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Windows XP registry works by setting entries whenever you use any hardware, software, any kind of file and configurations in windows. It is a big database that keeps track of all of this which what a registry is. Any kind of use will add more entries into the registry. Most of the time the entries will delete itself but sometimes when you want to remove a program it can not delete its entry in the registry. Then over time the entries will continuing to add up in the registry. Then the registry becomes larger and larger and becomes full of damage entries which causes errors and slow performance of your computer.

So in order to restore and optimize your computer back to when it was running fast you need to install a registry cleaning program. You can do it yourself but if you don’t know what you’re doing than you could cause more errors than before you tried. It can very tricky to figure what you can delete and not delete. So it’s wise to find a quality registry cleaning program that can do it for you. Most are easy to use and can optimize your computer in no time.

Some things to look for are methods of how to scan the registry. It’s nice to have a options of how you want to scan your registry. Weather it be a safe scan or a deep scan. The next thing to look for is if it has a option to save a restore point before you delete any registry entries. What this does is save windows filed at certain point of time and if a registry entry is deleted and messes up windows you can go back to that point when it was operational.

With these features you’ll be sure to find yourself a quality registry cleaning program. Isn’t it time you stop the frustration of a slow computer?

All too often a store clerk responds to questions about Open Source Software (OSS), “With open source software, you get what you pay for”. Putting aside that they are hourly employees or commission sales people selling a product/service, this is the biggest source of mis-truths of OSS. Companies that produce proprietary software want people to believe OSS is written in someone’s basement haphazardly. Obviously because it affects their bottom line.

There is some truth about code being created in a basement, but it is hardly bad code. A lot of great companies started in a garage. Anyway, all good programming starts with the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). The basic process is identifying the need, implementing a test model, implementing the production model, updates/patches, and end of life. Revision control systems usually show program_name #.#.# or program_name yy.mm. No matter what kind of program it is, you’ll find this or something similar. Even software developers just starting out in their basements will write code with this style.

The business models for OSS developers is different than that of tradition software. They all share code with other developers as well as the end users. This encourages “getting under the hood” of the application and customizing it or even making it better. This sharing helps make a solid foundation and creates a Community.

The next step in the business model is getting information from the community on how well the application is doing. Reporting bugs is the best way to help “pay” for the developer’s work on this project (although they do love cash). The devlopers will take this info and make an upgraded version. When they do this, they post the bug(s) fixed with the application.

Now for the bread and butter of running an OSS business. Purchases of support for the product. Usually such purchase includes support, source code (and binary install) and sometimes even the developers installing the product for the buyer. The support includes updates/upgrades. Be sure to read the Terms of Service (TOS) before purchasing as with any software.

Other ways to pay the developer is to buy the licensed good, ie… t-shirts, mugs, little squeak toys, etc… The developer may not make much, but it will build the curiosity of potential new users and grow the community. Don’t forget to tip (a lot even take paypal).

“What’s in it for me?”. Plenty. The developer’s websites usually include details on installing & using, requirements, community support (blogs, wikis, bulletin boards, email lists, irc chats, etc…), FAQ’s and screenshots.

Recent news via Slashdot, reports Microsoft’s Windows 2008 Server edition will include unlimited connections (via web services only) so they can compete with LAMP (Linux Apache Mysql PHP). Apache based web servers are 48% of the market vs Microsoft’s IIS with 31%. Not bad for “free” software.

All information found in this article are very general. This article is not intended to bash legacy/proprietary software. Each has it’s place in the world.

Virus’s, trojans, spyware and adware…we have all seen them and know what they can do to our computers. Each day ‘hackers’ are releasing more and more of these harmful things to the world wide web. It’s not totally uncommon to get infected by simple viewing an image on a webpage.

In this article I will attempt to explain how to safeguard yourself from these attacks and even how to remove these if you happen to get infected. Before we begin you will need to get a hold of a few tools.

HijackThis
is a program which detects all processes that are running on your computer and allows you to remove them. You may think to yourself, “I can press ctrl+alt+del, find the process and click end…I don’t need a program to do that” but you would be partially wrong. Windows default application and process tracker (Windows Task Manager) is built in to all version of windows. Computer hackers know this and plan for their program to have many work around to prevent a person from just using Windows Task Manager to stop their virus from working.

In most cases, the virus is coded so well that it will not even show up on the Windows Task Manager. HijackThis is more or less an improved Windows Task Manager that lists every single process that is running on your computer. So far, no viruses or bugs have been able to stop from being detected by HijackThis. While the programs name may sound harmful, its meant as more of a rhetorical challenge for hackers. I have been using this program since I found it back in 2004 and it has helped me clean not only my own but several of my friends and families computers as well.

However, there is an extreme learning curve with this program. The program itself is easy enough to use. The hard part is deciding which process’s you want to remove. You can potentially destroy your computers ability to run properly (or certain programs) if you delete a process that is required to run it.

You will also need a few virus scanning programs. Don’t be shy here, it is more than ok to have more than one virus scanning software. I personally enjoy removing virus’s from my computer, the challenge is welcomed. So I stick mainly to free virus scanners. With the nature of how virus scanners work, I just don’t see why a program such as Norton Anti-virus could be any better than any other free virus scanner program (aside from it offering different types of protections in a bundled package). Here are a few free virus scanners for you to use, just pick one or use them all as it really doesn’t matter.

AVG, Adaware and Spybot S&D are all great free virus scanners and are highly recommended.

But sometimes, new virus’s are made that are not in your anti virus’s database. Even more so, some virus’s are specifically coded to avoid detection from these programs. This is why you need the first program I mentioned above, HijackThis. If the virus scan doesn’t remove the virus, you will have to remove it manually yourself with HijackThis. Please keep in mind that even HijackThis can be fooled by extremely clever virus’s and it will not work 100% of the time. If that is the case, you may need some tools created specifically for removing certain types of virus’s.

Does the Error Smart software really work like it claims it would; get rid of all the errors on a PC for good? I never thought that I would need to purchase an error repairing software, not until I managed to lose most of my important documents due a reported error in my computer. I finally decided to go and search the internet for a solution to fix my problems, and one of the most reputable programs that received many rave reviews was Error Smart.

1. My Experience with Error Smart

At first, I was seriously doubtful if I should buy this software (which could potentially be useless and a waste of money) or buy a whole new PC for a much higher cost. Comparing the huge difference in cost between the 2 options, I decided to try out Error Smart to see if it would really make my computer run like new again.

I proceeded to download and install the software. The whole procedure was very smooth, and I had Error Smart scanning and finding errors in my PC within minutes. I then went ahead to purchase the license to allow it to clean up my computer. I am glad to say that after the repair process, I had a good feeling when my computer was restarted because it did not take as long as it used to.

I have not seen the error messages that were appearing after the scan and fix, and I’m really glad with my purchase of Error Smart because it has saved me from losing more important files and thousands of dollars to buy a new PC.

2. How Did The Error Smart Software Benefit Me?

The first thing that it did was to identify all the errors on my PC and present them to me in an easy-to-read report. It will then clean them out once you have confirmed your decision to do so. So far, it has removed all the invalid program shortcuts and duplicate files on my system, which has helped to significantly improve my computer’s performance. It has prevented any further crashes of my PC, and it is running faster than before now.