Microsoft Share Point Service.

Windows SharePoint Services is a versatile technology that organizations and business units of all sizes can use to increase the efficiency of business processes and improve team productivity. With tools for collaboration that help people stay connected across organizational and geographic boundaries, Windows SharePoint Services gives people access to information they need.


Built on Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows SharePoint Services also provides a foundation platform for building Web-based business applications that can flex and scale easily to meet the changing and growing needs of your business. Robust administrative controls for managing storage and Web infrastructure give IT departments a cost-effective way to implement and manage a high-performance collaboration environment. With a familiar, Web-based interface and close integration with everyday tools including the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Windows SharePoint Server is easy to use and can be deployed rapidly.
                                 
Installation over Windows Small Business Server: If you intend to install Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 on a server that is running Windows Small Business Server 2003, please read “Installing Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 on a Server Running Windows Small Business Server 2003”. This white paper contains important installation steps and procedures that you must perform to ensure a successful deployment. Caution: If you do not follow the instructions in this white paper, your configuration of Windows Small Business Server 2003 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 may not function properly or might not be supported.

Search Server 2008 Express: If you’re using Windows SharePoint Services, you can easily add search capabilities to your collaboration environment across SharePoint sites, file shares, web sites, Exchange Public Folders, and third party repositories using Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express. Click here to download.

System requirements

Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Minimum hardware requirements:

Server with a processor speed of at least 2.5 GHz
1 GB RAM
The following is also required:

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0
For further deployment and information and requirements, consult the Deployment for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 technology site.


Take Tour of Windows Share Point:http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-sharepoint-services-help/demo-tour-a-windows-sharepoint-services-3-0-site-HA010205563.aspx
 

Download:http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=14117

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Man In The Middle (MITM) Attack.

Man in the middle attack is a type of attack in which the attacker intercept into the existing connection and breaks it in two different connections, one between the client and the attacker and the other between the attacker and the server. Now all the data would go through the attacker and he would be able to read, modify and insert data in the communication. Man in the middle attacks are sometimes known as fire brigade attacks.
This attack is very effective on http protocol because data is seny on plain text form. It is possible to capture session cookies by header and also possible to change.


                               MITM Attack tools:
There are several tools to perform a MITM attack.

1. PacketCreator
2. Ettercap
3. Dsniff
4. AirJack
5. Cain e Abel

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What Is Spyware?

                                          
A spyware is a piece of malicious code or program installed in system to monitor activities of a person. A spyware is capable of logging key strokes, it can take screen shots and if there is active Internet connection then it can even mail logs to specified email-address or transfer logs to ftp server.
Beyond just monitoring it can record your computing habits including which site you browse more, at what time you prefer to be on system or amount of time you spend on computer.
                                    
A spyware can be used to track all information about your social-networking habits and IRC(Internet Relay Chat) Clients including all major and minor chat clients example: Google Talk, Rediff Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Microsoft Live Chat, absolutely every thing related to IRC client is exposed to spyware. On the basis of its commercial use and monitoring capabilities spywares are classified as follows,

On Basis Of Commercial Use: Domestic Spywares and Commercial Spywares
On Basis Of Monitoring: Key Loggers, E-mail Loggers/Chat Recorders, Screen Recorders.

Domestic Spywares: This kind of spywares are purchased and used by common people to monitor their system. Most of the times parents install this type of spyware to monitor their children or network admin or a company to monitor computing activities of their employees. The most widely and most powerful use of these spywares are done for hacking purposes only.
Example: SniperSpy, Winspy, Sentry PC, Spy Agent

Commercial Spywares: Commercial Spywares incude the services included in your Operating System and softwares to monitor event logs and crash reports. The information about software crash is anonymously sent to software vendors, also the reports about user experience, crash, memory dump etc are sent to Operating System Vendor. The only fact is that this type of spying is legal to improve product and provide better and secure service.
Example:Windows and Linux Crash Logs, Virus info in Anti-Virus program, Event Collectors etc.

Key Loggers: Key loggers are spywares specially made to record keystrokes from keyboard. Key Logging can retrieve information about bank account password, online transactions, login passwords etc.

E-mail Loggers/Chat Recorders:These spywares are used to track e-mails and chat report from your IRC. If you use e-mail client like Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird etc. Then these spywares are capable of modifying internal settings to forward mails to attacker's inbox without keeping a track in your Outbox.

Screen Recorders: Screen recorders are capable of capturing screen and send recording using minimum bandwidth. Such monitoring is done by parents on their children to protect them from online pornography.
Example:Spy Agent, Winspy, Sniper Spy

Ok being honest I want to clear that today actually nobody bothers about classification of spyware and reason is quite obvious that spyware manufactures pack their spywares with nearly 90% of features of all types of spywares. So if you don't want to remember classification of spyware then its ok, no problem at all but you must know what is spyware. Sorry forgot you already know that.

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How does the Internet work?

                                 
Even though the Internet is still a young technology, it's hard to imagine life without it now. Every year, engineers create more devices to integrate with the Internet. This network of networks crisscrosses the globe and even extends into space. But what makes it work?

