How To Tackle The Buffer Overflow Situation

Normally a program runs on a sufficient amount of memory. However, when the program consumes more memory than required, a phenomenon called buffer overrun or buffer overflow is experienced and this causes loss in data and decrease in performance. The buffer-overrun situation can be tackled in a number of ways. The Windows operating system files have to be updated and the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) has to be enabled. The security level of the Internet Explorer has to be increased if the buffer overrun starts from the Internet Explorer. By following the below provided Windows support guidelines, you can restrict the buffer overrun situation.

Performing a Windows update

• You have to select the Start button and the Start menu will appear. From the Start Menu, you have to choose All Programs and then you have to choose Windows Update.
• Choose the Check For Updates option that is visible in the left pane. Now Windows will check for the required updates and install them on your system.
• When the installation of the updates is complete, you have to restart your system.

Enhancing the security level in the Internet Explorer

• You have to access the Internet Explorer. From the different menus that are present, you have to choose the Tools menu and click on Internet Options.
• The tab titled Security has to be selected.
• Under the heading Security Level For This Zone, the sliding bar has to be selected and increased all the way to High.
• Now you have to select the Apply button and choose the Ok button.

Turning on data execution prevention

• You have to select the Start button and the Start menu will appear. From here, you have to choose Control Panel. From the Control Panel window, you have to select System and Maintenance. Now you have to choose the System tab.
• The Advanced system settings option has to be selected and if asked, you will have to enter the administrator password.
• Under the Performance section, you have to select the Settings option. Now, the tab titled Data Execution Prevention has to be selected.
• Click on the Turn On DEP For All Programs And Services Except Those I Select option.

By following these Windows support guidelines, you can address the buffer-overrun situation with ease. If you have any queries regarding this process, you may contact Microsoft help and support for any further assistance.

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Interact-Interact v7 Widget Sizes

I'm just getting my feet wet with the responsive framework of Interact-Intranet v7 and the widget design challenges that go along with that. 

When our v7 instance loads, for a heart-beat we see a light-grey widget outline which quickly fills in with content.  It looks as though the canvas accommodates 4 vertical columns on the landing homepage and 3 on subsequent area homepages due to the side navigation consuming a column.

Click the image for a larger view

When I added the Twitter widget I noticed that while it looks good on my 1280x1024 monitor it doesn't fully display on my 1024x768 monitor (employee standard).  I could have guessed a few times and probably come up with a good size, but knowing the widget sizes and understanding how they work is pretty important so I thought I'd put in some due diligence.

To help me figure out common widget sizes, specifically for the smaller widgets, I typically create free text widgets that include a simple 100% x 100% table with a colored background.  Then I take a screenshot of what I'm looking at and use Paint to figure out the dimensions.  With v7 I've run into an issue embedding a table into the free text widget so I did the next best thing - inserted a square red image!  I initially used a 1278x990 image, but later scaled it down to 280x280 because of issues I was running into with spacing issues caused by the image being rectangle. 

Click the image for a larger view


Note: These test were done in IE10.0.  I found that using Firefox altered the widget sizes slightly (2px difference at both sizes w/o a title).

The next test I ran was to determine the impact of resizing on the content of an image.  For this I used a 1k x 1k image of horizontal and vertical lines.  The result is that the image appears to automatically resize based upon width.  Because the widget sizes are fixed and images are aligned to the top, the bottom of the image is cut off.

Click the image for a larger view

What does this all mean?

If you are going to use an image in a free-text widget you would be advised
to not include a title since the title seems to have priority and the image is secondary.  Additionally, titles can wrap depending upon the resolution the page is viewed at which can cause a fairly significant difference in the amount of image height that displays.

What happened to the Twitter widget?

In the end I settled on a Twitter defined widget size of 275px (height) which displays the full widget at 1280x1024 and enough of it at 1024x768.

Click the image for a larger view

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Windows 8.1 RTM Version Released

Microsoft recently let its hardware partners get their hands on the final Windows RTM version, Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue OS. Microsoft commented on this release saying, "Unlike past RTM moments, this milestone represents progress in Microsoft’s new rapid release cycle and optimizes the overall customer experience, while highlighting the handoff to OEM partners and wide array of devices expected this fall".

The RTM version was released so that PS manufacturers and other hardware companies can tinker with the RTM version and come up with new products and devices. Microsoft expects a wide variety of innovative products that their customers can use, which will be rolled out later in the holiday season.

