How to access blocked sites at school

1. Start>Run and type in cmd, if you don't have run on your start menu, read another school hacking tutorial to tell you how to access it.

2. Once your command prompt box opens, type "ping www.yoururlhere.com" (of course without the quotes.)

3.Press enter and you should see some numbers that looks like an IP address pop up, copy those numbers.

4. Open up your school internet browser, and type in those numbers that you copied in the command prompt. Now you can access your website!

Speed DSL

To improve download performance, certain parameters being used by Windows for the TCP/IP protocol can be modified or tweaked. We have done testing here in our office that shows these modfications can reduce download (receiving) time, i.e. increase the speed of the download, by more than 50%. The improvements can be seen the most on systems using the Windows 98 operating system, though even Windows 2000 systems should see a benefit.

Please note that you are not required to "tweak" your system to use DSL. These suggestions are made only to allow you to enhance the performance of your system and it is your decision whether to implement these changes on your system or not.Our tests have shown that with the Windows 2000 system, download speeds averaged around 200Kbps to 300Kbps (25 KBps to 37.5 KBps) without tweaking. After tweaking the TCP/IP settings for Windows 2000, speeds averaged around 450Kbps to 600Kbps (56.25 KBps to 75 KBps).With the Windows 98 system, download speed averaged around 150Kbps to 250Kbps (18.75KBps to 31.25KBps) without tweaking. After tweaking the TCP/IP settings, speeds averaged around 350Kbps to 550Kbps (43.75KBps to 68.75KBps). Here are the "tweaks" that you can try on your system to improve performance.The Received Window (RWIN) size is the most specific parameter that can be changed. For an in-depth explanation on TCP/IP settings for the curious or technically inclined, see the following link.

http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks/RWIN
Our test systems included a Windows 2000 Professional and a Windows 98 machine.To help in checking for any improvements during tweaking, the following site was used for test comparisons.
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
Do speed tests in the morning to eliminate any issues with network congestion and use the Linkline test site since it has fewer hops (number of routers to reach the site) compared to Megapath. The number of hops is one factor that affects the speed of downloads from different sites. The software utility being used for tweaking TCP/IP settings on Windows can be downloaded from this site.
http://www.dslreports.com/front/drtcp.html
Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding tweaking could be found at this link
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/tweaks

Easy way to increase your Cable/DSL speed!!!

Here is a simple way to boost your Cable/DSL speed, just copy the ENTIRE ITALIC text in the "quote" box to Notepad, then save them as *.reg files - Then all you have to do to modify/restore is double-click the *.reg file!!

IF YOU WANT TO INCREASE YOUR SPEED, PASTE THE RED CODE BELOW AND ONLY THE RED CODE BELOW INTO NOTEPAD!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by INCREASE Cable/DSL SPEED REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\Parameters] "GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:0000ffff

IF YOU WANT TO DEFAULT/UNDO THE INCREASE OF SPEED, PASTE THE RED CODE BELOW AND ONLY THE RED CODE BELOW INTO NOTEPAD!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEFAULT Cable/DSL SPEED REGEDIT4 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Tcpip\Parameters] "GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize"=dword:00007fff

It has worked wonders with me as it increased my speed from 5.0mbps all the way to 9.9mbps or sometimes a whole damn lot more like once it hit 15.7mbps youve got to try it!! If u want to test your speed before and after the hack.......goto this link for a free test of speed http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/ .................Remember that its for Cable/DSL only and not for crazy Dial-up.....ENJOY!!

Note: Some people confuse "Servic es" and change it to "Services". DON'T do this because it makes the hack not work!! Also, it took me a while to find out where I saved this so please thank me for this!!! BTW: PLEASE make sure the "Hide extensions for known file types" option is unchecked........this will enable you to change the file type from *.txt to *.reg and activate the hack. If there are any problems, just post it here of PM me!!

Here is the link to a little vid I made to help someone who had a problem. I'm posting this for all to clear the confusion: Click Here to Download

Free audio and video stream broadcasting software

Free audio and video stream broadcasting software

IceCast (Free/Windows, Linux)
You can broadcast streaming MP3 (MPEG 1 Layer 3 Audio) using an IceCast 1+, streaming OGG Vorbis using IceCast 2+, streaming AAC using IceCast 2.2+ streaming server.
Icecast was designed to be Shoutcast compatible. Unlike the commercial Shoutcast product Icecast is free.
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VideoLan (Free/Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, BeOS ...)

