Saturday, December 02, 2006

The Great Ubuntu Blog



Feels good to be back here. This blog of mine has been lying unused for quite a long time now. Main reason was i was waitin for certain things to fall in place for the next blog entry and they have......

It was about a month ago when i visited my friend Arun, i found him runnin ubuntu dapper in his pc(he was the last person in the world i xpected to install linux:D) that day the first thing i did after reaching home is boot up my pc from the ubuntu dapper live CD(i had it shipped the previous month...was too lazy to install)...Had some trouble with partitioning. I scooped off 5GB from my downloads drive allocated 4Gb for the linux root and 1Gb as linux swap(always swap=2xRAM). Ubuntu installation is pretty hassle free apart from the partitioning and is VERY fast compared to XP. The whole OS installs in a max of 10 mins compared to 20+ mins for XP. It had correctly detected the presence of XP in the HDD and had configured the GRUB bootloader accordingly. I spend that whole day getting the "feel" of ubuntu. There were lots of things i was new to. Thankfully the people at ubuntuforums.org are very helpful. Then a few days into it i lost intrest and was back on XP again. 3 weeks later kickassman discovers a video on youtube. The vid was showin off a 3d accelerated ubuntu desktop with lots of jaw dropping visual fx and amazin eye candy. Kickassman did the initial research got it runnin on his pc and tld me to try it out. I decided to give it a shot. Mainly coz XP dosent have a 3d accelerated desktop. That feature comes only with Vista , named as Aero. To run aero smoothly i need to buy atleast 10k worth of new hardware. First i had to install drivers for my ATI Xpress 200 onboard video. thnkfully kickassman found a wiki detailin the process and it was kinda easy. Another thing i learned after installin drivers for my ATI card, Never buy an ATI if ya ever plan to install linux on ur pc, coz ATI linux drivers suck. The first driver i installed wld crash during shutdown. Had to do download the source for a newer version, compile and install it. Hard work for a linux n00b like me.

The 3d accelerated desktop system is named XGL. more info about XGL can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XGL XGL uses a window manager named BERYL and a window decorator named EMERALD to draw around windows. THe 4 default workspaces in the linux environment are drawn around a cube rendered using OpenGL. Switchin workspaces involves rotating this cube which looks awwsumm.

Installing XGL and beryl was kinda easy thnks to ubuntu's package managing software. Upon firing up beryl i was greeted by a cool 3d splash screen and the effect was noticeable. I downloaded themes to make my desktop look just like vista:D

Salient features of beryl include motion blur assisted application switchin, pixel shader demo screen savers,Translucent title bars, Translucent incative windows and loots more. It aint describable with words, U hvta see for yourself to appreciate it.

A simple google search for "XGL vs Aero" will tell u that XGL blasts aero into oblivion, providing much better and customizable eye candy but requiring very less resources compared to aero.

Minimum requirments for vista-aero include 1Gb RAM and a Direct X 9 card with atleast 128MB of dedicated video memory

Xgl runs fine even on a 2 yr old Geforce 4 onboard and provides better visual fx than aero(Xcpt for the fact that some features like pixel shader demos will be absent due to absence of hardware) . The screenshot of my desktop posted below shows a gud view of the desktop "cube" of XGL, and various other features like the translucent title bars etc.



The screenshot doesnt even show 10% of the beauty of beryl. As i said earlier, u hvta c it for urself.


The screenshot posted below shows video playing in the alt+tab switchin screen with motion blur on(well screenshot of "motion" blur is meaningless....but still thought id keep it on)



For help with installing ubuntu browse thru http://ubuntuforums.org

For help with installing XGL check out
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompositeManager/Xgl


linux IS user friendly...just that it aint ignorant friendly and idiot friendly ;-)

Friday, August 11, 2006

Cool 'n Quiet-->not until yesterday!!


well well..........the irony.... all morning in class i was tlkin to asb abt AMD's Cool 'n' Quiet and how it was saving me power while I left my pc on for downloading during night and all. I happened to read biosbhai's blog about how he helped codenamegp underclock his Athlon 64 using a utility named RMClock to save power. i askd biosbhai about it and with his guidance started to attempt to underclock. I could lower the VID ratings only till 1.1V and not till 0.9V which was da value he suggested. That was when i noticed something wierd. The Clock & Throttle graph in RMClock kept showing 1800 MHz even when my CPU usage was 0% which was weird as both my proc and mobo supported c'n'q but its effects were clearly not showing which came as bit of a shock to me. I checked and upgraded the CPU drivers....but no use, checkd an option in the BIOS that set "AMD Cool'n'Quiet" to auto which was the choice before. Then biosbhai tld me to set the power scheme in win xp to "max battery" which was a necessity for c'n'q to function. Tough luck:( consulted my mobo manual. It said o enable stable functioning of c'nq id have to plug in a RAM module to slot 1. I had my current modules pluggd into slots 3 & 4. i opened up my case and changed even that. Still no use. Thats when biosbhai found dat true cool'n'quiet functionality was introduced in BIOS verison 3.8 which was released a cpl of months after i bought my pc and told me to flash my bios:-s Was always "afraid" of doing that as even slight mistakes cld render my comp useless for some time before i revoked the mobo's warranty. And i didnt hv a spare floppy so dat i cld backup my xisting bios in case something went wrng. Took biosbhai's advice to take the risk and flashd my BIOS. Just tuk about half a minute:). Rebooted and saw some new additions like able to ramp up the memory shared for the onboard grfx all the way upto 256MB(not much use...but still:D). Now cool'n quiet wrks perfectly. Wheneven CPU idles proc underclocks to 995MHz with a FID of 5.0x at 1.1V but still cldnt lower it to 0.9. Anyway im satisfied now. and to think of all the electricity i wasted the past year[sigh!]. Heres a screenshot of Cool'nQuiet in action with a cpu usage of 31% while the pc's runnin utorrent, winamp and yahoo msngr. Note the clock&throttle graph(CPU runs at 995MHz).


