I recently bought a Sandisk cruzer micro 4GB USB stick and of course it comes with that U3 crapola preloaded on it.

Formatting the stick does not get rid of it entirely.  If you click (in Windows XP) Start then Run then type COMPMGMT.MSC, click OK, then click Disk  Management from the window that appears, you’ll notice there are two partitions on the stick, one of which is a CDFS system labeled "U3 System".

Try as you might, there’s no way to get rid of it from there.

There are two ways to get rid of this stupid thing to reclaim the space.

First method: Load the stick in Linux and use your partition software o’ choice (like GParted) to remove it.

Second method: Use the U3 uninstaller program for Windows. Just click the "Remove U3" link there to download the program, then run it to completely format the stick to reclaim all the space back.

There are utilities like the freeware CCleaner software that can easily let you list and modify auto-run programs from the Windows XP system registry like this:

Above: In CCleaner, click Tools (large icon on left) then Startup (white button in middle column) to see this list.

However if you’re the type that would rather do this the "old fashioned way", you can get to this information and get the same editing ability by using the tried-and-true registry editor.

You can get to the registry editor in one of two ways.

1. Click Start / Run / type regedit / click OK.
2. Right click on a blank area of the desktop, click New from the context menu that appears, click Shortcut, type regedit in the dialog box that appears (no need to click Browse), click Next, click Finish. This will place a regedit icon on your desktop that you can double-click to launch the Registry Editor.

Inside the registry editor you have to expand some folders – in a specific order – to get to the "run" list.

The order is as follows:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• SOFTWARE
• Microsoft
• Windows
• CurrentVersion
• Run

It should look something like this when you’re done:

From here you have the same modify/delete ability as you do with CCleaner, except using the built-in registry editor instead.

IMPORANT NOTE: Messing around with the Windows registry can seriously screw up your Windows installation if done wrong.

It is highly suggested to BACKUP your registry first. This is done easily via the registry editor by simply clicking File then Export. Do this before making any registry changes. Make sure when exporting your "Export Range" is ticked as "All".

Like this (see bottom left):

Didn’t find what you were looking for in Run?

Maybe it’s not there. Maybe it’s in the Start menu’s "Startup" folder instead.

Click Start, All Programs, Startup and check that menu. You can remove any menu entry there by simply right-clicking on it and left-clicking Delete.

If you delete something on a goof, don’t worry because it’s in the Recycle Bin where you can put it back in case you make a mistake.

Just remember there is no Recycle Bin ability with the registry editor. Your only means of restoring something you deleted is by importing a .reg file you exported as explained above.

MSFeedSync.exe is an executable file used by the Windows Internet Explorer 7 web browser to periodically update in-browser RSS feeds. It only appears in the Windows Task Manager if IE7 is running. In addition it only appears from time to time and isn’t in "always on" state.

If you use the IE7 feature to read feeds in-browser, you need this enabled in order for it to work. However if you use another feed reader (such as Google Reader, Bloglines, RSS Bandit, FeedDemon, Thunderbird, etc.) you can safely disable this.

To disable:

1. Go to Control Panel.

2. Double-click Internet Options.

3. Click Content tab.

4. Click the Settings button under Feeds. See image below for example.

5. Uncheck Automatically check feeds for updates. See below for example.

That’s it. Click OK a few times to exit.

Admittedly this information is old, however I had to reinstall XP on a laptop recently and after updating it with SP3 and whatever other patch/fix I needed to install, the Language Bar appeared in the taskbar.

It’s a safe assumption to say the vast majority of Windows users have absolutely no use for this – myself included. So here’s how to get rid of it.

Go to the Control Panel.

Click the Regional and Language Options icon.

Click the Languages tab. You see this:

Click the Details button.

You see this:

Click the Language Bar button at the bottom.

You see this:

Uncheck Show the Language bar on the desktop.

And that’s it.

Street Views in Google Maps has caused controversy since the day it was introduced. In all honesty it freaks a lot of people out and rightly so. Do you want people looking up your driveway? Of course you don’t. But it’s here, been here and will probably stay here unless your town bans it (which has happened).

The two "worst" states that have the Eye of Google upon them are Florida and California. These two places appear to have the most coverage compared to the rest of Google Maps in the United States portion of the North American continent.

Here’s a Google Map showing this (as well as most of the rest of the USA):

The pecking order goes from south to north with very heavy concentration on metropolitan areas. Going from east to west, more concentration is placed on the east.

Concerning Florida in particular, this is what I have to report. (This is a small indicator of what will happen as more coverage appears in other states):

It is nothing short of shocking how fast Google is putting in Street Views data into the system concerning the Sunshine State. Almost all of Tampa Bay is covered at this point as well as pretty much all the other major metros such as Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Miami and even the keys on the southernmost point.

The good: You can sightsee all the major hot spots in FL easily.

The bad: It also includes all the residential roads. Being that most homes in these areas aren’t set back on the properties, everything is in plain view for anyone who wants to look.

As anyone who has used Google Maps with Street Views knows, yes, you can get photos of someone’s porch all too easily.

My recommendation to anyone who owns a home that is not set back on the property is to periodically check Google Maps to see if your home is in plain sight on the internet. If it is, report it to Google and request it removed.

How to request an image to be removed from Google Maps Street Views:

1. Go to Google Maps and load up your address.
2. Pick the Street View option so the Street View image appears.
3. In the "speech bubble" for the image, click Street View Help.
4. Click Report inappropriate image.

Follow the dots from there.

Over at UbuntuGeek.com they’ve just released an article that instructs how to remove Compiz Fusion including all the config files.

Ubuntu users who read this will most likely ask the following two questions.

