30 Website to Download Freeware Application

Below is the list of website where you can find many freeware application. I hope this can help to decrease piracy.

1. FreewareFiles.com
http://www.freewarefiles.com
game, browser web, screensaver, driver, desktop, spyware

2. Nonags
http://www.nonags.com
All about freeware

3. Freeware Home
http://www.freewarehome.com
All about freeware

4. Free Downloads Center
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com
game, video, program antivirus,wallpaper

5. PortableApps.com
http://portableapps.com
Portabel application

6. SofoTex Downloads
http://www.sofotex.com
PC utilities, games, screen savers

7. Completely Free Software
http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com
Freeware Windows and DOS

8. MyZips.com
http://www.myzips.com
All about freeware and shareware

9. Programfiles.com
http://www.programfiles.com
All about freeware and shareware

10. FreewareWeb.com
http://www.freewareweb.com
All about freeware and shareware

11. GameHippo
http://www.gamehippo.com
All about freeware game

12. TinyApps.org
http://www.tinapps.org
All about small freeware application

13. Freeware Guide
http://www.freeware-guide.com
All about freeware

14. TopDownloads
http://www.topdownloads.net
Game, screen savers, wallpapers, and many others

15. Open Universe

http://www.openuniverse.org
Freeware simulator

16. Files32.com
http://www.files32.com
All about freeware and shareware

17. Pricelessware
http://www.pricelessware.org
Best windows freeware application

18. ACME Laboratories
http://www.acme.com
Utiliti and tool for Unix and java

19. ABF-SOFT.com
http://www.abf-soft.com
All about freeware and shareware

20. Only Freeware
http://freeware.intrastar.net/
All about freeware

21. SGI
http://www.sgi.com/fun/freeware/games.html
Freeware game

22. AnalogX
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download.htm
More than 5000 windows application

23. DriversHeadquarters
http://www.drivershq.com
All about freeware driver

24. Mihov Freeware
http://www.mihov.com/eng/
All about freeware and shareware and image

25. Freeware Directory
http://freewaredirectory.net
All about freeware and direct link

26. Driverfiles
http://www.driverfiles.net
All about freeware driver and DLL

27. Top Quality Freeware
http://www.topqualityfreeware.com
Freeware application include game PC, icon, desktop, themes, image and internet utility

28. The Free Site
http://www.thefreesite.com/free_software/
All about freeware

29. Freeware Network
http://www.fwnetwork.com
All about freeware

30. Free Software 4 All
http://www.freesoftware4all.co.uk
List of good freeware application

DB2 Product Overview

DB2 is a DBMS made by IBM. It was released for the first time at 1983 in MVS. At 1996, IBm released DB2 UDB v5. At this version, DB2 has a feature to support saving many data type like audio, video and text

DB2 9 is the lateset release. In this version, like the previous, can run on many platform like AIX, HP-UK, Linux, Solaris, Windows, i5/OS and z/OS. In this version, DB2 has many type as you can see below.
The bigger the number, it become more expensive, more stable, and has more feature.

1. DB2 Everyplace
This version is the smallest DB2, it's size only 350KB. This version made for handheld user like PDA or smartphone.

2. DB2 Express
This version is an entry level for data server which is designed for
a computer with up to 2 CPU and 4GB memory and run on Linux platform. It has a few important feature such as
- pureXML : give an simple and efisien access to XML data at the same security and integrity with relational data.
- High Availability : give 24 x 7 reliability to DB2 data server. There 3 komponent in this feature, HADR, Online Reorganization, and IBM TSA MP.
- Workload Management : this feature monitoring query actively and manage it to run efisiently
- Performance Optimization : this feature combine 3 module, MQT, MDC and Query Parallelism
- DB2 Homogenous Federation Feature : this feature has ability to manage and access multiple data server

3. DB2 Express-C
This version is an entry level for data server which is designed for
a computer with up to 2 CPU and 4GB memory and run on Linux or Windows platform. This version can be used for evaluation and education freely. It has a few important feature such as
- Spatial Extender Client and samples
- Microsoft Cluster Server support
- Informix Data Source support
- Replication Data Capture
- DB2 Web Tools
- Global Secure Toolkit
- APPC and NetBios support

4. DB2 Personal Edition
This is the DBMS for single user on dekstop or notebook. It can be used to create, modify, and manage many local database.

5. DB2 Workgroup Server Edition
This version is the DBMS for multi user, client/ server which is designed for a computer with up to 4 CPU, 16GB memory and run on Linux, Windows, Solaris, Linux, AIX platform. This has the same feature with DB2 Express, but it has more scalability.

6. DB2 Enterprise Server Edition
This version is the DBMS for multi user, web enabled client/ server which is can hold huge transaction, multi terabyte data warehouse. It can run on server which has up to hundreds CPU running on Linux, Windows, Solaris, Linux, AIX platform. It has the same feature with DB2 workgroup with additional feature such as
• High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR)
• Table (range) partitioning
• Online reorganization
• Materialized Query Tables
• Multi-dimensional data clustering
• Full intra-query parallelism
• Connection Concentrator
• The DB2 Governor
• Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms (TSA MP)

7. DB2 Data Warehouse Edition
This version can be used to make dynamic data warehouse. This is a combination between DB2 enterprise server and DB2 data partitioning.

8. DB2 Personal Developer’s Edition
This version can be used by application developer to make an application which interact with DB2 personal edition. In this version, developer can make application which connect to DB2 by using SQL, SQLJ, .NET or JDBC method.

There are another version of DB2 such as DB2 universal Developer, DB2 enterprise developer, DB2 for i5/OS and DB2 for z/OS. These version have more scalability and feature.

Best regards,

Deny Sutani

5 Reasons to Choose a Notebook Over a Computer Desktop

Many of us are so used to working on a computer desktop that when it comes time to purchase a new computer, we don't consider other options. Today, computer notebooks - which were once called laptops - offer a number of advantages over a computer desktop. Here are just five reasons why you should take a second look at notebooks.

1. Mobility

You might be used to pulling up a chair to your computer, but it makes much more sense to pull your computer up to your chair. Laptops can certainly be used at your desk, but you also have the option of bringing them to the spot where you're most comfortable. Maybe you'd like to surf the Web in the evening out in the living room or catch up on your favorite blogs before bedtime. Notebooks with wireless connectivity can travel with you throughout your home, so you can check your email or do your Internet shopping anywhere.

Of course, notebooks also make sense for those who are on the go. Students can take laptops to class and to the library, while businesspeople can take them along while traveling. With WiFi so widely available, it even makes sense to have a notebook while on vacation. With the right notebook, it's easy to take photos with your digital camera, upload them, and email them to friends and family before you even get back home. Or you can use it to write a vacation blog and include those pictures from your digital camera.

2. Better Displays

The size and quality of computer notebook displays has improved so dramatically that there's little difference between laptops and a computer desktop. For example, you can get Apple's MacBook with a 13.3-inch LCD widescreen (1280 x 800 pixels), a 15.4-inch LCD widescreen (1440 x 900 pixels) or a 17-inch widescreen (1680 x 1050 pixels). Similarly, the Compaq Presario has a 15.4-inch display.

