How Computer Virus Works?

Strange as it may sound, the computer virus is something of an Information Age marvel. On one hand, viruses show us how vulnerable we are -- a properly engineered virus can have a devastating effect, disrupting productivity and doing billions of dollars in damages. On the other hand, they show us how sophisticated and interconnected human beings have become.
For example, experts estimate that the Mydoom worm infected approximately a quarter-million computers in a single day in January 2004. Back in March 1999, the Melissa virus was so powerful that it forced Microsoft and a number of other very large companies to completely turn off their e-mail systems until the virus could be contained. TheILOVEYOU virus in 2000 had a similarly devastating effect. In January 2007, a worm called Storm appeared -- by October, experts believed up to 50 million computers were infected. That's pretty impressive when you consider that many viruses are incredibly simple.
When you listen to the news, you hear about many different forms of electronic infection. The most common are:

• Viruses - A virus is a small piece of software that piggybacks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.
• E-mail viruses - An e-mail virus travels as an attachment toe-mail messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to dozens of people in the victim's e-mail address book. Some e-mail viruses don't even require a double-click -- they launch when you view the infected message in the preview pane of your e-mail software [source:Johnson].
• Trojan horses - A Trojan horse is simply a computer program. The program claims to do one thing (it may claim to be a game) but instead does damage when you run it (it may erase your hard disk). Trojan horses have no way to replicate automatically.
• Worms - A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.

In this article, we will discuss viruses -- both "traditional" viruses and e-mail viruses -- so that you can learn how they work and understand how to protect yourself.

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HP Laptop Reviews

When you decide upon buying a new laptop computer, there are several factors you have to take into account. For example, you have to decide upon the manufacturer. There are several good one son the market, including HP, which offers some reliable, performing and designed to meet several needs. 

You can choose from entertainment laptops, business, everyday and so on. HP laptops are everywhere you look, even in stores, retail stores, online shops and so on. The prices depend on the configuration you want your laptop to have, the upgrades, decision upon color and the size as well. If you are on the budget, then you can go for a Compaq Presariolaptop, which is still a HP one actually. These are affordable and they are decent, so you can manage through everyday computing.

These said, let’s see some of the HP laptops of the moment, so you can know exactly what to buy and how much you should be expected to spend. If you take a look at HP’s main website, you will see that you can shop by category, screen size and choose among mini laptops, everyday computing, ultra-portable, high performance and Envy. Those from the everyday computing category are priced the most reasonable, having a starting price of $399.99. HP G62m series is such an example, offering a 15.6” display, with Intel Celeron processor, free upgrade to 3GB of DDR3 RAM and to 320GB hard drive, up to 5 hours of battery life and Windows 7 Home Premium as operating system. What is more, the laptops here are available in blue color. But as the price goes higher, you can choose among other color options and Intel Pentium Dual Core processors. The largest HP laptop in this category is HP Pavilion g7t series, with a 17.3” display, a starting price of $579.99, range of colors and Intel Core i3 processor. This laptop is considered to be both affordable and powerful, designed to meet your entertaining needs.

Moreover, you can imagine that in the ultra-portable category, laptops are decent sized, having from 12.1” and up to 14.5”. these can be called mini laptops as well, but they are still performing and some with higher prices even than the ones from the everyday computing category. HP laptops in high-performance category have higher prices indeed, but at least their performance level is high indeed. You can easily handle the toughest tasks and enjoy powerful computing at even a 15.6” system. With some of the best components inside, color options and free upgrades of memory and hard drive, not to mention the Dolby audio plus Altec Lansing speakers, these laptops offer more than you need.

And finally, there are HP Envy laptops, which have the higher price when it comes to HP laptops, but these laptops can handle them all. The lowest price in this case is $999.99 and for it you get one of the smallest and most powerful laptop with Intel Core processor inside, a 14” display, discrete graphics, backlit keyboard and Beats audio. The most expensive laptop in this category is HP Envy 17 and the 17 3D version, which as expected can play 3D content. The starting price for this one is $1549.99 and some of the most powerful components on the market are inside this system.

