how to Protect a wireless network

These days wireless networking products are so ubiquitous and inexpensive that just about anyone can set up a WLAN in a matter of minutes with less than $100 worth of equipment. This widespread use of wireless networks means that there may be dozens of potential network intruders lurking within range of your home or office WLAN.

Most WLAN hardware has gotten easy enough to set up that many users simply plug it in and start using the network without giving much thought to security. Nevertheless, taking a few extra minutes to configure the security features of your wireless router or access point is time well spent. Here are some of the things you can do to protect your wireless network:

1) Secure your wireless router or access point administration interface
Almost all routers and access points have an administrator password that's needed to log into the device and modify any configuration settings. Most devices use a weak default password like "password" or the manufacturer's name, and some don't have a default password at all. As soon as you set up a new WLAN router or access point, your first step should be to change the default password to something else. You may not use this password very often, so be sure to write it down in a safe place so you can refer to it if needed. Without it, the only way to access the router or access point may be to reset it to factory default settings which will wipe away any configuration changes you've made.

2) Don't broadcast your SSID
Most WLAN access points and routers automatically (and continually) broadcast the network's name, or SSID (Service Set IDentifier). This makes setting up wireless clients extremely convenient since you can locate a WLAN without having to know what it's called, but it will also make your WLAN visible to any wireless systems within range of it. Turning off SSID broadcast for your network makes it invisible to your neighbors and passers-by (though it will still be detectible by WLAN "sniffers").

3)Enable WPA encryption instead of WEP
802.11's WEP (Wired Equivalency Privacy) encryption has well-known weaknesses that make it relatively easy for a determined user with the right equipment to crack the encryption and access the wireless network. A better way to protect your WLAN is with WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). WPA provides much better protection and is also easier to use, since your password characters aren't limited to 0-9 and A-F as they are with WEP. WPA support is built into Windows XP (with the latest Service Pack) and virtually all modern wireless hardware and operating systems. A more recent version, WPA2, is found in newer hardware and provides even stronger encryption, but you'll probably need to download an XP patch in order to use it.

4) Remember that WEP is better than nothing
If you find that some of your wireless devices only support WEP encryption (this is often the case with non-PC devices like media players, PDAs, and DVRs), avoid the temptation to skip encryption entirely because in spite of it's flaws, using WEP is still far superior to having no encryption at all. If you do use WEP, don't use an encryption key that's easy to guess like a string of the same or consecutive numbers. Also, although it can be a pain, WEP users should change encryption keys often-- preferably every week.

5) Use MAC filtering for access control
Unlike IP addresses, MAC addresses are unique to specific network adapters, so by turning on MAC filtering you can limit network access to only your systems (or those you know about). In order to use MAC filtering you need to find (and enter into the router or AP) the 12-character MAC address of every system that will connect to the network, so it can be inconvenient to set up, especially if you have a lot of wireless clients or if your clients change a lot. MAC addresses can be "spoofed" (imitated) by a knowledgable person, so while it's not a guarantee of security, it does add another hurdle for potential intruders to jump.

6) Reduce your WLAN transmitter power
You won't find this feature on all wireless routers and access points, but some allow you lower the power of your WLAN transmitter and thus reduce the range of the signal. Although it's usually impossible to fine-tune a signal so precisely that it won't leak outside your home or business, with some trial-and-error you can often limit how far outside your premises the signal reaches, minimizing the opportunity for outsiders to access your WLAN.

7) Disable remote administration

Most WLAN routers have the ability to be remotely administered via the Internet. Ideally, you should use this feature only if it lets you define a specific IP address or limited range of addresses that will be able to access the router. Otherwise, almost anyone anywhere could potentially find and access your router. As a rule, unless you absolutely need this capability, it's best to keep remote administration turned off. (It's usually turned off by default, but it's always a good idea to check.)

Howto make screen resolution smaller

for windows

1. Go to your desktop
2. right click
3. click properties
4. click settings
5. Drag the pixel bar to the screen resolution you want
(whail you're at properties you can make dun screen saers and change your desktop and stuff like that)

for vista

1. right click on your desktop
2. click personalize
3. click display settings
4. drag the bar to the right screen resolution

How to Create a Professional Website

Before we share some of the necessary steps used to create a professional web design and website, the following question must be addressed: What constitutes a “professional web design”? More often than not, a web designer or web design company claims to offer professional web design services for their clients. However, should they be promoting “web design services” rather than “professional web design services”? When measuring the professionalism of a web design and website, one must take into consideration a number of factors/steps:

1. Multi-stage web design process
2. Project collaboration tools (if project has more than one person involved)
3. High-quality design
4. Attention to detail
5. Current web design technology (CSS)
6. Well written, interesting, grammatically-correct content
7. Usability
8. XHTML and CSS validation (clean code)
9. Standards-compliant
10. Optimization
11. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly
12. Abuse of Flash, Javascript, and sound effects

To put it simply, what separates professional web design from web design is whether or not a designer or web design company takes into consideration the above items when designing and building a website. Other than paying for a respected companies name and reputation, the items listed above are why professional web design services tend to cost more than regular web design services - you’re getting a lot more than a website - you’re getting the total package of web design professionalism that will surely shine through once the website is completed and released to the public.

The good news is, you don’t need to hire a professional web design company or professional web designer if you want a professional web design and website. Although there is a great deal of work involved, if you’d like to attempt to do the heavy lifting on your own, then the following professional web design tips will help you create a professional web design and website.

Note: You might be wondering why a professional web design company would give away their process and professional web design “checklist” for free. The answer is quite simple: there is only so much time in the day, and unfortunately we can’t professionally design every website in the world. The more high-quality, professional websites there are in cyberspace, the happier we as professional web designers and lovers of websites will be. To be blunt, there is just way too much junk out there. Lets get started.

Step 1: Multi-stage web design process

We’ve already written an extensive article on the basics of a professional web design process, so we’re just going to list some of the article’s key points for the sake of avoiding redundancy.