Thursday, August 10, 2006

long time no c.......

its been a while since ive bloggd......think this has been da longest absence "ever";) well now that im back thought ill just post wat i was up to these days.....hmmmmmm...lemme think to strt with.oh yeah..my data structures lab exam since it invlvd sittin in front of the comp..was out of the lamp before half time(no i wasnt kickd out if thats wat ur thinkin :p)....and everythin seems to be in order for the "Industrial Visit" scheduled to take place next month thnx to some very effecive runnin arnd by dish and others........and da most major activity(wont call it timepass) durin da past cpl of weeks......UT....earlier i had a its-just-for-fun kinda attitude towards gamin in general.....but those lengthy "trainin sessions" with sp^wn after he [ahem!!] "beat" me,made me realize dat it aint just aimin and shootin:D Always admire the patience with which he tried to "Teach" me stuff. ^:)^ cld only find a sentence to put in here and i got that sentence from the orkut profile of lord goopan himself....."Being a gamer is like being a virtual gladiator. Your digital avatar lives to fight, survive and entertain those who come to spectate the mayhem.".....yeah...its abt runnin..... hidin...firin in desperation...gettin pwnd.....and da "occasional"(for ultran00bs like me) wild satisfaction when u finally hear lead hittin flesh>:)......aspire to frag, i will......UT rulzz

Friday, July 21, 2006

addicted to technology

after a lab xam dat was pushd right in2 my face outta da blue things are quietely settling bak in2 place. Not that it would hv made a difference if i knew the lab dates earlier, but i had 2 run a bit to get my records certified(lessons supposedly learned--always get rcrds outta da way as fast as u can). Guys from our class decided to get together at the pooapura ground for a football game. I fully discovered why they say spending 12+ hrs in front of a computer aint gud for health. Was almost dead abt 15 mins into play. To be honest i was a "liability" to poor asb's team. He was screamin desperately for a pass each time the ball got near me. But i was too busy dodgin kenny(who strtd to scream while runnin towards me) to notice da ball:D. Decided that mayb i should step outta my glass walled abode once in a while. The lab exam question was kinda simple and got the needed output in abt half hour. But viva went kinda bad. Id rather focus on the gud part here and let the viva go2 hell(repeats to myself.."i got da output"). Been readin a loot lately on conroe and AMD's reply and similair topics. Think im tkin a likin 2 hardware:D(reverently chants......om biosbhai namaha!)....recent activities on the comp..... scrapped norton internet security for the second time.....now using netlimiter pro and its firewall with NOD 32 as AV. really liked Netlimiter pro..shws everythin u wannw knw about programs accessin the net from ur comp....along with very nifty features like a built in whois query tool..its more than what i need:D.....then wat else......oh yeah..switchd to da new yahoo mail beta..........interface luks really gud....really likd da one-click preview feature and strangeky.it loads faster for me than the old yahoo mail.....
Heres a snapshot of the new yahoo mail beta. Notice the one click preview pane at the bottom. Got dspm lab xams comin up. As usual...need 2 get the records certified:D....catch ya all later

Monday, July 10, 2006

half way thru..........



holidays over.............back to my favorite past time of sleepin thru lectures:D Beginning of s5 marks half time in the illustrious journey thry B.Tech. And my frquency of bloggin went down durin the holidays(thinking).

The 1 month dat passed was borin to a gr8 xtent. Anythin worth recallin...ummmmm(thinkin .....there was the party at moush's house, indu's b'day, me and asb visitin biosbhai's house(finally got to meet the lord of the bios^:)^ ), frag matches with auster and dj(^:)^@kickasso, try harder@dj:P..just kiddin dude).

And oh yeah.me xperimentin with USB boot resultin in 40gigs of clean NTFS secondary memory:-< . It all strtd on a peaceful afternoon with my new pack of ubuntu cd's arrivin by mail. I was like.......hmmmmmm 64-bit editionof ubuntu(thinkin) mayb ill install dat...(1337 3go t4k!n 0v3r) and b the proud owner of the only 64-bit OS in class
(high hopes!!)...the version was the latest(code named "Dapper drake").. i knew that theres nothin 4 me 2 gain from instllin a 64-bit OS .but still ...Without further hesitation i pop in the cd .....a decent lukin menu arrives...i chose to boot....cpl of lines show up and then suddenly "Wat da hell!!".screen shws attempt to kill init...init sync fail....and da screen freezes...back 2 gud old xp and i googled for the prob.got some vague ideas that it might b related 2 acpi and some guy was hvin the same prob with Athlon 64. I boot usin the cd instd of bootin normally added an xtra option acpi=off..and hurray!!..it boots from the cd....another strange thing..watever resolution i choose while bootin the OS still loads in 640x480 which was a prob since the install program window was too big for the screen.but that was solved when i pluggd in my USD HDD..now default resolution was 1280x720.....dont ask how:-??.......Now i run the install program..after passin thru whole load of crap like "regional settings" i finally come to the partitioning section and.WTF.it refuses to acknowledge the existence of my SATA drive.but my USB drive does show up..phrases like "USB boot" race through my mind...i weigh my options.hmmmmm.......i got 10gigs of free space in dat drive........mayb ill partition 6gigs and install ubuntu on that.and i instruct it 2 do so...then it shws some error and program closes.i giv up...back to gud old xp..after abt an hr...i pull up my computer and notice somethin strange. my USB drive is pluggd in.but it aint there.it did show up in windows disk managment.and partition magic said file system was bad.....dammit!!...along with vaporizin my 64-bit dreams ubuntu had also f***ed up my USB drive....33 movies, knight rider, my entire star wars collection...all gone...finally fox tld me 2 delete the partition and reformat it, thnx 2 him i got the drive back in working condition..... anyways xp rulzz for the moment.

College reopened 2day...some of the subjects do look intrestin. and theres the mini proj. Need to come up with somethin really gud 4 dat. teamed up with dj and asb.mayb ill letem do most of the wrk:D Then theres the IV comin up. lukin forward to a gud sem:D catch ya all later--th3_d4r3d3vi1

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Happy B'day pc
















[Forgive the image quality. That pic was taken usin a webcam at night:P]


My pc's a year old now. "Old" isnt a term you would like to associate with a computer. They are supposed to be prime and mean all time long with obsolete hardware being replaced by the latest and greatest . First of all, i wouldnt call my hardware obsolete:D and second of all my upgrade frequency is really low compared to the likes of asb.