The VideoLAN streaming solution includes:

VLS (VideoLAN Server), which can stream MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 files, DVDs, digital satellite channels, digital terrestial television channels and live videos on the network in unicast or multicast,
VLC (initially VideoLAN Client), which can be used as a server to stream MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 / DivX files, DVDs and live videos on the network in unicast or multicast; or used as a client to receive, decode and display MPEG streams under multiple operating systems.
VLC's stream output works under Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, BeOS and many Unices. VLS works under Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.
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NullSoft Video at SVCI (Free)
NSV is a new multimedia container format designed for network video streaming. The format is known as NullSoft Video or simply NSV. NSV was developed by Nullsoft corporation, the same company that produced the popular Winamp and Shoutcast streaming audio software. Winamp TV uses NSV streams.
NSV consists of free software to encode, stream and view video. There are additional third party NSV applications being developed and distributed by stations and users. Additional software can be purchased from outside commercial software vendors as well.
NSV has broken the restrictive Internet video broadcast barrier and allows anyone the ability to produce and distribute live or recorded video content.
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MPEG4IP (Free / Linux, Windows, Solaris, FreeBSD, BSD/OS, Mac OS X)
MPEG4IP provides an end-to-end system to explore streaming multimedia. The package includes many existing open source packages and the "glue" to integrate them together. This is a tool for streaming video and audio that is standards-oriented and free from proprietary protocols and extensions.

Provided are a live MPEG-4/H.261/MPEG-2/H.263 MP3/AAC/AMR broadcaster and file recorder, command line utilities such as an MP4 file creator and hinter, and an player that can both stream and playback from local file.

This code is not intended for end users, and does not contain executables. Please read all the legal information to determine if it is suitable for you.

How-To: Stream almost anything using VLC

How-To: Stream almost anything using VLC
Posted Nov 29th 2005 2:30PM by Eliot Phillips
Filed under: Features, Home Entertainment, Media PCs, Portable Video


The VLC media player is an amazing piece of software. In its most basic form it is a lightweight media player that can play almost any audio or video format you throw at it. VLC is also multiplatform in the most extreme sense of the word; it can run on Windows, OSX, Linux and PocketPC / WinCE handhelds along with other systems. VLC works great as a streaming server and video transcoder too.

We used VLC to move Tivo recordings to an iPod before, but today we are going to show you how to stream any type of media file from your computer to another device on your network. We will also demonstrate how to remotely control VLC using any web browser. Using these techniques you could stream video from your office computer to a laptop plugged into the living room TV and control the playlist with your PDA.

The first thing you need to do is grab a copy of VLC media player for your platform. We are going to be streaming from a Windows machine to a Linux machine, but the interface is almost identical no matter what you are using.

Once you install VLC and start the program you will be greeted by this lightweight frontend.

Click “File > Open File…” to bring up the “Open…” dialog box.

Click on the “Browse” button to bring up a standard Windows file selection box. Select the file you want to play. Then click “Open”. We’ve selected multiple files so VLC will build a playlist.

Your selection should appear in the text box next to the “Browse…” button. Click the checkbox for “Stream Output” and then click the button “Settings.”

Check the box next to “Play Locally” under “Output Methods.” When streaming to another system you don’t have to play the file on the server, but we will use this option to visually confirm that our video is playing properly before trying to access the stream from another computer.

Check the box marked “UDP” and type in the IP address of the computer you want to stream the file to. Then click “OK”. The file is ready to play so click “OK” in the “Open…” dialog box too.

The video or audio file should begin playing on the computer. The last thing to do before switching to your second computer is to turn on VLC’s web interface by clicking “Settings > Add Interface > Web Interface”.

Open VLC on your second machine. We are using a Linux machine.

Click on “File > Open Network Stream”. UDP is already selected so you just need to click the “OK” button and VLC will start playing your stream.

Now that the stream is successfully playing on your computer you can open up a web browser to control VLC remotely. Type “http://:8080/” into the address bar. The web browser will present you with all of the controls you need to manage playlists and playback remotely.

Now that you’ve got full access to your 10GB of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from any device in any location there’s only one question left to answer: Where does all the dirt displaced by the Technodrome go?

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ <-- VLC media player

stream your windows media over the internet

stream your windows media over the internet


Once you have created and compressed audio or video files in Windows Media format, you can put them on the Web so that others can view your videos.

This document explains how to set up a Windows Media video file as streaming media using the University of Washington streaming servers.

You will need:

a digitized movie or other media file compressed in a Windows Media format (.asf, .wmv, .wma),
an FTP program such as SSH Secure File Transfer Client or Secure Fetch installed on your computer,
basic knowledge of an FTP program,
to activate your streaming media and Web publishing services; (If you have already activated these services, you will have a "public_media" or "student_media" and a "public_html" or "student_html" directory in your UW Homer or Dante account.)
Windows Media Player installed on your computer, and
a text-editing program such as Notepad, SimpleText, or BBEdit where you can save a file as an .asx file.