Stage 1: Conceptualization and planning (flowcharts)

When designing a website, one should not begin the process inside of a text editor (BBedit) or website builder application (Dreamweaver, GoLive, etc). Instead, the process should begin on a piece of paper or within flowchart software. According to Wikipedia, a flowchart is:

a schematic representation of an algorithm or a process.

In layman’s terms, a flowchart provides a visual chart illustrating the structure of your website. How many main navigational items will your website contain? What will these items be called? Will there be any pages contained within the main pages? What will they be called? By planning out your website using a flowchart, you get a head start on:

1. Information organization
2. Usability
3. Determining the volume of content required

Stage 2: Modeling (wireframes)

In the modeling stage, static “wireframe” mockups are created for each unique web page. To create wireframes, one may use either:

• paper and pencil
• mockup software such as Adobe Photoshop or our personal choice, OmniGraffle Professional

These wireframes contain a bare-bones skeleton which illustrate the layout of a particular web page. Where will the logo go? Where will the content be located? Will there be breadcrumbs? Will you have a login box? Each of these questions (and many more) are answered in the modeling stage. A few things one should take into consideration when creating wireframes:

• be sure to include all important elements that will be used (logo, navigation, content placement, images/video placement, login box, search, breadcrumbs, etc)
• reference the flowchart which you created in Stage 1
• don’t use graphics - wireframes are meant to be bare-bones: boxes/circles/ovals which illustrate the placement of objects
• only use text to label the elements, don’t use body text (thats for the third stage)
• focus on clean, well-organized, user-friendly layout; avoid cluttered layouts

Stage 3: Execution

The third stage in our professional web design process includes:

1. Creating the graphical user interface (GUI), also known as the design
2. Creating the content
3. Converting the web designs from images into code (markup) which web browsers use to present your website on the Internet

In the final stage, reference both the flowcharts created in Stage 1 and the wireframe mockups created in Stage 2 to create the final page layouts and designs. The design should be finalized in Photoshop or whatever image editing software you choose to use because it is a pain to make changes to the design once it has been converted into markup (code).

Trust us, process makes perfect

Following a well-structured web design process is by far one of the most importance steps that many web designers choose to neglect. By following a web design process such as the one we’ve just described, you increase the likelihood that your website will be well-organized, easily navigable, and user-friendly. If you’re going to skip any of the items in our professional web design checklist, make sure that the web design process is not one of them.

Step 2: Project collaboration tools

Note: If you are the only one working on your project, then you can skip this step. Project collaboration tools are only recommended for projects which have two or more people involved.

Communication is one of the most important elements in a project. When multiple people are building a website, there usually are quite a few e-mails sent back and forth between one another. The more e-mails exchanged, the longer it can take to find a certain e-mail and the easier it can be to misplace important bits of information. This was one of the biggest problems that our professional web design company faced when we first began - there wasn’t an easy way to organize the e-mails, attachments, milestones, etc.

Thankfully, after a little bit of research, we discovered a project collaboration tool called Basecamp. Taken directly from the Basecamp website:

Projects don’t fail from a lack of charts, graphs, stats, or reports, they fail from a lack of clear communication. Basecamp solves this problem by providing tools tailored to improve the communication between people working together on a project.

Basecamp (and project collaboration tools like it) allows multiple users to access a website which stores all of the messages, milestones, file uploads, to-do lists, time it takes to complete parts of the project, etc. that are associated with a project. No more sending e-mails. Everything is securely stored on the Basecamp servers. The only e-mails you will ever receive are notifications whenever something is contributed or changed within a project.

Basecamp has packages available that can be tailored to suit your needs. If you only need to use Basecamp for one project at a time, then you can signup for free. Unfortunately with the free version, there are no file uploads allowed. However, for a measly $12/month, you can control up to 3 projects at once, have 250 megabytes of file upload space, have unlimited people and clients, have a real-time chat that can easily be integrated into Basecamp, and much more.

When it comes to project collaboration and communication, nothing beats a web application like Basecamp. If you’re serious about your project and want to have the best communication possible, then you must try Basecamp. A project collaboration tool such as Basecamp is especially useful for a professional web design company which handles a number of projects and clients at any given time. For project collaboration, there is simply no better way to communicate.

Plug over.

Step 3: High-quality design

Who and what determines a “high-quality design”? There isn’t one answer. Often times something that is appealing to one person may be extremely unappealing to another. Despite this fact, there are several things that a high-quality design should have:

• Balance. Balance refers to the equal distribution of the heavy and the light elements on a single page.
• Unity. Unity keeps all of the similar elements in the website alike and those that are diverse further apart; everything should be pulled into one integrated whole.
• Emphasis. Emphasis involves the main points where the eye is drawn into the design; also known as “focal points”.
• Contrast. Not just color contrast, but also contrasting shapes, sizes, textures, and even typography.
• Rhythm. Also known as repetition, rhythm brings internal consistency into your web design.

Since this is a broad topic and cannot be fully covered in this article, you can read more about the five basic elements of web design.

In addition to these five basic elements of web design, information overload is often times one of the biggest killers of a website design. Designers sometimes forget the saying “less is more” and somehow seem to believe that the more information that is stuffed onto one page, the better it will be. Don’t become a victim of information overload. Keep your layout as clean as possible. Give different topics their own dedicated web pages. One of the biggest causes for information overload is not successfully planning out your website layout through the use of flowcharts and wireframes, discussed above in Step 1: Multi-stage web design process. Remember: white space is not necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, white space is your friend, especially when creating a professional web design. Successful professional web designers learn how to use white, negative space to their advantage, and make it a key element of the design.

