Password Nightmares

Good Morning Mr. Sampson. Please type in you Personal Identification Number

XXXXXX

Sorry, Mr. Forgetful Idiot! That is not the correct password. Please slap yourself three times around your head and then apply for a new card and number – we are keeping this one.

Don’t you just hate them? Passwords give you access to almost every walk of life. They are now the keys to doors that would otherwise violently slam in your face and tell you to XXXXXX, which they often do if you key the wrong password in anyway.

The first passwords to really come on the scene (apart from those required to gain entry into the back room of the Mafia club) where those at the ATM machines. A four-digit PIN number has to be entered before money can be withdrawn and for those with one account and a pass number drawn from an important date, no problem existed.

Then your one account became two as the building societies introduced ATM machines, then your savings account at the post office and then to beat it all Internet Banking came on the scene. Passwords are now required for Banking, shopping on the web, switch cards, visa cards, store cards, petrol cards and any other card that you may have.

Passwords are also required for so many of activities one does these days – especially on the Internet. Get a web site and you have real problems! I have an email account with yahoo, one with AOL and others with a dozen other companies (they were all free at the time) and then I have a web site (well three in fact) and they all require passwords. And then the problems really start when you try marketing and joining discussion groups on the web, etc. Wow, each one requires a USERNAME, each one requires a password and many of them also ask you to have a ‘handle’ – a name to be recognized by others. Not your real name of course!

I have at the last count 362 different and current usernames, 463 different and current pass codes or passwords and 152 different and often forgotten handles.

Shocked? I am when I put it like that. I have actually filled my brain up with a whole useless pile of words and junk that could otherwise be used to remember all the telephone numbers in my local directory or better still to learn Japanese.

We need these passwords and codes and things. Without them doors are shut and we become isolated from the world around us. So we have them and need them and the first codes are easy as we pull out of the hat some remembered birthday or event and use that with success.

But then companies and “bad people” started to find these codes by researching your past and then gaining access to your life. So we were all warned not to use a date from our past and instead pick a number or word that had no meaning but one that we would remember. A word that we can remember but one that has no significance is almost impossible – why do they say these things? We get past all of that and force our brains to remember some unimportant word and to regurgitate it when required, like at the ATM machine or when checking your email account. That is all fine and well, when only one or two codes are required to be remembered.

Oh, and one must not forget that warnings came out from all corners of security that using the same password for more than one service could cause extreme problems and a heyday for the opportunist who is looking for fools.

Those with a few more (like me) do have serious problems in life. I can maybe remember them all and regurgitate them when required – a no easy feat – but I can never get the correct code for the required service. I stand at the ATM and punch in my pin code, it tells me to go away and if I put the wrong code in again it will eat my card up. I then realize that the code that I am punching into the pad is actually that for my gym club after hours access! So what is my number for this bank and this account? Which number could it be out of a possible 463 and even then have I got it right the right way round?

Life does get complicated. Some people started to write their numbers down, knowing that they would forget them in time. “Well, for heavens sake I only use that pass code once a year – how am I supposed to remember it” can be heard ringing out all over the world. So gentlemen, ladies and others all opt to secretly write their codes in some weird and wonderful place that they think others will never find. Codes are pasted under ornaments, on the walls behind beds and on little scraps of paper all over the house and in drawers and closets and boxes in every conceivable place. Codes and passwords written down can be found everywhere one would look.

Some people then acknowledged the fact that, thieves and robbers (and friends and family) can find these numbers and use them with

the cards that they have appropriated. They can probably find them easier than you can when one day you need to use that password yourself. They find them easily whilst you would have completely forgotten where you had hidden or written down the access code. Yes, writing the passwords down on pieces of paper and hiding them in what you thought was a suitable place is no longer acceptable. So what is the options?

Ah, why not encode the code in a series of other codes using a system that only you know how to decode. A great idea!

Around the world at any one moment in time there are hundreds of thousands of people scratching their heads over a pile of numbers and letters. Thousands of amateur coders having failed in their missions and are unable to decode the code that they had intricately designed all that time ago. The code of codes that was the answer to all robbers and others from finding out what your passwords are is now a mystery to you. Yes, take it from me that 99% of those that hide their passwords in a longer text of letters or numbers fail in their attempt to decode them one month later.

