How Long Your Hard Drive Is Likely to Last

No physical storage medium lasts forever, and as you probably already know, hard drives in particular can die rather unexpectedly. But how long can you expect your drive to live? 5 years? 50? Backblaze has crunched some numbers to find hard drive failure rates.P

The online backup service analyzed 25,000 hard drives it's kept consistently spinning over the last four years, noting when each drive failed. These are "consumer grade" hard drives, the majority of them internal ones but also a portion taken out of their external enclosures and mounted in Backblaze's data racks.P

They found that hard drives have three distinct failure rates: in the first year and a half, drives fail at 5.1% per year; in the next year and a half, drives fail less—at about 1.4% per year; but after three years, failure rates skyrocket to 11.8% per year.P

The good news is, 80% of hard drives last at least four years. The bad news is 20% of them don't. Backblaze doesn't have data beyond the four years measured so far, but extrapolated the data to predict a median lifespan of over 6 years for most hard drives.

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10 Best Countries Have Fastest Internet Connection

The United States is home to some of the world’s most successful and innovative high-tech companies. Despite its techie pedigree, the U.S. doesn’t have the fastest Internet speed in the world. It doesn’t even crack the top 10.

image credit:-  onlycomputing.com

Hong Kong has the fastest average peak speed at 63.6 megabits per second, more than three times the global average of 18.4 Mbps, according to the latest quarterly report from Akamai Technologies. Japan holds the No. 2 spot with an average peak speed of 50 Mbps, followed by Romania with 47.9 Mbps, South Korea with 44.8 Mbps and Latvia with 44.2 Mbps.

The quarterly report, which is based on information from January through March, ranks countries based on average peak connection speeds as well as stats on mobile connectivity and attack traffic.

The U.S. comes in at No. 11 with 36.6 Mbps, double the global average, according to the report. The average peak speed in the U.S. has steadily improved, increasing 11 percent from the previous quarter.

The average peak connection speed also grew over the previous quarter, increasing 9.2 percent to 18.4 Mbps. Globally, 130 regions and countries saw higher average peak connection speeds with increases ranging from 0.9 percent in Nicaragua to 13.3 Mbps to 55 percent in Ghana to 21.3 Mbps, the report says.

Long term trends are heartening as well with the global average peak connection speed up 36 percent from the same period last year. Countries that saw yearly declines include a 3.8 percent decline in Guatemala to 15.6 Mbps and 28 percent drop in Sudan to 6.1 Mbps, the report says.

The lowest average peak connection speed in the first quarter was recorded in Iran at 3.2 Mbps, a 7.1 percent drop from the same quarter last year.

The U.S. fared better in terms of high broadband adoption rates with one quarter of the country’s connections above 10 megabits per second. South Korea took the top spot in that category with half of its connections at speeds above 10 Mbps. The global high broadband adoption rate grew to 13 percent above 10 Mbps, the report says..

above information by:- www.smartplanet.com

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How to Use Google for Hacking and also its Prevention

Google is a very very very powerful tool! If you know how the Internet worksand you know how Google works, you can find out some “very secret information” from the dark corners of the Internet.
You see, Google tries to “index” everything that is on the Internet. What does “index” mean? Basically, “index” means, read and remember!You see, Google is reading websites on the Internet 24 hours a day. It is looking at new websites and new web pages. It looks at each web page and finds out what the web page is about. It decides how good the web page is and also decides many other things about the web page…
Google does all this so that when you search for something using Google, it can give you the most relevant results from among the web pages it has visited. This is what we mean when we say that Google tries to index everything on the Internet.

Hackers use botnet to scrape Google for vulnerable sites

Some 35,000 sites that use vBulletin, a popular website forum package, were hacked recently by taking advantage of the presence of files left over from the program's installation process, according to security researcher Brian Krebs.

The hack by itself is fairly standard, but the way in which it was carried out shows how search engines like Google can unwittingly become a party to such hacking.

Krebs' findings were unearthed in conjunction with work done by security research firm Imperva, members of which believe the hacks are being executed by way of a botnet. The botnet not only injects the malicious code into the target sites, but also scrapes Google in a massively parallel fashion looking for vBulletin-powered sites that might make good targets.