My old pc was/is a technological "marvel" . Its still running:D. An absolute beast of a machine Style, power, u name it;-) Dad bought that pc when i was in sixth standard. I would spend hours talkin to my seniors on my school bus about the MSDOS commands i was to punch in to play a game. My first surprise came when a screen labelled "Windows 95" popped up while i was expecting to c "Starting MS-DOS".. Then came the first huge challenge, Mastering the mouse:D. Tuk some time to get used to it. I furiosuly searched for(and found) the MS-DOS shell and started punching in commands like "cd games" "prince megahit" and all. It tuk some time for my brain to register the fact that u never play a game unless it is installed(read as exists) on ur comp. The comp contained 16 megabytes of EDO RAM(the only specimen ive ever seen), a 1.2 GB samsung harddiskdrive(partioned into 4 regions by the way). The video card was a real killer named Sis 6215 which was a PCI card with 1 megabyte of videomemory. Just in case ur guessin 16MB of RAM??.win 95 requires only 8MB of RAM to run. Other pieces of hardware that were added on later included a Creative 8x CD-ROM drive and a Creative Soundblaster 16 soundcard which pluggd into an ISA port. The 8x drive blew its lens in future and was replaced by a standard 52x samsung drive which was the last upgrade my old PC saw till the new pc came in a year ago. Dj and i once tried running Everest 2005 on my old pc. It detected the motherboard as "Tomato motherboard"=)) It was 7 years of win 95/98 , fifa 98 and nfs 2.

One thing really different about he first years of my old and new pc's is that the new pc never broke down(unless i count the time when dust got in to the RAM slots and sys crashd resulting in me frantically diallin biosbhai's no.) This last year has been very different where the comp became an inseperable part of ME. Durin the last year holidays mnt 16 hrs in front of the comp unless there is a power failure, which was a feat unattainable with my old comp as it wld simply shutdown after 12 hrs of use:D

So its 1 yr and runnin, hope it stays so:D

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Xplosive performance!!!!



Im damn sure u dont want this to happen on ur lap. Saw this Xplosive news on the inquirer. The laptop apparently identified as manufactured by DELL just went "bang" as reported by a person who attended the above conference. The guy advices people to "run run run!!" and never turn back in case such an event occurs in front of anyone. Nothin has been told of what actually caused it to just go up in flames like that.

Tip of the day--always keep ur laptop outta ur lap:D


Read the full story here

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

what computer am i??

got this blogtest from biosbhai's blog

1337 Case Mod
You scored 190 skilled, 80 artistic, 165 gamer, and 25 conformity!

You got the skills! You built your computer from scratch, and thought long and hard about all the components, balancing them for optimum performance. You didn't spend a fortune on your computer, but you spent what you needed to. You'll probably spend a fair bit of dough to upgrade it in six months, when the lastest video card comes out. You
play lots of games, but you probably dual boot to Linux. You probably design webpages or program things.



My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:


You scored higher than 66% on skilled


You scored higher than 58% on artistic


You scored higher than 79% on gamer


You scored higher than 12% on conformity
Link: The Which Computer are You Test written by mridlen

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

windows 95 on a sony psp


THE ULTIMATE PORT.........was hard to believe at first but luks authentic. It seems this guy actually succeeded in running win 95 on a sony psp. He apparently used an open source X86 emulator named Bochs to accomplish the feat.

Loading time is abt 10 mins. But its said to be pretty usable afterwards. The mouse is reported to have a certain inertia of motion, i.e u need to push ur joystick in the opposite dir to stop the cursor from continuing to move.

Games like minesweeper and solitaire are said to b very playable.



MINESWEEPER ON SONY PSP


SOLITAIRE ON SONY PSP

The psp in question runs at a full CPU speed of 333Mhz, and the unit reportedly heats up considerably. The author has made it clear that he aint responsible if "ur psp bursts into flames". If you wld like to read the full article do so here.

You can get the source files and a walkthrough on how to do this at the site(if u hv a sony psp 2 burn i.e:D)

signin off--th3_d4r3d3vi1

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

29 useless windows xp sp2 services


Is your win xp-sp2 pc driving u crazy because of its "warp-speeds"??. Then this little piece of info is for u. I actually came across this in a techtree.com
article. It was durin my "norton days" .My pc was just a few weeks old and after insllin NAV general sys speed had gone down a bit. I wldnt hv minded a speed drop of that amount NOW. But when uve just bought a new pc even a sliiight performance drop can make u wonder whether u bought the right PC. This article actually gave me back my speed. The difference was noticable for me. Hope it works for u.

To enable or disable services, go to Start -> Run -> and type "services.msc" and hit Enter.

Computer Browser
"Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers."
Contrary to what it may sound like, disabling this service still allows you to browse a network in your office. And of course, you don't need this at home. Disable it.

Distributed Link Tracking Client
"Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network domain."
This one sounds useful, but only if you often create files on one computer, shortcuts to those files on another computer, and then move the original files around the network. Not many people do so. In fact, not many people even have NTFS on their Windows for some orthodox reason. Not required on FAT32, at home or even at work if your scenario doesn't match with the description. Disable it.



Error Reporting Service
"Allows error reporting for services and applictions running in non-standard environments."
I.e. "Send system information to Microsoft." No thanks. Disable it.

Help and Support
"Enables Help and Support Center to run on this computer."
This is okay to leave as-is if you hit F1 a lot, but if you almost never need to use the built-in help features (as opposed to just Googling for the problem - always a better option), then disabling this service would be a good idea. Now the problem is that the service automatically gets turned back on when required even if its disabled, so keeping it disabled is actually a better option to keeping it on automatic.

Indexing Service
"Indexes contents and properties of files on local and remote computers; provides rapid access to files through flexible querying language."
Use AvaFind (link to review) and/or Google Desktop Search instead. Just disable it - no questions asked.



Net Logon
"Supports pass-through authentication of account logon events for computers in a domain."
Useless for single machines or even most networks out here that don't actually have a domain. Disable.

NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
"Enables an authorized user to access this computer remotely by using NetMeeting over a corporate intranet."
As a general rule of thumb, avoid any combination of "remote" and "internet/intranet". If you don't want people to use NetMeeting to connect to your computer and see your desktop over the Internet/Intranet, disable this please.

Network Location Awareness (NLA)
"Collects and stores network configuration and location information, and notifies applications when this information changes."
And how is that going to help you? Disable it.



Network Provisioning Service
"Manages XML configuration files on a domain basis for automatic network provisioning."
Not necessary for home and/or simple networks. Disable.

Performance Logs and Alerts
"Collects performance data from local or remote computers based on preconfigured schedule parameters, then writes the data to a log or triggers an alert."
There are other, more efficient ways of tracking performance of your machine(s) than using this service, if at all you need to do so. Most home users will never need it. Disable it.