To understand the Internet, it helps to look at it as a system with two main components. The first of those components is hardware. That includes everything from the cables that carry terabits of information every second to the computer sitting in front of you.

Other types of hardware that support the Internet include routers, servers, cell phone towers, satellites, radios, smartphones and other devices. All these devices together create the network of networks. The Internet is a malleable system -- it changes in little ways as elements join and leave networks around the world. Some of those elements may stay fairly static and make up the backbone of the Internet. Others are more peripheral.

These elements are connections. Some are end points -- the computer, smartphone or other device you're using to read this may count as one. We call those end points clients. Machines that store the information we seek on the Internet are servers. Other elements are nodes which serve as a connecting point along a route of traffic. And then there are the transmission lines which can be physical, as in the case of cables and fiber optics, or they can be useless signals from satellites, cell phone or 4G towers, or radios.

All of this hardware wouldn't create a network without the second component of the Internet: the protocols. Protocols are sets of rules that machines follow to complete tasks. Without a common set of protocols that all machines connected to the Internet must follow, communication between devices couldn't happen. The various machines would be unable to understand one another or even send information in a meaningful way. The protocols provide both the method and a common language for machines to use to transmit data.

We'll take a closer look at protocols and how information travels across the Internet on the next page.

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BOT AND BOTNETS

 
The term bot, derived from “ro-bot” in its generic form. It is a script or set of scripts or a computer program which is designed to perform predefined functions repeatedly and automatically after being triggered intentionally or through a system infection. Bot runs automated tasks over internet. According to the type of working we can say that there are two of Bots.


Benevolent bots: Bots that are used to carry out legitimate activities in an automated manner are called benevolent bots. These are used in search engines to spider online website content and by online games to provide virtual opponent.
Malicious bots: Bots that are meant for malicious intent are known as malicious bots. bots used for DDos attack and spam bots are example of Malicious bots.


The first bot program Eggdrop created by Jeff Fisher in 1993 originated as a useful feature on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) for text based conferencing on many machines in a distributed fashion.

An IRC malicious bot program runs on an IRC host or client each time it boots in a hidden manner and controlled by commands given by other IRC bot(s). It is typically an executable file with a size of less than 15 KB in its compressed form. An IRC host computer running an IRC bot malware program becomes a Zombie or a drone (Choo – 2007). 

The first malicious IRC bot, Pretty Park Worm that appeared in 1999 contained a limited set of functionality and features, such as the ability to connect to a remote IRC server, retrieve basic system information e.g. operating system version, login names, email addresses, etc.

A collection of such type of bot affected systems are know as BOTNET (Bot Networks). A collection of compromised hosts or bot-infected machines running malware such as worms, Trojan horses, or backdoors under command & control (C&C) infrastructure.

Types of Botnets:  There are a variety of botnets in existence today. The three most commonly seen on home and office client computers are HTTP botnets that exploit vulnerabilities in web browsers, IRC botnets that allow operators to control the computers of unsuspecting users through an internet relay chat (IRC) channel, and Peer to Peer (P2P) botnets that infect files shared on P2P services like Gnutella or Limewire.

HTTP Botnets:HTTP typically is used for creation and control of botnets. Bots will sign in to an http server and wait for commands from a bot herder, or they will simply visit pre-designated sites to get commands that are coded into the site’s files.  Many HTTP bots have their own servers for downloading malware, phishing, etc. 

P2P Botnets:Many P2P applications are utilized by bot herders to share files that have bots and malware attached. In most cases, these bots are pre-programmed to perform specific functions when a file is opened, or when a container application like a game or desktop application is installed.

IRC Botnets: The most abundant use of botnets is accomplished using IRC applications. This is because the IRC protocol has been around the longest, and that is where earlier botnets operated before HTTP came along. IRC is used by a wide variety of applications to allow users to have simple text based chatting environments. Infected IRC clients log into a specific IRC server and wait for specially formatted text messages that contain commands. Commands can also be encoded into the title or name of the chat channel, so that every bot entering can be given commands. More sophisticated versions of this will group bots into sub-nets based on the tasks to be performed, or some other distinction. IRC Botnets are generally the most complex and the hardest to detect.

                                          

this is the diagram which shows how an attacker spread his bots on victims computer and control those bot program. Mostly these Affected systems are use for illegal activities by attacker without the knowledge of system owner. 

Look at the figure which shows how botnets are used in DDos attacks.

How to Avoid Botnets: 

• Install an antivirus program from a trusted provider.
• Make sure the operating system’s firewall is turned on, as well as the firewall of any connected router(s).
• Keep your operating system, web browser, firewall and antivirus applications up to date.
• Keep all media players up to date.
• Pay close attention to the options available when installing downloaded software. Installing toolbars or other gadgets that come from sources other than the site they were created on may have bots attached to the install. Also be skeptical of installation options that ask for permission to change your browser’s home page.
• Learn to be very critical of emails containing links of any kind or ask you to go to a specific site that you’re unfamiliar with.

if you have any query regarding this post please comment.

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How Windows Product Activation (WPA) Works?

