DIGITAL SANKALP: HOW TO GUIDES

Showing posts with label HOW TO GUIDES. Show all posts

How to Move the My Documents Folder

How to Move the My Documents Folder

Moving the "My Documents" folder to another drive or partition in Windows XP is easier than you think (Not applicable to V...

10:20 am

How to Find Out Which Windows Process is Using a File

How to Find Out Which Windows Process is Using a File

Ever try to delete, move, or rename a file only to get a Windows system warning with something like one of these messages? "C...

10:18 am

How to Know If Your Computer Is Infected

<h1 class="title" style="margin:0px 0px 12px;padding:0px 42px 0px 0px;font-size:1.833em;line-height:1.2727em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(177,194,211);clear:left;font-family:'Myriad Pro','Myriad Web Pro Regular','Lucida Grande',Geneva,'Trebuchet MS',sans-serif;color:rgb(51,51,51);background-color:rgb(253,253,253)"> These days malicious software is becoming an epidemic. It seems like it’s everywhere. Also, sadly, there's been a change in the way malware acts. It used to be that it would slow down your computer, or display annoying popups, but now malware is becoming increasingly discreet. You could be infected right now and not even know it. Also, sadly, it often seems as if the only way to make sure you’re not infected is to scan your computer with numerous anti-malware programs. Doing this can be time consuming and, while scanning, may even slow your computer to a crawl. Even after that you still can’t be sure you're clean. This is because scanners cannot recognize all new malware. </h1><div id="content-content" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;width:537.59375px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:20.799999237060547px;background-color:rgb(253,253,253)"> <div id="node-4649" class="node odd full-node node-type-article" style="margin:0px 0px 30px;padding:0px"><div class="content" style="margin:0px;padding:20px 0px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(177,194,211)">  Because of these difficulties I have come up with a better method. This uses multiple programs, not to remove files, but just to analyze the computer. Each of these programs is very effective and easy to use. They are all portable applications and will not cause any conflicts on your computer because they are only running when you're using them. However, they do require an active internet connection to function properly. Don't worry, this guide will also help you to fix your internet connection in the event that it is not working. After you have already gone through the below process once, and had all files whitelisted, this approach is much faster, much more certain, and much easier than any other approach I've seen. No active malware can escape this process. However, inactive pieces of malware may not be flagged by this approach but may be found by other scanners. Rest assured that these are not direct threats to the safety of your computer and thus do not constitute a failure of this article.  This article is meant for those who believe it's possible, but are not sure, that malware is running on their computer. If you strongly believe that malware is running on your computer I would advise that you immediately reboot the computer into Safe Mode and follow the advice in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-clean-infected-computer.htm#How_To_Clean_Your_Computer_And_Make_Sure_Its_Actually_Clean" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this section</a>of my article about How to Clean An Infected Computer. The reason I say that is that some malware will immediately start doing things such as encrypting files. Thus, the longer your computer is running in normal mode the greater the damage will be. However, if you only have fleeting suspicious that something may be amiss on your computer I recommend that you follow the below advice to find out for sure.  I also want to stress that in order to make sure that your computer is not infected you must follow each step. None is meant to be used independently. Each depends on the others to account for different infection scenarios. Also, if any step shows definite evidence of an infection you should move directly to the section which explains <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#How_To_Clean_Infections_From_Computer" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">How To Clean Infections From Computer</a>. There is no reason to continue your investigation if your computer is already found to be infected.  <h2 class="rtecenter" style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;text-align:center;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:20.7947998046875px"> Index</h2>1. <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#What_To_Do_If_Computer_Is_Unbootable" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">What To Do If Computer Is Unbootable</a> 2. <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Check-For-Rootkits" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Check for Rootkits</a> 3. <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Use-KillSwitch" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Use KillSwitch</a>     A) <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Use_KillSwitch_To_Investigate_Running_Processes" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Use KillSwitch To Investigate Running Processes</a>     B) <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Analyze_KillSwitch_Results" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Analyze KillSwitch Results</a>     C) <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Submit_Unknown_Files_Which_Are_Probably_Safe_To_Comodo_For_Whitelisting" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Submit Unknown Files Which Are Probably Safe To Comodo For Whitelisting</a> 4. <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Use-Comodo-Autoruns" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Use Comodo Autoruns</a>     A) <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Use_Comodo_Autoruns_To_Investigate_Registry_Entries" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Use Comodo Autoruns To Investigate Registry Entries</a>     B) <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Analyze_Comodo_Autoruns_Results" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Analyze Comodo Autoruns Results</a>     C) <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Submit_Unknown_Files_Which_Are_Probably_Safe_To_Comodo_For_Whitelisting_2" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">Submit Unknown Files Which Are Probably Safe To Comodo For Whitelisting</a> 5. <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#How_To_Clean_Infections_From_Computer" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">How To Clean Infections From Computer</a>  <h2 class="rtecenter" style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;text-align:center;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:30.621070861816406px"> <a name="What_To_Do_If_Computer_Is_Unbootable" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>1. What To Do If Computer Is Unbootable</h2>  Note that if your computer is able to boot into Windows you should skip directly to the <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Check-For-Rootkits" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">next section</a>. However, if your computer is not able to boot into Windows I would first advise that you follow the advice I give in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-fix-malware-infected-computer.htm#What_To_Do_If_Your_Computer_Cannot_Start" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this section</a> of an article I wrote about How to Fix a Malware Infected Computer. It may be able to help make your computer bootable again. Then, once it's fixed, you can begin following the advice in the <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Check-For-Rootkits" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">next section</a> to see if your computer is infected.  Note that if the advice in that section of the other article is not able to fix your problems you should not follow part D in that article, but instead follow the advice given in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-clean-infected-computer.htm#Make-Bootable-Disk" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this section</a> of an article I wrote about How to Clean An Infected Computer. It's possible that the reason that your computer cannot boot is because of malware. Thus cleaning it may be the only way to get the computer running again.  <h2 align="center" style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:20.7947998046875px"> <a name="Check-For-Rootkits" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>2. Check for Rootkits</h2>  It's important to ensure that there are no active <a href="http://searchmidmarketsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/rootkit" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">rootkits</a> on your computer. To do this first scan your computer with Kaspersky TDSSKiller. It can be downloaded from <a href="http://support.kaspersky.com/us/viruses/utility" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>. Note that if the executable version is not working correctly you should instead download the zip file containing the same scanner. At this same time download the zip file for Comodo Cleaning Essentials from <a href="http://forums.comodo.com/news-announcements-feedback-cce/comodo-cleaning-essentials-25242177201-released-t85408.0.html;msg610135#msg610135" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>.  Make sure to select the correct version for your operating system. If you're not sure if your computer is running a 32 or 64 bit operating system then please see <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-NZ/windows7/32-bit-and-64-bit-Windows-frequently-asked-questions" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this FAQ</a>. Note that if neither will not download correctly, or your internet connection is not working, you should download them on another computer and transfer them to the infected one via a flash drive. Make sure there were no other files on the flash drive. Be careful with the flash drive as the malware may actually infect it when you plug it into the computer. Thus, don't plug it into any other computers after transferring these programs.  Kaspersky TDSSKiller will scan your computer for some of the most common types of rootkits. I've found it to have relatively few false positives and a very high detection rate. By the way, some scanners, including Comodo Cleaning Essentials, may detect this file as a dangerous file. It is not. This is a safe download link. If it is flagged as dangerous you can safely ignore the detection. As with every program in this article, I recommend that you do not quarantine any files using this program. A false positive on the wrong file could destroy your computer, even if you’re not infected.  <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/Kaspersky%20TDSSKiller_Large.jpg" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/Kaspersky%20TDSSKiller_Small.