Put Vista on your external USB Hard Drive

Error message: "Windows cannot be installed to this disk. Setup does not support configuration of or installation to disks connected through a USB or IEEE 1394 port."

Research: Forum with similar problem and included success story http://www.911cd.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=14181&st=1720

Hypothesis:     1. Install Vista on an IDE HDD (An Internal Hard Drive)

        2. Make a Bit by Bit copy of this partition with Winhex to your USB hard disk from an external PC.

        3. Go to step 7 in the forum. I don't quite understand this step. For me it appears rather complicated.

Results: …? Let's see what happens.

Relflection:

 

 

What's an IP Address?

An IP Address can be compared to an address used for sending and recieving packages.
An IP address is split into 4 sections.
Like your the address you write on a letter: you put the name, the street address, the city, state, postal code, and the country.
The subnet mask makes a division in the address, defining which part of the address corresponds to the network and the other to the host computer.

You could as well think of it as a phone number.
You have a specific number people use to call you.
As well you can use specific phone numbers to reach other people.
IP addresses don't have to be unique to just you at every moment, but you interent provider will provide you with one while it is in use and then rotate your address if you so choose.
To see more info on IP addresses see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address#IP_subnetworks

Should I download Google Desktop?

This depends upon the performance of the system you are using.

For example, the Basleine, or normal performance for my Vista box:

The performance of my Vista box after downloading Google Desktop:

From what I see the system is having to read more times from the disk and then as well the system memory is being used more by Google Desktops appearance.

For more info see http://desktop.google.com/features.html

Why to Baseline your Vista PC

Vista uses a much larger amount of the CPU and Memory. Baselining will allow you to see the normal operating status of your computer.

To give you an example; I am a user on a Vista PC. My "computer" begins to slow down, the time to change from one program to another is increased and as I type in my word processor program I can type faster than the screen can display it.
A performance issue we have with my "computer". If I had previously created a baseline, then I would be able to look at current operating status of my "computer" and find what the disturbances are that are causing this bottleneck by comparing the current "slowed" status to the past "normal" status. By doing this I can look recognize a problem and find a solution.

What you want to look for when creating a baseline are these 3 factors: CPU performance, RAM/Memory performance, and Physical Disk/Hard Disk performance.

Using my PC you will see a good baseline

By accessing The Reliability and Performance Monitor we can see a live current view of what is happening to our "computer" at current. As you look in the left pane and open the monitoring Tools below the Reliability and Performance Monitor click on Performance Monitor. In the Center Pane now click on the green plus at the top of the screen and an counter. By doing this you will be able to have a good look at really what level your computer is performing at and by this you will create a good baseline.

We are going to track these three in our counter:

% Processor Time

Disk Read Byte/sec

Memory: Available Mbytes

Tracking

REFLECTION:
To baseline a computer is as an athlete having performance check-ups before switchin to a new training plan.

I have learned that if I had known the information on the imortance of and how to baseline my friend's computer would not have the perdicament it has now.

To baseline a computer is to your own ability and equipment before embarking to climb a mountain.

Static IP Addressing - troubleshooting

When you place a Static IP Address you could run into problems.

When you see the screen, check for these possible errors.

1. Know your network range. For every network there is a range of IP address used. Your Static IP Address must be within this range.

Example IP Address 172.16.5.12

Of course we are talking about private networks, behind routers and other devices.

Know the range of the network.

2. Do not duplicate. Your network will have an address for the Default Gateway and possibly the DNS Server. If youtype the same address as either one of these address you will not be able to conect to the internet and will most likely recieve error message like these:

A quick easy way to see the duplicate is:

2a-1. Click the Start button

2a-2. Type cmd

2a-3. Cick cmd.exe

2a-4. Type ipconfig /all in the command prompt

2a-5. Now look at IPv4 Address to the right is



To fix this:

2b-1. Click Control Panel and click Classic View

2b-2. Click Network and Sharing

2b-3. Click View Status

2b-4. Click Properties and click Continue

2b-5. Select IPv4 and click Properties

2b-6. Type 172.16.2.11 to in the IP Address box to test it.

3. NO zero in the Y field. The IP Address has 4 parts (boxes) w,x,y,z. In the Y field you can not type 0.

Protect your computer against brute force attacks

Today is the day, today you will learn how to protect your computer from brute force attacks.
I will be using Windows Vista to demonstrate this.

First you need to access you Advanced User Controls
1. Click the Start button, click All Programs, click Accessories, click Run and type userpasssword2
With Vista click OK
2. Click the Advanced tab, select the Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete check box, and click OK













Now to lockout the accounts after 5 incorrect attempts to log in.
I was not successful in finding out how to accomplish this task in XP.
The only one we wont be able to lockout will be the built-in Administrator account.
1. Click the Start button, click Control Panel,and click Administrative Tools
With Vista click OK
2. Double-click Local Security Policy
3. In the left window pane expand Account Policies and click on Account Lockout Policy
4. Double-click Account lockout threshold, type 5 and click OK
5. Double-click Account lockout duration, type 5 and click OK

Click OK as many times needed and close all windows.
Log off and you will notice that the next time you log on you will be required to hold Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
You have now made it very difficult for someone to break into your computer.

Brute Force Attacks

I looked up brute force attacks and brute force hacking this is a link with some great info on protecting passwords on your computer. You should read this article, click here. Know what's out there.
The author gives insight into what really has to take place, and more so time wise.