3. Lighter Weight

Just a few years ago, even the lightest notebook was a pain to lug around. Today, though, laptops are increasingly easy on the back. The MacBook is slightly over an inch thick and the Toshiba Portege weighs in at about four pounds. While that's still heavy compared to come of the new ultralight convertibles (Fujitsu's LifeBook U810 weighs only a pound and half), it's a significant improvement over the old seven-pound laptops.

4. Better Computing and Battery Power

Historically, two drawbacks of notebooks were their limited RAM, limited space on the hard drive, and short battery life. Times have changed, though, and laptops now have as much power under the hood as their computer desktop cousins. The MacBook, for example, has 1GB of memory (configurable up to 4 GB) and a hard drive that's configurable to 250GB. This means that your software will hum right along and you'll be able to zip through programs as quickly and as easily as you do on your desktop. Likewise, batteries in today's notebooks don't heat up and don't conk out.

5. More Features

In older laptops, the computer's size and weight limited the number and types of features available. Today, with smaller processors and other components, there's room to pack more features into notebooks. For example, the MacBook has a DVD player, built-in webcam, built-in wireless capability, two USB ports and a FireWire port, built-in microphone, and audio and digital input/output.

There are so many advantages to owning notebooks that, before you buy your next computer, it's worth your while to take one for a spin.

Recovering Internet Explorer Passwords: Theory and Practice

Recovering Internet Explorer Passwords: Theory and Practice


1. Introduction
2. Types of passwords stored in Internet Explorer
2.1. Internet Credentials
2.2. AutoComplete data
2.3. AutoComplete passwords
2.4. FTP passwords
2.5. Synchronization passwords
2.6. Identities passwords
2.7. AutoForms data
2.8. Content Advisor password
3. Brief overview of Internet Explorer password recovery programs
4. PIEPR - the first acquaintance
5. Three real-life examples
5.1. Recovering current user's FTP passwords
5.2. Recovering website passwords from unloadable operating system
5.3. Recovering uncommonly stored passwords
6. Conclusion



1. Introduction
Nobody will likely dispute the fact that Internet Explorer is today's most popular Web browser. According to the statistics, approximately 70% of online users prefer to use just this program. Arguments about its pros and cons may last forever; still, this browser is the leader of its industry, and this is a fact that requires no proof. Internet Explorer carries several built-in technologies, designed to make average user's life easier. One of them - IntelliSense - is made for taking care of the routine tasks, like the automatic completion of visited webpage addresses, automatic filling of form fields, users' passwords, etc.

Many of today's websites require registration, which means, user would have to enter user name and password. If you use more than a dozen of such websites, you will likely need a password manager. All modern browsers have a built-in password manager in their arsenal, and Internet Explorer is not an odd. Indeed, why would one have to remember yet another password if it is going to be forgotten some time soon anyway? Much easier would be to have browser do the routine work of remembering and storing passwords for you. It's convenient and comfortable.

This would be a totally perfect solution; however, if your Windows operating system crashed or reinstalled not the way it's supposed to be reinstalled, you can easily lose the entire list of your precious passwords. That's the toll for the comfort and convenience. It's good just about every website has a saving 'I forgot password' button. However, this button will not always take your headache from you.

Each software developer solves the forgotten password recovery problem their own way. Some of them officially recommend copying a couple of important files to another folder, while other send all registered users a special utility that allows managing the migration of private data, and the third ones pretend they are not seeing the problem. Nevertheless, the demand creates the offer, and password recovery programs are currently on a great demand.

In this article, let's try to classify types of private data stored in Internet Explorer, look at programs for the recovery of the data, and study real-life examples of recovering lost Internet passwords.



2. Types of passwords stored in Internet Explorer
- Internet Explorer may store the following types of passwords:
- Internet Credentials
- AutoComplete Data
- AutoComplete Passwords
- FTP Passwords
- Synchronization Passwords for cached websites
- Identities Passwords
- AutoForms Data
- Content Advisor Password
Let's take a closer look at each listed item.



2.1. Internet Credentials for websites
Internet credentials mean user's logins and passwords required for accessing certain websites, which are processed by the wininet.dll library. For example, when you try to enter the protected area of a website, you may see the following user name and password prompt (fig.1 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie01.png).

If the option 'Remember my password' is selected in that prompt, the user credentials will be saved to your local computer. The older versions of Windows 9a stored that data in user's PWL file; Windows 2000 and newer store it in the Protected Storage.


2.2. AutoComplete Data
AutoComplete data (passwords will be covered further) are also stored in the Protected Storage and appear as lists of HTML form field names and the corresponding user data. For example, if an HTML page contains an e-mail address entry dialog: once user has entered his e-mail address, the Protected Storage will have the HTML field name, the address value, and the time the record was last accessed.

The HTML page title and website address are not stored. Is that good or bad? It's difficult to determine; more likely to be good than bad. Here are the obvious pros: it saves free space and speeds up browser's performance. If you think the last note is insignificant, try to imagine how you would have to perform several extra checkups in a multi-thousand (this is not as rare as it may seem to be) auto-fill list.

Another obvious plus is that data for identical by name (and often by subject) HTML form fields will be stored in the same place, and the common data will be used for the automatic filling of such pages. We will see this by this example. If one HTML page contains an auto-fill field with the name 'email', and user entered his e-mail address in that field, IE will put in the storage, roughly, 'email=my@email.com'. From now on, if the user opens another website, which has a page with the same field name 'email', the user will be suggested to auto-fill it with the value that he entered on the first page (my@email.com). Thus, the browser somewhat discovers AI capabilities within itself.

The major drawback of this data storage method comes out of its advantage that we just described. Imagine, user has entered auto-fill data on a webpage. If someone knows the HTML form field name, that person can create his own simplest HTML page with the same field name and open it from a local disk. To uncover the data entered in this field, such person will not even have to connect to the Internet and open the original WWW address.



2.3. AutoComplete Passwords
In the case with passwords data, however, as you might have guessed, the data will not be filled in automatically. Since auto-complete passwords are stored along with the Web page name, and each password is bound to only one specific HTML page.

In the new version, Internet Explorer 7, both AutoComplete passwords and data are encrypted completely different; the new encryption method is free from the shortcoming just described (if that can be classified as a shortcoming.)

It is worth noticing that Internet Explorer allows users to manage auto-fill parameters manually, through the options menu (fig.2 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie02.png).



2.4. FTP passwords
FTP site passwords are stored pretty much the same way. It would be relevant to notice that beginning with Windows XP FTP passwords are additionally encrypted with DPAPI. This encryption method uses logon password. Naturally, this makes it much more difficult to recover such lost passwords manually, since now one would need to have the user's Master Key, SID and the account password.