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; float: right; width: 200px; height: 183px;"></a> To use this it open the file called TDSSKiller. Then select the option to “Start Scan”. This scan should take less than a minute. If it does find anything then it's likely that your computer is infected. However, if you believe the detected files are not dangerous you can investigate them to see if they are false positives. However, if it does appear that the files are dangerous I would suggest that you skip to the <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#How_To_Clean_Infections_From_Computer" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">last section</a> of this article in order to deal with this infection. However, if it does not find any rootkit activity then you should next check your computer with Comodo Cleaning Essentials. <div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> </div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px">Unzip the folder for CCE. Then double click on the file called CCE. This will open the main program for Comodo Cleaning Essentials. If it refuses to open then hold down the shift key and, while still holding it down, double click on the file called CCE. After CCE has successfully opened you can let go of the shift key. However, do not let go of it until the program has fully loaded. If you let go of it even during the UAC popup it may not be able to forcefully open correctly. Holding down shift should allow it to open, even on heavily infected computers. It does this by killing most of the unnecessary processes that could be interfering with its launch. If it still will not launch then download and run a program called RKill. This can be downloaded from <a href="http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>. This program will terminate known malicious processes. Thus, after running it CCE should be able to open fine. Do not remove or disable anything with CCE as it can be very dangerous if used improperly. We are only using its analytical abilities. Please do not use it to try and clean up any infections or you could inadvertently harm your computer.</div> <div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> </div>Now select the option to do a smart scan with CCE. It will immediately begin downloading the most recent virus database, which may take a long time to complete. Once it has completed downloading, the scan will begin immediately. This will scan your computer for all types of malware.  The scan should not take too long to complete. As before, I recommend that you do not quarantine any files using this program. One problem with this program is that I do find it to have a few false positives. Thus the best option, in order to be sure of the results from its scan, is to report any files detected as dangerous, which you believe may be safe, to Comodo for analysis.  Sadly there is no easy way to navigate to the files detected by the scan. You will have to manually navigate to the path indicated in the scan results in order to get to them. Note that if you do not want to investigate them right now you can select the option to ignore each detection. Then allow finish and restart your computer. Next time you open CCE you can go to "Tools" and choose "Browse logs". The detections you chose to ignore, along with their file paths, should be stored in the most recent log. To report the detected files as false positives you should go to <a href="http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/submit.php" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>. Then select false positive, upload the files in question, fill out the required information, and select submit. Comodo analysts will send you an email with the results of their analysis.  <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/CCE_Large_0.jpg" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/CCE_Small_0.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; float: right; width: 200px; height: 145px;"></a> This program also scans for system changes which may have been caused by malware. These will also be shown with the results. If you did not make these changes yourself then this could possibly be evidence that there is malware on your computer. I would recommend letting CCE fix these items, but not anything else, and continuing with the rest of the article to see if there is any more evidence of infection. I would not consider unwanted system modifications to be definitive evidence of an infection.  After the scan is complete it will ask you to restart your computer. Allow it to restart. Do not open any unnecessary programs as this will make the next step simpler. Once again I will remind you to not quarantine any files with this program. Once it restarts it will pop up with the final results. If it did not find anything, and neither did any of the above methods, then you can continue on to the <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Use-KillSwitch" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">next step</a>. However, if it did find infections, and Comodo analysts also found them to be malicious, then I would advise that you skip to the <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#How_To_Clean_Infections_From_Computer" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">last section</a> in order to clean the infections.  Also, if your internet connection was not working please check again to see if it is now working. If not then you should go to <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-fix-malware-infected-computer.htm#Use_Windows_Repair_Kit_To_Fix_Most_Problems" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this section</a> of my guide about How to Fix a Malware Infected Computer and follow the advice given to fix your internet connection. A working internet connection is required for the remaining steps of this guide.  <h2 align="center" style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:20.7947998046875px"> <a name="Use-KillSwitch" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>3. Use KillSwitch</h2>  <a name="Use_KillSwitch_To_Investigate_Running_Processes" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>A) Use KillSwitch To Investigate Running Processes If the above steps did not find any malware activity then you should again open Comodo Cleaning Essentials (CCE). However, this time you should go to "Tools" and select the option to "Open KillSwitch". KillSwitch which will immediately begin analyzing all of your running processes. This analysis should only take a minute or so. Without waiting for the analysis to complete you can go to “View” and select “Hide Safe Processes”. This will hide all processes that are verified to be safe by Comodo. The reason I asked you not to open any other programs in the above step is because malware will nearly always run on system startup, while many legitimate programs will not. Thus there will be fewer processes to examine.  <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/KillSwitch_Large.jpg" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/KillSwitch_Small.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; float: right; width: 171px; height: 200px;"></a> Once the analysis is complete all that are left are those programs which are either believed to be dangerous or are not in Comodo's whitelist. The latter type is denoted as FLS.Unknown. Be aware that unknown does not mean dangerous. It only means that the file has not yet been whitelisted by Comodo.  <a name="Analyze_KillSwitch_Results" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>B) Analyze KillSwitch Results If KillSwitch now shows that “There are no items to show”, then your computer passed this part of the tests. You can move on to <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Use-Comodo-Autoruns" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">part 3</a>. However, if there are files remaining in the list then you should investigate them. In order to do this you first need to navigate to the files. To do this right click on the process in question and select “Jump to Folder”. This will open up the folder where the associated file is located and select the file as well.  For files which are flagged as dangerous or suspicious, but which you believe may actually be safe, I would recommend that you report them as a false positive on <a href="http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/submit.php" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>. Just select false positive and fill out the required information. Comodo analysts will get back to you by email with the results of their analysis. In this way you can easily find out for sure if the files really are dangerous or not.  However, for those files which you think may be dangerous, but are only flagged as FLS.Unknown, you can check them yourself by following the methods discussed in my article about <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-tell-if-file-malicious.htm" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">How to Tell if a File is Malicious</a>. Also, if this verdict does in fact indicate that the files are likely safe, you can then submit them for addition to the Comodo Whitelist by following the advice given in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Submit_Unknown_Files_Which_Are_Probably_Safe_To_Comodo_For_Whitelisting" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">part C</a>. <div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> </div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"><a name="Submit_Unknown_Files_Which_Are_Probably_Safe_To_Comodo_For_Whitelisting" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>C) Submit Unknown Files Which Are Probably Safe To Comodo For Whitelisting</div> For those files which are flagged as FLS.Unknown, but which you believe are probably safe, the most efficient way to analyze them is to submit them to Comodo for whitelisting. Instructions for how to submit programs, or individual files that belong to programs, can be found in <a href="http://forums.comodo.com/news-announcements-feedback-cis/submit-applications-here-to-be-whitelisted-2014-t100712.0.html" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this topic</a> of the Comodo forum. Make sure you read through the first post entirely and follow all recommendations. This will ensure that your request is completed as quickly as possible. However, do note that in order to submit programs, or files, you do need to have an account on the Comodo forums. If you don't already have one then it's very easy to get one. There is an option to register on the top of any page on the Comodo forums. Also, if you cannot locate the folder indicated in the KillSwitch results that may be because some folders are hidden by default by Windows. To tell Windows to show you those folders please follow the advice on <a href="http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=74220" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>.  These submissions will be analyzed by Comodo staff and, if appropriate, added to the whitelist. However, do note that it may take the analysts days, or even a few weeks, to complete their analysis. This all depends on how many submissions they are also trying to analyze. If you feel that you cannot wait for their analysis then you also have the option of analyzing them manually by following the advice I give in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-tell-if-file-malicious.htm" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">How to Tell if a File is Malicious</a>.  