The company added the people around the world should expect a wide range of sophisticated and beautiful devices ranging from tablets, lightweight notebooks and versatile hybrids, including an array of devices aimed specifically for the business ecosystem.

However this arrival shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Tami Reller, Microsoft’s Chief Marketing Officer had announced at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference that the RTM version of Windows 8.1 would be released by the end of August.

Microsoft has made some drastic improvements to the Windows 8.1 operating system. It looks like the traditional Start menu will be returned, and an option to switch between regular interface and Metro Style interface can also be expected. Other improvement include the Internet Explorer 11, improved performance, and better cloud connectivity. This is great, as usually Microsoft releases only Service Packs, and OS upgrades do not happen so quickly. Looks like Microsoft is introducing the concept of quicker software upgrades, to win back its position as one of the best software companies. Along with Windows 8 powered touch devices, Microsoft could soon become a major competition for giants like Android and Apple.

Those hoping to make a Windows 8 transfer to the updated OS can get their hands on the OS easily, from the Windows Store. This upgrade is absolutely free for those who have already migrated to the Windows 8 operating system. If you are currently using the previous versions of Windows like Windows 7, Vista, or older, you will have to pay the retail price for upgrading to Windows Blue. The Windows 8 transfer to Windows 8.1 should be a relatively simple process, and easy to migrate.

Microsoft concluded by saying, "Thanks, in part, to customer feedback and an unparalleled level of collaboration across product teams, Windows 8.1 is a significant update. We have delivered in a very short time an update to the OS that will bring an even greater unified experience for our customers."

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Fixing Issues With Help And Support

Whenever you require help with your Windows OS, you can always depend on the Microsoft help and support for troubleshooting. Microsoft help and support provides the best help tips for all your Windows queries. So when you access a help link, an executable called HelpPane is accessed by the system. The HelpPane accesses the information in the help files that are present in a separate folder and these files are shown on the help window. However, sometimes the files can get damaged and the help files become inaccessible. By following the below provided Windows 7 support guidelines, issues with the help files can be sorted out.

Instructions

• Reboot the system. Tap the F8 key until the Advanced boot options window appears.
• Choose Windows Safe Mode and tap Enter to start Windows.
• In order to access the Run command, tap Windows and R keys simultaneously in the keyboard. In the window, enter C:\Windows and tap the Enter key. Now, on a new window, the Windows directory will open.
• Locate the HelpPane file and right click on it. Select Rename and the name has to be changed to HelpPaneBackup. The files will be sorted alphabetically by default. If the HelpPane file cannot be located easily, in the empty area, you have to right click and choose the option labeled Sort By Name.
• Select the Start button and choose All Programs. Click Accessories and in the Command prompt option, right click. Now a menu will appear and you have to choose the option Run As Administrator. 
• Now you can run Command prompt with administrative privileges.
• Enter SFC /ScanFile=C:\Windows\HelpPane.exe and tap the Enter key. Now the system file checker will check and repair the file.
• After the process is complete, when asked, restart the system. If help and support still fails, you have to perform the next set of steps.

System Restore

• In order to access the Run command, tap Windows and R keys simultaneously.
• In the Run field, enter Rstrui.exe and tap the Enter key. Now the System restore utility will open.
• Select Choose a Different Restore Point and click on the Next button. Now a window containing a number of restore points will appear.
• By checking the date and time column, choose a restore point when you think the help and support worked properly. Now select the Next button.
• In the Confirm Your Restore Point window, choose the Finish button. Now the computer will restart and the system will be restored to the selected date.

By following these Windows 7 support guidelines, issues with Microsoft help and support files would be resolved.

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Deleting AutoComplete Entries In Outlook

Your Outlook is not just a mere email client; it is a very efficient personal manager tool. MS Outlook can help you take notes, make journals, set appointment, generate tasks, manage contacts, keep connected with people. Outlook 2007 is empowered with the AutoComplete feature. This feature directly saves the names and email addresses of any person you sent mail to, who are not already on your contacts list. These entries may crowd up your contacts so here are some steps to delete them.

Instructions to Delete all AutoComplete entries:

•  Close the Outlook application.
• Your AutoComplete entries are saved in a location. Find out this location by clicking on Start in your desktop. Select the Computer option and then enter the following location in the file pathway box at the top of the window %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Outlook.
• Turn your option to view file extensions on. This can be done by clicking on Tools menu at the top of your window. In the menu select the Options button and then click on View tab. Remove the check mark from the checkbox next to Hide extensions for known file types. This will permit you to look at all files and their extensions as well. Click OK.
• Locate the Outlook.NK2 file and delete it. Only delete the file ending in NK2 and nothing else. As there are other files that have Outlook in their names, make sure you do not delete any other file.