Why scrape Google in parallel? As a workaround for Google's defense mechanisms against automated searches.

Such defenses work well against a single user scraping Google, since after a certain number of such searches from a single host, the user is presented with a CAPTCHA. This typically stops most bot-driven scrapes. But if a great many such searches are performed in parallel, it doesn't matter if each one of them eventually runs afoul of a CAPTCHA. Together, in parallel, they can still scrape far more than any one system alone can. (Krebs did not describe the size of the botnet used, however.)

The hacks themselves, of which Krebs has identified two, are fortunately rather easy to detect. One involves adding surreptitious admin accounts to the vulnerable vBulletin installations. The other hack, "apparently used in a mass website defacement campaign," adds an admin account named "Th3H4ck".

Now the good news: The very thing that made it possible to find those vulnerable vBulletin sites -- a properly crafted Google search -- can also be used to identify any existing hacked vBulletin installs. If you see a site you know on that list, tell the administrator. There's a good chance he doesn't know he's been hacked.

Scanning for vulnerabilities with Google isn't by itself new; Bruce Schneier pointed out in 2008 how this process was not only possible but could be automated. But deploying such Google scanning via a botnet for the sake of seeking out vulnerable sites in a massive parallel operation is a relatively new wrinkle -- at least until Google finds a way to block such things en masse without impacting regular search services.

Krebs points out it's difficult to place the blame exclusively on vBulletin. The makers of the software point out that its installation instructions ask that users remove the "/install" and "/core/install" directories after setting up the program.

In that sense, this issue is akin to the ways ColdFusion projects have been plagued by break-ins -- in part because many outfits are running older, unpatched versions of the software, but mainly because many firms don't follow Adobe's own instructions for hardening ColdFusion setups.

The oft-targeted WordPress has the same issue: It's easy to set up, but securing it requires that the end-user take a number of steps that often aren't followed.

How can you prevent Google hacking ?

Make sure you are comfortable with sharing everything in your public Web folder with the whole world, because Google will share it, whether you like it or not. Also, in order to prevent attackers from easily figuring out what server software you are running, change the default error messages and other identifiers. Often, when a "404 Not Found" error is detected, servers will return a page like that says something like:

 Not Found

The requested URL /cgi-bin/xxxxxx was not found on this server.
Apache/1.3.27 Server at your web site Port 80

The only information that the legitimate user really needs is a message that says "Page Not found." Restricting the other information will prevent your page from turning up in an attacker's search for a specific flavor of server.

Google periodically purges it's cache, but until then your sensitive files are still being offered to the public. If you realize that the search engine has cached files that you want to be unavailable to be viewed you can go to ( http://www.google.com/remove.html ) and follow the instructions on how to remove your page, or parts of your page, from their database.

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The Gold Colour iPhone 5S Craze !

Check out our review of the Apple iPhone 5S smartphone.

Though not necessarily worth its weight in gold, a shortened supply in Apple’s new iPhone 

5S in luxurious gold is causing its price on sites like eBay creep up on sites like eBay at 

exorbitant prices.

One of Apple’s big highlights at its big press event about two weeks ago was 

the announcement of its brand new smartphone, the iPhone 5S. Of the three colors 

released, gold is the one that caught the most attention. Apple’s supply of gold iPhones 

was excessively low at launch, with some stores getting not a single golden iPhone, and 

even Apple’s own flagship store in San Francisco receiving only around 20.

Due to the short supply, many are turning to eBay and Craigslist to get their hands on their 

very own iPhone 5S, complete with a finish even Richie Rich could appreciate. An 

average 16GB Gold iPhone 5S can fetch nearly $1,000 from impatient iPhone fanatics – 

nearly 30 percent higher than an identical, though less flashy space-gray or silver. In 

China, golden iPhones are clocking in at nearly twice as much as their retail value.

