Microsoft Security Essentials Now Available

Microsoft releases its free antivirus suite

Microsoft first released a public beta of its Security Essentials antivirus suite back in June and it was met with mostly positive reviews. The public beta was only open for the first 75,000 downloaders and that limit was reached rather quickly.

Today, however, Microsoft has released the final version of Security Essentials and anyone running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 can download it for free. Microsoft Security Essentials offers basic antivirus, spyware, and malware protection -- it also offers real-time protection and regularly updated malware signature files via Microsoft's Dynamic Signature Service.

Since Microsoft Security Essentials provides the bare minimum protections for a Windows-based machine, other niceties such as a firewall and multi-PC management are not available. This should appease Microsoft's competitors in the anti-malware software segment.

Those who wish to try out the software can download it directly from the Microsoft Security Essentials website. The download requires that your PC pass Windows Genuine Advantage checks, so only legit Windows users will have access to the software.

How to remove this virus:

Step 1: Press CTRL+ALT+DEL (Task Manager Opens up) and go to the processes tab
Look for svchost.exe under the image name. There will be many but look for the ones which have your username under the username
Press DEL to kill these files. It will give you a warning, Press Yes
Repeat for more svchost.exe files with your username and repeat. Do not kill svchost.exe with system, local service or network service!

Step 2: Now open My Computer
In the address bar, type C:\heap41a and press enter. It is a hidden folder, and is not visible by default.
Delete all the files here

Step 3: Now go to Start –> Run and type Regedit
Go to the menu Edit –> Find
Type “heap41a” here and press enter. You will get something like this “[winlogon] C:\heap41a\svchost.exe C:\heap(some number)\std.txt”
Select that and Press DEL. It will ask “Are you sure you wanna delete this value”, click Yes. Now close the registry editor.
Now the virus is gone.

Step 4: Over to Pendrive:
But be sure to delete the autorun.inf file and any folder whose name ends with .exe in the pen drive. (thanks to Savita at Mozillazine)

Thats it...!

How to Delete Run History in Windows

Steps

1. Go to Start → Run.
2. In the text field, type regedit and hit enter to open the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER → Software → Microsoft → Windows → CurrentVersion → Explorer → RunMRU.
4. On the right panel, you will find the programs that you have used when accessing the RUN command. They will be listed as a, b, c, etc.
5. Right-click on the program you want to delete and click on Delete.
6. Click Yes in the next dialog box to confirm. You will then need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Run history to be automatically deleted every time you start your computer, then go to the following location in the Registry Editor:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER → Software → Microsoft → Windows → CurrentVersion → Policies → Explorer. There on the right hand side panel look for ClearRecentDocsOnExit, double click on it and type in its value as 1 and make sure Hexadecimal is selected. Then just click on OK and close the Registry Editor.
• A good thing also to do is to create a restore point using system restore: start, All programs, Accessories, System tools, System restore. This is only if things go wrong you can go back to before this happened

Steps to remove the little paragraph symbols and arrows in microsoft word!

1. Click on the "¶" in the drawing tool bar.

2. This buttion is used to reveal formatting.

3. uncheck the “SHOW ALL FORMATTING MARKS” which is in the bottom of the right end.

Thats all...

Add RemoteApp programs and configure global deployment settings

After you have prepared the terminal server to host RemoteApp programs, you can use TS RemoteApp Manager to do the following:
• Add programs to the RemoteApp Programs list
• Configure global deployment settings
In TS RemoteApp Manager, you can also delete, modify, import RemoteApp programs and settings from another terminal server, or export RemoteApp programs and settings to another terminal server. For more information, see Manage RemoteApp programs and settings.
Add programs to the RemoteApp Programs list
To make a RemoteApp program available to users through any distribution mechanism, you must add the program to the RemoteApp Programs list. By default, programs that you add to the list are configured to be available through TS Web Access.
To add a program to the RemoteApp Programs list
1. Start TS RemoteApp Manager. To do this, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, point to Terminal Services, and then click TS RemoteApp Manager.
2. In the Actions pane, click Add RemoteApp Programs.
3. On the Welcome to the RemoteApp Wizard page, click Next.
4. On the Choose programs to add to the RemoteApp Programs list page, select the check box next to each program that you want to add to the RemoteApp Programs list. You can select multiple programs.
Note