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Laptop Computer Skins

Want a cheap way to personalize your laptops’ design and make it out of the ordinary? Well,laptop computer skins are what you need in this case. These good-looking vinyl sheets will definitely change how your laptop will look and even add something new. What is more, you can even protect your laptop from some light damages such as scratches and smudges. 

In case your laptop is a bit scratched and you can’t get over the issue and keep starring at it, perhaps even dreaming about one of the latest colored systems you see on the market, then these will take care of this as well. If you are interested in this aspect of the matter, then you can easily buy these online at a very reasonable price.

Laptop computer skins are like posters you stick on your walls in your room, to make it more personalized and add your own style. You can have anything on your laptop, from simple colors, to pictures with yourself. You don’t have to do much either and the choosing process can last from a few minutes to a few hours. For example, if you know exactly the type of laptop you have, the exact model that is, or the measurements, then you just have to select it from the list on the websites with skins and then decide upon the skin you like the most. For each laptop model, there are various skins available and you don’t have to take just one, several can be chosen due to the fact that skins are removable and reusable. Whenever you get bored of a skin, you can easily take it off and replace it with a brand new one, or with one you used earlier. You can select from various categories, such as animals, have landscape pictures, holidays, some cartoon characters, cars you dream about, love pictures and so on.

The process of picking out laptop computer skins can last longer if you can’t find something you like, or you want to have something special on your laptop, such as a picture with yourself, your friends, loved ones or family. In this case, you should upload a pictureyou have in your computer, make any changes you desire, perhaps add some quotes or funny sayings and so on. Just make sure the picture is of high-quality. If your laptop is large, then it will probably enlarge the picture as well, and you don’t want to see the pixels, you want to see the clear, perfect picture. These are some simple steps you should fallow in case you want something good-looking or something unique on your laptop computer. As for the price range for these skins, they usually start at about $20 and go as far as $30. The higher prices are for personalized skins. This is because the company needs to start from scratch and thus a larger amount of work must be done to create your skin.

So, are you convinced about buying some laptop computer skins? If not yet, the take a look at the pictures with skins available on the market and some might probably convince you that they are indeed worth buying. It does not take long, the process is easy and you end up with something more delightful.

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Computer Desk

It is suitable to have a big desk in case you have a desktop computer. You need extra roomto place the display, the keyboard, mouse and even the printer. This type of furniture costs a lot and it occupies a lot of space in your room or at the office, especially if you are a student in a dorm room and you have to share the space you have. The decision of getting a laptop instead of a desktop is up to you, but one thing is certain: you will have a lot of extra space and no wires, no extra accessories around and so. 

Furthermore, laptop desks are smaller, cheaper and they give you more space, allowing you to manage your own personal space however you want. Not to mention that somelaptop desks are adjustable and due to their small size, you can place them on your lap and work comfortably no matter what.

As we have established the use of laptop desks, let’s see now some of the examples of such products you can find on the market and how much you should be willing to spend. One example is Lapworks laptop desk Ultralite, priced around $30, offering the ultra-light design, as the name itself recalls and it guarantees to cool your notebook by 15%-20%. You can use it as a desk, but also convert it into a laptop stand. 

You can choose from five ergonomic typing angles and the screen height can be raised closer to your eyes, so it doesn’t matter if your laptop is smaller. Even Targus comes with such a product, which is ultra-light and it comes at the same price as the previous model. This product is stable and it protects your laptop from overheating. Being made out of plastic, it does not weight more than 15 ounces and if you fold it, you can easily take it around with you and store it in your laptop bag or case. In this way, even if you are traveling by car, bus or train, you can still use your laptop comfortably. Logitech comfort lapdesk comes in a very attractive white design and it is priced around $30 as well. It features a heat-shielding design; the angles can be adjusted, so it improves the position of your neck and head. If you keep the laptop desk on your lap, you will have no problems because it is designed out of air-mesh fabric. 