Step 4: Attention to detail

When professionally designing a website, every little detail is thought out and planned. Should there be a line above the headers, and if so, why? If you use rounded corners for your main body, should you be consistent and use rounded corners for everything else? Does your logo look better with a reflection underneath? The only way to answer any of these questions is to experiment. Sometimes the best results come from accidental experimentation. Don’t always be happy with the first design. Work to improve upon the design and go through a few revisions, each time asking yourself “What can be done to make the design look better?”, be more consistent, and most importantly, give your website a stronger identity and image.

When we say “detail”, we’re not just talking about graphic design elements. No, graphic design is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re also talking about typography (font faces i.e. Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet MS, font sizes i.e 10 pixels, 12 pixels, 18 pixels, font weight/style i.e. bold, italic, font placement), the use of negative space, and other elements of design.

Attention to detail is important because it is oftentimes the details in your design which make your website stand out from the competition (or from other websites in general). People get bored with the same old design - give them something different, unique, and attractive, and they will come back and visit. Heck, they may even become inspired by your design.

Remember: Less is more. Use details, but don’t abuse details.

Step 5: Current web design technology (CSS)

CSS - also known as cascading style sheets - replaced table-based website layouts years ago. The problem is, a lot of web designers are still using tables to create their designs. Not only is this unprofessional, but tables just plain suck. Here are a number of reasons why using tables for your web design is a bad idea:

1. Tables slow down your website. Everything inside of a table’s cell is loaded before being shown to the user. This is especially apparent for people using dial up connections.
2. Tables make messy code and add unnecessary junk markup. File sizes are increased due to the excessive lines of code which means slower load times. Also, having to sift through hundreds (sometimes thousands) of lines of code just to make a change isn’t a lot of fun.
3. Universal layout updates are difficult and time consuming when using tables. Making universal edits with tables involves opening each file, sifting through the code and junk markup, and making a change (again, on each page). Often times with CSS, all one must do is open the stylesheet and change a single value.
4. Tables should only be used to show data, not be used to design websites.
5. Tables limit your creativity and design. Table layouts are limited to boring, grid-based layouts. With CSS, you can place anything anywhere. The layout possibilities with CSS are endless.
6. CSS will save you time and increase your revenue in the long run. Updates and edits are much easier using CSS than tables. Because of faster load times, fewer visitors are likely to become impatient and leave. Longer visits = more browsing, more ad-clicking, lower bounce rates = more money for you.
7. Display your CSS website on tons of high-quality CSS Showcase websites. Tons of exposure if your website is featured. Table-based layouts are not welcome. Complete list on listible.com.

Some people will argue that table-based layouts are better than layouts which are built using CSS. However, oftentimes the person arguing that tables are better than CSS is the person who spent thousands of dollars on a table-based layout. Despite what anyone tells you, table-based layouts are inferior to CSS and should be avoided at all costs.

To read all about CSS, visit w3schools.com. Again, to be blunt, if your website is created using tables, it is not professional web design quality. Start using CSS stylesheets today and keep the tables in your spreadsheet application.

Step 6: Well written, interesting, grammatically-correct content

One thing that greatly compromises the quality and credibility of a website is poorly written, grammatically incorrect, misspelled content. This kind of content is unfortunately present in an extremely high number of websites - especially “professional” company websites.

If you don’t know how to write, then hire someone to write the content of your website. You’ll thank yourself later. Even if you do know how to write, mistakes are easy to make. Run through your content a few times to confirm that everything makes sense, is interesting, and is spelled correctly. You’ll look more professional and people will take what you have to say more seriously.

Step 7: Usability

Website usability is extremely important. According to usability.gov:

In general, usability refers to how well users can learn and use a product to achieve their goals and how satisfied they are with that process. Usability, as defined by Joseph Dumas and Janice (Ginny) Redish, means that people who use the product can do so quickly and easily to accomplish their tasks. Usability may also consider such factors as cost-effectiveness and usefulness.

If website usability is poor, then people can easily become frustrated and leave your website. A great deal of importance must be placed on website usability if you want your web design to be of professional quality. It is usually poor usability which separates the regular websites from the professionally designed websites. Usability is the most important element of a professionally designed website.

For a wealth of information regarding website usability, visit usability.gov and also read our Dos and Donts of Website Navigation Usability.

Step 8: XHTML and CSS validation

Some people will argue that validating your website with XHTML and CSS validation from W3.org is a waste of time. To be blunt, they are wrong (for a number of reasons).

1. Accessibility. Without accessibility, you run the risk of being sued. For example: a disabled person who cannot use a “conventional” browser can sue you if your website is inaccessible to them. Although validation doesn’t necessarily guarantee accessibility, it is an important component of exercising ones due diligence and is reason enough that you should validate your website’s XHTML and CSS.
2. Cross browser compatibility. The more validation errors your website has, the higher the chances are that your website will not look the same in all web browsers. We will cover the importance of cross browser compatibility in the next step.
3. You look more professional with a valid website. Again, like having interesting content free of grammatical errors and misspellings, having a valid website makes you look more professional to your visitors. It tells them “Hey, I care about my website’s image, I took the time to validate it”.

If you’re building a website for the first time, then you may find that your website has a lot of validation errors. Don’t worry, this happens to the best of us. The more websites you build and the more time that you take to learn the rules of validation, the fewer errors you will get and the easier it will be to validate your website.

For more information about XHTML and CSS validation visit W3.org.

Step 9: Standards-compliant

Perhaps the most difficult, time-consuming aspect of professional web design is making sure your website is standards-compliant.

Taken directly from Wikipedia:

Standards-compliant is a term often used in describing websites & user agents’ (often web browsers) relative compliance with web standards proposed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

In layman’s terms, if you want your website to be considered professional, then it must look and function the same in all major browsers. In addition, achieving interoperability lowers costs to content providers since they must only develop one version of a document.

