Remove Ads by LyricsSay Virus Removal Guide

"Ads by LyricsSay" is a new bit of adware for Windows but it may work just fine on Mac too. This adware install a web browser extension (add-on) and begins to display ads on web sites that normally do not contain those ads, including popular sites like Youtube, Facebook or Ebay. The same malicious extension may display inline advertisements, you know when words get underlined and hovering over them shows popup ads, for example Monstermarketplace. Its difficult to say whether it is legit or not but unfortunately its not detected by many anti-virus programs. However, it think it should be. No one likes adware, especially when annoying ads are injected without your knowledge or agreement. The LyricsSay extension for instance which is used to load those ads is useless. Even though, it claims to display lyrics for pretty much every song on Youtube the only thing Ive seen so far is a bunch of ads. This particual adware that displays "Ads by LyricsSay" ads is closely related to dfs.pathdone.net browser hijacker. It may pop up whenever you open a new tab or click on a link. Each ad displayed by LyricsSay adware can be disabled by visiting pathdone.net, at least this is what adware creators say. However, I dont think you should simply disable adware and think that your computer is perfectly fine now. It would be a lot better if you uninstalled it and ran a full malware scan. As you may already know, such applications are very often bundled with toolbars, browser hijackers and even spyware. If you find yourself infected with "Ads by LyricsSay" virus, please follow the removal instructions below.

At one time or another weve all been targeted by these nuisances but the fifty million dollar question is, how do they get on to our computers in the first place - and how can we stop them? "Ads by LyricsSay" has a number of unwelcome traits. One being that it will normally download additional adware onto your computer and as most of us know, it can be intensely annoying thanks to its pop up advertising windows. If youve been infected you may well be wondering how the LyricsSay wormed its way onto your PC or laptop in the first place. Well I hate to break it to you but you might actually have installed it yourself. Ads by LyricsSay is usually bundled with freeware which means that anything you download without paying for can put you at risk. The big question is, how do you avoid doing this and how can you ensure youre not inadvertently exposing yourself to adware or something that can cause even more harm?

Anti-malware, anti-malware, anti-malware! We cant say it enough - using your PC without having anti-malware software installed is like playing Russian roulette! But that aside, you can also help yourself by being a little more wary about what you install on your computer. If youre thinking of downloading something from a website that is covered in spammy looking adverts and dodgy links then stop and ask yourself whether you could be downloading the software from somewhere more reputable. Also check the end user license agreement when you download something as PUPs come packaged with other programs. Most agreements make reference to ‘other applications’ so don’t just click ‘OK’ or ‘Continue’ but read the agreement and uncheck any boxes that were already opting you in for an (unwanted) added extra. Good luck and be safe online!

Written by Michael Kaur, http://deletemalware.blogspot.com

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"Ads by LyricsSay" removal instructions:

1. First of all, download recommended anti-malware software and run a full system scan. It will detect and remove this infection from your computer. You may then follow the manual removal instructions below to remove the leftover traces of this malware. Hopefully you wont have to do that.

2. Remove LyricsSay and related programs from your computer using the Add/Remove Programs control panel (Windows XP) or Uninstall a program control panel (Windows 7 and Windows 8).

Go to the Start Menu. Select Control Panel → Add/Remove Programs.
If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, select Control Panel → Uninstall a Program.



If you are using Windows 8, simply drag your mouse pointer to the right edge of the screen, select Search from the list and search for "control panel".



Or you can right-click on a bottom left hot corner (formerly known as the Start button) and select Control panel from there.



3. When the Add/Remove Programs or the Uninstall a Program screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and remove the following:

• LyricsSay
• LyricXeeker
• DownloadTerms
• HD-Plus
• and any other recently installed application

Simply select each application and click Remove. If you are using Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8, click Uninstall up near the top of that window. When youre done, please close the Control Panel screen.

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Remove "Ads by LyricsSay" on Google Chrome:

1. Click on Chrome menu button. Go to Tools → Extensions.



2. Click on the trashcan icon to remove LyricsSay, DownloadTerms, LyricXeeker, HD-Plus and other extensions that you do not recognize.

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Remove "Ads by LyricsSay" on Mozilla Firefox:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox. Go to Tools → Add-ons.



2. Select Extensions. Click Remove button to remove LyricsSay, DownloadTerms, LyricXeeker, HD-Plus and other extensions that you do not recognize.

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Remove "Ads by LyricsSay" on Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer. Go to Tools → Manage Add-ons. If you have the latest version, simply click on the Settings button.



2. Select Toolbars and Extensions. Click Remove/Disable button to remove the browser add-ons listed above.

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Core Java multi thread coding printing odd and even numbers with two threads

Q. Can you write code to print odd and even numbers by two threads in sequence?
A. Even though this is not a practical question, a handy beginner level question test your ability to write multi-threaded code.

Here are the considerations.