The profile is thin and it looks good in any room, any design, and any environment. Anotherlaptop desk is the one from Creative, called LapGear Deluxe LapDesk, priced at around $25. This one has the built-in wrist rest, has integrated side storage pockets, built-in mouse pads and again the heat protection and extra safety are engaged. Buyers are very pleased with their purchase and they recommend the product as being one of the best on the market. From LapWorks, Futura laptop desk is priced at $30 can support any laptop size, it cools out your laptop up to 20% and you can turn it into a desktop stand, so you can work better with your laptop. These are just some of the examples of laptop desks you will find on the market and from these companies you can look for other examples as well. The price range remains mostly the same though.

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How to Make a Touch Screen Laptop with Multiple Finger Input

Remember when we wrote about the Laptop Pen from Navisis that allows you to enhance your portable computer and transform it into a digital notebook with handwriting recognition?

That is a great tech gadget that made me think of getting one too in the near future. Now let’s see another cool gadget introduced by N-trig, the provider of the DuoSense technology, which we encountered before when we found out about the large multi-touchdisplay that brought real innovation to the touchscreen market.

Using the same high-end technology, N-trig unveils the world’s first device that combines stylus pen functionality with the multi-touch capability. It is called the Transparent Electromagnetic Digitizer and provides specifications on how to make a touch screen laptop, working similar with the Laptop Pen that clips to your computer monitor, connecting to one of the free USB ports of the computer, while you can write directly on the screen using the special digitizer.
The large difference between this kit and N-trig’s device consists of eliminating the stylus and the USB port requirement, and leaving only a 2-mm screen that applies onto the monitor’s viewable surface, with the connectivity cable plugged into the monitor’s port. This way you get a single device, instead of three, plus the multi-touch capability, which recognizes simultaneous input from two fingers. 



As I was saying, the advanced screen that applies on the monitor is just 2-mm thick weighting 200 grams and N-trig found a smart non-invasive way of enabling multi-touch input with handwriting recognition on your computer, by using standard air gap bonding, pressure-sensitive adhesive, or direct bonding with an intermediary index-matching gel to lower reflection, eliminating the need for special mounting brackets.
The DuoSense technology is based on zero-pressure capacitive touch that senses any finger and pen input, eliminating problems like when using long nails, gloved fingers and standard styluses.




“We believe Hands-on computing will change how the world interacts with computers. From image manipulation and gaming, to graphic and industrial design, N-trig is breaking down the barriers between humans and their machines,” said Amihai Ben-David, CEO of N-trig. “Our technology enables OEMs and ISVs to create new depths of interaction through customization of applications that offer greater functionality, usability and capitalize on our ability to use two of the most basic extensions of the brain – the pen and our fingertips.

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A "Social Networking Safety Act", Social Networking

At the behest of the state Attorney General, legislation to make MySpace and Facebook safer for children is gaining momentum in the New Jersey State Legislature.

The proposed Social Networking Safety Act, heavily marked-up with floor amendments, is available here. An accompanying statement describes the Legislative purpose. Explanations of the floor amendments are available here.

This bill would deputize MySpace and Facebook to serve as a branch of law enforcement. It does so in a very subtle way.

On the surface, it appears to be a perfectly reasonable response to concerns about cyberbullies in general and to the Lori Drew case in particular. New Jersey was the first state in the nation to pass Megan's Law, requiring information about registered sex offenders to be made available to the public, and state officials hope to play a similar, pioneering role in the fight against cyberbullying.

