Hardware and software setup

Check VPN connection configuration. How to detect unauthorized remote access to a computer


Greetings, dear readers! Recently, I received an e-mail message from one user. A user asked me this question: employees during my absence from the workplace?

In other words, does the computer keep any kind of log that records the operations performed by the user on the computer.

To answer in detail this question I decided to write a post on this topic. When you turn on the computer, from that moment the recording of actions performed on the computer begins. More precisely, an “event log” is recorded, which indicates the date and time of a specific operation being performed, as well as running processes of the operating system are recorded.

How can I find out who turned on my computer?

So let's open this event log. Click on "Start" and in the search bar enter - "Event Viewer".

As a result, the main window "Event Viewer" will open, in which we will need to click on the link " Windows logs=> System.

In the next window, an event window will open, consisting of a table in which, as you can see, the date and time are displayed, as well as the event code, category.

Looking at this table, you can determine when the computer was turned on and off. For example, on September 09, I turned off the computer, and the next inclusion was made by me on September 10. That is, no one used the computer in my absence.

like this in a simple way you can determine when your computer was turned on and off. Do you, dear readers, know any other ways to determine whether a computer is turned on in your absence? I will be glad to hear in the comments.

That's all for me. Now you are aware - How to find out when the computer was turned on .

In the next article I will tell you =>

Dear users, if after reading this article you have any questions or want to add something regarding the subject of this article or the entire Internet resource as a whole, then you can use the comment form. Also ask your questions, suggestions, wishes ..

So, for today, this is actually all that I wanted to tell you about in today's issue. I can only hope that you have found interesting and useful information in this article. Well, I, in turn, am waiting for your questions, wishes or suggestions regarding this article or the entire site as a whole.

Curiosity, as you know, is an invariable human vice. Therefore, today we will talk about it. I've been asked the same question over and over again: how do I know if someone was using my computer when I wasn't around. Most of all, users are interested in whether the computer has a log that records the operation of the PC, including records of turning on the computer or laptop. I think, even if you didn’t ask such a question, you also became interested in how you can check if the computer was used in your absence and what exactly was done on it.

In order to answer this question once and for all in full, I decided to write a whole article on this topic. As soon as the computer is turned on, writing to the "log" has begun. It will display all the operations that are performed on the computer. In more scientific terms, the "event log" is recorded. Here will be, and the date and time of the operations. In addition, there is a record running processes operating system.

How to know if the computer is turned on?

In order to find out, you need to open the event log. To do this, go to "start" and in search line prescribe the phrase "Event Viewer". Open the found file.



In the window that opens, you need to find in the menu on the left "Win Logdows” followed by “system”.

You will see a list of events, which will be a table. In it you will find the name of the event, the time and date when this event occurred, the event code and category are also displayed here.

Looking at the table, you will see when the computer was turned on and when it was turned off. When I studied the latest events, I realized that in my absence no one used the computer.


Actually, this simple method will easily and simply allow you to understand whether your computer was turned on without you or not. Well, if someone uses your computer without your knowledge, I recommend setting the password to account, then surely no one will be able to use your PC without your knowledge. That's all. Thank you for being with us!

(Activation Lock), first introduced in iOS 7, is a very effective addition to Find My iPhone. Thanks to it, the owner of the device can not only track the lost or stolen device, but also block it remotely. However, there is also back side medals.

In contact with

Indeed, after the release of iOS 7, a number of police departments in the United States and European countries reported a significant reduction in theft Apple devices, which cannot but rejoice. However, a new type of scammers have emerged that use activation lock for extortion. Simply put, they entered the used device market by offering used iPhones at tempting prices, and then remotely locked smartphones, demanding an additional fee to turn off Find My iPhone. (Activation lock). Moreover, another type of fraud has arisen - for a relatively small advance payment, some "hackers" offer to remotely unlock any Apple device.

To avoid becoming a victim of hackers when buying a used iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, you need to make sure that the function Find iPhone on the this device disabled.

At the beginning of 2017, a convenient section for checking Activation Lock for iOS devices disappeared from the Apple website. The goal was good (the fight against cybercrime), but the life of ordinary users was ruined decently. How now to check if the iPhone you want to buy on Avito would have been stolen or not?

As it turned out, not everything is so bad - there is a workaround. All you need is IMEI or serial iPhone number or iPad, as well as access to the website of those Apple support.

How to Check iPhone or iPad Linked to iCloud (Activation Lock Status)

This instruction does not require an Apple ID! The method works from any country in the world.

1 . Unfortunately, the capabilities of the Russian Apple support site do not allow you to determine the binding to iCloud. Use this proxy link to open the Apple support site "from Germany". If the specified link does not work over time, open the Apple technical support site https://getsupport.apple.com/ through any anonymizer site and follow the steps below.