As crazy as people may seem for picking up a golden iPhone for $1,000, all eyes are on 

that eBay auction where in just 24 hours a golden iPhone started at just 99 cents before 

ballooning to a crazy $10,100. However, this price is an anomaly. Someone with zero eBay 

feedback set a ridiculous $10,000 offer for the golden iPhone – and then someone else 

outbid him. The winning bidder has real eBay feedback, suggesting that perhaps he or she 

really wanted a $10,000 iPhone. There is a chance that the listing will get canceled by eBay.

Whether $1,000 or $10,000, the fact remains that stock has dwindled for the iPhone 5S, 

making some wait well into October for the latest Apple smartphone. Whether this is due 

to unexpected sales or artificial scarcity is unclear, but in either case Apple better hope it 

leads to a better earnings quarter as Samsung continues to steal the show.

Lastly, since we know some of you will be disappointed the new iPhone 5S lacks any real 

gold, remember you can always settle for the iPhone 5 featuring 24 karat gold, platinum, 

and Swarovski Crystals. Take your pick folks

Since the rumors for the gold iPhone 5C have popped up, the web has got filled with reports about whether the gold iPhone will be lucky or unlucky for Apple. Some reports have gone too far that they have even traced the luckiness of golden color in different countries as well. Details below.

Many analyses for the gold iPhone says that golden color is considered lucky in China and therefore this change to golden color might boost Apple’s sales in China. So let’s see what colors Chinese actually prefer.

As per the chart of auto colors compiled by Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt, the favorite or the lucky color of Chinese consumers (at least for buying autos) is silver, not gold. Even the second most favorite color is not gold. It is black. While golden color holds the eighth position, that doesn’t seem to be impressive enough. Well, does this mean that gold iPhone is not going to bring riches for the fruit company? Maybe no.

Golden color might bring fortunes for Apple in India. This is because gold is a traditional color there, due to the extensive use of gold jewelry, especially in weddings. So we can say that the significance of gold in India can give some fame to the golden-colored iPhone 5C.

However, there is one thing that might make people less attracted towards this gold iPhone and that is that there are already smartphones of other companies in golden color, then why would one choice gold iPhone? But since Apple’s products’, in particular iPhone is considered to be something more than just a smartphone, therefore those who want best gold smartphone might go for this one.

Do you think the gold coloured iPhone will be a success?

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How To Install BBM Apps On PC

Fixmo Web Messenger – finally you can have BlackBerry Messenger on the Desktop.

And now you have the chance to help beta test this new App!

Please read here how to get started :-

1) Download the mobile App to your device at
http://fwm.fixmo.com:8080/WebMessenger.jad

2) Open the mobile App and create a new account with your email address and a password more than 8 characters, this is needed to log in to your BBM

3) Click on Connect

4) Now go to Fixmo Web Messenger Download | Fixmo Inc. and enter your login information there.

Click on Connect on the web interface and you should be ready to use BlackBerry Messenger from your desktop.

If it isn’t working:

- Send us a log from your BB by going menu->Show Log then menu->Email log. Please provide as much information as possible

- Are you on a corporate BES? Are there any device permissions which
may prevent you from using this application? If so, which ones?
(there is currently a known issue with Corporate BES permissions on
certain devices)

Things to test:

- Turn-off your Wi-fi and try it on 3G, how fast is the Web application
refreshing your BBM?

- Turn on your Wi-fi, how fast is the Web application refreshing your
BBM ?

Tips:


- If you are finding the application slow, try putting your BB on a wifi network. This should speed things up.

- If you have a touch screen device, use the PC mouse to navigate around by clicking on the screen.

- Use the box above the arrow key to type chat messages into, then press enter.

- Use the PC keyboard arrow keys to navigate through BBM.

Or For All Of The BBM Apps Then Follow These Steps...