The proposed legislation creates a civil right of action for customers who are offended by what they read on MySpace or Facebook. It allows the social network provider to sue customers who post “sexually offensive” or “harassing” communications. Here’s the statutory language:

No person shall transmit a sexually offensive communication through a social networking website to a person located in New Jersey who the actor knows or should know is less than 13 years of age, or is at least 13 but less than 16 years old and at least four years younger than the actor. A person who transmits a sexually offensive communication in violation of this subsection shall be liable to the social networking website operator in a civil action for damages of $1,000, plus reasonable attorney’s fees, for each violation. A person who transmits a sexually offensive communication in violation of this subsection shall also be liable to the recipient of the communication in a civil action for damages in the amount of $5,000, plus reasonable attorney’s fees, or actual damages…

The bill requires social network providers to design their user interfaces with icons that will allow customers to report “sexually offensive” or “harassing” communications:

A social networking website operator shall not be deemed to be in violation … if the operator maintains a reporting mechanism available to the user that meets the following requirements: (1) the social networking website displays, in a conspicuous location, a readily identifiable icon or link that enables a user or third party to report to the social networking website operator a sexually offensive communication or harassing communication transmitted through the social networking website.

Moreover, the social network provider must investigate complaints, call the police when “appropriate” and banish offenders:

A social networking website operator shall not be deemed to be in violation … if ... (2) the operator conducts a review, in the most expedient time possible without unreasonable delay, of any report by a user or visitor, including investigation and referral to law enforcement if appropriate, and provides users and visitors with the opportunity to determine the status of the operator’s review or investigation of any such report.

Finally, if the social network provider fails to take action, it can be sued for consumer fraud:

[I]t shall be an unlawful practice and a violation of P.L.1960, c.39 (C.56:8-1 et seq.) [the state Consumer Fraud Act] for a social networking website operator to fail to revoke, in the most expedient time possible without unreasonable delay, the website access of any user or visitor upon receipt of information that provides a reasonable basis to conclude that the visitor has violated [this statute]"

So what’s the problem? It’s not a criminal statute, and we do want to shut down sex offenders and cyberbullies. How could anyone object to this proposed measure?

First, the proposed law puts a special burden on one specific type of technology. It’s as if the newfangledness of social networking—and its allure for kids—have made it a special target for our fears about sex offenders and cyberbullies. No similar requirements are being placed on e-mail providers, wikis, blogs or the phone company.

Second, it deputizes private companies to do the job of law enforcement. Social network providers will have to evaluate complaints and decide when to call the police.

Third, it’s the thin edge of the wedge. If social network providers have to investigate and report criminal activity, they will be enlisted to do more. Today, sex offenders and cyberbullies. Tomorrow, drug deals, terrorist threats and pornography.

Fourth, this raises First Amendment concerns. Social network providers, if they are called upon to monitor and punish “offensive” and “harassing” speech, effectively become an arm of law enforcement. To avoid the risk of lawsuits under the Consumer Fraud Act, they will have an incentive to ban speech that is protected under the First Amendment.

Fifth, the definitions of “offensive” and “harassing” are vague. The bill invokes the “reasonable person” standard, which is okay for garden-variety negligence cases, but not for constitutional issues like freedom of speech. It’s not clear just what kinds of communication will expose customers to investigation or liability.

If the bill is enacted, MySpace and Facebook could mount a legal challenge in federal court. They could argue that Congress intended to occupy the field of internet communication, and thus pre-empt state law, when it adopted the Communications Decency Act (CDA), 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(1).

The bill probably violates the Dormant Commerce Clause as well. It would affect interstate commerce by differentially regulating social networking websites. Social networking services outside New Jersey can simply ignore the requirements of state law. Federal courts have consistently struck down these sorts of laws, even when they are designed to protect children.

In my opinion, the proposed legislation projects our worst fears about stalkers and sex predators onto a particular technology—social networking. There are already laws that address harassment and obscenity, and internet service providers are already obliged to cooperate with law enforcement.

Studies suggest that for kids online, education is better than restriction. This is the conclusion of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force of State Attorneys General of the United States, Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies. According to another study funded by the MacArthur Foundation, social networking provides benefits, including opportunities for self-directed learning and independence.