2 . Select Europe (Europa) as the region and Germany (Deutschland) as the country.

If necessary, you can change the German language to English at the bottom of the screen.


3 . In the list of devices, select the iPhone (or iPad, if you need it).


4 . On the next page, indicate as a problem − Repair & Physical Damage.


5 . For clarification, please specify - Buttons not working.


6 . Choose a section Send in for repair and then item home button.


7 . Enter serial number or IMEI iPhone or iPad and click the arrow.

A video card is one of the most important components of any PC or laptop. It processes the graphic signal and displays the finished image on the screen. Sometimes, when we turn on the computer, we see a black screen with the message “no signal” or there are interruptions (screen twitches, the image disappears abruptly, colors are distorted). In such cases, first of all, suspicion falls on, but in addition to this, the problem may be both in the monitor itself and with components.

And in this article we will talk about how to check if the video card is working, and if it turns out that it is fully functional and the reason is not in it, then how to identify and fix the problem. Let's look at a few ways.

Before proceeding with the test, you need to make sure that the rest of the components are operational.

Monitor

The first step is to check the monitor. Take it and plug it into another PC or laptop. If the image appears on the screen, then it is working.

If not, inspect the connection cable, it may be damaged. Connect the monitor to the PC using the new cable. If that doesn't help, then it's not about him.

We start the computer

Make sure the computer starts up when you turn it on. This can be done by ear by removing the side cover of the PC and making sure all the fans are spinning. However, if this does not happen, and the fans do not spin, then we move on.

Power Supply

There are times when the power supply fails or it simply does not have enough power. To check this, take new block power supply with more power and carefully connect it to the motherboard. If the problem is solved, then the cause is found.

If not, do the following.

video card

Carefully remove the video card from one PC and connect it to another PC. If it works, then it is correct. Also, it would not hurt additionally to eliminate problems in general. But if there is still no image, then most likely the capacitors are swollen on it.

Inspect them carefully and make sure they are in good condition. If you find at least one swollen capacitor, most likely, the problem is in it. In this case, it is recommended to return the card for repair.

Processor socket damage

If you yourself carried out PC maintenance and removed the processor from it, it is possible that when you installed the processor back, you damaged the socket, namely, you bent the protruding legs.

Motherboard failure

It is possible that the video card does not work due to a malfunction of the motherboard, namely, the north or south bridge is damaged, or maybe the capacitors are swollen. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to check the performance of the bridges on your own, but you can always inspect the capacitors.

How to do it:


Even if you find a problem, the motherboard is still only subject to professional repair at a service center.

Additional diagnostic tools

In the event that your computer or laptop is fully functional, it will not be difficult to find out if a discrete graphics card is working.

First way:


This way we will know if the board is working or not.

Second way:

To check if the video card is working, you need download and run the GPU-Z utility. It is completely free. The program will show us all the information about our card.

Let's analyze the process in more detail:

So, we have analyzed 8 ways that will help you find out if the video card is working on a laptop or computer, and how to troubleshoot. I hope the information was helpful.

Introduction

SSD drives are usually faster than magnetic drives. hard drives. Of course, some flash drives have very mediocre write speeds, but in general it is solid state drives are now setting the pace, overshadowing the evolution of traditional hard drives.

True, SSD drives are not only faster, but also much more expensive than regular HDDs. Each gigabyte of SSD storage is expensive. And if there is an option to free up a few gigabytes by disabling unnecessary services and Windows components, then this should not be neglected.

It is also worth noting that on the forums of computer enthusiasts there are many individuals who assure that a few simple Windows optimizations help increase productivity. But is it really so?

In this article, we decided to take a closer look at the most popular SSD tweaks and use a test to determine how they affect system performance. In essence, we have to answer only two simple questions - is it possible, using certain system tweaks, to free up space on system drive and increase computer performance?

In addition, we plan to test two different SSDs to see if the effect depends on specific model SSD, or these tweaks are suitable for any drive. It is possible that these tweaks are completely useless and there is no way to make the SSD work faster.

We will test nine of the most popular SSD tweaks for the Windows 7 operating system:

  1. Disabling System Restore.
  2. Disable data indexing.
  3. Disabling the paging file.
  4. Disable hibernation.
  5. Disable prefetching (prefetching).
  6. Disable clearing the Windows entry cache.
  7. Disabling SuperFetch (Superselection) and Windows Search.
  8. Disabling ClearPageFileAtShutdown and LargeSystemCache.
  9. Set up a power plan.

