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April 13th, 2009

You are currently browsing the articles from MS Windows Vista Compatible Software written on April 13th, 2009.

KVM in Ubuntu - Setup and Virtual Machine Creation Guide


As I posted last night, I paved over my Vista install, and gave into my Linux bug. I’m just a Linux guy at heart, and always will be, I guess :-)

I really did want to play around with KVM though. I never could before, because my last system had a Intel Core2Duo E4600, which while it was a decent chip, the E4xxx series chips and below lack hardware virtualization. This wouldn’t be a big deal for an average user, but there isn’t anything average about me when it comes to computer use (as any of my friends will tell you), and virtualization was one of the reasons for building my new machine.

So, let me start out by giving a brief run-down on what KVM is, and how it works. Actually, I’m not - I’d just be copying and pasting really, so head on over to the KVM home page where you can read all about it. … It’s ok, you can go now, I’ll wait on you!

So, now that you are back, you should be armed with the knowledge that KVM is a virutalization solution for Linux that works in conjunction with QEMU, and provides hardware acceleration via a  Kernel module.

What makes KVM awesome is that it is part of the OS and is not dependent upon a 3rd party vendor to make the magic happen. Also, it’s very easy to maintain as you update your system, and load new kernel revisions, as the module will not break (requiring a re-build unless running DKMS) like VirtualBox and VMware solutions would. Also, it’s far less hassle to manage than Xen, which is entirely unsuitable for a desktop system, as you are in effect running your system in a Virtual on the bare-metal hypervisor. I do still like Xen (in the form of Citrix XenServer) as my preferred Server Virtualization solution.

Although I’m using it in a desktop environment, KVM really is more of a direct competitor to Xen than to a workstation solution like VirtualBox or VMware workstation, and has some very powerful features, I will never tap into here on my home system. By design however, it’s far less intrusive on a standard Linux desktop than Xen. So here is a quick guide on how to turn your Ubuntu install into a nice VM host workstation.

This guide was created using Ubuntu 9.04 (Beta) fully updated as of 04.13.09.

Now, let’s get started. First, we have to install KVM, and the tools we will need. Although there are a few GUI based package managers, I’ll deal with Command-line commands, as they are easier to post here for you to copy and paste, so before we get started, go to ‘Applications’ -> ‘Accessories’ and open up a Terminal window.

First things first, we need to verify that your CPU will support hardware virtualization. To do this, execute the following command in your Terminal:

Intel CPU:

grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo

AMD CPU:

grep svm /proc/cpuinfo

If the above command gives you output, you are good, if you get taken straight back to the $ prompt your CPU does not have hardware virtualization, and I recommend the excellent VirtualBox OSE.

Now that we have verified hardware support on the CPU, let’s install the required packages to get us started. Head back over to your Terminal window, and execute the following command:

sudo apt-get install virt-manager libvirt-bin kvm

This will pull down the required packages, along with any dependencies you may require (depending on your installation). After the packages are installed, we need to make sure that your user account has the appropriate permissions to load the KVM module. To do this, execute this command:

sudo adduser $USER kvm

Now, I need you to bookmark this page, and log out and back in for me, so that we can continue.

Back? Great! now let’s try running the kvm command in a terminal and see what we get! So bring back up a Terminal and execute:

kvm

If you get the following output at the very next line below the command, you are golden:

$ kvm
QEMU PC emulator version 0.9.1 (kvm-62), Copyright (c) 2003-2008 Fabrice Bellard
usage: qemu [options] [disk_image]


(there will be more output, but I truncated here to save space)

On the other hand, if perhaps you skipped my first step, and your CPU does not, in fact support Hardware virutalization, you will get output such as the following:

$ kvm
Could not initialize KVM, will disable KVM support
Ubuntu does not support running KVM without hardware acceleration. Sorry.

Now that we have everything installed, and have verified that our kernel module is loading appropriately, let’s get down to the business of creating a Virtual Machine. I’ll use Windows XP as an example, since that is a popular OS to virtualize on a Linux desktop.

First, verify that you have either a CD-ROM of Windows XP handy, or preferably an .iso file created from a CD (you will find .iso’s much easier to handle in a virtual environment than physical CD’s).

