How to Test the Working of your Antivirus

Have you ever wondered how to test your Antivirus software to ensure it’s proper working? Well here is a quick and easy way to test your antivirus. The process is called EICAR test which will work on any antivirus and was developed by European Institute of Computer Antivirus Research. This process can be used by people, companies and antivirus programmers to test the proper functioning of the antivirus/antimalware software without having to deal with the real computer virus which can cause damage to the computer. Here is a step-by-step procedure to test your antivirus.

1. Open a notepad (New Text Document.TXT) and copy the following code exactly onto it, and save the notepad.

EICAR Test code
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*


2. Rename the file from New Text Document.TXT to myfile.com

3. Now run the antivirus scan on this myfile.com file.

If the antivirus is functioning properly on your computer, then it should generate a warning and immediately delete the file upon scanning. Otherwise you may have to re-install your antivirus.

NOTE: Most antivirus will pop-out a warning message in the Step-1 itself

You can also place the myfile.com file in a ZIP or RAR file and run a scan on it so as to ensure whether your antivirus can detect the test string in the compressed archive. Any antivirus when scanning this file will respond exactly as it will do for a genuine virus/malicious code. This test will cause no damage to your computer even though the antivirus will flag it as a malicious script. Hence it is the safest method to test the proper functioning of any antivirus.

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How to modify *.exe files

Learn how to change *.exe files, in 5 easy steps:

1) Don't try to modify a prog by editing his source in a dissasembler.Why?
Cause that's for programmers and assembly experts only.

try to view it in hex you'll only get tons of crap you don't understand.

First off, you need Resource Hacker(last version). It's a resource editor-
very easy to use, You can download it at http://www.users.on.net/johnson/resourcehacker/

2) Unzip the archive, and run ResHacker.exe. You can check out the help file too


3) You will see that the interface is simple and clean. Go to the menu FileOpen or press Ctrl+O to open a file. Browse your way to the file you would like to edit. You can edit *.exe, *.dll, *.ocx, *.scr and *.cpl files, but this tutorial is to teach you how to edit *.exe files, so open one.

4) In the left side of the screen a list of sections will appear.
The most common sections are

-String table;
-RCData;
-Dialog;
-Cursor group;
-Bitmap;
-WAV.

*Icon: You can wiew and change the icon(s) of the program by double-clicking the icon section,chossing the icon, right-clicking on it an pressing "replace resource". After that you can choose the icon you want to replace the original with.

*String table: a bunch of crap, useful sometimes, basic programming knowladge needed.

*RCData: Here the real hacking begins. Modify window titles, buttons, text, and lots more!

*Dialog:Here you can modify the messages or dialogs that appear in a program. Don't forget to press "Compile" when you're done!

*Cursor group: Change the mouse cursors used in the program just like you would change the icon.

*Bitmap: View or change images in the programs easy!

*WAV:Change the sounds in the prog. with your own.


5) In the RCData,Dialog,Menu and String table sections you can do a lot of changes. You can modify or translate the text change links, change buttons, etc.


TIP: To change a window title, search for something like: CAPTION "edit this".

TIP: After all operations press the "Compile Script" button, and when you're done editing save, your work @ FileSave(Save as).

TIP: When you save a file,the original file will be backed up by default and renamed to Name_original and the saved file will have the normal name of the changed prog.

TIP: Sometimes you may get a message like: "This program has a non-standard resource layout... it has probably been compressed with an .EXE compressor." That means that Resource Hacker can't modify it because of it's structure.

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Forgot Windows Live Password in Windows 8

With Windows 8, you can sign in to your PC with a Windows Live account. This allows syncing and sharing personal data across multiple devices very easily. You might also be wondering, “How to log on the computer if I forgot my Windows Live password?” Well, here is a excellent hack for you.

With Password Recovery Bundle utility you can create a bootable password reset CD, and set your computer to boot from the CD and it enables you to reset forgotten Windows Live password which is stored on your local computer. After resetting, you will regain full access to your PC with a new password.

How to Reset Forgotten Windows Live Password in Windows 8?

1. First you need to download Password Recovery Bundle program on another computer. After installing and running the program, click the Windows Password button, which allows you to create a bootable password reset disk in 3 steps. Insert a blank CD/DVD or USB drive into the computer and click Start Burn to create a bootdisk.
   
