08/20/08

What To Do When You Encounter Pop-ups

What's Spyware?  How Do I Get It?

What's In A Cookie?

Take a Screen Shot

Stop Windows XP From Asking If You Want To Send a Report To Microsoft Whenever a Program crashes

File & Folder Tips

Check your PC for spyware and other nasties

Win XP Special Effects - Save Memory

Organize your Desktop Tips

Windows XP File and Folder Tips

Clean Up Your Hard Drive

Copying Files And Folders To CD

Find Your IP Address

Getting Older Programs To Run on Windows XP

Shut Down Shortcut

Windows XP Service Pack 1

Free up to 1MB of disk space by removing Online Services

Disabling Programs From Running at System Startup

Skip The Recycle Bin

How To Detect Your Dial-up Speed on AOL

What to Do When XP or 2000 Won't Boot

Interesting Article on DVD Movie Duplicating

Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit

What To Do When You Encounter Pop-ups

The main thing you want to accomplish is to close the pop-up and not actually interact with it in any other way. Not interacting means not following any links the pop-up is trying to direct you to, be they other Web sites or spyware, malware, or Trojan horses. The first rule of pop-up control is to always close pop-ups without clicking anywhere inside the pop-up itself. You have a few choices. The first and most popular is to click the Close box (the little X button on the top-right corner of the pop-up). Alternatively, use the Close command in the Control menu (the menu that appears by clicking the small icon in the top-left corner of the pop-up); the keyboard short-cut to this command is ALT-F4. Another option is to right-click the Taskbar button that corresponds to the pop-up and choose Close from the menu that appears. If the Close box is hiding off the edge of the screen, either drag the pop-up by its Title Bar (the top-most part of the pop-up) back so you can see the Close box and then click it or use one of the other methods. Fake pop-ups should be handled the same way, but there’s a wrinkle: You need to work as if the entire browser window is a giant pop-up. In other words, the graphic in the center of the page is just simulating a small pop-up, so that Close box you see on it is a fake one. Clicking it will activate a download or direct you to any Web site that it wants, and that’s exactly what you want to avoid. Instead, close the entire browser window, either with the main window’s Close box, the Control menu’s Close command, or via the Taskbar. Many surprise pop-ups look exactly like Windows error messages. Some are obvious advertisements that have an inviting Close or No Thanks or OK button. Some ask questions to which you’d feel like a fool for not clicking the Yes button provided. This is intentional, as pop-up writers are trying very hard to get you to click anything within their windows, and many are not beyond trying to trick you into doing it. Every click they manage to get either adds a little revenue to their advertising program, directs you to a Web page you otherwise wouldn’t go to, or in the worst cases, installs spyware onto your computer.

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What's Spyware?  How Do I Get It?

Spyware is usually defined as software that installs itself without your consent, collects indiscriminate data about you and your online habits, and sends that information somewhere without your permission. It may target you for ads, too, like adware. Adware is similar to spyware, but it generally asks you before installing itself (albeit perhaps in obscure language in the fine print of a EULA [End-User License Agreement]) and collects less personally identifiable data about you. At the same time, these can slow your computer down, cause your system to be unstable, and even open the door to hackers. Your PC can catch spyware just from visiting particular Web sites, or from installing certain freeware and shareware. Several examples can enter your computer through vulnerabilities in the IE browser and Windows, although some can also burrow in through other browsers, OSes, and applications such as instant messaging clients.

What's In A Cookie?

You can look at the cookies on your system. You’ll probably find most of them in the Cookies folder in your Windows directory. They are all short files with the .TXT extension, and you can open them with your favorite word processor or in Notepad or WordPad. In most cases, you’ll see the name of the site that placed the cookie and one or more long strings of numbers. If there’s only one string of numbers, it’s a tag to identify you, or more properly, your computer. Unless you gave the Web site your name, it doesn’t have the slightest idea who you are. It only knows from your cookie that you are somebody who has been on that site before. By logging your cookie number each time you request a file, the Web site can now actually track your visits, noting how often you return, which pages you visit, and what links you click. Additional strings could indicate almost anything the site wishes to record; such as the date and time you began your last visit, or your ZIP code if you’ve revealed that information.