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A Free Internet, If We Can Keep It

“We stand for a single internet where all of humanity has equal access to knowledge and ideas. And we recognize that the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it. "

These two sentences, from Secretary of State Clinton's groundbreaking speech on Internet freedom, sum up beautifully the challenge facing our Internet policy. An open Internet can advance our values and support our interests; but we will only get there if we make some difficult choices now.

One of these choices relates to anonymity. Will it be easy to speak anonymously on the Internet, or not? This was the subject of the first question in the post-speech Q&A:

QUESTION: You talked about anonymity on line and how we have to prevent that. But you also talk about censorship by governments. And I’m struck by – having a veil of anonymity in certain situations is actually quite beneficial. So are you looking to strike a balance between that and this emphasis on censorship?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Absolutely. I mean, this is one of the challenges we face. On the one hand, anonymity protects the exploitation of children. And on the other hand, anonymity protects the free expression of opposition to repressive governments. Anonymity allows the theft of intellectual property, but anonymity also permits people to come together in settings that gives them some basis for free expression without identifying themselves.

None of this will be easy. I think that’s a fair statement. I think, as I said, we all have varying needs and rights and responsibilities. But I think these overriding principles should be our guiding light. We should err on the side of openness and do everything possible to create that, recognizing, as with any rule or any statement of principle, there are going to be exceptions.

So how we go after this, I think, is now what we’re requesting many of you who are experts in this area to lend your help to us in doing. We need the guidance of technology experts. In my experience, most of them are younger than 40, but not all are younger than 40. And we need the companies that do this, and we need the dissident voices who have actually lived on the front lines so that we can try to work through the best way to make that balance you referred to.

Secretary Clinton's answer is trying to balance competing interests, which is what good politicians do. If we want A, and we want B, and A is in tension with B, can we have some A and some B together? Is there some way to give up a little A in exchange for a lot of B? That's a useful way to start the discussion.

But sometimes you have to choose -- sometimes A and B are profoundly incompatible. That seems to be the case here. Consider the position of a repressive government that wants to spy on a citizen's political speech, as compared to the position of the U.S. government when it wants to eavesdrop on a suspect's conversations under a valid search warrant. The two positions are very differentmorally, but they are pretty much the same technologically. Which means that either both governments can eavesdrop, or neither can. We have to choose.

Secretary Clinton saw this tension, and, being a lawyer, she saw that law could not resolve it. So she expressed the hope that technology, the aspect she understood least, would offer a solution. This is a common pattern: Given a difficult technology policy problem, lawyers will tend to seek technology solutions and technologists will tend to seek legal solutions. (Paul Ohm calls this "Felten's Third Law".) It's easy to reject non-solutions in your own area because you have the knowledge to recognize why they will fail; but there must be a solution lurking somewhere in the unexplored wilderness of the other area.

If we're forced to choose -- and we will be -- what kind of Internet will we have? In Secretary Clinton's words, "the world’s information infrastructure will become what we and others make of it." We'll have a free Internet, if we can keep it.

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There’s anonymity on the Internet. Get over it.

In a recent interview prominent antivirus developer Eugene Kaspersky decried the role of anonymity in cybercrime. This is not a new claim – it is touched on in theCommission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency Report and Cybersecurity Act of 2009, among others – but it misses the mark. Any Internet design would allow anonymity. What renders our Internet vulnerable is primarily weakness of software security and authentication, not anonymity.

Consider a hypothetical of three Internet users: Alice, Bob, and Charlie. If Alice wants to communicate anonymously with Charlie, she may relay her messages through Bob. While Charlie knows Bob is an intermediary, Charlie does not know with whom he is ultimately communicating. For even greater anonymity Alice can pass her messages through multiple Bobs, and by applying cryptography she can ensure no individual Bob can piece together that she is communicating with Charlie. This basic approach to anonymity is remarkable in its independence of the Internet’s design: it only requires that some Bob(s) can and do run intermediary software. Even on an Internet where users could verify each other’s identity this means of anonymity would remain viable.

