

The most conservative choice for this is 600 pixels wide. However, if you’re sure your recipients have up-to-date monitors (at least seventeen inches is typical these days) and their vision is okay, then 800 pixel width pictures should be fine.

Now, if you just want to send some nice pictures that won’t take long to load, and won’t flood the screen with Uncle Bill’s yellow teeth, I suggest a pleasant size like 400 pixels wide. This size is big enough to see good detail without requiring a lot of time to scroll through or to download.

There is an easy-to-use program that takes care of this, Bulk Photo Resizer. You can set and apply it to resize one picture, or hundreds simultaneously. One great feature of this program is that it makes sure your picture doesn’t get stretched too wide or too tall. In technical jargon, it “maintains the aspect ratio” so you’re sure that everything is the right shape after resizing. When you select a size from the choices, the program is pre-set to take care of this for you. It’s really very handy!

One thing you really don’t want to do is enlarge your picture. Your pictures need to either stay at its original size or be smaller. Another great feature of Bulk Photo Resizer is that it won’t let you do that.

Now, what if your camera was set to a smaller size (a lower resolution) than you wanted? The only recommendation here is that you will have to set your camera for a larger size (higher resolution).

Let’s discuss the problem with enlarging. When a digital picture is enlarged, you will start seeing jagged edges called “jaggies”. These are the little squares that the image is made of. This is similar to what they do on TV to hide someone’s face and you see it turn into little squares. This is what happens when you convert a low-resolution picture into a picture that is too large. The effect causing the squares or jaggies is called pixelation.

So, how do you find out the size of your picture? Bulk Photo Resizer can tell you!

If you need to know what the size of your photo is and you don’t have software similar to Bulk Photo Resizer, you can check the photo on your computer using a Windows program called Windows Explorer. Windows explorer will help you find where your files are. First, you need find the directory that has your photos. Thumbnail view will be very helpful in finding photos. To switch to Thumbnail View, just click View (in the menu row near the top of the screen), and then select Thumbnails. Windows explorer helps you figure out what directory to look in by showing you some of the images in each directory when you are in thumbnail view.

After you find your photo, right click on its thumbnail or file name, then select Properties, and click on the Summary tab. This tab will show you the height and width of your photo in pixels.

You need to remember to make sure not to enlarge your pictures. In other words, if you want your pictures to be of smaller width, then do this by all means; however, if you want them to be larger, we assure you that you’re better off to just leave them as-is.

Have you noticed that we have only been discussing the width? This is because most pictures are wider than they are tall, so if you handle the width, then these pictures will most probably fit on your screen just fine.

Just to be complete in this discussion, here’s a scoop on large images that are taller than they are wide. In this case, you should change the height rather than the width. The conservative size is 400 pixels; however, you can probably get away with 550 pixels if your viewers have the typical seventeen-inch monitor and fairly good vision. With the Bulk Photo Resizer software, when you change your picture’s width, the height is adjusted automatically, and vice versa.

Finally, the last step is to attach the picture to your email message. Most programs like Outlook Express or an online email service such as Hotmail will allow you to simply use the Attach command. People should be able see the image in the message below whatever you write. If you’re not forwarding a message, the image should not be surrounded by a lot of junky text. If you have a very long message, be sure to tell your recipients to scroll down so they will find the picture after your long text.

Choosing a Domain Name

In this article you will learn how to chose an effective and memorable domain name and learn how you can actually increase traffic by using an old, expired domain name.

In the physical world, you can distinguish a business because of its structure, window displays, or signs. You can tell that a bank is a bank, or a clothing store is indeed a clothing store.

In the Internet, however, it is an entirely different story altogether. Your domain name is the only clue to your online business. You do not have visual clues: no location, no look, and no store design. Instead, users have to type in a word or a set of words to reach your site. Your prospective visitor has no way of knowing what your site is all about until he/she finds it and reads its contents. Who can ever tell that Amazon.com sells books? Or that Excite is a search engine?

Your domain name can spell your success on the Internet. A good domain name is the best asset you can ever have. It can make your business stand out in the crowd, or just float aimlessly in space.

The need to provide immediate clues to an online business led to the prevalence of generic domain names. Generic names instantly provide the user with an idea of what a business is all about, what to expect and look for in a site. For instance, Etoys.com is a toy store.

The temptation of the generic name has been so powerful; that some companies even paid ridiculously high prices to get the name they want. The domains Loans.com and Wines.com were both bought for $3 million each. Telephone.com was acquired for $1.75 million, while Bingo.com sold for $1.1 million.

However, generic names do not necessarily create the “buzz” that you’d like surrounding your website. Branding has always been about proper names: McDonald's did not name their store Hamburger. Hertz is not called Car Rental. FedEx is not Mail Carrier. Kodak is not Photographs. Microsoft is not Computer Software.

For better branding results, your domain name should be memorable and easy to remember. Remember the following tips when creating a domain name.

* The domain name should be short
* The domain name should be simple
* It should be suggestive of your business category
* It should be unique
* It should be easy to interpret and pronounce
* It should be personalized
* It should not be difficult to spell
* It should not be difficult to remember

Domain names can be registered through many different companies (known as "registrars") - a listing of these companies is available at ICANN: http://www.icann.org. You can register for 1 to 10 years - prices can vary anywhere from $10 to $20 per year. Most web hosting companies, as explained later, will handle the registration process for you, but make sure that you are properly listed as the owner of the domain when it is registered. If you have registered a domain name for a specific period, make sure you renew it in time. You can be surprised at the number of cases, where site owners have let a domain name slip by if they have not renewed in time.

******************************************************
Using expired domains to skyrocket your traffic
******************************************************

At some point while you’re building your website, you’re going to have to buy a domain name. This is the address that users type into their browsers to reach your site. That takes about five seconds, and depending on the name you want and whether anyone else owns it, it won’t cost you more than a few bucks.

But domain names are also a golden opportunity to make some easy money.

I’m not talking about Internet real estate, where you buy up good names and sell them on for a profit—if you haven’t got into that now, forget it. The bottom’s fallen out of the market and the best domains are long gone.

I’m talking about expiring domains.

Thousands of webmasters invest time, effort and money to promote their site and build up traffic. Many of them then lose interest and move on, leaving their site active. That means that although they still own the domain, they’re not actively promoting it. But they don’t need to. All the automatic marketing systems they’ve put in place are still bringing in traffic. The site runs itself.

Now, at some point the ownership of those domains is going to expire. If you snap up those domains once they come back onto the market, you’ve got a pre-built stream of customers. You can either rebuild the site, or redirect the traffic to your domain. You could set up an affiliate program get paid for users someone else paid for.

It’s that easy.

There are tons of options, and lots of easy ways to make lots of money with very little effort. Opportunities like these are everywhere.

Websites such as http://www.expiredtraffic.com or http://www.deleteddomains.com actually do all the legwork and let you reap all the rewards. Expired Traffic even has an affiliate program and http://www.snapnames.com allows you to back-order a specific domain name.

Do be careful when using other sites though. There are some swindlers out there that will sell you subscriptions, provide you with outdated lists, take your money and keep the good domains for themselves. It happens, and there’s little point in taking a risk when http://www.deleteddomains.com does such a great job.