Now, let’s launch the Virtual Machine Manager. Head up to your ‘Applications’ menu and go to the ‘System Tools’ submenu and click on ‘Virtual Machine Manager’

launch_vmm_edit

This should launch the following window:

vmm_edit

Next, right-click ‘localhost (User)’ and click ‘Connect’:

connect_edit

If you already have an Virtual Machines created, they will now show up in tree fashion underneath the main connection. Now to create a Virtual Machine, simply right-click ‘localhost (User)’ again, and choose ‘New’:

new_edit

We are now presented with the New Virtual Machine creation wizard (go ahead and click ‘Forward’):

canvm_edit

On this next screen, you can give your new Virtual Machine a name. Type a name for your VM in the text box and click on ‘Forward’:

name_vm_edit

On the next screen, choose the archetecture of your Virtual Machine, and ensure that KVM is selected for the Hypervisor, and click ‘Forward’ once again:

choose_arch_edit

On this next screen, we will specify what Operating System the guest will be running and what install media we will be using:

os_edit

Next, we will click ‘Browse’ and navigate to the location of our .iso file we will use for our install media:

browse_edit

On this next screen, we will tell the Virtual Machine Manager where we want to create our Virtual Hard Drive image, choose to have an ‘expanding’ file, or choose a physical block device to use as the Hard Drive for our Virtual Machine. As you can see, I have chosen to create a ~14GB fixed size image named WinXP2.img:

virt_hdd_edit

I do reccomend a “fully allocated” HDD image as it will provide better performance.

If you have chosen (as I did) to fully allocate the entire virtual disk now, you will now need to wait on the file to be created. This time can vary depending on the size you specified, and the speed of your Hard Disk (more on HDD setup in a minute).

Next we can specify the number of Virtual CPU’s as well as the amount of memory (RAM) we would like to dedicate to this virtual machine. As you can see, I have selected 1 CPU, and 512MB for RAM.

cpu_mem_edit

Finally, click on ‘Finish’:

finish_edit

Next, our Virtual Machine should boot, and Windows Setup should start:

booting1_edit

And, there you have it - installing, KVM and creating an Windows XP Guest on an Ubuntu host.

A few paragraphs up, I mentioned the HDD setup of the host. I wanted to touch bases on this for just a minute. If you are “really” serious about virtualization, I highly recommend having at least two physical HDD’s in your machine - one for your / and /home mounts, and one for a /virtuals mount-point. I personally have three. My main drive is a 10,000RPM drive that has / , /home and swap my second drive is a 7,200RPM drive that is 320GB and holds my Virtual Machines and is mounted as /virtuals . I also have a 1TB 7,200RPM drive that is mounted as /data and basically holds all of my personal data, including my ISO files. This really helps spread the I/O load of the system, and having at least a separate hard drive to hold your virtual images will help a lot!

Good luck, and I hope this gets you started!

Written by jaysonrowe on April 13th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on otherSoftware and Computing.

Aero Hilled Theme - Free Download

Aero Hilled Theme
You don’t see to many green colored designs for Windows 7 but now we do. There aren’t too many mods to this theme other then the massive amount of green and some slight color changes but I still like it. I can’t wait until Windows 7 comes out of beta so we can have more wonderful themes like this one.

Are you still using Windows XP? If you are then visit our FAQ page to download our XP Theme Patcher. If you’re using Windows 7, you don’t need the Theme Patcher.

Title: Aero Hilled
Author: alkhan
Download: Windows 7 Aero Hilled Theme

Written by MyVistaThemes.com on April 13th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on 7 Skins And Themes and hilled and otherSoftware and aero and theme and vista.

Alduin 2 Theme - Free Download

Alduin 2 Theme
It’s been a while since we’ve had something worth sharing but the wait is finally over. This cool Vista theme brings a nice low graphic quality design to the high quality flashy Vista desktop. I love the simple folder icons and wonderful grey color for the topbar and taskbar. The start button looks like a real button and the background is mysterious. I like how the wallpaper blends from the taskbar to the actual image with diagonal lines. I really like the soft touches like the light blue buttons.