As mentioned above, creating a standards-compliant website will take a good deal of time and can even involve using basic hacks in order for certain elements to appear the same across all major browsers. Major browsers include: Internet Explorer 6 (IE6 -PC), Internet Explorer 7 (IE7 - PC), Firefox (PC and Mac), Safari (PC and Mac), and Opera (PC and Mac). These browsers control the majority of the browser market share and therefore the website which you create should be tested extensively in each of these browsers to ensure standards-compliance. In addition, XHTML and CSS validation (as mentioned in Step 8: XHTML and CSS validation) are extremely important when programming a website to be standards-compliant. Validate your website, validate your CSS stylesheet, validate yourself (okay, you can’t validate yourself, but if you could, would you?).

Step 10: Optimization

Website optimization is another crucial factor that must be taken into consideration when professionally designing a website. Website optimization includes:

• Image optimization. Next to audio and video, images can severely compromise the speed in which your website loads. Always compress your images using Photoshop or your favorite image compression utility. By compressing images, you decrease the size of a file which allows a web page to load quicker which ultimately decreases the chance that your visitor will leave your website due to long load times.
• Audio/Video optimization. Another major annoyance which screams “unprofessional” is having enormous video and audio files embedded in your web pages. Try to use Flash Video (.flv) compression for your video files and (.mp3) compression for your audio files. Not only are the file sizes smaller than using (.avi) or (.mpg) for video or (.wav) for audio, but the video/audio loads faster which means other elements on your web page will load faster, too.
• Clean code (just say no to tables). In case you skipped Step 5, do not use tables when designing your website - use CSS (cascading style sheets). Tables have a ton of junk markup which will slow down your page load time, increase file sizes, and make editing and updating quite difficult.
• Validate your XHTML and CSS. Although covered in Step 8, XHTML and CSS validation is an integral part of professional website optimization and therefore should not be skipped. Validate your XHTML and CSS.

Step 11: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly

Professionally designed websites should be designed with a solid SEO friendly foundation. To make your website SEO friendly:

• Don’t use Flash. If you must use Flash, make sure it is used sparingly. Flash content is not crawlable by search engine spiders and therefore the content located inside of Flash files cannot be indexed in the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, or Ask.
• Don’t use Frames. Search Engine Spiders have a difficult time crawling through a website that uses frames. Many Search Engine Spiders will receive the following message when visiting a website designed using frames:
  

  “Sorry! You need a frames-browser to view this site.”

• Keyword Research. Optimize your web pages by including keywords relevant to the content on your website. Use keyword research tools such as Wordtracker or Overture to find the best, most relevant keywords for your content.
• Researched Keywords in Title of web pages. Arguably the most important element in SEO, make sure that your title tags include the keywords found in the keyword research stage.
• Researched Keywords in URL. Be sure to include the researched keywords in the title of your web pages as well. For example, if a page on your website is about energy drinks, make sure that the file is saved as “energy-drinks.html”. Use dashes instead of underscores, if possible.
• CSS Navigation/CSS Stylesheets. CSS navigation guarantees that your website navigational text is crawlable by search engine spiders. CSS navigation also loads very quickly and anyone will be able to view the navigation using any browser.
• Researched Keywords in Anchor Text. For hyperlinks inside and outside of your website, be sure to include the researched keywords in the anchor text of your hyperlinks. This helps search engines better determine what a particular page is about and will help that page rank higher with the researched keyword(s).
• Images: ALT tags, no text in images. Not only are ALT tags required for XHTML validation, but they are necessary components of web accessibility. Try to avoid placing text inside of your images since search engine spiders cannot crawl image text. However, if you must place text inside of an image, use the text inside of the image as that image’s ALT tag. Search engine spiders can read ALT tags, just not the text inside of images.

Step 12: Abuse of Flash, Javascript, and sound effects

The last step in creating a professional web design and website is to avoid the abuse of Flash, Javascript, and sound effects. Not everyone has Flash or Javascript enabled on their computer, and therefore your website should not be built around them. If you’re going to use Flash or Javascript, use it sparingly.

Try not to use Flash Intros on your website. Most people hate waiting for Flash Intros to load, hate being forced to sit through them, and hate being surprised by the sound that many of them have. Do not create your website using only Flash. Again, what about the users who do not have Flash enabled on their computer? That could be a potential client, customer, or reader who you’re missing out on because of an unnecessary technological limitation.

If you’re going to use sound effects, make sure that they only play if the user enables sound on your website - never force sound effects onto your visitors. Nothing screams “unprofessional” like having a sound effect play each time a navigational item is rolled over or even worse, when the visitor lands on the home page of your website.

As a matter of fact, Flash and sound effects should generally be avoided when creating a professional web design. Javascript is the only exception as long as you program the website to work even if Javascript is disabled. Flash and sound effects are a nuisance to a lot of people, so for that reason alone, try to stay away from them.

The recipe to professional web design

These 12 steps make up the majority of the recipe which many professional web designers live by when designing websites. Of course, knowing the things that you know after reading this article and actually being able to create a professional web design are two very different things. However, as it does with anything, practice makes perfect. Now get out there and start building a professionally designed website! And hey, if you can’t do it yourself, go to Google and search “professional web design”. Chromatic Sites is in there, along with many other highly-respected professional web design companies.

credits:-chromaticsites

Top 5 Programs to Clean up ur pc

1. CCleaner (system optimization/privacy tool): CCleaner removes unused files from your system — allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. But the best part is that it’s fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO spyware or adware!
2. AVG or avast! (anti-virus): Block the problem before it starts.
3. HijackThis (cleaning/removing tool): This is a great tool for people who know how to use it and know what they are doing. There is a Web site that you can load your log file into and it will tell you what’s good or bad via a raiding system. Hijack This is a free anti-spyware program for computer experts. If you paid for HijackThis, you were either scammed or sold something else. HijackThis does not automatically remove bad things, you need to decide for yourself what is good or bad in the scan results.
4. Ad-Aware (anti-spyware/anti-adware): Always a must to keep you clean. Without it you may have pop-ups all over the place.
5. Windows firewall/hardware firewall: A firewall’s basic task is to regulate some of the the flow of traffic between computer networks of different trust levels. Typical examples are the Internet, which is a zone with no trust, and an internal network, which is a zone of higher trust.