1.install virtual box
2.install genymotion
3.after install add and login
4.choose device 
5.click add and next
6.put the sdk usually in d/download/adtbundle/sdk
7.play virtual machine
8.sign in like in android device
9.download Apk bbm
10.install bbm 

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How to Unlock Android Pattern Lock And Password Lock

Android is most used OS in the cell phone today’s everybody use android  phones now days. this is a android is LINUX based operating system provide by Google. android phones is very easy to access there is lot of companies who sell android phones. Biggest seller of android is Samsung and HTC and many other who made android based phones. today every one wants higher configuration phones so there is lot of phones today i like s3 and Samsung note these phones are very fast and good to use but little expensive for everyone. in today there is lot of  apps for android  available for Google play store you can download free of coast of buy some apps very easily . How To Unlock an Android Pattern  droid  phones is easy to accessible and you can play every thing in  this phones there is LAKH’S  of  app for android  is available in the play store there is many inbuilt apps available for most android p hones .there is many ways to give security to your phones with some apps you can use inbuilt unlock pattern or  unlock codes  for easy security you can also download some  unlock codes  app from play store easily.. there is lot of games available for phones the most used app is TEMPLE RUN 2 and many other  these are free of cost apps available for everyone in the play store app in the  android  phones.  

Steps On How to Unlock Android Pattern Lock Or Password

To get your pattern lock or password of your android device unlocked please follow the instructions well and am sure you will get what you are going to get your device unlocked without problem.

1. First you will switch of your Android device.
2. After switching of your android device, press your up volume button and Press It down.
3. Now press the power button and hold it too along with the volume up button.
4. It will start a secret terminal interface.
5. Then press to use home button for scroll up and down.
6. Then you will get to the choose option DELETE ALL USER DATA.
7. Select the option and wait
8. Your device will take some time but after it will restart and you will find out your android device has been unlocked.

Conclusion

These above method will help you unlock your android phone which have been lock by password or even the popular pattern lock easily but NOTE by performing this method you will loose all your contacts and everything on your phone, everything will be back to default as you bought the android device. I hope you understand how to unlock Android Pattern lock and password easily.

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Top 10 Technology In This Months

Science-fiction technology often seems too fantastical to be real, like gadgets from a future so distant we will never see them fully realized. With tech advancing faster than ever before, the distance between the fictional future and the present is growing smaller. In some ways, the future is already here with these latest inventions that seem to be pulled out from the pages of a sci-fi novel.

The U.S. Army is building its own Iron Man suit to protect soldiers in the field. While it won't have the flight and weapon capabilities of the fictional armor, the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) will be bullet-proof and have hydraulic limbs to aid in the soldier's speed and movement. Find out more about how TALOS can heighten its wearer's sense of sight and measure important vital signs.

1. Sonos' Play:1 Is Its Smallest and Most Affordable Speaker Yet

This unassuming pint-sized speaker can fill a room with sound and stream music from Pandora, Spotify, Rdio or any Wi-Fi enabled device.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/19U2hDT

IMAGE: SONOS

2. The U.S. Army Is Building an 'Iron Man' Suit for Soldiers

No, it can't fly but the army's newest design project, TALOS is a suit that will make soldiers faster, sharper and bullet-proof.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/19aCJQ5

IMAGE: ANGELO DESANTIS

3. Lenovo Unveils Its First 8-Inch Windows 8.1 Tablet

The Miix2, Lenovo's first tablet, includes front and rear-facing cameras, 64GB of storage and an Intel Bay Trail-T Quad Core processor.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/16i8K5o

IMAGE: LENOVO

4. HP Chromebook 11 Is a Laptop With Focus

While the new Chromebook has a sleek and powerful design, its capabilities and limited functionality when not connected to the Internet diminish its appeal.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/17NzwlT

IMAGE: MASHABLE, CHRISTINA ASCANI

5. Dock Charges Any Apple or Samsung Device — Even in Bulky Cases

This specially engineered dock allows smartphones of any brand to charge securely without the removal of the protective case.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/1aRlVNr

IMAGE: SARVI DESIGNS

6. Battroborg Pits Remote-Control Robots in Brutally Fun Battle

This mini robot battle game incorporates motion control remotes, health indicators in the form of tiny lights and an auto-pilot mode in case you just want to watch the action without playing.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/16i8ymO

IMAGE: MASHABLE

7. Sony Unveils World's First Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras

Sony's new magnesium alloy cameras, the α7 and α7R, include BIONZ X processors, auto-focus and Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity and are built to endure harsh conditions.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/GSrQZB