The programs that are shown on the Choose programs to add to the RemoteApp Programs list page are the programs that are found on the All Users Start menu on the terminal server. If the program that you want to add to the RemoteApp Programs list is not in the list, click Browse, and then specify the location of the program's .exe file.
5. To configure the properties for a RemoteApp program, click the program name, and then click Properties. You can configure the following:
o The program name that will appear to users. To change the name, type a new name in the RemoteApp program name box.
o The path of the program executable file. To change the path, type the new path in the Location box, or click Browse to locate the .exe file.
Note

You can use system environment variables in the path name. For example, you can substitute %windir% for the explicit path of the Windows folder (such as C:\Windows). You cannot use per user environment variables.
o The alias for the RemoteApp program. The alias is a unique identifier for the program that defaults to the program's file name (without the extension). We recommend that you do not change this name.
o Whether the RemoteApp program is available through TS Web Access. By default, the RemoteApp program is available through TS Web Access setting is enabled. To change the setting, select or clear the check box.
o Whether command-line arguments are allowed, not allowed, or whether to always use the same command-line arguments.
o The program icon that will be used. To change the icon, click Change Icon.
6. When you are finished configuring program properties, click OK, and then click Next.
7. On the Review Settings page, review the settings, and then click Finish.
The programs that you selected should appear in the RemoteApp Programs list.
Configure global deployment settings
You can configure global deployment settings that apply to all RemoteApp programs in the RemoteApp Programs list. These settings will apply to any RemoteApp program that you make available through TS Web Access. Additionally, these settings will be used as the default settings if you create .rdp files or Windows Installer packages from any of the listed RemoteApp programs.
Note

Any changes to deployment settings that you make when you use TS RemoteApp Manager to create .rdp files or Windows Installer packages will override the global settings.

Install programs on the terminal server

We recommend that you install programs on the terminal server after you have installed the Terminal Server role service. If you install a program from a Windows Installer package, the program will automatically install in Terminal Server Install mode. If you are installing from another kind of Setup package, use either of the following methods to put the server into Install mode:
• Use the Install Application on Terminal Server option in Control Panel to install the program.
• Before you install a program, run the change user /install command from the command line. After the program is installed, run the change user /execute command to exit from Install mode.
If you have programs that are related to each other or have dependencies on each other, we recommend that you install the programs on the same terminal server. For example, we recommend that you install Microsoft Office as a suite instead of installing individual Office programs on separate terminal servers.
You should consider putting individual programs on separate terminal servers in the following circumstances:
• The program has compatibility issues that may affect other programs.
• A single program and the number of associated users may fill server capacity.
Verify remote connection settings
By default, remote connections are enabled after you install the Terminal Server role service. You can use the following procedure to add users and groups that need to connect to the terminal server, and to verify or to change remote connection settings.
To verify remote connection settings
1. Start the System tool. To do this, click Start, click Run, type control system in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Under Tasks, click Remote settings.
3. In the System Properties dialog box, on the Remote tab, ensure that the Remote Desktop connection setting is configured correctly, depending on your environment. You can select either of the following options:
o Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure)
o Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (more secure)
For more information about the two options, on the Remote tab, click the Help me choose link.
4. To add the users and groups that need to connect to the terminal server by using Remote Desktop, click Select Users, and then click Add.
The users and groups that you add are added to the Remote Desktop Users group.
Note

Members of the local Administrators group can connect even if they are not listed.
5. When you are finished, click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.

