Jun
30th

Security And The Auto Complete Feature

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Security And The Auto Complete Feature

By: Scott Lindsay

The security of your computer is important on both private as well as business applications.

Many have found the use of the auto complete features associated with many browsers a popular way to avoid keystrokes. After all what could be more convenient than simply filling in a form for informational purposes and allow that saved information to be brought up with a single click?

The auto complete feature is especially popular with email programs. You simply type a few letters related to the email address and if it is in your system you may receive multiple choices that include those letters. You choose the correct email address and click send. The process is quick and has found many appreciative users.

Even word processors can use auto complete technology. For instance if you begin to type today’s date you may find a suggested date that you simply click saving some typing time. Many have come to rely on the feature to make checkout in ecommerce quick and painless.

I’d like to provide an argument for refraining from using some auto complete technology in the world of online business.

The use of this technology in a word processor is generally a great tool simply because it does not rely on any personal data and is primarily designed to assist in popular words, dates and letter writing.

However, when it comes to filling in a one-click web browser auto complete feature there are a couple of scenarios I’d like you to consider.

Barb owns a small, but growing online business. She hired Pam on a part time basis to help with product fulfillment. Pam was a good worker and was allowed to use the company computer from time to time. Without intending to do so Pam clicked a box that filled in auto complete data and she was able to view personal data that Barb might not have shared with Pam under other circumstances. Perhaps nothing ever happens with the data, but if Barb had to do it over again she may not have used auto complete.

Brian is a hacker. He doesn’t consider himself malicious although his actions may say otherwise. He tries to find ways into other computers to explore the holes that may exist in a system. As he is exploring one afternoon he found a vulnerability in Barb’s computer security. One of the pieces of data Brian may be looking for is to see if Barb has used an auto complete feature. He can gain plenty of information and has the potential to gain password information because Barb settled for convenience over caution.

Barb would never have given out this information to just anyone, yet more than one person has access to her computer and this information was easily obtained.

Many businesses are also disabling the ability for their computers to store and remember passwords. If a site is accessed where a password is stored it becomes very easy for a third party to investigate online accounts, buying habits and potentially make an online purchase under your name and using your credit information.

It may seem a small thing, but evaluating your use of auto complete technology may be an issue worth your attention.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4070.shtml

Jun
29th

Check Your Fiber Optic Connectors Like A Professional Installer

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Check Your Fiber Optic Connectors Like A Professional Installer

By: Colin Yao

What are Fiber Optic Inspection Microscopes?

Fiber optic inspection microscopes are used to inspect the end face of a optical connector or cleaved fiber.

Two types of fiber optic microscopes are popular on the market: fiber optic connector termination inspection and fiber patch panel ferrule inspection.

Magnification levels of fiber scope are available at 200X or 400X for single mode fiber applications, 100X low cost type for multimode applications. The latter is often included in many fiber optic termination tool kits.

What types of flaws or contamination can the microscope see?

With at least 200X magnification you can clearly see scratches, dig, dirt deposit, debris and other contamination on a fiber optic connector.

Desktop video fiber microscope

The typical desktop fiber optic video inspection microscope has a 9" black and white monitor attached to the scope with a 4 feet video cable. So you can place the monitor where it is convenient. Because of its bulk volume, this type of fiber microscope is typically used in production environments and labs. Both 200X and 400X versions are available.

Portable optical fiber scope

This type of microscope with universal adapter is a versatile instrument to inspect fiber optic connectors. They can be used for both multimode and single mode applications. Connectors slide into scope adapter, providing ease of use with or without tripod. 8 degree angle adapter can be used for inspecting angled connectors such as FC/APC, SC/APC, etc. Both 200X and 400X versions are available.

Coaxial Illuminated handheld fiber inspection scope

These low cost microscopes are available in 200x or 400x magnification, and utilize white LED light to provide coaxial illumination to connector end-faces. This method of illumination produces high resolution detail of end face scratches, defects and contamination. It is provided with a universal 2.5mm adapter, with other common connector styles available. These are the natural choice for fiber installation contractors.

