Site Offers Advice to Cleanup Registry “Junk“ In Order to Keep Computers Running in Tip-Top Shape

Sioux City, SD – Users who want a PC that doesn’t eventually run at a snail’s pace should cleanup registry junk (like corrupted and out-of-date files) on a regular basis. Those who don’t, run a risk of errors such as computer crashes and the blue screen of death say the experts at optimize-your-pc.com.
While relatively unknown at one time, the Windows registry is becoming a word in the vocabulary of more and more Windows users.
Directory clutter and damaged .dll files can make even a relatively new, high-powered computer run slowly. In the past, most users have had to resort to re-installing Windows in order to get the system functioning like new again (in fact, Microsoft used to recommend periodic re-installs of Windows).
Slow PC function isn’t the only danger from not running a regular registry cleanup, however. A registry damaged by malicious programs such as viruses, Trojans, rootkits and adware can keep causing problems long after the malware has been removed.
The Windows registry stores every executable file that runs on the computer. It stores all system’s .DLL (direct linking library) files as well. These kinds of files are what make a computer program get up and go
In more practical terms, it makes sure that a word processor’s files interact with the screen and keyboard, the MP3 player’s files link directly to speakers and music library, etc.
Without the registry, these programs would eat up a lot more computer time than they do. Programs would have to search the entire computer every time they ran or performed a new function. Computers would be limited to running a handful of programs at a very slow speed without a registry.
Through no fault of the owner, a computer’s registry can become cluttered over time. It is important to occasionally cleanup registry junk to avoid a slow running PC.
Even worse, some malicious programs may actually damage the directory when they put their files into it. These types of problems may eventually lead up to computer freezes and major problems like The Blue Screen of Death.
In the past, computer owners were often forced to go to a PC repair shop whenever their computer crashed. PC technicians would often hand-clean the registry. This put the computer out of action and usually cost a lot of money–often half the original price of the computer or more!
Nowadays, computer owners can empower themselves by taking things into their own hands with a good solid registry cleaner. Registry cleaners usually cost less than an hour of a PC technician’s time, plus owners don’t have to give up their computers for any amount of time.
Interested parties who want to learn how to cleanup registry junk and keep their computers in optimal health may visit http://optimize-your-pc.com.

Source: WEBWIRE

Essex Man Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Attempting to Erase Computer Files in a Child Pornography Investigation

BALTIMORE, MD—U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced James A. Vilkas, age 26, of Essex, Maryland, today to three years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for seeking to obstruct a federal child pornography investigation by erasing images from his computer, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Blake ordered that the federal sentence be served consecutive to the sentence Vilkas received last December on related state charges of 10 years in prison, with all but three years suspended.

According to Vilkas’ guilty plea, on January 26, 2008, a woman advised the Baltimore County Police that she believed her 14-year-old daughter had met an adult male, only known to her as “Jimmy,” on the Internet social networking website MySpace.com. The woman provided “Jimmy’s” cell phone number to the officer. Baltimore County officers contacted “Jimmy,” who was James Anthony Vilkas, and asked him to come in for an interview the next day. During the interview on January 27, 2008, Vilkas admitted to meeting the girl on MySpace.com and that he continued to contact her via e-mail and cell phone, even after she advised him that she was 14 years old. Vilkas told the officers that he invited the minor female to his house on January 26, 2008 and that they engaged in sexual activity.

At a second interview conducted with Vilkas on January 28, 2008, Vilkas admitted that he asked the minor female to send him sexually explicit pictures via e-mail, which she did. A search warrant was executed at Vilkas’ home that same day. Upon entering the bedroom belonging to Vilkas, officers saw that a program designed to erase data from the computer was running on the computer. The program was immediately stopped in an attempt to preserve evidence. Vilkas’ computers were seized and submitted for forensic examination pursuant to a federal search warrant. One of the files located on the desktop computer is a log of an Internet chat occurring on January 27, 2008, between James Vilkas, and “Coren.” In the chat, Vilkas requested assistance from “Coren” in erasing his computer hard drive.