Portable Media Serial Number Service
"Retrieves the serial number of any portable media player connected to this computer."
Unless you use some 100% Windows Media based/compatible ("PlaysForSure") portable audio/video device and Windows Media Player, this service is useless. iPod and regular flash based MP3 player users don't need it. Disable it.



QoS RSVP
"Provides network signaling and local traffic control setup functionality for QoS-aware programs and control applets."
This is an interesting concept to give more bandwidth to applications that request it, unfortunately, not many actually do this QoS thing, so it doesn't make sense to enable it. You can use cFos Speed for better bandwidth prioritization that actually works.

Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
"Manages and controls Remote Assistance."
Remote Assistance should be avoided. Disable this service.

Remote Registry
"Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer."
We'll let you guess this one out...



Secondary Logon
"Enables starting processes under alternate credentials."
This offers the "Run As" option to limited user accounts to be able to temporarily run some applications as an administrator (after entering the password, of course). Standalone machines usually have just one account with administrator access and other accounts, if any, are also usually administrators. You should keep this service only if your limited users often need to run applications with admin access, otherwise disable it.

Security Center
"Monitors system security settings and configurations."
That thing that pops up and tells you when your firewall is down, your anti-virus is out of date, or automatic updates are turned off. Personally, I like the alerts because then I know my anti-virus was unable to download its updates. I don't really bother with the firewall and my automatic updates are always on. If you've never needed or received any alerts on these events, this service can be disabled. The feature doesn't offer any protection by itself - it is only a monitor. Not really required.

Server
"Supports file, print, and named-pipe sharing over the network for this computer."
Only if you share files on a network would this be required. If you disable the Server service, you may still be able to access other shares, so you won't be entirely unconnected. Decide and disable if not required.



Smart Card
"Manages access to smart cards read by this computer."
How many of you actually use smart cards with your computer? Disable this.

SSDP Discovery Service
"Enables discovery of UPnP devices on your home network."
Most people don't have any UPnP devices on the network, so this service is useless. Do not confuse this with standard PnP (Plug-n-Play), which remains unaffected if this service is disabled.

System Restore Service
"Performs system restore functions."
I prefer trying to manually troubleshoot and fix, or reinstalling Windows in case of a fatal problem. I've never felt comfortable with using System Restore to "restore old versions of files" and all that, so I keep it disabled. It frees up memory and a good amount of disk space as well.



TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
"Enables support for NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) service and NetBIOS name resolution."
Nobody uses NetBIOS anymore. Get over it. Disable this.

Themes
"Provides user experience theme management."
For performance reasons (or if you're just bored of all Blue), you may want to use the classic Windows 2000-style interface. You can switch to it from the Desktop Properties dialog, but there's no reason to have the service running if you're not using Luna / Default Blue, so disable it. Remember: if you're using the Luna / Default Blue interface, this service is necessary.

Uninterruptible Power Supply
"Manages an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) connected to the computer."
If you don't have a UPS, you don't need this service. If you have a UPS that you use independent of the computer (i.e. without automatic turn off etc.), you don't need this service. Even if you do have a UPS that requires installing its own software for power management, this service is not required. Use it only if your UPS connects to your PC via a COM port and automatically gets Windows to work with it (not many).



Universal Plug and Play Device Host
"Provides support to host Universal Plug and Play devices."
Works along with the SSDP service that we doubt you require. Don't know what UPnP is? Disable this.

WebClient
"Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files."
Not a very popular feature. Disable it. If some features in Internet Explorer don't work for you, then you may need it. But then, why are you using IE, again? Huh?

Windows Time
"Maintains date and time synchronization on all clients and servers in the network."
I've kept this on. In fact, I'm so particular about having the correct time on my system, I've actually increased the update frequency from weekly to daily. If you don't share the same enthusiasm as me, you can disable this service. You can use a freeware, third party, on-demand time sync utility that will not need this service to be running, saving you memory.



Wireless Zero Configuration
"Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters"
I don't have any WiFi devices or networks to get on to, so I've disabled it. If you don't have any WiFi, do the same.

WMI Performance Adapter
"Provides performance library information from WMI HiPerf providers."
Nobody is really sure what to do with this thing. I've never needed it, and it's unlikely that you ever will. Off with it.

Workstation
"Creates and maintains client network connections to remote servers."
If your're sharing files and folders over a network, leave this on. If not, disable it. This is not needed or even utilized in a standalone PC. This doesn't affect Internet connectivity.

Friday, June 02, 2006

A short intro about port scanning

im back...my loong term(1 week) absence from the net was due to xtreme conditions arising(read as way over the data limit). Anyways i changed my plan to a low speed but unlimited one. Thought id write what all i know about port scanners.

Many people believe a port scanner is the ultimate "tool" in a hackers toolkit and it throws up ur friends password lists in a jiffy as soon as u give his ip. Wrong!!. A port scanner is just a tool for "checking" wether a particular system is "vulnerable". Also, port scanning is illegal in many parts of the world and it is NOT a good idea to try them on a public server(just in case)....

To understand different types of port scans a brief knowledge on how a TCP/IP connection is established is necessary. To put it in simple terms a TCP/IP connection is establishd as follows

Connect request
Sender ---------------------> Receiver

Connect Confirm
Sender <---------------------- Receiver

Connect acknowledge
Sender ---------------------> Receiver

This 3-way "handshake" establishes a TCP/IP connection between the "sender" and the "receiver". The most conventional type of port scan is the connect scan
The connect scan simply attempts a full fledged TCP/IP connection to every single port on the victims machine. If a connection is created succesfully with a port(consider a port as a "data-pipeline" which is managed by a particular program) the program marks that particular port as open. The chances of this scan working is really low these days. the most negative part is that this scan shows up prominently in the connection logs of the victims machine.

Another widely popular scan method is the SYN scan.
This is also known as a "half-open" port scan. This is because technically it opens "half a port". It sends the initial connection request, but as soon as the victim responds the scanner sends a connection terminate packet and closes the connection(it marks the port as open). This scan provides a lil bit higher element of stealth compared to the connect scan. It does show up in the logs but with lesser prominence. SYN scan provides somewhat accurate results with a certain degree of stealth.

Next is the FIN scan
This is the most "silent" of all port scans. It employs a packet known as the FIN packet(which means no more data from sender). An open port ignores a FIN packet while a closed port responds with an RST(connection reset) packet. The scanner thus marks out open ports. This method is kinda unreliable in the sense that accuracy is low. It aint "undetectable" but its pretty hard to detect.