• It needs to be atomic so that the numbers can be printed in sequence. You can use either the AtomicInteger class or maintain two boolean flags like oddPrinted and evenPrinted  to coordinate between the two threads.
• Both threads need to have a lock to coordinate odd and even printing. In Java, every object has a lock. So, we can create a Object lock = new Object( ) as the lock for both threads to use.
• The Java Object class has wait and notify/notifyAll methods to facilitate inter thread communication via the Object lock. The notify/notifyAll methods notify the waiting threads to get hold of the lock. Only one thread can execute the code snippet that is synchronized on the lock.
• You need a main method that creates a main thread and then spawn two new threads to print odd and even numbers respectively. 

 Here is the sample code.

Step 1: The main thread class PrintOddEvenNumbersWithTwoThreads that spawns the two new threads via the thread pool.

  
package com.mycompany.app6;

import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;

/**
 * main thread
 */
public class PrintOddEvenNumbersWithTwoThreads
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        final int max = 10;
        final AtomicInteger i = new AtomicInteger(1); //start with 0
        Executor dd = Executors.newFixedThreadPool(2);
        
        final Object lock = new Object();
        
        //the main thread spawns two threads to print odd and even numbers respectively
        dd.execute(new OddNumber(max, i, lock));
        dd.execute(new EvenNumber(max, i, lock));
        
        do
        {
            try
            {
                Thread.sleep(1000);
            }
            catch (InterruptedException e)
            {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
        
        while (i.get() != max + 1);
        
        System.out.println("
Done");
        System.exit(0);
    }
}

Step 2: The OddNumber thread that prints odd numbers.

  
package com.mycompany.app6;

import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;

public class OddNumber implements Runnable
{
    private int maxNumber;
    private AtomicInteger number;
    private Object lock;
    
    public OddNumber(int maxNumber, AtomicInteger number, Object lock)
    {
        this.maxNumber = maxNumber;
        this.number = number;
        this.lock = lock;
    }
    
    public void run()
    {
        print();
    }
    
    public void print()
    {
        while (number.get() < maxNumber + 1)
        {
            if (number.get() % 2 == 0)
            {
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " --> " + number.getAndAdd(1));
                
                synchronized (lock)
                {
                    lock.notifyAll();//notify all waiting threads on this lock to resume 
                }
            }
            else
            {
                synchronized (lock)
                {
                    try
                    {
                        lock.wait(); //wait for the lock
                    }
                    catch (InterruptedException e)
                    {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
    
}

Step 3: The EvenNumber thread that prints even numbers. The implementation is very similar except for the boundary condition that checks for odd or even number.

  
package com.mycompany.app6;

import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;

public class EvenNumber implements Runnable
{
    private int maxNumber;
    private AtomicInteger number;
    private Object lock;
    
    public EvenNumber(int maxNumber, AtomicInteger number, Object lock)
    {
        this.maxNumber = maxNumber;
        this.number = number;
        this.lock = lock;
    }
    
    public void run()
    {
        print();
    }
    
    public void print()
    {
        while (number.get() < maxNumber + 1)
        {
            if (number.get() % 2 != 0)
            {
                System.out.println(Thread.currentThread().getName() + " --> " + number.getAndAdd(1));
                
                synchronized (lock)
                {
                    lock.notify(); //notify all waiting threads on this lock to resume 
                }
            }
            else
            {
                synchronized (lock)
                {
                    try
                    {
                        lock.wait();  //wait for the lock
                    }
                    catch (InterruptedException e)
                    {
                        e.printStackTrace();
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
    
}

Step 4: Run the main thread class PrintOddEvenNumbersWithTwoThreads to execute the code.

The output:

  
pool-1-thread-2 --> 1
pool-1-thread-1 --> 2
pool-1-thread-2 --> 3
pool-1-thread-1 --> 4
pool-1-thread-2 --> 5
pool-1-thread-1 --> 6
pool-1-thread-2 --> 7
pool-1-thread-1 --> 8
pool-1-thread-2 --> 9
pool-1-thread-1 --> 10

Done

There are other alternative approaches as described in the NumberGenerator class.

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Software Testing Interview Questions

Types of Software Testing Definitions:
                     Go to Link

1. Define software?

  Software is a set of instructions used to acquire inputs and to manipulate them to produce the desired output in terms of functions and performance as determined by the user of the software.

2. Define testing?

  Testing is a process of executing a program with the intent of finding of an error.

3. What are the types of software?

  There are two types of software. There are 

• System Software
• Application Software

4. What is the difference between system and application software?

  Computer software is often divided into two categories : 

• System software : This software includes the operating system and all utilities that enable the computer to function.
• Application software : These consist of programs that do real work for users.

5. Define process?

  A process is a series of steps involving activities, constraints, and resources that produce an intended output of some kind.

6. What is a Software Process?

  A software process is the related set of activities and processes that are involved in developing and evolving a software system.

7. What is the difference between verification and validation?

  Verification is the process of determining whether the output of one phase of software development confirms to that of its previous phase. 

Validation is the process of determining whether a fully developed system confirms to its requirement specifications.