Starting with Microsoft Windows 2000, the operating system began to provide a Data Protection Application-Programming Interface (DPAPI) API. This is simply a pair of function calls that provide OS-level data protection services to user and system processes. By OS-level, we mean a service that is provided by the operating system itself and does not require any additional libraries. By data protection, we mean a service that provides confidentiality of data through encryption. Since the data protection is part of the OS, every application can now secure data without needing any specific cryptographic code other than the necessary function calls to DPAPI. These calls are two simple functions with various options to modify DPAPI behavior. Overall, DPAPI is a very easy-to-use service that will benefit developers that must provide protection for sensitive application data, such as passwords and private keys.
DPAPI is a password-based data protection service: it requires a password to provide protection. The drawback, of course, is that all protection provided by DPAPI rests on the password provided. This is offset by DPAPI using proven cryptographic routines, specifically the strong Triple-DES and AES algorithms, and strong keys, which we'll cover in more detail later. Since DPAPI is focused on providing protection for users and requires a password to provide this protection, it logically uses the user's logon password for protection.
DPAPI is not responsible for storing the confidential information it protects. It is only responsible for encrypting and decrypting data for programs that call it, such as Windows Credential manager, the Private Key storage mechanism, or any third-party programs.
Please refer to Microsoft Web site for more information.



2.5. Synchronization Passwords for cached websites
Synchronization passwords free user from having to enter passwords for cached websites (sites set to be available offline.) Passwords of this type are also stored in IE's Protected Storage.



2.6. Identities passwords
So are identities passwords. The identity-based access management mechanism is not widespread in Microsoft's products, except, perhaps, Outlook Express.


2.7. AutoForms Data
A special paragraph must cover the form auto-fill method, which constitutes a hybrid way of storing data. This method stores the actual data in the Protected Storage, and the URL, which the data belong to, is stored in user's registry. The URL written in the registry is stored not as plaintext - it is stored as hash. Here is the algorithm for reading form auto-fill data in IE 4 - 6:

===8<===========Begin of original text===========
//Get autoform password by given URL
BOOL CAutoformDecrypter::LoadPasswords(LPCTSTR cszUrl, CStringArray *saPasswords)
{
assert(cszUrl && saPasswords);

saPasswords->RemoveAll();

//Check if autoform passwords are present in registry
if ( EntryPresent(cszUrl) )
{
//Read PStore autoform passwords
return PStoreReadAutoformPasswords(cszUrl,saPasswords);
}

return FALSE;
}


//Check if autoform passwords are present
BOOL CAutoformDecrypter::EntryPresent(LPCTSTR cszUrl)
{
assert(cszUrl);

DWORD dwRet, dwValue, dwSize=sizeof(dwValue);
LPCTSTR cszHash=GetHash(cszUrl);

//problems computing the hash
if ( !cszHash )
return FALSE;

//Check the registry
dwRet=SHGetValue(HKCU,_T("Software\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\IntelliForms\\SPW"),cszHash,NULL,&dwValue,&dwSize);
delete((LPTSTR)cszHash);

if ( dwRet==ERROR_SUCCESS )
return TRUE;

m_dwLastError=E_NOTFOUND;
return FALSE;
}


//retrieve hash by given URL text and translate it into hex format
LPCTSTR CAutoformDecrypter::GetHash(LPCTSTR cszUrl)
{
assert(cszUrl);

BYTE buf[0x10];
LPTSTR pRet=NULL;
int i;

if ( HashData(cszUrl,buf,sizeof(buf)) )
{
//Allocate some space
pRet=new TCHAR [sizeof(buf) * sizeof(TCHAR) + sizeof(TCHAR)];
if ( pRet)
{
for ( i=0; i {
// Translate it into human readable format
pRet[i]=(TCHAR) ((buf[i] & 0x3F) + 0x20);
}
pRet[i]=_T('\0');
}
else
m_dwLastError=E_OUTOFMEMORY;
}

return pRet;
}


//DoHash wrapper
BOOL CAutoformDecrypter::HashData(LPCTSTR cszData, LPBYTE pBuf,
DWORD dwBufSize)
{
assert(cszData && pBuf);

if ( !cszData || !pBuf )
{
m_dwLastError=E_ARG;
return FALSE;
}

DoHash((LPBYTE)cszData,strlen(cszData),pBuf,dwBufSize);
return TRUE;
}


void CAutoformDecrypter::DoHash(LPBYTE pData, DWORD dwDataSize,
LPBYTE pHash, DWORD dwHashSize)
{
DWORD dw=dwHashSize, dw2;

//pre-init loop
while ( dw-->0 )
pHash[dw]=(BYTE)dw;

//actual hashing stuff
while ( dwDataSize-->0 )
{
for ( dw=dwHashSize; dw-->0; )
{
//m_pPermTable = permutation table
pHash[dw]=m_pPermTable[pHash[dw]^pData[dwDataSize]];
}
}
}
===8<============End of original text============

The next, seventh generation of the browser, is most likely going to make this user's data storage mechanism its primary data storage method, declining the good old Protected Storage. Better to say, auto-fill data and passwords, from now on, are going to be stored here.

What is so special and interesting in this mechanism that made MS decide to use it as primary? Well, first of all, it was the encryption idea, which isn't new at all but still simple and genius, to disgrace. The idea is to quit storing encryption keys and generate them whenever that would be necessary. The raw material for such keys would be HTML page's Web address.

Let's see how this idea works in action. Here is IE7's simplified algorithm for saving auto-fill data and password fields:

1 Save Web page's address. We will use this address as the encryption key (EncryptionKey).
2 Obtain Record Key. RecordKey = SHA(EncryptionKey).
3 Calculate checksum for RecordKey to ensure the integrity of the record key (the integrity of the actual data will be guaranteed by DPAPI.) RecordKeyCrc = CRC(RecordKey).
4 Encrypt data (passwords) with the encryption key EncryptedData = DPAPI_Encrypt(Data, EncryptionKey).
5 Save RecordKeyCrc + RecordKey + EncryptedData in the registry.
6 Discard EncryptionKey.

It is very, very difficult to recover password without having the original Web page address. The decryption looks pretty much trivial:

1 When the original Web page is open, we take its address (EncryptionKey) and obtain the record key RecordKey = SHA(EncryptionKey).
2 Browse through the list of all record keys trying to locate the RecordKey.
3 If the RecordKey is found, decrypt data stored along with this key using the EncryptionKey. Data = DPAPI_Decrypt(EncryptedData, EncryptionKey).
In spite of the seeming simplicity, this Web password encryption algorithm is one of today's strongest. However, it has a major drawback (or advantage, depending which way you look at it.) If you change or forget the original Web page address, it will be impossible to recover password for it.



2.8. Content Advisor password
And the last item on our list is Content Advisor password. Content Advisor was originally developed as a tool for restricting access to certain websites. However, for some reason it was unloved by many users (surely, you may disagree with this.) If you once turned Content Advisor on, entered a password and then forgot it, you will not be able to access the majority of websites on the Internet. Fortunately (or unfortunately), this can be easily fixed.

