USEFUL COMMANDS

RUN COMMANDS

Useful RUN Commands

Accessibility Controls - access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard - hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs - appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools - control admintools
Automatic Updates - wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard - fsquirt
Calculator - calc
Certificate Manager - certmgr.msc
Character Map - charmap
Check Disk Utility - chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer - clipbrd
Command Prompt - cmd
Component Services - dcomcnfg
Computer Management - compmgmt.msc
Date and Time Properties - timedate.cpl
DDE Shares - ddeshare
Device Manager - devmgmt.msc
Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)* - directx.cpl
Direct X Troubleshooter - dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility - cleanmgr
Disk Defragment - dfrg.msc
Disk Management - diskmgmt.msc
Disk Partition Manager - diskpart
Display Properties - control desktop
Display Properties - desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) - control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility - drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility - verifier
Event Viewer - eventvwr.msc
File Signature Verification Tool - sigverif
Findfast - findfast.cpl
Folders Properties - control folders
Fonts - control fonts
Fonts Folder - fonts
Free Cell Card Game - freecell
Game Controllers - joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) - gpedit.msc
Hearts Card Game - mshearts

Useful Run Commands - II

Iexpress Wizard - iexpress
Indexing Service - ciadv.msc
Internet Properties - inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) - ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) - ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) - ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) - ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re - Registers DNS) -
ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID)

Useful RUN commands - III

IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) - ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel (If Installed) - jpicpl32.cpl
Java Control Panel (If Installed) - javaws
Keyboard Properties - control keyboard
Local Security Settings - secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups - lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows - logoff
Microsoft Chat - winchat
Minesweeper Game - winmine
Mouse Properties - control mouse
Mouse Properties - main.cpl
Network Connections - control netconnections
Network Connections - ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard - netsetup.cpl
Notepad - notepad
Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed) - nvtuicpl.cpl
Object Packager - packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator - odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard - osk
Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) - ac3filter.cpl
Password Properties - password.cpl
Performance Monitor - perfmon.msc
Performance Monitor - perfmon
Phone and Modem Options - telephon.cpl
Power Configuration - powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes - control printers
Printers Folder - printers
Private Character Editor - eudcedit
Quicktime (If Installed) - QuickTime.cpl
Regional Settings - intl.cpl
Registry Editor - regedit
Registry Editor - regedit32
Remote Desktop - mstsc
Removable Storage - ntmsmgr.msc
Removable Storage Operator Requests - ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) - rsop.msc

Useful RUN Commands - IV

Scanners and Cameras - sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks - control schedtasks
Security Center - wscui.cpl
Services - services.msc
Shared Folders - fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows - shutdown
Sounds and Audio - mmsys.cpl
Spider Solitare Card Game - spider
SQL Client Configuration - cliconfg
System Configuration Editor - sysedit
System Configuration Utility - msconfig
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) - sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) - sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) - sfc /scanbo

20 WORST FEATURES OF WINDOWS

From Windows 95's active desktop to Vista's UAC, a loving tribute to the tools, technologies, and applets that drive us absolutely bonkers.



In November of 1985, Microsoft released Windows 1.0. And thus began Windows' 22-year reign (to date) as the world's most popular, most irritating computing platform. Which Windows features have been responsible for the most angst?




1. ActiveX Controls

For years, ActiveX--the technology which dates all the way back to Windows 3.0's OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)?had not one but two majorly pernicious effects on computer users. Folks who use Web sites that run ActiveX applets on their PCs open themselves up to security risks, since an ActiveX control can do pretty much anything it wants on your PC once you'd told it to run. And the fact that ActiveX runs only in Internet Explorer in Windows stunted the growth of alternative browsers and operating systems for years. ActiveX controls still exist, but with some exceptions--mostly related to Microsoft "benefits" like Windows Update and Windows Genuine Advantage--it's easier than ever to ignore them. Thank goodness for that.