   A zone with an intermediate trust level, situated between the Internet and a trusted internal network, is often referred to as a “perimeter network” or demilitarized zone (DMZ). A firewall’s function within a network is similar to firewalls with fire doors in building construction. In the former case, it is used to prevent network intrusion to the private network. In the latter case, it is intended to contain and delay structural fire from spreading to adjacent structures.

   Without proper configuration, a firewall can often become worthless. Standard security practices dictate a “default-deny” firewall ruleset, in which the only network connections that are allowed are the ones that have been explicitly allowed. Unfortunately, such a configuration requires detailed understanding of the network applications and endpoints required for the organization’s day-to-day operation. Many businesses lack such understanding, and therefore implement a “default-allow” ruleset, in which all traffic is allowed unless it has been specifically blocked. This configuration makes inadvertent network connections and system compromise much more likely. There are many firewalls out there for free.

Extra tip #6: Don’t just let the programs sit there. Use them, scan as often you can (I don’t mean go crazy every two hours). I scan with all of these programs once a week. Some, like the AVG, automatically scans each night.

How to Download Videos from Google,YouTube, MySpace

Site #1 - iDesktop.tv

You can download any video on YouTube using iDesktop.tv, you simply go to the site and click on the download link. You are given the option to download that video in multiple formats, MPEG, MOV, AVI, and many others.

Site#2 - Vixy.net

Similar but not as powerful as iDesktop.tv, Vixy allows you to save the videos by simply entering the URL(YouTube and other FLV files)for a specific video, please see the example below.

Conversion started...

Done!

The two samples above illustrate ways of getting those videos downloaded using a website to process and encode those files. If you want to go the other route and download the FLV files and convert them yourself, you can use the software listed below to accomplish this, as well as the original article I wrote.

Program #1 - Video DownloadHelper 2.6.1 (Firefox Add-on)

"DownloadHelper is a tool for web content extraction. Its purpose is to capture video and image files from many sites.
Just surf the Web as you are used to, when DownloadHelper detects it can do something for you, the icon gets animated and a menu allows you to download files by simply clicking an item."

Download

Via Mozilla

Program #2 - Free FLV Downloader

"Moyea FLV Downloader is a freeware to download FLV (Flash video) from all video sharing sites at great speed. This program is a one-stop solution to download, manage, play back and convert downloaded videos for Ipod, Iphone, PSP, Cell Phone, Windows Media, XVid and MP3."

Download

Via FLV Soft

This simple tutorial will show you how to download videos from the internet (MySpace, YouTube, Google Video, etc) and save them to your computer. The reason you have to through this process to download the videos is due to the fact that content providers use special formats that do not allow playback in traditional media players as such this method allows you to save the video files to a universal .avi video file that you can play back almost anywhere. As always comments/suggestions are welcome.

1. Download & install Firefox (You need firefox for the extension to work)

2. Download & install the Video Downloader extension for Firefox (The video downloader extension allows you to save videos from popular websites like Myspace, YouTube, Google, and others.)

3. Download & install Media Coder (This encoder converts the video you download into .avi files which allow you to view and store them at your won discretion)

4. Find the video you wish to save. Once you are on the page click the Video Downloader Button in the bottom right part of your Firefox Browser window.

5. A window will pop-up. Click the button that says Download Link

6. When prompted select Save to Disk and then click OK

>>>>>Please note that if the file you download does not have the extension .flv, then rename the file and end the name with .flv <<<<<

7. Start up MediaCoder

8. Click on the I agree radio button and on the Skip Setup Wizard button, then close the window that appears after that.

9. Drag and drop the .flv files you downloaded into the large white area in Media Coder

10. Click on the Video tab in the lower left-hand section on the window and select XviD in the Format drop-down menu.

11. Click the large Start buttonon the top toolbar window to start transcoding your video.

12. When completed a window will propmt you saying that transcoding is completed, go your file's original location and an .AVI file shoudl be there with the same file name. Now you can play it with Windows Media or your favorite media player.

Original tutorial found at DVD Help Forums

How To Share Network between two or more computer

First:
a regular network cable will not work. You need what's called a "reversing" or "cross-over" network cable. The problem is that a regular cable will connect the transmitter of computer A to the transmitter of computer B, and the receiver to the receiver. What you want is the "reverse" - you want the transmitter of one computer connected to the receiver of another. (Hubs, routers, and the like know to listen to the transmitter, and send to the receiver - so "normal" cables work just great when you're connecting to those.)

Second:
you may need to install an additional network protocol. If all you're doing is connecting two computers, you may need to install either the IPX or NetBEUI protocols. It's more complicated than is necessary to get into here, but these protocols allow computers to identify themselves, rather than relying on some other device to assign them an address. In this case things that rely on TCP/IP will not work. However, if you use Internet Connection Sharing on one of the computers to share a connection, then TCP/IP, and all the tools that rely on it, will work and no additional protocols will be required


Connect two computers using router:

1.Plug in your cable or DSL modem and connect it to the cable system or the phone line with DSL. Specific instructions for this are provided by the cable company or your DSL provider, if they don't actually do the installation for you.

2:Connect the cable/DSL modem to the wide area network (WAN) port of your router with the cable provided. If none was provided, a standard CAT5 cable should be fine.

3.Power up the router and wait for all the diagnostic lights to settle down.

4.Connect your computers to the LAN ports on the router using standard CAT5 network patch cables.

5.Power up or restart your computers.

6.If your router includes a wireless access point and you're connecting some of your computers using wireless, you'll need to configure the wireless connections now.

