PRIVACY IS DEAD - GET OVER IT Pt 34, with Steve Rambam.

Private Investigator Rambam Blows the Lid of of Your Privacy



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeWBt1JRPtU&hl=en

Computer Security - How to Stay Safe in a World of Hackers

Consider the latest - Die Hard. Some teenagers, few masterminds and trillions of dollars being siphoned off the federal fund that has been deposited against people's social security benefits. Do not think that it is a simple cinematic flick! Today hackers are so sophisticated that they can actually bring a law abiding citizen down on the streets. With the advent of technology making life easier for most of us, getting to shop from the comfort of our homes or transfer money from the safety of our living rooms, the fact remains that the nameless faceless cyber world is dotted with criminal minded people whose sole intention is to rob you off your identity, get access to all your important details and use those for their own benefits. How do you fight that?

Install an anti-virus. An anti-virus protects your computer from malicious viruses that tend to lodge themselves deep into your hard drive and copy all your data and transfer those to servers where you would not want your confidential information to be - a hacker's server. If someone sends you a virus intentionally or unintentionally, the anti-virus detects the virus and destroys it. Keep your anti-virus up-to-date. Set your anti-virus such that there is a weekly scan scheduled for all the hard drives in your computer.

Install a firewall: A firewall will always keep a check on the information that is exchanged between your computer and other computers every time that you are logged on to the internet. That way you will be protected from any unwanted code or application getting downloaded on to your PC inadvertently. Any data that do not meet the security requirement set by the program developer will be barred from entering your computer by the firewall. Always keep your firewall updated as well.

Act Smart:

o Do not store personal information in your computer. Information like your social security number, credit card number, pins, bank account numbers, telephone numbers, addresses, etc.

o Do not click on links that look suspicious. Most spam mails have links that should be avoided. These can lead to downloading of applications that may erase your hard drive.

o Always scan all attachments using your antivirus before opening it or running it or installing it on your computer.

o Do not exchange personal information in chat rooms, through mails or instant messages. Divulge your credit card details or social security details only to secured sources or through secured websites.

o Do not buy pirated products, software or programs. These may send messages over the internet when you are working with the particular software.

o Do not download executable files to your PC from unknown sources. Be extremely cautious while exchanging information over the internet.

Keeping the above points in mind will help you in keeping your computer secure. Although every day a number of Trojan viruses or worms are coded and let loose over the internet, we must always do the best that we can in order to ensure security. A computer is an expensive device. A simple insecure download can render the whole machine useless.

Safe Password Tips for Better Computer Security

With so many online accounts to manage, most people tend to use the same password for everything. Many also tend to use a very "easy to guess" password. These are two common "password mistakes" that cyber-thieves are looking for. One of the most important things you can do to stay safe online is to ensure your passwords remain private.

Passwords are designed to offer protection, used as the "key" to a door that provides access to some very sensitive personal information. If this information got into the wrong hands, financial loss or identity theft could easily occur. Password theft and identity theft is more common today than ever - due to spyware, Trojans and phishing scams. Once a password has been compromised, an insurmountable amount of personal damage can occur in a matter of minutes. The more accounts your password works with, the greater the damage. For the best security, online account passwords should be different as well as difficult.

Safe Password Tips

Use passwords that are at least eight characters long.
Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, and include at least one number or special character. A "special character" is something like *, &, or -.
Never use your email password for anything other than your email account. Make sure all bank and credit card account passwords are different from each other.
Never use your name, birth date or social security number in a password. Change your passwords from time to time, especially bank account passwords. Never store passwords in a common document file (Excel, Word, Notepad, etc...) that is not protected by encryption.

Password Management

Most people tend not to use difficult and/or varied passwords, because password management can be a tedious and time consuming task. When we're paying bills or shopping online, we want easy and instant access to our account so we can complete our tasks. It's frustrating to get "bad password" error messages, and it's a hassle to answer challenge questions in order to request a password reset. Because it's nearly impossible to follow safe password practices without writing down all our passwords, the only way to securely manage passwords is to use some type of password management software.

There are two good options here, and both are easy and inexpensive. The easiest thing to do is to utilize file encryption software to protect the document that has the passwords stored on it. For this, I recommend something like Absolute Password Protector by Last Bit Software. They have a free trial version you can download to see how you like it. This software uses strong 128 bit encryption to securely encrypt any file you have stored on your computer - making it easy for you to access but very difficult for a thief to utilize. With this software, you can store all your passwords in a Word, Excel or text file and then encrypt that file to keep it secure.