So where are we? We have hundreds of passwords to remember, they cannot be drawn from significant dates or events, we cannot use the same ones for more than one service, we cannot write them down and encoding them is just a waste of time. Ouch, not much choice in life. It looks as if we are all condemned to having a section of our brains filled with a succession of numbers and words that must be instantly available upon request.

For those with computers a solution became possible with the advent of the “password program”. A clever piece of software that could remember all of those nasty passwords and usernames: to regurgitate them upon request. But then of course hackers and those unseen computer information thieves found ways to gain access to your computer through the telephone line, enter that marvelous piece of software and to rapidly use all of those codes that you had hidden away in the internals. And you, unawares of this entry into your private domain, find your emails have all been read by some unknown, that your bank account shows that you have fully utilized the 5000 pound overdraft and that you now owe Visa and American Express some amazing amount of hard currency that you do not have – and never will. Oh, and do not think for a minute that your store cards are free of purchases or that your partner is not going to find out about the secret email accounts you have setup!

In short, this piece of software is no longer a viable solution for those with something to lose. It is not suitable for anyone – in other words!

So what can we do? Remember them is all that you can do. Try and remember all of those passwords and numbers and codes in some sort of system in your heads. Life though is not that easy as certain recommendations have been coming out for us to enhance our own security further as nowadays hackers can now enter your computer and read off the pass codes as you tap them in. So even if you follow all of the security advice that is issued your accounts and your life can still be invaded easily and without second thought.

The answer? Well, all you have to do is make sure that you change all your codes at least once a month.

Impossible you say? Well, I must admit the thought of having just committed to memory over 600 passwords, numbers and codes and then having to throw them all out and input new ones every month is not my idea of fun. Impossible in fact!

Two thoughts to leave you with. Most people who use others passwords and codes to gain access to their accounts have in fact been given to them. The majority of theft from ATM machines and banks is through friends giving their supposed friends the number of their account in a loose moment. It is not as one would assume from people who have stolen the number from the hidden pocket in your wallet or the hacker through the telephone cable. These occur but not to such a great extent as those who give their passwords to others in a moment of stupidity.

Thinking about it, finger print identity is not such a bad thing after all. Would make life one hell of a lot easier! Just put your thumb on a little touch pad and you gain instant access to everything. And you only require one of them, you have no need to remember where you put it, if somebody steals it you will notice immediately and there is no need to change it every month.

Move on technology as at present my head is filled to busting with useless information!

About The Author

Author and Webmaster of Seamania. As a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy he has sailed the world for fifteen years. Now living in Taiwan he writes about cultures across the globe and life as he sees it.

You should have the OS (a s/w program which acts as interface between the system and the user )to deal with the friends and best friends. where as your data base should have different page entities for friends and best friends.

The OS files are

1. U.ini

2. I.ini

3. we.ini

4. ours.ini

.ini ►initial files

If any one of the file is missing then you cannot boot٭ your system. so see that all the above mentioned files are present in your heart or mind whatever it may be.

Dont wait for others to take the initiative, coz if others also feel the same way and no one initializes the friendship then ultimately a state called Deadlock will occur. So,for this I suggest you a solution i.e.,create different partitions for friends and best friends and see that the latency period should be as small as possible.

In friendship you should never follow a pre-emptive method (like Round robin technique) where you give some time(preference) to one friend and then leave him and give priority to the other friends .Best friends are different from friends what we usually call because there are some feelings where you can share only with the best friends and

not definitely with normal friends.

Place the friends in an area called as secondary memory and Best friends in a memory called as Cache memory(normally called as high speed memory).There should be some one who can provide you the Replacement algorithms which helps you to replace the friends with best friends.

If you are unable to findout the best friends among the friends list then it may lead to thrashing(high page fault rate).

So, use the friendship in a optimum way so that it yield the expected results.

Note:

The writer of the above matter want to make a crystal clear presentation about friendship and the main theme of the above matter is that “Best friends are different from normal friends”.The writer is in search of best friend and let all of you hope he will find one soon.

٭Booting: It is a process in which the Operating system loads all the system files into the RAM, and if any one of the system file is missing then the system cannot proceed forward i.e., it will not start. The only solution is we have to boot the system again using the bootable CD where the missed file is replaced.

