Source: dayoldcake.com

Since I started using a WordPress blog back in 2005, I’ve always had the Akismet WordPress plugin installed, and it was the sole provider of my spam protection. It has done an awesome job with an at-this-moment 99.843% accuracy rating, and has blocked 21,215 spam comments of which 6,686 of them were just in the last 6 months.

About a week ago, I found an additional spam blocking plugin that has also been very helpful. This one is called Bad Behavior.

In my observations over the last couple months, it appears that Akismet will block a comment that doesn’t seem to have any correlation to the content of the blog post. This would be why you see posts in your Spam queue that contain no links, no really harmful URLs, and just random text or pointless statements in the body of the comment. I’m sure Akismet is much more complicated than that, though, and I would assume there is a backend database of known spamming IPs/Hosts out there that it may also check against. However, the simplest, and likely initial method of detecting spam is via content.

Not with Bad Behavior. Instead of checking the content of the spam, it looks at the stuff you can’t see – the HTTP Headers, IP, User-Agent String, etc. From their own website…

Bad Behavior analyzes the HTTP headers, IP address, and other metadata regarding the request to determine if it is spammy or malicious. This approach has proved, as one user said, “shockingly effective.” After all, spammers write their bots on the cheap, and have little incentive to code very well. If they could code very well, they probably wouldn’t be spammers.

When Bad Behavior looks at a request, it determines if the request matches a profile of known malicious or spammy activity, and falls outside the bounds of a normal human browsing the web. If so, the request is blocked. But a way out is provided for any human beings with unusual configurations or viruses/Trojans on their computer who may be blocked.

Source: How Bad Behavior Works

Here’s an example of some of the content it has blocked from this very blog…

The image above is using a User-Agent string that includes the Windows version “Windows XP”. Anyone who has done their homework, and makes up a User-Agent string knows that Windows XP is actually Windows NT 5.x where X is the Service Pack number applied. Since Windows XP is not a valid User-Agent String (even though they went to so much trouble to include all the other information in the header), it was blocked.

With this image, the plugin saw that the header was missing the “Accept” statement, telling the server receiving the request what types of files it was willing to accept as a response. Most of the attempts to bot-post that I have seen blocked in the past week or so have been this type of error.

According to the Bad Behavior Benefits and Features page, the plugin runs before any of your PHP-based software (yeah, that’s right, it is available for any PHP-coded site, not just WordPress blogs), so your server never has to respond to a bot just “harvesting data and delivering junk.” Instead the bot is given some 400-style error, and never gets a response from your site.

There are more features and settings that I haven’t had a chance to play around with yet, but if I find it necessary, I’ll create an additional post or add them to this one. I recommend this plugin to go alongside any other spam protection you have in place on your form-driven website or blog.

Technorati Tags: akismet, bad behavior, spam control, spam protection, wordpress plugins

Credit: gadgettastic.com

If you don’t know what kind of motherboard your computer has in it, then finding the right type of RAM memory sticks you need can be tricky. In order to upgrade your RAM, you’ll need to find out 3 pieces of information in all: what type of memory do you need; how much do you have; and how much can your motherboard handle.

To do this you either have to pop it out to take a look at it, or you have to go online and look up your computer’s specifications (as long as it wasn’t custom-built by piecing parts together) at the manufacturer’s website. However, either of those methods will only get you 2 of the 3 pieces of information needed.

Fortunately there is a third way to find this information using a software program, and it makes everything much easier. But first, here’s how to do it the manual way so you don’t have to rely on software that may not be available at the time.

1.) Manually – Find Type & Amount

When you look manually you’ll be able to do at most 2 of 3To find out what kind of RAM your computer is using you’ll need to shut it down completely, and unplug the power cable. Give it about 10 seconds to completely discharge all the stored electricity in the capacitors of the motherboard and power supply, and then you can start to open your computer case.

Inside your computer you’ll find a big circuit board that looks similar to the image at left. In the image at left, look for the letter H on the diagram – that is the RAM Slots. On each end of one of the slots there are some little tabs. If you push those at a diagonal down and away from the slot, they will unlock the stick of RAM from the board, and you should be able to easily lift the memory stick straight up off the board.

The PC2100 is the type; DDR266 is the frequency/speed; 1GB is the size

Once you have the stick in your hand, it will usually have a sticker on it, like in the image at right. (The image at right is a picture of some Laptop memory, but the concept is the same.) Somewhere on the sticker will be a alphanumeric code that starts with PC followed by some numbers. Most commonly it is PC3200. That’s only one part of the equation…there are still 2 more: How big are the memory sticks you have (and what is the total memory you’ve got over all), and what is the maximum that your motherboard was build to handle.