8. What are the types of maintenance?

  There are four types of maintenance. There are 

• Corrective Maintenance
• Adaptive Maintenance
• Perfective Maintenance
• Preventive Maintenance

9. What is SQA?

  Software Quality Assurance is a set of activities designed to evaluate the process by which software is developed and/or maintained. 

10. What is the difference between software engineering and system engineering? 

  System Engineering is concerned with all aspects of computer based systems development including hardware, software and process engineering. 

System Engineering  are involves in system specification architectural design intergration and deployment.

11. What are the categories of defects?

  There are three main categories of defects: 

• Wrong
• Missing
• Extra

12. What are the types of Errors?

  Errors can be classified into two categories : 

• Syntax Error
• Logic Error

13. What is the difference between syntax and logical errors?

•  Syntax Error : A syntax error is a program statement that violates one or more rules of the language in which it is written.
• Logic Error :  A logic error deals with incorrect data fields, out–of–range terms, and invalid combinations.

14. What is fault?

  A fault is a condition that causes a system to fail in performing its required function.

15. What is failure?

  Failure is the inability of the software to perform a required function to its specification.

16. What is a bug?

  A software bug may be defined as a coding error that causes an unexpected defect, fault, flaw, or imperfection in a computer program. In other words, if a program does not perform as intended, it is most likely a bug.

17. What is test log?

  A test log is used by the test team to record what occurred during test execution.

18. What is the difference between static and dynamic testing?

•  Static testing : is performed using the software documentation. The code is not executing during static testing.
• Dynamic testing :  requires the code to be in an executable state to perform the tests.

19. What is debugging?

  Debugging is a process that developers go through to identify the cause of bugs or defects in code and undertake corrections.

20. What is a maturity level?

  A maturity level specifies the level of performance expected from an organization.

21. Define Metrics?

  The continuous application of measurement based techniques to the software development process and its products to supply meaningful and timely management information, together with the use of those techniques to improve that process and its products.

22. What is the difference between system and real time software?

•  System Software : System software is a collection of programs used to run the system as an assistance to other software programs. The compliers, editors, utilities, operating system components, drivers, and interfaces are examples of system software. This software resides in the computer system and consumes its resources. A computer system without system software cannot function.
• Real time Software :  Real time software deals with a changing environment. First, it collects the input and converts it from analog to a digital, control component that responds to the external environment and performs the action.

23. What is verification?

  Verification ensures the product is designed to deliver all functionality to the customer; it typically involves reviews and meetings to evaluate documents, plans, code, requirements and specifications; this can be done with checklists, issues lists, walkthroughs and inspection meetings.

24. What is meant by validation?

  Validation ensures that functionality, as defined in requirements, is the intended behavior of the product; validation typically involves actual testing and takes place after verifications are completed.

25. What is error tracking?

  Error tracking is an activity that provides a means for assessing the status of a current project.

26. What is white box testing?

  White box testing is a test case design method that uses the control structure of the procedural design to derive test cases. It is otherwise called as structural testing.

27. What is Black box testing?

  Black box testing is a test case design method that focuses on the functional requirements of the software. It is otherwise called as functional testing.

28. What is the difference between coupling and cohension?

  Cohension is a measure of the relative functional strength of a module.

Coupling is a measure of the relative interdependence among modules.

29. What is Software reliability?

  Software reliability is defined as the probability of failure free operation of a computer program in a specified environment for a specified time.

30. What are the categories of metrics?

  There are three types of metrics are : 

• Product Metrics 
• Process Metrics
• Project Metrics

31. What is meant by unit testing?

  Unit testing is the process of testing a particular complied program, i.e., a window, a report, an interface, etc. independently as a stand alone component/program. The types and degrees of unit tests can vary among modified and newly created programs. Unit testing is mostly performed by the programmers who are also responsible for the creation of the necessary unit test data.

32. What are the categories of debugging?

  The various categories for debugging are : 

• Brute force debugging
• Backtracking
• Cause elimination
• Program slicing
• Fault tree analysis

33. What is incremental testing?

  Incremental testing is partial testing of an incomplete product. The goal of incremental testing is to provide an early feedback to software developers. 

34. What is regression testing?

  Regression testing is not a level of testing, but it is the retesting of software that occurs when changes are made to ensure that the new version of the software has retained the capabilities of the old version and that no new defects have been introduced due to the changes. 

35. What is the difference between black box and white box testing?

•  Black box testing is a testing strategy based solely on requirements and specifications. Black box testing requires no knowledge of internal paths, structures, or implementation of the software being tested. 
• White box testing is a testing strategy based on internal paths, code structures, and implementation of the software being tested. White box testing generally requires detailed programming skills.

36. What are the characteristic of process?

  Any process has the following characteristics: 

• The process prescribes all of the major process activities.
• The process uses resources, subject to a set of constraints (such as a schedule), and produces intermediate and final products.
• The process may be composed of sub processes that are linked in some way. The process may be defined as a hierarchy of processes, organized so that each sub process has its own process model.
• Each process activity has entry and exit criteria, so that we know when the activity begins and ends.
• The activities are organized in a sequence, so that it is clear when one activity is performed relative to the other activities.
• Every process has a set of guiding principles that explain the goals of each activity.