It is always difficult to find a good sparing partner to box with or practice martial arts. The better you get the fewer people who are willing to get in the ring or on the mat with your. Worse off if it is a friend and he makes a mistake, you often find yourself holding back on your gut instincts to take him out and exploit his foolishness in letting his guard down. If you do not take him down to the mat or clock him so hard he cannot see straight, you are actually doing him a disservice, as in a real fight it would have been over right then and there.

Unfortunately we live in the real world and in the real world if you are in the ring with a good friend you often hold back, if you get too tough, you trigger them to go all out when you are just there for practice and not to kick the ever-living crap out of someone.

I

therefore propose Boxing Sparing Partners to spar with. Sparing Robots, which you can clock as hard as you can if the opportunity exists. Robots which you will not feel bad when you do and one which will hit you back on the level you set in case you make a mistake and unnecessarily leave an opening or let your guards down. Enough to sting you hard enough to learn the lesson but not hard enough to break you in half, break your nose or cause you a serious head injury.

Robots are perfect for sparing partners and we can build them to feel as if you are sparing with a real man, without damaging them and so they hit you back. This will help boxers and martial artists test themselves and excel in their quest to become even better. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Cartier Love Ring

DVD Rentals

DVD or Digital Video Discs are similar to compact discs with one major exception; they can store a lot more data than a CD. Initially, a DVD was used for storing data but very few could afford them. DVD’s came into the picture early in the 90′s, when compact discs were booming.

Introduced by Pioneer, DVDs were one-sided. Toshiba, Sony and Philips soon followed with their own versions. At the time, the discs were about 1.2mm thick and could contain approximately 2.1GB data.

The amount of data that can be stored onto a DVD has rapidly increased because of new developments in the field by major companies. DVD-read only memory discs are still the most popular on the market, even though DVD-read write memory disks are available. This is because of the price difference between the two. The DVD read only memory discs the best bargain.

In today’s market, DVDs are the latest craze in the

movie world. Since they can store as many as 3 to 5 movies on one disc, rental agencies are finding them to be a valuable resource. Profits are greater because DVDs are more durable than CDs and can be rented out hundreds of times.

Advancement in the development of DVDs has been seen in recent years. Two-sided DVD are readily available on the market. They are considered a better option because more movies can be stored on one disc.

Rental agencies are available online where customers can register and pay a fee on a yearly, quarterly or lifetime basis. The agency will send the DVDs to the customer’s home for a specific period of time. These websites have a complete list of all DVDs currently available.

DVD Rentals provides detailed information about DVD rentals, DVD rental clubs, DVD rental reviews, and more. DVD Rentals is affiliated with Free Movie Downloads.

Viruses & Anti-Virus Software

————

Many people have Anti-Virus software installed. Many of the major Anti-Virus software company’s now promote what they call “Security Suites” or packages. These Security Suites contain everything from Anti-Virus, Firewall Protection, SPAM and Pop-Up blockers, and Ad-ware protection. Quite often, once the software is installed people find out that things they use to be able to do on the Internet are no longer possible. So what happens is portions or all of the software they purchased to protect their computer get disabled. The result, an ineffective software program that you paid good money for! Worst than that, most people have no idea exactly how the Anti-Virus portion of the package should be configured. Leaving it up to the default configuration to defend their computers. Most of the manuals that come with these software packages seem to be written for those who understand the intricate workings of computers along with every computer acronym ever invented!

Most everyone who owns a computer knows about viruses. Years ago, viruses were more of an annoyance than anything. But as time passed those who develop viruses became more astute at their trade and started developing viruses with malicious intent.

It’s amazing that we regularly find computers without any anti-virus protection at all. Typically, those who do not, find out rather quickly how important virus protection is. In addition to the many computers we find without virus protection, we find many computers do not have the anti-virus software configured and running properly to protect them from even the most basic type of infection.

What is a Virus?

————

A virus is a type of program that can execute on your computer and has the ability to replicate itself. Computer viruses, like biological viruses, spread quickly and in many cases , are quite difficult to stop and destroy. They can attach themselves to many types of files. As these files are transferred between multiple computers each computer along the away becomes infected and has the ability to continue spreading the infection.

What is a Trojan?