2. The Registry

Ever wonder why the U.S. power grid is so fragile that that a blip at one power plant in Cleveland can black out the Eastern Seaboard? We ask the same thing about Windows' Registry: Why did Microsoft put so many vital pieces of Windows configuration data in one place, where a minor problem with that single file can turn into a full-tilt PC disaster? You can back up your Registry religiously. You can run Registry cleaning utilities. You can edit the Registry very, very carefully, should you dare to edit it at all. But you can't eliminate the possibility that it'll bring Windows to its knees.

3. Internet Explorer 6

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Microsoft fought the browser wars against Netscape with all it had. With Internet Explorer 6, released in 2001, though, it seemed to declare "Mission accomplished." For five long years, IE barely changed, even as competitors such asFirefox and Opera showed there were plenty of ways to make browsing better. At the same time, attacking IE 6 security holes became a full-time occupation for an army of hackers--and patching them up turned into part-time work for everyone who used the browser. IE 7, released in 2006, is a passable upgrade, but wouldn't the world have been a better place if it had shown up two or three years earlier?

4. Notifications

Hey, you've just installed a program!A network cable is missing! You've got icons on your desktop you're not using! Windows is constantly alerting us to stuff it thinks we should know, usually by means of word balloons that pop up from the System Tray. (Which, incidentally, is more accurately called the TaskBar Notification Area.) An amazing percentage of these messages are painfully obvious, irrelevant, or just plain inaccurate. Never have so many computer users been distracted from their work by interruptions so useless.

5. Messenger Service

Just perusing the article in Microsoft's knowledge base about this alert service (no relation to the Windows Messenger IM client)is enough to make you shudder: "If advertisements are opening on your computer in a window titled Messenger Service, it may indicate that your system is not secure...some advertisers have started using this service to send information via the Internet, and these messages could be used maliciously to distribute a virus." Windows XP SP2 disabled it by default; Vista eliminated it. Good riddance.

6. Windows Update

There are lots of things you can criticize about Windows XP's approach to software patches. But when we asked around, the biggest complaint by far was how the OS's Windows Update feature (also known as Microsoft Update) pops up a dialog box nagging you to reboot your PC) and continues to do so every ten minutes until you obey. (Ignore it, and the machine may reboot if you walk away for a moment, sometimes destroying unsaved data in the process.) That dialog box is in desperate need of a button marked "I'll Reboot When I'm Damn Well Ready." Windows Vista's version doesn't offer that, but it does allow you to wait up to four hours before being pestered again.

7. User Access Control

Nobody can argue that the idea behind UAC is crummy: If the computer is about to do something that's potentially risky, it makes sense to verify that the PC's user wants it to happen.UAC in practice, however, is incredibly clunky, from the alarming screen blackout to the often cryptic dialog box asking for permission to the way UAC gets in the way of humble tasks that ren't particularly riky. We hope that Vista gets a more polished UAC someday--this version is so annoying it's tempting to just disable it and take your chances with attackers.

8. End Task

A program hangs. You type to bring up the Task Manager, then click End Task to kill the app. Nothing happens. You try again and again, and it eventually works. Or doesn't. Why is such a basic operating-system need so flaky in 2007? We're not sure. Especially since Mac OS X's equivalent feature, Force Quit, manages to work perfectly every time.

9. Windows Genuine Advantage

Is Microsoft entitled to fight pirates? Absolutely. But Windows Genuine Advantage, which makes you do a piracy check before downloading software from Microsoft.com, and displays nag notes if it thinks your copy of Windows is stolen, leaves millions of Microsoft customers caught in the crossfire. The first version with the nagging "feature" got installed with security updates and was famous for mistaking legit copies of Windows for stolen ones. To this day, trying to download software from Microsoft in Firefox is a miserable experience. And to add insult to inconvenience, Microsoft's marketing for WGA says it's all being done to help customers verify that their software isn't counterfeit.

10. Windows 95 USB

Today, it's hard to imagine living without USB. Back in 1997, it was hard to live with it. Windows 95 predated the USB standard, so support was added via a patch known as Windows 95 OSR2.1. When we tried it out with early USB peripherals, they worked only sporadically, and sometimes trashed the PC--and OSR2.1 managed to trash our Win 95 machine so badly that we had to reinstall the operating system from scratch. Twice. Win 98 did add built-in USB support, but in a form that was far from fabulous: Bill Gates famously managed to crash a PC during an onstage demo when he plugged a USB scanner into it.

