Send Ctrl-Alt-Delete in a remote desktop session

Remote Desktop is a nifty little windows feature that allows you to remotely connect to another PC and manage it as if you were physically at the console. You can read my previous post on how to setup remote desktop in Windows XP.

When connecting to another machine, just about all keyboard actions are transmitted to the remote machine, i.e. pressing Enter, typing, pressing the Windows key, etc. However, that is not the case for some key combinations.

One that has bothered me for a very long time when using Remote Desktop in Windows is when I press Ctrl + Alt + Del while logged into the remote computer. Instead of sending the key combo to the remote computer, it would instead perform the action on my computer!

This was actually intended by Microsoft because there are many cases where you may not want that to be sent to the remote computer. So, by default, Ctrl + Alt + Del will only work for the local computer.

So how does one perform this same action on the remote computer? It’s pretty easy actually! In order to send Ctrl + Alt + Del to the remote PC, just press the following alternate key combination:

Ctrl + Alt + End

That’s it! Pretty easy eh? Unfortunately, I tend to use Remote Desktop rarely and therefore forget this key combo all the time! Also, note that there are a bunch of other keyboard shortcuts you can use in Remote Desktop:

Alt + Page Up – Switch between programs (Alt + Tab is the local command)

Ctrl + Alt + End – Display the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc is the local command)

Alt + Home – Brings up the Start menu on the remote computer

Ctrl + Alt + (+) Plus/ (-) Minus – Minus takes a snapshot of the active window and plus takes a snapshot of the entire remote desktop window.

Those are pretty much all of the remote desktop keyboard shortcuts you will ever need! If you know of anymore, post a comment! Enjoy!

How to turn off DEP (Data Execution Prevention) in Windows

Data Execution Prevention, otherwise known as DEP, is a set of technologies incorporated into Windows XP SP2 and later that prevents code from being run in certain regions of memory that are for storage.

This helps to prevent all kinds of attacks and exploits that would normally be able to run freely on your system. Data Execution Prevention comes in two flavors, hardware-enforced DEP and software-enforced DEP.

Most users will never need to worry about DEP because it works in the background and normally only protects Windows system binaries or programs that “opt-in”. However, if DEP is turned on for all programs, it can cause issues with some certain programs.

DEP will sometimes shut down a program or process without any notification if it violates DEP. Normally, these are third-party or older programs not written properly for Windows.

You can turn off Data Execution Prevention for a particular program in Windows by following the steps below. Note that you can turn off DEP globally for the entire system, but it’s not recommended as it makes your computer less secure.

Step 1: Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Then click on the Advanced tab and then Settings under Performance.

Step 2: Now click on the Data Execution Prevention tab and you’ll see two radio buttons:

Step 3: Go ahead and click on Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select.

Step 4: Click the Add button and browse to the location of the executable for the program you want to remove from DEP protection.

After you do this, you should reboot your machine once in order for the changes to take place.

How to add social bookmarking tags using Live Writer

Social bookmarking is used for storing bookmarks of useful web pages on the Net. In a social bookmarking system, users save links to web sites they want on their own social website account. For example, if you have a Yahoo! account, you can click the image below to add the online-tech-tips.com URL to your Yahoo! account:

It would then open your Yahoo! bookmarks page prompting you to save the link:

You could then see the bookmark on the bookmarks.yahoo.com site:

Now that you know how to use the bookmarks when you see them, let me show you how to create link icons for several bookmarking sites so you can put them on your own blogs or web sites. To do this on Live Writer, download the plugin from http://gallery.live.com/liveItemDetail.aspx?li=d2597790-f998-46be-bbe5-caa4a007e0f0&bt=9&pl=8

Click the download button as shown above and then run the file once it is completed downloading.

After running the file, open Windows Live Writer and then make a post where you want to put the icons. Click the Bookmarking Tags! plug-in under the insert panel:

Enter the URL of the site you want to bookmark, a descriptive title and “text to show” that will act as a label on the left side of the icons. You may choose from the available bookmarking sites but all are selected by default. Click done to create the icons:

If you look on the source code, the plug-in automated the generation of the code and the icons are preloaded also, so you don’t have to figure out the right URL syntax for each bookmarking service.

How to use Symantec AntiVirus Liveupdate

I use Symantec Antivirus as my primary virus protection software. Like any other antivirus tool it depends on it’s virus definitions database to be able to recognize virus signatures that sneaks up on my computer.