2. Insert the password reset bootdisk you’ve created into your Windows 8 computer. Turn on the computer and hold down F2 or whatever the setup key is shown as during the initial boot screen. This should bring up the BIOS.
   In the BIOS look for the Boot Device Priority option, set CD/DVD as the 1st boot device if you want to boot from CD. You can either set Removable Device as the 1st boot device if you want to boot off USB drive. Save your changes.
3. Restart the computer and now it will boot from the password reset bootdisk. After one or two minutes the bootdisk will launch the Reset Windows Password utility. Choose the local user account which is linked to your Windows Live ID, and then click Reset Password button. The program will set your Windows Live password toPassword123 instantly.
   
   
   
4. Now remove the password reset bootdisk and restart the computer, you can then quickly sign in to Windows 8 using your Windows Live account and the new password: Password123.

Password Recovery Bundle could also reset forgotten login password in Windows 7/Vista/XP/2003/2000. It should be the first Windows password recovery program which supports the latest operating system Windows 8.

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How to Turn Off App Notification in Windows 8

Windows 8 displays app notifications in the Metro-style Start Screen for installed apps, Calendar events, new email, and other app events. But you might not be interested in getting notifications for all apps, in such cases you can configure which apps can sent out notifications for you. In this article we’ll show you how to turn off app notifications in Windows 8.

How to Turn Off App Notification in Windows 8?

1. Access the Charms bar by pressing Windows + C or moving your mouse to the bottom right of the screen and    slowly moving the mouse up. When the Charms bar appears, click on the Settings.

2. Click on More PC Settings link at the bottom of the sidebar.

3. In the PC Settings screen, navigate to Notifications section in the left pane.

4. In the right pane, there are ‘Show app notifications’, ‘Show app notifications on the Lock Screen’ and ‘Play notification sounds’ toggles. In order to complete turn off notifications for all apps, just turn off the Show app Notifications option.

5. Other than turning off notifications for all installed apps, you can do so selectively as well. The lower part of the Notifications settings screen allows you to turn off notifications for individual apps of your choice.

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How to disable Windows 8 Lock Screen

By default, Windows 8 shows Lock Screen at startup, which displays the date ad well as notifications. You have to click the screen before you can get to the logon screen. This seems like something that makes more sense on a tablet PC.

If you are using a desktop or laptop computer, you can disable the Lock Screen so the computer will boot up directly to logon screen to choose the user account to log in to Windows 8. Fortunately, you can disable the Lock Screen from Local Group Policy Editor.

How to Disable Windows 8 Lock Screen?

1. The first thing you need to do is to open the Local Group Policy Editor by pressing the Windows + R key combination to bring up a Run box, then type gpedit.msc and hit Enter.

2. Now, expand Administrative Templates settings from Computer Configuration, and then navigate to Control Panel –> Personalization. In main window, you will find Do not display the lock screen policy.

3. Double-click this policy and tick Enabled checkbox. This will permanently disable Lock Screen. When disabled, users will see the logon screen when they log off or lock out Windows. Similarly, you will be taken to logon screen directly, instead of Lock Screen, at startup.

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Remove Saved Network Passwords in Windows XP,Vista,7

Windows stores user names and passwords on your PC so when you try to log on to network shares, websites (Windows Integrated Authentication) or Remote Desktop Connections, you don’t have to reenter the login information. Caching logins can be helpful if users have multiple usernames and passwords for different programs and can also speed login times for users. However, by storing passwords, Windows also makes it possible for an unauthorized person to walk up to the computer and use the stored passwords to access the protected programs.

I recommend checking which passwords Windows has already stored and delete those that pose a high security risk. Here’s the method to remove stored Windows network passwords.

How to Remove Stored Network Passwords in Windows 7?

You can access the Windows Vault through the Credential Manager. The easiest way is by just typing “Credential Manager” in the Windows 7 Start Menu search prompt. You can also access the Credential Manager through the Control Panel: -> User Accounts -> User Accounts. The link to the Credential Manager can be found in the left navigation bar.

You can remove an entry by selecting it from the list and clicking Remove.

How to Remove Stored Network Passwords in Windows Vista?

To access Stored Usernames and Passwords, you have to run “control userpasswords2″ from the command prompt, then click on Advanced, and then on Manage Passwords. You can also launch the tool via the Control Panel: User Accounts -> User Accounts, and then click on “Manage your network passwords” in the left navigation bar.

You can remove an entry by selecting it from the list and clicking Remove.

How to Remove Stored Network Passwords in Windows XP?

In Windows XP, to access Stored Usernames and Passwords, you have to run “control userpasswords2″ from the command prompt, then click on Advanced, and then on Manage Passwords. You can also launch the tool by running “rundll32.exe keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr” from the command prompt.

You can remove an entry by selecting it from the list and clicking Remove.

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