That said, the greatest advantage to the whitelisting approach is that you won't have to do any analysis of your own and the next time you check your computer the files will already be whitelisted and nothing will need to be done. In fact, you submit all the safe programs on your computer for whitelisting then, once they're whitelisted, the next time you scan with KillSwitch there should not be any more unknown processes for you to examine. Thus, it becomes an incredibly easy task to ensure that your computer is still clean of infections. In fact, my computer always shows a completely blank screen after selecting the option to “Hide Safe Processes”. This allows me to ensure that my system has passed this test in less than one minute. Please note that depending on your computer, and your internet connection speed, this time may vary. Once you're done with this part you can close KillSwitch.  <h2 align="center" style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:20.7947998046875px"> <a name="Use-Comodo-Autoruns" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>4. Use Comodo Autoruns</h2>  <a name="Use_Comodo_Autoruns_To_Investigate_Registry_Entries" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>A) Use Comodo Autoruns To Investigate Registry Entries Now, through CCE, which should still be open, again go to the "Tools" menu. This time select the option to "Open Autorun Analyzer". This program will analyze the registry and show you the files associated with each item. Almost all malware will write to the registry. Thus, by scanning for all files associated with registry entries, this program can identify malware and unknown files, even if they aren't running. It may even be useful in identifying rootkits, although that is not its primary purpose. The downside to using this program is that it will potentially give you more files to check than the above methods. However, if you really want to be sure that your computer is clean then this step is also necessary. As before, do not delete/disable anything with this program as it can be very dangerous if used improperly. We are only using its analytical abilities. Please do not use it to try and clean up any infections or you could inadvertently harm your computer.  <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/Autoruns_Large.jpg" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank"><img alt="" src="http://www.techsupportalert.com/files/images/Autoruns_Small.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; float: right; width: 190px; height: 200px;"></a> After Comodo Autoruns opens it will immediately begin compiling the list. This process could take a couple of minutes to complete. Without waiting for the list to finish being compiled you can go to “View” and select “Hide Safe Entries". Note that this option will now be pre-checked every subsequent time you run the program. Once the list is compiled Comodo Autoruns will automatically begin analyzing each entry. Wait until all entries have been analyzed. If this is the first time you have run this program, you should now close it and then open it again. I find that this often allows Comodo time to analyze some of the unknown files so that this time there will be less to check.  If Autoruns now shows that “There are no items to show” your computer passed this part of the tests. If it also passed all of the above steps then there is definitely no active malware on your computer.  If your computer passed all of the above steps, but you are experiencing problems with your computer, it's possible that the problem that you're experiencing is due to hardware or software issues. I would recommend that you first try searching online for symptoms similar to what your computer is suffering from to see if they match something other than malware. Also, an article I have written about <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-fix-malware-infected-computer.htm" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">How to Fix a Malware Infected Computer</a> may be of use to you. It was written mainly to fix probelms due to malware, but the advice given should be able to fix many other types of software problems as well.  <a name="Analyze_Comodo_Autoruns_Results" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>B) Analyze Comodo Autoruns Results However, if there are still entries left over you should begin analyzing them. However, note that there is currently a minor bug with Comodo Autoruns. This sometimes causes the program to flag files which are actually known safe as FLS.Unknown. Thus, I would advise that if you see many files flagged as unknown, which you believe should be flagged as safe, that you close Comodo Autoruns and then open it again to see if the files are still unknown.  Also, note that you can make sure the virus database is fully up to date by always running a Smart Scan with CCE just before checking with Comodo Autoruns. This makes this problem much more rare. However, if you have previuosly run a Smart Scan and let the computer restart, and nothing was found, you do not need to have it restart just to make sure the virus database is fully updated. Just let the scan finish, and then, instead of letting it restart the computer, first close the results window without selecting any actions. Then right click on the CCE icon in the taskbar and choose exit. This will close the process and not allow it to restart your computer. You can then safely re-open CCE and use it to open Comodo Autoruns.  To get to the files which these entries are associated with, right click on an entry and select “Jump to Folder”. This will open up the folder where the associated file is located and select the file as well. Also, with this program you will find that often a single file has numerous entries, which means that often there’s not nearly as much analysis to be done as there would seem to be.  Just as was done for KillSwitch, for files which are flagged as dangerous or suspicious, but which you believe may actually be safe, I would recommend that you report them as a false positive on <a href="http://www.comodo.com/home/internet-security/submit.php" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>. Just select false positive and fill out the required information. Comodo analysts will get back to you by email with the results of their analysis. In this way you can easily find out for sure if the files really are dangerous or not. Also, if you cannot locate the folder indicated in the results that may be because some folders are hidden by default by Windows. To tell Windows to show you those folders please follow the advice on <a href="http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=74220" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>.  However, for those files which you think may be dangerous, but are only flagged as FLS.Unknown, you can also check them yourself by following the methods discussed in my article about <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-tell-if-file-malicious.htm" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">How to Tell if a File is Malicious</a>. Also, if this verdict does in fact indicate that the files are likely safe, you can then submit them for addition to the Comodo Whitelist by following the advice given in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-know-if-your-computer-infected.htm#Submit_Unknown_Files_Which_Are_Probably_Safe_To_Comodo_For_Whitelisting_2" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px">part C</a>.  <a name="Submit_Unknown_Files_Which_Are_Probably_Safe_To_Comodo_For_Whitelisting_2" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>C) Submit Unknown Files Which Are Probably Safe To Comodo For Whitelisting For those files which are flagged as FLS.Unknown, but which you believe are probably safe, the most efficient way to analyze them is to submit them to Comodo for whitelisting. Instructions for how to submit programs, or individual files that belong to programs, can be found in <a href="http://forums.comodo.com/news-announcements-feedback-cis/submit-applications-here-to-be-whitelisted-2014-t100712.0.html" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this topic</a> of the Comodo forum. Make sure you read through the first post entirely and follow all recommendations. This will ensure that your request is completed as quickly as possible. However, do note that in order to submit programs, or files, you need to have an account on the Comodo forums. If you don't already have one then it's very easy to get one. There is an option to register on the top of any page on the Comodo forums. Also, if you cannot locate the folder indicated in the Autoruns results that may be because some folders are hidden by default by Windows. To tell Windows to show you those folders please follow the advice on <a href="http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=74220" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">this page</a>.  These submissions will be analyzed by Comodo staff and, if appropriate, added to the whitelist. However, do note that it may take the analysts days, or even a few weeks, to complete their analysis. This all depends on how many submissions they are also trying to analyze. In addition, if you feel that you cannot wait for the analysis of Comodo staff then you also have the option of analyzing them manually by following the advice I give in <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-tell-if-file-malicious.htm" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">How to Tell if a File is Malicious</a>.  That said, the greatest advantage to the whitelisting approach is that you won't have to do any analysis of your own and the next time you check your computer the files will already be whitelisted and nothing will need to be done. In fact, you submit all the safe programs on your computer for whitelisting then, once they're whitelisted, the next time you scan with Comodo Autoruns there should not be any more unknown processes for you to examine. Thus, it becomes an incredibly easy task to ensure that your computer is still clean of infections. In fact, my computer always shows a completely blank screen after selecting the option to “Hide Safe Entries”. This allows me to ensure that my system has passed this test in just a few minutes. Please note that depending on your computer, and your internet connection speed, this time may vary.  <h2 align="center" style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:20.7947998046875px"> <a name="How_To_Clean_Infections_From_Computer" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px"></a>5. How To Clean Infections From Computer</h2>  If any of these methods does show that your computer is infected you should check out my article about <a href="http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-clean-infected-computer.htm" style="color:rgb(52,82,201);margin:0px;padding:0px" target="_blank">How to Clean An Infected Computer</a>. The advice in this article will allow you to remove almost any infection and get your computer back to working order.     <h2 style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px 0px 4px 4px;font-size:1.333em;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(202,203,205);line-height:30.621070861816406px"> </h2><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px"> If you have any problems, or are confused by my directions, please leave a comment below and I will try to help. Trust me, if you are having a problem then so are many others. I need to know this so that I can improve the article and make it usable for everyone. Also, and this is especially important, if you find a situation in which none of these methods shows evidence of an infection, but the system is definitely infected, please let me know. I have seen no evidence of this happening, but if I do receive proof of a bypass then I will need to rethink my strategy </div></div></div></div>