Install the Terminal Server role service

1. Open Server Manager. To open Server Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager.
2. Under Roles Summary, click Add Roles.
3. On the Before You Begin page of the Add Roles Wizard, click Next.
4. On the Select Server Roles page, select the Terminal Services check box, and then click Next.
5. On the Terminal Services page, click Next.
6. On the Select Role Services page, select the Terminal Server check box, and then click Next.
7. On the Uninstall and Reinstall Applications for Compatibility page, review the information, and then click Next.
8. On the Specify Authentication Method for Terminal Server page, select the desired authentication method, and then click Next.
9. On the Specify Licensing Mode page, select the licensing mode that applies to your Terminal Services environment, and then click Next.
10. On the Select User Groups Allowed Access To This Terminal Server page, add any users or groups that you want to add to the Remote Desktop Users group, and then click Next.
11. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, verify that the Terminal Server role service will be installed, and then click Install.
12. On the Installation Results page, you are prompted to restart the server to finish the installation process. Click Close, and then click Yes to restart the server.
13. After the server restarts, the Resume Configuration Wizard completes the installation. When you see an Installation succeeded status message on the Installation Results page, click Close.

How to Remove the Popup Ads in Avira Antivir

While Avira Antivir has one of the best detection rates of all antivirus, one of the main disadvantages is that after updating, you get annoying full-screen ads nagging you to upgrade. To remove these, read on

Steps
Windows 2000 / Windows XP Pro
1. Go to Start > Run.
2. Type gpedit.msc and click OK.
3. Navigate through User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System.
4. Double click "Don't run specified Windows applications".
5. Enable it and click show.
6. Add "avnotify.exe".
7. Click OK on all open windows.
8. Restart.
Alternate:
1. Start > Run: secpol.msc (You can also access this program through 'Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy' this is useful if it is easier the location of this rather than the file name)
2. Right click "Software Restriction Policies," Choose "New Software Restriction Policies." (Skip this step if there are subfolders in Software Restriction Policies already.)
3. Right Click "Additional Rule" folder > New Path Rule.
4. Where it says Path, Type the path of avnotify.exe on your computer, or use the Browse button to find it. (On XP64 using a default install of Avira, the path is: (C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic\avnotify.exe)
5. Make sure the "Security Level" Dropdown menu is selected as "Disallowed"
6. If you would like to make sure it went through correctly, open the Additional Rules folder, and verify the path and security level.
7. Enjoy the absence of nag windows.







Windows XP Home
1. Boot into Safe Mode.
2. Log into an account with administrator privileges.
3. Open [driveinstalledon]:\Program Files\Avira\AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic.
4. Right click on avnotify.exe and go to Properties > Security > Advanced.
5. Click on Edit-> Traverse Folder / Execute File-> deny-> OK.
6. Repeat for all users.
7. Reboot your computer normally.

Windows Vista Business/Ultimate
1. Open the control panel through Start > Control Panel.
2. Go to Administrative Tools > Local security policy.
3. Click on Software Restriction Policy > Action > Create new restriction policy.
4. Right-click, and go to additional rules > new path rule.
5. Click Browse and navigate to C:\Program Files\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\ and double-click avnotify.exe.
6. Set the security level to Disallowed.
7. Click apply and OK.

Windows Vista Home
1. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\AntiVir Desktop\avnotify.exe for the current version, 9. For earlier versions, go to C:\Program Files\Avira\AntiVir PersonalEdition Classic\avnotify.exe.
2. Right-click avnotify.exe and go to Properties > Security.
3. Under the group or username SYSTEM, click edit.
4. Put a checkmark under the DENY column for "read and execute".

Tips
• Before giving up, try setting a restriction on avnotify.dll as well.
• An easier way to do this is just to pay for Avira AntiVir Premium, if you are satisfied with the free version.
• Another way suggested by some users to handle this problem is to use a program called Clickoff. You can download it at: http://www.johanneshuebner.com/en/clickoff.shtml

Disable password complexity

1. Start --> Run --> GPMC.msc

2. Expand 'Forest:' --> Domains --> 'Your Domain'

3. Right click 'Default Domain Policy' and choose 'Edit'

4. Expand: 'Computer Configuration' --> 'Policies' --> 'Windows Settings' --> 'Security Settings' --> 'Account Policy' --> 'Password Policy'