Another good way to manage passwords is to use an encrypted database to store all of your password information. I use Passwords Plus by DataViz. This is designed to be used on a PDA, but I use it on my computer. Passwords Plus is easy and convenient, but the downside is you have to set up the database by keying in all your accounts and passwords. Both of these methods of password management cost around $29, and it is well worth it. Unlike a lot of software that requires a subscription to keep it functioning, password management software is a "one time" purchase.

Practicing Good Computer Security Habits Will Help Keep You Safe Online

Maintaining "difficult to guess" passwords is just one very important thing you can do to keep yourself safe online. There are many more things you can (and should) do to protect your computer and your data from cyber-thieves and malicious software. A few things to keep in mind are to use a good antivirus and anti-spyware software product, avoid downloading and installing "free" software (it usually contains spyware and/or adware) and never click links in emails that appear to come from a financial institution.

AntivirusPro2009 Removal Guide

comprolive.com Learn How to remove the fake security application called Antivirus Pro 2009 from your computer



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srSqbEoOlZA&hl=en

Security Necessities to Prevent Your Computer from Spyware

In the internet world it is vital for users to have a good spyware scan and removal tool because of the multitude of
different spyware, adware, Trojans and other malware constantly looking to attack your system. Many spyware tools available are free and those up for purchase typically do not exceed $30 to $40. Anti-spyware tools will greatly assist in protecting your privacy and restoring full computer functions that spyware may have taken over.

Spyware gets into your computer and invades users' privacy. Individuals or companies install spyware when you download freeware or visit certain web sites so they may track your internet habits and find personal information such as passwords, email addresses and even credit card and bank account numbers. By eliminating these applications from running on your computer you will restore your privacy and you should notice a much more efficient computer system because spyware uses up
its resources.

Finding a good spyware tool can be difficult because of seemingly endless list of programs. Researching online and reading reviews can help you decide which one is best for your situation. NoAdware is recommended by some users and has been a popular download from some sites because it is a user friendly, easy to use program.

Spyware Infection Removal Software and Phishing Protection, www.IDTheftSecurity.com

Spyware compromises your security and privacy. It also wreaks havoc on your computer. Learn to prevent Spyware from being installed and what Phishing Pharming and Identity Theft is and how to prevent Hacking Scams. www.IDTheftSecurity.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qeFiCqzuT0&hl=en

CNET's Top 5 Most accepted aegis apps

Stay safe with these favorite security utilities from Download.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYFMgvNbaDU&hl=en

Pregnant pig computer hackers - Clever Critters - BBC Pets & Animals

Clever pigs show how they have learnt how to beat the food system in farms around the UK. Interesting animal video from BBC show 'Clever Critters'.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ImZmDYme_s&hl=en

Need Of Home Computer Security

With the advancement in technology many people are habitual of doing many important activities and processes through personal computer in different forms. For example the people do e-banking, utility bill transactions, and editing office work etc. So in this situation many hackers do hack and put their influence also on home computer security the most important information through locking the computer. After hacking, the professional hackers can also blackmail the people for their necessary needs. Different types of hacking and lock breaking codes are used in this way. Thus need of home computer security arises front of us.

Protection Of Soft Form Information And Home Computer Security

Different steps can be adopted for the strict check form lost of data present in computer by hackers who can also affect home computer security. It has been observed from last decade that day by day cyber crime rate is increasing, and many people even different government authorities have been affected by this problem. There are also some cases that the much secret security information present in computer workstations of different companies becomes lost due to illegal cyber crime. In this state, many companies are going to adopt the protection of firewalls and different security software. Now cyber law is working efficiently to pursue for any illegal action taken by cyber criminals. Similarly, home computer security is also affected.

One should brows through different websites, which can provide guidance in order to save our computer from any incoming danger. Normally some websites regularly update about any incoming innovation in this direction. As today most of Internet communication is through data subscriber lines giving more upstream and downstream data rate as compared to other medias, so it is very easy to find out the solution of facing problem through different sites at real time on hour of need. As similar to this problem, home computer security is also influenced by such hazards.

Precautionary Measures

By using different tips and adopting precautionary measures related to home computer security one can protect his or her personal computer from being theft of utmost important soft form data. To hold home computer security strong, people should not pay bills using their credit cards etc on Internet as it can give a path for hackers to hack and steal our credit card numbers by which they can use our facility. Also many people do online shopping through different resources, which become so much vulnerable sometimes that situation becomes like it is useless to cry over spilt milk. Hence it is better that one should not show his cards first as it can facilitate others to do gambling by making strong the home computer security.

