Pimco’s El-Erian: ‘New Normal’ argues for investor caution

By Adam Shell, USA TODAY
His firm manages more than $1.1 trillion of other people’s money. Eight million people in the USA alone have entrusted their cash to him.
He works closely with bond king and co-chief investment officer Bill Gross. He is the author of a best-selling book, When Markets Collide. He helped coin the concept and phrase, “the New Normal,” which predicts a post-financial-crisis world of lower investment returns, slower economic growth and higher odds of another out-of-the-blue financial shock. In short, a world where the range of financial outcomes — and risk — is much wider than normal.

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Cain & Abel v4.9.31

The Bottom Line

Cain & Abel, as a free Windows password recovery tool, isn’t my top choice. It works similarly to other password recovery tools but the cons simply outweigh the pros.

Yes it’s free (and fast) but considering that you have to install it on the computer from a working user account, I can’t recommend this program over better tools like Ophcrack and Offline NT Password & Registry Editor.

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PC Login Now v2.0.1

The Bottom Line

The PC Login Now password cracker is the fastest free Windows password recovery tool that I’ve used. If you can click a few buttons then you can hack into your computer with this tool.

In a Hurry?: Read my review below or skip to the complete step-by-step guide to PC Login Now.

PC Login Now doesn’t display your password like the popular Ophcrack password recovery tool. PC Login Now actually deletes your password, allowing access to Windows without a password at all.

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Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

The Bottom Line

The Offline NT Password & Registry Editor password cracker is one of the fastest free Windows password recovery tools I’ve used. I even prefer this tool over many premium password recovery programs.

In a Hurry?: Read my review below or skip to the complete step-by-step guide to Offline NT Password & Registry Editor.

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Ophcrack v3.3.1 (LiveCD v2.3.1)

The Bottom Line

The Ophcrack Windows password cracker is the best free Windows password recovery tool available. Ophcrack is fast and easy enough for a first time password cracker with basic Windows skills.

In a Hurry?: Read my review below or skip to the complete step-by-step guide to Ophcrack LiveCD.

Save time and energy by skipping the other tools (even the expensive premium Windows password recovery programs) and download, burn and use the LiveCD version of Ophcrack.

After just a few minutes of running the software, Ophcrack will find all of your passwords and display them on screen! Yes, it’s that easy!

Pros
  • Software is freely available for download online
  • Passwords are recovered automatically using the LiveCD method
  • No software installation is necessary to recover passwords
  • No knowledge of any existing passwords is necessary
  • Ophcrack works with Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP
Cons
  • Some antivirus programs mistakenly identify Ophcrack as a Trojan or virus (see Guide Review below)
  • 496MB (7/Vista) / 415MB (XP) LiveCD ISO image must be downloaded
  • LiveCD ISO image must be burned to a CD before being used
Description
  • Ophcrack can recover 99.9% of passwords from nearly any Windows installation in seconds.
  • The Ophcrack LiveCD option allows for completely automatic password recovery.
  • LiveCD method requires no installation in Windows, making it a safe alternative to many other password recovery tools.
  • No Windows passwords need to be known to use the Ophcrack LiveCD to crack your Windows passwords.
  • Opchrack can crack passwords for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.
Guide Review – Ophcrack v3.3.1 (LiveCD v2.3.1)

Ophcrack v3.3.1, in its LiveCD form (currently at v2.3.1), is the best Windows password recovery tool available. Its nearly fool-proof operation, automatic password recovery, and overall speed puts Ophcrack in a league of its own.

To get started, visit the Ophcrack site and click on the Download ophcrack LiveCD button. On the next page, click on either the XP or Vista link to download the correct ISO image file for your operating system. Choose the Vista version for Windows 7 as well. This file may take some time to download.

An ISO file contains everything that should go on a CD or DVD in a single file. The Ophcrack LiveCD ISO file contains SliTaz (a Linux distribution), the Ophcrack software, and other files needed to recover passwords. Don’t worry about the details – the Ophcrack LiveCD is fully automatic – no Linux experience required.

Important: Some antivirus programs unnecessarily identify one or both of two files included in Ophcrack as a Trojan or other kind of malware – samdump.dll and pwservice.exe. Both of these files are part of an open source program called pwdump which is included with Ophcrack and is necessary for it to work. The pwdump program is classified more or less as “evil” since it can be used to extract passwords… which of course is exactly what you’re trying to do.

So don’t worry about your antivirus program’s flagging of these files (as long as it’s just these files). Ignore it and continue on with the process:

After downloading, burn the Ophcrack ISO image to a CD. Burning an ISO file is a different than burning a normal file. Check out How to Burn an ISO Image File to a CD or DVD for more on that topic.

After burning, boot to the CD by rebooting your PC with the disc in the drive. Linux will load, Ophcrack will start, and the password recovery will begin.

Ophcrack will locate the users on your Windows system and begin cracking their passwords. The process is automatic – you don’t usually need to type or click anything. When the passwords are displayed on screen, write them down. Remove the CD, reset your computer and log on to Windows with your newly recovered password.

The Ophcrack LiveCD requires some preparation but this password recovery tool is by far the best!

Guide’s Response to User Reviews
“Thanks for the comments about Ophcrack being infected with a Trojan, virus, or spyware. Fortunately, this is not actually the case. Some antivirus programs identify software included with Ophcrack as malware, which it is not. See the Important call-out in my review above for more information.” – Tim Fisher, Your Guide to PC Support

Having Problems Using Ophcrack?

Did you have problems running Ophcrack or did Ophcrack not find your Windows password? Try another free Windows password recovery tool or maybe even a premium Windows password recovery tool.

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Random Access Memory (RAM)

What is RAM?:

Random Access Memory (RAM) is the “working memory” in a computer. Additional RAM allows a computer to work with more information at the same time which can have a dramatic effect on total system performance.

RAM is Also Known As:

main memory, internal memory, primary storage, memory “stick”, RAM “stick”

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Power Supply

What is a Power Supply?:

The power supply’s job is to convert the power provided from the outlet into usable power for the many parts inside the computer case.

The Power Supply is Also Known As:
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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

What is a CPU?:

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is responsible for interpreting and executing most of the commands from the computer’s hardware and software. It is often called the “brains” of the computer.

The CPU is Also Known As:

processor, microprocessor, central processor, “the brains of the computer”

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Facebook cleans up birthday messages

(Mashable) — You’ve got a few reasons to dread and/or loathe birthdays. But at least now you can cross that hot mess of a Facebook news feed off your list of things to worry about on your or your friends’ birthdays.

Facebook is now testing a new design that organizes birthday-related messages in a much cleaner, simpler way that’s consistent with other recent user-interface changes.

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Why does everyone hate Microsoft?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Why don’t investors love Microsoft?

Shares of of the software giant are down 19% so far in 2010, which is considerably worse than the performance of the tech sector as a whole. Of its main rivals, only Hewlett-Packard (HPQ, Fortune 500) and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) have fared worse — and about half of HP’s drop happened following the Mark Hurd scandal.

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