Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2008 November 7

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November 7

WTH?!?!

This website http://news.sina.com.cn/437/2008/0701/14.html (warning: do not re-type or copy and paste this URL into your browser, as this website is believed to install Trojan horses and/or other types of malware on computers) , has been popping up each time I open Internet Explorer, trying so hard to install a Chinese language pack on my computer even though it's not my homepage, but it appears as such nonetheless. Even when I go to Internet Options to reset my home page, it will automatically go back to the to the aforementioned site. It's the exact same deal even when I put the website on the restricted list in Internet Options. What the hell is going on? --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 00:08, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

This is the common result of installing a trojan. What did you install? Can you uninstall it (probably not). Get a virus/malware cleaner and hope for the best. In the future, do not install software from strangers on the Internet (and your response will be "I didn't install anything!!!" - so don't install software when you are sleeping or let invisible gremlins install software when you are out of the house). -- kainaw™ 00:12, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

But how do I stop it from appearing constantly as my homepage (or ever again)? And why are admin accounts more vulnerable to those web sites than limited accounts? (I'm talking Windows XP.) And if you click install, and it says "Insert Windows XP Professional CD-ROM", but you never insert the CD, you only clicked install, is it too late? Oh man, I hope I'm not screwed. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 00:31, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

How do you stop it? Remove the trojan. How do you do that? Get a virus/malware remover program (anti-virus, anti-malware - whatever you want to call programs like McAfee and Norton) and hope that the program will completely remove the trojan. Why are admin accounts more vulnerable? Admins are allowed to install programs that limited accounts are not allowed to install. Some trojans need admin access to get deeply installing into the system. -- kainaw™ 00:50, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

It probably is acting through an add-on. Go to Tools --> Manage Add-ons, or Tools --> Internet Options --> Programs --> Manage Add-ons and check. Write down the name of the add-on and search the registry (Start --> Run... --> regedit) for the entry. Also check your C:\WINDOWS and C:\WINDOWS\system32 folder for new .dll files. I usually go into these folders and sort the contents by creation date. If you were infected two days ago, you'd get rid of files created in the last two days.

Of course, limited accounts cannot install many programs, so they are less vulnerable. I run Internet Explorer at a low privilege level using psexec. You could also log in as a regular user and use the fast-user switching feature to improve security.--Account created to post on Reference Desk (talk) 00:53, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Not stopping the trojan in terms of removing it, I have an anti-virus program taking care of that, I meant making sure the web site never appears ever again. I disabled every add-on and I put the internet restrictions to the highest settings, still nothing. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 01:15, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

First, add the site to your hosts file at C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc. As for your "anti-virus program," I would rely on your own two eyes instead of some automated program to clean your computer. It's obviously not very good if it hasn't fixed your browser issue. You're obviously still infected with a virus. Try searching your registry for the URL, too. Oh yeah, and any anti-virus programs you install after you are infected are often rendered useless by the virus.--Account created to post on Reference Desk (talk) 01:40, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Get Spybot and run it. If it still doesn't stop it from popping up, look in the advanced tools—there are ones that let you lock the IE start page and things like that. Additionally, you may want to consider switching to a less-vulnerable browser if possible. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 01:20, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

It asked to clean out hundreds of temporary files and now it tells me getting rid of them may violate some license agreements with some of the programs on my computer. How do I fix that? --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 01:54, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Clean out the temp files. You don't need them. Don't worry about the licensing agreement thing—any licensing agreement that deposits spyware on your machine is probably worth violating anyway. It's just a legal disclaimer—ignore it as you probably do others. --98.217.8.46 (talk) 02:19, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Ah, thanks. I have Windows Live OneCare as my main anti-virus tool, I wonder if Spybot will catch anything OneCare misses? --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 02:33, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

You could wait about 15 minutes and check. Or you could use Google and you'd discover that Live OneCare is one of the worst anti-virus programs on the market. Sorry, I know you were waiting for 98 to respond, but I couldn't help myself.--Account created to post on Reference Desk (talk) 02:55, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

So you want that website to never appear try this: go to Internet Options, click the privacy tab, click sites, enter the URL and hit block; IMPORTANT THIS ONLY BLOCKS COOKIES SO MAY NOT BE USEFUL AT ALL! But honestly once the virus is uninstalled you should be fine.Xor24 ^{talk to me} 02:55, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, but fortunately that annoying virus is gone. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 23:24, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

"Do this when there's time" in C#

Is it possible in C# to cause a block of code to be executed the next time the program would otherwise be idle or waiting for input, but not before then? NeonMerlin 03:15, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

When your application is idle or when the system is idle? If you want to perform a task when the application is idle, you can use the Application.Idle event. That fires every time the message queue becomes empty (which is quite often), so you probably want to have a timer that starts when the event is fired, and after 1 minute or so perform the actual task. If you want to perform a task when the system is idle, use the GetLastInputInfo API function (through a P/Invoke).