In this post I will show you how to use the LiveUpdate window to update Symantec’s virus definition files.

To access live Update open the Symantec Antivirus window and look for the LiveUpdate button at the lower right portion of the screen.

Before clicking the button first notice the date of the version of the virus definitions file. This way you will see if your definitions file is old or recent. The older this date, the more urgent that you need to update.

Click the LiveUpdate button to open the LiveUpdate wizard. Click Next to begin downloading:

Wait for the download to finish. That’s it! In some cases you will need to download up to 40MB of files if your virus definition files is really old.

Be patient with it, your antivirus software is only as good as it’s virus definition updates. The download time could take a few minutes to an hour depending on your Internet bandwidth.

By default LiveUpdate automatically downloads the virus definitions from the Symantec server. In some cases, like when I didn’t connect my computer in the Internet for a very long time, I needed to trigger the LiveUpdate manually.

Tips for Increasing Computer Speed and Performance

Keeping your hard drive clean is essential to the high performance that the latest computers can achieve. Fortunately, it's a simple process; one that can easily be performed on a regular basis and, with some organization, keep your computer running like a well-oiled machine

You can discover how much hard drive space is available on your computer by accessing the DriveSpace program in your System Tools. A pie graph will show you the amount of used and unused space for each of your drives. Check this often to keep an idea of how much space you are using..

There are six simple steps to clearing up your hard drive:

1. Uninstall unused programs.

Many times a new program will come along that looks fun to have or play with, but after a week or two you simply stop using it. These programs clutter up your drive and take up valuable space. You might be tempted to delete these programs from your drive, but doing so will cause problems. You must use the uninstall function of Windows for the program to be removed safely and completely.

2. Clean out temporary files.

When your computer is not shut down properly, it will pass information from memory into fragmented files. Also, while you are running programs, your computer will write information that it does not immediately need into temporary files. Installation files will also expand themselves into the temporary folder and will not always clean up after themselves. You can delete these temporary files safely by using the Disk Cleanup option in your System Tools.

3. Empty your Internet cache.

As you surf the Internet your computer stores web pages and images into a temporary Internet cache so that it can quickly recall and access information when you move back and forth between pages. This backup information can quickly add up and eat hard drive space.

Whether you use Internet Explorer, Netscape, or one of the many other browsers available, emptying out your cache is quick and easy. Simply follow the instructions in the Help files located within those programs. You may also wish to set a specific maximum file size for your cache folder, so that it is not allowed to run rampant.

4. Empty your mail programs of clutter.

It's easy to browse through your email and leave old messages there, promising yourself you'll sort them out later. One or two messages don't take up much space, but hundreds certainly do. Take the time to sort through these old emails now and delete what is not important. Create folders and organize what is left. Make it a habit that when new emails come in, they are either filed immediately or thrown away. Set your email program to empty your deleted items folder each time you close your mail program.

5. Empty your recycle bin.

Once you've emptied your drive of cluttering, unnecessary programs; empty your recycle bin to remove what has been placed there in the process.

6. Scandisk and Defrag.

When Windows installs programs, it will put the files it needs anywhere that it finds free space, and not directly after the last program installed. As a result, your hard drive has patches of empty space on it that are not big enough to fit a full program, and will result in a drive space error if you attempt to install something new. Scandisk your drive to check for lost file fragments and to fix any errors it finds, then Defrag to pack all of the program files together at the beginning of your drive. This will clear out those empty patches and move all of the free space you've just created to the end of your drive.

Now that you've got it clean, keep it that way. Perform this quick maintenance routine every week. For your work computer, Friday afternoon before you leave for the weekend is the perfect time. When you return to work on Monday, you'll have a computer that is clutter-free and as responsive as it should be.

Organize your surfing habits. Direct all of your downloads to the same folder, so that you can easily find them and delete them when necessary, or move them to zip disks for storage. Keep track of the programs that you install. For trial versions, note the date that they will expire on a calendar. This will remind you to uninstall the programs that you can no longer use rather than allowing them to clutter up your drive. Also, if you run into problems, keeping track of new downloaded and installed programs and the date they were installed can help you track down the cause of problems.