There are other methods of scans like XMAS scan, NULL scan etc. which im not that familiar with and havent used.

This is the most basic functionality of a port scanner. Well known port scanners also pack in xtra features like ip-spoofing, banner grabbing and OS detection.

Banner grabbing is the mechanism by which the "welcome" banner of certain programs "manning" a paricular port is captured by the port scanner thus letting us know which service runs on which port.

OS detection is quite a nifty feature. As they say the first step in "breaking in" to a machine is to know which OS it runs. OS detection isnt guarenteed o work at all times. It uses a technique called TCP/IP fingerprinting. Each OS handles a TCP/IP packet in its own unique way. The port scanner compares a "fingerprint" from a packet to its own "fingerprint" database to detect the OS.

Another useful feature is the ARP ping scan which uses ARP packets to determine the MAC-ID of the victims ethernet adapter and its manufacturer. this scan is not blocked by conventional firewalls with ip-blocking.

One of the best port scanners around is undoubtledly Nmap.
Its a command line port scanner which packs in a lot of useful features. A typical Nmap scan result luks like this.....

Initiating ARP Ping Scan against 202.83.39.129 [1 port] at 23:06
The ARP Ping Scan took 0.11s to scan 1 total hosts.
Initiating SYN Stealth Scan against 202.83.39.129 [1670 ports] at 23:06
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 0 to 5 due to 17 out of 55 dropped
probes since last increase.
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 5 to 10 due to max_successful_tryno
increase to 4
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 10 to 20 due to 12 out of 39 droppe
d probes since last increase.
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 20 to 40 due to 19 out of 63 droppe
d probes since last increase.
Increasing send delay for 202.83.39.129 from 40 to 80 due to 11 out of 35 droppe
d probes since last increase.
SYN Stealth Scan Timing: About 19.72% done; ETC: 23:09 (0:02:02 remaining)
Discovered open port 5000/tcp on 202.83.39.129
Discovered open port 5101/tcp on 202.83.39.129
SYN Stealth Scan Timing: About 77.96% done; ETC: 23:10 (0:00:43 remaining)
The SYN Stealth Scan took 216.70s to scan 1670 total ports.
Initiating service scan against 2 services on 202.83.39.129 at 23:10
The service scan took 14.13s to scan 2 services on 1 host.
For OSScan assuming port 5000 is open, 1 is closed, and neither are firewalled
Host 202.83.39.129 appears to be up ... good.
Interesting ports on 202.83.39.129:
(The 1646 ports scanned but not shown below are in state: closed)
PORT STATE SERVICE VERSION
20/tcp filtered ftp-data
21/tcp filtered ftp
25/tcp filtered smtp
80/tcp filtered http
135/tcp filtered msrpc
136/tcp filtered profile
137/tcp filtered netbios-ns
138/tcp filtered netbios-dgm
139/tcp filtered netbios-ssn
445/tcp filtered microsoft-ds
593/tcp filtered http-rpc-epmap
623/tcp filtered unknown
664/tcp filtered unknown
1080/tcp filtered socks
1353/tcp filtered relief
1433/tcp filtered ms-sql-s
3128/tcp filtered squid-http
4444/tcp filtered krb524
4480/tcp filtered proxy-plus
5000/tcp open upnp Microsoft Windows UPnP
5101/tcp open tcpwrapped
6588/tcp filtered analogx
9090/tcp filtered zeus-admin
12345/tcp filtered NetBus
MAC Address: 00:11:2F:04:04:C6 (Asustek Computer)
Device type: general purpose
Running: Microsoft Windows NT/2K/XP
OS details: Microsoft Windows XP Pro RC1+ through final release
TCP Sequence Prediction: Class=random positive increments
Difficulty=14917 (Worthy challenge)
IPID Sequence Generation: Incremental
Service Info: OS: Windows



Note that the victims MAC is revealed in the scan. Since the MAC is unique 2 a pc this can be effectively used in identifying a pc. So next time u doubt whether the girl u hv been chattin 2 for the past cpl of hrs is ur neighbour, u knw wat 2 do;-) Note that ARP ping scan works only in some ISP's and it does not work for people on dial-up.

A port scan is not an attack by itself. But it is phase 1 of an attack. So the next time ur frnd threatens that hes gonna "break in" to ur pc using his new "port scanner" ask him 2 buzz off..:D

U can c "trinity" using Nmap before breaking into the power station's server in the movie "Matrix Reloaded"(thnx to anand for the info..)

signin off--th3_d4r3d3vi1

Monday, May 22, 2006

interview with HRD Minister.......




hey guys...found this interview by India's best known television commentator and interviewer Karan Thapar with the Minister for Human Resource Development, Arjun Singh. Its quite lengthy, but a gud read if ya have the time. Feel free 2 comment...........




Karan Thapar: Hello and welcome to the Devil's Advocate. As the debate over the reservations for the OBCs divides the country, we ask - What are the government's real intentions? That is the critical questions that I shall put today in an exclusive interview to the Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh.
Most of the people would accept that steps are necessary to help the OBCs gain greater access to higher education. The real question is - Why do you believe that reservations is the best way of doing this?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to say much more on this because these are decisions that are taken not by individuals alone. And in this case, the entire Parliament of this country - almost with rare anonymity - has decided to take this decision.

Karan Thapar: Except that Parliament is not infallible. In the Emergency, when it amended the Constitution, it was clearly wrong, it had to reverse its own amendments. So, the question arises - Why does Parliament believe that the reservation is the right way of helping the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Nobody is infallible. But Parliament is Supreme and atleast I, as a Member of Parliament, cannot but accept the supremacy of Parliament.

Karan Thapar: No doubt Parliament is supreme, but the constitutional amendment that gives you your authorities actually unenabling amendment, it is not a compulsory requirement. Secondly, the language of the amendment does not talk about reservations, the language talks about any provision by law for advancement of socially and educationally backward classes. So, you could have chosen anything other than reservations, why reservations?

Arjun Singh: Because as I said, that was the 'will and desire of the Parliament'.

Karan Thapar: Do you personally also, as Minister of Human Resource Development , believe that reservations is the right and proper way to help the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: Certainly, that is one of the most important ways to do it.

Karan Thapar: The right way?
Arjun Singh: Also the right way.
Karan Thapar: In which case, lets ask a few basic questions; we are talking about the reservations for the OBCs in particular. Do you know what percentage of the Indian population is OBC? Mandal puts it at 52 per cent, the National Sample Survey Organisation at 32 per cent, the National Family and Health Survey at 29.8 per cent, which is the correct figure?