Instructions to Delete Specific AutoComplete Entries:

You can choose to delete only specific entries if you want and here is how you do it;

• Open the Outlook application and then select the Mail section, which is located in the left-hand navigation pane.
• Click on the New button at the top of the window, right below the menu options, to open an new mail.
• Type in the name email address of the mail that you wish to delete from the list. That email address will be visible in the line of text where you are typing.
• Press the down arrow key to and then press Delete to remove this from the list of entries.

Now, you can choose to delete any further entries you want individually. If you face any issues on Outlook 2007 feel free to contact Outlook tech support. Expert at Outlook tech support are dedicated to providing quick and effective solutions for all your Outlook problems. Enjoy Outlook 2007 and all its splendid features.

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Steps To Set Up The Email Filter In Outlook

As we all know, Microsoft Outlook contains some of the most advanced and novel features which help users to remember and organize their important events. These include features such as calendar, task manager, event manager, note making, journals, and so on. Hence, the Outlook application is also used as a personal information manager along with being an email application. Outlook stores the information of the users in files known as personal storage tables or .pst files. Another feature of Outlook is the spam filters that allow you to filter the email that you receive. Hence, you would not get unwanted emails into your inbox. Outlook can be set to block these senders and their emails, sending the former to the trash folder until you wish to unblock the latter. Microsoft provides this feature in all versions of Outlook.

You can follow this procedure to filter email in Outlook before seeking assistance from the Windows tech support.

• In the first step, click the Windows Start button. Now, select the All Programs option, and you would see a list of all the programs currently on the computer. Now, click Microsoft Office.
• In the Microsoft Office, select the Outlook shortcut to open the Outlook email client on your desktop.
•  Now, click the Tools menu item, and then select Options. In the list of options, click the Junk E-mail button. A window would open where you can set up all of your email filters. You can also contact the Outlook support to get more information about spam filters in Outlook.
• Now, click the Blocked Senders tab. Make sure you click the users in the list of senders that you want to remove. Click Remove to enable the user to send email. This means that the user's email in Outlook is no longer sent to spam, so the sender can send email to your inbox.
• Now, click the Add button. Here, a dialog window would open where you need to add a new filter. Type a sender name you want to filter from your inbox, and click OK to save the settings. You can notice the newly filtered email that would display in the list of blocked senders.
• After you complete the list of filters, click OK to save your settings. The settings take effect immediately, and hence, the senders are filtered the next time they attempt to send email to your address.

Therefore, you can follow these simple steps to set up the email filter in Outlook. For more information on this, check Microsoft’s official website.

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Minimum System Requirements To Upgrade to Windows Vista

Are you thinking of upgrading your Windows XP computer to Windows Vista? Upgrading to Vista will be a smart choice as it definitely improves your system performance, given you have the right system requirements to run the operating system.

The following list describes the recommended minimum hardware requirements for the basic functionality of the different editions of Windows Vista. Actual hardware requirements will vary, depending on the system configuration and on the programs and the features that you install. If you install Windows Vista over a network, additional hard disk space may be required. For your computer to run Windows Vista operating system, it should have a modern processor (at least 800MHz), 512 MB of system RAM and a graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.

These Windows Vista Help guidelines will help you determine the minimum system requirements for your computer.

Instructions

• Go to the Start menu located on your Windows taskbar and locate the option My Computer. Right-click on My Computer and choose the option Properties from the popup menu. This will bring up the System Properties window. 
• By default, the General tab will be active, where you will be able to find your current Microsoft Windows version, system processor, memory (RAM) details etc. The amount of memory will be expressed in terms of megabytes or gigabytes. Though the minimum amount of RAM required to run Vista is 512MB, it is best to have at least 1GB of memory installed before you upgrade to Windows Vista.
• Here, you can also find the type of processor in your computer. Microsoft suggests having a processor with a speed of at least 800MHz. If you have a faster processor, more efficient will be your computer.
• Now close the System Properties window. Once again go to the Start menu and click on My Computer to open the My Computer window. Right-click on the C: drive and choose the option Properties.
• Here, you will be able to check how much space you have on your hard disk. To install Windows Vista, you need to have a drive with a capacity of at least 2GB. Also, you will need at least 15GB of free space on the drive.

If you face any trouble upgrading to Windows Vista, you can always get Windows Vista Help from the Microsoft Support Center and get the issues resolved quickly.

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