Remember that the cleaner your hard drive is, the better your machine will respond! In order for your computer to be user friendly, it must have a friendly user. Be your computer's best friend and clean out the cobwebs regularly

PC Hardware Glossary - PC Hardware Help

AGP ( Accelerated Graphics Port ) - An interface that is designed for video cards to allow high speed transmission between the CPU, memory and the video card.

• BIOS (Basic Input Output System) - A set of instructions stored on a ROM chip that provides an interface for a computer's hardware and software.

• CD Burner - A type of CD-ROM device that can burn/write data and music onto writable CDs.

• CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory) - An optical data storage medium using disks similar to audio CDs. CD-ROMs have a maximum storage capacity of 700 MB (megabytes). Some types can be written to multiple times (CD-RW). CD-ROMs are used in CD-ROM players on computers.

• CPU (central processing unit) - Also known as the processor. This microchip controls and performs the execution of computer instructions. They come in many different types and speeds. The speed is most commonly measured in gigahertz (GHz).

• Firewire - A very fast external bus that supports data transfer rates of up to 400 Mbps. It is used to connect devices to computer that require a high data transfer rate such as video cameras.

• Hard Drive - A device inside (sometimes outside) of a computer used to store data such as files, folder, documents and pictures etc. They come in many different capacities and are usually measured in gigabytes. They also come with different interfaces to the computer such as IDE, SATA and SCSI.

• Heatsink - A cooling device which attaches to a CPU to conduct away and disperse the heat generated by the CPU.

• Jumper - A small component that you place over pairs of pins to connect them electronically most commonly used on hard drives and CD-ROMS to determine which is master and which is the slave.

• Motherboard - The main circuit board of a computer system. It contains the system bus. It has different connections for the CPU, memory, expansion cards, hard drives etc. All the system devices run though the motherboard.

• Network Interface Card (NIC) - A hardware device that is used to connect a computer to other networked devices such as other computers and printers. NICs can support several different data transfer rates but the most common is 100 Mbps (mega bits per second).

• PCI (peripheral computer interconnect) - an industry-standard bus used in computers that provides a high-speed connection with peripherals such as video and sound cards.

• PCI Express - A high-speed peripheral interconnect introduced in 2002 that expands on and doubles the data transfer rates of original PCI. PCI Express is a 2 way serial connection compared to the single parallel data bus of traditional PCI. It was designed to eventually replace the PCI and AGP buses.

• Power Supply - The component that supplies power to the computer and converts AC current to DC current. It has different power plugs that fit your hardware devices such as hard drives, CDROM, and motherboard.

• RAID (redundant array of independent disks or redundant array of inexpensive disks ) - A system whereby multiple hard drives are connected together to form a single large drive for storage that offers increased performance and fault tolerance.

• RAM (random access memory) - The very fast temporary memory of a computer into which application programs currently in use can be loaded and executed. Once the computer is turned off, all data in this memory is lost.

• SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) - A type of interface between a computer and peripherals that allows faster communication than most other interface standards. SCSI provides a very fast data transfer rate and can connect up to 7 devices together.

• Sound Card - An interface card that is used to transfer the audio signal between the computer and the speakers.

• USB (Universal Serial Bus) - A bus type that is used to connect devices such as keyboards, mice, cameras, printers, scanners etc to a computer. Most newer computers have 4 or more USB ports installed. You can have up to 127 devices attached though these ports.

• Video Card - An interface card that is used to transfer the video signal between the computer and the monitor.

Kaspersky Virus Removal Tools - Virus Information

Kaspersky Labs offers free downloadable virus tools for a wide variety of modern viruses. All you need to do is go to the site and find the virus you have and see if there is a tool to fix it.
http://www.kaspersky.com/removaltools

They also offer free trial versions of their antivirus and firewall software for home and business use. Plus they provide up to date information on current virus and spyware threats.

You can also scan your PC for free with their online virus scanner.
http://usa.kaspersky.com/services/free-virus-scanner.php

Free Antivirus Software and Online Scans - Virus Information

If you are looking for a quick, easy and free way to scan your computer for virues then check out this section on free anivirus tools and online scans. Some you will need to download and others you can run online. Check them out and see which works the best for you.

Panda ActiveScan
Free antivirus utility that works within your browser to scan your hard drive. Click here to go to run the scan.