Take A Screen Shot

Can’t believe your eyes? Want a record of an amazing Windows moment? Windows has a built- in “camera” to let you take pictures of the screen and save them in graphics files. Here’s how to immortalize your electronic triumphs.

To copy the whole screen, press PRINT SCREEN. To copy just the active window, press ALT-PRINT SCREEN. (If your keyboard has function keys running across the top, the PRINT SCREEN key should be to the right of the F12 key; otherwise just search your keyboard. If you don’t have a PRINTSCREEN key, F13 might work.)

If you have a favorite graphics program, you can now open it up, start a blank document and press CTRL-V for Paste. Your screen shot will appear. You’re done!

If you don’t own a graphics program, go to the Start menu. Choose All Programs, then Accessories, and then choose Paint. In Paint, press CTRL-V to make your screen shot appear. You can now print it or save it to email to a friend.

Stop Windows XP From Asking If You Want To Send a Report To Microsoft Whenever a Program Crashes

Whenever a program crashes, whether it’s a Microsoft application, a component of Windows, or a third-party application, a window appears, prompting you to send a "report" to Microsoft. If you actually believe that Microsoft will use the data you send them to fix bugs in Windows, I have some beach-front property in Nevada to sell you...

Here's how to disable this feature, either completely or selectively:

• Open System in the Control Panel (or right-click on the My Computer icon and select Properties.

• Choose the Advanced tab, and click Error Reporting.

• You can disable error reporting entirely here, or enable it selectively for certain programs. Click Ok when you're done.

File & Folder Tips

One of the nice things about Windows 95/98/Me/XP is that there are usually several ways to do the same thing. The following tips can help you master your files and folders your way.

• Is your mouse arm getting tired? Try these shortcut keystrokes. To rename a highlighted file or folder, press F2. Type a name, then press ENTER. Some other keystrokes are CTRL-X (CTRL and X at the same time) to Cut, CTRL-C to Copy, and CTRL-V to Paste.

• Windows Explorer has an Up button near the top of its window. Click it to move from the highlighted folder to the next one above it.

• Most recent applications have Create New Folder buttons near the tops of their Save As windows (click File and Save As to save a document for the first time). A Create New Folder button lets you make an appropriate folder if you’re ready to save a document that just doesn’t belong in your existing folders.

• If you save or move a file to the Desktop, you’ll see it as an icon when the Desktop is visible. Don’t be tempted to leave many files there, though. They clutter your screen and tie up system resources, such as memory.

Check your PC for spyware & other nasties

Your PC could be hosting spyware or adware programs without your knowledge. These small applications, installed knowingly or unknowingly by the user (adware licenses are often buried inside the End User License Agreements of software packages like Kazaa Media Desktop) can pass information on your web surfing habits, among other things, to advertising companies, and enable them to target advertising based on your habits.

These programs can also consume valuable system resources. While not specific to Windows XP, removing spyware and adware from your system is an excellent step towards better PC health. To check for these programs:

Download either LavaSoft's Ad-Aware or PepiMK's Spybot Search and Destroy or both. Run these programs and update them via the built in interface, then check your system for spyware and adware programs. For more information on this topic, see PCstats' Guide on spyware and how to deal with it here.

Win XP Special Effects - Save Memory

There’s no question that WinXP offers many improvements over previous Windows operating systems, but it provides a great deal of eye candy, too. Many of these visual enhancements come at the expense of memory, so if you want to save RAM (or just prefer a less ornate interface), try this tip. Right-click the My Computer icon, select Properties, select the Advanced tab, and under Performance, click the Settings button. Here you’ll find a list of WinXP visual effects that are turned on by default. These include Animate Windows When Minimizing And Maximizing, Slide Taskbar Buttons, and Use A Background Image For Each Folder Type, plus more than a dozen others. Turn off whatever items you wish. It won’t hurt to experiment, so try things out by selecting and deselecting items and clicking the Apply button.