The sad state of software security – the latest DHS weekly bulletin alone identified over 40 “high severity” vulnerabilities – is what enables malicious users to exploit the Internet’s indelible capacity for anonymity. Modifying the prior hypothetical, suppose Alice now wants to spam, phish, denial of service (DoS) attack, or hack Charlie. After compromising Bob’s computer with malicious software (malware), Alice can send emails, host websites, and launch DoS attacks from it; Charlie knows Bob is apparently misbehaving, but has no means of discovering Alice’s role. Nearly all spam, phishing, and DoS attacks are now perpetrated with networks of compromised computers like Bob’s (botnets). At the writing of a July 2009 private sector report, just five botnets sourced nearly 75% of spam. Worse yet, botnets are increasingly self-perpetuating: spam and phishing websites propagate malware that compromises new computers for the botnet.

Shortcomings in authentication, the means of proving one’s identity either when necessary or at all times, are a secondary contributor to the Internet’s ills. Most applications rely on passwords, which are easily guessed or divulged through deception – the very mechanisms of most phishing and account hijacking. There arepotential technical solutions that would enable a user to authenticate themselves without the risk of compromising accounts. But any approach will be undermined by weaknesses in underlying software security when a malicious party can trivially compromise a user’s computer.

The policy community is already trending towards acceptance of Internet anonymity and refocusing on software security and authentication; the recent White House Cyberspace Policy Review in particular emphasizes both issues. To the remaining unpersuaded, I can only offer at last a truism: There’s anonymity on the Internet. Get over it.

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Make Your Own Copy-Protected CD with Passive Protection

Here's a great gift idea just in time for the holidays: Make your friends and relatives their very own copy-protected CDs using the same industrial-grade passive protection technology built into XCP and Macrovision discs.

Passive protection exploits subtle differences between the way computers read CDs and the way ordinary CD players do. By changing the layout of data on the CD, it's sometimes possible to confuse computers without affecting ordinary players — or so the theory goes. In practice, the distinction between computers and CD players is less precise. Older generations of CD copy protection, which relied entirely on passive protection, proved easy to copy in some computers and impossible to play on some CD players. For these reasons, copy protection vendors now use active protection — special software designed to block copying.

Discs with XCP or Macrovision protection employ active protection in conjunction with a milder form of passive protection. You can create your own CD with exactly the same passive protection by following a straightforward five-step procedure. I'll describe the procedure here, and then explain why it works.

What you'll need:

• A computer running a recent version of Windows (instructions are Windows-specific; perhaps someone will write instructions for MacOS or Linux)
• Nero, a popular CD burning application
• CloneCD, an advanced disc duplication utility
• Two blank recordable CDs

Step 1: Burn a regular audio CD

Start Nero Burning ROM and create a new Audio CD project. [View] Add the audio tracks that you want to include on your copy-protected disc. [View] When you're ready to record, click the Burn button on the toolbar. In the Burn tab, make sure "Finalize disc" is unchecked. [View] Insert a blank CD and click Burn. Be careful not to infringe any copyrights! For loads of great music that you can copy legally, visitCreative Commons.

Step 2: Add a data session to the CD

Start another Nero compilation, this time selecting the "CD-ROM ISO" project type. In the Multisession tab, make sure "Start Multisession disc" is selected; and in the ISO tab, make sure Data Mode is set to "Mode 2 / XA". [View] Add any files that you want to be accessible when the CD is used in a computer. You might include "bonus" content, such as album art and lyrics. [View] For a more professional effect, consider adding the installer for your favorite spyware application and creating anAutorun.inf file so it starts automatically. When you're finished, click the Burn toolbar button. Insert the audio CD you created in Step 1, and click Burn. [View] Nero should warn you that the disc you've inserted is not empty; click Yes to add your data files as a second session. [View]

At this point, you've created a CD that contains both audio tracks and data files. The data files you put on the CD should be visible in Windows Explorer (in My Computer, right click the CD icon and click Open) and the audio tracks should be rippable with your favorite audio player. To add passive copy protection, you'll need to modify the layout of the data on the disc so that the audio tracks are more difficult to access.