How to Know If Your Computer Is Infected

These days malicious software is becoming an epidemic. It seems like it’s everywhere. Also, sadly, there's been a change in the way ma...

10:16 am

How to get the most out of wireless network on Windows 8

<div class="timetxt" style="font-size:0.75em;line-height:12px;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 10px"> </div> <div class="photo" style="padding:10px 0px 10px 10px;font-size:0.75em;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);line-height:14px"><img border="0" src="http://m.timesofindia.com/thumb.cms?msid=25260532&width=283&resizemode=4" style="width: 286px; height: 209px; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); float: left;"><div class="clear" style="clear:both;height:3px"> </div>Here are some tips that can help you in making the most out of wireless connectivity on Windows 8 platform.</div><div style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:14px;padding:5px"></div><div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"> <div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px">Connecting to a wireless network in Windows 8 is far less painful than it was in Windows 7. However, a few things that should be easy and obvious are in fact a bit tricky.  You may be having problems connecting to a wireless network in Windows 8, or find that you're regularly entering PEAP credentials each time you want to get online. You might find that your device connects to the wrong wireless network, or simply want to use it as a wireless hotspot.  While none of these things are clear from day to day use of Windows 8, they are, however, easily done - once you know how.  Connecting to a wireless network in Windows 8  We'll start with the basics - how do you connect to a wireless network in Windows 8? By default, most new Windows 8 computers will be set to connect to wireless networks automatically as the operating system boots. As such, you should see an alert informing you that a network has been found; an open network will be connected to, with Windows asking you how you wish to treat the connection (as a trusted, "home" network or as a less secure option, "work"). Secure networks will require authentication, of course.  What if Wi-Fi isn't already enabled in Windows 8?  Begin by swiping in from the right to open the Charms bar and select Settings. Here you should see an icon labelled Unavailable, with a red circle and cross accompanying a typical wireless network symbol. Tap this, and switch Wi-Fi to On in order to prompt the computer to check the nearby network connections. When you're ready to go online, tap a network name and then Connect, adding any further information (such as WEP, WPA or PEAP authentication) when prompted. If you would rather do things the old-fashioned way, open the desktop view and browse to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Setup a new connection or network > Manually connect to a wireless network.  Changing the priority of Wi-Fi networks natively  As you may have noticed, there are various things from Windows 7 that didn't make it through to Windows 8. One of these was a wireless network manager, enabling you to prioritise a particular wireless network to connect to if several were listed. In Windows 8 this isn't possible within the user interface (neither the mouse driven traditional desktop view, nor the "Modern" touch menu), so the default action is to skip tapping the Connect automatically, making the whole connection process a lot more manual.  Fortunately, there is a way around this that doesn't rely on third party tools (although some are available). Begin by switching to the Start screen and typing command to search for the Command Prompt tool (simpler to use than you might think); in Windows 8, this will be listed twice, Command Prompt and Command Prompt as Administrator. Choose the second option, agreeing with the user access warning. In Windows 8.1, the search results will simply list Command Prompt once - you'll need to right-click and select Run as administrator to continue.  At the prompt, enter: netsh wlan show profiles  The resulting list will show all wireless networks detected to date by your Windows 8 machine, those you've connected to and some you have not. You'll probably also notice that your preferred network isn't at the top of the list.  Using the interface and profile names, you can resolve this.netsh wlan set profileorder name="[WIRELESS_NETWORK_NAME]" interface="Wi-Fi" priority=1For instance, if I wanted "citadel" to be my preferred connection, I would enter: netsh wlan set profile order name="citadel" interface="Wi-Fi" priority=1Note the use of the "priority" condition, which can be used throughout the list to specify a preferred second, third and fourth connection; as many as are required.  To confirm your change has worked, use the netsh wlan show profiles command again. You should now see that your preferred network is listed first.  Use third party tools to set preferred wireless networks  If the steps above seem too much like the dark arts to you, then you might prefer the Wi-Fi Profile Manager 8 donationware app, available free online from The Windows Club. If you're not sure what donationware is, our guide to researching free software should explain. Wi-Fi Profile Manager 8 offers tools that allow you to:  View the preferred network profiles, change list order, export to XML, import from XML and remove profiles. This useful app is an executable and can be quickly run (as opposed to installed), enabling you to set a primary wireless profile by right-clicking and selecting Make Default. Other profiles can be repositioned in the list using the Move Up and Move Down options in the same menu, and older profiles discarded with Remove.  Remember PEAP authentication in Windows 8  Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol is a modern wireless networking protocol that offers improved security over WEP and WPA. It is supported in Windows 8, but unlike the more widely used WEP and WPA, connecting to a wireless network using PEAP requires you to enter your username and password and the intended domain each time you connect.  This is, of course, inconvenient. Fortunately, Windows 8 can be configured to save your PEAP Wi-Fi connection details.  Open the Charms menu to begin, select the PEAP network connection and right-click to display the context menu; choose View connection properties to continue, displaying Wireless Network Properties. From here, open Security > Advanced Settings.  On the 802.1x tab, put a check in the box to activate Specify authentication mode and ensure that the User authentication option is selected, followed by Replace/Save credentials. Following this, enter the network credentials, click OK and then reconnect - you won't need to update these details again!  Turn Windows 8 into a wireless hotspot  What about sharing your Windows 8 computer's Internet connection? Can you turn a Windows 8 device into a wireless hotspot?  