Organize your Desktop Tips

Arrange Your Icons & Taskbar

Windows XP File and Folder Tips

Here are a few file and folder tips for WinXP.

Rename a series of files. If you ever download a group of files with unrecognizable names (such as those that come from your digital camera or off the Internet), there is a way to rename them all at once. In Windows Explorer, open the folder containing the files. Select the files to rename. (If they are not adjacent, you can hold down the CTRL key to select multiple files.) From the file menu, select Rename. Type the new name and press ENTER. The first file will have the name you specified. Subsequent files will have this name, followed by the number they hold in your sequence (for example, Beach Trip, Beach Trip 1, Beach Trip 2, and so on).

Add fields to the file details view. If you don't like the structure of the Details View that appears when you view files in Windows Explorer or from within My Computer, you can edit it and add a variety of categories, such as Author, Comments, and Bit Rate. With any folder open, and Detail selected from the Views menu, right-click any column header and choose More from the drop-down menu. You can add or delete headings, rearrange their order, and change the space allotted for them.

Change the location of "My" files. My Documents, My Music, and My Pictures have a special status in WinXP, because many of the Windows components save and refer to those folders by default. My Documents is located on the Desktop, and this folder cannot be moved. However, you can move the My Music and My Pictures folders, and WinXP will automatically update all the internal links. To do so, simply open both My Documents and the folder in which you wish to place My Music and My Pictures and click and drag the folders to their new location.

Clean Up Your Hard Drive

Over time, your Hard Disk fills up with all kinds of stuff, and before you know it, that drive you bought just a year or so ago, and whose capacity looked great back then, is already alarmingly full. You need a certain amount of "headroom" or empty space on your hard drive for Windows to function properly. Things like the Windows swap file require empty space on the hard drive for standby utilization and your system can slow down enormously if it's not available.

Check out these steps to slim down on your Hard Disk's use:

1. Uninstalling unused components
2. Deleting Temp Files
3. Deleting other files
4. Temporary Internet Files
5. Compact Outlook Express Email

Uninstalling unused Components

Many people never bother to check which components of Windows are installed, and which ones can be removed. Are you using Microsoft Fax Services? If not, you can save around 3.7MB. Use Internet Explorer, but not MSN Explorer? Uninstalling MSN Explorer gets you 13.5MB back! Don't play the "standard" Microsoft games? They use 12.1MB of space!

Note: Some programs will only be available on Windows XP Professional.

To uninstall Windows components:

1. Open your Control Panel (select Start > Control Panel)
2. Open Add or Remove Programs
3. Click the Add/Remove Windows Components button
4. Select the components you want to remove and press OK

Deleting Temp Files

When Windows crashes, or locks up and you have to use Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart, some temporary files will be left on your disk. Some installation routines will also leave temporary files behind.

These files will be left in your \Documents and Settings\your username\Local Settings\Temp folder.

You can use Windows Explorer to find and delete these files. To be on the safe side, don't delete files with today's date, these files could still be in use (most probably you'll get an error telling you that a file can't be deleted because it's in use).
 

You can also check your entire hard disk, to see if there are any temp files in other places:

1. Open Windows Explorer, and select your drive (e.g. C:\)
2. Press F3, this will open Search
3. In the Search for files or folders named: (in box enter) *.tmp
4. Select the drive you want to search in the Look in: box
5. Press Search Now

Deleting other files

Other files you could delete are files with these extensions:

To be on the safe side, delete your files to the Recycle Bin, and leave them there for a week or two. If you don't run into any problems, you can empty the Recycle Bin. If Windows or any program complains about a missing file, just select your Recycle Bin, find the file and right-click on it. From the context menu choose Restore. This will restore the file to its original location.