Step 3: Rip the CD as a CloneCD image file

Make sure the CD you just created is still in the drive and start CloneCD. Click the "Read to Image File" button. Select your drive and click Next. Choose "Multimedia Audio CD" and click Next. [View] Select an easy to find location for the image file and click OK to begin ripping.

Step 4: Modify the image file to add passive protection

The CloneCD image you created in step 3 actually consists of three files with names ending in .CCD, .IMG, and .SUB. The .CCD file describes the layout of the tracks and sessions on the CD. You'll edit this file to add the passive protection.

Start Windows Notepad and open the .CCD file. Modifying the file by hand would be tedious, so I've created an online application to help. Copy the entire contents of the file to the clipboard and paste it into this form, then click Upload. Copy the output from the web page and paste it back into Notepad, replacing the original file contents. [View] Save the file and exit Notepad.

Step 5: Burn the modified image to create a copy-protected CD

Insert a blank CD and start CloneCD again. Click the "Write From Image File" button. Select the image file you modified in step 4 and click next. Select your CD recorder and click Next. Select "Multimedia Audio CD" and click OK to begin burning. [View]

That's it! You've created your very own copy-protected CD.

Now it's time to test your disc. If everything worked, the files from the data session will be visible from My Computer, but the audio tracks will not appear in Windows Media Player, iTunes, and most other mainstream music players. The CD should play correctly in standalone CD players.

How it works. To see how this form of passive protection works, you can examine the layout of the CD you created. Start Nero and select Disc Info from the Recorder menu. You should see something like this:

(The exact number of tracks you see will depend on how many songs you included.)

Notice that the tracks are grouped into two sessions — essentially two independent CDs burned onto the same disc. Unprotected CDs that combine audio and data files contain audio tracks in the first session and a single data track in the second. The only difference in the passive protected CD you just created is that the second session contains two tracks instead of one.

You added the extra track (shown in yellow) when you edited the disc image in step 4. This simple change makes the audio tracks invisible to most music player applications. It's not clear why this works, but the most likely explanation is that the behavior is a quirk in the way the Windows CD audio driver handles discs with multiple sessions.

For an added layer of protection, the extraneous track you added to the disc is only 31 frames long. (A frame is 1/75 of a second.) The CD standard requires that tracks be at least 150 frames long. This non-compliant track length will cause errors if you attempt to duplicate the disc with many CD drives and copying applications.

Caveat emptor. Yes, your copy-protected CD is "industrial strength" — XCP and Macrovision employ exactly the same passive protection — but even the pros have their limitations. There are many well-known method for defeating this kind of passive protection, such as:

• Enhanced software – Advanced CD ripping programs avoid the Windows CD audio driver altogether and communicate directly with the CD drive. Thus, programs such as EAC are able to rip the tracks without any difficulty. – Better CD copying applications, including Nero, support a recording mode called Disc-at-Once/96; this lets them create an exact duplicate of the protected disc even though the last track has an illegal length.
• Other operating systems – The discs can be ripped with standard software on Macs and on Linux systems. These platforms don't suffer from the limitation that causes ripping problems on Windows.
• Magic markers – The famous magic marker trick involves carefully drawing around the outer edge of the CD. This blocks out the second session, allowing the disc to be ripped and copied just like an unprotected CD.

And of course, at any time Microsoft could fix the Windows quirk that is the basis for this technique, rendering it completely ineffective.

Despite these limitations, who wouldn't enjoy finding a homemade copy-protected CD in their stocking? They're a great way to spread holiday cheer while preventing anyone else from spreading it further.

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