1. Why? Compiz is awesome!
2. What advantage does removing the config files do in addition to removing it?

In answer to 1:

Yes, Compiz is awesome. It showcases how X completely destroys both Windows and OS X as far as a future-thinking desktop environment can be. And seriously speaking, yeah, it is that good.

However, it makes Ubuntu heavy on system resource use. While a 3D-accelerated desktop is cool it does slow the system down (especially if you have an older computer.)

Few would disagree that the X desktop (whether GNOME or KDE) does in fact run faster with Compiz off. And if you don’t use it you might as well ditch it entirely.

In answer to 2:

If you change hardware (video card, monitor, etc.,) this would be a reason to dump all the config files and start fresh. This is par for the course on just about all OSes out there. If you have software that is expecting certain hardware then change that hardware, having the software start “from scratch” is advisable.

[Source: Ubuntu Geek]

Now that you have been introduced to some of the spyware tools that are available, there is a general procedure of attack to rid your system of that pesky software.

First, identify any odd-ball applications listed in Control Panel > Add/Remove programs. You will need to be online to remove certain spyware applications because they require you to go to their website’s uninstall interface. Read carefully! They try to trick users by using odd wording to keep the spyware installed. For example, it could say, “Are you sure you don’t want to uninstall our software? Click yes or no.” In this case, the answer is “No”. Those double negatives can be confusing.

Uninstalling spyware with provided uninstallers saves a lot of hassle later down the road, however, the downside is that some of these uninstallers need an active net connection for the uninstaller to work. Either way, uninstalling everything you can as a first step saves hours of headaches if you do not want to reformat and reinstall the Operating System.

If you simply allow a spyware scanner to try to remove these strains of spyware that appear in “Add/Remove Programs”, you will be left with bits and pieces on the hard drive and in various places in the registry. These left over pieces will have to be removed manually because they are no longer being detected as threats, but may still be reappearing, recreating themselves, and causing problems. So, make sure you uninstall items that are listed here, plus any additional packages that looks suspicious:

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

The two most common and most used spyware tools, Lavasoft’s Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy have been cleaning infected systems for a few years now. Both still come highly recommended for your spyware combat arsenal.

However, an interesting factor has cropped up recently where Lavasoft has removed a large well-known adware vendor called WhenU from their definitions database. That means any utilities produced by the WhenU vendor will be ignored by Adaware scans. This is a very disappointing move for Lavasoft to make. Pest Patrol and Aluria have also failed to include WhenU’s set of pests in their databases. Lavasoft’s response to its removal was that WhenU software was no longer a threat. Many spyware experts strongly disagree. There are other cases of known adware/spyware vendors going after the creators of spyware removal software, which can be found under this list of litigations pursued by spyware vendors when their software was included in various removal utilities.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

Tightening up system security, keeping up to date with security patches, and engaging in safe Internet usage are the three main ways to prevent spyware from entering your computer system. Many of these techniques rely on each other to maintain overall good system security. Don’t rely on just one or two. Use most, if not all, of these techniques. You will end up with a much healthier computer.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

Much of the time, spyware relies on persuading unaware or credulous users to download and install it by offering some kind of seemingly enticing bait, such as a prize, free money, a free service, or a free service that’s “better” and supposedly gives you a leg up on widely known legitimate software or services. 99% of the time, you can assume that it will not help in any way.

Here is a list of known spyware applications and a list of known spyware creators/vendors . Check these lists if you run across a program you want to install, but don’t really know anything about its origins or appear on unprofessional websites. If the software does not appear in the product search, it is either too new, too obscure, or not a threat.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

There is a large set of problems that are usually attributed to spyware, but that doesn’t mean the effects of spyware are limited to the items described below. If you are experiencing any one of these, it may be a good idea to run some spyware scans.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

The single, all-encompassing term “spyware” is more or less a misnomer, for there are a number of different kinds of software that engage in data harvesting and come under the broad, umbrella-like term “spyware”. Spyware can be loosely associated with viruses; Trojans and Worms being the closest relative to viruses, but there is a fine line of difference. Viruses are typically self-replicating. They can copy themselves and spread from computer to computer through security holes and exploits, as well as relying on a user’s poor security habits to quietly slip in to an unguarded system. Spyware usually relies on a user’s ignorance and credulity to infect a system and does not engage in replication. So, in effect, the first and best form of prevention is awareness.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

Taken down to its simplest form and to be quite general, spyware is a software technology that assists in information gathering. The kind of information being gathered depends on how the spyware was written and what it was made to target. Once installed on a system, it can collect password data, bank and credit data, information on web surfing habits, email addresses, or just about anything else that you may consider a breach in privacy. This information is gathered from your computer and then relayed over the Internet to advertisers and any other interested parties, as allowed and directed by the piece of spyware. This definition, however, does not include or apply to all forms of software that fall under the heading of “spyware”.

The Internet can be a great place to visit and can contain a wealth of information that is made readily available at your fingertips, but like anyplace else, you must exhibit a certain degree of caution while making your way around. Wariness coupled with awareness can go a long way to help combat spyware.

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.

Anti-virus software mostly works the same way. It scans your hard drive for particular signatures that indicate a known computer virus that is contained in the virus definitions supplied by the company. If it finds a sign of a virus, it will typically offer to quarantine or delete the infected file. Quarantining the file will place it in a tightly controlled area by the anti-virus software so that it cannot infect the computer.

Anti-virus programs work best as a line of defense. In some instances, they can repair the damage after infection. In other cases, it cannot. So, what do you do if your computer is already infected by a computer virus?

Please Login or Register to read the rest of this article. Gold/Silver Membership required.