                                              
Windows Product Activation or WPA is a license validation procedure introduced by Microsoft Corporation in all versions of it’s Windows operating system. WPA was first introduced in Windows XP and continues to exist in Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7 as well. WPA enforces each end user to activate their copy of Windows so as to prevent unauthorized usage beyond the specific period of time until it is verified as genuine by Microsoft. How WPA really works was a closely guarded secret until GmbH analyzed WPA using a copy of Windows XP RC1 and published a paper on their findings.



In this post you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Windows Product Activation.
Why activation?

Microsoft’s intention behind the activation is to limit the usage of it’s Windows operating system to only one machine for which the retail license is issued. Any other computer which runs on the same license must be disallowed from using the software. Thus WPA demands for activation of the product within 30 days of it’s installation so as to ensure that it is genuine.
What does “Genuine Windows” means?

The copy of Windows is said to be genuine only if the product key used during the installation is genuine. It means that a given product key (retail license) must be used to install Windows only on one computer for which the license was purchased. Thus if the same key is used for the installation on another computer, then it is said to be a pirated copy.
Exactly what information is transmitted during the activation?

When you activate your copy of Windows you are transmitting an Installation ID code to the Microsoft either by phone or Internet depending on the method you choose to activate. Based on this, the Microsoft’s licensing system can determine whether or not the installed OS is genuine. If it is said to be genuine, then the system will receive the Activation ID which completes the activation process. If the activation is done via telephone then the Activation ID needs to be entered manually to complete the activation process.
What information does the Installation ID contain?

This Installation ID is a 50-digit number which is derived from the following two data.

1. Product ID – It is actually derived from the 25-digit product key (the alphanumeric value that is printed on the sticker over the Windows CD/DVD case) that is entered during the installation of the operating system. The Product ID is used to uniquely identify your copy of Windows.

2. Hardware ID – This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer.

The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID:
Display Adapter
SCSI Adapter
IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
Processor Type
Processor Serial Number
Hard Drive Device
Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM

Thus the Installation ID which is a combination of Product ID and Hardware ID is finally derived and sent to Microsoft during the activation process.
How is the Installation ID validated?

The Installation ID needs to be validated to confirm the authenticity of the installed copy of Windows. So after the Installation ID is received by Microsoft, it is decoded back so as to obtain the actual product key and the hardware details of the computer involved in the activation process.

The Microsoft’s system will now look to see if this is the first time the product key is being used for the activation. This happens when the user is trying to activate his Windows for the first time after purchase. If this is the case then the Installation ID is validated and the corresponding Activation ID is issued which completes the activation process.

However Microsoft system will now associate this product key with the hardware ID of the computer and stores this information on their servers. In simple words, during the first use of the product key, it is paired together with the Hardware ID and this information is stored up on the Microsoft servers.
What if a computer running a pirated copy of Windows attempts to activate?

The activation fails whenever the copy of Windows installed is not said to be genuine. This usually happens when the product key used for the installation is said to have been used earlier on a different computer. This is determined during the activation process as follows:

During the validation of the Installation ID, the Microsoft’s system checks to see if the same product key was used in any of the previous activation processes. If yes then it looks to see the Hardware ID associated with it. The computer running a pirated copy of Windows will obviously have a different hardware configuration and hence the Hardware ID will mismatch. In this case the activation process will fail.

Thus for a successful activation, either of the following two cases must be satisfied:
The product key must have been used for the first time. ie: The product key should not have been used for earlier activations on any other computer.
If the product key is said to have been used earlier, then the Hardware ID should match. This happens only if the same computer for which the license was genuinely purchased is attempting for subsequent activation.
What about formatting the hard disk?

Each time the hard disk is reformatted and Windows is re-installed, it needs to be re-activated. However the activation process will be completed smoothly since the same computer is attempting for subsequent activation. In this case both the product key and the Hardware ID will match and hence the activation becomes successful.
What if I upgrade or make changes to my hardware?

In the above mentioned 10 categories of hardware, at least 7 should be the same. Thus you are allowed to make changes to not more than 3 categories of hardware. If you make too many changes then your activation will fail. In this case, it is necessary to contact the customer service representative via phone and explain about your problem. If he is convinced he may re-issue a new product key for your computer using which you can re-activate your Windows.
Some things WPA does not do
WPA does not send any personal information at all about you to Microsoft. There is still an option to register the product with Microsoft, but that is separate and entirely voluntary.
If you prefer to activate via phone, you are not required to give any personal information to Microsoft.
WPA does not provide a means for Microsoft to turn off your machine or damage your data/hardware. (Nor do they even have access to your data). This is a common myth that many people have about Microsoft products.
WPA is not a “lease” system requiring more payments after two years or any other period. You may use the product as licensed in perpetuity.

I have tried my best to uncover the secret behind the WPA. For further details and more technical information you can read the actual paper by Fully Licensed GmbH at http://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt. I hope you like this post. Pass your comments.

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How do Email Spam Filters Work?

                                                 
If you are the one who works with emails on a daily basis, you are most likely to be using a SPAM FILTER to ease the job of sifting through a large number of spam emails every day. Needless to say that spam filters do make our job a lot simpler by automatically filtering out the spam without which it is almost impossible to manually filter the junk emails that arrive in millions each day. However, it is often necessary to have a basic knowledge of how spam filters work and on what basis they flag an email as spam.