Temporary Internet Files

Another source of "disappearing" hard disk space are the Temporary Internet Files. To speed up your Internet browsing, pages, graphics and other page elements are stored in your browser's cache. It's worth it to clean this cache from time to time:

1. From the Internet Explorer menu, select Tools > Internet Options
2. On the General tab, press the Delete Files button under the Temporary Internet files header
3. A Window will pop-up asking you if you want to delete your Offline content. If you don't download Web sites with Internet Explorer and view them when you are not connected (off-line) to the Internet later, you can check the box Delete all offline content

Compact Outlook Express Email

When you "delete" email in Outlook Express, they aren't really deleted! If you ever upgraded one version of Outlook Express to a newer version you probably experienced that: after upgrading you notice a lot of old email you thought you had deleted "returned".

Outlook Express just removes the "pointers" to the actual email from the index, but to actually remove the email itself, you need to run the Compact Folder function.

You can access this function from the Outlook Express menu: File > Folder. You can choose either Compact or Compact all Folders, the difference is that the first one only compacts the folder currently selected.

Copying Files and Folders to CD

How to copy files and folders to a CD

             I.      Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder.

           II.      Open My Computer.

         III.      Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want.  Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items.

        IV.      If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and then skip to step VII.

          V.      In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.

        VI.      In My Computer, double–click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD.

      VII.      Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard.  Follow the instructions in the wizard.

Notes:

a)     Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes (MB).  High–capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB.

b)    Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process.  For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space.  For a high–capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space.

c)     After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied.  For more information, click Related Topics.
To stop the CD recorder from automatically ejecting the CD

d)    Open My Computer.

e)    Right–click the CD recording drive, and then click Properties.

f)      On the Recording tab, clear the Automatically eject the CD after writing check box.

Find your IP Address

The most important bit of information for TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) networks is your computer’s IP address.  An IP address is something like a phone number.  It is unique to your machine (at least within your own network).  IP addresses are written in a format with four numbers, up to three digits each, separated by dots.  For instance, it is very likely that at least one computer on a small home network is known as 192.168.1.100.  (Note that where a number is fewer than three digits long in an IP address, there are no leading zeros.)

The default gateway is the IP address of the computer or router that connects the network to the Internet.  If you connect directly to your ISP (Internet service provider), it will provide this address.  If you connect through a router, the address is probably the default 192.168.1.100.

Here are a few ways to find your IP address:

·        If the Network Connection icon is in the System tray, right click it, select Status. Then click the Details tab.

·        For Windows 98 or ME click (Start | Run).  Type in winipcfg and then click OK.

·        For Windows 2000 or XP click (Start | Run).  Type cmd and then click OK.  When the Command Prompt window comes up, type in, ipconfig /all

You can also visit http://www.whatismyip.com/

Getting older programs to run on Windows XP

Most programs run properly on Windows XP. The exceptions are some older games and other programs that were written specifically for an earlier version of Windows. To run your program on Windows XP, you can try the following, Run the Program Compatibility Wizard. As an alternative, you can set the compatibility properties manually. Update your program, drivers, or hardware. These options are covered in detail below.

The Program Compatibility Wizard

This wizard prompts you to test your program in different modes (environments) and with various settings. For example, if the program was originally designed to run on Windows 95, set the compatibility mode to Windows 95 and try running your program again. If successful, the program will start in that mode each time. The wizard also allows you to try different settings, such as switching the display to 256 colors and the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels. If compatibility problems prevent you from installing a program on Windows XP, run the Program Compatibility Wizard on the setup file for the program. The file may be called Setup.exe or something similar, and is probably located on the Installation disc for the program. To run the Program Compatibility Wizard click Start, click Help and Support, click Find compatible hardware and software for Windows XP, and then, under See Also in the navigation pane, click Program Compatibility Wizard.
Set the compatibility properties manually
As an alternative to running the Program Compatibility Wizard, you can set the compatibility properties for a program manually. The settings are the same as the options in the Program Compatibility Wizard. To set the compatibility properties for a program manually Right-click the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program you want to run, and then click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program.
The Compatibility tab is only available for programs installed on your hard drive. Although you can run the Program Compatibility Wizard on programs or setup files on a CD-ROM or floppy disk, your changes will not remain in effect after you close the program. For more information about an option on the Compatibility tab, right-click the option and then click What's This.

