How to clean up the junk on your PC

MUNICH: It's a familiar problem for anyone with an older computer: a PC may run lightning-fast and smooth when it's new, but over time it starts coughing up unusual error messages and unidentifiable icons appear on the taskbar.

If the computer also starts getting slower at the same time as well, then it's time for a spring cleaning.

'When any computer is used under normal circumstances, a certain volume of garbage data is automatically produced,' says Harald Goerl, a professor for operating systems and computer architecture at the Bundeswehr University in Munich, Germany. Goerl nevertheless sees no need for routine clean-ups. 'You only need to do this if you can really feel that the speed has been impaired,' he says.

The primary culprit for PC slowdowns is software that is installed and then removed again. That's because many programs actually leave behind digital traces after uninstallation. The most common collection spot where junk data collects is the Windows Registry file. It's a database of information about all installed applications.
Many programs 'forget' to delete their entry in the registry when being removed. That continues expanding the database, which means the computer has to search longer to find a specific entry. 'You can compare it with a telephone book,' Goerl says. 'The thicker it is, the longer it takes to browse through.'

You can get help in cleaning up those clogged registry files with free programs such as CCleaner, Wise Cleaner, and Advanced System Care. They search through the registry automatically looking for unnecessary entries, washing away the junk.

Linux and Apple users are actually no better off in this respect, Goerl says. 'Deleted programs leave traces behind in Linux and Mac OS, too. Because there's no central registry, though, cleaning up can actually be more difficult in some cases,' he says.

Programs that are not properly removed under Windows can create other problems as well. 'When some programs are being uninstalled, they also delete libraries still needed for other programs,' explains Joachim Geiler, dean of academic affairs at the IT working group at the Mittweida University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

Libraries are files with information that multiple programs need to be able to access. If they are deleted by accident, then applications may stop functioning, either partially or completely. This problem can generally be fixed by reinstalling the affected program.

Reinstalling the operating system is generally only needed in exception cases, says Goerl. 'Only in cases involving serious security problems should you have to reinstall the OS,' he says. 'If numerous files have been infected with tough-to-remove viruses, then reinstalling the operating system is probably the only remedy.'

The best recommendation for boosting speed that you suspect has been degraded as a result of application detritus: clean up your hard drive. 'At least 10 per cent of a hard drive's capacity should always be free,' says Joachim Geiler.

Otherwise files have to be split up across multiple sectors of traditional hard drives, and this results in data that is scattered in fragments throughout the hard drive, leading to slower access. The Windows defragmentation utility is needed to bring the files back to a contiguous state.

If you don't push your hard drive to its capacity all the time, then defragmentation need only be a seldom-used tool. 'Routine defragmentation used to be a common thing. Modern file systems like FAT32 create the files intelligently from the start, meaning users don't typically have to get involved,' says Geiler. The exception is for users who frequently work with especially large files, such as those used for video editing.

A clean hard drive is important beyond just the speed of the computer. It also makes work more relaxing. 'It's all about being able to find important files fast when you need them,' explains Joerg Schieb, who authored a book on keeping computers clean and running fast. For this reason he recommends routine cleanups every three months or so.

There are programs to help clean up, too. 'Lay users in particular may be better served by those programs,' Schieb says. Applications like TuneUp Utilities, Twin 7 2.0 from Data Becker, or PC Check & Tuning 2011 from Magix cost between 30 and 40 dollars and offer a number of cleanup options.

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U.S. shuts down massive cyber theft ring

(Reuters) - U.S. authorities claimed one of their biggest victories against cyber crime as they shut down a ring they said used malicious software to take control of more than 2 million PCs around the world, and may have led to theft of more than $100 million.

A computer virus, dubbed Coreflood, infected more than 2 million PCs, enslaving them into a "botnet" that grabbed banking credentials and other sensitive data its masters used to steal funds via fraudulent banking and wire transactions, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Wednesday.