How Spam Filters Work?

There are different kinds of spam filters:

Header Spam Filters

Header spam filters work by examining the header information of a particular email message to check if it appears to have been forged. The header of every email contains information which tells the origin of the email. ie: The incoming email ID and usually the IP address (server address) of the sender. So spammers often forge the header to input a false sender ID and IP address so as to make it difficult to trace them. Thus if an email is supposed to have a forged header or if the same message is found to have been sent to multiple recipients, it is most likely considered as a spam by many filters. This method of spam filtering is often quite effective, however occasionally it may result in some of the requested newsletters from being misdirected into the spam folders.

Content Spam Filters

Content spam filter is one of the most effective and widely used filter to combat spam emails. They use a sophisticated algorithm with a set of pre-defined rules to determine whether a given email is a spam. They work by scanning the entire text/body of the email to search for specific words and patterns that make them resemble a typical spam message. Most content spam filters work based on the following criteria and check to see

1. If the message speaks a lot about money matter. Commonly suspected words include: lottery, discount, offer, bank account, money back guarantee etc.

2. If the message contains adult terms like: viagra, pills, bed, drugs, hot and so on.

3. If there is any sort of urgency. Most spam emails call for an urgency by using terms such as hurry, offer valid till etc.

4. If the message contains a single large image with little or no text then it is often considered as spam by many filters.

Each content spam filter may have it’s own set of additional rules using which it evaluates each incoming email. In most cases content and header spam filters are combined together to achieve higher level of accuracy.

Language Spam Filters

Language spam filter is designed to simply filter out any email that is not in the user’s native language. Since spammers come from all parts of the world with different languages, a language spam filter can help get rid of those annoying emails that come in the languages that you can’t read!

User Defined Spam Filters

User defined spam filters can be very handy, however they need a considerable amount of time investment in configuring and setting up a set the rules using which the filter works. For example, the user can configure to have all the emails from friends and company to reach the inbox, newsletters to reach a secondary inbox and all those remaining to the spam folder. Here the user must carefully examine the patterns of spam emails that he receives from time to time and needs to set up the rules accordingly. This filter when improperly configured can sometime lead to false positives or false negatives.

Other Types of Spam Filters

Popular webmail services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail combine both header and content spam filtering techniques. In addition to this they also use their own algorithms to combat spam. For example services like Gmail uses “optical text recognition” to identify spammy text inside an image. Also users are provided with an option to “Report Spam” whenever a spam email accidentally reaches the inbox. With the user feedback, the filter learns and becomes more powerful in carrying out the filtering process.

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What is CAPTCHA and How it Works?

CAPTCHA or Captcha (pronounced as cap-ch-uh) which stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart” is a type of challenge-response test to ensure that the response is only generated by humans and not by a computer. In simple words, CAPTCHA is the word verification test that you will come across the end of a sign-up form while signing up for Gmail or Yahoo account. The following image shows the typical samples of CAPTCHA.





Almost every Internet user will have an experience of CAPTCHA in their daily Internet usage, but only a few are aware of what it is and why they are used. So in this post you will find a detailed information on how CAPTCHA works and why they are used.

What Purpose does CAPTCHA Exactly Serve?

CAPTCPA is mainly used to prevent automated software (bots) from performing actions on behalf of actual humans. For example while signing up for a new email account, you will come across a CAPTCHA at the end of the sign-up form so as to ensure that the form is filled out only by a legitimate human and not by any of the automated software or a computer bot. The main goal of CAPTCHA is to put forth a test which is simple and straight forward for any human to answer but for a computer, it is almost impossible to solve.

What is the Need to Create a Test that Can Tell Computers and Humans Apart?

For many the CAPTCHA may seem to be silly and annoying, but in fact it has the ability to protect systems from malicious attacks where people try to game the system. Attackers can make use of automated softwares to generate a huge quantity of requests thereby causing a high load on the target server which would degrade the quality of service of a given system, whether due to abuse or resource expenditure. This can affect millions of legitimate users and their requests. CAPTCHAs can be deployed to protect systems that are vulnerable to email spam, such as the services from Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail.

Who Uses CAPTCHA?

CAPTCHAs are mainly used by websites that offer services like online polls and registration forms. For example, Web-based email services like Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail offer free email accounts for their users. However upon each sign-up process, CAPTCHAs are used to prevent spammers from using a bot to generate hundreds of spam mail accounts.

Designing a CAPTCHA System

CAPTCHAs are designed on the fact that computers lack the ability that human beings have when it comes to processing visual data. It is more easily possible for humans to look at an image and pick out the patterns than a computer. This is because computers lack the real intelligence that humans have by default. CAPTCHAs are implemented by presenting users with an image which contains distorted or randomly stretched characters which only humans should be able to identify. Sometimes characters are striked out or presented with a noisy background to make it even more harder for computers to figure out the patterns.