Upload and test your Windows Media.


After you have compressed your movie in a Windows Media format, you should upload your movie to the Web.

Using an FTP program, log in to your UW Homer or Dante account.
Open your "public_media" or "student_media" directory and upload your media files.
Close your connection and quit your FTP program.
It is a good idea to make sure your movie will stream from the Web. To test your movie:

Open Windows Media Player.
Select File > Open URL . This will open a window titled "Open URL."
Type the following URL to test your movie:

mms://media.type.washington.edu/userid/filename

Substitue type with "staff," "faculty," "student," "depts," or "courses," depending on the account to which you uploaded your movie, userid with the UWNetID of the account, and filename with the name of your original movie, including its extension (.asf or .wmv).
You may have placed your movie within file folders on the "public_media" server, so make sure these folder names are typed in correctly ni the address. For instance, the URL for a movie placed within a subfolder of a faculty media directory will look something like this:

mms://media.faculty.washington.edu/
john32/english100/filename.wmv


Click OK. The movie should load and play in the Windows player.

If your movie doesn't play, check Computing and Communications's page to troubleshoot common streaming problems.


Create a Windows Media metafile.


The way streaming media works, you cannot link directly from your HTML web page to your streaming movie. This is because the page and the media live in completely different places - one on the "public_html" server and one on the "public_media" server. In order to bridge this gap between servers, you must create a Windows Media metafile. These data files point the way from the web page (where you put your html page) to the streaming media servers (where you put your actual movie). In other words, they offer the Web browser directions on how to find your streaming media on the public_media servers.

To create a Windows Media metafile:

Open a new file in your text-editing program (Notepad, SimpleText, or BBEdit).
Type the following:







Substitue type with "staff," "faculty," "student," "depts," or "courses," depending on the account to which you uploaded your movie, userid with the UWNetID of the account, and filename with the name of your original movie, including its extension (.asf or .wmv).
Save your file by clicking File > Save. In order to keep your media files organized, rename it to match the movie it references. For instance, if your Windows Media movie is titled "john32.asf," title the reference file "john32_ref.asx" or some other easily recognizable name. Make sure to change the extension to .asx.
Upload your saved metafile using a FTP program to your "public_html" or "student_html" folder.



Link to your streaming Windows Media


Once you've created and uploaded your Windows Media metafile, you should create a link on your Web page that your audience can click to view your streaming video.

Open or create your Web page in your favorite Web page editor.
Create a link to your Windows Media metafile. The URL should look something like this:

http://type.washington.edu/userid/filename_ref.asx.

Substitute type with "staff," "faculty," "student," "depts," or "courses," depending on the type of your account, userid with the UW NetID of that account, and filename_ref.asx with the name of your Windows Media metafile. If you saved your reference file in subfolders of the "public_html" directory, make sure to include the folders in the URL.
Save your Web page, and if you're not using SimpleSite, use your FTP program to upload it to your Web site.


If you haven't already made your Web page and aren't sure how, please look at our Action Plan for creating a class Web site.

Make sure to load your web page and test the link to make sure it works. If the movie doesn't open in a new player window, make sure the URL link is correct and that you linked to your metafile on the "public_html" server rather than the real movie on the "public_media" server.

stream your quicktime media over the internet

stream your quicktime media over the internet


Once you have created and compressed audio or video files in QuickTime Media format, you can put them on the Web so that others can view your streaming media online.

This document explains how to set up Quicktime streaming media (a movie, audio clip, animation, or other multimedia) using the University of Washington streaming servers.

You will need:

QuickTime Pro installed on your computer,
a digital movie compressed in QuickTime format,
an FTP program such as SSH Secure File Transfer Client or Secure Fetch installed on your computer,
knowledge of how to use an FTP program,
to activate your streaming media and Web publishing services, and
MakeRefMovie installed on your computer.


Open QuickTime Pro.


Most people will be able to open QuickTime Pro in the following way:

On a PC, select Start > Programs > Entertainment > QuickTime.
On a Macintosh, click the QuickTime icon in the dock at the bottom of the screen.



Open the movie using QuickTime Pro.


Before you can prepare your movie for streaming over the Internet, you must first open it in QuickTime Pro.

If your movie is already in the QuickTime format (the file name ends in .mov):

In QuickTime Pro, select File > Open Movie... The "Open" dialog box will appear.
Locate and select your movie file.
Click Open.
If your movie is not in the QuickTime format (the file ends in an extension other than .mov):

In QuickTime Pro, select File > Import... The "Import" dialog box will appear.
Locate and select your movie file.
Click Convert (PC) or Open (Mac) .