The government shuttered that botnet, which had operated for a decade, by seizing hard drives used to run it after a federal court in Connecticut gave the go-ahead.

"This was big money stolen on a large scale by foreign criminals. The FBI wanted to stop it and they did an incredibly good job at it," said Alan Paller, director of research at the SAN Institute, a nonprofit group that helps fight cyber crime.

The vast majority of the infected machines were in the United States, but the criminal gang was likely overseas.

"We're pretty sure a Russian crime group was behind it," said Paller.

Paller and other security experts said it was hard to know how much money the gang stole. It could easily be tens of millions of dollars and could go above $100 million, said Dave Marcus, McAfee Labs research and communications director.

A civil complaint against 13 unnamed foreign nationals was also filed by the U.S. district attorney in Connecticut. It accused them of wire and bank fraud. The Justice Department said it had an ongoing criminal investigation.

The malicious Coreflood software was used to infect computers with keylogging software that stole user names, passwords, financial data and other information, the Justice Department said.

"The seizure of the Coreflood servers and Internet domain names is expected to prevent criminals from using Coreflood or computers infected by Coreflood for their nefarious purposes," U.S. Attorney David Fein said in a statement.

In March, law enforcement raids on servers used by a Rustock botnet were shut down after legal action against them by Microsoft Corp. Authorities severed the Rustock IP addresses, effectively disabling the botnet.

Rustock had been one of the biggest producers of spam e-mail, with some tech security experts estimating they produced half the spam that fills people's junk mail bins.

A botnet is essentially one or more servers that spread malicious software and use the software to send spam or to steal personal information or data that can be used to empty a victim's bank account.

U.S. government programmers shut down the Core flood botnet on Tuesday. They also instructed the computers enslaved in the botnet to stop sending stolen data and to shut down. A similar tactic was used in a Dutch case, but it was the first time U.S. authorities had used this method to shut down a botnet, according to court documents.

Victims of the botnet included a real estate company in Michigan that lost $115,771, a South Carolina law firm that lost $78,421 and a Tennessee defense contractor that lost $241,866, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

The government plans to work with Internet service providers around the country to identify other victims.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jim Finkle; editing by Gary Hill and Andre Grenon)

 

JMDComputerIndia.com

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Cyber attack hits WordPress.com, 18 million blogs compromised

Automatic, the company that owns the Word Press.com blogging platform that powers more than 18 million blogs, announced this morning that its servers had been broken into and source code, among other things, could have been exposed.

 

Word Press founder Matt Mullenweg writes 'Tough note to communicate today: Automatic had a low-level (root) break-in to several of our servers, and potentially anything on those servers could have been revealed.'

According to Mullenweg, the break-in was limited but proprietary information could have been accessed:

We have been diligently reviewing logs and records about the break-in to determine the extent of the information exposed, and re-securing avenues used to gain access. We presume our source code was exposed and copied. While much of our code is Open Source, there are sensitive bits of our and our partners' code. Beyond that, however, it appears information disclosed was limited.

Update: According to Automatic, this break-in 'affects most of Automatic's services Root level access potentially allows access to everything on the servers."

Tech Crunch's Alexia Tsosis argues that Mullenweg is downplaying the severity of the incident, pointing out that "Word Press.com VIP customers are all on 'code red' and in the process of changing all the passwords/API keys they've left in the source code." Tech Crunch, among other big blogs, is a WordPress VIP customer.

"While Automatic is down playing the leak, site source code includes API keys and Twitter and Face book passwords," writes Tsosis.

Mullenweg says that the investigation is ongoing and that they have "taken comprehensive steps to prevent an incident like this from occurring again."

Mullenweg also suggests that users should use strong passwords, different passwords for each site and, "If you have used the same password on different sites, switch it to something more secure." In other words - change your passwords, folks.

- JMDComputerIndia.com

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Vibrant Mehsana

Vibrant Mehsana

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