11. Windows Explorer

If your memory stretches back to the pre-Windows 95 age, you remember Windows' File Manager. You might even miss it--Windows Explorer, even in Vista, lacks some of the features File Manager had, such as the ability to use wildcards to filter a view down to documents of a certain type. Then there features that Explorer has always needed and never gotten, like the ability to print a list of the files in a folder. As often happens, a third party has done what Microsoft hasn't: VCOM's PowerDesk is a worthy utility that's exactly what File Manager should have evolved into.

12. The Microsoft Network

Never used the original version of MSN, which shipped with Windows 95? Consider yourself fortunate. Dating from the pre-Web days when AOL was the hottest thing online, MSN 1.0 tried to bring a Win 95-style interface to online services--forums, for instance, were shortcuts that sat inside desktop folders. But the whole thing was unintuitive, sparse on content, and excruciatingly slow (connection speeds initially topped out at 14.4-kbs). And by the time it debuted, it was already an anachronism, forcing Microsoft to reinvent MSN as an ISP and purveyor of Web services.

13. Windows XP Search

It's kind of astonishing: Windows users had to wait nearly a quarter century, until Windows Vista, for an OS with really good search features. Windows XP Search may be the worst of all, with an interface that's as patronizing as it is sluggish and confusing. You search with the help of a talking dog who even Microsoft's own site says some people "loathe".

14. Active Desktop

You could make a case that Active Desktop (which originated as part of IE4.0's Windows Desktop Update and became part of the OS with Windows 98) was a decent idea a decade too early. Part of the short-lived "push" fad of the mid-1990s, it piped Web content directly to your Windows wallpaper, where it would sit and auto-update itself. That's the same basic idea as current OS enhancers such as Yahoo Widget Engine, Apple's Dashboard, and, come to think of it, Vista's Gadgets. But in an era of slow PCs and even slower dial-up connections, Active Desktop was famous mostly for making Windows run like molasses.

15. Windows Aero

Transparent Windows borders! That let you see the stuff beneath them! The Aero user interface, which Microsoft touted as one of the major breakthroughs in Windows Vista, are (mildly) cool when they work as advertised. But the upside of Aero seems tiny given the hardware oomph required: For PCs with less-than-potent graphics (including ones on sale today), Aero is a machine-choking headache. In fact, Vista sometimes decides on its own to turn off Aero without telling you. Don?t worry--you're really not missing much.

16. Paint

Call this applet the Rip Van Winkle of Windows software. Paint has been bundled with Windows since version 1.0 back in 1985, and it's changed remarkably little over the decades. (That's the Windows 3.0 edition, known as Paintbrush, in the image above.) With Vista's real photo-related features living in a different app called Windows Photo Gallery, it seems a safe bet that Microsoft won't ever bring Paint into the new millennium. If you want a taste of what Paint should be in 2007, check out the superb free photo editor known as Paint.net.

17. Shut Down

Some people gripe about how long Windows takes to boot up. Us, we're more aggravated by how long it takes to shut down--and how often it seems to just give up before it's completed the job. Microsoft says that shutting down works better in Vista, and it seems to--but we still get puzzled by the array of different ways to end a Windows session.

18. Web TV for Windows

New versions of Windows always seem to come with at least one much-hyped feature which instantly sinks into obscurity. Windows 98 had the decidedly lackluster WebTV For Windows--which, confusingly didn't have much to do with Microsoft's WebTV set-top box. Instead, it let you watch the tube (via a tuner card) and peruse TV listings. It also offered interactive TV features through Intel's short-lived Intercast service. At the time, we said it was "slow and unstable, clashed with Windows 98's screen savers, and locked up regularly even when nothing else was running." Fun bonus: The software also introduced a security flaw that could allow hackers to take over your PC.