The actual Content Advisor password is not stored as plaintext. Instead, the system calculates its MD5 hash and stores it in Windows registry. On an attempt to access the restricted area, the password entered by user is also hashed, and the obtained hash is compared with the one stored in the registry. Take a look at PIEPR source code checking Content Advisor password:


===8<===========Begin of original text===========
void CContentAdvisorDlg::CheckPassword()
{
CRegistry registry;

//read the registry
registry.SetKey(HKLM, "SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\policies\\Ratings");

BYTE pKey[MD5_DIGESTSIZE], pCheck[MD5_DIGESTSIZE];
if ( !registry.GetBinaryData("Key",pKey,MD5_DIGESTSIZE) )
{
MessageBox(MB_ERR,"Can't read the password.");
return;
}

//Get one set by user
CString cs;
m_wndEditPassword.GetWindowText(cs);
MD5Init();
MD5Update((LPBYTE)(LPCTSTR)cs,cs.GetLength()+1);
MD5Final(pCheck);

//Check hashes
if ( memcmp(pKey,pCheck,MD5_DIGESTSIZE)==0 )
MessageBox(MB_OK,"The password is correct!");
else
MessageBox(MB_OK,"Wrong password.");
}
===8<============End of original text============

The first thing you may think about is to try to pick the password by using the brute force or dictionary attack. However, there is a more elegant way to that. You can simply remove the hash from the registry. That's it; so simple... Well, it's better to rename it instead, so that if you ever need it, you can restore it back. Some programs also let users check Content Advisor password, "drag out" password hint, toggle password on/off, etc.



3. Brief Overview of Internet Explorer Password Recovery Programs
It's worth noticing that not all password recovery programs suspect there are so many ways to recover passwords. Most likely, this is related to the fact that some passwords (e.g., synchronization passwords) are not often used in the real life, and FTP passwords are not so simple to be 'dragged out'. Here is a brief overview of the most popular commercial products for recovering passwords for the most popular browser on earth :)

Advanced Internet Explorer Password Recovery from the not unknown company, ElcomSoft - does not recognize AutoForm passwords and encrypted FTP passwords. Not to be excluded, the last version of the program may have learnt to do that. Simple, convenient user interface. The program can be upgraded online automatically.

Internet Explorer Key from PassWare - similarly, does not recognize certain types of passwords. Sometimes the program halts with a critical error when reading some uncommon types of IE's URLs. Displays first two characters of passwords being recovered. The advantages worth noticing are the Spartan user interface and operating convenience.

Internet Explorer Password from Thegrideon Software - not bad, but can recover just three types of Internet Explorer passwords (this is enough for the majority of cases.) Deals with FTP passwords properly. Version 1.1 has problems recovering AutoForm passwords. Has convenient user interface, which in some way reminds one from AIEPR. One can be totally overwhelmed with the beauty and helpfulness of the company's website.

Internet Password Recovery Toolbox from Rixler Software - offers some greater functionality than the previously covered competitors. It can recover encrypted FTP passwords and delete selected resources. However, it has some programming errors. For example, some types of IE records cannot be deleted. The program comes with a great, detailed help file.

ABF Password Recovery from ABF software - quite a good program with friendly user interface. The list of IE record types supported by the program is not long. Nevertheless, it deals with all of them properly. The program can be classified as a multi-functional one, since it can restore passwords for other programs also.

The major drawback of all programs named here is the capability to recover passwords only for user currently logged on.

As it was said above, the general body of stored Internet Explorer resources is kept in a special storage called Protected Storage. Protected Storage was developed specially for storing personal data. Therefore the functions for working with it (called PS API) are not documented. Protected Storage was first introduced with the release of the version 4 of Internet Explorer, which, by the way, unlike the third version, was written from scratch.

Protected Storage provides applications with an interface to store user data that must be kept secure or free from modification. Units of data stored are called Items. The structure and content of the stored data is opaque to the Protected Storage system. Access to Items is subject to confirmation according to a user-defined Security Style, which specifies what confirmation is required to access the data, such as whether a password is required. In addition, access to Items is subject to an Access rule set. There is an Access rule for each Access Mode: for example, read/write. Access rule sets are composed of Access Clauses. Typically at application setup time, a mechanism is provided to allow a new application to request from the user access to Items that may have been created previously by another application.
Items are uniquely identified by the combination of a Key, Type, Subtype, and Name. The Key is a constant that specifies whether the Item is global to this computer or associated only with this user. The Name is a string, generally chosen by the user. Type and Subtype are GUIDs, generally specified by the application. Additional information about Types and Subtypes is kept in the system registry and include attributes such as Display Name and UI hints. For Subtypes, the parent Type is fixed and included in the system registry as an attribute. The Type group Items is used for a common purpose: for example, Payment or Identification. The Subtype group Items share a common data format.

So, until very recent time, all programs for recovering Internet Explorer passwords used those undocumented API. That's the reason why one significant restriction was applied to the recovery work: PS API can only work with passwords for user that is currently logged on. When the system encrypts data stored in Protected Storage, besides everything else it uses user's SID, without which it is literally impossible (taking into account the current level of computers' calculating performance) to recover stored passwords.

Protected Storage uses a very well thought through data encryption method, which uses master keys and strong algorithms, such as des, sha, and shahmac. Similar data encryption methods are now used in the majority of modern browsers; e.g. in Opera or FireFox. Microsoft, meanwhile, quietly but surely develops and tests new ones. When this article is written, in the pre-Beta version of Internet Explorer 7 Protected Storage was only used for storing FTP passwords.

The analysis of this preliminary version suggests that Microsoft is preparing another 'surprise' in the form of new, interesting encryption algorithms. It is not known for sure, but most likely the new company's data protection technology InfoCard will be involved in the encryption of private data.

Thus, with a great deal of confidence one can assert that with the release of Windows Vista and the 7th version of Internet Explorer passwords will be stored and encrypted with fundamentally new algorithms, and the Protected Storage interface, to all appearances, will become open for third-party developers.

It is somewhat sad, for we think the true potential of Protected Storage was still not uncovered. And this is why we think so:
- First, Protected Storage is based on module structure, which allows plugging other storage providers to it. However, for the last 10 years while Protected Storage exists, not a single new storage provider was created. System Protected Storage is the only storage provider in the operating system, which is used by default.
- Second, Protected Storage has its own, built-in access management system, which, for some reason, is not used in Internet Explorer or in other MS products.
- Third, it is not very clear why MS have decided to decline Protected Storage in storing AutoComplete data and passwords. Decline it as a tried and true data storage, and not data encryption mechanism. It would be more logically proven to keep Protected Storage at least for storing data when implementing a new encryption algorithm. Without fail, there were weighty reasons for that. Therefore, it would be interesting to hear the opinion of MS specialists concerning this subject matter.


4. PIEPR - the First Acquaintance
Passcape Internet Explorer Password Recovery was developed specifically to bypass the PS API's restriction and make it possible to recover passwords directly, from the registry's binary files. Besides, it has a number of additional features for advanced users.

The program's wizard allows you to choose one of several operating modes:
- Automatic: Current user's passwords will be recovered by accessing the closed PS API interface. All current user's passwords currently stored in Internet Explorer will be recovered with a single click of the mouse.
- Manual: Passwords will be recovered without PS API. This method's main advantage is the capability to recover passwords from your old Windows account. For that purpose, you will need to enter path to the user's registry file. Registry files are normally not available for reading; however, the technology used in PIEPR allows doing that (provided you have the local administrative rights.)

User's registry file name is ntuser.dat; its resides in the user's profile, which is normally %SYSTEMDRIVE%:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%, where %SYSTEMDRIVE% stands for the system disk with the operating system, and %USERNAME% is normally account name. For instance, path to registry file may look like this: C:\Documents and Settings\John\ntuser.dat

If you have ever been a happy owner of Windows 9x/ME, after you upgrade your operating system to Windows NT, Protected Storage will providently save a copy of your old private data. As a result of that, Protected Storage may contain several user identifiers, so PIEPR will ask you to select the right one before it gets to the decryption of the data (fig.3 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie03.png).