The best remedy for this problem is that peoples should not float their personal information like codes of different bank cards, bank account number information and utility bills information etc on line, so that no one can hack these information. Therefore by using above mentioned steps people can really feel calm and peace while doing any activity on computer by confirming the home computer security.

博大警卫充公亲学生阵线的学生的财产

This video depicts several Universiti Putra Malaysia students confronting university's security personnel for refusing to issue an inventory of possessions following confiscation of a student's belongings. When UPM security 'special duties unit' supervisor Zamali Haji Samsi refused, the students formed a human shield to stop him from leaving in a chauffeured car. The students called in the police but they did not intervene. A police report was subsequently lodged over the incident. On Friday (Sept 14) campus security had allegedly broken into the room of a student related to the group depicted in the video, and confiscating the student's laptop computer, MP4 player, pendrive, mobile phone and some documents. The student was also allegedly interrogated on his involvement in campus politics between Friday 11pm until 1am the following day. Harassment of students is common during campus election seasons. Campus polls are expected to be announced soon.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuDUYd8oBq0&hl=en

Facial acceptance cameras appear to pub in Australia

To cut down on "trouble makers," of course. From The Herald Sun (AU) www.news.com.au A MELBOURNE nightclub has installed facial recognition software to stamp out thugs and known troublemakers. Chasers nightclub in Chapel St, which already has metal detectors to screen patrons for weapons, believes the system is one of the first in the world for nightclubs. Management now wants the technology to be adopted in other nightclubs to create a security network. Assaults and violence around nightspots is increasing. Melbourne's Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the technology could help the fight against violence, and should be looked at for venues on their last warnings. The face-recognition technology was installed at Chasers on the weekend. It was bought after a chemical bomb was let off in the venue last year. On entering, patrons' faces are scanned by a camera and the image and driver's licence details are stored on computer for 28 days. If someone banned from the club tries to enter, their face comes up with a red mark, alerting security to a problem. Head of security Andrew McDonald said the system would work best in unison with other clubs, so that violent thugs can't move between clubs. "There are fights in nightclubs, and we want to stop these troublemakers coming in," Mr McDonald said. About 20 people have been banned from the club in the past three years for weapons offences, fighting, or disrespecting security staff. Chasers owner Martha Tsamis, who also owns Inflation on ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUp2aVDQd5U&hl=en

Internet Security - Best Internet Security Tips to Protect Your Computer From Cyber Attacks

In this article you will discover the five steps that every computer user should implement to prevent cyber crime attacks. These days the cyber world is becoming bigger and bigger with rapidly growing number of businesses and individuals using internet as a business place. Naturally, cyber criminals target computers with low antivirus internet security and commit their criminal activities.

However, there are guidelines that need to be followed in order to secure your computer from internet security attacks:

Back-up Data - Savvy computer users are aware of the importance of keeping their data safe and away from internet security attacks and regularly perform back ups. You can back up your data on an external data storage device such is CD, memory stick or external hard drive. The device you use will depend on the data size. The overall idea is that if anything happens to your primary data, you can always retrieve them from somewhere.

File sharing- Another very important thing to be avoided is files with strangers. This makes your computer internet security vulnerable as the files form other computer users may contain malicious infections that without a good anti-virus internet security can potentially destroy your computer or steal sensitive information. Make sure you turn off and disable file-sharing if it is not needed.

Disconnecting from the Internet- It is additional prevention so whenever you internet is not in use just simply disconnect form internet. It lessens the possibility of cyber criminals passing your internet security.

Update security patches- Computer programs sometimes contain bugs that can be an entrance to your computer for any malicious person to attack and potentially harm your computer. Therefore, it is very important to regularly update your security patches and increase.

Maintain up to date antivirus software firewall- Good antivirus software and firewall are crucial components of your arsenal to increase internet security that will protect your computer from attacks. Make sure to keep your anti-virus program and firewall up to date.

Computer Security Suites - Internet Security Suites

What is a Computer Security Suite?