37. What are the advantages of waterfall model?

  The various advantages of the waterfall model include: 

• It is a linear model.
• It is a segmental model.
• It is systematic and sequential.
• It is a simple one.
• It has proper documentation. 

38. What is RAD?

  The RAD (Rapid Application Development Model) model is proposed when requirements and solutions can be modularized as independent system or software components, each of which can be developed by different teams. After these smaller system components are developed, they are integrated to produce the large software system solution.

39. What is system integration testing?

  Testing of software components that have been distributed across multiple platforms (e.g., client, web server, application server, and database server) to produce failures caused by system integration defects (i.e. defects involving distribution and back office integration).

40. What are the types of attributes?

•  Simple Attribute
• Composite Attribute
• Single Valued Attribute
• Multivalued Attribute
• Derived Attribute 

41. What is acceptance testing?

  Testing the system with the intent of confirming readiness of the product and customer acceptance. Also known as User Acceptance Testing. 

42. What are the types of system testing?

  There are essentially three main kinds of system testing : 

• Alpha testing
• Beta testing
• Acceptance testing

43. What is the difference between alpha, beta and acceptance testing?

•  Alpha Testing :  Alpha testing refers to the system testing carried out by the test team within the development organization.
• Beta Testing :  Beta testing is the system testing performed by a selected group of friendly customers.
• Acceptance Testing :  Acceptance testing is the system testing performed by the customer to determine whether to accept or reject the delivery of the system.

44. What are the advantages of black box testing?

  The advantages of this type of testing include : 

• The test is unbiased because the designer and the tester are independent of each other.
• The tester does not need knowledge of any specific programming languages.
• The test is done from the point-of-view of the user, not the designer.
• Test cases can be designed as soon as the specifications are complete.

45. What are the advantages of white box testing?

  The various advantages of white box testing include : 

• Forces test developer to reason carefully about implementation
• Approximates the partitioning done by execution equivalence
• Reveals errors in hidden code

46. What is a test case?

  A test case is a set of instructions designed to discover a particular type of error or defect in the software system by inducing a failure. 

47. What is a software review? 

  A software review can be defined as a filter for the software engineering process. The purpose of any review is to discover errors in the analysis, design, and coding, testing and implementation phases of the softwaredevelopment cycle. The other purpose of a review is to see whether procedures are applied uniformly and in a manageable manner.

48. What are the types of reviews?

• Reviews are one of two types : informal technical reviews and formal technical reviews.
• Informal Technical Review : An informal meeting and informal desk checking.
• Formal Technical Review : A formal software quality assurance activity through various approaches, such as structured walkthroughs, inspections, etc.

49. What is data flow diagrams(DFD)?

  Data Flow Diagrams (DFD) are also known as data flow graphs or bubble charts. A DFD serves the purpose of clarifying system requirements and identifying major transformations. DFDs show the flow of data through a system. It is an important modeling tool that allows us to picture a system as a network of functional processes.

50. What is reverse engineering?

  Reverse engineering is the process followed in order to find difficult, unknown, and hidden information about a software system. It is becoming important, since several software products lack proper documentation, and are highly unstructured, or their structure has degraded through a series of maintenance efforts. Maintenance activities cannot be performed without a complete understanding of the software system.
==============================================================

What is testing?

Testing is the process of evaluating a system or its component(s) with the intent to find that whether it satisfies the specified requirements or not. This activity results in the actual, expected and difference between their results. In simple words testing is executing a system in order to identify any gaps, errors or missing requirements in contrary to the actual desire or requirements.

According to ANSI/IEEE 1059 standard, Testing can be defined as A process of analyzing a software item to detect the differences between existing and required conditions (that is defects/errors/bugs) and to evaluate the features of the software item.

Who does testing?

It depends on the process and the associated stakeholders of the project(s). In the IT industry, large companies have a team with responsibilities to evaluate the developed software in the context of the given requirements. Moreover, developers also conduct testing which is called Unit Testing. In most cases, following professionals are involved in testing of a system within their respective capacities:

• Software Tester
• Software Developer
• Project Lead/Manager
• End User

Different companies have difference designations for people who test the software on the basis of their experience and knowledge such as Software Tester, Software Quality Assurance Engineer, and QA Analyst etc.

It is not possible to test the software at any time during its cycle. The next two sections state when testing should be started and when to end it during the SDLC.

When to Start Testing?

An early start to testing reduces the cost, time to rework and error free software that is delivered to the client. However in Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) testing can be started from the Requirements Gathering phase and lasts till the deployment of the software. However it also depends on the development model that is being used. For example in Water fall model formal testing is conducted in the Testing phase, but in incremental model, testing is performed at the end of every increment/iteration and at the end the whole application is tested.