Avast! Home Edition v4.5
Avast! Home Edition doesn't just scan your hard drive from time to time, it attacks viruses at their preferred points of invasion. This antivirus program uses resident protection for real time protection from the viruses that would board your pc. Click here to download.

AVScan
Scan for more than 8000 virus signatures. Click here to download.

Symantec Security Check
Scan for viruses with this free online tool. Scan for Viruses will detect known viruses and Trojan horses. It won't fix the infected files; to do that, you'll have to install Norton Anti-Virus.Click here to run the scan.

HouseCall
Scan and eliminate viruses with this free tool. It will show the name of the virus so you can find out more about it, clean the virus, or delete the infected file. Click here to run the scan.

ViruSafe Web
Scan your downloads and e-mail. Click here to download.

F-Macro
Search for and eliminate macro viruses in Word and Excel 6.x and 7.x documents. Click here to download.

Computer Networking Terminology

• Bandwidth - the rated throughput capacity of a given network media or protocol. The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time.

• Backbone - A high-speed link joining together several networks.

• Bit – A unit of information having just two possible values, as either of the binary digits 0 or 1.

• Byte - a series of consecutive binary digits that are operated upon as a unit. There are 8 bits in a byte.

• Category 5 (cat 5) cable -A type of twisted pair network wiring in which there is a certain number of twists per foot. It is the most commonly used network cabling.

• Coaxial Cable - A type of cable consisting of two insulating layers and two conductors most commonly used in older networks.

• Collision - An attempt by two devices to transmit over the network at the same time usually resulting in the data being lost.

• DNS (Domain Name System) – an internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. For example www.google.com translates to 66.102.7.99.

• Dynamic DNS - A method of keeping a domain name linked to a changing IP address using a pool of available IP addresses so you can use applications that require a static IP address.

• Domain - A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit.

• DHCP ( Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol )– A TCP/IP protocol that dynamically assigns an IP address to a computer. Dynamic addressing simplifies network administration because the software keeps track of IP addresses rather than requiring a network administrator to do so.

• Ethernet - Ethernet is the most widely installed local area network technology. It was developed during the late 1970s through a partnership of DEC, Intel, and Xerox.

• Fiber Optic –A cable technology that uses glass (or plastic) threads (fibers) to transmit data. It is a very fast technology

• Gateway - A device on a network that serves as an entrance to another network and routes traffic

• Hardware (MAC) address – A unique address associated with a particular network device

• Hub - A common connection point for computers and devices in a network that takes an incoming signal and repeats it on all other ports

• Internet - Term used to refer to the world's largest internetwork, connecting thousands of networks worldwide. Also known as the world wide web (www)

• IP address - a 32-bit address assigned to hosts using the TCP/IP protocol. Each computer/device on the public internet has a unique IP address. An example of an IP address is 192.168.1.

• LAN (Local Area Network) – computer/data network which is confined in a limited geographical area.

• MAC Address (Media Access Control) - A unique identifier attached to most forms of networking equipment. It is burned into the device and cannot be changed

• Megabit - A measure of data transmission speed – 1 million bits per second or approximately 125,000 characters per second

• Megabyte - A unit of measure for memory or hard disk storage capacity. 1024 megabytes = 1 gigabyte.

• Network - A group of computers and devices that can communicate with each other and share resources.

• Network Interface Card (NIC) – A hardware device inside a computer or other network device that enables communication with a network.

• Packet - The unit of data sent across a network. Data is broken up into packets for sending over a packet switching network.

• PING (Packet Internet Groper) – A command used to test connectivity to a device over a TCP/IP network.

• Protocol – Rules determining the format and transmission of data over a network

• RJ-45 - Standard connectors used for unshielded twisted-pair cable. Most commonly used with Cat5 network cabling.

• Route – A path through an internetwork.

• Router – A device that routes/forwards data across a networks.

• Server - A computer that handles requests for data, email, files, and other network services from other computers (clients)

• Subnet - A portion of a network that shares a common address component but is on a different segment than the rest of the network.

• TI Line – A high speed dedicated data line that supports a transmission rate of 1.544 Mbps

• TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. A suite of protocols used as the basis of the nation's internetwork (Internet). It can also be used on internal networks.

• UNC (Universal Naming Convention) Path - A UNC provides a naming convention for identifying network resources. UNC names consist of three parts, a server name, a share name, and an optional file path.

• WAN (wide area network) - A network linking together networks located in other geographic areas.