A computer security suite (also referred to as an Internet Security Suite) is a bundled software package from the same manufacturer that includes several different types of internet security protection. The security software applications are all compatible with each other and work together to provide a thorough blanket of protection against viruses, spyware, adware and intruders. PC security suites normally include anti virus software, anti spyware, and personal firewall protection. Some also include a form of privacy protection, which protects personal data such as account numbers and passwords. Many anti spyware programs will also kill most adware, which is a distant cousin to spyware.

Do I Need a Security Suite?

If you use your computer on the internet, you need (at minimum) anti virus software. If you are using a broadband connection, you also need to use a firewall (hardware firewall, software firewall or both). If you do any business, shopping or banking online, or just spend more than a few hours a week browsing - you really should have anti spyware software. If you download anything at all (software, screensavers, clip art, pictures, etc...you really need some form of adware protection. Although you don't need to buy an internet security suite to get all this protection, it is the cheapest, quickest, and easiest way to go. You can of course, pick and choose your internet security software from different manufacturers, but buying a suite is much easier.

Can I Count on an Internet Security Suite to Protect My Computer?

The key to successful computer protection with a computer security software suite (or any internet security software) is regularly updating the software. New viruses, spyware, adware and hacks are introduced every day, and your degree of protection is only as good as the last update. Just about all top quality security software includes an "auto update" feature that lets you choose to have the software automatically check for and install updates daily. It's always a good idea to turn on automatic updates so you don't have to remember to manually do this.

As with just about any program that requires regular database updates, a subscription is usually required. After purchasing the software, it will normally run for a year before it's time to renew the maintenance subscription. This is normally a small annual fee that also ensures you get program upgrades.

Recommended Computer Security Suites

Internet security software suites produced by large, reputable vendors like Symantec, Trend Micro, McAfee, Zone Labs, and Panda are excellent and should provide you with great overall protection. Although a bit more expensive than their small company counterparts, it's best to stick with one of the big boys; especially if you are relatively inexperienced with computers and software. After all, you are buying the internet security suite software to protect your data, your computer and your most valuable asset - your privacy and identity!

Streetwise Guide to PC Security

Spam is on the rise, malware infections are on the rise, botnets are growing bigger and more Internet users are turning into advance fee con artists. Pretty grim picture isn't it? No, I do not want to sound pessimistic, but the reality is that no piece of computer security software can protect you completely against Internet based threats. What am I saying... throw away all your spam filters, firewalls and anti-malware applications? No, not at all, they play an integral part in our protection against cyber threats, but even the best tools in the world can fail dramatically if they are not used by streetwise cyber citizens.

I guess most of you are glaring at your screen right now, asking yourself, "what the hell is he talking about?" Lets take two persons and put them in a dangerous neighbourhood, the one person is a high profile celebrity, dependent on his bodyguards to keep him safe and the other person is a normal guy who grew up on the streets and learned to take care of himself. Which one is the most likely to survive, all by himself, in this dangerous neighbourhood? The latter of course. Why? Because he is streetwise, he doesn't need fancy tools and bodyguards to take care of him, he knows how to think for himself and what to look for in order to stay out of the heat. Computer security is a lot like that, you don't need to be an Einstein to stay safe in the online world, it is no rocket science to be streetwise, you just need to how to stay on top of your game, you catch my drift? Right, enough street slang, so lets get to the point.

I stumbled across a very interesting article about PC security, published by BitDefender. A BitDefender employee told me that the article is quite old, but nevertheless, it is a generic set of PC security rules that are still very applicable to computer security these days. I have a lot of positive things to say about this article, but it is not without some criticism, so without any further ado, lets take an objective look at the list of rules called the Ten Commandments for Your Computer Sanity.

"1. Don't assume anything. Take some time to learn about securing your system."

Perhaps the single and most important rule of them all. If you are not sure, ask for advice and try to understand why it is important to take certain precautions, don't just assume that's the way things are done.

"2. Acquire and use a reliable anti virus program. Select an anti virus that has a consistent track record. Checkmark, AV-Test.org and TuV are among the most respected independent testers of anti virus software."

So many people go out and download the first anti-virus program that pops up on their screen. Malware infested products are marketed very aggressively, so these less known, but dangerous applications often occupy top spots in search engine results and online contextual advertising, so never trust a download just because it appeared in the search results of your favourite search engine. Visit Spyware Warrior for a comprehensive list of rogue anti-spyware products.

"3. Acquire and use a reliable firewall solution. Again, independent reviewers are your best bet for reasonable choices. Some operating systems come with a firewall, which only filters incoming traffic. Use a firewall that can control both incoming and outgoing Internet traffic."