You probably want to get your task running on a separate thread, and either suspend it every time the application becomes active and resume it every time the application becomes idle, or have a flag that controls the execution somehow. --wj32 ^t/c 06:36, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

How does Google limit searches to a specific country?

When using a localised version of Google, you can choose to limit the search to pages from that country, eg. when using google.co.nz I can choose to see only pages from New Zealand. How does Google know the country of origin,? In the past (say two years ago) it was very good in picking both pages from the .nz domain and .com domain with relevant content. Lately it has becoming steadily worse with more US pages creeping into the first page, even with specific search terms. For example, searching "electorate predictions 2008 maungakiekie" brings up 3 US sites in the first page. Is it likely that website designers have become better at manipulating the page ranking system? BeamerNZ (talk) 07:00, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

I've heard people being advised against using overseas webhosting, as it won't show on google searches for "pages from the UK" (in the case of what I've heard - presumably same for NZ, or elsewhere) which would suggest they use Geolocation to see whether page. Might not be that though... Cheers, davidprior (talk) 21:44, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Google Calendar bug?

Signs: A notice in yellow highlight in the central upper region of the webpage "An error occured. Please try again later."

Steps to reproduce: Create an event in a calendar (lets call it C1) other than your main calendar (lets call it C). Edit the event to make it a repeat itself at least once a week. Set an end date for the event. Save it. Exit. Return to the calendar. Move the calendar from C1 to C. Exit. Move the calendar from C to C1. An error occurs in the last step.

Platform: Web-based, should be platform-agnostic. Intel-based Mac OS X 10.4.11, Firefox 3.0.3

Reproducible always: Yes/No/Not sure

Is it just me or has this happened to any of you too? Is it a bug? If yes, how can I report it? Am I expecting too much from Google Calendar? Kushal (talk) 11:07, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

NO takers? :( Kushal (talk) 16:25, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Please? Kushal (talk) 21:58, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Asus Eee USB fault

I got this Surf 2 GB Linux Eee PC that continually resets my ability to access USB devices. It displays a symbolic link instead of the usual shortcut to the device and says that I don't have permission to access the device. Right now my cyclic solution is to restore the OS to its factory default, but could there be a permanent solution or is this a terminal fault of the manufacture? -- Mentisock 12:02, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

turbo c++

how can we add graphics in turbo C++ to make a software? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.154.12.188 (talk) 13:45, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

I don't understand your question, and I suspect that the reason why you haven't received an answer is that no-one else has understood it. You haven't given enough information for us to figure out your level of knowledge, and exactly where you are stuck. Have you read the article Turbo C++? Do you know how to write a simple C++ program? Do you know the difference between a Hello world type of console application and an event-driven application? If you really want to use Turbo C++ for graphics, I remember it had something called the Borland Graphics Interface, which was used for graphics in DOS applications. But I doubt that you would want to program using that API today, it is obsolete. Please give some more information about your level of knowledge, and exactly what you are trying to achieve, and we will be happy to help. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 20:02, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

TI-83+ malfunctioning buttons

While I read a previous question posted about the TI-8x brand of calculators, it remind me of this. My cousin has a TI-83 Plus calculator, which he has been using for about 2 years now. However, about a month ago, an entire column of buttons stopped working correctly (it was the fourth column of buttons, containing Trace, vars, tan, ), 9, 6, 3, and (-)). Whenever pressing any of these buttons, only the negation symbol (-) would appear, not the corresponding one. So if someone pressed a tan button, the negation symbol would show up instead. Does anyone know why or how this could have happened, and possible fixes? The calculator is no longer under warranty, so any help is appreciated. Thanks! 141.153.214.30 (talk) 16:09, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

It's broke. I had the same thing happen to my TI84 Plus. The TI support people said so. Mine too was not under warranty so it would have cost less to buy another calculator than to fix it. 31306D696E6E69636B6D (talk) 14:33, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Windows registry shapshot and diff utility

I'm looking for a program that can take a snapshot of the Windows Xp registry, and at a later time compare the current contents of the registry with the snapshot, and export the changes in .REG format. Can anyone recommend such a utility? Thanks. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 17:26, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