19. Windows Movie Maker

Windows Me--which we declared the fourth worst product of all time--introduced Windows Movie Maker 1.0, Microsoft's answer to Apple's then-new iMovie video editor. You could say it was a tad bare bones: As we said in our original review, it didn't do titling or effects, offered a grand total of one transition effect, and could output video in only a proprietary format. Version 2.0, which came with Windows XP, was the first respectable one--although even it didn't live up to the Windows XP commercial it was featured in, which showed XP users flying Superman-style to the beat of Madonna's "Ray of Light." As for Windows Vista's Movie Maker 6.0, our biggest question is this: What happened to 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0?

20. DriveSpace

In a day in which half a terabyte of hard disk costs $99, it's easy to forget that megabytes were once a rare and precious commodity, and disk-compression utilities felt slightly miraculous. Microsoft's DoubleSpace was introduced with DOS 6.0 in 1993; after a patent suit by competitor Stac Electronics, it was replaced with a non-infringing twin, DriveSpace, which was part of Windows 95. DriveSpace did indeed squeeze about twice the stuff onto a disk, but the risk was immense, since data recovery was much tougher if something went awry. Windows XP was the first version without DriveSpace support of any sort--by then, nobody noticed or cared.

USEFUL TIPS FOR MOBILE PHONE USERS

THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR CELLPHONE COULD DO

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.

Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for

survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

1

EMERGENCY


* The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112 .* If you find

yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an

emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to

establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112

can be dialled even if the keypad is locked. **Try it out. **

2

Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote keys?

This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone:

If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call

someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone.

Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person

at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on

their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your

keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away,

and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you

can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

Editor's Note: *It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!"*

3

Hidden Battery power

Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call

and you don't have a charger. Nokia instrument comes with a reserve

battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with

this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This

reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

AND

4

How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone:

* # 0 6 #

A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your

handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. when your phone get

stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They

will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the

SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.

You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either.

If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

AAMNA SHARIFF

She was born on 16 July into a Muslim family. From childhood she always wanted to be an actress but from tension from family members she had to keep the idea away for a long time. She later managed to convince her parents about acting. When she was in her second year of college, she got a lot of modelling offers and she started her career.

When she was in her second year of college, she got a lot of modelling offers and endorsed many brands.




She made her debut in the Balaji Telefilms serial Kahiin To Hoga where she acted as the eldest sister in a middle class family.The show lasted from 2004-07. One day she got a call from Balaji Telefilms for Kahiin To Hoga then titled "Kashish". She heard her role and realised she had the biggest role-the link between all the characters. Ekta Kapoor called her for auditions. It took them six months to finalise her role. She made a a big step in her career and Kahiin To Hoga was one of the 20 top shows.

LAMBORGHINI REVENTON : TOO FAST AND FURIOUS

The essence of the marque: just 20 examples of a design masterpiece

Clearly a Lamborghini, but nothing quite like it. A super car without equals: the Lamborghini Reventon is a road vehicle with an extreme specification and, at the same time, a limited edition masterpiece – a coherent style, angular with sharp lines, inspired by the very latest aeronautics.
With just 20 produced, each 1 Million Euro (without taxes) Lamborghini Reventon is a symbol of extreme exclusivity, yet still offering the extraordinary performance that makes the Lamborghini Reventon so unrivalled: under the completely autonomous design, the Lamborghini Reventon possesses the entire technical and dynamic competence of the twelve cylinder Lamborghini.

Lamborghini prides itself on being the extraordinary manufacturer of extreme super sports cars without compromise. Sensuality and provocation characterise every Lamborghini, with an aggressively innovative style. “However, the Lamborghini Reventon is the most extreme of all, a true automotive superlative. Our designers at the Lamborghini Style Centre took the technical base of the Murciélago LP640 and compressed and intensified its DNA, its genetic code,” affirms Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.