Hopefully there is a number in MB or GB that is divisible by 8 (for MB) or below 4 (followed by GB) somewhere on the sticker (usually 256MB, 512MB, 1024MB/1GB, 2GB , 4GB). In the image at right, the stick is a 1GB stick. If there is no size noticeable on sticker, you can try to search Google for some of the numbers on the sticker or memory stick to see if you can find out. Otherwise you’ll have to jump to method 3 below.

2.) Look up the Motherboard – Find Type & Max

The second method for finding out which memory your computer has involves doing a little bit of searching the internet for either your motherboard’s model number, or if you’re lucky enough to have bought your computer from some place like Dell or HP you may be able to find it on their website via a service number. If that’s the case, and you have a service number, you can contact support to find out what type & how much memory your computer can handle – and if you’ve never upgraded your RAM, then you can probably find out how much is in it from the original build.

Motherboard Model Number

We’re going to assume you’re not that lucky, and your computer was custom built with lots of different pieces. Again, we’re going to have to open the case if it’s not still open – so shut down the computer, and unplug it. After 10 seconds, pop the case off, and look around the mother board for something similar to the image at left.

The model number will be printed in the same color paint as everything else written on the board, and will be close to the maker’s name. In the image at left, the manufacturer is “Fatal1ty” and the model number is “AN9 32X”. Once you have these pieces of information, hit up the Googles and do a search…and we’re looking for either a technical article, a specification sheet, or perhaps a product listing in a computer-parts store.

I picked the first link, because the beginning seems like a good place to start. As long as the page starts talking about the technical specifications for the board, it’s probably a good place to start looking for what you need. I did a Find on the page (CTRL + F) for the word “PC”, but that didn’t turn up any results similar to the PC3200 or other numbers we’re looking for. The next one to search for is “DDR” as that is the common way the sticks of RAM are built these days.

Side Note: SIMM/SDRAM = “Single Inline Memory Module”, Chips on one side of the memory stick. DDR = “Double Data Rate”, Chips on both sides of the memory stick. (Though, these days it’s possible to stick both sets of chips on one side, as there is also such a thing as QDR (Quad Data Rate) which has 2 sets of chips on each side, totally 4 sets of chips. Unless you’ve got a very expensive gaming computer, you’re probably going to have DDR.

Choosing to search for DDR turned up exactly what I needed to know…

There are four DDR2 memory slots which accommodate up to 8GB of DDR2-800 RAM.

Now we know it can handle 8GB of memory (unless you’ve got a 64-bit operating system, you’re only going to be able to use 4GB of it).  Unfortunately they didn’t mention what PC number it is, so we’ll use the table below to find out what we need. To do this, consider the PC2100 DDR266 image at the top of the article. Under the “PC Rating”column, we find the PC2100, and right next to it in the “RAM Speed in MHz”there is the 266 (which represents the DDR number), and it says DDR in the “Type of RAM” column as well.

If you use the same method to find our DDR2-800 ram, you’ll need to look in the “Type of RAM” column for the DDR2 rows, and find the “RAM Speed in MHz” that matches 800. This results in a PC2-6400 “PC Rating”.

Assuming you were able to find out how much memory you have in your system already, we now know how much the motherboard can handle, what type it takes, and how much we have/lack. You can use this PC2-6400 “PC Rating” to go shopping online for more memory. Be sure you notice whether you’re buying memory for a Laptop or Desktop computer, and that you get the right one from the store. Laptop memory is shorter than Desktop memory, and as such it won’t fit in the slot.

3.) Using CPUZ from CPUID – Find Type, Size & Max

The third option is using a software program called CPUZ. Now, because I don’t like sending people to pages to download software, when those pages also include ads with huge “DOWNLOAD NOW” buttons, below is the location on the page you’ll want to actually download from:

Then click the purple download button…

During the Install process, be sure to uncheck the Ask.com toolbar stuff.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the program (I installed mine to my Flash Drive, so I can use it on any computer) you should have a folder that looks like this:

The program is named cpuz.exe, and when you run that, it will show a loading box, and then a window with a lot of information like this…

CPUZ – CPU Tab

On this first page you’ll be able to see everything about your processor – the make, model, speeds, cache, etc. For this blog post, we’re not interested in any of that information – but do make a mental note that you can use this tool to get that info when you do need it. We’re interested in the Mainboard, Memory, and SPD tabs. First up is the Mainboard…

CPUZ – Mainboard Tab

This tab describes your motherboard – the manufacturer, model, and type of graphics card you need. This gives us 1 of the 3 pieces of information we’d need for RAM Upgrades: Motherboard Model Number. Use this to deduce the maximum RAM your computer can use. Anything over 3.25GB will go unused in a normal Windows environment. You’ll need to upgrade to Windows 64-bit, Apple OS X, or a Linux distro that can handle 64-bit. (There are a lot of other upgrades involved in this as well, like a 64-bit processor, motherboard, devices like printers, etc – so don’t do it just to have more RAM.)