Ferrule inspection microscopes

All aforementioned four types of microscopes are for standalone fiber connector inspection. But what about the connectors already installed on patch panels and hardware devices? The ferrule inspection microscopes are the solution.

These video fiber optic microscopes include a handheld LCD display unit and a small, lightweight probe that contains a long-life LED light source and CCD video camera. The probe adapter tip mates with the connector and projects a crisp, clear image of microscopic debris and end-face damage on the LCD display.

Zoom levels of different optical fiber optic microscopes

* 100X

* 150X

* 200X

* 400X

Warnings

* Do not look into a fiber while the system laser is on

* Do not connect a fiberscope while the system laser is on

* Do not touch the end face of the fiber connector

* Lasers used in telecommunication systems are powerful enough to burn contaminants into the fiber end face. Always ensure the laser is turned off while performing the cleaning procedure.

Other special features of popular handheld fiber micrscopes

1. 100X magnification for viewing multimode connectors

2. Includes 2.5 mm connector "Universal Adapter" for FC, ST and SC style connectors

3. Oblique illumination provides good view of ferrule cleanliness and core condition

4. White LED illumination delivers long working life

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4084.shtml

Jun
27th

Enabling High - Quality C/C++ Software, Automatically-Coverity Prevent

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Enabling High - Quality C/C++ Software, Automatically-Coverity Prevent

By: Coverity

What Is It?

Coverity Prevent SQS™ is the market-leading automated approach to identify and resolve the most critical defects in C, C++, and Java source code. By providing a complete understanding of your build environment, source code, and development process, Prevent SQS sets the standard in enabling high-quality software across organizations worldwide.

Prevent SQS for C/C++ automatically analyzes large, complex C and C++ code bases and detects critical, must-fix defects that could lead to system crashes, memory corruption, security vulnerabilities, unpredictable behavior, and performance degradation.

Prevent SQS features:

• 100% path coverage: Prevent SQS for C/C++ analyzes 100% of the paths through your source code, ensuring that all possible execution branches are followed, while avoiding impossible paths to maintain fast execution.

• Low false positive rate: Prevent SQS for C/C++ maintains a very low false positive rate , ensuring that developers’ time spent inspecting defects will result in noticeable quality improvements.

• Highly scalable: Prevent SQS for C/C++ analyzes millions of lines of code in a matter of hours, easily integrating into your regular build process with little or no additional hardware and no disruption to your development process.

What Makes It Great?

Unlike other C/C++ analysis tools that focus on programming style and syntax-based checks, Prevent SQS for C/C++ performs deep, interprocedural analysis to uncover the critical, must-fix defects that matter most to developers. Prevent SQS for C/C++ leverages multiple analysis engines to uncover hard-to-find defects including:

• Path Flow Engine understands the control flow through each function in your code base, allowing Prevent SQS to analyze 100% of the paths through your code.

• Statistical Engine tracks behavioral patterns throughout your entire code base, allowing Prevent SQS to infer correct behavior based on previously observed behavior.

• Interprocedural Summary Engine enables Prevent SQS to perform a whole program analysis of complex call chains at any depth across files and modules in a form that is most similar to the eventual executing Binary. This result in the highest-fidelity results available.

• False Path Engine solves each branch condition to determine if it will be true, false, or unknown on the current path. This allows Prevent SQS to efficiently remove obvious false positives from the set of defects reported.

A sample of the critical defects reported by Prevent SQS for C/C++ include:

Concurrency Issues

• Double locks, missing locks.

• Locks acquired in incorrect order.

• Locks held by blocking functions.

Memory Corruption and

Mismanagement

• Resource leaks.

• Calls to freeing functions using invalid arguments.

• Excessive stack use in memory constrained systems.

Crash-causing pointer errors

• Dereference of null pointers.

• Failure to check for null return values.

• Misuse of data contained within wrapper data types.

C++ Specific Errors

• Misuse of STL iterators.

• Failure to de-allocate memory by destructors.

