Microsoft to offer free anti-virus software

Microsoft has announced plans to offer free anti-virus software to PC users starting next year.
The Redmond, Washington-based software giant said the software, code-named "Morro," will "provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans."
In a statement on Tuesday, Microsoft said Morro would be focused on "core anti-malware protection" and would be available in the second half of 2009.
"This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs," it said.
Microsoft said it will discontinue sales of its current software security program, Windows Live OneCare, from June 30, 2009.
"Customers around the world have told us that they need comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, and we take that concern seriously," said Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft.
"This new, no-cost offering will give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is outpaced only by the growth of malware."
Microsoft said "Morro" will be available as a download and offer malware protection for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.
A number of companies are in the business of selling software security programs and industry analysts said Microsoft's move to provide free security software could pose a challenge to such firms as McAfee and Symantec.

Making a backup of your registry

Here below you should two simple methods on how to make a backup and to restore your registry.

Export/ Import

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Firstly open your registry editor: click on Start Menu /Run / type in the following command: regedit.

Click on File /Export. Enter File name and select a path. Ensure that the file extension is .reg and in the Export range field select All



Click on save to validate operation.

To restore the registry when using this method, simply click on File/ Import.

This method is quite simple and useful, but if one of the registry keys is modified or deleted, causing your system to fail and you can’t restart your PC, this backup shouldn’t be of any use.

The second method allows you to restore your registry base in case of system failure.

Making a backup and restoring your registry using the Windows Recovery Console

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The Recovery Console is accessible from the Windows XP installation CD.

The aim is make a copy of certain files (SYSTEM, SOFTWARE, SAM, SECURITY and DEFAULT) found in the WINDOWS/System32/Config folder

The first step is to create a folder to store the copy of these files (E.g.: C:\ Backup).

Insert the XP installation CD; restart your PC, using your CD Drive as First Boot Device.

After the Installation Files are copied, Windows will ask you whether you want to Install Windows XP or Repair.

Type on the R key to select the repair option.

Go to the line ''on which installation of Windows''

Type 1 and enter your password.

After the command line: C:WINDOWS> enter the following command :

copy C:\Windows\system32\Config\SYSTEM C:\Backup


Type in Exitt to quit and restart your PC.

Note that when making changes in the registry it’s important to:
Make a backup of the registry before making any modifications.
Make changes sequentially (one after the other).

[Windows XP] Repairing the network connection using command lines

Under Windows XP there is a small feature allowing you to repair a network connection. Go to the Network Connections options in Control panel (Control Panel / Network Connections), right click on the network connection you want and choose the repair option.

It is possible to run the same command by using the Netsh utility, within the following command line:

netsh int ip reset c:\ network-connection.log

c:\network-connection.log represents the address of the file in which the reporting will be stored

The netsh int ip ...command allows you to reset the TCP/IP.

When Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can use:

netsh winsock reset catalog

Resetting the socket which manages the TCP/IP. This can be used to handle network problems (browser problem, IP address related problems, etc ...)

Restrict display user name on login screen

Under Windows XP, if you log on classic session without the welcome screen, the open window will request the username and password. As default, the name of the last user of the computer will appear on the screen and you just have to put the password to login.

If you wish to disable this function for security purpose, below is a small configuration which will disable this application.

Open the registry and select the command
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system

Scroll to the Key dontdisplaylastusername.
Right click on it and number the value as 1.
To save this setting, restart your computer.
By disabling this function, neither the username and password will be displayed on the screen.