Testing is done in different forms at every phase of SDLC like during Requirement gathering phase, the analysis and verifications of requirements are also considered testing. Reviewing the design in the design phase with intent to improve the design is also considered as testing. Testing performed by a developer on completion of the code is also categorized as Unit type of testing.

When to Stop Testing?

Unlike when to start testing it is difficult to determine when to stop testing, as testing is a never ending process and no one can say that any software is 100% tested. Following are the aspects which should be considered to stop the testing:

• Testing Deadlines.
• Completion of test case execution.
• Completion of Functional and code coverage to a certain point.
• Bug rate falls below a certain level and no high priority bugs are identified.
• Management decision.

Testing Types

Manual testing

This type includes the testing of the Software manually i.e. without using any automated tool or any script. In this type the tester takes over the role of an end user and test the Software to identify any un-expected behavior or bug. There are different stages for manual testing like unit testing, Integration testing, System testing and User Acceptance testing.

Testers use test plan, test cases or test scenarios to test the Software to ensure the completeness of testing. Manual testing also includes exploratory testing as testers explore the software to identify errors in it.

Automation testing

Automation testing which is also known as Test Automation, is when the tester writes scripts and uses another software to test the software. This process involves automation of a manual process. Automation Testing is used to re-run the test scenarios that were performed manually, quickly and repeatedly.

Apart from regression testing, Automation testing is also used to test the application from load, performance and stress point of view. It increases the test coverage; improve accuracy, saves time and money in comparison to manual testing.

Testing, Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Most people are confused with the concepts and difference between Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Testing. Although they are interrelated and at some level they can be considered as the same activities, but there is indeed a difference between them. Mentioned below are the definitions and differences between them:

S.N.	Quality Assurance	Quality Control	Testing
1	Activities which ensure the implementation of processes, procedures and standards in context to verification of developed software and intended requirements.	Activities which ensure the verification of developed software with respect to documented (or not in some cases) requirements.	Activities which ensure the identification of bugs/error/defects in the Software.
2	Focuses on processes and procedures rather then conducting actual testing on the system.	Focuses on actual testing by executing Software with intend to identify bug/defect through implementation of procedures and process.	Focuses on actual testing.
3	Process oriented activities.	Product oriented activities.	Product oriented activities.
4	Preventive activities.	It is a corrective process.	It is a preventive process.
5	It is a subset of Software Test Life Cycle (STLC).	QC can be considered as the subset of Quality Assurance.	Testing is the subset of Quality Control.

Audit and Inspection

AUDIT:

A systematic process to determine how the actual testing process is conducted within an organization or a team. Generally, it is an independent examination of processes which are involved during the testing of software. As per IEEE, it is a review of documented processes whether organizations implements and follows the processes or not. Types of Audit include the Legal Compliance Audit, Internal Audit, and System Audit.

INSPECTION:

A formal technique which involves the formal or informal technical reviews of any artifact by identifying any error or gap. Inspection includes the formal as well as informal technical reviews. As per IEEE94, Inspection is a formal evaluation technique in which software requirements, design, or code are examined in detail by a person or group other than the author to detect faults, violations of development standards, and other problems.

Formal Inspection meetings may have following process: Planning, Overview Preparation, Inspection Meeting, Rework, and Follow-up.

Testing and Debugging

TESTING:

It involves the identification of bug/error/defect in the software without correcting it. Normally professionals with a Quality Assurance background are involved in the identification of bugs. Testing is performed in the testing phase.

DEBUGGING:

It involves identifying, isolating and fixing the problems/bug. Developers who code the software conduct debugging upon encountering an error in the code. Debugging is the part of White box or Unit Testing. Debugging can be performed in the development phase while conducting Unit Testing or in phases while fixing the reported bugs.

Black Box Testing

The technique of testing without having any knowledge of the interior workings of the application is Black Box testing. The tester is oblivious to the system architecture and does not have access to the source code. Typically, when performing a black box test, a tester will interact with the systems user interface by providing inputs and examining outputs without knowing how and where the inputs are worked upon.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Well suited and efficient for large code segments. Code Access not required. Clearly separates users perspective from the developers perspective through visibly defined roles. Large numbers of moderately skilled testers can test the application with no knowledge of implementation, programming language or operating systems.	Limited Coverage since only a selected number of test scenarios are actually performed. Inefficient testing, due to the fact that the tester only has limited knowledge about an application. Blind Coverage, since the tester cannot target specific code segments or error prone areas. The test cases are difficult to design.

White Box Testing

White box testing is the detailed investigation of internal logic and structure of the code. White box testing is also called glass testing or open box testing. In order to perform white box testing on an application, the tester needs to possess knowledge of the internal working of the code.

The tester needs to have a look inside the source code and find out which unit/chunk of the code is behaving inappropriately.

