Monday, July 9, 2007

What Is COM And How It's Related To Registry Cleaner

What exactly does COM mean? What does it stand for and what does it do? COM in this article means Component Object Model and it is a Microsoft software architecture that can be called up to perform certain functions during the course of running a program or application as it is called in the Windows environment.

COM is an acronym for Component Object Model. This is a software architecture developed by Microsoft Corporation and is used to define a certain structure used to build program routines, known as 'objects' that can be called up for execution in a windows based environment. COM was first built into Windows 95 and Windows NT.4.0. many parts of Windows operating system and some applications developed by Microsoft's developers have built in COM objects. Com Objects are stored in the registry of a system and are one of the things that need to be cleaned with registry cleaner.

So What Exactly Does COM Do?

Com is that part of a program that provides an interface between objects. A counterpart DCOM or Distributed COM allows the objects to run remotely. COM is implemented in different ways. Objects can be large small or medium and are written in different programming languages to perform any kind of processing of a file or code. Programs call on objects whenever the program needs the services of the object and the Common Object Model acts as the interface between the program and the object. COM will link common objects to different programs that need them. That is why even though the program may be uninstalled the common object will not be removed. This fills up the registry and slows down a PC. A computer registry cleaner will remove all unwanted entries from a registry and speed up the system.

COM and ActiveX

ActiveX controls can call up COM objects called 'controls'. These 'controls' just blend into the program and become part of the program when called up by COM. OLE also uses COM services in the windows environment. Standard applications, such as word processors and spreadsheets, can be written to expose their internal functions as COM objects, allowing them to be "automated" instead of manually selected from a menu. Microsoft's OLE compound documents are based on COM, which lets one document be embedded within or linked to another (see OLE). ActiveX Documents are extensions to OLE that allow a Web browser, for example, to view not only Web pages, but any kind of document.

Microsoft Corporation is increasingly making its standard programming interfaces conform to the COM object model so that there is continuity between all interfaces in the Windows working environment. In the beginning Microsoft Corporation decided to use the term ‘OLE’ to refer to its COM-based architecture, then later decided to drop that designation in favor of ActiveX. Now since both OLE and ActiveX are based on COM, the term COM is also used. As a result, any combination of the words COM, OLE and ActiveX followed by the words control, object and component may mean the same thing, or they may not, depending on the context they are referred to.

So in the end we are given to understand that Common Object Model is ActiveX and vice versa in relation to the environment they are working in. All this automatic activity only feeds the registry with information it may not have to retain. But there is no way to rid the registry of this data except with the help of a windows registry cleaner. A PC registry cleaner will remover from the registry all unwanted information thus making the system more efficient.

What Is CLASS ID?

ActiveX controls are reusable software components that are used to add special functions to web sites or desktop applications. Browsers use the 'CLASSID' of the ActiveX Control on a web page to determine if the control already exists on the system. If they do not they are automatically downloaded from the website.

Before you go ahead and download a registry cleaner understand why it is necessary. As a web page loads on your system, you may be prompted to install several ActiveX components before the page can be fully downloaded. This is so that the browser can interpret the ActiveX components and display them properly on the system. This only would only occur if the controls used in the web page were not already on the system. If you decline permission for the installation, the page will not function properly. However, once these ActiveX controls are on your system, you won't have to download them again, even when you come across them on other web sites. These download clutter up the registry over time and need to be removed with the help of some registry shareware cleaner.

Other ID Tags


So how can the web page determine that the required ActiveX controls are not installed on the system or not? The browser does this by referring to the 'CLASSID' in the 'OBJECT' tag of the web page. To cut a long explanation short, an ActiveX control is added to a web page using the and container tags. The 'CLASSID' is unique to each ActiveX component

Spyware Can Cause You And Your System Irreparable Damage

Spyware is dangerous to your system and your personal identity. There is always the fear of identity theft as well as financial loss if your system is vulnerable to Spyware. Removing it is imperative.

Spyware can be described in simple terms as software that performs certain functions covertly on your computer such as collecting personal information, changing the configuration of the computer, and advertising. Spyware is often associated with advertising software or software that generates pop-up ads on the screen when the computer is connected to the Internet. Now this does not mean that all Spyware is malicious and causes damage to you by collecting personal information from your system. However, all Spyware do make changes to the system and cause the registry to grow substantially and ultimately cause the system to slow down to a crawl. The Spyware must be removed with the best Spyware removal utilities such as free Microsoft Spyware Removal Tool.