QuickTime Pro understands and can import a lot of different types of files. However, when capturing and editing your video, it is always best to save or export your files as a Quicktime file if you intend to use Quicktime to stream it over the Web.


Export the movie as streaming media.


Now that you have opened your media files in QuickTime Pro, it is time to export them as streaming media. This is also called "hinting" your movie.

Select File > Export.... The "Save exported file as" dialog box will appear.
Once you have selected your bitrate, navigate to the appropriate location where you want to save the exported files, and give your file a name.
In the "Export:" drop-down menu, select Movie to Hinted Movie, if it is not already selected.
In the "Use:" drop-down menu, select the desired visual and audio quality from the listed options; this is the bitrate in kilobytes per second (kbps). If you are a more advanced user, you can click on the Options button and configure your own video and audio settings for the media export.
Click Save.
When you are finished using QuickTime Pro, quit the program by selecting File > Exit.


Bitrate, usually expressed as kbps, is the amount of information per second sent from the video server to the viewer's computer. Video and audio quality is directly proportional to bitrate; higher bitrates allow for clearer video and better sound.

When choosing bitrates, keep in mind the connection speed of the viewer. High bitrates are generally better for viewers who are using high-speed connections, such as a cable modems, digital subscriber lines (DSL), or network connections. Low bitrates are better for viewers using low-speed devices, such as dial-up modems.

Do not leave the bitrate on "Default Settings" or else you may not be able to view your movie from the Web. Instead, choose a setting. If you want a higher bitrate, consider using Media Cleaner Pro instead of QuickTime Pro to compress your video.


Upload and test your hinted movie.


To upload your hinted movie:

Using an FTP program, log into your UW Dante or Homer account.
Open your "public_media" (or "student_media") directory and upload your media (movie) files.
Close your connection and quit your FTP program.
It is a good idea to test to make sure your movie will stream from the Web. To test your hinted movie:

Open QuickTime.
Select File > Open URL... This will open an "Open URL" window.
In the "Enter an Internet URL to open" box, type the following address to test your movie.

rtsp://qtmedia.type.washington.edu/userid/hintedMovie.mov

Substitute type with staff, faculty, or student depending on the type of your account, userid with your UWNetID, and hintedMovie with the name of your uploaded hinted movie.

Click OK. Your movie should then load and play.



Create a reference movie.


A reference movie, or refmovie for short, is a file that contains the Web address of your movies on the streaming video server. Refmovies help the browser launch the QuickTime plug-in, and tell QuickTime where to find your movie. You can also create movies with different bitrates and include them all in the refer movie. The refmovie will inform the QuickTime plug-in about the alternate rate movies, allowing it to select the best rate for the viewer's connection speed.

Open MakeRefMovie. If MakeRefMovie is not installed on your computer, you can download it from QuickTime's support page.
A "Save Reference Movie as:" dialog box will appear and prompt you to save.
In the "File name" text box, name the movie and make sure your file has the .mov file extension. Navigate to the location where you would like to save the new movie, such as the desktop, and click Save.
Select Movie > Add URL. In the box that appears, type the following:

rtsp://qtmedia.type.washington.edu/userid/hintedMovie.mov

Substitute type with staff, faculty, or student depending on the type of your account, userid with your UW NetID, and hintedMovie with the name of your hinted movie.
Click OK. See the QuickTime Streaming Server URL Reference for help.
If you have other copies of your movie with different bitrates, select Movie > Add URL and repeat the preceding steps.
Once you are done referencing your movies, select File > Save.
When you are finished using MakeRefMovie, quit the program by selecting File > Quit.


Upload your refmovie file.

Once you have created your refmovie, you need to move it to your Web site.

Using an FTP program, log in to your UW account (usually Dante or Homer).
Open your "public_html" (or "student_html") directory and upload your refmovie file.
Close your connection and quit your FTP program.



Link to your streaming media.


In order for your your audience to view your movie online, you you need to create a link to your refmovie from your Web page.

Open or create your Web page in your favorite Web page editor.
To create a link to yourRefMovie.mov (replace "yourRefMovie" with the name of your movie), follow the steps for creating a link in your Web editor or add a link using HTML.
Save your Web page and use your FTP program to upload it to your Web site.


If you aren't sure how to create a Web page and link to your media, you can read our documentation about creating a Web site.

You should go to your Web site and test your link to make sure everything works. Your movie should open the QuickTime Player and play.

QuickTime does not launch automatically to play clips embedded in Web pages when running Microsoft Windows XP. If you are running Windows XP you will need to download a compatibility plug-in from Apple's Web site.