Arjun Singh: I think that should be decided by people who are more knowledgeable. But the point is that the OBCs form a fairly sizeable percentage of our population.

Karan Thapar: No doubt, but the reason why it is important to know 'what percentage' they form is that if you are going to have reservations for them, then you must know what percentage of the population they are, otherwise you don't know whether they are already adequately catered in higher educational institutions or not.

Arjun Singh: That is obvious - they are not.

Karan Thapar: Why is it obvious?

Arjun Singh: Obvious because it is something which we all see.

Karan Thapar: Except for the fact that the NSSO, which is a government appointed body, has actually in its research in 1999 - which is the most latest research shown - that 23.5 per cent of all university seats are already with the OBCs. And that is just 8.5 per cent less than what the NSSO believes is the OBC share of the population. So, for a difference of 8 per cent, would reservations be the right way of making up the difference?

Arjun Singh: I wouldn't like to go behind all this because, as I said, Parliament has taken a view and it has taken a decision, I am a servant of Parliament and I will only implement.

Karan Thapar: Absolutely, Parliament has taken a view, I grant it. But what people question is the simple fact - Is there a need for reservations? If you don't know what percentage of the country is OBC, and if furthermore, the NSSO is correct in pointing out that already 23.5 per cent of the college seats are with the OBC, then you don't have a case in terms of need.

Arjun Singh: College seats, I don't know.

Karan Thapar: According to the NSSO - which is a government appointed body - 23.5 per cent of the college seats are already with the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: What do you mean by college seats?

Karan Thapar: University seats, seats of higher education.

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know I have not come across that far.

Karan Thapar: So, when critics say to you that you don't have a case for reservation in terms of need, what do you say to them?

Arjun Singh: I have said what I had to say and the point is that that is not an issue for us to now debate.

Karan Thapar: You mean the chapter is now closed?

Arjun Singh: The decision has been taken.

Karan Thapar: Regardless of whether there is a need or not, the decision is taken and it is a closed chapter.

Arjun Singh: So far as I can see, it is a closed chapter and that is why I have to implement what all Parliament has said.

Karan Thapar: Minister, it is not just in terms of 'need' that your critics question the decision to have reservation for OBCs in higher education. More importantly, they question whether reservations themselves are efficacious and can work.
For example, a study done by the IITs themselves shows that 50 per cent of the IIT seats for the SCs and STs remain vacant and for the remaining 50 per cent, 25 per cent are the candidates, who even after six years fail to get their degrees. So, clearly, in their case, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: I would only say that on this issue, it would not be correct to go by all these figures that have been paraded.

Karan Thapar: You mean the IIT figures themselves could be dubious?

Arjun Singh: Not dubious, but I think that is not the last word.

Karan Thapar: All right, maybe the IIT may not be the last word, let me then quote to you the report of the Parliamentary Committee on the welfare for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - that is a Parliamentary body.
It says that looking at the Delhi University, between 1995 and 2000, just half the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Castes level and just one-third of the seats for under-graduates at the Scheduled Tribes level were filled. All the others went empty, unfilled. So, again, even in Delhi University, reservations are not working.

Arjun Singh: If they are not working, it does not mean that for that reason we don't need them. There must be some other reason why they are not working and that can be certainly probed and examined. But to say that for this reason, 'no reservations need to be done' is not correct.

Karan Thapar: Fifty years after the reservations were made, statistics show, according to The Hindustan Times, that overall in India, only 16 per cent of the places in higher education are occupied by SCs and STs. The quota is 22.5 per cent, which means that only two-thirds of the quota is occupied. One third is going waste, it is being denied to other people.

Arjun Singh: As I said, the kind of figures that have been brought out, in my perception, do not reflect the realities. Realities are something much more and of course, there is an element of prejudice also.

Karan Thapar: But these are figures that come from a Parliamentary Committee. It can't be prejudiced; they are your own colleagues.

Arjun Singh: Parliamentary Committee has given the figures, but as to why this has not happened, that is a different matter.

Karan Thapar: I put it to you that you don't have a case for reservations in terms of need, you don't have a case for reservations in terms of their efficacy, why then, are you insisting on extending them to the OBCs?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to use that word, but I think that your argument is basically fallicious.

Karan Thapar: But it is based on all the facts available in the public domain.

Arjun Singh: Those are facts that need to be gone into with more care. What lies behind those facts, why this has not happened, that is also a fact.

Karan Thapar: Let's approach the issue of reservations differently in that case. Reservations mean that a lesser-qualified candidate gets preference over a more qualified candidate, solely because in this case, he or she happens to be an OBC. In other words, the upper castes are being penalised for being upper caste.

Arjun Singh: Nobody is being penalised and that is a factor that we are trying to address. I think that the prime Minister will be talking to all the political parties and will be putting forward a formula, which will see that nobody is being penalised.

Karan Thapar: I want very much to talk about that formula, but before we come to talk about how you are going to address concerns, let me point one other corollary - Reservations also gives preference and favour to caste over merit. Is that acceptable in a modern society?

Arjun Singh: I don't think the perceptions of modern society fit India entirely.

Karan Thapar: You mean India is not a modern society and therefore can't claim to be treated as one?

Arjun Singh: It is emerging as a modern society, but the parameters of a modern society do not apply to large sections of the people in this country.

Karan Thapar: Let me quote to you Jawaharlal Nehru, a man whom you personally admire enormously. On the 27th of June 1961 wrote to the Chief Ministers of the day as follows: I dislike any kind of reservations. If we go in for any kind of reservations on communal and caste basis, we will swamp the bright and able people and remain second rate or third rate. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost. And then he adds pointedly: This way lies not only folly, but also disaster. What do you say to Jawaharlal Nehru today?

Arjun Singh: Jawaharlal Nehru was a great man in his own right and not only me, but everyone in India accept his view.

Karan Thapar: But you are just about to ignore his advice.

Arjun Singh: No. Are you aware that it was Jawaharlal Nehru who introduced the first ammendment regarding OBCs?

Karan Thapar: Yes, and I am talking about Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961, when clearly he had changed his position, he said - I dislike any kind of reservations.

Arjun Singh: I don't think one could take Panditji's position at any point of time and then overlook what he had himself initiated.