Is Cleaning The Registry Really Important?

Yes. Anti-Spyware searches and detects any Spyware operating in the background of the system. It is designed to detect any program that is operating and yet is not associated with the running programs on the system. Anti-Spyware can then remove such Spyware and secure the computer. Many free Adware Spyware removal tools also clean the registry to some extent. However, Spyware can create entries in the registry in hundreds or even thousands of places. These entries will stay hidden until the Spyware discovers that the exe file is missing. Then the registry entries start to operate and download the necessary files, secretly, from the Internet and the Spyware begins to operate again. Some free Spyware and Adware removal programs can go into the registry and pull out all the entries associated with programs that have been removed from the system.

Are These Spyware and Adware Removal Software Easy And Inexpensive?

Spyware virus removal software is very easy to operate. In fact, they just take a few seconds to download with a fast Internet connection. Installation takes just a few seconds and you are ready to go. Spyware virus removal software such as free Spyware and Adware removal is very effective and has all the safety features of a good Spyware removal utility. Along with this a good PC spyware cleaner can create a back up of the existing registry, which can be restored in case something goes wrong with the cleaning process.

Use Spyware Removal Tools Often

Spyware removal software should be run of the system at intervals of two to three weeks manually to clean and maintain the system. Many free Spyware programs do a great job and keep the system running perfectly. When you discover that the system has slowed down to an unusual pace run the anti-Spyware and you will be sure to come up with a few hundred if not thousands of infected files that need to be healed by the software.

What Is an ActiveX Control And How Is It Related With The Registry?

ActiveX is a technology that was developed by Microsoft to enhance the display of images, video and animation in their browsers. ActiveX components are a set of rules that guide the browser to display hi-resolution images and streaming video properly.

It should suffice to say that ActiveX is a technology that was developed to bring the power of Object Linking and Embedding or OLE as it is popularly known, to empower web browsers and particularly Internet Explorer, to display such objects. When web pages with embedded ActiveX components are downloaded, the corresponding controls are also downloaded and automatically launched by the operating system of the computer. This can, over some time, clutter up the registry with unwanted data and controls, thus slowing down the system drastically. This will mean having to clean up the registry with a registry cleaner periodically. ActiveX controls are actually used by windows to display very rich interfacing activity such as animation, video images, virtual reality that used 3D technology, high resolution images and the like.

ActiveX Prompts For Registry Cleaners

When downloaded into your computer, an ActiveX control is actually packaged as an .OCX file. There are cases when more .OCX files are downloaded and needed for a web page. The .OCX files like ActiveX controls need to be registered on your system before they can be used. Registering means that a program capable of doing this, queries the ActiveX control and saves specific information about it into Windows Registry, so that the operating system can find it and therefore be able to use the ActiveX control. However, one must keep in mind the importance or cleaning up the registry periodically. The Internet has the best registry cleaners available free. So, make use of them to keep your system running smoothly.

Pro's and Con's Of ActiveX Controls

It is important to understand that with all the 'pros' of ActiveX technology also come a few 'cons' as well. ActiveX is a very powerful tool and is sometimes used by individuals, with a flair for the technology, to create ActiveX controls with malicious intentions. These 'corrupt' ActiveX controls can wreck havoc on your system and leave you helpless for no fault of yours. After all, you know that ActiveX is supposed to help your system run some programs, right. So why not download an ActiveX control when you are prompted to do so? It is for this reason that Microsoft has developed the ActiveX security system.

In Windows XP operating system, this security system is embedded in the Internet Explorer. The registry of the system automatically blocks the download and installation of any ActiveX component in the Registry of the computer. Apart from this is an ActiveX component has to be installed the computer will prompt the user to check for the signature of the component. If the ActiveX component is registered with Microsoft the ActiveX is verified as authorized and is allowed to be installed in the registry of the computer. If the ActiveX component is not verified the systems offers the user a choice of not installing the ActiveX control.

