Category Archives: PC Issues

General information about PC hardware or software

Hard Drive Disk Wipe and Data Clearing

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DBAN is a self-contained boot disk that automatically deletes the contents of any hard disk that it can detect. This method can help prevent identity theft before recycling a computer. It is also a solution commonly used to remove viruses and spyware from Microsoft Windows installations.

DBAN prevents all known techniques of hard disk forensic analysis. It does not provide users with a proof of erasure, such as an audit-ready erasure report.

Professional data erasure tools are recommended for company and organizational users. For secure data erasure with audit-ready reporting, contact Blancco or download a free evaluation license.

Darik’s Boot And Nuke | Hard Drive Disk Wipe and Data Clearing.

Trend Micro Migrates Security Tool HijackThis to Open Source

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Trend Micro today announced that is has open sourced the code to its popular free security tool, HijackThis. The tool scans systems to find settings that may have been modified by spyware, malware or other programs that have wiggled their way onto a system and caused problems.

via Trend Micro Migrates Security Tool HijackThis to Open Source | SecurityWeek.Com.

“As new malicious code is released faster than ever before, the need for analyzing log data to identify new malicious code is more important than ever,” the company said in a statement. “Through this offer to the open source community, the product has the opportunity to develop and become an even better solution to quickly identify new malicious code.”

Download HijackThis.exe here. (sourceforge)

Official website here.

Portable software for USB, portable and cloud drives

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PortableApps.com is the world’s most popular portable software solution allowing you to take your favorite software with you. A fully open source and free platform, it works on any portable storage device (USB flash drive, iPod, memory card, portable hard drive, etc) as well as local storage and cloud storage options. With millions of users all over the world and a full collection of open source software as well as compatible freeware and commercial software and partners in the software and hardware industry, PortableApps.com is the most complete solution for life on the go.

PortableApps.com – Portable software for USB, portable and cloud drives.

Protecting the pre-OS environment with UEFI

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Quick summary

  • UEFI allows firmware to implement a security policy
  • Secure boot is a UEFI protocol not a Windows 8 feature
  • UEFI secure boot is part of Windows 8 secured boot architecture
  • Windows 8 utilizes secure boot to ensure that the pre-OS environment is secure
  • Secure boot doesn’t “lock out” operating system loaders, but is a policy that allows firmware to validate authenticity of components
  • OEMs have the ability to customize their firmware to meet the needs of their customers by customizing the level of certificate and policy management on their platform
  • Microsoft does not mandate or control the settings on PC firmware that control or enable secured boot from any operating system other than Windows

Via Protecting the pre-OS environment with UEFI – Building Windows 8 – Site Home – MSDN Blogs.

Ask Ars: what’s the relationship between CPU clockspeed and performance?

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Question: Intel’s Sandy Bridge launch just brought its desktop CPU line up to 3.8GHz, but I remember that the Pentium 4 got up to 3.8GHz before being cancelled. So why is it that Sandy Bridge is just now getting to the clock speed levels that the Pentium 4 was at years ago? And how is it that Sandy Bridge still manages to outperform the older Pentium 4, even though it has a lower clock speed?

via Ask Ars: what’s the relationship between CPU clockspeed and performance?.

Worth a read.

GRC | Hard drive data recovery software  

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SpinRite v6.0 achieves complete operating system independence by incorporating the FreeDOS operating system. This allows it to be used on any and all Intel/AMD PC systems. As you can see from the Windows screen image above, SpinRite 6.0 can create a bootable diskette or generate a standard, CD-R burnable ISO file to create a “SpinRite boot CD”. A bootable SpinRite can also be “installed” into any other motherboard bootable devices, such as USB flashdrives for easy, portable booting and use.

via GRC | Hard drive data recovery software  .

I wonder how this differs from just running Knoppix and mounting the “dead” hard drive.

Here’s a FAQ.

DSDT – OSx86

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The Differentiated System Description Table is the main table in the ACPI part of a computer’s BIOS.

The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) defines a large number of tables that provide the interface between an ACPI-compliant operating system and system firmware. These allow description of system hardware in a platform-independent manner in ACPI Machine Language (AML).

via DSDT – OSx86.

PCIe, power management, and problematic BIOSes

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As a result of the high clock rates used, PCI-Express devices can take a lot of power even when they are idle. “Active state power management” (ASPM) was developed as a means for putting those peripherals into a lower power state when it seems that there may be little need for them. ASPM can save power, but the usual tradeoff applies: a device which is in a reduced power state will not be immediately available for use. So, on systems where ASPM is in use, access to devices can sometimes take noticeably longer if those devices have been powered down. In some situations (usually those involving batteries) this tradeoff may be acceptable; in others it is not. So, like most power management mechanisms, ASPM can be turned on or off.

via PCIe, power management, and problematic BIOSes [LWN.net].

This might have something to do with the PCI ethernet card being shutdown on medusa — a problem which has only been resolved by not using the PCI eth slot on medusa’s motherboard.