————

A Trojan is software that can perform unauthorized tasks on your computer. More often than not, these tasks are malicious in nature. The biggest difference between a trojan and a virus is that Viruses have the ability to replicate whereas a Trojan typically does not. If your computer becomes infected with a Trojan it can cause;

Damage to your computers software, Operating System, and data;

Your system can become unstable and exhibit unexpected behavior;

The security of your system becomes compromised;

It could lead to the unauthorized access of your computer;

Beware programs and software in pretty packages (for free usually). Remember what happen to the Trojan’s of Greek Mythology!

What is Malware?

————

The word “Malware” is short for “Malicious Software”. It refers to any software or programs with malicious intent such as viruses, Trojans, worms, droppers, and kits. Just as a note, not all Malware should be considered a virus but the majority can be considered as such.

What can a Virus do to me?

————

There are many malicious actions a virus, worm, or general Malware can take. Just a few examples are;

Change or delete important data on your computer such as documents, music and video files, and possibly destroy all data on your computer;

Search for important information such as contact lists and use this information to replicate itself by sending everyone in your contact lists an e-mail with the virus/worm attached;

Spread amongst all your computers in various methods such as e-mail and file sharing;

Disguise itself as a legitimate part of the Operating System – making it very difficult to detect and destroy;

and just about anything else malicious you can think up!

Virus Life Cycle

————

Creation – In the past it took significant skill to create a virus. However, anyone with even basic skills can create a virus. In fact, there are virus creation labs freely available on the Internet. This can allow anyone to create interesting and potentially malicious code;

Replication – If one of the main goals of the virus developer is the replication or spread of the virus, many viruses will lay

dormant and wait for a certain event to take place like a date something similar. This allows the virus to replicate to many systems before it activates;

Activation – Once certain requirements or conditions are met, the virus will activate itself and execute the code that causes damage to your computer. Not all virus cause damage. Non-damaging virus usually do not need activation;

Identification – Once the virus has infected computers and activated themselves in the wild (on your computer), they are isolated and documented and sent to the anti-virus companies;

Recognition – The anti-virus companies then develop the code necessary to detect the virus, update their virus signature patterns, and make them available to their customers. This process can be rather quick or can take days or months;

Destruction – If enough people are protected by anti-virus software that can detect, isolate, and destroy the virus, it can be stopped from spreading;

Based on current information and statistics no virus has yet to be completely eradicated!

How do I Protect my Computer?

————

The most obvious thing that you can do is install anti-virus software. In fact, this is not so much an option as it is a requirement. That is if you want to be protected and not A) lose everything you have on your computer, B) spread viruses to your friends, family and associates, C) be a productive part of the public network (Internet) community.

In addition, you need to make sure that your anti-virus software is functioning properly;

Make sure that your anti-virus subscription is not out of date. In some cases, if your subscription is out of date, the product ceases to function or can no longer download new virus patterns. Preventing it from detecting the latest viruses;

If you receive an unsolicited piece of e-mail do not open it. Delete the e-mail right away;

Many e-mail clients have the ability to give you a preview of the e-mail before actually opening it. If your e-mail client is configured this way, turn it off. This can actually allow the virus to activate the moment you highlight the e-mail;

If you receive e-mail from a friend or associate that you were not expecting, or one that has an odd subject line like “Subject: The pictures I promised you!” or “The program you requested”, contact your fiend and ask them if they actually sent it;

Configure you anti-virus software to check for virus pattern updates on a frequent basis. Checking once a week is probably not good enough. At the very least, configure it to check at least once a day. Our systems check more frequently than that;

Make sure your anti-virus software is configured to perform a scheduled scan of your computer. Many people rely on the “real-time” scanning which is suppose to catch viruses in real-time as you select and open files. This is not 100% accurate and nothing substitutes for a thorough manual scan of “all” your system files

Don’t rely on anti-virus software alone. Make sure that you are using some sort of anti ad-ware and spy-ware software. These programs can catch a plethora of malicious software that your anti-virus software may miss.

Conclusion

————

All it takes is one bad experience with a damaging virus to make you realize how vulnerable you and your computers are. Be diligent in your defense against Malware and your computer / Internet experience will be more enjoyable. The same goes for small and medium sized business. Those who have been down for a day or days as the result of a virus will know exactly what I am talking about.