Top 5 antispyware,antivirus,firewall

Top 5 Antispyware

• Number 5: Spybot Search & Destroy
  Cost: Free
  About.com Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: While Spybot is known for catching less than 95% of common infections, there are two big reasons why you want to use this product. Firstly: the SDHelper and TeaTimer functions do help significantly in keeping downloaded spyware from actually rooting itself onto your drive. Secondly: the price is perfect. If you install Spybot as part of a multi-program defense, then definitely try this product.
  
  
• Number 4: Microsoft Windows Defender
  Cost: Free
  About.com Rating: 4 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: Somewhat more thorough than Spybot, this new free offering from Microsoft is worth trying. Included in Windows Vista or downloadable from the link above, Microsoft Defender will work well as part of a combination defense, perhaps with Spybot.

• Number 3: Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware SE, Personal Edition
  Cost: Free
  About.com Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: Lavasoft has been the benchmark spyware-defense tool for years. Their Ad-Aware product has won the trust of millions of users. Although it doesn’t have the nifty shredding and email opt-out lists of Spybot, Ad-Aware does perform realtime protection, and it auto updates its definition lists to remain current. Up until 2006, combining Spybot and Ad-Aware was the smartest (and the cheapest) way to defend your compute against spyware. Things are different now, because Number 1 below has set the high bar even higher for 2007.
  
  
• Number 2: Navarre Webroot Spy Sweeper
  Cost: Free to try, approximately $39 to buy
  About.com Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: Achieving 100% detection of spyware toolbars in recent About tests, Spy Sweeper was also effective in shutting down nearly 85% of active malware processes. This would go well as a three-way combination with Spybot and Lavasoft.
  
  
• Number 1: Macafee Virus Scan and Anti Spyware
  Cost: Approximately $39.99 for antivirus and anti-spyware combined
  About.com Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment:
In recent About.com tests, Macafee managed to detect 100% of all spyware infection, and it also shut down nearly 99% of spyware processes running in memory. While you cannot purchase Macafee anti-spyware without also purchasing their antivirus, the bundle is absolutely worth it at $39.99. If you are willing to spend money on your spyware and virus defense, then Macafee and Web Root are the two choices we recommend to everyone. If you are looking to save yourself a few dollars, then Lavasoft/Defender/Spybot can make for a good no-cost combination defense.

Top 5 FireWall

• Number 5: NET FIREWALL
  Cost: $49.95
  About.com Rating: 3 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: It tracks each packet traversing the firewall and makes sure that they are legitimate.Don't need logged on user to load firewall rules and start packet filtering engine.
  
  
• Number 4: PRISMA FIREWALL
  Cost $29.50
  About.com Rating: 4 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: Within a private network, Prisma Firewall protects the computer from attacks of internal users.Displays information about current opened connections (tcp/udp) and historical data about your network traffic. Also, you are able to close connections (only for tcp) or kill process (only if you have the proper rights).

• Number 3: COMODO FIREWALL
  Cost: Free
  About.com Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: It validates all the components of an application before allowing it internet access. Comdo Firewall analyzes each application behavior and detects any suspicious activity before allowing internet access.In addition, the Comodo Firewall helps with connection details like IP addresses and ports. It also provides free proactive technical support.
  
  
• Number 2: SHIELD PRO FIREWALL 2008
  Cost: Free to try, approximately $39 to buy
  About.com Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment: This software, using Hauri technology for virus protection, accurately detects and repairs viruses with its fully optimized and separated antivirus engine for Macro, Script and Windows viruses.
  It is distinguished from the other Antivirus tools by its high-speed scanning capability.
  It also scans and cleans email messages on a real time basis before they ever reach your compute
  
  
• Number 1: ZONEALARM PRO 2008
  Cost: Approximately $39.99
  About.com Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
  Editor’s comment:

Add multi-layered security to your current antivirus for more protection. Includes operating system firewall, anti-spyware, identity theft protection and network and program firewall. Best of all, fully compatible with major antivirus software and Windows operating systems. Automatically makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Internet.
Advanced Features:

• Allows to assign different security levels
• Theft Protection
• Complete PC Firewall Protection
• Automatic Wireless Security

Top 5 Antivirus

1. The Shield Deluxe . The Shield Deluxe 2008 combines reactive virus protection and spyware detection methods with the latest proactive technologies to provide your computer with the most effective protection against malicious programs. The product is simple to install and set up, while offering advanced users a range of versatile settings for fine-tuning the program.
2. CA anti-virus software . CA anti-virus software has such a nice, clean interface with what seems to be a very high “install and forget rating”. There is no overload of information and choices on the interface which is good. Clean and simple, the way anti-virus software should be! CA Anti-virus’s main software component runs at less than 13mb RAM which is pretty light and my overall system scan was pretty fast.
3. BitDefender . The best way to defend your computer against Computer Viruses, spyware, hackers and spam is BitDefender 2008. BitDefender 2008 is an exceptional product with a user–friendly interface that scans all existing files on your computer as well as all incoming and outgoing emails, IM transfers and all other network traffic.
4. Norton Anti-Virus Software 2008 . Norton, one of the leaders in security software, offers viable antivirus protection. The software is easy to use and has wide-ranging security features to protect your PC from malicious programs. Some of this protection includes instant messaging scanning, script blocking and POP3 and SMTP email protection. But, this software does not provide protection from P2P or file sharing transfers
5. Kaspersky . Kaspersky Lab, program used to identify and remove potential risks and malicious programs attempting to corrupt files and data on a computer. Real-time email scanning & automatic hourly updates; Rootkit and keylogger protection