CPUZ – Memory Tab

This tab describes the current state of your computer’s memory. It gives you the 2nd piece of your RAM Upgrade Equation: Current Memory. It has the “RAM Type” (DDR2 in my case), current Memory (2048MB or 2 GB), and the Frequency (332.5MHz).

As a little experiment, I wanted to see if I could deduce the “PC Rating” just from the DDR2 & the 332.5MHz values. As I mentioned before, DDR stands for “Double Data Rate”…DDR2 stands for “Double Data Rate2″. This means that while DDR operates at twice the *throughput* as SIMM (because of 2nd set of chips), DDR2 operates at twice the *speed* as DDR. In other words, for every 1 calculation that DDR can do, DDR2 does 2 calculations. What does this mean for my numbers? It means that since my RAM is doing 2x the calculations for the same amount of frequency (MHz) in order to get the effective frequency, I need to multiply it by 2.

For DDR2…

Formula: Frequcney x 2 = DDR2 RAM Speed in MHz

Equation: 332.5MHz x 2 = 667MHz

According to the table posted above, the DDR2-667MHz corresponds to PC2-5300. Let’s see if that is correct…

CPUZ – SPD Tab

According to the Max Bandwidth section, that is correct: PC2-5300 (333MHz, sometimes it gets rounded up).

The SPD Tab will show you what is in each of your slots. It gives you the 3rd piece of your RAM Upgrade Equation: RAM Type.

As you can see in the image above, this data describes the memory stick in Slot 1. There is a drop-down menu that will have a slot entry for each of the available slots on your motherboard. This tab will show you who made the memory stick, what the part number is, how much memory it has, as well as the “PC Rating” & Frequency (aka the 333 MHz portion of the Max Bandwidth). It will even tell you the week of the year it was made. In this case, it was the 39th week of 2007.

Closing Comments

Once you’ve got all 3 pieces of the equation: Max RAM, RAM Type, Current RAM, then you’re ready to upgrade your computer’s memory, and everything will appear to go a little quicker.

There is another factor in RAM upgrades that you should probably know about, but won’t prevent you from upgrading. RAM has different Frequency values (i.e. the 333MHz) on my sticks. The larger the number the faster things will move in and out of RAM, speeding up your system. However, in addition to RAM Types, motherboards also specify a maximum frequency at which they can operate. So if you find some DDR2-1600, but your board only supports DDR2-800, you’re only going to be operating at half of the RAM’s capabilities – with the motherboard being the bottleneck. So unless you’re going to upgrade your motherboard (and everything else attached to it: video card, processor, etc) don’t look for RAM with a higher frequency than your motherboard can actually use – you’ll likely just be wasting money.

Technorati Tags: CPUID, CPUZ, DDR, DDR2, DDR2-800, how do I choose the right memory, how do I choose the right ram, how do I upgrade my ram, PC Rating, RAM memory, RAM Type, SIMM

I get asked a lot by coworkers and friends about how to clean up a computer (either because it’s running slow, has spyware, or because they just can’t do anything on it any more). Below are 5 of the major cleanup methods I use to get their computer up and running again. Depending on the issue you want to resolve, I’ve broken up this post into some common categories…

Free up some space

1.) Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup removes temporary internet files, downloaded program files (used to install things like updates, that aren’t needed any more), other temporary files, recycle bin contents, cached thumbnails, error messages, and other unneeded files. In addition to deleting the files, it also compresses old files that haven’t been used in a long time, to free up some room on the disk for actively used files.

To run Disk Cleanup:

1. Go to your Start Menu, click All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup **OR** Open My Computer, right-click on the drive you wish to clean, choose Properties > click the Disk Cleanup button (like the Disk Cleanup image shows)
2. Once the program has calculated all the things it can cleanup, go through the “Files to Delete” section and Check those which you want deleted, Clear those you do not want to delete.

   

3. Once you’ve made your selections, click OK, then click Yes or “Delete Files” when prompted and it will handle the rest.