IMAGE: SONY

8. Edible Boat Powered by Your Cocktail

Drink garnishes are on a whole new level now that an edible tiny boat can cruise around your alcoholic beverage thanks to fluid and food engineering.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/17vTyly

IMAGE: FLICKR, 

9. These Glasses Let You Play in 3D Virtual Worlds

If you've ever wanted to play a hologram game, the wait is over -- these glasses can project images onto a flat surface and use special wands to register motion to make moves in the games.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/19U2qrd

IMAGE: TECHNICAL ILLUSIONS

10. This Smart Wheel Makes Cycling in the City a Breeze

Bike aficionados now have a smart wheel that can make their rides easier and locate their stolen two-wheeled vehicles, all controlled by a smartphone application.

Read more: http://on.mash.to/H3lmrB

IMAGE: FLYKLY

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Improve Your Laptop Wi-Fi Signals

A wireless router's signals can decrease for many reasons--a physical obstruction of the router, bad router placement or even out-of-date router drivers. Upgrading to a higher-speed Internet service won't help, since the problem is caused by the router's signals, not a faulty Internet service. To improve Internet speed, eliminate anything that could obstruct its ability to send out signals and add upgrades to the router.

 things you'll need
1) Antenna - ready network adaptar 
2)Wireless repetor
3)Internet access

Instructions

1. • 1
     Move the wireless router to the center of a room. Put it on a nonmetallic table or desk if possible--the floor can weaken the signals. Avoid putting it against anything that can obstruct the wireless signals, including walls, metal objects, metal desks or file cabinets.
   • 2
     Remove wireless electronics that use the 2.4 GHz frequency. This can interfere with wireless signals. Instead, purchase cordless phones or wireless electronics with a 5.8 GHz frequency.
   • 3
     Check whether the wireless router and network adapter are from the same vendor. Routers and adapters do not work as well if they are from different vendors, reducing Internet speed. Purchase a new network adapter if it is not the same brand as the wireless router.
   • 4
     Purchase a network adapter with an antenna. Antennas are installed in place of the network adapter in the computer.
   • 5
     Purchase a wireless repeater. Place the repeater halfway between the router and the computer to increase the strength of the router's signals.
   • 6
     Visit the websites for the wireless router and network adapter. Check whether any updates are available for the drivers that were installed after the wireless router and network adapter installation. If there are, download and install them.

     
     

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Top 55 Quotes of Albert Einstein

A Short Introduction about Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein ( 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). While best known for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc² (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"), he received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".The latter was pivotal in establishing quantum theory

 

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
"Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love."
"I want to know God's thoughts; the rest are details."
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.""Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
"The only real valuable thing is intuition."
"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."
"I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice."
"God is subtle but he is not malicious."
"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."
"I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."
"The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility."
"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing."
"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
"Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from weak minds."
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."
"Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it."
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
"God does not care about our mathematical difficulties. He integrates
empirically."
"The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
"Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."
"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."
"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible."
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."
"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
"Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater."
"Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity."
"If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."
"Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
"In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."
"The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead."
"Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves."
"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!"
"No, this trick won't work...How on earth are you ever going to explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love?"
"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
"Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."
"The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."
"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."
"Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."
"One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind for the examinations, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect on me that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year."

"one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought."
"He who joyfully marches to music rank and file, has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be done away with at once. Heroism at command, how violently I hate all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to shreds than be a part of so base an action. It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder."
"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.""Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." (Sign hanging in Einstein's office at Princeton)
Copyright: Kevin Harris 1995 (may be freely distributed with this acknowledgement)
 

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How To Make Computer Faster

Free up disk space

1.    Remove junk files

     You don't even have to click a "Save" button once while using your computer to accumulate junk files. Simply checking emails, setting your computer to hibernate or surfing the web will build up junk files on your computer.

One way to clean them up and speed up your computer is to run the Windows inbuilt "Disk Cleanup" utility. To do that go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup.

2.    Remove duplicate files

     You may not realize how many duplicate files you have accumulated on your system! Even people who do relatively little file management and movement can still accumulate duplicate files. It is a painfully time consuming task to try to remove all of them manually.