A masterpiece with tested technology

The technology found in the Murciélago LP640 has not been modified. The engine in the LP640 forwards is the classic twelve-cylinder engine with 6.5 litre displacement. Only for this car, Lamborghini guarantees, an astounding 650 HP (478 kW) at 8,000 revolutions per minute (rpm). The huge torque, equal to maximum 660 Nm, ensures a powerful switch from any number of revolutions: even the slightest pressure on the accelerator is spontaneously transformed into thrust. The robotised e.gear changes gear faster than even the most expert driver. In addition, the permanent Viscous Traction four-wheel drive system ensures that every force is constantly translated into movement.

As in the original Murciélago LP640, the Lamborghini Reventon accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds, with a maximum speed over 340 km/h.

Lamborghini Reventon Technical data

Frame
High strength tubular steel structure with carbon fibre components.

Bodywork
In carbon fibre, except roof and door external panels (steel)

Steering
Type Mechanical (rack and pinion) power-assisted
Right-hand turning circle 12.55 m (41.17 ft)


Wheels and tyres
Front 245/35 ZR 18
Rear 335/30 ZR 18


Engine
Type 12 cylinders at 60°
Bore and stroke 88 mm x 89 mm (3.46 in x 3.50 in)
Displacement 6496 cc (396.41 in3)
Compression ratio (11  0.2):1
Maximum power 650 HP (478 kW) at 8000 rpm (guaranteed through the engine selection)
Maximum torque 660 Nm (487 lb-ft) at 6000 rpm
Engine position in vehicle Longitudinal central-rear
Cylinder heads and engine block Aluminium
Intake system Variable geometry with 3 operating modes

Timing
4 valves per cylinder, 4 overhead camshafts
Timing gear transmission 2 chains
Continuous timing variator (int. and ex.) Electronically controlled

Ignition system
Static type ignition system with individual coils (one for each spark plug).
Firing sequence 1-7-4-10-2-8-6-12-3-9-5-11


Fuel system/injection
Lamborghini LIE electronic engine control unit, multipoint, sequential timed, DRIVE BY WIRE

Lubrication system
Type Dry sump
Recovery pumps 2 gear pumps
Delivery pump (high pressure) 1 gear pump


Cooling system
Type Liquid cooled, with pressurized circuit

Transmission
Type of transmission Permanent all-wheel drive with Viscous Traction system
Gearbox 6-speed mechanical gearbox
Clutch Dry single disc
Clutch disc diameter 272 mm (10.7 in)

Transmission ratios
Gearbox:
Ist 1:3.091
IInd 1:2.105
IIIrd 1:1.565
IVth 1:1.241
Vth 1:1.065
VIth 1:0.939
Reverse 1:2.692

Brakes
4 self-ventilated rotors with pedal control, hydraulic transmission with dual independent circuits, one for each axle with vacuum servo.
ABS antilock device + DRP function.

Steel brake lines
Front rotor Ø 380 x 34 mm (14.96 in x 1.34 in)
Front calliper cylinders N. 8 (32-28 mm/32-28 mm)
(1.26 in-1.10 in/1.26 in-1.10 in)
Rear rotor Ø 355 x 32 mm (13.98 in x 1.26 in)
Rear calliper cylinders N. 4 (40-44 mm)
(1.57 in-1.73 in)
Ceramic rotors system (Optional)
Front rotor Ø 380 x 38 mm (Ø 14.96 in x 1.5 in)
Front calliper cylinders N. 6 (32-36-38 mm) (1.26 in-1.42 in-1.5in)
Rear rotor Ø 380 x 38 mm (Ø 14.96 in x 1.5 in)
Rear calliper cylinders N. 6 (32-36-38 mm) (1.26 in-1.42 in-1.5in)
Handbrake Mechanical, acting on rear wheels

Suspension
4-wheel independent articulated quadrilateral system. Hydraulic shock absorbers and coaxial coil springs. Suspension with dual front and rear struts, antiroll, antidive and antisquat bar.