Karan Thapar: Am I then to understand that regardless of the case that is made against reservations in terms of need, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of efficacy, regardless of the case that has been made against reservations in terms of Jawaharlal Nehru, you remain committed to extending reservations to the OBCs.

Arjun Singh: I said because that is the will of Parliament. And I think that common decisions that are taken by Parliament have to be honoured.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you a few basic questions - If reservations are going to happen for the OBCs in higher education, what percentage of reservations are we talking about?

Arjun Singh: No, that I can't say because that has yet to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Could it be less than 27 per cent?

Arjun Singh: I can't say anything on that, I have told you in the very beginning that at this point of time it is not possible for me to.

Karan Thapar: Quite right. If you can't say, then that also means that the figure has not been decided.

Arjun Singh: The figure will be decided, it has not been decided yet.
Karan Thapar: The figure has not been decided. So, therefore the figure could be 27, but it could be less than 27 too?

Arjun Singh: I don't want to speculate on that because as I said, that is decision, which will be taken by Parliament.

Karan Thapar: Whatever the figure, one thing is certain that when the reservations for OBCs happen, the total quantum of reservations will go up in percentage terms. Will you compensate by increasing the total number of seats in colleges, universities, IITs and IIMs, so that the other students don't feel deprived.

Arjun Singh: That is one of the suggestions that has been made and is being seriously considered.

Karan Thapar: Does it find favour with you as a Minister for Human Resource Development?

Arjun Singh: Whatever suggestion comes, we are committed to examine it.
Karan Thapar: You may be committed to examine it, but do you as minister believe that that is the right way forward?

Arjun Singh: That could be one of the ways, but not the only way.

Karan Thapar: What are the other ways?

Arjun Singh: I don't know. That is for the Prime Minister and the other ministers to decide.

Karan Thapar: One way forward would be to increase the total number of seats.

Arjun Singh: Yes, definitely.

Karan Thapar: But the problem is that as the Times of India points out, we are talking of an increase of perhaps as much as 53 per cent. Given the constraints you have in terms of faculty and infrastructure, won't that order of increase dilute the quality of education?

Arjun Singh: I would only make one humble request, don't go by The Times of India and The Hindustan Times about faculty and infrastructure, because they are trying to focus on an argument which they have made.

Karan Thapar: All right, I will not go by The Times of India, let me instead go by Sukhdev Thorat, the Chairman of the UGC. He points out that today, at higher education levels - that is all universities, IITs and IIMs - there is already a 1.2 lakh vacancy number. 40 per cent of these are in teaching staff, which the IIT faculty themselves point out that they have shortages of up to 30 per cent. Given those two constraint, can you increase the number of seats?

Arjun Singh: That can be addressed and that shortage can be taken care of.

Karan Thapar: But it can't be taken care of in one swoop, it will take several years to do it.

Arjun Singh: I don't know whether it can be taken care of straightway or in stages, that is a subject to be decided.

Karan Thapar: Let me ask you bluntly, if you were to agree to compensate for reservations for OBCs by increasing the number of seats, would that increase happen at one go, or would it be staggered over a period of two-three or four year old process.

Arjun Singh: As I told you, it is an issue that I cannot comment upon at this moment because that is under examination.

Karan Thapar: So, it may happen in one go and it may happen in a series of several years.

Arjun Singh: I can't speculate on that because that is not something on which I am free to speak on today.

Karan Thapar: Will the reservation for OBCs, whatever figure your Committee decides on, will it happen in one go, or will it slowly be introduced in stages?

Arjun Singh: That also I cannot say because as I told you, all these issues are under consideration.

Karan Thapar: Which means that everything that is of germane interest to the people concerned is at the moment 'under consideration' and the government is not able to give any satisfaction to the students who are deeply concerned.

Arjun Singh: That is not the point. The government knows what to do and it will do what is
needed.

Karan Thapar: But if the government knows what to do, why won't you tell me what the government wants to do?

Arjun Singh: Because unless the decision is taken, I cannot tell you.

Karan Thapar: But you can share with me as the Minister what you are thinking.
Arjun Singh: No.

Karan Thapar: So, in other words, we are manitaining a veil of secrecy and the very people who are concerned...

Arjun Singh: I am not maintaining a veil of secrecy. I am only telling you what propriety allows me to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Propriety does not allow you to share with the people who are protesting on the streets what you are thinking?

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that can happen all the time.

Karan Thapar: But there are people who feel that their lives and their futures are at stake and they are undertaking fasts until death.

Arjun Singh: It is being hyped up, I don't want to go into that.

Karan Thapar: Do you have no sympathy for them?

Arjun Singh: I have every sympathy.

Karan Thapar: But you say it is being hyped up.

Arjun Singh: Yes, it is hyped up.

Karan Thapar: So, then, what sympathy are you showing?

Arjun Singh: I am showing sympathy to them and not to those who are hyping it up.

Karan Thapar: The CPM says that if the reservations for the OBCs are to happen, then what is called the creamy layer should be excluded. How do you react to that?

Arjun Singh: The creamy layer issue has already been taken care of by the Supreme Court.

Karan Thapar: That was vis -a-vis jobs in employment, what about at the university level, should they be excluded there as well because you are suggesting that the answer is yes?

Arjun Singh: That could be possible.

Karan Thapar: It could be possible that the creamy layer is excluded from reservations for OBCs in higher education?

Arjun Singh: It could be, but I don't know whether it would happen actually.

Karan Thapar: Many people say that if reservations for OBCs in higher education happen, then the children of beneficiaries should not be entitled to claim the same benefit.

Arjun Singh: Why?

Karan Thapar: So that there is always a shrinking base and the rate doesn't proliferate.

Arjun Singh: I don't think that that is a very logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: Is that not acceptable to you?

Arjun Singh: No, it is not the logical way of looking at it.

Karan Thapar: So, with the possible exception of the creamy layer exclusion, reservation for OBCs in higher education will be almost identical to the existing reservations for SC/STs?

Arjun Singh: Except for the percentage.

Karan Thapar: Except for the percentage.

Arjun Singh: Yes.

Karan Thapar: So, in every other way, they will be identical.

Arjun Singh: Yes, in every other way.

Karan Thapar: Mr Arjun Singh, on the 5th of April when you first indicated that the Government was considering reservation for OBCs in higher education, was the Prime Minister in agreement that this was the right thing to do?

Arjun Singh: I think, there is a very motivated propaganda is on this issue. Providing reservation to OBCs was in the public domain right from December 2005, when Parliament passed the enabling resolution.