• Incorrect override of virtual functions.

• Uncaught exceptions.

Window/COM Specific Errors

• Incorrect memory allocation with COM interfaces.

• Incorrect type conversions.

Security Vulnerabilities

• Buffer overruns.

• SQL injection.

• Cross-site scripting.

• Integer overflows.

About Coverity

Coverity (http://www.coverity.com) is the market leader in improving software quality and security. Coverity’s groundbreaking technology automates the approach to identifying and resolving critical defects and security vulnerabilities in C/C++ and Java source code. More than 300 leading companies have chosen Coverity Prevent SQS because it scales to tens of millions of lines of code, has the lowest false positive rate in the industry and provides total path coverage. Companies like Ericsson, HP, Samsung, EMC, and Symantec work with Coverity to eliminate security and quality defects from their mission-critical systems.

Coverity also has customers like Symbian, RIM (Blackberry), Juniper networks, Cisco, Texas instruments and is also used by the Department of Homeland security to scan lots of open source projects.

Free trial

Coverity offers a free trial of Prevent SQS that will detect a wide range of crash-causing defects in your code base within hours. No changes to your code are necessary, there are no limitations on code size, and you will receive a complimentary report detailing actionable analysis results. Register for the on-site evaluation at: http://www.coverity.com .

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4091.shtml

Jun
26th

7 Winning Search Engine Optimization Tactics

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7 Winning Search Engine Optimization Tactics

By: Lee Kendrick

Search engine optimization should always be considered long before your website structure, colors, layout, and overall site design. But, the majority of people usually get caught up "in the moment"… thinking of riches instead of "how" they're going to attract more website visitors. This article is meant to get you back on track, and provide you with 5 winning search engine optimization tactics.

Identify Keywords

1. The single biggest mistake that most business owners make is trying to think of a "cool name" for their website, when they should have chosen a keyword-rich site name like 'prevent-corporate-bankruptcy.com' instead of SmithLawOffice.com' (as an example). Your potential customers search for keyword phrases… not business names… unless you're already a household name like Wal-Mart, eBay or Apple. Facing reality, many business owners gave up on websites ever helping their business a long time ago… usually because of a poor website name choice. And, it doesn't have to be this way.

Simply, discover what terms people are searching for. Identify the "action" keywords and phrases that people are actually using when they are searching Google, Yahoo, MSN or any of the other major search engines. I highly recommend looking for keyword phrases that incorporate the following keywords: buy, want, need, order, download, etc. I'm sure you're getting the idea now. Then, you need to purchase website names that are centered around the most popular keyword phrases. And, redirect these visitors to your current website. And, I promise that you can setup a website redirect in less than one minute… even if computers scare you. You just need to have access to your website hosting interface, with cPanel being the most popular choice.

Optimizing Your Web Page

2. After identifying a minimum of 10 keyword phrases, I recommend optimizing your current website pages' title tags, meta tags, image "alt" tags. You need to start using these keywords within your webpage content in bold text, underlined text, and as text links. Do not overuse these keywords though. These keywords should only comprise 4-6% of each page. So, if you have 500 words on a webpage, limit your keyword usage to 20-30 words. Most of the major search engines index every word of your page and compare them to your title META description and META keywords. So, you should never hide or add non-related keywords to your webpages: like Anna Kournakova, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc. This is a "black hat" tactic and should never be used, unless your want your website to be permanently banned by the search engine directories.

Most of the major search engines don't even consider the META keywords anymore, which is why the actual content of your webpages is becoming more and more important. Excessive repeating of keywords is considered as spamming, which will get your website penalized with a lower ranking. And, be sure mix your keywords in different combinations throughout the page and in your ALT tags, instead of using the same phrase over and over again.

Link Popularity

3. One of the most important factors to achieve a high ranking in the search engines is link popularity. The overall number of links to your web site is important, but the quality of the links are even more important. All the search engines are very fond of "on topic" links. Links from sites that contain your same keyword content and are focusing on the same topic as your site, are known as "on topic" links. Three of the best ways to get "on topic" quality backlinks are to comment on other industry-related blogs, make comments in industry-related forums, and to submit articles to article directories. Just make sure that you're adding comments or articles to high pagerank sites, avoiding low page rank sites.