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

About The Author

————

Darren Miller is an Information Security Consultant with over sixteen years experience. He has written many technology & security articles, some of which have been published in nationally circulated magazines & periodicals. If you would like to contact Darren you can e-mail him at Darren.Miller@ParaLogic.Net. If you would like to know more about computer security please visit us at http://www.defendingthenet.com.

When studying for your Cisco CCNA, CCNP, or CCIE exam, you’ve got a powerful online weapon at your disposal. It’s Cisco Connection Documentation, found at www.cisco.com/univercd. This site contains product, code, and protocol documentation for all Cisco products.

Many exam candidates really don’t start using this powerful tool until they’re studying for their more advanced exams. However, it’s important for CCNAs, CCNPs, and candidates for these certifications to learn their way around this site. It comes in handy for finding default values that Cisco really enjoys asking about on exams, and the protocol documentation found there can help you study as well.

The site can be a little overwhelming for newcomers, but it’s actually easy to navigate. On the site’s homepage, you’re presented with a list of products and several drop-down menus. To get started, I suggest you choose Cisco IOS Software?in the top-right drop-down menu, and select a code version. 12.2 is a good one to start with. From there, select the IOS Release 12.2 Configuration Guide and Command References.

You’re then presented with a list of technologies, and each has a Configuration Guide and a Command Reference. If you’re studying Interior Gateway Protocols at this point (such as OSPF, RIP, and EIGRP), select -IP Configuration Guide and then -IP Routing Protocols-?

You then have the official Cisco documentation on how to configure RIP, IGRP, OSPF, EIGRP, ISIS, and BGP. Reading this documentation is invaluable. Many study guides skip the details to give you an overview of the protocol. This documentation doesn’t skip anything. The documentation shows how and when to use any command for that protocol. There are

also real-world examples and notes on when to use each command. I’ve always learned something new when reading the online Cisco documentation.

You can then back out and go through the same steps for the Command Reference. For those studying for Cisco exams, this section will quickly answer any question you have about a command’s syntax or default values. Instead of trying to remember which book you saw a value in, just zoom out to this site and you’ll have your answer in seconds. Real-world examples of command usage are prevalent as well.

As with anything, the more you use the online Cisco documentation, the better you get at it. The Configuration Guide for the various Cisco switches give you a great picture of how switches work. I highly recommend reading at least one of their switches’ config guides.

Beyond any exam value the online Cisco documentation gives you, it serves another valuable purpose. The more you use it now, and the more comfortable you get with it, the better you’ll be with it when the day comes that you need it on the job. And trust me – that day will come!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (http://www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and corporate training are also available. Pass the CCNA exam with Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933!

For a copy of his FREE “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP” ebook, write to chris@thebryantadvantage.com!

After another security hole recently surfaced in Microsoft’s Windows operating system, the software giant released a patch this past Friday to plug the possibly devastating “back door” which allows hackers to potentially seize control of any pc running Windows.

The latest threat, “Download.Ject,” infiltrates computers after users surfing with Microsoft’s “Internet Explorer” web browser visit websites infected with the virus.

This newest security patch covers Windows XP, 2000, and Windows Server 2003.

Several factors make this latest development more disturbing than past discoveries of security problems with Internet Explorer, currently the most dominant web browser on the market.

First, it demonstrates very clearly that criminals discovered they can use the power of viruses to very profitably steal important bank, personal, and credit data from people on a large scale.

Second, it took Microsoft what many would consider a very long time to come up with a patch for this problem.

Before a fix appeared, Microsoft told everyone who uses Internet Explorer to stick their finger in the dyke by putting their web browser security settings on high, rendering it impossible to view or use features on many websites and web-based services.

Third, expect this to happen again as new holes open in the future when Microsoft makes Windows more complicated, adds layers of code, and generally makes the operating system more complex.

This may sound like business as usual, however, I think this story actually points to a much deeper problem, one for which I’m not sure a simple solution exists.

Though free and reasonably reliable, many people do not automatically update their Windows operating system through the update service on Microsoft’s website. (I won’t even get into how many people don’t operate up-to-date anti-virus protection.)

Whenever Microsoft publishes a security update, especially for a highly publicized and obviously widespread security breach, thousands of people will not immediately download

the update.

In fact, tens-of-thousands of users will not download these security updates for days, weeks, even months (if ever).