Most, but not all, CAPTCHAs rely on a visual test. Some Websites implement a totally different CAPTCHA system to tell humans and computers apart. For example, a user is presented with 4 images in which 3 contains picture of animals and one contain a flower. The user is asked to select only those images which contain animals in them. This Turing test can easily be solved by any human, but almost impossible for a computer.

Breaking the CAPTCHA

The challenge in breaking the CAPTCHA lies in real hard task of teaching a computer how to process information in a way similar to how humans think. Algorithms with artificial intelligence (AI) will have to be designed in order to make the computer think like humans when it comes to recognizing the patterns in images. However there is no universal algorithm that could pass through and break any CAPTCHA system and hence each CAPTCHA algorithm must have to be tackled individually. It might not work 100 percent of the time, but it can work often enough to be worthwhile to spammers.

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How FireWall Works?

                                                                                                                                                                             
If you have been using Internet on a regular basis or working in a large company and surf the Internet while you are at work, you must have surely come across the term firewall. You might have also heard of people saying “firewalls protect their computer from web attacks and hackers” or “a certain website has been blocked by firewall in their work place”. If you have ever wondered to know what exactly is this firewall and how it works, here we go. In this post I will try to explain “How firewalls work” in a layman’s terms.
How Firewalls Work



Firewalls are basically a barrier between your computer (or a network) and the Internet (outside world). A firewall can be simply compared to a security guard who stands at the entrance of your house and filters the visitors coming to your place. He may allow some visitors to enter while denying others whom he suspects of being intruders. Similarly a firewall is a software program or a hardware device that filters the information (packets) coming through the Internet to your personal computer or a computer network.



Firewalls may decide to allow or block network traffic between devices based on the rules that are pre-configured or set by the firewall administrator. Most personal firewalls such as Windows firewall operate on a set of pre-configured rules that are most suitable under normal circumstances so that the user need not worry much about configuring the firewall.

Personal firewalls are easy to install and use and hence preferred by end-users for use on their personal computers. However large networks and companies prefer those firewalls that have plenty of options to configure so as to meet their customized needs. For example, a company may set up different firewall rules for FTP servers, Telnet servers and Web servers. In addition the company can even control how the employees connect to the Internet by blocking access to certain websites or restricting the transfer of files to other networks. Thus in addition to security, a firewall can give the company a tremendous control over how people use the network.

Firewalls use one or more of the following methods to control the incoming and outgoing traffic in a network:

1. Packet Filtering: In this method packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. Packet filters has a set of rules that come with accept and deny actions which are pre-configured or can be configured manually by the firewall administrator. If the packet manages to make it through these filters then it is allowed to reach the destination; otherwise it is discarded.

2. Stateful Inspection: This is a newer method that doesn’t analyze the contents of the packets. Instead it compares certain key aspects of each packet to a database of trusted source. Both incoming and outgoing packets are compared against this database and if the comparison yields a reasonable match, then the packets are allowed to travel further. Otherwise they are discarded.

Firewall Configuration


Firewalls can be configured by adding one or more filters based on several conditions as mentioned below:

1. IP addresses: In any case if an IP address outside the network is said to be unfavorable, then it is possible to set filter to block all the traffic to and from that IP address. For example, if a cetain IP address is found to be making too many connections to a server, the administrator may decide to block traffic from this IP using the firewall.

2. Domain names: Since it is difficult to remember the IP addresses, it is an easier and smarter way to configure the firewalls by adding filters based on domain names. By setting up a domain filter, a company may decide to block all access to certain domain names, or may provide access only to a list of selected domain names.

3. Ports/Protocols: Every service running on a server is made available to the Internet using numbered ports, one for each service. In simple words, ports can be compared to virtual doors of the server through which services are made available. For example, if a server is running a Web (HTTP) service then it will be typically available on port 80. In order to avail this service, the client needs to connect to the server via port 80. Similarly different services such as Telnet (Port 23), FTP (port 21) and SMTP (port 25) services may be running on the server. If the services are intended for the public, they are usually kept open. Otherwise they are blocked using the firewall so as to prevent intruders from using the open ports for making unauthorized connections.

4. Specific words or phrases: A firewall can be configured to filter one or more specific words or phrases so that, both the incoming and outgoing packets are scanned for the words in the filter. For example, you may set up a firewall rule to filter any packet that contains an offensive term or a phrase that you may decide to block from entering or leaving your network.

Hardware vs. Software Firewall


Hardware firewalls provide higher level of security and hence preferred for servers where security has the top most priority whereas, the software firewalls are less expensive and are most preferred in home computers and laptops. Hardware firewalls usually come as an in-built unit of a router and provide maximum security as it filters each packet in the hardware level itself even before it manages to enter your computer. A good example is the Linksys Cable/DSL router.

Why Firewall?


Firewalls provide security over a number of online threats such as Remote login, Trojan backdoors, Session hijacking, DOS & DDOS attacks, viruses, cookie stealing and many more. The effectiveness of the security depends on the way you configure the firewall and how you set up the filter rules. However major threats such as DOS and DDOS attacks may sometimes manage to bypass the firewalls and do the damage to the server. Even though firewall is not a complete answer to online threats, it can most effectively handle the attacks and provide security to the computer up to the maximum possible extent.