Misspellings

4. Adding misspelled keywords within your META tags can also boost your website traffic, because many people are likely to misspell your keywords when browsing the search engine directories. As an example, here are several popular misspellings I found people making when they searched for a site submission service, as follows: "free search engine submision", "sumit", "subit", "search egnine submission", "submition", and "saerchengines".

Add Fresh Content

5. Adding fresh content to your website on a regular basis is another key factor that plays a critical role in your search engine rankings. Adding new content regularly gives your visitors a reason to come back. Search engine robots will also visit your website more often, once they notice that you update regularly. This is one of the main reasons why WordPress blogs are so popular right now. When visitors leave comments about blog posts you have made, the search engine bots see this as new content. And, it really helps your site rankings when a visitor makes a comment with a permalink back to their high pagerank site. This helps website owners save time, by allowing website visitors to create content for them.

Don't Kill the Search Engine Crawlers

Avoid using flash intro pages where it says "Click Here to Enter Site", because the search engines have a very difficult time indexing (seeing) anything beyond the intro page… unless you've submitted every webpage of your site to the search engine directories manually, which is very time consuming. Even if you use the alt attribute to specify alternate text for flash images, that text will not be anywhere near as important as real text on a main index page.

Provide Relevant Title Tags

7. Making your page titles simple, descriptive, relevant and "keyword rich" makes it easier for search engines to know what each page is about. Keyword rich titles help the search engine directories provide consumers with more relevant search results, helping them determine whether your website contains what they are trying to find. The title description is the most important element of your website design, after you have chosen your website domain name.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4078.shtml

Jun
25th

Cisco CCNA And CCNP Practice Questions: Hex Conversions, Static Routes, And More!

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Cisco CCNA And CCNP Practice Questions: Hex Conversions, Static Routes, And More!

By: Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933

Let’s test your knowledge of important Cisco certification exam topics with these CCNA, CCENT, and CCNP questions!

CCENT and CCNA Certification:

You want to create a static route that will send packets out the ethernet0 interface on your local router if there is no other match for the actual destination in the routing table. What command will create such a route?

Answer: The ip route command is used to create a default static route, such as the one needed here. The syntax:

ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 ethernet0

CCNA Certification:

Short answer: The binary string 11010101, converted to hex, equals ____________ .

Answer: That string converts to the decimal 213, which converts to the hex value D5, or d5.

CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam:

Short answer: What LSA type is generated by an ABR and describe inter-area links?

Answer: Type 3 LSAs are generated by ABRs and describe inter-area routes.

CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam:

While visiting a client's network, you notice that VLAN 25 is configured as the native VLAN. No hosts are actually in VLAN 25, though. What kind of network attack does this guard against?

Answer: This is one method of preventing VLAN hopping, specifically a double tagging attack.

CCNP Certification / ONT Exam:

Which of the following QoS models uses PHB?

A. Integrated Services

B. Differentiated Services

C. Distributed Services

D. Best Effort Delivery

Answer: B. Differentiated Services uses Per-Hop Behavior (PHB), rather than create a reserved path in advance of transmission, as Integrated Services does.

CCNP Certification / ISCW Exam:

Identify the true statements.

A. A CLI session is 10 minutes by default.

B. A CLI session is 20 minutes by default.

C. A CLI session has no default length.

D. A CLI session's duration can be changed.

E. A CLI session's duration is fixed in length and cannot be changed.

Answers: A, D. A CLI session is 10 minutes by default and can be changed with the exec-timeout command.

Look for more free Cisco exam practice questions on this same website soon!

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4057.shtml

Jun
24th

Web Hosting Explained. Not All Hosting Providers Are Created Equal

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Web Hosting Explained. Not All Hosting Providers Are Created Equal

By: John E Adams

Web Hosting. Some Basic Facts To Consider Before You Take The Plunge!