Well, as a matter of fact, yes you can. Using Connectify - available from <a href="http://www.connectify.me/download">www.connectify.me/download</a> in free and premium ($25/year, $40/lifetime) versions - you can set up your Windows 8 computer as a wireless hotspot, sharing Ethernet, Wi-Fi or even connections from a 3G/4G dongle! Once installed (you'll need to reboot your PC afterwards), all you need to do is create a name for the hotspot, specify the connection you're sharing and generate a password, before clicking Start Hotspot. Anyone nearby will then be able to use your computer as a wireless hotspot to gain access to the Internet. You can also use Connectify to create ad hoc local networks for file sharing between computers!  Note that there are other tools; however, Connectify is the best option we've found for this so far.  Maximise Windows 8's wireless networking capabilities  Some of you reading this might be thinking "why doesn't Microsoft include all of these tools and features as standard within the desktop or modern user interface?" After all, mobile devices can be turned into wireless hotspots with native software, so why not PCs?  The answer, of course, lies somewhere between "don't know" and "Microsoft provide a platform for developers to fill in the gaps." However, the fact that Windows 7 includes the ability to easily prioritise a particular wireless network over others, while the same feature in Windows 8 can only be accessed via the command line, is one that can leave you perplexed.</div> </div>

How to get the most out of wireless network on Windows 8

Here are some tips that can help you in making the most out of wireless connectivity on Windows 8 platform. Connecting to a wireless n...

9:14 am

How to share MS Office documents on Windows Phone with SkyDrive

<div class="timetxt" style="font-size:0.75em;line-height:12px;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 10px">www.digitalsankalp.org</div> <div class="photo" style="padding:10px 0px 10px 10px;font-size:0.75em;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);line-height:14px"><img border="0" src="http://m.timesofindia.com/thumb.cms?msid=25593258&width=283&resizemode=4" style="width: 286px; height: 209px; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); float: left;"><div class="clear" style="clear:both;height:3px"> </div>Here are some handy tips to share MS Office documents on your Windows Phone with SkyDrive.</div><div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"> <div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px">One of the main benefits of Microsoft Office Mobile on Windows Phone is the presence of SkyDrive, and the various sharing options available. In fact, you can be remarkably productive with the slimmed down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote!  We previously looked at Microsoft Office Mobile and Office 365, and the different ways in which Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote can be used on a Windows Phone device.  However, we overlooked the real strength of the integration - SkyDrive. Thanks to improvements in SkyDrive and Microsoft's browser-based version of Office, you can start a project on your phone, pick it up in the browser on a hot desk PC and finish it off on your desktop computer.  All of this is without sending a single email!  Opening and creating documents in Office Mobile  Office tasks on Windows Phone start in the Office Hub, available from the apps list. It can also be added as a shortcut on your Start screen.muo-wp8-office-skydrivePlaces is the first screen you will see, where documents stored on your phone, any open email attachments and access to SkyDrive and Office 365 (if you have a subscription) are available.  SkyDrive is the important element here, as this will give you access to any existing documents saved to your Microsoft cloud storage service.(Be aware that although PowerPoint documents can be viewed and edited on Windows Phone, they cannot be created.)  Write and sync a report, article or spreadsheet with Microsoft Office Mobile  The best thing about all of this is that it takes place in the background - once an article is created or edited, syncing occurs behind the scenes. For anyone who used Microsoft Office Mobile with the old Windows Mobile platform, this is clearly a massive improvement!  Opening an existing document on your SkyDrive is easy - swipe to SkyDrive, then scroll to the document you want and tap it to open. You can then spellcheck, reformat and do anything you need!  To create and sync any work you're doing in Microsoft Word Mobile, first ensure your phone is connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi or 3G/4G. Open the menu, tap Save or Save as..., enter a filename and select where you want to save the file to. In order to make a file available on SkyDrive you'll need to select this option.  Note that if you're creating a new Word file, three templates - Agenda, Outline and Report - are available to help you save time. Similarly, Excel has three templates: Budget, Event schedule and Mileage tracker.  Accessing your Office documents in SkyDrive  A Windows Live account has come a long way since the days of Windows Messenger. Now that Hotmail, Windows Live and others have been unified under the Outlook banner, online email, calendar and contact management, cloud storage with SkyDrive and browser-based office apps are available in one package.  Documents created on Windows Phone and saved to SkyDrive can be easily opened by signing into SkyDrive.com with the same Microsoft account you use on your phone and finding the file in your cloud storage account. This can then be launched in your browser via Edit Document > Edit in Word or Edit in Word Web App. Similar options are available for Excel.muo-wp8-office-edit-browserIf you have Office 2013 installed on your PC, the document can also be opened from SkyDrive using the integrated tool in Windows Explorer navigation pane. Do you have an Office 365 subscription? If the computer you're using doesn't have Office installed, you can open the document in a temporary version of Word, Excel or PowerPoint on a suitably-equipped PC running Windows 7 or later.  Make Notes with OneNote  We'll avoid spending too much time on OneNote - our recent guide Five Ways To Use Microsoft OneNote On Windows 8 covers this in far more detail - but be aware that SkyDrive is the real power behind OneNote on all devices.muo-wp8-onenote-todoAs long as you have a network connection, OneNote can sync to its browser based version as well as any post-Office 2010 releases (including OneNote MX on Windows 8).The potential of this setup is obvious, so if you are going to use any Microsoft Office Mobile app on Windows Phone or any other mobile platform, make sure it is OneNote. After all, I use it as a major part of my mobile working when there's no laptop around, and it's arguably a better mobile word processor than Word itself!  SkyDrive makes mobile productivity on Windows Phone work!  There are other sharing options for Microsoft Office Mobile documents on Windows Phone; Tap+Send (NFC) is one option, as is any email account you have set up. If you are a corporate user with access to SharePoint, meanwhile, this is also a choice.  SkyDrive is really the sauce that makes using a Windows Phone for office productivity worth the effort. Gone is the wooden USB syncing of old, there is no necessity to email documents and basically - to borrow a phrase from Apple - it just works.  In fact, despite its slow start and bad reputation, I would contend that SkyDrive is one of the few success stories of modern Microsoft. It certainly adds to Windows Phone.</div></div>