Update your program or drivers

If your program does not run correctly after testing it with the Program Compatibility Wizard, check the Web for updates or other fixes, as follows:
Check the Web site of the program's manufacturer to see if an update or patch is available.
Check Windows Update to see if a fix is available for the program.
Click Home on the menu bar of Help and Support Center, then click Windows Update in the right pane.
If the program is a game that uses DirectX, ensure that you are using the latest version of DirectX. In addition, check the Web site of the manufacturer of your video card or sound card to see if newer drivers are available for either of them.

Shut Down Shortcut

Why go through three mouse clicks to shut down Windows when one double click will do?

WinXP - To shut down Windows XP from a simple icon on the Desktop, right-click the Desktop and create a new shortcut.  In the text box of the Create Shortcut dialog box, type shutdown -s -t 01and give the shortcut any name you like.  This shortcut will shut you down without asking for confirmation.

Win95/98 - To shut down Windows 95/98 from a simple icon on the Desktop, right-click the Desktop and create a new shortcut.  In the text box of the Create Shortcut dialog box, type rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows This shortcut will shut you down without asking for confirmation.

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To give you freedom of choice, Windows 98 installs a desktop shortcut and files for you to set up several popular national online services. But once you've chosen and installed the one (or more) that you want, free up hard disk space by removing the rest (every little bit of extra disk space helps). To remove Online Services, first drag the Online Services desktop shortcut to the Recycle Bin and then:

From the Control Panel, open Add/Remove Programs.

Click the Windows Setup tab.

Select Online Services and then click Details.

Clear the services you don't want and then click OK.

Click Apply and then click OK.

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Disabling Programs From Running at System Startup

Don't you just hate it when you've installed a program that insists on starting itself when you boot the computer? You know the drill. You install something and it places an icon in your system tray.

Now, all those little icons you see in your system tray represent programs that are RUNNING. If a bunch of stuff loads when you start your computer, you may be maxing out your system before you launch your first regular program. So, if you find your computer getting progressively slower as you add more software, it could be that these system tray icons are, at least partially, at fault.

In addition, program running in your system tray can cause any (or all) of the following problems:

- Sluggish system speed
- Frequent lockups / illegal operations
- Software install problems
- Difficulty in running some programs

The more of these programs you have running, the more likely it is that you're going to see one or more of the problems mentioned above. Granted, System Tray programs are not the only cause for the conditions mentioned above, but they are the first place to look.

So, how do you keep all these unwanted programs at bay?

1. Click the Start button and select Run...

2. Next, type in:

msconfig

Then hit OK.

3. The System Configuration Utility should run (please note that not all computers have it installed -see note below).

4. Click the Startup tab.

5. You'll see a listing of all the stuff that starts itself when your computer does. Just uncheck the programs you don't want to load and leave the rest alone.

Note - If you don't have msconfig on your system (win 95 / 2000 doesn't) then check out Startup Control Panel at:

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

It does basically the same thing.

Once you get msconfig or the program above running, you'll probably see more stuff than you bargained for. I would advise exercising caution while unchecking, especially if you're not sure about what program(s) you're suppressing. Stuff like "Scan Registry" and "System tray" are probably best left alone. If you see stuff that you recognize as being non-essential software, than uncheck it. This is one of those do at your own risk things - for sure.

If you're not sure which program is being referred to, look at the path. Sometimes the folder just before the ".exe" file can give you a clue as to what program you're dealing with.

For example, if I see something like:

"C:\program files\real\realplayer.exe"

I can guess the program in question is the ever annoying Real Player.

In general, don't disable stuff that starts like this:

"C:\Windows\"

Or stuff like this:

SysTray.exe

These are more likely to be important system files and programs. You may find that your computer won't run without them and you'll have to go into Safe mode to get things working again.

Finally, note that unchecking this stuff doesn't remove it. The idea behind having these programs start when the computer does is to give you fast, easy access to them. However, having too many of these programs running at the same time can hit you hard in the system resources department. I personally make sure anything I don't need isn't running. If I need it, I'll click on it's shortcut.