How To Fix corrupted external hard drive

1) Check your Master/Slave/Standalone jumper settings and make sure they are correct and
don't conflict with another device on the same IDE channel.
2) Check for bent pins on the connectors.
3) Try a known good cable—Floppy and IDE cables often seem to go down the gurgler at the
worst possible time for some unknown reason.
4) Try a known good drive on your IDE channel and check the channel. If it doesn't respond:
• Try another IDE port (if there's two)
• Disable onboard IDE and try another I/O card (one that’s known to be good of course)
5) Try the disk in another PC.
6) Here's where it starts getting tricky. By now you must be reasonably convinced you have a
bad case of galloping disk rot. On some drives (not all), if you have an identical same model
drive, you can swap over the logic board. This will let you know if it is the embedded controller
on the logic board. With luck, your disk will roar into life and you can suck the data off onto
somewhere safe.
7) If your disk is making a hideous noise like a peg-legged man with a vacuum cleaner on a
wooden floor (whirrr, clunk, whirrr, clunk....), then it is likely you have a dropped head. This is
where you have start making decisions about how much your data is worth, because to go any
further is going to cost big time and may require factory technicians to try and repair the disk
in a clean-room environment. If your data was that important, then it would have been backed
up. (Of course it would have been, they all respond in loud voices)
8) She's dead, Jim. How fast can you type? In a nutshell, this is my summary of the death
cycle of a hard disk.

How to Convert RMVB to AVI

In this article, I am going to show how to convert a rmvb file to an avi file (mpeg4 video + mp3 audio)

Tools
1. mplayer
2. mencoder
3. essential codecs for mplayer

note: to install the above tools, please take a look to http://stanton-finley.net/fedora_co...tion_notes.html

File
1. rmvb file: in.rmvb
2. avi file: out.avi

Information for the avi file
Video
format: mpeg4
bitrate:1200 kb/s
fps: 25 fps
Audio
format: mp3
bitrate: 128 kb/s

Command
mencoder in.rmvb -oac mp3lame -lameopts preset=128 -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=1200 -ofps 25 -of avi -o out.avi

Explanation
-oac: output audio codec
mp3lame: library used for audio encoding
-lameopts: options used along with lame
preset: values for audio bitrate, you can set 64, 128, 224, etc
-ovc: ouput video codec
lavc: library used for video encoding
-lavcopts: options used along with lavc
vcodec: video codec, you can use mpeg1video, mpeg4, etc
vbitrate: video bitrate, you can set 600, 1000, 1200, etc
-ofps: outpt frame per second ( fps)
-of: output file container type
-o: output filename

Mencoder is a powerful tool to convert multimedia, just like the above example, we can use it to convert rmvb to avi. With suitable library and codecs, we can even use it to convert file format like rm, wmv etc.

How to recover files from formatted harddisk

A. Dead system—System "A"
B. Known working system—System "B"
C. I am assuming that the system board is posting and responding in the correct manner. And
that no Jumpers have been moved on any of the equipment.
Step 1. Verify power to Hard Drive (HD), Multi-tester (VDC), or another system plug. If power
(See step #2) If no power, swap/replace plugs/power supply.
Step 2. Swap hard drive from A to B and boot. If boot, then HD is good. (See step #3) If Noboot,
then replace HD.
Step 3. REMOVE...DISABLE if onboard.... all un-needed devices from System A...modem,
sound card...etc.
NOTE: Label HD ribbon cables A and B before removal from systems. "A" for System "A" and
"B" for System "B")
Step 4. Remove from system A and B the HD, and ribbon cable that connects it to the
motherboard...(MB)
Step 5. Swap drive and cables from B to A and connect to MB. If boot then controller on MB
"A" is good (See step #6.) If No-boot then MB controller is bad.... replace MB.
Step 6. Return HD's and cables to original systems, Remove HD ribbon cables from both
systems, swap B for A and boot...If boot then ribbon cable on A is bad...replace. If No-boot

How to Burn an HD-DVD to Blu-Ray

Step 1: Rip Data From HD-DVD

* Ripping the data from your HD-DVD is more complex than simply copying its contents in Windows Explorer. To get around the encryption, you will need software that can first decode it before it can be copied to your hard drive. There are two popular programs that can both do so relatively simply:

1. DVD Fab HD Decrypter
* -DVD Fab's website contains a useful tutorial that covers all the program's features, but you'll only really need to read its "DVD to DVD Modes" section for now.
* -The free version includes all the functions you'll need to use for the purposes of this guide, although paying for the full version will include a more advanced features like ripping only specific sections of your HD-DVD.
2. SlySoft AnyDVD HD
* -Slysoft provides an overall guide to AnyDVD, this guide is more straightforward with the specifics needed in this guide.
* -The website provides a trial version of the program which includes the full set of features, but is only valid for a 21-day evaluation period.

* Both programs will decrypt and rip your HD-DVD's data to .EVO files in a location of your choosing. The largest file contains the main movie, and the rest are various extras on the DVD. All of these files are playable on your computer, provided you have enough hard drive space for all the movies you want to backup from your collection. Converting these files to a playable Blu-Ray format will require some more work, though.

Step 2: Separate Video and Audio Streams

* The .EVO files you just ripped contain both video and sound data, both of which need to be separated, or demuxed, before you move on to the next step. The recommended program to demux your .EVO files is the aptly-named EVODemux. As for using EVODemux, Step 2 in the Doom9 guide is better supplemented with a graphical guide on the Ultimate DVDR Forums.

1. Load the .EVO file with the main movie into EVODemux.
2. The program will take some time to read the file, at the end of which it will display video and sound information about the file.
* HD-DVD video will be encoded in one of two ways, VC-1 or H.264, and this step will list which of the two your HD-DVD is, information that is important in the next steps.
The world of ripping and converting all this high-definition data can be a bleak, unforgiving desert. Stick close to the steps in this guide so you don't get lost. (Photo by Rene Asmussen)
The world of ripping and converting all this high-definition data can be a bleak, unforgiving desert. Stick close to the steps in this guide so you don't get lost. (Photo by Rene Asmussen)
3. Open the Video/Audio tab.
4. Make sure there is a mark by the video stream.
* If your HD-DVD is VC-1, it will read VC-1.stream.0.
* If your HD-DVD is H.264, it will read H.264.stream.0.
5. Choose an audio stream and make sure it is the only one marked; any other streams aren't necessary and will only take up more space on your final disc.
6. Make sure to note how the audio stream you choose is formatted. This will be important later when you process the audio stream.
* Dolby TrueHD will be marked truehd, and is the highest quality.
* DTS-HD Master Audio will be marked dtshd.
* Dolby Digital Plus will be marked ddp (note: not dd+) and is the lowest quality.
7. Open the Subpicture tab and make sure nothing is marked.
8. Click on Demux.
9. Rename the resulting .mpa file with a suffix that corresponds to how it was encoded.
* Example: If EVODemux generated audio.mpa from an audio stream marked ddp, rename audio.mpa to audio.ddp.