5. On the right pane, double click 'Password must meet complexity requirements'

6. Change to 'Disable'

7. Start --> Run --> gpupdate

Manual steps to remove the Win32/Conficker virus

Notes
• These manual steps are not required any longer and should only be used if you have no antivirus software to remove the Conficker virus.
• Depending on the Win32/Conficker variant that the computer is infected with, some of these values referred to in this section may not have been changed by the virus.
The following detailed steps can help you manually remove Conficker from a system:
1. Log on to the system by using a local account.
Important Do not log on to the system by using a Domain account, if it is possible. Especially, do not log on by using a Domain Admin account. The malware impersonates the logged on user and accesses network resources by using the logged on user credentials. This behavior allows for the malware to spread.
2. Stop the Server service. This removes the Admin shares from the system so that the malware cannot spread by using this method.
Note The Server service should only be disabled temporarily while you clean up the malware in your environment. This is especially true on production servers because this step will affect network resource availability. As soon as the environment is cleaned up, the Server service can be re-enabled.

To stop the Server service, use the Services Microsoft Management Console (MMC). To do this, follow these steps:
a. Depending on your system, do the following:
 In Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, click Start, type services.msc in the Start Search box, and then click services.msc in the Programs list.
 In Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
b. Double-click Server.
c. Click Stop.
d. Select Disabled in the Startup type box.
e. Click Apply.
3. Remove all AT-created scheduled tasks. To do this, type AT /Delete /Yes at a command prompt.
4. Stop the Task Scheduler service.
o To stop the Task Scheduler service in Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, use the Services Microsoft Management Console (MMC) or the SC.exe utility.
o To stop the Task Scheduler service in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008, follow these steps.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
a. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit.exe in the Programs list.
b. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Schedule
c. In the details pane, right-click the Start DWORD entry, and then click Modify.
d. In the Value data box, type 4, and then click OK.
e. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

Note The Task Scheduler service should only be disabled temporarily while you clean up the malware in your environment. This is especially true on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 because this step will affect various built-in Scheduled Tasks. As soon as the environment is cleaned up, re-enable the Server service.
5. Download and manually install security update 958644 (MS08-067). For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx)
Note This site may be blocked because of the malware infection. In this scenario, you must download the update from an uninfected computer, and then transfer the update file to the infected system. We recommend that you burn the update to a CD because the burned CD is not writable. Therefore, it cannot be infected. If a recordable CD drive is not available, a removable USB memory drive may be the only way to copy the update to the infected system. If you use a removable drive, be aware that the malware can infect the drive with an Autorun.inf file. After you copy the update to the removable drive, make sure that you change the drive to read-only mode, if the option is available for your device. If read-only mode is available, it is typically enabled by using a physical switch on the device. Then, after you copy the update file to the infected computer, check the removable drive to see whether an Autorun.inf file was written to the drive. If it was, rename the Autorun.inf file to something like Autorun.bad so that it cannot run when the removable drive is connected to a computer.
6. Reset any Local Admin and Domain Admin passwords to use a new strong password. For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc875814.aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc875814.aspx)
7. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SvcHost
8. In the details pane, right-click the netsvcs entry, and then click Modify.
9. If the computer is infected with the Win32/Conficker virus, a random service name will be listed.

Note With Win32/Conficker.B, the service name was random letters and was at the bottom of the list. With later variants, the service name may be anywhere in the list and may seem to be more legitimate. If the random service name is not at the bottom, compare your system with the "Services table" in this procedure to determine which service name may have been added by Win32/Conficker. To verify, compare the list in the "Services table" with a similar system that is known not to be infected.

Note the name of the malware service. You will need this information later in this procedure.
10. Delete the line that contains the reference to the malware service. Make sure that you leave a blank line feed under the last legitimate entry that is listed, and then click OK.