Advantages	Disadvantages
As the tester has knowledge of the source code, it becomes very easy to find out which type of data can help in testing the application effectively. It helps in optimizing the code. Extra lines of code can be removed which can bring in hidden defects. Due to the testers knowledge about the code, maximum coverage is attained during test scenario writing.	Due to the fact that a skilled tester is needed to perform white box testing, the costs are increased. Sometimes it is impossible to look into every nook and corner to find out hidden errors that may create problems as many paths will go untested. It is difficult to maintain white box testing as the use of specialized tools like code analyzers and debugging tools are required.

Grey Box Testing

Grey Box testing is a technique to test the application with limited knowledge of the internal workings of an application. In software testing, the term the more you know the better carries a lot of weight when testing an application.

Mastering the domain of a system always gives the tester an edge over someone with limited domain knowledge. Unlike black box testing, where the tester only tests the applications user interface, in grey box testing, the tester has access to design documents and the database. Having this knowledge, the tester is able to better prepare test data and test scenarios when making the test plan.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Offers combined benefits of black box and white box testing wherever possible. Grey box testers dont rely on the source code; instead they rely on interface definition and functional specifications. Based on the limited information available, a grey box tester can design excellent test scenarios especially around communication protocols and data type handling. The test is done from the point of view of the user and not the designer.

Since the access to source code is not available, the ability to go over the code and test coverage is limited. The tests can be redundant if the software designer has already run a test case. Testing every possible input stream is unrealistic because it would take an unreasonable amount of time; therefore, many program paths will go untested.

Black Box vs Grey Box vs White Box

S.N.	Black Box Testing	Grey Box Testing	White Box Testing
1	The Internal Workings of an application are not required to be known	Somewhat knowledge of the internal workings are known	Tester has full knowledge of the Internal workings of the application
2	Also known as closed box testing, data driven testing and functional testing	Another term for grey box testing is translucent testing as the tester has limited knowledge of the insides of the application	Also known as clear box testing, structural testing or code based testing
3	Performed by end users and also by testers and developers	Performed by end users and also by testers and developers	Normally done by testers and developers
4	Testing is based on external expectations - Internal behavior of the application is unknown	Testing is done on the basis of high level database diagrams and data flow diagrams	Internal workings are fully known and the tester can design test data accordingly
5	This is the least time consuming and exhaustive	Partly time consuming and exhaustive	The most exhaustive and time consuming type of testing
6	Not suited to algorithm testing	Not suited to algorithm testing	Suited for algorithm testing
7	This can only be done by trial and error method	Data domains and Internal boundaries can be tested, if known	Data domains and Internal boundaries can be better tested

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There are different levels during the process of Testing. In this chapter a brief description is provided about these levels.

Levels of testing include the different methodologies that can be used while conducting Software Testing. Following are the main levels of Software Testing:

• Functional Testing.
• Non-Functional Testing.

Functional Testing

This is a type of black box testing that is based on the specifications of the software that is to be tested. The application is tested by providing input and then the results are examined that need to conform to the functionality it was intended for. Functional Testing of the software is conducted on a complete, integrated system to evaluate the systems compliance with its specified requirements.

There are five steps that are involved when testing an application for functionality.

Steps	Description
I	The determination of the functionality that the intended application is meant to perform.
II	The creation of test data based on the specifications of the application.
III	The output based on the test data and the specifications of the application.
IV	The writing of Test Scenarios and the execution of test cases.
V	The comparison of actual and expected results based on the executed test cases.

An effective testing practice will see the above steps applied to the testing policies of every organization and hence it will make sure that the organization maintains the strictest of standards when it comes to software quality.

Unit Testing

This type of testing is performed by the developers before the setup is handed over to the testing team to formally execute the test cases. Unit testing is performed by the respective developers on the individual units of source code assigned areas. The developers use test data that is separate from the test data of the quality assurance team.

The goal of unit testing is to isolate each part of the program and show that individual parts are correct in terms of requirements and functionality.

LIMITATIONS OF UNIT TESTING

Testing cannot catch each and every bug in an application. It is impossible to evaluate every execution path in every software application. The same is the case with unit testing.

There is a limit to the number of scenarios and test data that the developer can use to verify the source code. So after he has exhausted all options there is no choice but to stop unit testing and merge the code segment with other units.

Integration Testing

The testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function correctly together is Integration testing. There are two methods of doing Integration Testing Bottom-up Integration testing and Top Down Integration testing.

S.N.	Integration Testing Method
1	Bottom-up integration This testing begins with unit testing, followed by tests of progressively higher-level combinations of units called modules or builds.
2	Top-Down integration  This testing, the highest-level modules are tested first and progressively lower-level modules are tested after that.

In a comprehensive software development environment, bottom-up testing is usually done first, followed by top-down testing. The process concludes with multiple tests of the complete application, preferably in scenarios designed to mimic those it will encounter in customers computers, systems and network.

System Testing

This is the next level in the testing and tests the system as a whole. Once all the components are integrated, the application as a whole is tested rigorously to see that it meets Quality Standards. This type of testing is performed by a specialized testing team.