Web hosting Companies which offer Internet-connected servers that provide space and bandwidth for websites, are called Web Hosts. Big companies deliver private electronic networks which allow for them to host multiple domains on their own equipment and IP address range.

However, for the bulk of beginners that desire an online presence, a rented web host is essential.

There is a broad assortment of hosting plans available. A few are free, other hosting companies charge up to a hundred dollars or more per month. Some companies supply nothing but a small amount of disc space and minimal network bandwidth.

The website owner is on their own for anything else. Others providers offer an array of services, including server and electronic mail administration, backups, website design help, troubleshooting and many other services.

In the world of web hosting, you might frequently discover yourself sharing a server with anywhere from one to one thousand or more other websites, which allows web hosting companies the ability to keep equipment and staff expenses at a lower cost.

Many websites are simple and low-volume enough that this agreement works best.

When you or one or more of the other members grow, it might be helpful to consider a dedicated server. A dedicated server, as the name indicates, hosts only your domain. You can put one website on it, or as many any way you want. You control the access.

You may also consider taking over much of the server administration yourself. That may save you money on support costs, but cost you considerable time. If you do not have the expertise, it may end up costing much more money than you save!

In order to execute those administrative procedures yourself, it is desirable to have some technical knowledge.

Some of that knowledge will be of value, even for daily projects apart from addressing emergencies. FTP, electronic mail administration, backup techniques and additional technical areas are amongst the more common areas you will need to be at least somewhat acquainted with.

As your internet site develops to a certain size and degree of complexity, you will begin to find it worthwhile to consider implementing a database. However, that brings with it a higher level of ability.

Applying a database can be comparatively simple. Designing one which provides what you want, with adequate performance and maintenance that does not become a nightmare, will call for some careful thought.

Not everybody has the disposition for that type of work, particularly those who favor graphical design, content creation or development, and the numerous other Internet site chores that are part of every implementation.

There are other, more low level administrative matters; Managing disc space, maintaining domain names, dealing with registration and alterations, and a number of other functional tasks are not every bodies cup of tea. Some understanding of how domain name server works, in addition to the design of the Internet itself, are helpful. That allows a good context for understanding the role of some of those tasks.

Once you begin to seek out a web host to implement your website, consider all these factors. What kind of web hosting you should go after is determined by a combination of who you are and what is being being offered. Always take the time to research a hosting company before you commit your time and money.

Remember, not all hosting providers are created equal.

Some providers just want your money, whilst other better hosting companies actually want you to succeed. Which one you choose to help you get your website ideas online is paramount to how quickly you taste success.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4074.shtml

Jun
23rd

5 Powerful And Free Methods That I Use To Speed Up My PC

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5 Powerful And Free Methods That I Use To Speed Up My PC

By: Mehmet Onatli

Many of my friends say that I am obsessed with techniques on how I can speed up my PC.

Whether I’m doing some work with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign all running at the same time, or whether I’m playing Gears of War while World of Warcraft in windowed mode is minimized, I always want my PC to perform as fast as possible. Yes, I am a speed junkie. I easily get frustrated with the slightest hint of a load time.

Hence, I am always on the lookout for ways to speed up my PC.

Here are 5 such methods that I use to speed up my PC and to ensure that it will always run at optimum performance with very minimal hiccups.

Speed Up My PC, Technique No. 1: Download The Latest Drivers

The physical components of your PC stay the same, unless you remove and replace them. But the software they run? They constantly change. The programs sold today will fall pale in comparison with the programs that will be made available next week. The websites we visit will evolve based on the internet technology that will be introduced.

And how are our systems supposed to cope up?

When I want to speed up my PC, the first thing I do is to download the latest drivers for the physical components of my rig. Graphic card, motherboard, modem… you name it, I download it! I make sure that nothing but the latest driver is installed in my system.

Speed Up My PC, Technique No. 2: Keep Your Registry Squeaky Clean

Does it take forever to boot up your system? Chances are, your registry is bogged down by useless leftover files from the programs you have installed, even if you have already uninstalled them.

