How to stay safe from Viruses

Viruses are one of the most common problems for the PC users. They are very troublesome since they can result in slowdowns, instability, crashes, data loss, etc. So, here are some basic tips on being secure from viruses :

1. Use a good anti-virus software : This is the preliminary step towards a virus-free PC. AVG & Avast! Home Edition are powerful free anti-virus programs. Both of them provide excellent virus protection for the PC user.

Note : DO NOT use more than 1 anti-virus at the same time. Since anti-viruses offer real-time protection, using more than 1 anti-virus will cause conflicts between them, resulting in crashes. slowdowns & loss of efficiency.

2. Keep your Virus definitions updated before a scan : Virus definitions contain information on viruses for the anti-virus software, including removal details. Since several new viruses are created daily, these definitions are regularly updated by the anti-virus companies. If you scan your PC using old definitions, new viruses will not be detected. Thus, we should keep our virus definitions updated before scanning the PC.

3. Scan your PC regularly : As a general rule, you should scan your PC once a month (with updated virus definitions, of course) to ensure that you are protected from virus infections.

4. Scan removable media before use : Removable media (Pen Drives, CDs, DVDs, Floppies, etc.) are very useful as they facilitate easy moving of data between different PCs. But sometimes, an infected file may get copied onto the removable media. This infection can then spread to the other PCs where it is inserted. Thus, one should always scan any new removable media before copying any of its files to our PC .

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Why uninstall is better than delete

Many beginners are confused between the difference in deleting & un-installing a program. Sometimes, they simply delete the entire folder in which the software is located to remove the software. This is wrong. The reason is explained below :-

When a software is installed, the following things are added to your system :

• The main folder, with the software files.
• Entries in the Windows Registry, related to the particular software.
• Some softwares also store settings in My Documents or files in the System folders.

Now, the most natural way to remove the software is by un-installing it, since it removes all the items installed. Simply deleting the main software folder will result in the registry entries & other things remaining intact. These broken items (they are termed as broken since these become useless without the main software) clutter up your PC resulting in slowdown & wastage of space. Several broken items can hamper the PC performance drastically.

That is why, we should un-install the software to remove it.

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How to write special symbols like ©, ∆, ™, ¼, etc.

There are several symbols like ±, ∑, ∏, ≠, ® which are unavailable on the keyboard. But, we may need to type such letters sometimes. Fortunately, Windows bundles a software for this purpose, which is very easy to use.

So, to insert special characters :

1. Click on Start --> All Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Character Map.
OR Open 'charmap' (without the quotes) from Start --> Run.

Accessories --> System Tools --> Character Map	Start --> Run --> 'Charmap'

2. Now, select the special symbol that you want. Alternatively, you can search for a particular symbol from the search tab in advanced view. You can even specify the character set to use (including Greek, Arabic, etc.)

3. Click on Select, copy the character, & paste it where you need it.

Or, if you wish to use these characters frequently, you can note down the shortcut key (as shown in the above picture as a red rectangle) for the concerned special character & use it whenever needed.

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Converting complex units into easy-to-understand objects

Ultimate unit Converter is a unique site which converts complex technical units into sensible easy-to-understand units.

For ex. entering 1 hectare will give you results like 2 hockey fields, etc. in the Real Objects category. Therefore, we can easily assume the approximate measures of difficult units, due to the usage of commonly-seen units. It is a must-see site for all Internet surfers.

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How to brighten a dark picture

Have you ever captured a very dark picture in your digital camera by mistake? You would obviously have wanted to make it more life-like & visible by adding lightning to it. And luckily, you can do so very easily.

There are several tools available for this purpose. I personally use Picasa. Here's a quick walkthrough on adding lightning to a dark picture through Picasa :

1. Open the file from within Picasa.

2. Click on "I'm feeling Lucky".



3. You will now see the improved version of the picture.

4. To save it, click on Back & then click on Save Changes. This will also back up the original picture.



5. So, there you have it! Your dark picture has been changed into a better picture with lightning, with the added benefit of undoing the change whenever. (due to the back-up)

Picasa offers other useful functions too, like redeye reduction, picture straightening, cutting (cropping), etc.

Original Picture	The improved picture

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