How to stream

As the Internet continues to play a larger and larger role in our lives, the role of the radio station must change to suit the times. With the introduction of audio streaming, listeners can access stations around the world. For a minimal investment, we can grab those listeners. Radio can take advantage of this new medium with two types of streams: static and live.

Static streaming takes a pre-recorded sound file and delivers it on demand. The file is recorded, then encoded and archived on the server hard drive. Good examples are demos, feature length programs or archived programs. This type of streaming does not require the use of a dedicated audio stream server. It can be streamed right off of your Web server to the client player. Some players begin playing the file before it is done downloading (quickstart), which is helpful for large sound files. Static streaming is supported by a variety of common audio file formats including .WAV, RealAudio, Quicktime, .WMP and .MP3.

Live streaming is a continuous audio feed that is always being encoded and delivered. The transmission side of a live streaming setup requires two main pieces of equipment: the encoder, which converts the audio signal to the delivery format, and the server, which accepts the single stream from the encoder and distributes it to the end user's client software.

Choosing a system


There are a growing number of streaming systems competing for dominance in the marketplace. Choose a system that compliments your audio and has players for every possible combination of hardware. Any system you choose will sound good at high bandwidth, but the trick is to choose a system that sounds good for low-speed users. It may pay to optimize your audio stream to the lowest common denominator.

Once a system has been chosen, decide how your stream will get onto the Net. There are a variety of ways in which to stream live audio.


1) Encode the audio at your facility and send the output of the encoder to a streaming provider. This is usually done with an encoding computer at your facility and a fixed Net connection — either a DSL or fractional T-1 to the provider. If you send your stream to a provider via DSL, remember that Net congestion and outages can affect streaming to all of your users. Some streaming providers insert advertising or picture clips in the player before the audio plays. Read your agreement carefully to be sure any ad insertions are appropriate for your station.
2) Encode the audio at your facility and send the output of the encoder to an in-house server. This requires at least a full T-1 access to the Internet. Top level access, providers that give direct access to the Internet backbone, is available through carriers such as UUnet, Verio, Digex, AT&T CERFnet and Exodus.
3) The third choice is to send your audio to a facility or ISP and have them handle the whole thing. This was the most common way to stream in the beginning. In many cases, a tuner was placed at the ISP and streamed directly to the Net. This method is the simplest, but a tuner feed of your air signal is usually a disaster unless you have a classical station with little to no processing on-air. Limiter by-products that are of little consequence to the air signal wreak havoc with the encoder. The extra harmonics and information cause distortion and noise in the decoded audio stream.

Nuts and bolts


Let's go through an on-site streaming system with Apple's Quicktime, and RealNetworks' Real Audio 5.0 and G2. These are the three systems we serve at WDUQ.

Prepare the audio with proper processing and equalization. Processing for the Net is different than processing for on air. Avoid traditional air-chain limiting and processing because heavy limiting does not work well with the encoder algorithm. Equalization ahead of the AGC is important, not to change frequency response, but rather to remove the frequencies that the encoder cannot pass. By placing the EQ ahead of the AGC, the AGC will not react to the frequencies that will not be heard anyway.

Listen on the player that your listeners will most commonly use. Adjust the processing while listening to a decoded signal. You want to hear the effects of the algorithm path. Hear what the user hears, just like adjusting air chain processing while listening carefully off air. There can be a considerable delay between the encoder input and audio decoder output, so take your time with adjustments. Many new processors are designed just for Internet encoding and have the settings and processing power needed for clean streaming.

Setting up an encoder


PCs and Macs work well as encoders. PCs should have a fast, modern CPU (Pentium class and at least 128MB RAM), a good sound card and network interface card (NIC). Older PowerPC Macs work well (128MB RAM and 100MHz PowerPC minimum). We encode on leftover Macintosh 8100s. Since Macs have very good on-board audio, a separate sound card is not needed. We use RealProducer software for our RealAudio streams and Sorenson Broadcaster with a Q Design PRO codec for our Quicktime streams.

The bit-rate speed is set at the encoder. Setting the speed too high will prevent modem users from receiving your stream. Setting it too low degrades audio quality. While cable modems and DSL are becoming more popular, a typical radio station will serve most of its users by POTS modem. Most of these users are still connecting at 28.8- to 33kb/s despite the availability of 56k modems. Some encoders, such as RealAudio's G2, are able to provide both higher speeds to users who can handle it and lower speeds to modem users. This is a great advance for streaming and really helps give you better choices.