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Cell Phone Spy: Software to Spy on Cell Phones

                       How to Spy on Cell Phones

Is Someone Holding Secrets from You?
Reveal them All with the World’s Best Cell Phone Spy Software!


Today, there exists hundreds of cell phone spy softwares on the market, where many of them are nothing more than a crap. Some are good and only a few of them are the best. Also, each SpyPhone software has a different set of features and operating format which makes it hard for novice users (perhaps like you) to make the right choice so as to fit their spying needs.


So, in order to help our readers to find the best spy software, I have decided to give a thorough review of the Top 2 Best Selling SpyPhone softwares on the market.

1. Spy Phone GOLD – (TESTED)


2. Mobile Spy – (TESTED)






SpyPhone GOLD and Mobile Spy are the current leaders in the market which are used by thousands across the globe to spy on cheating spouse, monitor employees and keep an eye on their teens. Here is a complete review of these two products.

1. Spy Phone GOLD Review:



Spy Phone GOLD is is the No.1 spy software on the market which turns any compatible cell phone into a Spy Phone within minutes. It offers every feature that a true cell phone spy software should have. Hence most people choose Spy Phone GOLD for their cell phone spying needs.


How Cell Phone Spying Works?


After your purchase, you can directly download the installation module onto the target cell phone. Installation takes only a few minutes. After installation, each activity on the target phone is recorded and uploaded onto the SpyPhone servers. You can login to your online account from your PC to view the logs at any time. The logs contain Text messages, Contacts List, Call History, GPS Locations and many such information.

Call interception: When the target cell phone is on the conversation, you will receive a secret SMS notification on your phone. At this time you can call the target phone to listen to the live conversation going on. All this process takes place in complete stealth mode and is 100% undetectable!


Spy Phone Top Features:
Call Interception – Listen to the actual calls LIVE on the target cell phone
Environment Listening - Make a spy call to the target cell phone running SPY PHONE and listen in to the phone’s surroundings.
SMS Logging – Records both incoming & outgoing SMS
SIM Change Notification – Get instant notification via SMS when the target cell phone changes it’s SIM
Remote Control – Send secret SMS to the target phone to control all functions
Spy from any location across the world
100% Undetectable


Compatible Cell Phones:

Spy Phone GOLD is fully compatible with the following mobile phones
Nokia, LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson Phones
BlackBerry Phones
Apple iPhones
Windows Mobile Phones

Click Here to Download Spy Phone GOLD



2. Mobile Spy Review:


Although Mobile Spy is not as feature rich as Spy Phone GOLD, it offers a good bunch of features that every spy software should have. It is a very good choice for those who are looking for a mid-range spy software at an affordable price.



How it Works?
The working of Mobile Spy is exactly same as that of Spy Phone GOLD. However Mobile Spy lacks the feature of call interception.


Mobile Spy Features
Mobile Spy offers every common feature such as recording Call Logs, SMS, GPS Locations, IM Conversations, Web Activities, Emails etc. It is very similar to Spy Phone but lacks the vital features like call recording and call interception. Thus with Mobile Spy you cannot listen to live calls on the target cell phone.


Compatible Cell phones: Mobile Spy is compatible with Nokia, Samsung, LG, Apple iPhones, Blackberry, Android and Windows Mobile Phones.

You can download Mobile Spy from the following link

Click Here Download Mobile Spy



Here is a quick comparison between Spy Phone GOLD and Mobile Spy



Which Cell Phone Spy Software to Choose?


If you want a high-end spy software with top features like call interception and call recording then Spy Phone GOLD is the right choice. Or else, if you’re looking for a mid-range spy software with basic features at an affordable price then go for Mobile Spy. So what are you waiting for? Go grab either of the two from the following links now:

1. Click Here to Download Spy Phone GOLD


2. Click Here to Download Mobile Spy 

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Cell Phone Lookup: How to Do a Reverse Cell Phone Lookup

A Reverse Cell Phone Lookup is simply a process of finding someone’s personal details such as name, age, address and related information by using their cell phone number. At times it becomes necessary for us to start investigating on someone to know their personal details. The reason for this can be many – Some people may go for a cell phone lookup in order to locate their old friends, some to investigate the prank calls or to trace a suspicious number.


There exists a lot of websites on the Internet that offer reverse cell phone search, some claim to be free while others ask you a small fee for the subscription. There also exists a few directories that provide access to both landline and cell phone numbers thereby providing an all-in-one lookup service.

Since most people wish to access this information for free, they go in search of those websites which provide the reverse cell phone lookup service for free. Most scam websites take up this tendency of people as an added advantage and try to attract more and more visitors by promising them to provide the search service at a free of cost. In reality, the visitors of these websites may pick up malware programs like viruses and trojans. So you should be very careful not to visit any of such websites unless you are 100% confident about their legitimacy. Hence, in order to do a reverse cell phone lookup, you need to find a trusted website/directory service that provide information which is accurate and authentic.

Even though there is no national cell phone lookup directory available in United States due to various privacy concerns, there are still a number of top quality directories used by various private detectives, journalists and those who are in need to spy on their cheating spouse or children. These companies invest a lot of time and financial resources in gathering mobile phone and landline numbers by using both private and public sources, as well as major cell phone carrier restricted databases.

