What if you have no anti-virus or anything installed? And say the virus wont allow for a normal boot, only safe mode.

Oh and the virus I believe is: brastk

I did some hunting around and from what I read there is a fairly simple way to remove the Brastk.exe virus even though it is very pesky.

1.)Boot up in to Safemode (hit F8 on booting and select safe mode)
2.)Search for the following four files… brastk.exe, delself.bat, ,dllcache\beep.sys ,\dllcache\figaro.sys and delete them.
3.)Open up Regedit in the run menu
4.)You now need to clean the registry of anything related. To do this, click on find and enter brastk and do a search, delete any values that show up with that name in. Repeat by pressing F3 until there are no records left with that name.
5.)Repeat again but this time looking for do-scan-progress.com in the registry. Delete all those entries.
6.)I’d recommend running a virus remover, spyware scanner and looking through the startup folder on your PC to see if any strange programs are set to load up.

Once done, reboot and see if the brastk virus has now gone.

There is also a tool to be found over on net-studio which you might want to try. I have not tried this tool and cannot vouch for it being authentic.

Sorry for missing that and happy searching

The general procedure to get rid of the Outlook error message is to go to c:\windows\system32\ and simply rename or delete mapi32.dll. What that process does is allows Outlook, when started, to recreate the file correctly. However, if you are running Windows Vista then you will possibly find that you do not have sufficient permissions to do so, even if you are an admin user on the PC.

To get around this problem you need to reboot your PC and press F8 right on the first boot up screen. After a few moments a menu will appear with options such as starting your PC in safe mode. Select the menu option to restore your PC (you will not actually need to restore anything and no damage will be done unless you do not follow these instruction).

After a few seconds you will be presented with a log in box. Enter your password (needs to be the username/password of an admin) and then a menu will appear. Click Open a Command Prompt Window.

Once opened you can use the command prompt just like you would in Windows. Use the following commands…

c:
cd\windows\system32
erase mapi32.dll
exit

Now reboot your PC, fire up Outlook and you should find it now works succesfully.

As always, please post any questions or comments below.

How Two Displays make you more Productive

When you run two displays on your PC you give yourself more screen real estate. In turn, this allows you to work quicker in your daily tasks. This is achieved by opening windows on each screen. Rather then having to maximise and minimise the various windows, you just keep the ones you want open on a second screen while working on a primary screen. Microsoft did research on a two display setup and found in all cases that productivity was increased a number of times.

Ways in which two displays could make you more productive is by using one screen for editing photos while the other screen shows the full image to see what the finished result looks like. Another way would be to have emails opened on the second screen so you can keep an eye on emails coming in. The next way could be to have Excel opened on 1 monitor while you type on Word on another screen.

You are not limited to just two displays

The beauty of Windows is that you are not restricted to one or two screens. You can have many screens connected. If you have the right graphics card(s) which support multiple monitors you can connect three, four, five or more screens to your computer giving you virtually unlimited screen space to work with.

How to attach a second display

A number of graphics cards have dual outputs on the back. If yours is one of them then you just need to connect a second monitor to your graphics card and then enable it in the Display Properties window. Once enabled you are able to drag the monitors around to their physical locations so that when you slide a window from one screen to another the motion is seamless.

More information can be found over at Microsoft.

The csrss.exe process should NOT be stopped as it is critical to the running of any Windows operating system. If you are unsure of the file you see running then we recommend running a virus scan to check that all is ok. Disabling this process will result, in most circumstances, of a blue screen of death (BSOD).

Where to find Notebook Driver Downloads

There is one essential driver that really speeds up this process of finding a lost laptop driver. If your network card driver is automatically installed then finding the rest of the drivers is easy. The best way I have found to find drivers for your laptop is by searching in google for “your notebook name driver downloads”. In my case I would load up google and search for….. compaq presario v4000 driver downloads. When doing this I see the number 1 result shows a HP website (which HP own Compaq) and when clicking on this first link I am taken to the download page where I just need to click on my operating system and then select the drivers I need to download. As laptop models are generally the same config it is a simple process of downloading the drivers as 99.9% you will be getting the correct notebook driver download.

What if the Network Card is not working?

A problem arises if your network card does not have a driver when Windows installs as you struggle to get on the internet and are stuck with how to download laptop drivers. There are two options here. First, you can hunt through your laptop box and see if you have any old driver CD’s. If you do then pop the CD in the drive and see if you can install the drivers. If you have lost that driver CD then it’s best to do a search on Google for the drivers for your specific model of laptop. You can then copy the drivers to a flash drive or burn them to CD and install. Once the network card is installed then you can again download direct to your laptop the correct drivers.

If you are having problems with drivers on your laptop then drop us a comment below and we can point you in the right direction.

Where is DrvMon.exe Located

DrvMon.exe should be located at c:\windows\system32\DrvMon.exe. If you find an instance of this program running from another folder then we advise that a virus scan is needed to make sure you are clear of a virus.

Should I remove DrvMon.exe

If DrvMon.exe is causing problems then I recommend upgrading the drivers rather then removing the software as removing the drivers could make your memory card reader unusable. If you are struggling to find drivers for your card reader then drop a comment with the make and model of your computer and we will hunt them down for you.

PST File Limit for IMAP4 and HTTP

If you thought Microsoft could keep things simple then carry on reading as the 2GB limit (Outlook 2002 and below) and 20GB limit (Outlook 2003 and above) is not actually set in stone. If you are using Outlook 2003 with either IMAP4 or HTTP to check your emails then these protocols use .pst files which do not use the Unicode file format, thus the limit is restricted to 2GB again. However, Outlook 2007 using IMAP4 and HTTP the .pst file can be still set to Unicode and a 20GB limit.