How to share MS Office documents on Windows Phone with SkyDrive

www.digitalsankalp.org Here are some handy tips to share MS Office documents on your Windows Phone with SkyDrive. One of the main bene...

9:06 am

Wireless charging: Still plenty of kinks in the cord

<div class="timetxt" style="font-size:0.75em;line-height:12px;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);margin:0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 10px"><img border="0" src="http://images.photogallery.indiatimes.com/images/spacer.gif" width="5">www.digitalsankalp.org</div> <div class="photo" style="padding:10px 0px 10px 10px;font-size:0.75em;font-family:arial;color:rgb(111,111,111);line-height:14px"><img border="0" src="http://m.timesofindia.com/thumb.cms?msid=30684801&width=283&resizemode=4" style="width: 286px; height: 209px; display: block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); float: left;"><div class="clear" style="clear:both;height:3px"> </div>Several charging covers are available for other Android phones and for many Nokia phones, like the Lumia 1020. </div><div class="storycontent_outer" style="font-size:0.91em;line-height:20px;font-family:georgia;margin:0px;padding:1px 5px"> <div class="storycontent" style="font-size:16px;line-height:normal;margin:0px;padding:5px">As personal devices proliferate - smartphones, wearable fitness bands, Kindles, tablets, smartglasses - our charger collections are starting to look like the electrical outlet in the movie "A Christmas Story."  Wireless charging to the rescue? Not quite. The concept has been caught in a slow-moving standards war.  That's not to say wireless charging capabilities aren't starting to creep into devices. Google's Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 phones and Nexus 7 tablet support wireless charging, and Google even makes its own wireless charger with the Nexus name. The Motorola Droid Maxx supports wireless charging, while a few other Android phones sort of do: the LG G2 only offers it on the Verizon model, and Samsung Galaxy S4 owners can spend $90 on an official wireless charging back cover and pad.  Several charging covers are available for other Android phones and for many Nokia phones, like the Lumia 1020. There's even a new, Indiegogo-funded wireless charging kit for iPhone, called the iQi.  So, interest is growing, but why don't more devices have wireless charging capability built in? The primary reason is, like so many things in tech, conflicting standards. Until last week, there were three separate groups pushing wireless charging standards. And phone, tablet and wearable makers are hesitant to tie their devices to a specific charging tech.  The Wireless Power Consortium backs the Qi (pronounced "chee") standard used in the iQi and in the accessories mentioned above, as well as the Nexus line. Qi is arguably the wireless charging leader, and support for the specification is built into some 400 devices from almost 200 different companies.  If you've seen Powermat chargers in Starbucks and McDonald's, those support the Power Matters Alliance standard. A third specification comes from Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP), which has Qualcomm as a founding member. Last week, though, the alliance and A4WP announced a merger, bringing the three major standards-bearers down to two.  Confused yet?  The two organizations employ similar, but not identical magnetic charging technologies: A4WP's newer resonance charging lets you charge multiple devices on a single charging pad without worrying too much about where they're placed. The alliance, on the other hand, uses inductive charging, which requires more precise placement for a device to charge properly.  Qi chargers use the more restrictive inductive charging, but the consortium showed off resonance charging devices at International CES in Las Vegas in January, and the standard supports the more flexible charging technique.  But other companies hope to sidestep the standards slog with their own innovations. The Israeli startup Humavox is pushing a new, wireless charging technology based not on magnetic induction, but on radio frequency. Its Eterna platform employs an extremely tiny receiver, originally designed for hearing aids, and a transmitter that can work in any kind of charging receptacle, from a pad to a bowl to a portable charging box.  Humavox wants to license its technology, rather than build products. But it's been showing off prototype devices including one it calls a "Nest," which is basically a small white bowl into which you can casually toss a jumble of fitness bands and phones and charge them in about the same amount of time as a charging cable.  The technology seems promising as a demonstration, primarily because the idea of tossing devices into a bowl for charging is endlessly appealing. But as with all platforms, success depends on adoption. Humavox says it's working with a few partners making semiconductors and health-related devices, but consumer brands are still slow to come around.  It's hard to say whether Humavox's entry will make things even more confusing or give manufacturers a good option. At least one other company, Ossia, is working on a wireless charging technology that uses radio frequencies, and there may be more in the works.  So for now - and please pardon the pun - wireless charging is still as tangled as the cords next to my bedside table.</div></div>

Wireless charging: Still plenty of kinks in the cord

www.digitalsankalp.org Several charging covers are available for other Android phones and for many Nokia phones, like the Lumia 1020. ...

9:02 am

How to share files between Android and Windows using Dropbox

How to share files between Android and Windows using Dropbox

http://www.digitalsankalp.org According to PC World, users can also upload files to Dropbox via 'upload here' option on the app...