Thus by using this service it becomes just a cakewalk for anyone to find the details associated with any phone number whether it be a cell phone or a landline. The entire process of finding someone by cellphone number is very straightforward – all you need to do is just enter the phone number that you want to trace down and hit the “Search” button. You will be able to instantly view the information such as the phone owner’s name, age, mobile provider, billing address, previous addresses and more.

I recommend the following cell phone directory to search both mobile & landline and listed/unlisted residential numbers. The site is completely safe and uses a 128-bit secured access to maintain 100% privacy of the uses. All searches remains private and anonymous. Click on the following link to gain access now!

Phone Number Scan

NOTE: This works only for Unites States telephone numbers (landline and Mobile)

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How to Trace Mobile Numbers

With the rapid growth of mobile phone usage in recent years, we have often observed that the mobile phone has become a part of many illegal and criminal activities. So in most cases, tracing the mobile number becomes a vital part of the investigation process. Also sometimes we just want to trace a mobile number for reasons like annoying prank calls, blackmails, unknown number in a missed call list or similar.


Even though it is not possible to trace the number back to the caller, it is possible to trace it to the location of the caller and also find the network operator. Just have a look at this page on tracing Indian mobile numbers from Wikipedia. Using the information provided on this page, it is possible to certainly trace any mobile number from India and find out the location (state/city) and network operator (mobile operator) of the caller. All you need for this is only the first 4-digit of the mobile number. In this Wiki page you will find all the mobile number series listed in a nice tabular column where they are categorized based on mobile operator and the zone (state/city). This Wiki page is updated regularly so as to provide up-to-date information on newly added mobile number series and operators. I have used this page many a time and have never been disappointed.

If you would like to use a simpler interface where in you can just enter the target mobile number and trace the desired details, you can try this link from Numbering Plans. Using this link, you can trace any number in the world.

By using the information in this article, you can only know “where” the call is from and not “who” the caller is. Only the mobile operator is able to tell you ”who” the caller is. So if you’re in an emergency and need to find out the actual person behind the call, I would recommend that you file a complaint and take the help of police. I hope this information has helped you!

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How Antivirus Software Works

Due to ever increasing threat from virus and other malicious programs, almost every computer today comes with a pre-installed antivirus software on it. In fact, an antivirus has become one of the most essential software package for every computer. Even though every one of us have an antivirus software installed on our computers, only a few really bother to understand how it actually works! Well if you are one among those few who would really bother to understand how an antivirus works, then this article is for you.

How Antivirus Works

An antivirus software typically uses a variety of strategies in detecting and removing viruses, worms and other malware programs. The following are the two most widely employed identification methods:

1. Signature-based dectection (Dictionary approach)

This is the most commonly employed method which involves searching for known patterns of virus within a given file. Every antivirus software will have a dictionary of sample malware codes called signatures in it’s database. Whenever a file is examined, the antivirus refers to the dictionary of sample codes present within it’s database and compares the same with the current file. If the piece of code within the file matches with the one in it’s dictionary then it is flagged and proper action is taken immediately so as to stop the virus from further replicating. The antivirus may choose to repair the file, quarantine or delete it permanently based on it’s potential risk. 

As new viruses and malwares are created and released every day, this method of detection cannot defend against new malwares unless their samples are collected and signatures are released by the antivirus software company. Some companies may also encourage the users to upload new viruses or variants, so that the virus can be analyzed and the signature can be added to the dictionary.

Signature based detection can be very effective, but requires frequent updates of the virus signature dictionary. Hence the users must update their antivirus software on a regular basis so as to defend against new threats that are released daily.

2. Heuristic-based detection (Suspicious behaviour approach)

Heuristic-based detection involves identifying suspicious behaviour from any given program which might indicate a potential risk. This approach is used by some of the sophisticated antivirus softwares to identify new malware and variants of known malware. Unlike the signature based approach, here the antivirus doesn’t attempt to identify known viruses, but instead monitors the behavior of all programs.

For example, malicious behaviours like a program trying to write data to an executable program is flagged and the user is alerted about this action. This method of detection gives an additional level of security from unidentified threats.

File emulation: This is another type of heuristic-based approach where a given program is executed in a virtual environment and the actions performed by it are logged. Based on the actions logged, the antivirus software can determine if the program is malicious or not and carry out necessary actions in order to clean the infection.

Most commercial antivirus softwares use a combination of both signature-based and heuristic-based approaches to combat malware.

Issues of concern

Zero-day threats: A zero-day (zero-hour ) threat or attack is where a malware tries to exploit computer application vulnerabilities that are yet unidentified by the antivirus software companies. These attacks are used to cause damage to the computer even before they are identified. Since patches are not yet released for these kind of new threats, they can easily manage to bypass the antivirus software and carry out malicious actions. However most of the threats are identified after a day or two of it’s release, but damage caused by them before identification is quite inevitable.

Daily Updates: Since new viruses and threats are released everyday, it is most essential to update the antivirus software so as to keep the virus definitions up-to-date. Most softwares will have an auto-update feature so that the virus definitions are updated whenever the computer is connected to the Internet.