Notes about the Services table
o All the entries in the Services table are valid entries, except for the items that are highlighted in bold.
o The items that are highlighted in bold are examples of what the Win32/Conficker virus may add to the netsvcs value in the SVCHOST registry key.
o This may not be a complete list of services, depending on what is installed on the system.
o The Services table is from a default installation of Windows.
o The entry that the Win32/Conficker virus adds to the list is an obfuscation technique. The highlighted, malicious entry that is supposed to resemble the first letter is a lowercase "L." However, it is actually an uppercase "I." Because of the font that is used by the operating system, the uppercase "I" seems to be a lowercase "L."

11. In a previous procedure, you noted the name of the malware service. In our example, the name of the malware entry was "Iaslogon." Using this information, follow these steps:
1. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry subkey, where BadServiceName is the name of the malware service:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BadServiceName
For example, locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Iaslogon
2. Right-click the subkey in the navigation pane for the malware service name, and then click Permissions.
3. In the Permissions Entry for SvcHost dialog box, click Advanced.
4. In the Advanced Security Settings dialog box, click to select both of the following check boxes:
Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here.

Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects.
12. Press F5 to update Registry Editor. In the details pane, you can now see and edit the malware DLL that loads as "ServiceDll." To do this, follow these steps:
1. Double-click the ServiceDll entry.
2. Note the path of the referenced DLL. You will need this information later in this procedure. For example, the path of the referenced DLL may resemble the following:

%SystemRoot%\System32\doieuln.dll

Rename the reference to resemble the following:

%SystemRoot%\System32\doieuln.old

3. Click OK.
13. Remove the malware service entry from the Run subkey in the registry.
1. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry subkeys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
2. In both subkeys, locate any entry that begins with "rundll32.exe" and also references the malware DLL that loads as "ServiceDll" that you identified in step 12b. Delete the entry.
3. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.
14. Check for Autorun.inf files on any drives on the system. Use Notepad to open each file, and then verify that it is a valid Autorun.inf file. The following is an example of a typical valid Autorun.inf file.

[autorun]

shellexecute=Servers\splash.hta *DVD*

icon=Servers\autorun.ico

A valid Autorun.inf is typically 1 to 2 kilobytes (KB).
15. Delete any Autorun.inf files that do not seem to be valid.
16. Restart the computer.
17. Make hidden files visible. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt:
reg.exe add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL /v CheckedValue /t REG_DWORD /d 0x1 /f
18. Set Show hidden files and folders so that you can see the file. To do this, follow these steps:
1. In step 12b, you noted the path of the referenced .dll file for the malware. For example, you noted a path that resembles the following:
%systemroot%\System32\doieuln.dll
In Windows Explorer, open the %systemroot%\System32 directory or the directory that contains the malware.
2. Click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab.
4. Select the Show hidden files and folders check box.
5. Click OK.
19. Select the .dll file.
20. Edit the permissions on the file to add Full Control for Everyone. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Right-click the .dll file, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click Everyone, and then click to select the Full Control check box in the Allow column.
4. Click OK.
21. Delete the referenced .dll file for the malware. For example, delete the %systemroot%\System32\doieuln.dll file.
22. Enable the BITS, Automatic Updates, Error Reporting, and Windows Defender services by using the Services Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
23. Turn off Autorun to help reduce the effect of any reinfection. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Depending on your system, install one of the following updates:
* If you are running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003, install update 967715. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
967715 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/967715/ ) How to disable the Autorun functionality in Windows
* If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, install security update 950582. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
950582 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950582/ ) MS08-038: Vulnerability in Windows Explorer could allow remote code execution
Note Update 967715 and security update 950582 are not related to this malware issue. These updates must be installed to enable the registry function in step 23b.
2. Type the following command at a command prompt:
reg.exe add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer /v NoDriveTypeAutoRun /t REG_DWORD /d 0xff /f
24. If the system is running Windows Defender, re-enable the Windows Defender autostart location. To do this, type the following command at the command prompt:
reg.exe add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v "Windows Defender" /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe –hide" /f
25. For Windows Vista and later operating systems, the malware changes the global setting for TCP Receive Window Autotuning to disabled. To change this setting back, type the following command at a command prompt:
netsh interface tcp set global autotuning=normal

If, after you complete this procedure, the computer seems to be reinfected, either of the following conditions may be true:

* One of the autostart locations was not removed. For example, either the AT job was not removed or an Autorun.inf file was not removed.
* The security update for MS08-067 was installed incorrectly.