AHCI mode and TRIM command

Before proceeding with subtle system tweaks, you need to make sure that the SATA controller is set to AHCI mode, and the TRIM command is supported by Windows 7. Both of these settings, strictly speaking, cannot be classified as optimizations for SSD - rather, this is a requirement for the configuration of a computer that uses an SSD.

AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) mode is a specific SATA controller mode that allows hot swapping SATA drives and NCQ technology (Native Command Queuing - built-in command queue). Using NCQ provides higher performance of the disk subsystem.

This is especially true for flash drives that use a multi-channel controller: an SSD drive is much better adapted to the simultaneous execution of several commands. That's why maximum performance solid state drives provide precisely at a great depth of the queue and the gain from using NCQ can be quite tangible.

Do not forget about another important argument in favor of AHCI: only in this mode of operation of the controller you can take advantage of the support for the TRIM command, which is provided by operating system Windows 7. TRIM support is essential for SSD drives as it helps keep the drive's performance high over time. long period time.

According to Wikipedia, TRIM- a command that allows the operating system to notify the solid state drive about which data blocks are no longer in use and can be cleared by the drive itself. The use of TRIM allows the SSD device to reduce the impact "garbage collection"(garbage collection), which in otherwise in the future, it will result in a decrease in the write speed to the affected sectors. TRIM support provides a more stable write speed, and also reduces the wear on free memory cells.

How to check if the SATA controller is in AHCI mode

The AHCI mode of the SATA controller can be set in the BIOS or UEFI settings of your motherboard. In most modern motherboards it is set by default, but make sure correct setting The BIOS follows just before Windows installation, not after. If Windows already installed, you need to check if the AHCI mode is enabled:

  • From the "Start" menu, select "Control Panel".
  • On the "View" tab, select the "Small Icons" display mode.
  • Select "Device Manager".
  • In the "Device Manager" we find the branch "IDE ATA / ATAPI controllers", expand it and look for AHCI controllers.
  • If an AHCI controller is listed, then the system is in AHCI mode.
  • If there are no AHCI controllers in the list, then the system started without AHCI support.

  • If Legacy IDE mode is used instead of AHCI, it is recommended to switch to ACHI mode. However, with the OS installed, this will be a little more difficult. More about this is described in support article on the Microsoft website .

How to check if the TRIM command is enabled

If TRIM support is enabled in Windows 7, then the operating system sends the appropriate commands to the SSD. Verifying that TRIM is working is also quite simple:

  • In the start menu, type cmd in the search box.
  • click right click mice by executable file cmd.exe and select "Run as administrator".
  • IN command line type "fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify" (without quotes).
  • If the computer reports DisableDeleteNotify = 0, TRIM support is enabled.
  • If the message DisableDeleteNotify = 1 is displayed, TRIM support is disabled.

Disabling System Restore

Let's move on to the description of more subtle system optimizations. The first one in line is disabling System Restore - built into Windows systems rollback (recovery) of a system using the "checkpoint" principle.

Disabling System Restore does two things. First, you reduce the number of writes to the SSD, which increases its longevity. Today there are different opinions about whether to worry about unnecessary write operations on the SSD. The number of rewrite cycles is the main parameter that tells us about the durability of the memory cells on the basis of which solid state drives are created. Some users think that there is nothing to worry about: you are unlikely to see the day when the memory cells of your SSD drive stop storing data. Other users, on the contrary, do everything to minimize the number of rewrite cycles. There is no definite answer as to which of them is right. But if you do not rely on chance and consider yourself to be risk-averse, then disabling System Restore is a good option reduce the load on memory cells. We add that System Restore "checkpoints" are not available for the TRIM command and regular use of this Windows features can potentially lead to degraded drive performance over time.

The second reason to refuse to restore the system is to save free space on the system drive. The checkpoints created by System Restore are stored on the system drive itself and "eat off" expensive disk space on the SSD. At the same time, they do not always provide a full rollback of the system. It is generally safer to have a complete system image created with specialized utility(Norton Ghost, Acronis True image). You can "deploy" such an image to disk in a matter of minutes and you will be sure that you can return to working system. In addition, you do not need to store such an image on the system drive itself - you can use a regular hard drive or an external drive for this purpose.

How to turn off System Restore

  • Right-click on the "Computer" icon in the "Start" menu and select "Properties".
  • Select the System Protection tab.
  • Click on the "Setup" button.
  • Check the box next to "Turn off system protection".



CONTENT
Liked the article? Share with friends!
Was this article helpful?
Yes
Not
Thanks for your feedback!
Something went wrong and your vote was not counted.
Thanks. Your message has been sent
Did you find an error in the text?
Select it, click Ctrl+Enter and we'll fix it!