Some Advise For Internet Explorer Users

If you are using Internet Explorer you should ensure that you are using a security level set to Medium or above in Internet Explorer. You can do this by going to tools in IE and select 'internet options' then click on 'security' and slide the level to medium or higher. Now, after reading about the entire automatic downloads of controls and stuff, it makes sense to download a free window registry cleaner and use it periodically to clean the registry of your system. There are enhanced registry XP cleaners to clean the complex registry of Windows XP as well.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

How To Copyright And Patent Your Software?

If you're wondering how to copyright software, the good news is you've probably already done it. At least you have if you have ever written software. Most people get confused over exactly what having a copyright for their software means. Only those things that can be seen (when it comes to software) can be copyrighted. If you want to protect the abstract, look into patents. Otherwise if it is original, fixed, and tangible you can copyright it. Essentially you already know how to copyright software if you've put it into a finished form. Once you've written the source code, the copyright belongs to you.

Copyrighting software doesn't offer the protection that many people hope it will. The idea of software and anything about the finished product that wasn't available in a tangible (visible) form isn't protected by copyright. In fact, the only thing undeniably protected by software copyright is the source code. The question you should ask yourself is not how to copyright software, but how to patent your software.

What Is A Software Patent?

A “software patent” has no universal understanding. In general, owning a patent allows a company certain rights (or exclusivity) for a prescribed amount of time. Individuals or corporations seeking a patent must apply for a patent in each country in which they wish to have one. Unlike copyrights, patents are not automatically granted to applicants and can take a while to be approved.

The growth of Internet business and e-commerce has led to many patent applications for software, particularly software designed for specific business applications. While the cases are granted and successfully tried and defended in some countries, other countries offer no enforcement or legal recourse for those who do not honor the software patent, even if the patents were granted in those countries. The fine line between nations about what is and isn't patentable is another challenge to establish and honor patents.

Patents differ greatly from copyrights, which are issued automatically and recognized and enforced internationally. Copyrights protect the source code of software from being copied and registration is generally not required to protect your work.

Lately there is a new term, “Copyleft,” which is an obvious play on words and represents the rights to not only redistribute the copyrighted works, but also to modify and freely distribute those modifications. This term is very much in the spirit of many open source types of software and music. The catch for copyleft protection is that the newly created work be distributed in the same manner and spirit in which it was received. In other words if you were freely given the software, then you must freely provide the improvements and modifications you made to that software.

One unfortunate circumstance surrounding patents is the unequal and obvious disparity between the haves and the have not's. Patent enforcement for software, unlike literature and music, is largely subjective. In literature and music, it is obvious that the copyright has been abused or that the work has been copied; this isn't as simple with software.

How to Obtain a Patent

To obtain a patent for your software, you must apply for a patent in each country that offers patents for software and in which you wish to have the protection a patent can offer. There is no universal legal definition of what a software patent is. Each country that offers patents also has a different definition for what is protected by that patent, as well as for why a patent will be granted. Also consider the fact your software may be given a patent in one country where you applied and none of the others.

Of course, if this is not enough fun for you, you can try to deal with the red tape involved in dealing with multiple governments to resolve any issues or disputes that may have arisen from your software patents.

If you are applying for international patents (which can secure a profitable future for you and your business), you need to find a good patent lawyer and have him walk you through the entire process. Patents are complicated. When you're not exactly sure of what you're doing, whom you need to talk to, and what the next step is, you stand to waste a lot of time while taking a bigger risk. It is much easier to deal with how to copyright software on your own than it is to work out the complicated world of software patents.

If this is your first time designing your own software, you have every right to be nervous. Remember: lawyers went to school much longer than you to know what to do in this situation, so you should not be expected to know how to copyright or patent software when you've never done it before.

Using Hard Disk cleanup Wizard

The Disk Cleanup tool searches your entire hard disk for files that are safe and possible to delete and helps free up needed space. You can choose to delete some or all of the files.

* Remove temporary Internet files.
* Remove downloaded program files.
* Empty the Recycle Bin.
* Remove Windows temporary files.
* Remove optional Windows components that you are not using.
* Remove installed programs that you no longer use.