This malware may change other settings that are not addressed in this article. Please visit the following Microsoft Malware Protection Center Web page for the latest details about Win32/Conficker:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Win32/Conficker (http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Entry.aspx?Name=Win32/Conficker)

Why does Internet Connection Sharing not install File and Printer Sharing by default. Therefore?

To install File and Printer Sharing:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network.
2. Click Add, click Services, and then double-click File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks.
3. Double-click TCP/IP (shared)->External Adapter (or Dial-Up Adapter if a dial-up connection is used).
4. Click OK, and then click the Bindings tab. Click to clear the File and Printer Sharing check box.
5. Click OK.
6. Click OK, and then restart the computer when you are prompted.
Sharing Folders or Printers
File and Printer Sharing must be installed on any computer on which folders or printers will be shared on the network.
To share a folder or printer, use the right mouse button to click a folder (Microsoft Windows 98 and Microsoft Windows 95 are unable to share specific files) or printer, click Sharing, click Share As, type a name for the share, select the access level, and click OK.
To map a network drive, use the right mouse button to click Network Neighborhood, and then click Map Network Drive.
Type \\computername\sharename, where computername is the name of the computer sharing the folder or printer, and sharename is the name of the shared folder or printer.
NOTE: Binding File and Printer Sharing to the external adapter and opening the SMB ports on the ICS host makes all shared folders and printers accessible from the Internet and creates a possible security issue. Although ICS is not designed to function as a firewall or provide strong firewall protection, shared files and folders possess a reasonable level of security if configured in the manner described in this article.

How to delete Orkut account and Facebook account

To delete the Orkut account follow the following simple steps:

1) Log in to your orkut accout you wish to delete.

2) Now click Settings link on the left pane on your home page.

3) In the General tab you will notice a section my account in the lower portion of the page.

4) Click the delete my orkut account link provided in this section.

5) You will then notice that a page opens and tells you to click the link delete my account to delete your account. It also tells you that it will take 24 hours to do so.

6) A new window opens which tells to read a note given carefully. Now check the checkbox corresponding to the statement Yes, I want to permanently remove orkut from my Google account.

7) Enter your password in the given textbox.

8) Now click Remove Orkut button.

9) A new window opens that tells you that your account has been deleted.

To delete Facebook account you can do two things:

1) Deactivate your account-This is temporary deactivation of your account. Your phtotos and other material will be saved i.e. you will remain invisible to your friends. You can later Activate your account.

2) Delete your account This will permanently delete your account. Here is the link to delete your account – Delete My Account page.

Steps to deactivate your account

1) Log in to your Facebook account.

2) On the bottom of the page you click the link Account

3) Go to Deactivate Account section at the bottom of the page and click deactivate link.

4) You will then be asked a series of questions. Answer them as per your convenience

5) Now click Deactivate My Account button given at the bottom.

6) You will then be asked to enter some text in a text box. Then click Submit button

7) Your account will be deactivated now.

What is the best way to remove a virus? (Computer virus)

In order that downtime be short and losses low, do the minimum that you
must to restore the system to a normal state, starting with booting the
system from a clean diskette (see G8). It is *never* necessary to low-
level format a hard disk to recover from a virus infection!

If backups of infected or damaged files are available and, in making
them, appropriate care was taken to ensure that infected files have not
been included in the backups (see D10), restoring from backup is the
safest solution, even though it can be a lot of work if many files are
involved.

More commonly, a disinfecting program is used, though disinfection is
somewhat controversial and problematic (see E8). If the virus is a boot-
sector infector, you can continue using the computer with relative
safety (if the hard disk's partition table is left intact) by booting
from a clean system diskette. However, it is wise to go through all
your diskettes removing any infections as, sooner or later, you will be
careless and leave an infected diskette in the machine when it reboots,
or give an infected diskette to a someone who doesn't have appropriate
defenses to avoid infection.