One of the listed SIDs will contain data left by the old Windows 9x/ME. That data is additionally encrypted with user's logon password, and PIEPR currently does not support the decryption of such data.

If ntuser.dat contains encrypted passwords (e.g., FTP sites passwords), the program will need additional information in order to decrypt them (fig.4 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie04.png):
- Logon password of user whose data are to be decrypted
- Full path to the user's MasterKey
- User's SID

Normally, the program finds the last two items in user's profile and fills that data automatically. However, if ntuser.dat was copied from another operating system, you will have to take care of that on your own. The easiest way to get the job done is to copy the entire folder with user's Master Key (there may be several of them) to the folder with ntuser.dat. Master Key resides in the following folder on your local computer: %SYSTEMDRIVE%:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Application Data\Microsoft\Protect\%UserSid%, where %SYSTEMDRIVE% stands for the system disk with the operating system, %USERNAME% - account name, %UserSid% - user's SID. For example, path to the folder with a master key may look as follows: C:\Documents and Settings\John\Application Data\Microsoft\Protect\S-1-5-21-1587165142-6173081522-185545743-1003. Let's make it clear that it is recommended to copy the entire folder S-1-5-21-1587165142-6173081522-185545743-1003, for it may contain several Master Keys. Then PIEPR will select the right key automatically.

Windows marks some folders as hidden or system, so they are invisible in Windows Explorer. To make them visible, enable showing hidden and system objects in the view settings or use an alternative file manager.

Once the folder with user's Master Key was copied to the folder with ntuser.dat, PIEPR will automatically find the required data, so you will only have to enter user's password for recovering FTP passwords.

Content Advisor
Content Advisor passwords, as it was said already, is not kept as plain text; instead, it is stored as hash. In the Content Advisor password management dialog, it is enough to just delete (you can restore the deleted password at any time later) or change this hash to unlock sites locked with Content Advisor. PIEPR will also display your password hint if there is one.

Asterisks passwords
PIEPR's fourth operating mode, which allows recovering Internet Explorer passwords hidden behind asterisks. To recover such password, simply drag the magnifier to the window with a **** password. This tool allows recovering passwords for other programs that use IE Frames as well; e.g., Windows Explorer, some IE-based browsers, etc.

We have reviewed the basic Internet Explorer password recovery modes. There is also a number of additional features for viewing and editing cookies, cache, visited pages history, etc. We are not going to cover them in detail; instead, we are going to look at a few password recovery examples done with PIEPR.



5.1. Three Real-Life Examples.
Example 1: Recovering current user's FTP password
When opening an FTP site, Internet Explorer pops up the log on dialog (fig.5 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie05.png).

If you have opened this site and set the 'Save password' option in the authentication dialog, the password must be saved in Protected Storage, so recovering it is a pretty trivial job. Select the automatic operating mode in PIEPR and then click 'Next'. Locate our resource in the dialog with decrypted passwords that appears (the site name must appear in the Resource Name column.)

As we see, the decryption of current user's password should not cause any special difficulties. Oh, if the password is not found for some reason - don't forget to check IE's Auto-Complete Settings. Possibly, you have simply not set the program to save passwords.



5.2. Three Real-Life Examples.
Example 2: We will need to recover Web site passwords. The operating system is unbootable.
This is a typical, but not fatal situation. The necessity to recover Internet Explorer passwords after unsuccessful Windows reinstallation occurs just as often.

In either case, we will have user's old profile with all files within it. This set is normally enough to get the job done. In the case with the reinstallation, Windows providently saves the old profile under a different name. For example, if your account name was John, after renaming it may look like John.WORK-72C39A18.

The first and the foremost what you must do is to gain access to files in the old profile. There are two ways to doing this:
- Install a new operating system on a different hard drive; e.g., Windows XP, and hook the old hard drive to it.
- Create a Windows NT boot disk. There are many different utilities for creating boot disks and USB flash disks available online. For instance, you can use WinPE or BartPE. Or a different one. If your old profile was stored on an NTFS part of your hard drive, the boot disk will have to support NTFS.

Let's take the first route. Once we gain access to the old profile, we will need to let the system show hidden and system files. Otherwise, the files we need will be invisible. Open Control Panel, then click on Folder Options, and then select the View tab. On this tab, find the option 'Show hidden files and folders' and select it. Clear the option 'Hide protected operating system files'. When the necessary passwords are recovered, it's better to reset these options to the way they were set before.

Open the program's wizard in the manual mode and enter path to the old profile's registry file. In our case, that is C:\Documents And Settings\ John.WORK-72C39A18\ntuser.dat. Where John.WORK-72C39A18 is the old account name. Click 'Next'.

This data should normally be sufficient for recovering Internet Explorer passwords. However, if there is at least a single encrypted FTP password, the program will request additional data, without which it will not be able to recover such types of passwords:
- User's password
- User's Master Key
- User's SID.
Normally, the program finds the last two items in user's profile and fills that data automatically. However, if that didn't happen, you can do that by hand: copy ntuser.dat and the folder with the Master Key to a separate folder. It is important to copy the entire folder, for it may contain several keys, and the program will select the right one automatically. Then enter path to file ntuser.dat that you have copied to another folder.

That's it. Now we need to enter the old account password, and the recovery will be completed. If you don't care for FTP password, you can skip the user's password, Master Key, and SID entry dialog.



5.3. Three Real-Life Examples.
Example 3: Recovering uncommonly stored passwords.
When we sometimes open a website in the browser, the authentication dialog appears. However, PIEPR fails to recover it in either automatic or manual mode. The 'Save password' option in Internet Explorer is enabled. We will need to recover this password.

Indeed, some websites don't let browser to save passwords in the auto-complete passwords list. Often, such websites are written in JAVA or they use alternative password storage methods; e.g., they store passwords in cookies. A cookie is a small bit of text that accompanies requests and pages as they go between the Web server and browser. The cookie contains information the Web application can read whenever the user visits the site. Cookies provide a useful means in Web applications to store user-specific information. For example, when a user visits your site, you can use cookies to store user preferences or other information. When the user visits your Web site another time, the application can retrieve the information it stored earlier. Cookies are used for all sorts of purposes, all relating to helping the Web site remember you. In essence, cookies help Web sites store information about visitors. A cookie also acts as a kind of calling card, presenting pertinent identification that helps an application know how to proceed. But often cookies criticized for weak security and inaccurate user identification.

If the password field is filled with asterisks, the solution is clear: select the ASTERISKS PASSWORDS operating mode and then open the magic magnifier dialog. Then simply drag the magnifier to the Internet Explorer window (fig.6 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie06.png).

The password (passwords, if the Internet Explorer window has several fields with asterisks) is to appear in the PIEPR window (fig.7 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie07.png).

But it's not always that simple. The password field may be empty or that field may indeed contain *****. In this case, as you have guessed by now, the ASTERISKS PASSWORDS tool will be useless.

We can suppose, the password is stored in cookies. Let's try to locate it. Choose the IE Cookie Explorer tool (fig.8 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie08.png).

