TruXter Tech News

There has been an advertisement on Television lately that I have seen coming up repeatedly. The advertisement talk of a program called “finallyfast” from a website called “finallyfast.com” .
So as usual I do my research before I download anything. then after I download the program i will scan it with as many different virus scanners as I can find.

On first analysis, I find that finally fast is actually hosted on a site “ascentive.com”. That site and it’s files have been noted as being malware with recurring charges to your credit card, that are really hard to get out of.
Site adviser website has noted that the content from ascentive.com is not safe . Siteadviser.

Ok so I went to the website anyway and started reading. They say it’s free from the get go. so I downloaded the file.

REALLY If you want to do a check up of your pc. I advise pcpitstop.com the only thing you need from there is an active x file and I find that activex file very safe.

but anyway I got the file and imediatly headed to Virscan.org and did a quick scan for any kind of computer cooties. This program is supposed to speed up your computer. Let’s just see. Well it turns out that all online scanners for single files, have a 10mb limit. This file from finallyfast.com or let’s say ascentive.com was 10.2 mb. Looks like they are a tad to large . So I compressed the file in a rar and proceeded to scan :-) .
one virus scanner found “Net-Worm.Win32.Bobic.k” could be a false positive but I found that other people found the same thing after the install. here are the results for finallyfast+worm and here are the results of finallyfast+trojan

Here is a forum that talks about the software and solutions.

The phone calls to suport
1st call
2nd call
3rd call
4th call is to ascentive, the mother company.
( They mention spyware striker)
pc speedscan pro I do not recommend installing this!!!!
activespeed Credit card issues.
Scan and sweep useless on xp, bad for vista.

Bug Zambrini

As far as i know it just crashes you on all mac products.

iphone,macboock,imac,ipod.

It’s a video that when played crashes you .

i got the news from geekazine podcast.. sorry his first ten minutes of the episode is like 12 minutes long of  useless intro, but when he gets going it’s great.

You can benchmark with a fast easy tool from pcpitstop

Here is my pcpitstop benchmark score

Minimum System Requirements
Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
1.8GHz Intel Core2Duo or 2.4GHz AMD Athlon X2 64
1.5 GB of RAM
16 GB free hard drive space
256MB NVIDIA 7900 / 256MB ATI X1900

Recommended System Requirements
Windows Vista - Service Pack 1 / XP - Service Pack 3
2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad or 2.1GHz AMD Phenom X3
2 GB of RAM (Windows XP) or 2.5 GB of RAM (Windows Vista)
18 GB Free Hard Drive Space
512MB NVIDIA 8600 / 512MB ATI 3870

looks like I am above low end, almost at high end, except I am on a dual core duo. not a dual core quad.

Although my processor is a higher rating than the quad core, it is still a dual duo.

See I use pc pistop because it is easy small and fast. not a huge detailed benchmarker for my computer I know, but it also isn’t very taxing on my machine. Some benchmark programs can be to much for your pc and break it by over stressing your components. Pcpistop is a light weight low stress test . it’s over in like 2 minutes. I make the score, I look at it, I tweak my machine I benchmark again and see if I got any faster. It’s great, free and easy…

So if you want to see if you are capable of playing the game, bench your machine and post your link to your score.

Grand Theft auto, the very first grand theft auto was up for trial or demo for months before and years after it’s official release date. GTA2 did the same thing. People soon figured out how to crack the demo so you could get the full game. Why did they put the whole game in the demo? end result, the game actually played smoother and faster and better, from teh cracked version over the full install.

Gtaiii did not, nor did any pc version after.

I am quite sure the searches for torrents are probably taking down the pirate bay. But rest assured , it will be better if you buy this game from Steam . That is of course if you really must download the game. In situations like you are waaaaay to far from any store that will sell it. I myself want the full package, I want the map, the case, the disc the whole nine yards.

I will fully install the game from the disc I purchase. I will also purchase the game on steam, I will play both.

I will surely have to crack the game to get it to work on linux. I will help others in making gtaiv work on their linux box.