Step 3: Process Video Stream

* Now that it has been separated from the audio, it's time to transcode—convert from one encoding scheme to another—the video into a format that a Blu-Ray player will be able to recognize. What you use to do so depends upon the format of your video, which you determined in the last step with EVODemux.

* Note that the next few steps require knowledge of command line interface rather than the GUI, or graphic user interface, that you just used with the programs thus far in this guide. If you've never used Command Prompt in Windows before, now would be a good time to look over Mahalo's guide on How to Use Command Prompt.

* For VC-1 Video:

1. Download VC-1 Elementary Stream Converter.
* If you're having a hard time finding it on the page, look for the link under vc1conv - VC-1 Elementary Stream Converter marked Source and Command Line Executable.
2. Unzip the file somewhere easily navigable in Windows Explorer (for example: C:\vc1conv).
3. Open Command Prompt.
4. Navigate to the folder where you unzipped vc1conv.zip.
5. According to the readme file packaged with the program, vc1conv is activated by the command: vc1conv .
* For example, if your original file is stored in C:\LOCATION\VIDEO.vc1 and you want it to be placed in the same folder, you would type vc1con C:\LOCATION\VIDEO.mpv C:\LOCATION\NEWVIDEO.mpv.
6. Use the file you demuxed in EVODemux as input, and specify the output location.

* For H.264 Video:

1. Download H264info.
2. Open h264info.exe.
3. Use the file you demuxed in EVODemux as input.
4. Put a mark next to Remove Pulldown.
5. In the box next to Input frameRate (25, 29.97...), enter the number 23.976.
6. Click Start.

Step 4: Compress Audio Stream (Optional)

* Unlike the video stream, the audio stream can technically be used as it is when you recombine the two. However, depending on how big your movie is, the combined file size may be a problem when it's time to burn everything to Blu-Ray, which has a size limit of 25GB (although you may want to keep it closer to 23GB).

* If you want to go ahead with this step, eac3to is the recommended program to use, and will be accessed through Command Prompt just like VC-1 Elementary Stream Converter did. eac3to's creator has posted an overview of the program and the audio decoders it supports which, depending on the format of your audio stream, you may also need to install so you can properly compress your audio.

1. Open Command Prompt.
2. Navigate to the folder where you unzipped eac3to.zip.
3. Start typing the command eac3to like you ran vc1conv: eac3to , but do not hit Enter yet.
4. You will also need to specify a decoder and bitrate, depending on the format of your audio stream.
1. If your audio stream was in Dolby TrueHD, add -libav -640 to the end of the command.
* The full command should look like this: eac3to "C:\LOCATION\audio.thd" "C:\LOCATION\audio.ac3" -libav -640.
2. If your audio stream was in DTS-HD Master Audio, add -sonic -640 to the end of the command.
* The full command should look like this: eac3to "C:\LOCATION\audio.dts" "C:\LOCATION\audio.ac3" -sonic -640.
3. If your audio stream was in Dolby Digital Plus, add -nero -640 to the end of the command.
* The full command should look like this: eac3to "C:\LOCATION\audio.ddp" "C:\LOCATION\audio.ac3" -nero -640.

Step 5: Recombine Video and Audio Streams

* Now that they've been properly formatted, it's time to cram the two streams back into a single cozy, Blu-Ray friendly file before you can finally burn it your backup disc.

1. Download tsMuxeR.
2. Unzip tsMuxeR_1.2.9.zip and open the folder.
3. Open tsMuxeRGUI.exe. (Yay, no more command line!)
4. Load both the video you converted in either in H264info or with vc1conv into tsMuxeR.
5. Change the video FPS to 24000/1001.
6. Click on .ts Muxing and choose an output path.
7. Click on Start muxing.

* Now that the files have been rejoined, the output has to be converted one last time into a Blu-Ray format.

1. Download TsRemux.
2. Open tsremux.exe.
3. Load the .ts files that came out of tsMuxeR into TsRemux.
4. Since you've worked so hard to get them into the right format, so in the box labeled Select the elementary streams you want to keep: make sure to put a mark next to both Video and Audio.
5. Under Output Format make sure to choose Blu-Ray.
O brave new Blu-Ray world... Welcome your newly converted HD-DVD movies to the baffling future. (Creative Commons photo by everyone's idle)
O brave new Blu-Ray world... Welcome your newly converted HD-DVD movies to the baffling future. (Creative Commons photo by everyone's idle)
6. Choose a chapter length, which by default will be 5 minutes.
7. Click on Remux.

Step 6: Burn Disc Image to Blu-Ray

* Glen8's guide provides specific instructions on burning with Nero, which you may or may not have. As Nero is not freeware you can also use ImgBurn, available as a free download, to (finally) burn your converted HD-DVD Movie onto Blu-Ray.

Conclusion

* That was some sort of technological odyssey, wasn't it? Rest easy though because now, armed with everything you've picked up along the way, it doesn't matter whether you're looking to concede HD-DVD's defeat with quiet grace by converting your collection to Blu-Ray, or just trying to find a way to watch HD-DVD exclusive movies on the Blu-Ray setup you've owned all along. You've got the knowledge and know-how to convert any HD-DVD to Blu-Ray. Just do your best to spend at least as much time watching your HD movies as you do converting them.