Setting up the server


You have a choice of several server platforms. We chose UNIX because it is a mature, reliable and well-established operating system. I obtained a refurbished Sun Microsystems workstation for $50 and went to work. I was amazed to see how the older, smaller and slower 50MHz UNIX machine could handle the Real 5 server without being overtaxed. We later upgraded to a larger multiple processor, a Sun SparcServer1000E. We also added the Quicktime server and Realaudio G2. One workstation runs all three by setting the input and output control to different ports for each service.

I recommend downloading the free versions of the server software to determine your needs and get a sense of how many users you will have. RealNetworks offers a free 25-user G2 server, and Apple offers a free 1,000-user Quicktime server. Buying a streaming server license based on concurrent users may not be wise because it may be overkill. It does not take much traffic to saturate a T-1.
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How to Stream Video

Four Basic Steps:
Creating, digitizing and streaming video is an extremely complex process. The following is a vastly oversimplified outline of how to stream video. If you decide to actually do this, be prepared to spend MANY hours, lots of money (on a fast PC with a HUGE hard drive) and suffer through multiple system crashes.

Step 1: Creating Content.
Video content can be created through traditional means such as a camera, camcorder or VCR. However, the type of film and the filming technique will greatly affect the clarity of the resulting video stream.

Step 2: Digitizing the Video.
The resulting video must be transformed into a digital file. This is accomplished by using a computer equipped with a video capture card installed. The VCR, camcorder or other video device is connected directly to the capture card via standard RCA cords or S-video cords. An S-Video connection will give you better quality. Video editing software such as Adobe Premiere can be used to run the capture card, and edit the resulting file.

Video can be captured in a number of ways, and each setting will effect the ultimate quality of the resulting video. Some settings work better than others with various encoding methods (see next step). Furthermore, capture cards often perform their own hardware compression which may or may not work well with the encoder you choose.

Step 3: Compressing/encoding the Video.
The resulting digitized video file is far too big to transmit over the Internet. The file must altered to reduce it's size. There are many software packages that use different algorithms to accomplish this task. Once encoded, the files are usually only viewable on the player associated with the encoding software vendor. Some of the leading encoders include; Real Video, Vivo, VDO and Streamworks.

Most encoders provide numerous options for encoding at various speeds, levels of image quality and smoothness of motion. At this point it is really a zero-sum game; better resolution means fewer frames per second and vice versa. Setting a higher transmission rate vastly improves both image quality and fps.

There is no "best" way to encode video. It depends on content of the video (animation, fast motion, talking head) and the upper limit of transmission speed that is available. Most articles recommend encoding several ways, and viewing the results on a control PC.

Step 4: Serving the Video.
Once the video files are created, they must somehow be served to clients. The simplest method is to download the entire video file, and then view it with a plug-in or helper application. "Raw" video files are typically quite large, however, and the user is not able to begin viewing the video until the entire file has been downloaded. An example of this method would be a Windows Movie (.avi) file.

A second technique is often called pseudo-streaming. This technique allows for playback as soon as enough data has been downloaded to fill a playback buffer. The required size of the buffer is dependent on the overall quality of the video, the speed of the connection, and in some cases the length of the video. The object is to maintain some data in the buffer at all times, to prevent disruption of the video playback. One example of this technique are Vivo encoded files (.viv). The Apple Quicktime plug-in also allows psuedo-streaming for regular Quicktime (.mov) files.

The last technique, aside from analog methods, is "true" streaming. Like pseudo-streaming, the viewer software maintains a buffer of data, which it uses to playback without having to download the entire file. Typically the encoding software greatly reduces the file size of the original video. The technique then takes advantage of a specialized server (which works in conjunction with a web server) to manage the stream of video between the server and the client. The server can dynamically modify the rate of transmission based on network congestion and other factors, greatly improving the quality of the delivered video. This also allows the user to "skip ahead" to a later portion of video, without needing to download the earlier portion. An example of this technique would be Real Video (.rm) files served by a Real Video server.

How To Trace The Spam Mail

Spammers often forge the headers of their email in an attempt to avoid losing their accounts and to evade email filters. These notes may help you track the source of spam. The most important thing is to have a mail reader that can show you the full headers of an email in question. The important lines are as follows:
From:
Who the message is from. This is the easiest to forge, and thus the least reliable.

From
As distinct from the "From:" line. This line is not actually part of the email header, but mail transfer software often inserts it when the mail is received. Many Unix mailers use this line to separate messages in a mail folder. This line will always be the first line in the headers.
This line can also be forged, but not always.


Reply-To:
The address to which replies should be sent. Often absent from the message, and very easily forgeable. However, it often provides a clue. For example, forged spam often has a legitimate Reply-To: field so that the spammer can receive mail orders.