There is a large community of us, about 2000 user from gtaforums.com who will do anything and everything to stop torrents from distributing compies of GTAIV. We will make every effort to report the people who seed illegal copies of the game, and in doing that, the people who download while the seeders get busted, will get caught also. So it is strongly advised that you wait your time like the diehard gta fans are doing. If you have to have it sooner than others, or any other reason you must download it, go to steam.

Good luck have fun, happy gaming

Ok if you do not want to read all this, let me sum it up for you. Cool your computer. Cooling your computer is greatest strongest method of overclocking you will ever do. Now for the non A.D.D. Readers in here.

Ideal range is 80-95 °F. This will be the optimal temperature region. For a short while there, it was common for a processor to boot at 150 °F. That to me that is a scary temperature. But that does seem to be a peice of the past now.

<taken from everest>

Temperatures
Motherboard   29 °C (84 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #1   12 °C (54 °F)
CPU #1 / Core #2   15 °C (59 °F)
MCP   47 °C (117 °F)
Aux   11 °C (52 °F)
GPU Diode   38 °C (100 °F)
HDT722516DLAT80    31 °C  (88 °F)
MAXTOR 6L080L4    23 °C  (73 °F)

Cooling Fans
CPU    3013 RPM
Chassis    4116 RPM

The first thing you do to drop your temperature, clear passage from front. Get some zip ties and find a way to tie everything back without creasing anything. The flat cables (if you have them) Known as ribbon cables, do not fold or squish or crease them, the wires inside are pretty fragile.

Find all heatsinks remove the fans and clean out the dust from the heatsinks. Do the same with the fans.

Use canned air when you can, some times a toothpick  with a mashed end. what I mean by that is have one end kind of smooshed and frayed to be like a paint brush. you will need the pointy end and the brushy end to get into the tight spots. yes it is important to get in all grooves even the tiny spots.  that junk builds up fast if it has some already there to stick to.

air flow needs to be from one end to the other. not some out the back some in the back som in the front some out the side. You would have crazy crap and get nothing accomplished. you have to think about it like water.  water/air flow best when there is as little disruption as can be. So one fluid direction is best.

Also you do not want to disrupt the air flowing through the cpu’s heatsink. This one is most important, second most important is the Video Card. If you know how to replace heatpaste, I suggest you knock that out now also.

The sorriest myth is the video card memory heatsinks. If they are stuck on by two sided tape, peal them off and chunk them aside, they are useless. You want as  smooth of a metal to metal contact. Foam in between is just retarded and a really sorry joke they pulled on you. Faom tape glue is not a good heat inductive material… sorry.   but teh tech world has proven that copper is best. The heat paste people use is to creat a vacuum seal between the metals. Amazing how it all works.. just trust me foam tape is not going to cool anything.

This so far is teh best way hardware wise to make your computer feel like brand new if not slightly better.

There are a few things to First get to know when you are wanting to upgrade your computer. First one is simple. Figure out if the computer is a manufactured or a home built d.i.y. (do it yourself) computer. If it’s a manufactured computer just locate the production number and go to the manufacture’s website and see what upgrades you can get. In many cases it is best to use the parts they offer, unless you know what you are doing. If you do not but want to go the least expensive route, get a techy friend to help you. In most cases it is all about locating the part numbers, such as mother board numbers to find out what type of ram and or video card. I am pretty sure a good Google search will lead you to a safe forum full of people with the same issue, or willing to help you.

If it’s a diy computer, you might want to follow the last two suggestions I made in the earlier paragraph. Locate motherboard part number. Locate motherboard part number here. Locate the video card part number and locate the memory part number. Do the same with the hard drive. I would start with just putting the motherboard’s part number in  Google and let Google do the work for you. You should be able to find a large list of helpful links. Unless the model numbers consist of three  of the letter X. In that case you will not find anything helpful. In 95% of model number searches you will find specifications, unless your part is really out dated. Five or more years old, might be an issue. With something that old, you would benefit more to just shop online for a low cost computer.