Firewalls were once a thing for computer experts and large corporations only, it was uncommon to find a firewall installed on a normal end user's computer. Like mentioned in the rule, we even have firewalls built into our operating systems these days (not that it really helped the online community in any way when I come to think of one specific operating system). But the necessity of a firewall increased in the last couple of years and it is irresponsible and suicidal these days to browse the Internet without a proper firewall that provides bi-directional protection. You need to know what is transmitted to and from your PC. You don't want malicious code to infiltrate your system and you don't want confidential and sensitive information to leave your PC without your consent.

"4. Do not open e-mails coming from unknown or distrusted sources. Many viruses spread via e-mail messages so please ask for a confirmation from the sender if you are in any doubt."

If more people can adhere to the first part of this rule we will have a lot less virus breakouts and spam. Each time you open a 'harmless' spam e-mail you give the spammer reason to send more spam because you respond to his e-mails. I have discussed this topic a hundred times before so I'm not going into it once again. With regard to the latter part of this rule, it won't be wise to ask for a confirmation from the sender in my humble opinion, you are just looking for more spam by replying to an unknown source. With so much e-mail forgery happening these days, it is anyway a complete waste of time to respond, because the sender's e-mail address is most likely invalid or spoofed.

"5. Do not open the attachments of messages with a suspicious or unexpected subject. If you want to open them, first save them to your hard disk and scan them with an updated anti virus program."

Once again, the first part of this rule is a piece of gold and can save you a lot of headaches if you stick to it, but I do not agree with the latter. It is almost like saying: "Don't shoot yourself with a 9mm, but if you want to, go ahead and take a peek down the barrel to make sure you are using blanks". If you get an e-mail with a suspicious or unexpected subject and on top of that some executable file, Word document, PDF, ZIP or any suspicious file attached to it, don't mess around with the bloody thing, delete it.

E-mail scanners have been with us for quite some time. The e-mail scanner of an anti-virus package uses the same database as the file scanner, so if an e-mail gets past your e-mail scanner, using the latest virus definition database available, what makes you think that the file scanner will do any better? Should you trust an attachment just because your anti-virus program told you the file is clean? A suspicious attachment from an unknown source has a 99.9% chance of being malicious, so why even bother scanning it? Many inexperienced users don't even know how to save an attachment and run it through an anti-virus scanner, so they walk a big risk of infecting themselves. My advice, if you don't know how to handle suspicious files properly, stick to the first part of this rule and ignore the latter.

"6. Delete any chain e-mails or unwanted messages. Do not forward them or reply to their senders. This kind of messages is considered spam, because it is undesired and unsolicited and it overloads the Internet traffic."

Pure words of wisdom. Many people simply assume that friends and family enjoy receiving junk chain letters and unbelievable, ridiculous stories that you need to forward to everyone in your address book. Who needs spammers if you have friends like this? Apart from spamming all your friends and breaking anti-spam laws, it also comes down to bad e-mail etiquette. The fact that your friends are on your mailing list does not give you the right to send them anything you want. Take your recipients into consideration and think before forwarding jokes, petition lists, chain letters and other kinds of junk mail to them.

"7. Avoid installing services and applications which are not needed in day-by-day operations in a desktop role, such as file transfer and file sharing servers, remote desktop servers and the like. Such programs are potential hazards, and should not be installed if not absolutely necessary."

There is a lot of truth in this, but unfortunately this is easier said than done. The blame lies on the side of software developers and not the end user installing the software. Ordinary users simply install the software and use it whenever it is needed. Little do they know that the software is running 24/7 in the background eating up valuable system resources. These programs put themselves in the Windows Start-up without informing the user about it, or the option to load the software at Windows Start-up is often pre-checked during the installation, so the user has to opt-out to prevent this from happening. These pre-checked options are often missed, because the user simply rushes through the 'easy' installation process. There is a reason why certain developers make the installation procedures so easy.

When I analyse HijackThis logs of malware victims, I often see loads of auto-update managers, system tray utilities, P2P clients and all kinds of 'junkware' loaded in the Windows Start-up. These users are always stunned by the sheer performance of their computers after I removed all these useless applications from the Windows Start-up. Ask someone to check the Start-up section of your PC and remove all the redundant entries. You will be amazed to see what difference this can make in your PC's performance. Don't leave file-sharing software like LimeWire, Shareaza or KaZaa running in the background all the time, they create a weakness in your security setup and make it easier for hackers to gain access to your system. As the rule says, these programs should rather be avoided if possible.