So let me ask what seems like a very elementary question: By publishing security updates that point out very obvious flaws in their system, doesn’t Microsoft also point the way to exactly where the holes exist?

Let me put it another way.

Doesn’t this rate the same as discovering that the local bank vault won’t lock and then announcing the details on the front page of the paper along with the dates and times no bank guard will be on duty?

After all, if tens-of-thousands of users won’t immediately get the Microsoft Security Patch, don’t those patches show hackers exactly which holes get plugged (and which, logically, must already be open without the patch)?

It doesn’t take a hacker with more than a basic set of skills to recognize where and what holes got fixed and then reverse-engineer how they can get into computers that don’t get updated.

Now, do I have a concrete, 100% bullet-proof answer to this problem? Unfortunately, I don’t have more than a common- sense answer…

At this point, your best defense rates staying current on the latest threats and how to defend against them.

Keep your anti-virus software current, your firewall up, and your Windows software updated with the latest security patches.

Though not a perfect solution, at least you’ll have a fighting chance to prevent, or at least minimize, any possible threats.

For more information from Microsoft’s website, go here http://www.ebookfire.com/download-ject.html

About The Author

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr^e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links… http://www.TurnWordsIntoTraffic.com

© Jim Edwards – All Rights reserved

http://www.thenetreporter.com

JPEG, GIFF/JIFF, BMP, and TIFF are the most commonly used formats for storing still image files such as photographs, graphics, and drawings.JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group and is a standard for image compression.

However, some amount of data/detail is lost in the process. JPEG therefore is characterized by a glossy compression technique for still color images, just as MPEG is used for compressingmotion picture files.

GIFF/JIFF stands for Graphics Interchange format, which is a bit-mapped graphics file format.

Its storage is limited to about 256 colors as against 16 million colors in JPEG. GIFF therefore is more suitable to store illustrations rather than color photos.

Other popular formats for storing bit-mapped images are TIFF (Tagged image file format), BMP,and PCX. You’ll also see GIF and JPG.You may be wondering what a bit-map is? A bit-map graphic is composed of a pattern of dots (each dot containing bits of data). Vector graphics, on the other hand, use geometrical formulas to represent images. The latter can be scaled i.e. the object size can be changed while maintaining its shape. Vector images are thus more flexible than bit-maps. Also vector imageslook better on higher resolution and require less memory.This brings us to the difference between Paint programs and Draw programs. In Paint program the drawings are represented as bit-maps. Draw programs, on the other hand, represent images as vector graphics.

Why we need to convert images from one format to another?

• Converting GIFF files to JPEG can compress the files to a considerable extent. The uncompressed data is normally 24 bits/pixel for full-color images. JPEG can achieve 10:1 to 20:1 compression without apparent loss, 30:1 to 50:1 compression with small to moderate defects, and 100:1 for very low quality purposes like archiving. These smaller size files increase storage capacity and take lesser transmission time across networks.

• JPEG files are extremely useful for image archiving purposes. JPEG files store a full color range (24 bits/pixel as against 8 bits/pixels in GIFF).The display of images is particularly good on full-color hardware that is becoming common now.

Conversion

rules:

• Large, high-quality, real-world scanned photos are the best material for conversion to JPEG format.

• Do not convert black and white images to JPEG that works best with smooth and subtle color palette. B&W images are best on GIF.

• Even on colored images make sure to smoothen out the sharp edges before carrying out the conversion. A gray-scale image is much easier for a JPEG format.

• Avoid converting images that have already been converted before. Re-conversion spoils the quality of images. It’s best to work with original scanned images here.

To explain how format conversion is carried out here’s an example:

1. In a Windows operating system go to Start menu – Accessories – Paint

2. Create an image with the program and save it in BMP format. Now Close the file

3. To convert it into say JPEG, re-open the file

4. Go to File menu and click Save As

5. Rename the file in File name box and in Save as Type drop down box click on the format you want it to be converted to. In this case “JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg, *. jpeg,)”

6. Click on the Save button. Your file is now converted from BMP to JPEG.

If you want to change BMP to GIF, follow the same procedure except that in Save as Type box click on “Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)”

Once an image has been converted from one format to another, say GIF to JPEG, some of the information is lost. You can’t go back to the original file. Therefore it is always advisable that you make a copy of the original file before converting it.