2.) Disk Defragmentation

Running Disk Defragmenter will help speed up your system’s ability to find and read data from your hard drive. In the pre-XP days, this was a big deal, and when you ran the utility a progress graphic would appear showing you which bits were being moved to where as everything was organized. To run Disk Defragmenter you would have to know about the application, and either run it manually or set up a scheduled task for it. When Vista & Windows 7 were released, this process was automatically added as a scheduled task, and likely runs every Wednesday sometime late at night.

If you’re on XP or lower, and want to run Disk Defragmenter:

1. Click the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter **OR** Open a Run prompt, and type “dfrg.msc”
2. Choose the drive you want to defragment, then click Analyze.
3. Once it has finished processing, it will make a recommendation as to whether it needs to be defraged or not.
4. If it says it needs it, or if you just want to do it anyway, click the Defragment button, and let it do its thing.
   1. As long as there is at least 15% free space on the drive, you can do this as many times as you think necessary – ultimately it will come close to putting all the colored bars together, and all the empty white space together – but it won’t always be perfect.

Removing Unwanted Programs

3.) Control Panel’s “Add/Remove Programs & Features”

The safest way to remove programs from your computer that you either don’t want or need is with Windows XP’s Add/Remove Programs or the Vista/7  Equivalent “Programs & Features” icon in the Control Panel.

Knowing which programs to remove can be tricky if you aren’t familiar with what has been installed on your computer. Generally if it is a new computer, or one that has been subjected to Spyware infection, I tell people to remove anything that has these words in it that aren’t from big name software vendors that you trust (i.e. Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, etc):

• Deluxe
• Toolbar
• Search
• Smilies
• Web

Take caution about what you’re uninstalling from your computer. If you’re uncertain about a program, go to a website like BleepingComputer.com’s Uninstall Database and see if there is an entry for it in there. If there is an entry, and it’s described as a program you should remove, go ahead and remove it or follow their uninstall instructions. If the entry is either approved or non-existent, leave it on your computer, and we’ll check it with some of the next methods.

4.) Microsoft Security Essentials – Remove Spyware/Malware/Viruses

It’s the result of years of beta testing on the OneCare and OneCare Live platforms and now one of the latest, and best, software apps for removing viruses, spyware, and other malware is coming out of Microsoft – and what’s more it’s free. The program is called Microsoft Security Essentials – and as compared with 20 other security suite programs (including big names like Symantec/Norton, McAfee, Trend-Micro and AVG) MSE came out close to the top. But being free, and doing such an excellent job at finding programs that aren’t explicitly listed in its definitions (known as using Heuristics) MSE ranks better than the paid apps in my book. I use it on all my computers at home, and recommend it to folks who ask.

5.) Spybot Search & Destroy

Another free, and very effective program that I’ve used for years is called Spybot Search & Destroy. The best way to describe this program’s features is mentioned directly on their website:

Spybot – Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven’t intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been “hijacked” (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don’t see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there’s no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer. – www.safer-networking.org

There are some imitations out there that will try to get you to download something *similar* to Spybot, but instead of removing spyware, they actually add more. So instead of telling you to go download it from their site and risk clicking on an advertisement on one of their mirror websites, you can download it directly from the safer-networking.org website here.

Other ways to clean up

If your computer is still having trouble, there are other more complicated methods I use, but they require some knowledge of what is normally expected to be on a computer, and what is not. There are some very technical tools available for free that will show what files are in use by which process to help pinpoint the issue, but poking around on the sub-process level can really mess up your computer even more.

Should you find yourself needing this kind of expertise, you may need to take it to your local computer guru and have them take a look at it. Anyone who has successfully broken and fixed their own computer several times for fun should be able to figure out what’s wrong with yours.

But remember, whether it’s a family member, coworker, or best friend don’t expect the service to be free – even if they refuse payment. Acquiring the knowledge beyond what I can post in a Do-It-Yourself blog post takes many years of experience, mistakes, stress, and searching the internet for specific answers to the issue at hand. So treat them to dinner, offer a service exchange (if you have your own specialty), or something to show you appreciate their help.

Technorati Tags: disk cleanup, disk defragmenter, how do I make my computer go faster, how do I speed up my computer, how to clean up a computer, microsoft security essentials, remove malware, remove spyware, remove viruses, reove viruses, spybot search & destroy, windows cleanup

Dell Solar Charger

I’m sitting here at my desk, and a package is delivered to me, for my boss, from Dell. But my boss is gone this week, and since it’s from Dell, and I’m the IT Admin, I open it up.

Turns out, there is a Dell Solar Charger for mobile devices in there.