Most PC boot-sector infections can be cured by the following simple
process--pay particular care to make the checks in Steps 2 and 3.

Note that removing an MBR virus in the following way may not be
desirable, and may even cause valuable information to be lost. For
instance, the One_Half virus gradually encrypts the infected hard drive
"inwards" (starting from the "end" and moving towards the beginning),
encrypting two more tracks at each boot. The information about the size
of the encrypted area is *only* stored in the MBR. If the virus is
removed using the method above, this information will be irrecoverably
lost and part of the disk with unknown size will remain encrypted.

1. Boot the PC from a clean system floppy--this must be MS-DOS
5.0 or version 6.0 or higher of PC-DOS or DR DOS. This
diskette should carry copies of the DOS utilities MEM, FDISK,
CHKDSK, UNFORMAT and SYS. (See G8 for help on making an
emergency boot diskette.)

2. Check that your memory configuration is "normal" with MEM
(see C10 for assistance here). Check that your hard disk
partitioning is normal--run FDISK and use the "Display
partition information" option to check this. MS-DOS 5.0 (or
later) users can use UNFORMAT /L /PARTN.

3. Try doing a DIR of your hard disk/s (C:, D:, etc).

You should continue with Step 4 *only* if all the tests in
Step 2 and this step pass. Do *NOT* continue if you were
unable to correctly access *all* your hard disks, as you will
quite possibly damage critical information making permanent
data damage or loss more likely.

4. Replace the program (code) part of the MBR by using the MS-,
or PC-DOS FDISK /MBR command. If you use DR DOS 6.0, or
later, select the FDISK menu option "Re-write Master Boot
Record".

5. Replace the DOS boot sector using the command SYS C: (or
whatever is correct for your first hard disk partition). For
this step, the version of DOS on your boot diskette must be
*exactly* the same as is installed on your hard disk (this
may mean you have to first reboot with a clean boot diskette
other than that used in Step 1). If you are using a disk
compression system, such as DoubleSpace of DriveSpace, check
the documentation on how to locate the physical drive on
which the compressed volume is installed, and apply the SYS
command to that instead. Usually this is drive H: or I:.

6. Reboot from your hard disk and check that all is well--if not
(which is unlikely if you made the recommended checks), seek
expert help.

7. As you will get re-infected by forgetting an infected
diskette in your A: drive at boot time, you have to clean all
your floppies as well. This is harder, as there is no simple
way of doing this with standard DOS tools. You can copy the
files from each of your floppies, re-format them and copy the
files back, but this is a very tedious process (and prone to
destructive errors!). At this point you probably should
consider obtaining some good antivirus software.

FDISK /MBR will only overwrite the boot loader code in the MBR of the
*first* hard drive in a system. However, a few viruses will infect both
drives in a two drive system. Although the second hard drive is never
booted from in normal PC configurations, should the second drive from
such a machine ever be used as the first drive in a system, it will
still be infected and in need of disinfecting.

What steps should be taken in diagnosing and identifying viruses? (Computer virus)

Most of the time, a virus scanner program will take care of that for
you. To help identify problems early, run a virus scanner:

1. On new programs and diskettes (write-protect diskettes before
scanning them).
2. When an integrity checker reports a mismatch.
3. When a generic monitoring program sounds an alarm.
4. When you receive an updated version of a scanner (or you have
a chance to run a different scanner than the one you have
been using).

Because of the time required, it is not generally advisable to set a
scanner to check your entire hard disk on every boot.

If you run into an alarm and your scanner doesn't identify anything or
doesn't properly clean up for you, first verify that the version you are
using is the most recent. Then get in touch with a reputable antivirus
researcher, who may ask you to send in a copy of the infected file.
(Also see C9; and F4 if you decide you need to ask for help on Virus-
L/comp.virus.)