Whenever I want to speed up my PC, I open my favorite registry cleaner to scan my system for some redundant, and sometimes harmful, leftover files. Then I let it do its thing, deleting the non-essential files whenever it could.

Reg cleaners really help speed up my PC, and there is no reason why they can’t help you speed up yours.

Speed Up My PC, Technique No. 3: Your System May Have Been Infected By Spyware And/Or Adware

Sometimes, slow boot up time and slow processing speed are caused by the infestation of spyware and/or adware in your system. Spyware and adware are forms of malware that surreptitiously find their way into your PC, often through the websites you visit or the email attachments you open.

If I am infected by spyware and/or adware and I want to speed up my PC, I simply open my most trusted spyware remover – Search & Destroy – a free utility that is powerful enough to wipe out all the known spyware and adware variations today.

Speed Up My PC, Technique No. 4: Scan For Viruses And Kill Them

Slow PCs may also be caused by viruses, the most popular of which are Trojans – wicked programs that keep hammering our systems their evil deeds.

There is only one way to determine the existence of a virus in your system, that is, by running a complete diagnostic scan using an anti-virus software. The best anti-virus software I can recommend is AVG, a free, open source program that is regularly updated with the latest virus descriptions which allows the program to run a really comprehensive examination of your system.

Thereafter, the anti-virus program will eliminate the threat and I’d be able to speed up my PC with no hassle at all.

Speed Up My PC, Technique No. 5: Defragment Regularly

One of the really under-appreciated features of a Windows-based PC is the Disk Defragmenter. Basically, the Disk Defragmenter will eliminate useless and redundant files in your entire system, not just your registry.

I swear to God, defragmenting your disk is THE best way to speed up my PC. Defragmenting may take a couple of hours or more, but the end result is very much worth it.

To access the Disk Defragmenter, go to START, then ALL PROGRAMS, then ACCESSORIES, then SYSTEM TOOLS, and voila! You’d be able to speed up your PC as efficiently as I can speed up my PC!

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4081.shtml

Jun
22nd

How to Clean your Keyboard-Part 2

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How to Clean your Keyboard-Part 2

By: Ray Geide

When it comes to cleaning your keyboard there are many methods that can be used, some harder and more effective than others.

The easiest method is the Shake Method. It is so easy that you can do it right now. Pick up your keyboard, turn it over being careful not to press any keys, and shake it. See all of that stuff fall out? It is dirtier than you thought, isn't it? You can use one of the following methods to clean it further.

The Blow Method - You can buy cans of pressurized air at the computer department or computer store which are made especially for cleaning your computer. They usually have either a hose and nozzle or a tube extending from the nozzle. Hold the keyboard up vertically (that means that end of the keyboard is up and the other end is down), aim towards the keys and press the button. Keep blowing until all of the debris is blown out. Be sure to get around and in between all of the keys. This can be done with the computer on, but it is better if it is off so that you do not have to worry about pressing the keys and coming up with a page of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa's.

The Vacuum Method - This is just like the Blow Method except that a vacuum is used instead of a can of pressurized air. It is quite simple. Just turn the vacuum on, pull out the hose, and run the nozzle over the keys. Before doing this make sure your keyboard does not have any loose pop off keys that could be sucked into the vacuum.

The Cotton Ball Method - This can be done in addition to the above methods and in lieu of the following methods. Take a cotton ball or cloth and wet it with rubbing alcohol. It should not be so wet that the alcohol runs down into the cracks of the keyboard. Wipe the tops and sides of the keys.

The Dishwasher Method - I hesitate to tell about this method because there is the possibility that it could fry your keyboard. When I had less experience with computers, I dunked my keyboard in a sink full of water to clean it. It did work afterwards, so I don't doubt those who say this method will not mess up your keyboard, but if it does, don't complain to me. I warned you. If your keyboard is not the standard membrane type of keyboard or if it is on a laptop, do not even think of trying this.