If you are wanting to be really up to date and want to do it yourself, I have to say, buy a barebone computer. stick around 199-299 dollars. locate a really recent dated video card that is compatible with your new machine, most decent video cards  on pci-express X16 run anywhere from 50-500 dollars. Don’t be ashamed to buy the $50 one. It will only be slightly less superior to the $500 video card, and they both will be out dated at the same time.

hand full of words to remember when searching

DDR2

Pci-Express

Dual core or Quad core  if you really want to up to date with the very most recent.

500 watt power suply.

Dual layer dvd

multi card reader.

A machine like that should run you from $450 - $5000.  Shop smart on that. Remember there really is a small difference, Don’t listen to the kids that scream about the best. Really the decision is up to you and your needs and wants.  Overkill is and always will be overkill and useless. But an undershot is money wasted.

If you are looking for a monitor to upgrade Here are more phrases.

Refresh rate (lower is better)

Lcd

Hdmi

Wide screen.

Fair range is $12 an inch. But you can pay more if you must. But if you can beat $12 an inch then you are in the good, as long as the refresh rate isn’t stupidly bad.

Good luck with this, if you have any questions, bring it on. I would love to try and help.

If you have ever  clicked in to see a website and noticed that by you launch/start button you notice your browser says that you are waiting for  some program to start up from google. If you have ever said ” Hmmm should I be scared?”

If you are looking for a simple answer,

It’s a program you link with code on your website. The code in your  website sends information to google. Th information gathered is really thorough.  Types of data gathered are about the people surfing your website, such as point of origin, screen resolution, operating system, Exact search query, time on site, exit location.

For me some of this information is pretty useful. It tells me what size pictures I can put on my site to please the common public, what browser and operating system is my target to please. What content people where looking for and if I have exactly what they want or should I cover that content also or should I give a link to someone who does.

Google’s Version of the story

Not to be super conspiracy filled, but.

Um, that’s to much info about me. I am not comfortable with that much data. I really wouldn’t want the guy’s on the adopt a pet, website seeing that I whent straight to their site from an athlete’s foot site, and when I left I whent to a site about people who liked to eat with their feet.

Why is it that the google urchin gathers personal info about  us, kinda adware info. I mean really isn’t it for advertisement purposes….. why doesn’t my spybot ,asquared and addaware find it?  it is a js file so it does have beef.

Other than the issue with my personal self not liking the monitoring, I love being able to  tweak my site with the info I gather.

Talk about it here

New York, NY – August 6, 2008 – Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce that Grand Theft Auto IV will be arriving on the PC on November 18th and 21st in North America and Europe, respectively.

“We are very excited to be releasing the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “The whole team is dedicated to bringing an amazing gaming experience to the PC. The game looks and plays beautifully on PC and we can’t wait for people to play it.”

Developed by series creator Rockstar North and set in Liberty City, the latest installment in the enormously successful Grand Theft Auto series features a painstakingly detailed and life-like city for players to explore; a rich, immersive narrative experience; an original soundtrack highlighting the cultural eclecticism of Liberty City; and newly expanded multiplayer just for the PC.

For more information please visit: http://www.rockstargames.com/IV
http://ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=326627
http://www.gta4.net/news/4119/gta-iv-announced-on-pc/
http://www.gta4.net/news/index.php

Quoted from Jallar’s quote at gtaforums.com

Messing witha sempron I have.

Not really trying to break it, just don’t care much for it right now and really want motivation toevolve to the newest cpu and motherboard combo. Despite what everyone says should be issues right now, I have not had any issues and all games I play, play smooth fast and fine.. but the new stuff is so cheap right now.

Ok done trying to reasomn with you :-P

sempron 3400   cranked fsb from 200  to 205

changed from auto to 200

Nvidia 7600 512 mb agp   from default 420/275   to 437/321

Bench scores are up by 500 on madonion and future mark .

http://truxtertech.com/talk/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=50

After benching, after playing in game.

I have to say, it plays a ton better without o/c

I played all the games I normally bench with

and saw that draw distance was greater while

in game, but detail was bland and there was stuttering.