Performance data
Top speed 340 km/h (211.3 mph)
Acceleration 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) 3.4 s (before: 3.8 s)

Dimensions
Wheelbase 2665 mm (104.92 in)
Total length 4700 mm (185.04 in)
Total width 2058 mm (81.02 in)
Total height 1135 mm (44.69 in)
Dry weight (no fuel and no liquids) 1665 kg (3670.7 lb)
Front trackwidth 1635 mm (64.37 in)
Rear trackwidth 1695 mm (66.73 in)
Front overhang 1080 mm (42.52 in)
Rear overhang 955 mm (37.60 in)
Maximum overall width with external rear-view mirrors 2215 mm (87.20 in)

Liquid capacities (litres)
Engine oil 12 litres (3.17 gal)
Gearbox oil 3.5 litres (0.92 gal)
Front differential oil 1 litre (0.26 gal)
Rear differential oil 2.5 litres (0.66 gal)
Cooling circuit 15 litres (3.96 gal)

Consumption (according to DIR 1999/100/CE)
Urban 32,3 l/100km
Extra-urban 15,0 l/100 km
Combined 21,3 l/100 km
CO2 emissions 495 g/km

FIREWALL

A firewall's basic task is to regulate the flow of traffic between computer networks of different trust levels. Typical examples are the Internet which is a zone with no trust and an internal network which is a zone of higher trust. A zone with an intermediate trust level, situated between the Internet and a trusted internal network, is often referred to as a "perimeter network" or Demilitarized zone (DMZ).

A firewall's function within a network is similar to firewalls with fire door in building construction. In former case, it is used to prevent network intrusion to the private network. In latter case, it is intended to contain and delay structural fire from spreading to adjacent structures.

Without proper configuration, a firewall can often become worthless. Standard security practices dictate a "default-deny" firewall ruleset, in which the only network connections which are allowed are the ones that have been explicitly allowed. Unfortunately, such a configuration requires detailed understanding of the network applications and endpoints required for the organization's day-to-day operation. Many businesses lack such understanding, and therefore implement a "default-allow" ruleset, in which all traffic is allowed unless it has been specifically blocked. This configuration makes inadvertent network connections and system compromise much more likely.


Proxy Servers and DMZ

A function that is often combined with a firewall is a proxy server. The proxy server is used to access Web pages by the other computers. When another computer requests a Web page, it is retrieved by the proxy server and then sent to the requesting computer. The net effect of this action is that the remote computer hosting the Web page never comes into direct contact with anything on your home network, other than the proxy server.

Proxy servers can also make your Internet access work more efficiently. If you access a page on a Web site, it is cached (stored) on the proxy server. This means that the next time you go back to that page, it normally doesn't have to load again from the Web site. Instead it loads instantaneously from the proxy server.

There are times that you may want remote users to have access to items on your network. Some examples are:

* Web site
* Online business
* FTP download and upload area

In cases like this, you may want to create a DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). Although this sounds pretty serious, it really is just an area that is outside the firewall. Think of DMZ as the front yard of your house. It belongs to you and you may put some things there, but you would put anything valuable inside the house where it can be properly secured.

Setting up a DMZ is very easy. If you have multiple computers, you can choose to simply place one of the computers between the Internet connection and the firewall. Most of the software firewalls available will allow you to designate a directory on the gateway computer as a DMZ.

Once you have a firewall in place, you should test it. A great way to do this is to go to www.grc.com and try their free Shields Up! security test. You will get immediate feedback on just how secure your system is!

HEIGHT OF A BUILDING

An Engineering Student, a Physics Student, and a Mathematics student were each given $150 dollars and were told to use that money to find out exactly how tall a particular hotel was.

All three ran off, extremely keen on how to do this. The Physics student went out, purchased some stopwatches, a number of ball bearings, a calculator, and some friends. He had them all time the drop of ball bearings from the roof, and he then figured out the height from the time it took for the bearings to accelerate from rest until they impacted with the sidewalk.

The Math student waited until the sun was going down, then she took out her protractor, plumb line, measuring tape, and scratch pad, measured the length of the shadow, found the angle the buildings roof made from the ground, and used trigonometry to figure out the height of the building.

These two students bumped into the Engineering student the next day, who was nursing a really bad hangover. When asked what he did to find the height of the building he replied:

"Well, I walked up to the bell hop, gave him 10 bucks, asked him how tall the hotel was, and hit the bar inside for happy hour!"