This is how you do it. Unplug the keyboard and place it face down in an empty dishwasher. Do not disassemble the keyboard and do not put it in a dishwasher that has dirty dishes in it. Some say to add soap, some say not to. Run the dishwasher through a regular cycle. Take the keyboard out, shake the water out, and stand it on end until it is completely dry (this may take several days). If it does not work after doing this, it may not be dry. Let it stand another week and try it again. If it still does not work, I warned you.

The Disassembly Method - This is the most thorough method, but it should not be done on laptop keyboards or non-standard non-membrane keyboards.

Turn off the computer and unplug the keyboard. Turn the keyboard upside down. You may want to get two books or short boards to place the keyboard on. Position them so that they hold up the keyboard on the edges when it is turned over. This should leave the keys dangling and not touching the books or the floor. This is especially needed when the keyboard's back is off; otherwise the keys will be lifted out of their position by the floor (or whatever surface it is laying on).

Get a screwdriver and remove all of the screws from the back of the keyboard. Lay the keyboard down on the books and carefully remove the back.

Take everything apart and clean thoroughly. It is better to take the keys out one at a time and clean them so that you do not put them back in the wrong place. Wipe each one down with a wet cloth and then with a dry cloth. Any keys that may be hard to put back in, can be cleaned in place without removing them. Wipe around the keys as they sit in place and blow any debris out with your lungs (using compressed air or a vacuum may upset the keys). If you are really brave, you can remove all of the keys at once and give the frame a good wipe down too.

Do a once over and make sure that you have cleaned everything. Then reassemble it all.

Don't forget the keyboard's cable. Wrap a wet cloth around it and wipe it down. It may have an accumulation of grime that needs to be scrubbed off. Also if any of the letters on the keys have rubbed off, you can use a fine point permanent marker to draw the letter back on the key.

Use these cleaning methods and your keyboard will last a long time and be something you can be proud of.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4128.shtml

Jun
21st

Post Regularly Because…

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Post Regularly Because…

By: Len Hutton

Keeping people interested in your blog, whether it is a business or personal blog, is key to attracting a lot of regular visitors. Many blogs have died because people have just lost interest. The main reason for the lack of interest is simply a lack of posts by the blogger. Regular, frequent posting, which will boost your blog’s ranking in search engines, is essential to the survival of any blog.

You might be asking yourself, what is frequent posting? How many blog entries should I make on a given week? How do I make frequent consistently good posts? What are the reasons for me to post frequently? In this newsletter, we will go over all of the above.

What is frequent posting?

Frequent blog posting is posting enough to keep your readers interested. Obviously, people will not want to come back to a blog that hasn’t been updated in months. They want to see consistent posting so that they know coming back to check the blog next week to see if there are more posts won’t be a waste of time.

How many blog entries should I make each week?

This is one of the tougher questions to answer. It really depends on the purpose of your blog. If it’s a personal blog, a weekly or twice weekly update is an excellent idea. A political/sports/music/religion blog should have 3-4 posts per week. Business blogs should have at least 2 posts, but preferably 4 each week.

The thing to remember is that quality counts. Posting frequently just for the sake of posting frequently tends to result in subpar posts which people won’t care about. It is important to find a balance—frequent, quality posts that won’t result in burnout on your part. Why create 4 poor quality posts each week when you could post 2 quality posts per week?

How do I create quality postings on a consistent basis?

It’s all about following a consistent pattern of writing. Maybe you’re not a natural writer and this is difficult. That’s why we’ll give you an outline to help you.

1. Pick a topic that is interesting to you and to your readers. Maybe if your blog is a personal blog, you could write about the latest happenings in Hollywood.

2. Carefully think about what you’ll write about the topic. It makes it easy to make quality blog postings if you know exactly what you’ll write. Plot out everything about the post before even beginning to write it.

3. Before writing your content, pick out some keywords that are relevant to your blog. If you naturally use keywords throughout your post, you will please search engine spiders which will get your blog ranked higher on search engines. Your visitors won’t mind the use of keywords if they are used in a tasteful way.