The dialog that appears will list the websites that store cookies on your computer. Click on the URL column header to order the websites list alphabetically. This will help us find the right website easier. Go through the list of websites and select the one we need. The list below will display the decrypted cookies for this website (fig.9 http://www.passcape.com/images/ie09.png).

As the figure shows, in our case the login and password are not encrypted and are stored as plain text.

Cookies are often encrypted. In this case, you are not likely to succeed recovering the password. The only thing you can try doing in order to recover the old account is to create a new account. Then you will be able to copy the old cookies in a text editor and replace them with the new ones. However, this is only good when the worst comes to the worst; it is not recommended to use it normally.

Don't forget also that just about all pages and forms with passwords have the 'Forgot password' button.




Conclusion
As this article shows, recovering Internet Explorer passwords is a pretty simple job, which does not require any special knowledge or skills. However, despite of the seeming simplicity, password encryption schemes and algorithms are very well thought through and just as well implemented. Although the Protected Storage concept is over 10 years of age, don't forget that it has proven the very best recommendations of the experts and has been implemented through three generations of this popular browser.

With the release of the next, 7th version of IE, Microsoft is preparing fundamentally new schemes for protecting our private data, where it uses improved encryption algorithms and eliminates shortages peculiar to Protected Storage.

In particular, the analysis of the preliminary beta versions of Internet Explorer 7 has revealed that autoform password encryption keys are no longer stored along with data. They are not stored, period! This is a little know-how, which is to be estimated at its true worth by both professionals and end users, who, finally, will benefits of it anyway.

But the main thing is, the release of the new concept will eliminate the major drawback peculiar to Protected Storage, which is the possibility to recover passwords without knowing the additional information. Better to say, was enough for a potential hacker to gain physical access to the contents of a hard drive, in order to steal or damage passwords and user's other private data. With the release of Internet Explorer 7, the situation will somewhat change.

Meanwhile, we will only have to wait impatiently for the advent of Windows Vista and IE 7 to take a closer look at new encryption mechanisms used in the next generation of this popular browser.



This document may be freely distributed or reproduced provided that the
reference to the original article is placed on each copy of this document.
(c) 2006 Passcape Software. All rights reserved.
http://www.passcape.com

How To Recover Lost or Deleted Data Files: Data Recovery Software Information

Have you heard of data/file recovery? The definition of the term Data Recovery is "..Making previously lost or damaged data available again.." A data recovery software or method can help us recover destroyed data e.g. an accidentally deleted file. It happens all the time. You delete an important file on your PC and send it to your recycle bin by mistake. You realize what you've done only after you've cleaned the contents of the recycle bin.

What do you do now?
That file you deleted was so important. Fortunately there are lots of methods (Data Recovery Methods) and software (Data Recovery Software) available to help you get your lost files back.

Let's start by mentioning some possible reasons for the loss of data:

* You accidentally delete an important file. Then you immediately shred the contents of your recycle bin
* During today's system crash some files just disappeared and cannot be located or accessed
* You format your hard drive but then you remember those important .zip files previously stored in the newly formatted empty medium.
* A power outage prevented some files from being written to the hard disk.
* Data loss can also occur due to physical damage of the storage media. For example the surface of your CD-ROM may be scratched off or your hard disk may suffer from all kinds of possible mechanical failures.

..and the list goes on.

Is Data Recovery Important?
Data recovery is a very misunderstood concept. A lot of people may not even be aware of the existence and the importance of data recovery. Maybe they think of it on a personal level. The truth is, lost data causes financial disasters to companies all over the world. The cost associated with computer downtime and lost data is enormous (several million dollars) for businesses.

How to deal with data loss?
Losing files is easy but recovering them can be difficult. If the loss was due to physical damage then you need someone with experience, a hardware technician or something. It wouldn't be wise to try to overcome hardware failures alone unless you are a professional.

Now, if the loss of data was due to logical failure or human error then the solution is data recovery software. The data recovery software should be able to:

- Undelete files even after you've shred the contents of your recycle bin
- Recover files after you've been infected from a malicious threat (trojan, worm or other virus)
- Recover files from reformatted hard disks or after your system crashes or your hard disk fails
- Recover all types of files (all kinds of documents, images, music, videos, email messages, zipped files etc)
- Recover data from all types of storage mediums (hard disks, external drives, CD-ROM, usb drives, floppy disks etc)
- Recover files easily and successfully. Should be user-friendly allowing someone with no data recovery skills to use it
- Take/create backups of critical system files or files you choose

The best way to avoid data loss is to start taking backups of your important storage mediums. Either create backups of data on CD-ROMS or use an external drive or zip drive to back up your critical files. If you want to go further look for software that automates the process of backing up and storing your data. These programs are kind of "set and forget". You set it up to take backups every hour or every day or month etc. and let the software do the rest.

Data Recovery and Securing Data On Computers

Data recovery or Datenrettung is the process by which the data is recovered from damaged or inaccessible storage media. Data recovery is done from storage media like CD´s, DVD´s, Floppies, Hard disks, Magnetic tapes etc. There are two reasons due to which the data becomes inaccessible. They are logical damage and physical damage to the storage media.

Physical damage to storage media can occur in many ways. Magnetic tapes can break, get crumpled or dirt may settle on the tapes. CD´s and DVD´s can have scratches or the metallic layer may get damaged. Magnetic heads in hard disks can crash or motors may fail. The floppy is notorious for failing frequently due to bending, overheating, cold, dust etc.

There are other reasons like fires, electrical surges etc that can cause data to become inaccessible or lost. There are many methods by which data can be recovered from magnetic media or optical media. The methods most commonly used are Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM), Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM), Magnetic Force Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) etc.

In these methods a sharp magnetic tip is placed closed to the surface to be analyzed. It interacts with the stray magnetic field. An image of the data is generated and then repairs are carried out on logical damage and thus the data is recovered. Many companies carry out data recovery.

Logical damage is the damage to the file system. It is not physical but a software problem and also tells us that we need to be cautious and have a quality system for data recovery, datenrettung. It generally occurs due to power cuts, system crashes etc preventing file system structures from being written resulting in file system being left in an inconsistent state.

Logical damage is more common than physical damage. This may cause strange behavior like infinitely recurring file directories, loss of data, system crashes, hard disks reporting negative space etc. The end result is that the operating system cannot mount the file system.

Most operating systems come with repair facilities like, Linux has fcsk utility, Mac has disk utility and Windows has chkdisk facility. There are other specialized programs available which have better repair facilities than the operating systems.

There are also other systems called journaling file systems like NTFS, EFS (used in Windows XP), ext3 and xfs which can be reverted back to their earlier consistent state. These file systems reduce the amount of data loss.

Data back up is the best way to prevent loss of data and it´s the most common system for data recovery, datenrettung. The simplest method is to keep data on drives on which the operating system is not loaded. The other method is to write data on magnetic tapes, CD’s or DVD´s or have online backup.

Backups are very important for databases. Data backup is of 3 types. Full backup means backing up all data. Incremental backup means backing up of only the files that have changed. Differential backup is a mixture of these two. There is another method called continuous data protection in which when data is written to a disk, it is also written to another computer in a network.

Most private persons with a computer do nothing in advance, they just use their computers. Too late, when an incident has happened they learn about data recovery or datenrettung.