Karan Thapar: Quite true. But had the Prime Minister specifically agreed on or before 5th of April to the idea?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am telling you it was already there. A whole Act was made, the Constitution was amended and the Prime Minister was fully aware of what this is going to mean. Actually, he had a meeting in which OBC leaders were called to convince them that this would give them the desired advantage. And they should, therefore, support this resolution. And at that meeting, he himself talked to them. Now, how do you say that he was unaware?

Karan Thapar: But were you at all aware that the Prime Minister might be in agreement with what was about to happen but might not wish it disclosed publicly at that point of time? Were you aware of that?

Arjun Singh: It was already there in public domain, that's what I am trying to tell you.

Karan Thapar: Then answer this to me. Why are members of the PMO telling journalists that Prime Minister was not consulted and that you jumped the gun?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know which member of the PMO you are talking about unless you name him.

Karan Thapar: Is there a conspiracy to make you the fall guy?

Arjun Singh: Well, I don't know whether there is one or there is not. But fall guys are not made in this way. And I am only doing what was manifestly clear to every one, was cleared by the party and the Prime Minister. There is no question of any personal agenda.
Karan Thapar: They say that, in fact, you brought up this issue to embarrass the Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Why should I embarrass the Prime Minister? I am with him. I am part of his team.

Karan Thapar: They say that you have a lingering, forgive the word, jealousy because Sonia Gandhi chose Manmohan Singh and not you as Prime Minister.

Arjun Singh: Well, that is canard which is below contempt. Only that person can say this who doesn't know what kind of respect and regard I hold for Sonia Gandhi. She is the leader. Whatever she decides is acceptable to me.

Karan Thapar: They also say that you brought this issue up because you felt that the Prime Minister had been eating into your portfolio. Part of it had gone to Renuka Chaudhury and, in fact, your new deputy minister Purandar Sridevi had taken over certain parts. This was your way of getting back.

Arjun Singh: No one was taking over any part. This is a decision which the Prime Minister makes as to who has to have what portfolio. And he asked Mrs Renuka Devi to take it and he cleared it with me first.

Karan Thapar: So there is no animus on your part?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely not.

Karan Thapar: They say that you did this because you resented the Prime Minister's popular image in the country, that this was your way of embroiling him in a dispute that will make him look not like a modern reformer but like an old-fashioned, family-hold politician instead.

Arjun Singh: Well, the Tammany Hall political stage is over> He is our Prime Minister and every decision he has taken is in the full consent with his Cabinet and I don't think there can be any blame on him.

Karan Thapar: One, then, last quick question. Do you think this is an issue, which is a sensitive issue, where everyone knew there would have been passions and emotions that would have aroused has been handled as effectively as it should have been?

Arjun Singh: Well, I have not done anything on it. I have not sort of what you call jumped the gun. If this is an issue, which is sensitive, everyone has to treat it that way.

Karan Thapar: But your conscience as HRD Minister is clear?

Arjun Singh: Absolutely clear.

Karan Thapar: There is nothing that you could have done to make it easier for the young students?

Arjun Singh: Well, I am prepared to do anything that can be done. And it is being attempted.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks, they have been protesting in the hot sun. No minister has gone there to appease them, to alley their concerns, to express sympathy for them. Have politicians let the young people of India down?

Arjun Singh: Well, I myself called them. They all came in this very room.

Karan Thapar: But you are the only one.

Arjun Singh: You are accusing me only. No one else is being accused.

Karan Thapar: What about the Government of India? Has the Government of India failed to respond adequately?

Arjun Singh: From the Government of India also, the Defence Minister met them.

Karan Thapar: Only recently.

Arjun Singh: That is something because everyone was busy with the elections.

Karan Thapar: For seven weeks no one met them.

Arjun Singh: No, but we are very concerned. Certainly, all of us resent the kind of force that was used. I condemned it the very first day it happened.

Karan Thapar: All right, Mr Arjun Singh. We have reached the end of this interview. Thank you very much for speaking on the subject.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

NOD32 Antivirus system

I came 2 know about this particular AV from dj. I was a Norton worshipper back then. I firmly believed that if a system can take it Norton is the best bet. I happened 2 read a review of NOD32 which told me that this is the AV solution used in the Microsoft testin labs. Assumin that the people there aint stupid i decided 2 get rid of norton and all its updates. I wasnt usin the standalone Norton AV but the complete package labelled as Norton Internet Security which had a firewall with the AV(the NIS firewall is one of the best in the buisness).
The first noticable difference is obviously the system speed. Ull see a major boost when u switch to NOD32 as the 2 of its processes hogs up just abt 10 MB compared to 16+ processes of Norton. A unique feature inherent to NOD32 is a file system monitor which consistently keeps scannin the files in ur HDD one at a time hoggin a memeory of less than 1meg. The full system scan is lightning fast compared to that of norton, and i dont think it missed anthing. I tried throwin a few things onto its way( a couple of keyloggers, the old parsed JPEG exploit file, the new parsed WMF exploit file), it caught all. Plus it has all the usual stuff like the document scanner and all and scans inside archives. I even tried downloadin the win32.blackmal mass mailing worm(was a huge risk:D) which disabled many leadin AV's like Norton and McAfee. NOD32 cleaned it up with ease.
Heres a screenshot of the NOD32 interface
This is defenitely one of the plus points of NOD32. The interface is lightning fast compared to the sluggish interface of Norton. I didnt mention McAfee here for two reasons 1) I havent used it:D 2) The fiasco with their update was enough to keep me away from it(for the less informed, a cpl of months back an official McAfee update flaggd the associated files of many programs which included softwares from Adobe and even Microsoft Office and deleted them rendering many a pc useless). In the end a very satisfying switch:-) --th3_d4r3d3vi1


Wednesday, May 17, 2006

relocated...............


Well people..i did put in a loot of thought before i decided to "adandon" my 360 blog. Of course i dont have any bad impressions about yahoo 360 which gv me my first blog. But i felt that the image limitation was kinda choking sometimes. Also 360 is a much more complex social networking setup and i felt the blog was taking a backseat with the feeds with the top page ruling. I feel blogspot is much "simpler" in a sense that u "just blog". Plus its just an experience of tryin out a widely used service. So as from this day th3_d4r3d3vi1 occupies his new home at sector-zero:-).......signin of--th3_d4r3d3vi1