I spent a good 45-60 minutes on the internet searching Dell.com and talking with the Tech Support to figure out how this got here, and where I could get my own. Why? Because it’s the closest thing to a wireless power supply that I can get right now that would let me charge my phone anywhere. And (after being stranded in a bad part of Dallas, TX, at 2am, with a dead phone and sitting outside a sex-toy shop/tattoo parlor) I need to be able to charge my phone – anywhere.

This is my first review of a technology product, and I’ve only had it for about 3 hours, but there are some things I already have to say about it.

The Contents

• Solar charger connecting cable
• 5 cell phone adapters that work for many models of iPod/iPhone, mini USB for Blackberry/Motorola V3, Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson.
• Travel pouch
• USB charging cable
• Suction cups

Usage

Overview

Faceplate view

According to the instructions, you can charge the solar panel’s internal lithium battery by leaving it out with constant exposure to light for 12-15 hours, or you can plug it in to your computer with the provided USB cable for 4-5 hours. There are two LED lights on the face of the device, and the one on the left will stay a strong Red color while charging through USB, and turns green when the battery is over 90% charged. When the one on the right is Red or Off, it means the battery power is not full, and requires charging. The brighter the LED, the stronger the battery charge is. The device will hold its battery charge for up to three months.

When you plug in your phone, there is a voltage selector with 5.0V, 5.5V, and 9.5V (all +/- 0.5%V).

Voltage Switch and Power Ports

Choose the correct voltage for your phone (usually can be found on the original adapter) and the correct plug fitting, and you’re set. The LED on the left will turn red to show it is charging, and the LED on the right will show the strength of the battery. And if you’re phone is charging correctly, it too will show it’s normal charging indicator on the device. Charging time for phones is usually 1-2 hours.

Personal Pros

1. I like that it’s solar powered, and holds a charge – if it’s daytime, I won’t have a problem finding a location to charge my phone. And if it is night time, any public light or light source will provide enough energy to keep the solar charger going long enough to get a reasonable charge to my phone.
2. 

   Charging my phone from the office lights.

   I can charge the panel with a USB cable for 1/3 the charge time to get it going, and leave it in my car to charge the rest of the time

3. Multiple phone power adapters so that I can charge my friends’ iPhones, my Windows Mobile phones, and my girlfriend’s Nokia phone.
4. The size of the device is no bigger than the actual phone I’m charging – it’s as tall as a standard Dry-Erase Marker.
5. Comes with a nifty little pouch to carry around all the other power adapters and the USB cable that I won’t need to access that often.

Personal Cons

1. 

   It's as tall as a Dry Erase Marker

   The various power adapters don’t particularly “hold-on” to the cable that well. It’s quite easy to bump or twist the cable in such a way that the phone stops charging.

2. I like that there are suction cups that can be attached to the solar charger, but I wish they weren’t on the bottom of the device. For me to use this in my vehicle, I’d need a flat surface on the dashboard to attach it to – ideally they would be on the faceplate so I could stick it to my windshield, facing outward.
3. This isn’t really a functional con, but there are no markings or part numbers or any other type of identification as to what this device is or the specs of it anywhere on the device itself. This brought about a lot of confusion when talking with support, and trying to explain what I was referring to.

Electrical Specs

Con: Suction cups are located underneath

• Solar Panel (mono/multi crystalline): 5.5V 100mA
• Rechargeable Lithium Battery: 3.7V 2000mAh
• USB charging cable: 5V 500mA
• DC output:
  • 5.0V +/- 0.5%
  • 5.5V +/- 0.5%
  • 9.5V +/- 0.5%
• Charging time for mobile phones: 1-2 hours
• Charging time for the lithium battery using the solar panel: 12-15 hours
• Charging time for the lithium battery using the USB cable: 4-5 hours.

Special Notes

1. You can charge approximately 2-3 cell phones off a fully charged battery
2. If this unit detects unstable output, it may shut down to protect from potential problems if the incorrect voltage is selected while charging devices.
3. If charging iPod/iPhone devices, please select the 5.0V option.
4. If the included adapters do not work for your particular device please locate your nearest electronics store for more options.

Warnings

1. Keep it away from hot surfaces, and water.
2. Static electricity or shot may damage the internal components
3. Before you use this charging unit, please select the correct voltage option of the unit you want to charge. Smaller devices like cell phones and digital cameras will be 5.0V or 5.5V, and larger devices such as portable DVD players will use the 9.5V. DO NOT charge your smaller devices using the 9.5V setting as it could potentially damage your device.

Conclusion

So that’s my review of the Dell Solar Phone Charger – so far, I like the idea, and think it has some great usage potential – especially on the lake in a dry-box while I’m fishing. Let me know what you think about it.

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I’ll write some more once I have given it a thorough run-through.

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