It wouldn't be very efficient in terms of time or disk space, but you could just export the whole registry before and after and then run a standard tool like diff on the result (which should work fine even for the large output files). It wouldn't quite be a REG format file, but it wouldn't be very hard to turn it into one (include the appropriate header lines, strike the annotations that diff added). --Tardis (talk) 18:14, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. I had tried that, but windows fc was unable to synchronize the registry dumps. Tried again now, with gnu diffutils diff. The registry dump contains binary data, so I had to use the --text switch. The resulting output appears to be in unicode, and removing the annotations will be very tedious as the output file from diff is large. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 16:30, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Hm, that's true. It's probably easy enough to write this from scratch, though, since the regedit format is so simple and we can assume the two files to visit the keys in the same order. Give me a bit and I'll have you a Python script. (In the event that you're an Emacs user, it might even be easier in Elisp, so let me know.) --Tardis (talk) 07:11, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Wow, thanks!! I'm not an emacs user (did use it in a previous life, but the keyboard bindings are now long forgotten). --NorwegianBlue ^talk 09:46, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

See User:Tardis/regdiff.py. I vouch for its lack of malice, but not its correctness. (And anyone can edit that page!) --Tardis (talk) 10:56, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Reply on Tardis' talk page. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 19:59, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

I googled "registry diff", "reg difff" and "regdiff" and looked at the first 1/2 doz results for each - only free tool I found within this was regdiff [1] . Hope this helps, davidprior (talk) 21:38, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. The site definitely looks legit, but I'm hesitant about installing an executable from a small website which has few in-going links from external pages. I've tried compiling the program from the source provided, but it appears to depend on a library (gtools) which is available from the same website, but only as an .exe. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 16:30, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

I've sent an email to Gerson Kurz, the author of regdiff, about this thread and the lack of complete sources to regdiff. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 20:43, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

No reply so far, but googling the author's name gives many more links than googling ingoing links to his website, and indicates that there is little reason for concern. --NorwegianBlue ^talk 23:57, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Remove my personal information from google search results

A Google of my name results in many "private" messages to genealogy lists. Some include my e-mail, mailing address, etc.

Is it possible to erase these messages or unlink them from my name? If so, do I send the request to delete to Google?71.142.83.236 (talk) 19:03, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Slim chance as it is pointing to other web pages with content. Have you checked other search engines too like http://cuil.com ? You will have to arange removal from original web pages. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 21:15, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

You can request removal of posts in Google Groups, which contains a lot of content that originated on usenet. I can't access the page right now, but it should be searchable. --LarryMac | Talk 21:55, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Hm, I think I know you... --grawity 12:16, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

dos games on xp

How can we play dos games with windows xp operating system on dua core processor copmuter .e.g I want to play "prince of persia 2" or " gods". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.154.75.177 (talk) 19:46, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Try DOSBox. --140.247.242.66 (talk) 20:07, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

I have got dosbox from internet,but I know nothing obout it .I have read about it ,but I do not know what is meant by "mount" also I do not know where to write"mount C D:\GAMES" .plz help me —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.154.71.251 (talk) 14:32, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

You may also want to try DFend or DFender (I can't remember which) which is a system that works with DOSBox, and has a mounting wizard built in. I never got on with DOSBox, so this really helped -- WORMMЯOW  13:54, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

What is a corrupt list and how do I prevent it from happening again?

My computer kept turning itself off yesterday and displaying an error message on a blue background that said it was protecting itself.

It took a lot of time talking to HP tech support to get the problem solved. The first person didn't realize how serious the problem was because it took a while for it to happen again, and I had decided the problem was resolved, so I said it was and we ended our phone call. But the second person knew it was serious because I kept having the problem again and again.

The one error message I saw that seemed to explain what was happening said something about a corrupt list. This makes sense because nothing specific I did made the problem happen. One theory I have is every time I went to a site, the computer would add that site to a list and once the list got too long it cut off.

The problem was finally solved with a system restart or whatever he called it, to bring the computer back to where it was the last time it worked. When the computer was turned on I had four choices and one was F11. Normally, I let the computer skip over those. Each time it came back after restarting, it would say Windows didn't shut down correctly and I was given choices, including safe mode, which I tried once. One time I was given a choice which involved repairing.

I was told to use the start button, but that kept disappearing when the computer would turn off. I came up with the F11 idea because in college the mainframe used to go down and we would have what was called "recovery files" in some cases when it came back. I chose to roll back to October 31, since HP, Norton and Windows had sent me lots of updates I didn't want to lose.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:38, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Do you mean you got BSODs? What is the exact error message? There aren't any "list" errors at [2]. --wj32 ^t/c 22:44, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

What version of Windows are you using? "System restart" sounds like system restore to me. Rilak (talk) 06:51, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

I saved a list of information about the computer, but I don't want to put it all on here.

OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium Version 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001 Other OS Description Not Available OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation System Name System Manufacturer HP-Pavilion System Model KT369AA-ABA a6512p System Type x64-based PC

Was that enough?

Yes, I meant system restore.

[3] does look very much like the error message I got. Is there someplace where error messages I have gotten are stored? I didn't write anything down because it was all too complicated.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 19:39, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

The Event Viewer should have something. Rilak (talk) 08:43, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks. It's Windows Event Log for me, apparently. I'm not on my computer today.

One more thing. The PRN_List_Corrupt (that's how I remember it) message only appeared once, but that was the closest thing I ever saw to a cause of the problem. I only remember that it was something like that, and that I told the man on the phone as soon as I saw it.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 20:28, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

For some reason I can't find any info on "PRN_LIST_CORRUPT" and I have never seen one myself. What did HP tech support say? Rilak (talk) 05:56, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

I don't recall. I'm not even sure I got that right. I had a hard time explaining the second part was a word and not a letter. The man was Asian. Anyway, the problem was solved with system restore and I haven't had anything go wrong since.

And I'm still not on my computer yet.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 16:47, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

I'm back on my computer.

I have backed up what was on the computer on a DVD. Some of the help I got last week made it possible for me to do that without the computer automatically telling me to, which it did when I didn't have a DVD. It hasn't since, so I had to find the information.

I don't see the Windows Event Log.Vchimpanzee · talk · contributions · 21:03, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Unless it was causing more problems, I wouldn't bother tracking down the cause. Windows breaks sometimes and its easier to do a system restore or a reinstall than to find the cause and fix it, as the cause often requires a reinstall anyway. If you want a bit of reassurance, preventative maintenance such as checking the hard drive for problems (the hard drives properties should have options for that), checking the memory for faults (rarely required, use memtest86, scanning for viruses and other malware and frequent backups of your files should suffice. Rilak (talk) 11:24, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

WM6 and different data connections

Hi all,

I have a Windows Mobile 6 (Pro)-based PDA with WiFi and GPRS. Now, every time I am connected to WiFi, apps that want internet try to open a GPRS connection, so I have to switch manually to "My ISP" in Settings>Connections>Connections>Advanced. When I disconnect from the WLAN, then programs are again not cabaple to connect to the internet, and I again manually have to specify "E-Plus Web". Can I have WM6 doing this automatically, preferring WLAN?

Thanks, HardDisk (talk) 22:03, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

A quick thing to rule out... For each connection, you can set what network it connects to (normally "work" or "internet" - sometimes more too) so Windows Mobile knows to use this connection when trying to reach this network. Is the WiFi connection set as connects to internet? (and out of interest, whats the GPRS set as connects to?) Cheers, davidprior (talk) 22:12, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Where can I see this? I can only see some ethernet adapters when in the advanced section of the Wireless settings. HardDisk (talk) 22:18, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Oh. Now I fucked up something. I went into the program to reload the E-Plus settings. Now, even if the "Set connection apps should use to connect to internet" is set to My ISP, MSN/IE say "Can't connect to the Internet", though I am connected to Wifi :/ Internet via GPRS only also doesn't work anymore. HardDisk (talk) 22:22, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Hope this wasn't 'cos of duff advice... Can't remember how to get in to this setting. My own device is a WM5 smartphone (have various other windows mobile devices at work so could hopefully take a peek on break 2moro) - I go into settings ( \windows\settings.exe) - then the option can be found under Connections->(appropriate connection)->Connects to . Like I say, I dunno if its the same in your version of Windows mobile. Hope this helps (and let me know if you've unkilled your device), davidprior (talk) 22:37, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Okay, unfucked at least the GPRS part by simply again loading the E-Plus Web data. WLAN still connects, but MSN/IE/other apps still want to connect to GPRS, not use WLAN. Now gonna make you some screenshots because apparently Mio baaadly restructured this stuff and the option you (and various google hits) tell is not there :/ HardDisk (talk) 22:42, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

here for the approach via settings-connections, and here the app with the adapter list. all pix are in chronological order. thank you!HardDisk (talk) 22:48, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

Well, it looks like they're set as connect to internet, so that's that cause ruled out. I've thought some more about this, and I think I've had a device auto-select between 2 WLANs, but not between a WLAN and GPRS/etc. So, that's me hit my limit on this one - dunno if anyone else has any ideas. Cheers, davidprior (talk) 21:53, 8 November 2008 (UTC)