DUST ON THE BIBLE

Resetting Your XP Password
We are all pretty lucky when we forget our password on an online Web service, wouldn't you agree? I mean, if you ever forget your password, almost all Web sites can e-mail it to you or they allow you to reset it by answering a security question. But what if you forget your password for Windows XP? It's happened to the best of us and when it does, you may think there's no way to recover it. Well, I'm happy to tell you there is a way and that's what I'm going to show you today! You know, just in case it ever happens to you. Here we go!
1.) If you ever forget your password for Windows XP, you need to start your computer in Safe Mode. To do that, reboot your computer and as soon as you see your manufacturer's logo pop up, repeatedly hit the F8 key on your keyboard.
2.) Soon after, you will see this menu:

Make sure the Safe Mode option is highlighted and press Enter.
3.) When the log in screen appears, log in to your Administrator account.

4.) A dialogue box will then appear, notifying you that your computer is running in Safe Mode. Just select Yes for this one.

You may also notice that your resolution is a little distorted.

If so, that's okay. It will go back to normal after you reboot again.
5.) Next, select File, Control Panel. Then double click on the User Accounts icon, which looks like this:

6.) All of the accounts on your computer will be displayed. Go ahead and select the account you would like to remove the password from.

7.) After that, select the

link.
8.) Finally, if you'd like to add a new password, you can select the

link. But be sure to write this one down in a safe place, so you don't have to go through this again!
I hope you enjoy this one. It can be a real timesaver if you ever forget your Windows XP password!
~ Neil Patel
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Cutting Down on IM Spam
As you have probably figured out, living in an electronic age has its downsides, with one of them being swamped by unwanted e-mail in our Inboxes. Those who indulge in such an act are called spammers and they are growing by the minute, making our lives much more difficult. There are several different kinds of spam going around the Internet these days, but one of the most recent is instant messenger (IM) spam. What that means is that even if you prefer to be invisible to everyone in an IM program, spammers can get you anyway. Now, even if you can’t completely eradicate such a menace, there are ways of bringing down their frequency. Here are a few simple steps you can follow to secure yourself from this new type of spam brigade!
Yahoo! Messenger
First of all, you need to set your profile to "Adult" and remove yourself from being listed on Yahoo!'s public directory. This is how you do it:
1.) Log in to your profile by visiting this link.
2.) Once you're there, click Sign In and log in using the same username and password you use for Yahoo! Messenger.
3.) Click View My Profiles and then click Edit, located next to your Yahoo! ID.
4.) Next, click Edit Profile Information on the next page. At the bottom of that page, put a checkmark next to the option of "Designate this profile as an adult profile" and uncheck the option that says "Add this profile to the Yahoo! Member Directory."
5.) Click the Save Changes button when you're finished.

How This Strategy Works
When you set your profile to "Adult," spammers will have to physically log in to Yahoo! before they can harm you, so it acts as a good deterrent for spammers. Similarly, taking your profile off the Yahoo! Member Directory will make your profile almost invisible to spammers. And that's exactly what you want to do!
Windows Live/Hotmail/MSN
Based on the same anti-spam principle of Yahoo!, here your job is to change your profile from "Social" to "Just Me." Follow these easy steps to do just that:
1.) Go here and sign in with your Hotmail/MSN/Windows Live e-mail address and password (which is the same as your messenger log in).
2.) Next, click Profiles on the sidebar to your left. Go to the next page and click "Edit your shared profile." Then on the next page, click Social and next to Permissions, click "Anyone on the Internet."
3.) Checkmark the option of "Just Me" and then click the Save button to finish.

All Other Instant Messengers
Pidgin is a cross-platform multi-protocol instant messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once. Pidgin is able to connect to every other chat service that exists in cyberspace. Some of them include AIM, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, IRC, MySpaceIM, Sametime and Zephyr, among many others.
Now, what you can do to protect yourself from being spammed over these instant messaging networks is to download Bot Sentry, which you can do right here. Bot Sentry is a Pidgin plug-in that allows you to ignore instant messages (IMs), unless the sender is in your Buddy List, in your Allow List or the sender correctly answers a question you have pre-defined, such as "How do you spell the number five?" If the answer is wrong, such users cannot contact you ever again. This works with all chat services that are connected to Pidgin.

There you have it. I hope this one helps eliminate some of your IM spam problems. Be safe!
~ Zahid H. Javali

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