4. Begin writing your post. Don’t limit yourself to a particular amount of words. Just do what’s natural. And if any blog post is hard for you, just take a timeout and relax. You should be able to finish the post a bit later on, after you’ve had some time to think things through, you should be able to finish the post with no problems.

Why is frequent posting important?

Blogs are meant to be outlets for individuals or businesses. They are used to get an opinion out on something and to engage readers. Readers need to have something that makes them want to keep coming back to a blog. That something is usually quality, frequent posts.

Gaining and maintaining visitors isn’t the only reason to post often in your blog. Catching the eye of a search engine—and achieving a high ranking—is another valid reason for posting frequently. Most likely, each posting in your blog features some keywords or keyword phrases scattered throughout it. Logic says that the more natural keywords you have on a blog, the better. Thus, the more posts you make on your blog, the more keywords you have on there. And the more keywords you have, the more likely a search engine bot is to crawl your site. The more your site is crawled by bots, the more likely it is that you will have a high ranking on a search engine.

Frequent blog posting can be easy as long as the person who is posting takes the time to plot out what they’ll write about. So take a few minutes to think about your post and then just do it!

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4116.shtml

Jun
20th

What Is A Fiber Optic Continuity Tester? Fiber Optic Technology Tutorial Series Two

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What Is A Fiber Optic Continuity Tester? Fiber Optic Technology Tutorial Series Two

By: Colin Yao

What is a fiber optic continuity tester?

Fiber continuity tester is also called fiber optic continuity checker. It is the simplest visual test of a fiber optic cable link.

To function properly, a fiber optic cable link must be "continuous", meaning no breakage, either within the fiber cable or in the fiber connectors, should exist. The simplest and least expensive way to check is to inject some visual light into one fiber end and check the light coming out from the other end.

To perform this task, two types of fiber testers are available: a fiber optic continuity tester or a laser visual fault locator.

Differences between a fiber continuity tester and a laser visual fault locator

The most important difference is their light source. A fiber continuity tester typically uses a red or green color high intensity LED while a laser visual fault locator uses red color semiconductor laser.

Visible lasers produce a more powerful light and can provide more information to the technician than a LED light. By coupling the fiber link to a visible laser, problems with connectors, breaks in the fiber near connectors or splices, and some bend radius violations can be located.

On the other hand, LED powered fiber continuity tester can only verify that light can travel through the fiber link and no more information is obtained. Fiber continuity tester simply yields a "no go" result. If the light isn't visible at the other end of the fiber link, then the fiber is unusable in its present state and requires further testing and repair.

Applications of a fiber continuity tester

Its best application is testing fiber on a reel before you pull it to make sure it hasn't been damaged during shipment. Look for visible signs of damage (like cracked or broken reels, kinks in the cable, etc.)

The other good application is to check fiber patch cables at patch panels. When connecting fiber cables at patch panels, use the fiber optic continuity tester to make sure each connection is the right two fibers!

And to make certain the proper fibers are connected to the transmitter and receiver, use the continuity tester in place of the transmitter and your eye instead of the receiver.

Understanding the features of a fiber continuity tester

1.Fiber mode compatibility

Some fiber continuity testers only support multimode fibers while the others support both single mode fibers and multimode fibers. So it's best to check the spec sheet from manufacturers to choose the type you need.

2.Fiber connectors supported

Most fiber continuity testers have adapters available for testing 2.5mm ferrule connectors such as ST, SC and FC, 1.25mm ferrule connectors such as LC, MU and special types such as SMA connectors.

3.Fiber distance

Most fiber continuity testers have enough light power to support 2km on multimode fibers.

The fiber optic continuity tester makes it easy to trace fiber optic cable runs.

Compared to laser and incandescent light source testers, this low-cost unit is safer to use and easier for the eye to locate.

This unit has bright red light source which is focused into the fiber optic cable. A multi-use coupler enables connection to ST, SC, FC, RSD and FSD without additional adapters or cables.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/computers_and_internet/article_4085.shtml