8 Things You Must Know Before Building A PC

Perhaps you're interested in learning how to build your own computer. That's great, really!

I've put together a list of 8 things you MUST know before you ever start to build your own PC. You'll be in a world of hurt if you don't have these down.

Tip #1 – Safety First

I hope you didn’t think the last time you’d hear “safety first” was in your Drivers Education classes! Working on any electronics, including computers, has its risks and requires certain precautions. Having said that, what’s the first part you should purchase when building your own computer?

* Motherboard?
* Processor?
* Computer Case?

Nope, those are all wrong. And honestly, they aren’t even close!

A computer tool kit should be the first thing you purchase. Normal household tools aren’t suited to working on a computer because they’re often dirty, rusty, and magnetic. Here are some things you must have in your computer tool kit :

Antistatic wrist band – This is a must-have for any computer builder. Your computer's components are very sensitive to static electricity. Make sure that you ALWAYS have your antistatic wrist band on when working on your computer. You must attach it to a ground source, usually a large piece of metal works well. This removes any free electrons, which cause static charge, from your body to the ground. Also, as an additional measure, before touching any hardware, touch your computers metal frame. This will also help put your body’s charge at equilibrium with your PC’s.

Needle-nose pliers and Tweezers - These tools are useful when handling small screws and bits of metal. Your computer's circuitry is very precise and you'll need some good tweezers and pliers to hold things into place.

Screwdrivers – This is an obvious requirement for computer tool kits. You should have at least one small Phillips and Flathead screwdriver in your kit.

Spare parts container - You'll be surprised how handy one of these will be. They can be used to store small parts, screws, spacers, etc.

Nut drivers - Although these aren't a requirement for your tool kit, most tool kits come with some nut drivers. I have yet to use mine, but someday I'll probably need them.

Small flash light - Most computer tool kits don't come with a small flashlight, but it is a good thing to have when you’re working in a dark computer case. A keychain type flashlight works great for this purpose!

Also, make sure all of your tools are NOT magnetic. Many screwdrivers for small screws are magnetic to help hold the screw in place. You don’t want this when dealing with your computer hardware because the magnetic field could damage your components.

I can’t stress this enough; having the correct tools is the easiest way to avoid damaging your components that could easily cost you hundreds of dollars. And please turn off and UNPLUG your computer before working on it, the last thing you need is a phobia of computers after you’ve been inadvertently shocked by one.

Tip #2 - Buy everything at once

This is was a major mistake that I made as a rookie computer builder. I know how anxious you may be to build your first computer; I can still remember how excited I was when UPS delivered my first part. But before you start buying parts left & right, you should set down and answer the following questions:

* What do I want to do with my computer?
Simple internet browsing? Word processing? Graphic design? Audio and video editing? Play video games?
* How long do I want this computer to last me?
Only for a couple years. Forever!

The idea here is to decide where your money will be best spent to maximize the use and/or life of your computer parts. For long term and/or intensive use, such as video/image editing, you’ll want something that you can easily upgrade over time. While for short term and/or simpler tasks, a cheaper, less upgradeable PC should work fine.

The easiest way to assure that all of your computer components will be compatible is to purchase them all at the same time. This way you can compare the features and requirements all at once.

I recommend that you start with your motherboard and processor. Many companies sell motherboard & processor bundles . A bundle is great way to start buying your computer parts because usually you’ll get a deal when you buy the processor and motherboard together. In addition, the processor will be compatible in that particular motherboard, which is one less thing you’ll have to worry about.

Next, select the type of RAM that is compatible with your motherboard and decide how many MB’s of power you want with it. Generally 512 MB of RAM will be sufficient. If you plan on doing image/video editing, or playing video games on your PC, 1 GB of RAM would be better suited for this job.

Now you can decide what types of extra components you want, such as a video card, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, etc.

Once you’ve picked those out, determine roughly how much wattage of power you’ll need from your power supply . I’ve attached a power usage chart below with how much each component uses, but these are only averages, so I can’t guarantee this is what you’ll observe.

Device [Power required (Watts)]
Video card [20 - 30]
PCI card [5]
Floppy Drive [5]
CD, DVD-ROM [10-25]
RAM per 128 MB [8]
Hard Drive [15-35]
Motherboard [20-30]
CPU [25-70]

Generally 400 watts should be plenty of power, even for the most power hungry systems you can build. Also consider purchasing a quiet power supply, because the power supply is generally your noisiest piece of hardware. I personally use a 400 Watt Zalman Quiet Power Supply (pictured at left) that I love. It provides tons of power with virtually no sound.

By purchasing everything at once you can ascertain that your computer parts will support all of your computing needs. Another benefit is that you’ll save money on shipping charges by purchasing everything at once rather than separately.

7 Ways To Fail In An Erp Selection

The best way to fail at an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is to choose the wrong software up front. Choosing software without following some basic guidelines is a sure-fire method for disaster. Probably the worst thing that someone has done (that we know of), was to buy their ERP software at a tradeshow, thinking it would be the cheap and easy way to solve their problems. They ended up spending more than they expected in finding ways to force the software into their business.

Below are some ways that will set you on the path to fail at your choice. In other words, they are ways that you can insure that you will choose the wrong system for your company.

1. Choose ERP software without understanding your requirements. – First, you should ensure that you are getting the best fit for your company by documenting your requirements. The requirements should cover the strategic, reporting, functional, and technical aspects of what your company requires to run the business. Choosing software without these documented and without using them as a benchmark to compare the software against is a strategy for problems.

2. Select ERP software without paying attention to business processes. – There are certain ways that you run your business. Not all of them are rocket science, but there are certain things that make your company unique and successful. Choosing software without understanding how things flow in your company will create big problems in the implementation when the software processes information contrary to how you run your business.

3. Choose ERP software because your Friend/Neighbor/Relative is using it successfully at their firm. – Another nightmare scenario that has actually occurred is that decision makers have purchased software because their ____ (fill in the blank) has used it and it worked great at that company. That company is not your company. On the surface they may seem similar, but just because one company is running well on the ERP system does not mean that yours will. You may have a special process for getting your goods out the door. The software may not support that method. Perhaps there is some information that you must have because of financial, regulatory, or supply chain requirements. The other company may not have that issue. Perhaps you need to track lot numbers and the _____’s company does not. There are too many business issues that can create havoc in an information system, if the system is not carefully matched to the requirements (see #1).

4. Not having the ERP vendor prove that it will support your business processes. – ERP vendors have one goal. Sell you software. Do they care if it fits, can successfully operate your business, or even if it will be a huge burden on your staff? Not really. In fact, if you buy software that requires a lot of care and feeding because it is not a good fit, then the vendor is the one who supports it and makes a handsome flow of income off your company. Get the vendor to demonstrate that it meets your requirements and can transact information in a method that is aligned with your business processes.

5. Choosing ERP software because it looks cool. – You may laugh at this one, but the user interface is a sexy selling point of many systems. Is a plain old green-screen as nice to work in as a really colorful Windows ™ screen? Probably not, but does the Windows™-based system really address your issues? Your goal should be aligning a perspective system with your business needs. If it comes with a cool interface great, if not, can you live with it?