System testing is so important because of the following reasons:

• System Testing is the first step in the Software Development Life Cycle, where the application is tested as a whole.
• The application is tested thoroughly to verify that it meets the functional and technical specifications.
• The application is tested in an environment which is very close to the production environment where the application will be deployed.
• System Testing enables us to test, verify and validate both the business requirements as well as the Applications Architecture.

Regression Testing

Whenever a change in a software application is made it is quite possible that other areas within the application have been affected by this change. To verify that a fixed bug hasnt resulted in another functionality or business rule violation is Regression testing. The intent of Regression testing is to ensure that a change, such as a bug fix did not result in another fault being uncovered in the application.

Regression testing is so important because of the following reasons:

• Minimize the gaps in testing when an application with changes made has to be tested.
• Testing the new changes to verify that the change made did not affect any other area of the application.
• Mitigates Risks when regression testing is performed on the application.
• Test coverage is increased without compromising timelines.
• Increase speed to market the product.

Acceptance Testing

This is arguably the most importance type of testing as it is conducted by the Quality Assurance Team who will gauge whether the application meets the intended specifications and satisfies the client.s requirements. The QA team will have a set of pre written scenarios and Test Cases that will be used to test the application.

More ideas will be shared about the application and more tests can be performed on it to gauge its accuracy and the reasons why the project was initiated. Acceptance tests are not only intended to point out simple spelling mistakes, cosmetic errors or Interface gaps, but also to point out any bugs in the application that will result in system crashers or major errors in the application.

By performing acceptance tests on an application the testing team will deduce how the application will perform in production. There are also legal and contractual requirements for acceptance of the system.

ALPHA TESTING

This test is the first stage of testing and will be performed amongst the teams (developer and QA teams). Unit testing, integration testing and system testing when combined are known as alpha testing. During this phase, the following will be tested in the application:

• Spelling Mistakes
• Broken Links
• Cloudy Directions
• The Application will be tested on machines with the lowest specification to test loading times and any latency problems.

BETA TESTING

This test is performed after Alpha testing has been successfully performed. In beta testing a sample of the intended audience tests the application. Beta testing is also known as pre-release testing. Beta test versions of software are ideally distributed to a wide audience on the Web, partly to give the program a "real-world" test and partly to provide a preview of the next release. In this phase the audience will be testing the following:

• Users will install, run the application and send their feedback to the project team.
• Typographical errors, confusing application flow, and even crashes.
• Getting the feedback, the project team can fix the problems before releasing the software to the actual users.
• The more issues you fix that solve real user problems, the higher the quality of your application will be.
• Having a higher-quality application when you release to the general public will increase customer satisfaction.

Non-Functional Testing

This section is based upon the testing of the application from its non-functional attributes. Non-functional testing of Software involves testing the Software from the requirements which are non functional in nature related but important a well such as performance, security, user interface etc.

Some of the important and commonly used non-functional testing types are mentioned as follows:

Performance Testing

It is mostly used to identify any bottlenecks or performance issues rather than finding the bugs in software. There are different causes which contribute in lowering the performance of software:

• Network delay.
• Client side processing.
• Database transaction processing.
• Load balancing between servers.
• Data rendering.

Performance testing is considered as one of the important and mandatory testing type in terms of following aspects:

• Speed (i.e. Response Time, data rendering and accessing)
• Capacity
• Stability
• Scalability

It can be either qualitative or quantitative testing activity and can be divided into different sub types such asLoad testing and Stress testing.

LOAD TESTING

A process of testing the behavior of the Software by applying maximum load in terms of Software accessing and manipulating large input data. It can be done at both normal and peak load conditions. This type of testing identifies the maximum capacity of Software and its behavior at peak time.

Most of the time, Load testing is performed with the help of automated tools such as Load Runner, AppLoader, IBM Rational Performance Tester, Apache JMeter, Silk Performer, Visual Studio Load Test etc.

Virtual users (VUsers) are defined in the automated testing tool and the script is executed to verify the Load testing for the Software. The quantity of users can be increased or decreased concurrently or incrementally based upon the requirements.

STRESS TESTING

This testing type includes the testing of Software behavior under abnormal conditions. Taking away the resources, applying load beyond the actual load limit is Stress testing.

The main intent is to test the Software by applying the load to the system and taking over the resources used by the Software to identify the breaking point. This testing can be performed by testing different scenarios such as:

• Shutdown or restart of Network ports randomly.
• Turning the database on or off.
• Running different processes that consume resources such as CPU, Memory, server etc.

Usability Testing

This section includes different concepts and definitions of Usability testing from Software point of view. It is a black box technique and is used to identify any error(s) and improvements in the Software by observing the users through their usage and operation.

According to Nielsen, Usability can be defined in terms of five factors i.e. Efficiency of use, Learn-ability, Memor-ability, Errors/safety, satisfaction. According to him the usability of the product will be good and the system is usable if it possesses the above factors.

Nigel Bevan and Macleod considered that Usability is the quality requirement which can be measured as the outcome of interactions with a computer system. This requirement can be fulfilled and the end user will be satisfied if the intended goals are achieved effectively with the use of proper resources.