Use a third party application like:

☻        Auslogics BoostSpeed

☻        Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

☻        Easy Duplicate Finder

☻        Duplicate Finder

3.    Uninstall unnecessary applications

               Here is another tip on how to speed up your computer. It only takes a couple of months of computer use for unneeded programs to start stacking up.

               To check over your list of installed programs and remove the ones you don't need, do the following:

☻        In Windows XP, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs

☻        In Windows 7 and Vista, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Programs -> Programs and Features.

Defragmenting your hard drive

Defragmentation should be performed regularly to help speed up your computer. The defrag process unites scattered pieces of files to help you access them faster.

☻        Heavy users should defragment weekly.

☻        Moderate users should defragment fortnightly.

☻        Light users should defragment monthly.

                You can use a Windows inbuilt utility as well as third-party applications for defragmenting disks. Third party applications are often faster and more user-friendly.

If you find the inbuilt tool frustrating to use, give one of these apps a shot:

☻        Auslogics BoostSpeed

☻        Auslogics Disk Defrag

☻        Defraggler

☻        MyDefrag

 

Repairing registry problems

 

                    It is possible to repair registry errors yourself if you are a very experienced computer user or have a know the exact origin of your problem and step-by-step instructions to fix it.

For most of us, though, a registry repair program that scans for problems and automatically fixes them is the best option to speed up your computer. Run these programs once a week, fortnight or month, just before you defrag your computer.

Here are some popular ones:

☻        CCleaner

☻        Auslogics BoostSpeed

☻        Registry Mechanic

Defragmenting the registry

There aren't any inbuilt Windows tools that defragment the registry - you'll need to use a third-part utility. Some programs (like Auslogics BoostSpeed) that offer registry repair will also defrag the registry, which will help speed up your computer.

Disabling auto-start applications

 

Many programs will set themselves to auto-start when you boot your computer, even though you might only use them once a month. These background applications can take up a lot of RAM. That's why disabling the auto-start option for programs you don’t need can do a lot to speed up your computer.

To check for unnecessary auto-start programs:

☻        Click Start. If you use XP, go to Run and type msconfig, if you use Vista simply type it in the search box in the Start menu.

☻        Go to the Startup tab.

☻        Uncheck any boxes for programs you don't use regularly. Note that you can still open these programs on request - they just won't auto-load on boot up.

If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can also go to the Startup folder under All Programs in the Start menu. If you see any programs in the list that you don’t need, simply right-click on them and choose to delete them from the list. Don't worry, they won't be uninstalled from your computer.

Here are some popular programs for helping speed up the process of disabling auto-start applications - it can be a bit intimidating:

☻        Auslogics BoostSpeed

☻        System Explorer

☻        Startup Select

Removing malware

 

Malware can also slow down your computer, running in the background and taking up system resources. To speed up your computer, install a good anti-malware product and set it to auto-update and run scheduled scans.

There are literally hundreds of good anti-malware programs available, however several stand out:

☻        Auslogics Antivirus

☻        Malwarebytes Anti-malware

☻        Spyware Doctor

ALWAYS use a trusted name when it comes to anti-malware software. There are hundreds of rogue anti-malware programs that will actually install malware on your computer.

Using ReadyBoost

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, there is an inbuilt utility to speed up your computer that allows you to use a USB flash drive or a memory card as additional computer memory.

☻        In Windows Vista, if the device is fast enough to work with the ReadyBoost feature, you will be asked when it loads if you want to use it for ReadyBoost. Tell the computer Yes, and the wizard will walk you through the process.

☻        In Windows 7, you can go to Start -> Computer and right-click on the drive you want to use for ReadyBoost. Click Properties, and go to the ReadyBoost tab. Here you can choose to allocate either the entire device, or part of the device for ReadyBoost, depending on what you need it for.

                   We've mentioned the third-party applications that are available for most of these "speed up my computer" tasks - and there are actually some software packages that have the capability to do all of these tasks, such as Auslogics BoostSpeed. Many have a free trial available for you to evaluate how well they work as well. There really is no reason to put up with a slow computer anymore!
 

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