6. Let the ERP vendor tell you what you need to be doing. – Related to number 4 above, having the ERP vendor guide you in your selection is a roadmap to hell. You need to guide them. Tell them what you want and expect. Too many times has a single vendor gained the trust and confidence of a decision maker and guided them to a particular system, without any concern for how close a match is it to the business requirements and processes.

7. Take the ERP vendor’s first offer without negotiating. – You can generally negotiate with a vendor several times and get a more than fair price. But the key is to follow good negotiation tactics. Don’t forget that most everything is negotiable. The software, the services, the maintenance, the timing, etc. In the ERP industry, the best time to buy software is at the quarter or year end according to the vendor’s financial calendar.

The key thing to understand is that there is a path that can lead you to success and many routes to failure. Know thyself first. Understand your business and document it. It is not enough to think you know it. Talk to all levels of users and managers. Ensure that everyone’s needs are defined and a priority is placed upon those needs. If you are not sure of selecting a major investment such as an ERP, then get outside help from a consultant who is non-biased towards systems and can guide you. Be careful of assistance from a company that has an SAP practice, or an Oracle practice, etc. They have internal motivation to help you choose their flavor of software.

Most importantly, understand that you need to drive the process. It is your selection and you need to live with the results. As any good project manager will tell you, start with the end in mind. What do you want the system to do for your company now and in seven years from now? Understand this and go forward in selecting your system.

Recognize And Understand Home Networking Components

If you have not decided already,you will soon want to network your two or more computers in your home. You want to be armed to the teach with knowledge of just what it takes to connect your computers to one another.

You first should decide which network is best your you. If your computers are in the same room,the Wireless network should not be considered.The wired by cable network should work just fine.

Computer that may be close to each other but cannot be seen may and have phone jacks close by can easily be networked with the HomePNA Network.While PCs that are far from each other can be connected with the powerline network,assuming wall outlets are nearby.

And when there are computers in different rooms and you want the convenience of moving the systems from room to room,the more expensive Wireless Network is the way to go.After you decide on the type of network that is best for you,knowing what components you'll need to purchase will be a great help.Let's take a look at each network and the components needed to get it up and running.

The WIRED ETHERNET NETWORK

If your computers are in the same room,the basic network kit can wire your systems together.Be sure to carefully open any kit or component you purchase and do not damage the box it came in.The purpose for this is to make it easy to return the component if needed.

Basic kits will have instructions and software for the network as seen as two NICs.Better known as Network Interface Cards,these NICs are installed in empty slots in the system unit.The PCI slot is where the card is installed and there are the USB adapters as well.The network will need cabling to connect the computers and the CAT 5 or Category 5 cable is the one to look for.

Ethernet networks come in two speeds,which are 10 and 100mbps or megabits per second.The wired network will also need a Hub or a Switch to direct traffic from each system.If you want fast traffic,and who don't,you will want to connect a Switch instead of a Hub.If you want all PCs to connect to the Internet,most kits come with Special Bridging Software which links the systems together.

The WIRELESS HOME NETWORK

Wireless networks rely on radio frequency to transmit and receive data.Wireless network equipment will offer you the choice of both wired and wireless connections.

If your computers are in direct line of each other,the IR or Infrared frequency can be used.But most wireless networks now use the Radio Transceiver technology with computers being located just about anywhere.

You will need a Wireless Router to connect each PC to the network.Wireless NIC Cards must be installed in each computer in the network.When you purchase your wireless kit,take note of the indoor range.

As you can see when looking at the wireless Router,you have the option to wire your computers together should something go wrong with any wireless component.Take note of the difference between the wired nic and the wireless nic cards.

The POWERLINE NETWORK

The powerline network uses the electrical wiring in your home to transfer data to and from each computer.Present powerline networks run between 50kbps or Kilobits Per Second and 350kbps.

This network has a drawback in back it will have lots of electrical noise which will cause the network to lose speed.And other PC users can snoop in your computer if they know how.

This network will need a Router for data transfer and nic cards for each system.A Bridge will be needed for access to the internet.These Bridges can be used with your Router.

The PHONELINE NETWORK

The components you will need in the Home Network are close to that of the Wireless network.In most cases,the 10mbps speed network is fast enough for home users.

The computers are connected with a Switch,a gateway,or Router to share Internet access and to send data to each computer through the phone line network.This network is considered the easiest to setup.

Phoneline Network adapters are installed in each PC. The USB or Universal Seriel Bus port connection is the most commonly used adapter for Phoneline networks.To reduce line noise,a Phone Filter may be needed.If you plan to connect a phone and line in one phone jack.you will have to invest in a Line Splitter.Be sure each computer in the network are close to a phone jack.

The Phoneline Network is thought to be less expensive .more dependable and faster when compared with the Powerline network.

In a nutshell,all networks will need some type of adapter inserted in the computer.Each network will need a hub, switch,or router to transfer data.Windows 98,Me,and XP will have the needed software to make everything work together.Adapters and and other hardware will come with device driver software which enables the hardware to talk to the computer.

We have taken a brief look at the hardware needed to network two or more computers.Connecting the hardware was rather simple when we networked our computers using the wireless technology.Learn all you can about PC networking and you will be grateful in having this knowledge should you experience computer problems.

Since we have seen basic network components,its time to see how each component is installed and connected.Then we're going to see how to move data from one machine to the other and share the internet using broadband with a DSL or a Cable modem.Remember to enjoy learning about your computer by performing as many tasks as you can without causing damage to your system.

Intranet Implementation: The Advantages Of A Web-Based Solution

The traditional approach to implementing an intranet is to purchase a software package, modify it for your needs, and install it on your system.

Over the past few years, another option has grown in popularity – the implementation of a web-based solution.

As you consider the choice between installed software and a web-based intranet, here are some considerations:


1. The most important requirement of any intranet is that everyone uses it.

To assure broad-based participation, the intranet must be easy to implement, simple to use, cost-effective to maintain, and offer each individual user the power to post, access and use content in a way that serves their specific needs. In short, the intranet must have value to everyone.

Web-based intranets are designed around this concept. The interface and navigation are consistent with their use of the web – an environment in which they feel in control, using familiar tools.

In contrast, the business world is littered with countless elegant and feature-rich soft-ware based intranets that have failed. Why? Because they represented an alien environment into which the user was expected to venture. Few employees had the time or the interest (or courage) to enter, rendering the intranet impotent, with the powerful tools unused.

This is the plight of traditional, out-of-the-box software solutions. Unlike web-based intranets, they force users into a constrained environment requiring in-depth training, built around rules designed for the group, rather than the individual.


2. Software intranets have unpredictable costs: in time, attention and money.

Software based solutions require extensive internal support. The ongoing expense in both staff time and money takes the focus of your IT group away from mission-critical tasks.

System integration, Implementation, maintenance, technology upgrades, training and user support are all on-going tasks that represent a significant, recurring investment. The cost can be substantial, far exceeding your initial license cost and monthly fee.


3. Web-based intranets offer a predictable cost and cutting-edge technology.

Most web-based solutions offer a fixed monthly fee that covers all maintenance, technology upgrades, training and user support. The costs are predictable, the technology evolutionary, and it's all done with minimal involvement of your IT staff.

It's for these reasons that companies needing broad-based participation in a changing environment are choosing web-based intranets over traditional software solutions.