"8. Update your system and applications as often as possible. Some operating systems and applications can be set to update automatically. Make full use of this facility. Failure to patch your system often enough may leave it vulnerable to threats for which fixes already exist."

Most people are guilty of not updating their system on a regular basis. But there is a reason why people are afraid of updating. Remember what happened when Service Pack 2 of Windows XP was released for the first time and if I am not mistaking, history repeated itself with the release of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista.

I know one should lead by example, but I am perhaps the worst of them all. I haven't updated several of my applications in years, because I am happy with the versions I am using at the moment and don't want some update to screw everything up. If you stick closely to rule number one you automatically take your computer security to the next level. If you pay attention, to which sites you visit, which files you download and which programs you install, you can easily skip this rule for years without any malware incidents at all. Still it is wise to update your software when you have the chance. It is better to fix a broken wall even if you are never bothered by the outside world. The problem is however, you never know when the outside world might start to bother you, so rather be prepared than sorry.

"9. Do not copy any file if you don't know or don't trust its source. Check the source (provenance) of files you download and make sure that an anti virus program has already verified the files at their source."

Will you use a box of aspirins, from an unknown source, left on your doorstep? Off course not, even if you are familiar with the specific brand of aspirins, you have no idea where they came from. How can you be absolutely sure that they are really aspirins? Well, the same goes for computer files. If you can't verify the reliability of the source of a specific file, how can you trust the contents of that file? You have no idea where the file has been and you have no idea whether the contents of the file is really what it should be.

"10. Make backups of important personal files (correspondence, documents, pictures and such) on a regular basis. Store these copies on removable media such as CD or DVD. Keep your archive in a different location than the one your computer is in."

Backups, ah the one thing that no one ever does. Have you ever thought about what you can loose if you suddenly got infected with malware? What if a cracker gains access to your PC and delete your favourite music collection? Backups play a very important role in PC security, especially when it comes to system recovery after a malware infection or system failure. Any proper security setup should have solid backup policy. Without backups you will never fully recover from a severe system crash. Backups are your insurance against data loss. So if you are not in a habit of backing up your most important documents and data on a regular basis, rather start doing it before it is too late. BitDefender's Total Security can be set to perform automatic backups for you.

We live in an age where we can't rely on software alone to protect us from online threats. You are responsible for your own safety online, software applications like firewalls and anti-virus programs are only tools to help us in situations where things are out of our hands. Your personal computer security depends on your willingness to stick to these rules, being vigilant and using common sense. Treat everything as a threat until you can prove otherwise, this is the safest approach in the digital Wild Wild West.

Article References: http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Virus-Tips.html

Do We Really Need A Registry Cleaner

The answer to that question regarding the need of registry cleaner is an obvious 'yes'. If you clean your registry on a regular basis your system will run faster and more efficiently. But if one asks such a question then the possibility is that the person really does not know what the system registry really is. So, let's venture to explain. The windows registry is a central database where windows, the operating system of the computer, keep a record of all the changes that are made on the computer. This may be related to hardware or software of the permissions given or withdrawn from the profile of a user. It is the registry that manages the startup and shutdown as well as the operation of the operating system so to speak. If this central database gets clogged with useless data the system will slow down if not crash altogether. Here is where registry cleaning software makes its importance known.

How The Registry Gets Clogged

It is during the process of downloading programs or files from the Internet that the registry gets filled with redundant information such as ActiveX controls and stuff. Some hardware such as plug and play peripherals also has to be registered in the registry. But when these programs and peripherals are removed the registry entries still remain. This takes up space on the drives as well as slows the system down. A utility such as the windows XP registry cleaner or the free PC registry cleaning software can remove this stagnant information from the registry and make the system more efficient and faster.

The Registry Replaced The INI storage system in Win 95

The windows registry was introduced in Windows 95. Before this the system used to store configuration information in INI files. Each software package had its own INI file system. These files were scattered all over the system's hard drive, which made it very difficult to keep track of the system settings. Though the central registry system assimilates the configuration settings it has its own set of problems. The greatest problem it poses is that it is a single point of failure. One snag and the whole system crashes.

Don't Manually Mess With The Registry

Even though it is possible to edit the registry manually and clean it, it is not recommended. Do not touch the registry unless you know exactly what you are doing. It is better to download a registry cleaner from the Internet to get a thorough job efficiently done and get the system up and running.