Return-Path:
The email address for return mail. Same as Reply-To:

Sender:
The account that sent the message. Mail software is supposed to insert this line if the user modifies the From: line. Most Mail software is broken in this respect, so this line is rarely present. Some mailers provide an X-Sender: line.

Message-ID:
A unique string assigned by the mail system when the message is first created. This is also forgeable in most cases, but requires a little more specialized knowledge than forging the From: line. Also, the Message-ID: often identifies the system from which the sender is logged in, rather than the actual system where the message originated.
The format of a Message-ID: field is @

Each kind of mail software has its own style of unique string. Sloppy forgeries often get it wrong, thus a forgery can be confirmed by comparing the message id with some legitimate messages from that same site.


Received:
These are the most reliable lines in the header. They form a list of all sites through which the message traveled in order to reach you. They are completely unforgeable after the point where it was injected. Up to that point, they may be forgeries.
Received: lines are read from bottom to top. That is, the first Received: line is your own system or mail server. The last (non-forged) Received: line is where the mail originated.

Each mail system has their own style of Received: line. A Received: line typically identifies the machine that received the mail and the machine that the mail was received from. I.e.:


Received: from foo.com by bar.com id AA15057; Fri, 25 Jul 97 09:39:02

The "foo.com" part is the name that the sending machine used to identify itself. This may be forged in the case of spam. The id is for logging purposes and may help system administrators track the spam if you can get them to cooperate with you.
Many mailers will add extra information. For example:

Received: from foo.com ([129.2.3.4]) by bar.com id AA15057; Fri, 25 Jul 97 09:39:02

In this case, bar.com has inserted the IP address of the sending system. If the machine name does not match the IP address, then you have likely identified the point where the mail was forged. In other words, the machine whose address is 129.2.3.4 lied when it identified itself as foo.com. Any Received: lines that follow are likely to be forgeries.
If the IP address does not make sense (for instance, no component may be greater than 255), then this entire Received: line is a fake. Contact a system admin for more advice in determining if an IP address is bogus. If the entire Received: line is fake, then the injection point is somewhere above in the headers.

Sometimes you will see

Received: from foo.com (x.y.alterdial.uu.net [129.2.3.4]) by bar.com id AA15057; ...

In this case, the mailer has inserted both the IP address and the real name of the sending system. This will help you identify forgeries and eliminate the need to look up the IP address by hand.

Comment:
Some mailers may add additional information to the headers, such as "Authenticated sender is doe@foo.com". Forged Comment: lines can be easily added to outgoing mail, so this line is likely to be fake, but not always.
Other mailers may insert their own authentication information in the headers.

Here is an example of a forgery:
From webpromo@denmark.it.earthlink.net Tue Jul 8 13:05:02 1997
Return-Path:
From: webpromo@denmark.it.earthlink.net
Received: from denmark.it.earthlink.net (denmark-c.it.earthlink.net
[204.119.177.22]) by best.com (SMI-8.6/mail.byaddr) with ESMTP id
NAA21506 for ;
Tue, 8 Jul 1997 13:05:16 -0700
Received: from mail.earthlink.net (1Cust98.Max16.Detroit.MI.MS.UU.NET
[153.34.218.226]) by denmark.it.earthlink.net (8.8.5/8.8.5)
with SMTP id NAA12436; Tue, 8 Jul 1997 13:00:46 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from adultpromo@earthlink.net by adultpromo@earthlink.net
(8.8.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id GAA05239 for ;
Tue, 08 Jul 1997 15:48:51 -0600 (EST)
To: adultpromo@earthlink.net
Message-ID: <199702170025.gaa08056@no-where.net>
Date: Tue, 08 Jul 97 15:48:51 EST
Subject: Hot News !
Reply-To: adultpromo@earthlink.net
X-PMFLAGS: 12345678 9
X-UIDL: 1234567890x00xyz1x128xyz426x9x9x
Comments: Authenticated sender is
Content-Length: 672
X-Lines: 26
Status: RO

Obviously, the To: line is a forgery; the actual recipients list was hidden, probably with a blind carbon-copy (Bcc: header)
The "From", "Return-Path:" and "From:" all identify the same email address, but that may be a forgery. You can try mailing to the given address and see if your complaint bounces.

The "To:", "Reply-To:" and "Authenticated sender" lines all identify a different account. Again, these may all be forgeries.

The Message-ID: line is an obvious fake.

The first Recieved: line shows the mail arriving at my service provider from Earthlink. I trust my service provider, so this line is almost certainly valid.

