Free Email Hosting From Google?

Man oh man! Every time I turn around I am finding out another cool free thing from Google! I just don't understand how these guys stay in business. They offer some of the coolest apps, and services all for free!

(Yes I know, I know, they make money from advertising, I don't want to hear about it in the comments.)

This particular service I just crawled out from under a rock and discovered is Googles Apps. I guess I never noticed it before because the name isn't very descriptive of what it really is.

According to the Google Apps page, this services lets you:

Communicate...
Give your users Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Talk accounts that use your own custom domain, helping them to stay connected and work together more effectively. New! IMAP support for Gmail

Collaborate and publish...
Google Docs lets users share files and collaborate in real-time. The Start Page is the first place your users will look to preview their inboxes and calendars, access your essential content, and search the web.

...and get on with business.
It's all hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software to install or download, and minimal setup and maintenance. You can get up and running quickly, even if you don't have technical resources.

Did you hear that? FREE custom email, and collaboration tools using your domain name! How friggin' awesome is that? Think about it, just the email functionality alone. If you buy a domain name from Godaddy, and want them to host your email, at their cheapest plan you get one measly email address, with only 25MB of storage for $9.99 per year. With Google Apps, you get 100 email addresses, 5GB of storage per address, you get to put your logo on it, and use your domain name all for FREE!



Not to mention other cool stuff like custom calendar, docs page, and my favorite, your own personal iGoogle like start page. Check out mine: http://start.bauer-power.net.

Check it out for yourself! If you own a domain, then their isn't really a reason not to have your own custom email address any more!

How to Fix The Free/Busy Fiasco in Outlook

I had a user today who said she could open a shared calendar in Outlook, but when she did she would get the following error:

"Can't open this item. Unable to open the free/busy information."


If you are seeing this, then you have two options that I have found:

Option One:

• Have the user whose calendar you wish to open close out of Outlook.
• Click on Start > Run and type in the following:
  outlook.exe /cleanfreebusy

If that doesn't fix the problem, then you have to move on to Option Two, which is:

• On the user's computer whose calendar you wish to view, download MfcMapi.exe from Microsoft.com
• Run MfcMapi.exe, then click on Session > Logon and Display Store Table
• Select the profile of the person whose calendar you wish to view
• Double click on the line that says "Mailbox-"
• Expand Root Container
• Expand Top of Information Store
• Click on Inbox
• Now in the right windows look for PR_FREEBUSY_ENTRYIDS, right click on it and select Delete Property.
• Close out of MfcMapi.exe
• Now repeat option One from above.

The corrupt free/busy issue should now be resolved.

The EFF Is Fighting for Your Downloads!

I recently read an associated press article that said that one of my favorite watch dog groups was once again fighting for our rights as free internet surfers! That group is the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation).

The EFF has written a pretty descriptive "How-To" article on using the freely available network packet sniffer Wireshark to test if your ISP is using packet injection techniques to disrupt your internet operations.

From the EFF website:

In May 2007, Comcast began engaging in protocol-specific interference with the activities of its subscribers. When confronted by users and by EFF, Comcast responded with denials and answers that told less than the whole story. In October 2007, however, after independent testing by the Associated Press and EFF, it became clear that Comcast is, in fact, interfering with BitTorrent, Gnutella, and potentially other common file sharing protocols employed by millions of Internet users. In specific, it appears that Comcast is injecting forged RST packets into TCP communications, in an effort to disrupt certain protocols commonly used for file-sharing. The interference efforts appear to be triggered by the protocol that a subscriber uses, not by the number of connections made or amount of bandwidth used by the subscriber.

To view the EFF's guide to using Wireshark so you can fight back click here: (EFF Wireshark Guide)

I am the Robot

If I want to terrorize my two year old, I walk around the house in my best Robo Cop walk saying in a robot voice, "I am the robot daddy."

She of course runs away saying, "don't say that daddy!" It's fun to mess with her a little, you know, to give her a sense of humor (I of course say that now, but I won't when she bills me for her therapy sessions when she's older).

So I am stumbling around the internet today and I find a website that will let you type in a phrase, and a computer voice will read it. The site will then let you download the robot recording of whatever you typed in in MP3 format. Here's mine for example: (Robot Recording)

The site that does this is called VozMe. They say on their site that you can use this to put a voice on your website. Honestly, I really don't see a need for this, but it is something to do when you are bored for a few minutes.

The site offers recordings in English, Spanish and Italian. They also offer their service as a gadget for iGoogle. Check them out when you have a minute or two to kill.

When Windows XP SP3 Update Fails

Hello readers! If you have been hanging around the last few days you know that I recently posted an article about how to get Service Pack 3 RC1 for Windows XP. I'm sure that 98% of you had no problems at all with the install.

If you are like me though and like to customize your Windows XP box, you may have had problems. What I like to do is install Style XP on my computer and use a custom boot screen. (My favorite is my own Bauer-Power boot screen). When you do that, Style XP backs up the original Windows kernel file, and sets up their own custom one so you can use a custom boot screen.

Well, if you do that, or something similar, when you do your Windows update to get Windows XP Service Pack 3, Microsoft checks to make sure that you don't have any modified system files that may cause the install to fail, or jack up your computer. The error I got was:

Installation Failure

Error Code: 0x8007F0CC
Try to install the update again, or request help from one of the following resources.