Krish is striving to offer best quality ebooks to the readers. He doesn’t compromise anything with quality. He always wants that his readers should have maximum satisfaction on reading his eBooks.

KRISH is a writer and seller of high quality ebooks.

KRISH is selling High quality eBooks covering various topics.The ebook “Tame Your Personal Computer” explains in a simple language about Personal Computers. Please join our mailing list mailto:ananthcbe@hotmail.com http://www.ebook-retailers.com/tame/

We’ve all seen them, you’ve been browsing a website and you click a link and nothing loads apart from the words ‘404 Error’ along with the usual stuff.

So what is a 404 Error page? The 404 Error page, basically informs the user that the server cannot find the file they are looking for. However, instead of using the default 404 Error page you can create your own, this is how you do it.

First, you need your .htaccess file which should be within your web site directory. If you cannot find it you will need to create one. You will have to contact your host asking them how you would go about creating or editing this file. They may want you to use a text editor and then upload it, or they may want you to use a PICO editor and create or edit the file on the server.

How you have access to the .htaccess file lets edit it. Add this line to the .htaccess file:

ErrorDocument 404 http://www.yourdomain.com/404page.html

Make sure this line is kept on online. This is

where your 404 Error page is kept.

Now you’ve change the .htaccess file you need to create the page. This is simply a normal HTML document. Once you’ve created the HTML document, save it and call it 404page.html. Now the next step is to upload the .htaccess file and the page to the server.

Now that is done your next step is to turn it on. This is done by setting the CHMOD attribute to 644. You can do this via telnet or some FTP programs. If your going to telnet into your server, use the following command:

chmod 644 .htaccess

Now test to see if it’s worked. Just go to a page that doesn’t exist on your server and you should see your new 404 Error page. If not, then make sure the CHMOD is set correctly, and if that doesn’t help, you may want to ask your hosting company for support.

About The Author

I currently own and run a small E-commerce template website located at http://www.sjh-designs.co.uk. You can find several more guides located at http://www.sjh-designs.co.uk/guides.htm.

Are you stymied by the vast offerings in cheap mp3 players? Don’t know which features best suit your needs? Here are some suggestions based upon product reviews by mp3 player owners.

The first thing you must consider is how you plan to use your mp3 player. Do you want a cheap mp3 player for your car to listen to books while you commute? Or are you planning to use it with earphones while jogging? Will your mp3 player sit on your desk all day, or get jostled around while you run errands or work out at the gym?

If you plan to be active while listening to your mp3 player, or use it in a car, one that uses Flash Memory, with no moving parts, would be the best option. There are cheap mp3 players available with Flash Memory, but they tend to be more expensive than other options. If you wish to keep the price down, you will probably end up sacrificing on some of the data storage. If you are planning to keep your mp3 player immobile, a cheap option is to buy one with a microdrive, or one built into a cheap CD player. Both will have problems with skip if jostled, but each of these two options will give you many times the memory for far less. Also, manufacturers build buffers into mp3 players to smooth out the skip, although users report that they do not always work well.

How much memory you need in your mp3 player is something only you can decide. Cheap mp3 players, with 128MB of Flash Memory, can hold about four hours worth of music. If

you are not using your mp3 player as a music storage machine, but just as a cheap device to play music throughout your day, you might consider this to be enough. Spoken word requires far less memory than music, so a cheap mp3 player with only 64MB of memory may be big enough if you only plan to listen to books through your mp3 player.

One of the most important features in cheap mp3 players, which users find lacking in some of the cheaper machines, is the user interface. This can end up being a daily hassle if you find the menus unintuitive. Even if you buy a cheap mp3 player from an online retailer, take the time to go to a store where you can handle them, and see for yourself how easy or difficult they are to use.

Next consider battery life. This varies from player to player, but expect to get about twelve to fifteen hours from a charge. The type of battery is also a consideration in cheap mp3 players. Having an mp3 player that charges through your USB port, like the iPod Shuffle, may seem like a plus until you go out of town and are nowhere near a computer.

Lastly, be sure that the cheap mp3 player you want to buy is compatible with your personal computer. Players with built-in Flash Memory will require file transfer software, and a USB 2 port to download the files to the mp3 player. Some brands only support Apple/Mac products, while many others are only compatible with Windows.

For more information on cheap mp3 players visit 1st-mp3-players.co.uk

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