Are you still using Windows XP? If you are then visit our FAQ page to download our XP Theme Patcher. If you’re using Windows Vista, you don’t need the Theme Patcher.

Title: Alduin 2
Author: sweatyfish
Download: Vista Alduin 2 Theme

Written by MyVistaThemes.com on April 13th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on alduin and Vista Skins and Themes and otherSoftware and 2 and theme and vista.

Burn ISO Images Natively in Windows 7

isodisk_icon

Geeks and IT Pros often have to burn an ISO image (.iso file) to physical media such as a CD or DVD to test out and install software. We have made it easier to burn ISO images in Windows 7 by natively supporting the ability to burn ISO images directly within Windows without the need of a third party tool.

To burn an ISO image in Windows 7, all someone needs to do is simply right-click on an ISO image and choose “Burn disc image”.

iso_burn1

This launches Windows Disc Image Burner, giving you the option to burn the ISO image to either a CD or DVD.

 iso_burn2

If you check “Verify disc after burning”, it will verify the ISO image burned correctly. Choosing to verify a disc you burned will require additional time so if you’re in a hurry, you will probably want to ensure this option is unchecked.

I often burn ISO images to a DVD-RW so I can re-use the media. What’s great about Windows Disc Image Burner is that it will detect that a DVD-RW has content on it already and prompt you asking if you would like to erase the disc and burn new content to it. This ensures you don’t accidently erase and burn over something important that may be on that DVD-RW disc. This is awesome because it lets me re-use DVD-RW media.

iso_burn3

If you haven’t already discovered this feature in the Windows 7 Beta, you should give it a shot especially if you are burning ISO images quite a bit.

Digg This

Written by Brandon LeBlanc on April 13th, 2009 with 2 comments.
Read more articles on windows 7 BETA and Burning and Windows Disc Image Burner and DVD and CD and windows 7 and otherSoftware and iso image and Media.

Windows 7 build 7106 appears

Not surprised, but I am beginning to like the idea of keeping track of builds that are available outside the beta program. The latest build to make its way on the web, presented by popular Windows 7 enthusiast website Windows 7 News, reveals nothing new except for being Chinese through and through.

7106

Windows 7 build 7106 (click to enlarge)

The screenshot is showing a Chinese version of Windows 7. The build number is clearly visible from various system screens. The build string is 6.1.7106.0.winmain.090408-1623 and both the 32-bit and 64-bit edition seem to have leaked.

If the release is real it will appear on various P2P networks sooner or later. Stay tuned for updates.

Learn more here

Microsoft is expected to make available the well anticipated Release Candidate sometime in May. I have already prepped one of my systems for the update. Running Windows 7 build 7000 since January has left me highly impressed by its performance, respectable stability for a beta product and innovative additions such as the improved Taskbar, Jump List, Search Scopes and Desktop Effects such as Preview, Slideshow and themes in addition to many other features like cleaner design, in addition to simplified networking with Home Groups, Libraries, quicker access to wireless networks and even improved compatibility.

Previously:

Windows 7 build 7077 is out in the wild!
The Faucet continues to leak – Windows 7 build 7070 takes the stage
Preview Screenshot of Windows 7 build 7068 shows new Desktop Gadgets?
Just a note: More Windows 7 build 7057 screenies surface
Windows 7 build 7048 screenshots hit the net
New sound schemes in Windows 7 build 7048
Beauty abundant in Windows 7 build 7048 Wallpapers

Resources:

Getting your PC ready for Windows 7 Release Candidate

Technorati Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Written by Teching It Easy: Windows Vista, Live & 7 on April 13th, 2009 with no comments.
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Malware Doctor

Description of Malware Doctor and consequences of its residing on your PC

Malware Doctor (MalwareDoctor) is typically advertised through the system of websites, which are the same or almost the same. These websites are based on pop-ups and active objects pretending to represent a scan of your computer in progress. Of course, there is no real scan and all the so called results of such scans are the same for any computer.  A fact of redirection of your browsing to fake online scanners by Malware Doctor reveals the hijacker infection and / or hints at possible farther infection via malicious script of the website.
Malware Doctor is to be considered as a group of misleading and rogue programs and websites, which final aim is to make users pay for registration, extending of the registration and updates of the program called Malware Doctor. The trial version of Malware Doctor is another component, other than above hijacker. This component is an adware that has very annoying behavior. Trialware of Malware Doctor removal is on demand, because the program cannot be disabled through the Add/Remove programs menu.
There is also a trojan- downloader serving the installation of this and other rogue programs. It is very important to get rid of Malware Doctor in all its constituents, for all they are dangerous, slow down computer and make it display annoying adds.
Click here in order to start free scan to reveal infections at your computer and perform Malware Doctor removal.