You can start Disk Cleanup, by doing any of the following:

* Click Start, My Computer
* Right-click appropriate hard disk drive, then click Properties
* Select the General tab,
* Click the Disk Cleanup button
(Disk Cleanup will take a few minutes to examine your disk )
* When the Disk Cleanup dialog box appears, select the Files from the list that correspond to what you want to delete.
* Click OK
* Click Yes to "Are you sure you want to perform theses actions?" box
* Click OK

To Remove Files Stored on Your Hard Disk
To remove files stored on your hard disk that you no longer use, follow these steps:

* Click Start, and then click My Computer.
* Right-click the disk in which you want to free up space, and then click Properties.
* Click the General tab, and then click Disk Cleanup.
* Click the Disk Cleanup tab (if it is not already selected), click to select the check boxes next to the files that you want to remove, and then click OK.
* Click Yes to the proceed with this action, and then click OK.

To Remove Windows Components

* Click Start, My Computer
* Right-click Local Disk, then click Properties
* On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button
* Select the More Options tab
* Under Windows components, click Clean up
(the Windows Components Wizard starts)
* In the Components list, click to clear the check box next to the component(s) that you want to remove.
(A shaded check box next to a component indicates that only some of its subcomponents are installed )
* If you want to remove a subcomponent, click Details
* Click the check box next to the subcomponent(s) that you want to remove
* Click OK.
* Click Next.
* Click Finish
* Click Yes
* Click Yes to "You must restart your before the new settings will take effect" message
* Click OK

To Remove Installed Programs

* Click Start, then click My Computer.
* Right-click Local Disk, then click Properties.
* On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button.
* Select the More Options tab
* Under Installed Programs, click Clean up
(the Add or Remove Programs dialog box is displayed)
* In the Currently installed programs list, click the program that you want to remove, and then click Remove (or Change/Remove)
* Follow specific steps issued for each program if they appear
* Repeat above steps for each program you want to remove

To Remove Restore Points

* Click Start, My Computer
* Right-click Local Disk, then click Properties
* On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button
* Select the More Options tab
* Under System Restore, click Clean up
* Click Yes to "Are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point?" message
* Click OK

If you are using Netscape Navigator, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera, this program does not clean temporary Internet files for those applications.

Disk Cleanup does not clear your browsing history. It certainly isn't necessary to clear these, but if you share your computer, there is a privacy issue when others can see where you go on the Internet

Content Sites - What Are They?

So just what the heck is a content site?

Glad you asked. A content site is a site that contains content. This literal definition of a content site, however, doesn’t convey the sheer effectiveness of utilizing a content site for affiliate programs. There are several distinct advantages of using a full content site as opposed to a single-page sales format.

Using a sales page or a mini site is one way to sell a product, but even then the sales page is usually accessed from a content site. These larger sites, which can be 20, 30, 40 pages or more, have the advantage of many pages of keyword optimized content that just can’t be reached by a single page. With pages and pages of keyword articles, the content site has the potential for a much higher rank in the search engine line.

In addition to the SEO action, a content site is much more likely to be referenced again and again. People interested in the content will bookmark it and come back to read more about it. Multiple views can only increase the chance of sales, as well as word of mouth about the content that is provided. There probably aren’t that many people that bookmark a sales page, but when a content site has lots of practical information that a reader can use, it has a better chance of being read. Using a content site is like having a catalog, and the sales page is the order form.

Having pages of content also allows you to go more into depth about the items you are selling. A sales page is an obvious sales pitch. Readers come in, mill around, and they’re told why the product is a good thing to buy. A content site is seen more as information about the items- and look! They just happen to sell them here.

And, unlike a smaller site, a content site has room for plenty of products. If one of the products is failing, it can always be squashed and replaced with something that can perform better. Content sites usually are concerned with a specific topic, and within that topic there is room for any number of different products to be promoted. This creates a better chance of revenue instead of relying on only one item for the entire bulk of sales. In addition to changing around the products if they become ineffective, there is also room to change the keywords for the same reason.

A content site is also easier to promote than separate pages that each have to be promoted. An informational site can be branded to create a name for the site and its products. Creating a brand is something that can’t be done with just one product that is probably being sold elsewhere on countless other pages. A brand is the collection of pages, which will be unique to your site. A brand is a powerful thing in cyberspace, and can be wielded for good or evil. Or, just to make the highest number of conversions possible.