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Skip The Recycle Bin 

Every now and then you need to really delete a file. Right now.

Well, most people delete the thing, then go to the recycle bin and remove it from there. It works, but there's a better way.

Next time your 100% sure, without a doubt, for certain, that you want to delete a file, hold your Shift key down while you delete. The file will be deleted - skipping the Recycle Bin completely.

Here I am, right-clicking and deleting a file that was just begging for it. You can't tell, but I'm holding down my Shift key so it bypasses my recycle bin and is tossed into the digital abyss...

Who knew you could wield such power with such a simple key?

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How To Detect Your Dial-up Speed on AOL 

When you are logging on to AOL, it gives you numbered steps throughout the connection process. In the third step, AOL will show at what speed you have connected to the Internet. Sometimes though it flashes rather quickly and you miss seeing what the connection speed is.

It's good to know your connection speed so that in case your connection is slower than you want it to be (for example: 14,000 bps), you can sign off of AOL and then reconnect trying to get a higher connection speed. The higher the connection speed, the faster your computer will open web pages, load graphics and sounds, etc.

The process of finding out your connection speed after you have signed on is a simple two step process.

First, click the help tab at the top of the window and select About America Online.

Second, when the About AOL screen pops up, press Ctrl+Y. This button command brings up the Connection Status Information screen. Towards the bottom of this screen, you will see, "Current Connection Speed (bps): xxxxx." The x's will be your speed. In this example, my current connection speed is 44,000 bps.

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Interesting Article On DVD Movie Duplicating

ICopyDVDs2 -  If you insert a DVD movie for duping, ICopyDVDs2 warns you that it can't duplicate protected content.  Bummer.  Read the company's warning further, though, and it asks if you'd "like more information about backing up CSS encrypted movies?" Clicking "yes" takes you to the company's web site, which teaches you how to use Google to search for an application called DVD43, which strips away copy protection from a DVD in real-time.  Thats certainly one way to circumvent liability.

With DVD43 installed, ICopyDVDs2 works just like DVDXCopy Xpress, and lets you compress an entire movie onto a single disc and even throw away the DVD's extra features if you'd like.  Unfortunately, just as with DVDXCopy XPress, longer movies are prone to compression artifacts, though these glitches don't look to bad when viewed on a low-resolution TV.  We were able to dupe a movie in less than an hour.

But then again, after a federal judge recently put the kibosh on DVDXCopy, ICopyDVDs2 and software like it may be the only way for you to make archival backups of movies you actually own. 

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:: Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit (version 6.1f)

Download Tips | FAQ

Operating Systems: Runs on Windows 95/98/Me, NT 4, Windows 2000, XP and Windows Server 2003.
Browsers: Requires IE 3 or Netscape 3, and higher versions. Also runs on Opera, Mozilla, and Firebird.
File size: 605 KB.
License: The license associated with this product allows for free personal use only. Use on multiple PCs in a corporate, educational, military or government installation is prohibited. See the license agreement for details. Wish to run the Belarc Advisor on your corporate network, see FAQs below.

Download Tips:

FAQs:

Q: Will the Belarc Advisor send my PC profile information up to a web server?

A: No. The Belarc Advisor creates a local Web page and does not send up your PC profile to a Web server or anywhere else.

Q: The Advisor has installed and finished a discovery of my PC's hardware and software, but I do not see any results.

A: Check that Windows is set to open files with the HTML extension in your web browser. To do this, in the Folder Options windows control panel look at the File Types tab. Select the HTML Document file type and check that it opens with your preferred web browser.

If that doesn't work for you, open this file:
c:\program files\belarc\advisor\system\tmp\(COMPUTERNAME).html
(where COMPUTERNAME is the name of your PC) using the File|Open... menu in your web browser.

Q: Can I purchase a license to run the Belarc Advisor on my corporate network, or my customer's network?

A: We do not license the Belarc Advisor to end-users, however we suggest that you take a look at these products, all of which incorporate the Belarc Advisor profile:
 

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