Effectiveness: Even though an antivirus software can catch almost every malware, it is still not 100% foolproof against all kinds of threats. As explained earlier, a zero-day threat can easily bypass the protective shield of the antivirus software. Also virus authors have tried to stay a step ahead by writing “oligomorphic“, “polymorphic” and, more recently, “metamorphic” virus codes, which will encrypt parts of themselves or otherwise modify themselves as a method of disguise, so as to not match virus signatures in the dictionary.

Thus user education is as important as antivirus software; users must be trained to practice safe surfing habits such as downloading files only from trusted websites and not blindly executing a program that is unknown or obtained from an untrusted source. I hope this article will help you understand the working of an antivirus software.

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How to Hack Windows Administrator Password

This hack will show you how to reset Windows administrator password (for Win 2000, XP, Vista and Win 7) at times when you forget it or when you want to gain access to a computer for which you do not know the password.

Most of us have experienced a situation where in we need to gain access to a computer which is password protected or at times we may forget the administrator password without which it becomes impossible to login to the computer. So here is an excellent hack using which you can reset the password or make the password empty (remove the password) so that you can gain administrator access to the computer. You can do this with a small tool called  Offline NT Password & Registry Editor. This utility works offline, that means you need to shut down your computer and boot off your using a floppy disk, CD or USB device (such as pen drive). The tool has the following features.

• You do not need to know the old password to set a new one
• Will detect and offer to unlock locked or disabled out user accounts!
• There is also a registry editor and other registry utilities that works under linux/unix, and can be used for other things than password editing.

How it works?

Most Windows operating systems stores the login passwords and other encrypted passwords in a file called sam (Security Accounts Manager). This file can be usually found in \windows\system32\config. This file is a part of Windows registry and remains inaccessible as long as the OS is active. Hence it is necessary that you need to boot off your computer and access this sam file via boot. This tool intelligently gains access to this file and will reset/remove the password associated with administrator or any other account.

The download link for both CD and floppy drives along with the complete instructions is given below
Offline NT Password & Reg Editor Download

It is recommended that you download the CD version of the tool since floppy drive is outdated and doesn’t exist in today’s computer. Once you download you’ll get a bootable image which you need to burn it onto your CD. Now boot your computer from this CD and follow the screen instructions to reset the password.

Another simple way to reset non-administrator account passwords

Here is another simple way through which you can reset the password of any non-administrator accounts. The only requirement for this is that you need to have administrator privileges. Here is a step-by-step instruction to accomplish this task.

1. Open the command prompt (Start->Run->type cmd->Enter)
2. Now type net user and hit Enter
3. Now the system will show you a list of user accounts on the computer. Say for example you need to reset the password of the account by name John, then do as follows
4. Type net user John * and hit Enter. Now the system will ask you to enter the new password for the account. That’s it. Now you’ve successfully reset the password for John without knowing his old password.
So in this way you can reset the password of any Windows account at times when you forget it so that you need not re-install your OS for any reason. I hope this helps.

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What is Keylogger?

Just like in any other things, to be able to detect things and to know how to prevent it, you must be aware of how it works. Keylogger is a software program that tracks your online act and keyboard stroke. This software is used by thieves in accessing your accounts
 How does keylogger works?

You wont even notice that your computer slows down. Key logger works just like a thief in the night. It records your keyboard stroke and all the information you typed. Key loggers are usually used by the company to record their employees activities, or at home when parents want to monitor their kids computer activities. However, when key loggers are used by hackers, their intention is to manipulate your account and use it for their personal interest. This is extremely dangerous.

When another party accessed your account, all the information can be used without your actual consent. This can be dangerous, as that means they can transfer, purchase and transact on your behalf. Even worse, they can manipulate your whole account like websites, social accounts, etc. And for some, retrieving it can be very difficult.

What you need to know about keylogger

There are 2 types of keyloggers: The software-based keyloggers and the hardware based key. The software based keyloggers are software that are designed to work on the computer operating system while hardware-based keyloggers do not need software as they can be found at the hardware level of your computer system.

How To Protect Your Computer From Keylogger

Now that you know the risks of being a victim of keylogger, the next question is, is there a way to avoid it? The answer is yes!

You can opt for one of more of the following:Use Anti-keylogger software. This software works by detecting keyloggers on your computer.

• Using live CD/USB. You can reboot your computer with teh use of live cd or usb ( USB must be write protected). Booting using a different operating system does not affect the use of hardware or BIOS based keylogger.

• Using anti-spyware and anti-virus programs. It is important that you update them regularly.

• Using robo-forms or any automatic form filler. This will lessen the needs for you to type details and passwords using the keyboard.

• Use a firewall to help stop unauthorized computer activities.

• Avoid opening email attachments from unknown source.

• Avoid suing public computers in accessing your online accounts.

• Run weekly scan to your computers.

Remember that there is no particular software or technique that will be 100% effective against all kinds of keyloggers. You can protect yourself  by being extra careful in opening websites and downloading applications. You are more protected from being keylogger victim when you know you have to be extra careful.

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