Molich in 2000 stated that user friendly system should fulfill the following five goals i.e. Easy to Learn, Easy to Remember, Efficient to Use, Satisfactory to Use and Easy to Understand.

In addition to different definitions of usability, there are some standards and quality models and methods which define the usability in the form of attributes and sub attributes such as ISO-9126, ISO-9241-11, ISO-13407 and IEEE std.610.12 etc.

UI VS USABILITY TESTING

UI testing involves the testing of Graphical User Interface of the Software. This testing ensures that the GUI should be according to requirements in terms of color, alignment, size and other properties.

On the other hand Usability testing ensures that a good and user friendly GUI is designed and is easy to use for the end user. UI testing can be considered as a sub part of Usability testing.

Security Testing

Security testing involves the testing of Software in order to identify any flaws ad gaps from security and vulnerability point of view. Following are the main aspects which Security testing should ensure:

• Confidentiality.
• Integrity.
• Authentication.
• Availability.
• Authorization.
• Non-repudiation.
• Software is secure against known and unknown vulnerabilities.
• Software data is secure.
• Software is according to all security regulations.
• Input checking and validation.
• SQL insertion attacks.
• Injection flaws.
• Session management issues.
• Cross-site scripting attacks.
• Buffer overflows vulnerabilities.
• Directory traversal attacks.

Portability Testing

Portability testing includes the testing of Software with intend that it should be re-useable and can be moved from another Software as well. Following are the strategies that can be used for Portability testing.

• Transferred installed Software from one computer to another.
• Building executable (.exe) to run the Software on different platforms.

Portability testing can be considered as one of the sub parts of System testing, as this testing type includes the overall testing of Software with respect to its usage over different environments. Computer Hardware, Operating Systems and Browsers are the major focus of Portability testing. Following are some pre-conditions for Portability testing:

• Software should be designed and coded, keeping in mind Portability Requirements.
• Unit testing has been performed on the associated components.
• Integration testing has been performed.
• Test environment has been established.

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Testing documentation involves the documentation of artifacts which should be developed before or during the testing of Software.

Documentation for Software testing helps in estimating the testing effort required, test coverage, requirement tracking/tracing etc. This section includes the description of some commonly used documented artifacts related to Software testing such as:

• Test Plan
• Test Scenario
• Test Case
• Traceability Matrix

Test Plan

A test plan outlines the strategy that will be used to test an application, the resources that will be used, the test environment in which testing will be performed, the limitations of the testing and the schedule of testing activities. Typically the Quality Assurance Team Lead will be responsible for writing a Test Plan.

A test plan will include the following.

• Introduction to the Test Plan document
• Assumptions when testing the application
• List of test cases included in Testing the application
• List of features to be tested
• What sort of Approach to use when testing the software
• List of Deliverables that need to be tested
• The resources allocated for testing the application
• Any Risks involved during the testing process
• A Schedule of tasks and milestones as testing is started

Test Scenario

A one line statement that tells what area in the application will be tested. Test Scenarios are used to ensure that all process flows are tested from end to end. A particular area of an application can have as little as one test scenario to a few hundred scenarios depending on the magnitude and complexity of the application.

The term test scenario and test cases are used interchangeably however the main difference being that test scenarios has several steps however test cases have a single step. When viewed from this perspective test scenarios are test cases, but they include several test cases and the sequence that they should be executed. Apart from this, each test is dependent on the output from the previous test.

Test Case

Test cases involve the set of steps, conditions and inputs which can be used while performing the testing tasks. The main intent of this activity is to ensure whether the Software Passes or Fails in terms of its functionality and other aspects. There are many types of test cases like: functional, negative, error, logical test cases, physical test cases, UI test cases etc.

Furthermore test cases are written to keep track of testing coverage of Software. Generally, there is no formal template which is used during the test case writing. However, following are the main components which are always available and included in every test case:

• Test case ID.
• Product Module.
• Product version.
• Revision history.
• Purpose
• Assumptions
• Pre-Conditions.
• Steps.
• Expected Outcome.
• Actual Outcome.
• Post Conditions.

Many Test cases can be derived from a single test scenario. In addition to this, some time it happened that multiple test cases are written for single Software which is collectively known as test suites.

Traceability Matrix

Traceability Matrix (also known as Requirement Traceability Matrix - RTM) is a table which is used to trace the requirements during the Software development life Cycle. It can be used for forward tracing (i.e. from Requirements to Design or Coding) or backward (i.e. from Coding to Requirements). There are many user defined templates for RTM.

Each requirement in the RTM document is linked with its associated test case, so that testing can be done as per the mentioned requirements. Furthermore, Bug ID is also include and linked with its associated requirements and test case. The main goals for this matrix are:

• Make sure Software is developed as per the mentioned requirements.
• Helps in finding the root cause of any bug.
• Helps in tracing the developed documents during different phases of SDLC.

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