Break down of Outlook PST File Limits

Outlook 2000 -> PST files are ANSI format with a 2GB limit.
Outlook 2002 -> PST files are ANSI format with a 2GB limit.
Outlook 2003 -> PST files are Unicode with a 20GB limit unless using IMAP4 or HTTP where the .pst file needs to be written in ANSI with a 2GB limit.
Outlook 2007 -> PST files are Unicode with a 20GB limit for all protocols.

What if I have a PST over 2GB?

If you are using ANSI on an older version out Outlook and you hit the 2GB limit then you could be in for a bumpy ride trying to repair the outlook file. Once Outlook fills that 2GB the software has no way to reduce the size of the PST. However, Microsoft have a tool which can help truncate the file back to an appropriate size although data will go missing in this process as the PST recovery software reduces the file back to 2GB minus about 25 to 50MB to allow you to work with it again. The PST recovery program can be found here.

How to email Videos

As mentioned earlier, video from your digital camera can run up huge file sizes which are not capable of being emailed in most circumstances. The good news is that if you run Windows XP with at least service pack 2 then you have the ability to compress your videos down making them a more manageable size and capable of being emailed. The free software you can use to do this is called Windows Movie Maker which can be found in your Accessories menu. To compress video ready for emailing follow the instructions below.

1.)Copy the videos to a folder on your PC from your camera
2.)Load up Windows Movie Maker found at Start > All Programs > Accessories
3.)Click Import Video which can be found on the main screen under the Capture Video heading
4.)Select the video(s) that you want to import. If you are feeling a tad creative then feel free to upload several videos to make one longer video to send
5.)Once imported, various slides will be captured and displayed in the middle of the screen. You can use this window to drag and drop the slides in to the Timeline at the bottom of the screen to make up your video. You also have the choice here of choosing various transitions between videos.
6.)If you just want to send the one video with no special effects then just select all frame and drag them all to the bottom in to the Timeline.
7.)Once processed you can then select the save to my computer option in the Finish Movie menu.
8.)When you have selected the option in step 7 you are presented with two form fields to fill in. The top is the name of the file while the second box is the location of the file. Fill in these boxes and click next.
9.)You will now see several options. Select the option which says “Other Settings”. Once selected you have a drop down box containing a number of various options. To email video I would recommend using the Video for ISDN or Video for Dial-up access options. The reason for this is that it is capable of shrinking a 90 meg file to less then 20 meg.
10.)Click Next and the compression will start which can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes or hours depending on the speed of your PC and size of the file.

Of course, this all might seem long winded to just email video to someone. There is another option which we will now discuss which will allow you to upload videos to a web service such as youtube.

Upload Video Clips

Rather then email your video there are services available which allow you to upload video clips and in some cases these services are free. Lets take a look at how you can upload a youtube video for others to see.

If using Youtube (which is a free service), your video is limited to 10 minutes and 1024 MB which is generally sufficient for most home videos. Youtube mentions on their upload page that “Uploads usually take 1-5 minutes per MB on a high-speed connection, and converting your video takes a few minutes.”

Before we begin the steps here it is important to know that video uploaded to Youtube is public and can be viewed by anybody with an internet connection unless you specify the privacy options which will allow you to invite up to 25 friends to have access to the videos. To do this, your friends will also need a free Youtube account.

1.)Visit youtube.com
2.)Click the Sign Up link at the top of the page and fill in the details to create your free youtube account. Once all the steps are followed you will then need to log in to your account.
3.)Click the yellow upload button towards the top right of the page.
4.)Fill in the form which includes details about what you are uploading and the category it will fall under.
5.)Select Browse and then select the video file you want to upload on your computer and click Upload Video.
6.)Once uploaded you will be presented with options which allow you to make the video private.
7.)When this is complete you can then email the web address to your users so they can view your videos.

email Video Conclusion

Email can be a little fragile from time to time and especially so with larger files. If compression with Windows Movie Maker doesn’t work well for you then Youtube is a great way of sharing videos with friends.

What is a Firewall?

First off I want to cover what a firewall actually is and what it does. A firewall is a device which is either hardware based (separate to your PC) or software based (runs on your PC) and controls the flow of traffic between the internet and your PC. Everybody should really be running a firewall, either software or hardware, as your computer is connected to the internet which basically gives anybody the potential access they need to cause harm.

Hardware based firewalls sit in between your ISP’s modem that they provide you and your PC. As internet traffic comes through the firewall, a rule based system can determine if the traffic is good or bad and act appropriately. Traffic on the “outside” is unsafe while traffic on the “inside” has been filtered and is safe. What this does is protects your PC so that only the clean and safe traffic reaches you (which is just web pages you are browsing, emails etc…).

A software based firewall sits on your PC and as the unclean traffic arrives at your PC it is cleaned.

How do you know if you can disable the Windows Firewall?

If you connect to the internet through a router (wireless or wired) and it translates your IP address with a NAT then you do not need a software based firewall to be active. The majority of home routers such as D-Link or Netgear are NAT based and you are secure.

Firewall Recommendations

What I recommend for security on the internet is that while at home on a secured wireless network, it is fine to disable the Windows Firewall. However, if you are on someone elses wireless network, out in public on a public internet connection or similar then it is best to activate the firewall so that you can continue to be secure.