The second Received: line shows this inconsistency:


... from mail.earthlink.net (1Cust98.Max16.Detroit.MI.MS.UU.NET [153.34.218.226])

In other words, the machine that delivered the mail to denmark.it.earthlink.net identified itself as mail.earthlink.net but was actually named 1Cust98.Max16.Detroit.MI.MS.UU.NET. This is very likely a lie. However, Earthlink rents POPs from Uunet, so this might be an Earthlink customer dialing in from Uunet.
The third Received: line is completely bogus. If the mail came from a dial-in customer at Uunet, there wouldn't be any more Recieved: lines. If the mail was being relayed from Uunet, this Received: line would indicate Uunet, not Earthlink. Further, this Received: line contains email addresses, not machine names.

Clearly, this email was forged to make it look like it came from Earthlink but was actually injected from Uunet. Whether this was by an Earthlink customer or some other Uunet customer is impossible to tell without cooperation from Earthlink sysadmins.

Here is another forgery:

Received: from cola.bekkoame.or.jp (cola.bekkoame.or.jp [202.231.192.40])
by srv.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id BAA00705
for ; Wed, 30 Jul 1997 01:15:27 -0600 (MDT)
From: beautifulgirls585@aol.com
Received: from cola.bekkoame.or.jp
(ip21.san-luis-obispo.ca.pub-ip.psi.net [38.12.123.21]) by
cola.bekkoame.or.jp (8.8.5+2.7W/3.5W) with SMTP id OAA11439;
Wed, 30 Jul 1997 14:35:50 +0900 (JST)
Received: from mailhost.aol.com(alt1.aol.com(244.218.07.32)) by
aol.com (8.8.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id GAA00075 for <"">;
Tue, 29 Jul 1997 22:19:42 -0600 (EST)
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 97 22:19:42 EST
Subject: You can have what you want...
Message-ID: <574857638458.hwf39862@aol.com>
Reply-To: beautifulgirls585@aol.com
X-PMFLAGS: 56354433 0
Comments: Authenticated sender is
X-UIDL: vjg79u26gfkjjrty38jf983j309jfyrw

Here, the second Received: line indicates that "cola.bekkoame.or.jp" received the mail from a machine which identified itself as "cola.bekkoame.or.jp", but was in fact "ip21.san-luis-obispo.ca.pub-ip.psi.net". This mail was probably forged from a Psi.net dial-in account.
As a final proof, the IP address mentioned in the third Received: line cannot be matched via whois or traceroute. It certainly doesn't match AOL, indicating that this line is bogus.

Protecting your kids online with Web Filters

You have kids, you have a computer with an internet connection, the two put together = trouble! I don't mean to understate this point, because when it comes down to it, you, the parents, are the the one that has to take responsibility for your children and what they view. I'm generally pretty harsh on parents that think that nothing can happen on the internet...while the internet feels "safe" because it's in your house, what bad thing could happen? Well, read the newspapers and see what can happen with the "safe" internet. If you're going to have a net connection you need to be responsible and make sure your kids are safe online. So, here are some programs that will help you monitor what your kids are up to:

iProtectyou - This is one of the best programs on the net at the moment to stop your kids from seeing objectionable material and unmonitored chat and email sessions. This program is FREE so download it. This program allows you to control which websites your kids are allowed to visit, which programs can have internet access, blocking email, chat, instant messages that would have objectionable words in it...it will also gather information about what your children are doing online...you can also set up a schedule when your child can be online. I just can't say how great of a program this is and if you're a parent and you want to help your kids be safe, this is the program for you. It is password protected, so as long as your kids don't have the password, they can't change the settings. Really, take responsibility for you children's online life. If I get enough requests I'll write a tutorial for this program that will show you the steps for setting this program up. You can download this program here http://www.softforyou.com/

We-Blocker - This is a very effective web filtering tool that will stop objectionable websites. It has some very nice features including multiple accounts so you can set up different settings for different age groups or different age groups. A very good web filtering tool, I still like iProtectyou a little more because you can limit access to certain programs and chatrooms, IM's, and other venues should be restricted...so this is good if you just want to filter web pages. You can download this program at http://www.we-blocker.com/index.php

AOL and MSN, and many other Internet service providers have some form of internet blocking and restricted zones you can set so you can limit the access of your children on the net. It will limit emails, IM's and things like that...but I think parents are too often drawn into a false sense of security with these settings...if you minimize AOL and open a browser like Mozilla the filters will be gone, and you know those kids will find ways around simple defenses.

In closing, the best way to make sure you kids are safe online is to surf with them...kids, especially young kids, shouldn't be left on the computer without parental supervision. If however you can't be with your kids while they surf, please download iProtectyou and make sure you set it up to block areas that would be dangerous for them. No matter how many laws the government passes to protect children, it will always be up to you, the parent to proactively protect your children.