Vilkas used computer software from January 27 through January 28, 2008 to erase the pictures sent to him by the 14-year-old minor female so that they would not be discovered by law enforcement authorities.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. Details about Maryland’s program are available at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Safe-Childhood/index.html.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger for their work in this investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bonnie S. Greenberg who prosecuted the case.

Source: FBI

Computer and Video Games Top Holiday Shopping and Wish Lists

New Poll Shows 42 Percent Plan to Give or Hope to Receive a Game This Year
WASHINGTON, DC – Forty-two percent of American adults plan to give or hope to receive a computer or video game this holiday season, according to a new report released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The poll, conducted by KRC Research, also found that 52 percent of respondents believe that with the current economy, video games are a good option for family entertainment this holiday season.
Computer and video games are topping holiday lists because they provide a superior entertainment value for the whole family said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, the trade association representing U.S. computer and video game publishers. With 68 percent of American households playing computer and video games, U.S. consumers value the creative and innovative products the entertainment software industry produces and are seeking them out for themselves and to give as gifts.”
The number of adults who plan to give or hope to receive at least one computer or video game this holiday season increased nine percentage points from 2007, representing the highest number since 2004. Additionally, the research showed yet again that both men and women enjoy computer and video games. Forty-seven percent of respondents identified women as an intended gift recipient, a 31 percent increase from 2007.
Holiday shoppers continue to choose computer and video games because they provide the gift of family entertainment at a great value. The survey showed that 54 percent of those who play computer and video games plan to play with a friend or family member during the holiday season. For about the cost for a family of four to go to a movie, a gift giver can find the perfect game that will amuse children and adults during the holidays and beyond. By using the tools provided by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) shoppers can choose games that are appropriate for their families.
The national telephone poll, conducted for the ESA by KRC Research, surveyed 1,001 U.S. adults, between November 4 and 8, 2009.
The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet. The ESA offers services to interactive entertainment software publishers including a global anti-piracy program, owning the E3 Expo, business and consumer research, federal and state government relations, First Amendment and intellectual property protection efforts. For more information, please visit www.theESA.com.

Source: WEBWIRE

The Nokia N900 shipments have started

The Nokia N900 shipments have started

Espoo, Finland – The shipments of the Nokia N900, Nokia’s latest mobile computer based on open source Maemo 5 software, have now started. The Nokia N900 will be available in retail stores in November with an estimated retail price of EUR 500, excluding sales taxes and subsidies.

The Nokia N900 has generated a lot of interest since its public launch in August, which has been reflected in the device preorders says José-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nseries, Nokia. What’s exciting is the Maemo software, which takes its cues from the desktop computer and offers a full browsing experience like no other handset. We believe the Nokia N900 will be a very compelling device for people who are passionate about technology

At the heart of the Nokia N900 is its powerful ARM Cortex-A8 processor and up to 1GB of total application memory. Users can browse the internet the way they would on any computer and keep dozens of application windows open simultaneously on the dashboard. The panoramic desktops in the Nokia N900 can be personalized with widgets, contacts and shortcuts. Pictures and videos taken with the 5Mpx Carl Zeiss camera automatically show where they were taken, and users can add their own description tags to make searching the photos even easier. SMS and instant messages are organized as chat flow and people can convenienty switch between the multiple conversation windows. The built-in 32 GB storage is big enough to store up to 7,000 songs or 40 hours of DVD-quality video, and it can be expanded up to 48GB with an external microSD card.

Nokia works closely with the developer community and has recently seen significant innovation happening with Maemo. As a result, people will be able to discover a wide range of games, utilities, themes, panoramic wallpapers and service plug-ins for photo-sharing and messaging for the Nokia N900 through Ovi Store and Maemo Select, starting later in the year. In October Nokia announced official Qt port to Maemo 5. This means developers can use Qt software to target the Nokia N900 and that applications can be easily ported to all Qt’s supported platforms including the next Maemo 6 release as well as Symbian.

The Nokia N900 will initially be available in Europe, Middle-East, Russia and North America. It is also possible to order the device from the Nokia Online Store: http://europe.nokia.com/buy-online

Source: WEBWIRE