8:52 am

How to print from Google Nexus tablet

How to print from Google Nexus tablet

www.digitalsankalp.org Third-party printing apps in the Google Play store offer a few ways to print from an Android tablet. Third-part...

10:25 am

Five steps for a better-looking TV

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 style="color: #39434d; font-family: HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold,'Helvetica Neue Bold','Arial Narrow',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 25px; line-height: 1em; margin: 0px;">New TVs ship with settings to make them look good in the store, not in your living room. Here are some some easy ways get your picture looking the way you want it. </h1><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">TV factory settings are generally designed to look good in bright, fluorescent retail stores -- not your living room. To get the best TV picture, you'll need to make some adjustments.</div><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:120px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-5122984711807769" data-ad-slot="3991233535"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">This guide begins with some of the simpler (but impactful) settings -- like disabling unnecessary features and adjusting basic options -- before diving into some of the more in-depth calibration techniques. Give it a whirl; if you make it through the fifth step, you're sure to have a better-looking TV.</div><div style="background-image: none; color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; min-height: auto; width: 300px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><img src="http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2014/01/31/ht_BetterTVPicture_300x214.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%;" /></div></div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;"></div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;"></div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">1. Disable any extras, like the "Soap Opera Effect" TVs purchased any time over the last few years are likely stocked with seemingly arbitrary features, like "Motion enhancement,""Noise filtering," and "Motion Eye Care."</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">"Motion enhancement," (also known as "Auto Motion Plus" on Samsung TVs) is a feature that attracts polarized opinions. When enabled, the setting makes anything playing look like a soap opera, as it attempts to reduce motion blurring and introduce a more real-life quality.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">Noise filtering, along with Motion Eye Care, and even MPEG Filtering, should, for the most part, be disabled. Disabling these settings, along with the Soap Opera Effect, will improve the quality.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">2. Check the aspect ratio</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">Maybe you wanted to get rid of the black bars. Or, maybe you were watching a older 4:3 format show. Whatever the case, your TV's <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/4:3-standard-tv-aspect-ratio/" style="color: #2964bf;" target="_blank">aspect ratio</a> might not currently match the input source (like a cable box or DVD player), and may be cutting off parts of the picture.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">As you switch between sources, be sure to check the aspect ratio, a setting that can be found in the general settings menu or through a dedicated button on your remote (usually "P. Size" or "Aspect").</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;"></div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">3. Adjust the basic (most impactful) settings Sometimes, changing a few basic settings can make a big impact on your TV's settings.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">Like aspect ratio, make a habit of accessing your <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57614610-221/whats-the-best-picture-mode/" style="color: #2964bf;" target="_blank">TV's picture modes</a> as you switch between programming. For instance, many TVs have a "Movie" mode, while some even have "Gaming" and "Sports." These presets are designed to optimize the picture settings for the content you're watching -- and they're usually accurate.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">These presets can also act as foundations for fine-tuning. For example, you could choose "Dynamic," then dive into the picture settings and make adjustments for brightness, backlight, contrast, and color temperature.</div><div style="background-image: none; color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; min-height: auto; width: 300px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><img src="http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2013/02/14/ht_SetUpTVbyEye_300x214.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%;" /></div></div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;"></div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">4. Get a settings cheat sheet from the pros If freestyling menu options sounds like a daunting task, CNET might have a cheat sheet for you.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">Whenever CNET's TV expert, David Katzmaier, reviews a new TV, he also<a href="http://forums.cnet.com/hdtv-picture-settings-forum/" style="color: #2964bf;" target="_blank"> posts recommended picture settings </a>based on his testing. His cheat sheets include all the basics, but also dive into some of the more advanced settings, like white balance, along with those extra features (like the Soap Opera Effect).</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">If you can't find David's settings for your TV specifically, give <a href="http://www.tweaktv.com/" style="color: #2964bf;" target="_blank">TweakTV</a> a try. It's another trusted resource with an expansive library of recommended settings.</div><div style="color: #252525; font-family: HelveticaNeue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; line-height: 19.421875px; margin-bottom: 1em; word-break: break-word;">5. Pick up a calibration disc While you can achieve great results by calibrating your TV by eye, more accurate adjustments can be made with a calibration disc.</div></div>

Five steps for a better-looking TV

New TVs ship with settings to make them look good in the store, not in your living room. Here are some some easy ways get your picture looki...

11:19 am

Correcting Color Cast with Photoshop Variations

Photoshop can provide magical transformations to images, making them unrecognizable from the original, but sometimes what you really want is simply to make an image look the same as the original — only better. Perhaps the colors are a little too warm, or the shadows a bit inky. Whatever's wrong with the image, the last thing you want is to change it so much that it looks like it's been processed more than a freeze-dried floral arrangement. You'd be happy to have everyone admire your image without a clue that you'd made major corrections in Photoshop. Photoshop's Variations feature is a variation (so to speak) on the professional photographer's ring around (a set of color prints, each made with slightly different color balance) or test strip (a single print of an image made so that each section is shown using a different color balance). Both tools let you view several renditions of an image and choose the best one visually by comparing them. You might want to use Variations when you're unsure about exactly how the color is biased, and would like to compare several versions of an image to see exactly what the color cast is. Although not as sophisticated as some color correction techniques, the Variations feature has the advantage of being quick and simple, and it doesn't require a lot of training to use. Following are the components of the Variations dialog box: In the upper-left corner is a pair of images — the original image and the image as it will appear when the corrections are applied.Below these thumbnails is a set of six variations on the original image, each with a fixed amount of correction applied using (clockwise from upper-left) green, yellow, red, magenta, blue, and cyan. In the center of this ring is the current version of the image.At the right edge of the dialog box is a stack of three thumbnails showing a lighter version of the image (at top), the current version (in the middle), and a darker rendition (at bottom).In the upper-right corner of the dialog box is a control area that includes radio buttons that let you choose shadows, midtones, or highlights for your correction, as well as saturation. Beneath the buttons is a slider that controls whether your correction will be subtle (Fine) or dramatic (Coarse).Four buttons also let you save the corrections you've made for use with the same or another photo, load settings you've already stored, apply the current corrections (by clicking OK), or forget about the whole thing (by clicking Cancel).

Correcting Color Cast with Photoshop Variations

Photoshop can provide magical transformations to images, making them unrecognizable from the original, but sometimes what you really want is...