Malware Doctor Technical Details

  • Full name: Malware Doctor, MalwareDoctor, Malware-Doctor
  • Version: 2009
  • Type: Rogue anti-spyware
  • Origin: Russian Federation

Malware Doctor screenshots:

Signs of being infected with Malware Doctor:

The hijacker of Malware Doctor makes web-browser download at the regular basis fake online scanner that always end up, unless interrupted, with the downloading requests.  In its turn, the trial version of Malware Doctor creates hidden entries in the computer memory and System Registry, so Malware Doctor removal in a standard way is impossible.  To get rid of Malware Doctor trialware, you need to apply legitimate adware removal software or scroll down and remove Malware Doctor manually. Click here to perform automated removal of Malware Doctor right now.
It is east to detect the trailware of Malware Doctor by its repeating scan and alerts of various types. The scan by trailware of Malware Doctor is a listing of imaginary names at a random order, which names are extracted from the database included into the program and represented at the scan results window. The path to these fake threats may by chance be the same with the path to legitimate files. That is why we strongly recommend you to avoid any attempts of removing these false positives. The deletion of legitimate files leads to personal data losses and programs disabling.
The most complicated thing is to identify Malware Doctor installer. It is rather an impossible task for average users and requires the application of professional malware scanner.

Automatic Removal of Malware Doctor from your PC:

All components of Malware Doctor can be removed at once and protection from these infections return, as well as from other infections, will be gained, if you follow the link below. Following the link below in order to scan computer free of charge is always recommended just to  check the effectiveness of Malware Doctor manual removal and find out whether any other infections are residing at the computer. These infections may be removed afterwards by Malware Doctor removal tool or you may try to find the relevant manual guides at the Internet.

Download Malware Doctor Removal Tool

Manual Removal of Malware Doctor:

Warning: having any exceeding programs active during the removal of Malware Doctor may result in failure of Malware Doctor removal.  It is better to reboot and print the Malware Doctor removal instructions out before the beginning of removal process.
Do not hesitate using Malware Doctor removal tool for scanning purposes in order to ensure that you have removed Malware Doctor’s all components and there is no other malware to remove.

Remove Malware Doctor files and dll’s

htmlayout.dll
maincfg.xml
Malware Doctor.exe
unins000.dat
unins000.exe
Validation.dll
GUI
help.htm
index.htm
main.css
options.htm
protect.htm
r_index.htm
r_protect.htm
r_support.htm
register.htm
status.htm
support.htm
update.htm
images
about.png
banner.png
button-back.png
button-back-active.png
button-back-hover.png
focusled.png
greenpoint.png
header.jpg
header.png
header_right.jpg
header-hover.png
help.ico
noconnection.png
ok.png
options.ico
options.png
progress-back.png
progress-body.png
progress-body-dark.png
protect.png
protection.ico
redpoint.png
regicon.png
register.png
scan.ico
sectionheader.png
sectionheaderred.png
shield.png
status.ico
stripback.png
support.png
tab.png
tabback.png
tab-hover.png
thanx.png
toolbarback.png
update.ico
update.png
warning.png
warningicon.png
Malware Doctor.lnk

Unregister Malware Doctor registry values:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Malware Doctor
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Malware Doctor\AntiSpy Knight
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Malware Doctor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Malware Doctor_is1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run “Alcmtr”

Malware Doctor with free scan

Written by admin on April 13th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Malware Doctor removal tool and Hijacker and Malware Doctor remover and MalwareDoctor and uninstall MalwareDoctor and remove Malware Doctor and Trojan horses and Spyware reviews and Adware and otherSoftware and rogue anti-spyware and spyware and Removal tools and Manual removal instructions and malware.

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