9:58 am

Animating Digital Video Clips

Wait a minute; don't you call these things "movies" because the pictures are already moving? Why would you need to animate a video clip? You may not need to animate the actual subjects in the video, but you can move the video image across the screen. For example, a small picture-in-picture image can sail across the screen to give a hint of action that will happen later in the movie. You can move a clip across the screen along a fixed path or a zigzag pattern, you can rotate clips, and you can distort them. To prepare a clip for animation, follow these steps: 1. Click the clip in the timeline that you want to animate to select it, and make sure that the play head appears somewhere over the clip. You want just about any clip that you animate in track Video 2 or higher. 2. Choose Window --> Properties to open the Properties window for the selected clip. 3. Click the arrow next to the Motion heading to expand the Motion controls. 4. Click the clip's video image in the Monitor. When you click the clip in the monitor, cross-hairs appear in the middle of the clip and square handles appear on the sides and corners of the video image. 5. Click and drag the square handles to change the size of the image. 6. Click and drag on the middle of the image to move the image to a new location on the screen. The preceding steps help you only resize a clip, not animate it. If you play the timeline to preview your change, you see that your clip has been resized, but it doesn't go anywhere. To actually animate the clip and make it go somewhere, you just use keyframes. To animate your resized clip, follow these steps: 1. Click the Toggle Animation button next to Motion. 2. Click the Add/Remove Keyframe button next to the Position control. A keyframe appears at the current video frame for the current size and position of your clip. 3. Move the play head in the timeline to a different location in the clip. 4. Click and drag the resized clip in the monitor to a new location. This step automatically creates a new keyframe. If you want, you can even drag the clip completely off-screen. This causes the clip to appear to exit, stage left (or right, or up, or . . . ). Now play the timeline. The resized clip moves across the screen as it plays between the two keyframes that you created. Unhappy with the results? Play around with it! Animation is one of those effects that you really need to fiddle around with to get just the right look.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vpdby0_He6AHSUi92ePTkUqHU-1UZyIcw604y8C9MHQAwox-wj0sccTw_Sz5ubx0KhFIM6QSK_Th6bmyVCvdlsECZB2l8-CMZdKxkM0MHa-nsZhnFI4lAjJ9Mdv2gMleHbo1t22NRaGl/s1600/IMG_20140201_210525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vpdby0_He6AHSUi92ePTkUqHU-1UZyIcw604y8C9MHQAwox-wj0sccTw_Sz5ubx0KhFIM6QSK_Th6bmyVCvdlsECZB2l8-CMZdKxkM0MHa-nsZhnFI4lAjJ9Mdv2gMleHbo1t22NRaGl/s640/IMG_20140201_210525.jpg"> </a> </div>

Animating Digital Video Clips

Wait a minute; don't you call these things "movies" because the pictures are already moving? Why would you need to animate a v...

9:53 am

Putting Images under the Microscope in Photoshop cs

Digital images fall into two camps:vector images, which are created based on mathematical formulas, andraster images, which are made up of pixels. Photoshop allows you to produce both types of images and even to combine both types within a single file.Table 1 gives you the skinny on vector and raster images. For the details, keep reading.Table 1: Characteristics of Vector and Raster GraphicsGraphic TypeHow It WorksFile SizeImage Degradation Possible?Resolution Dependent?VectorMathematical formulas precisely locate and connect geometric objects and segmentsUsually smallerNoNoRasterBreaks pieces of an image into a grid made up of pixelsUsually largerYesYesVector imagesOne cool thing about vector images, also called object-oriented images, is that when you zoom in on them, they don't look blocky. That's because vector images are comprised ofsegments — curved or straight — andanchor points — elements that indicate the endpoints of the segments — that are defined by mathematical objects called vectors. Vectors use a unique mathematical formula to define the specific location of an object as well as its geometric shape.Vector images are usually the product of drawing programs, such as Adobe Illustrator, but Photoshop is also capable of producing a vector or two. And not to be outdone, its cousin Illustrator can also rasterize (or convert into pixels) vector artwork, thereby providing you with raster images to work with.Here is some additional information about vector graphics:A curve is still a curve, even at 20,000 feet. Because they are mathematically defined, vector graphics can be sized and otherwise transformed without an inkling of quality loss. Take that little 2-inch spot illustration and size it up to mural size, and it appears identical. A perfect true curve remains a perfect true curve, whether it's 2 inches or 20 feet long.You can get pretty pictures in small packages. Vector images can be small in file size because the file size depends on the complexity of the vector objects, not the size of the illustration.Graphics that need clean lines, such as logos, typographic illustrations, and line art, work great in vector format. Vector images are independent — resolution independent, that is. Not only can they be transformed and printed without a degradation in quality, but they also have no built-in resolution — they take on the resolution of the output device. For example, print something to an imagesetter (a high-end printing device used for color separations) at 2400 dots per inch (dpi), and the image comes out at 2400 dpi. Print it to a 300 dpi laser printer and what do you get? A 300 dpi image.Because your monitor can display images only on a grid, vector images display on-screen as pixels. This accounts for the jagged appearance you see when you zoom into a curved vector object. But don't worry; it will print just fine.Raster imagesRaster images are usually the result of the digitizing of continuous-toneimages, such as photographs or original painted or drawn artwork. Raster images are comprised of a grid of squares, which are called pixels. Pixel is short for PICture Element and is the smallest component of a digital image. If you've ever looked at a bathroom wall made up of those small square tiles reminiscent of the 1940s, you're familiar with what a grid of pixels looks like: Each pixel lives in a specific location on that grid and contains a single color. When you edit a bitmap image, you are editing one or more pixels rather than an object-oriented shape.Although it doesn't seem like it when you're viewing an image that fits inside your computer screen, your entire image can be broken down into a grid of square pixels. But how do you fit a round peg in a square hole? By faking it. Unlike the true mathematical curve possible when drawing vector shapes, raster images must try to approximate a curve by mimicking the overall shape with square pixels.Fortunately, the mimicry the pixels have to do is indecipherable with high-resolution images viewed at a reasonable distance. But when you zoom in, you can see that a curve in an image is indeed comprised of square pixels. Raster graphics work great for photorealistic or painterly images where subtle gradations of color are necessary. On the downside, because they contain a fixed number of pixels, raster graphics can suffer a degradation of quality when they're enlarged or otherwise transformed. They are also large in file size.Bitmap images are resolution dependent. Because they contain a fixed number of pixels, the resolution of the device they are being printed to is only one of two factors that influence the quality of the image. The quality of the output also depends heavily on the resolution of the image. For example, an image with 72 dots per inch (dpi) doesn't look any better printed on a 600 dpi printer than it does on a 1200 dpi printer. Likewise, a 300 dpi image doesn't look as good printed on an old 72 dpi dot matrix printer as it does on a 1200 dpi printer.www.digitalsankalp.org

Putting Images under the Microscope in Photoshop cs

Digital images fall into two camps:vector images, which are created based on mathematical formulas, andraster images, which are made up of p...

3:58 am

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