For self-help options:

Frequently Asked Questions
Find Solutions
Windows Update Newsgroup

For assisted support options:

Microsoft Online Assisted Support (no-cost for issues related to getting updates)

To fix it I had to go into Style XP's bootscreen options and reset the kernel file, and boot.ini file and reboot once. After that the install was smooth.

If you don't have Style XP, but your files are modified, you might want to try system file checker, or run the repair installation from the Windows XP CD before upgrading to Service Pack 3.

Has anyone else out there had problems with WinXP SP3? Hit me up in the comments.

You've Got 'Doggie-Mail'

If you're hearing dogs talk to you, don't panic. It may only be your e-mail.

Petcentric.com, a Web site devoted to information and stories about pets, recently introduced a feature called "Doggie-Mail," an interactive service that allows dog lovers to send free e-mail messages in the voice of their very own customized canine.

When visitors log on to the site, they can choose one of three animated dogs to convey their message and then customize the character's wardrobe, props and scene. They can choose to deck out their dog in a cowboy hat and dress shirt, or jazz up the pooch's panache with a feather boa and sunglasses. They can then pick a variety of backdrops for the dog, including a dude ranch or a festive Hawaiian beach.

After choosing a dog and customizing its outfit, users select a prerecorded message for the dog to speak, or type in their own message and choose a voice to accompany it. Petcentric.com also offers a toll-free number where users can record a message in their own voice. Once the e-mail has been customized, they can send the talking dog and its message to as many friends as they like.

Visitors to the site can also watch clips of actor and author John O'Hurley reading excerpts from his new book "It's Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump: And Other Life Lessons I Learned from Dogs."

"Dogs bring out a host of emotions in us," said O'Hurley, "not the least of which is humor."

For more information or to start using Doggie-Mail, visit www.petcentric.com. The site also contains a gallery of pet photos submitted by subscribers, feature articles, product and book reviews and other pet-related content.- (NewsUSA)

Youtube to Mpeg Direct

A few months ago I posted an article on one method to download your favorite Youtube video's, and then convert them to mpeg. That was just too long of a process for me. I'm an American, and we like things quick, easy and convenient. Why do you thing there are McDonalds and Starbucks on every street corner here?

Anyway, there are many online websites that convert Youtube, Metacafe, Break, Google Video, etc to mpeg and let you download them directly. One of them I found via Propeller is called http://vixy.net. This lets you download directly to MPG, AVI, MOV, MP4, 3GP etc all online.

Another cool program I found on Softpedia, is called Save2PC Light. I actually like this better than the online one. The online downloader seemed to take way too long converting the videos from flv format to mpeg. Save2PC downloaded the video I wanted in only a few seconds.

My previous method was a two part process of downloading the flv file, then using another program to convert flv to mpeg. Way too long in my opinion. Using either the online method from Vixy, or installing Save2PC Light can save you time when snagging video clips from your favorite websites.

How And Why To Wipe Disk Drives

Computers have become more widespread than ever, with every business and organization usually relying to some extent on these information machines. They facilitate the performance of many otherwise tedious tasks within any organization, and really help to boost productivity.

For instance, there are programs called word processors for creating any sort of printed communication, from letters to memorandums. There are also programs called spreadsheets that can perform calculations and display data and results in tables and graphs.

There is also software available for making databases, which are organized collections of data such as transaction information, employee information, and so on. These databases make it easy to store important information in an easily accessible form.

Sometimes, confidential information might need to be stored digitally, in some form or other. When this is the case, there are usually built-in security measures to help keep the precious data protected. However, it might arise that a hard disk would be reallocated, or that the computer itself would be transferred to some other use.

In this case, it becomes necessary to completely wipe the disk; that is, delete all the information on the disk, along with any traces that might be used to reconstruct this information. This is good computing practice, even for non-critical hard disks. Wiping down a hard disk does not take much effort, nowadays, since there are programs and the like available to do it for you. Getting used to wiping down hard disks to be deleted completely costs virtually nothing in the way of money or effort but pays off in the formation of a useful habit.

There are disk wipe programs available designed for big businesses that might need to do it in large batches. These programs have features that make it easier to keep track of the many hard disk volumes to be wiped. Some can even automatically retrieve and store serial numbers, for instance to comply with legal requirements.

Users of personal computers may also sometimes find it necessary to completely erase the data on their hard disks. When selling an old computer, for instance, it would be a good precaution to do a complete wipe-out of the data to prevent any possible identity theft.

Simply deleting all files (using the current operating system, for example) may not be secure enough. There are known ways to recover data from a hard disk that has not been wiped cleanly enough. The traces of data that remain in some "deleted' hard disks are sometimes enough to be analyzed and used to reconstruct pieces of information presumed lost.

Apart from security purposes, using these disk wipers can also help when reinstalling an operating system. For systems that are heavily infected with viruses and other malicious software, a complete disk wipe and clean reinstall may be the more convenient solution.

There are both free and commercial applications available for wiping disks. Commercial ones are of course not free, but usually technical support for these are readily available. It becomes a matter of choice whether to select a cost-free but unsupported disk wipe program over a commercial program, or vice versa.

By: Sam Miller

[EDIT BY El Di Pablo]: For a good secure Free Disk Wiper, you can use Derek's Boot and Nuke, available on the Ultimate Boot CD.

Article Source: ArticleBase.com

Get Windows XP Service Pack 3 RC1

Hello everyone, I hope you had a good holiday weekend, didn't eat too much turkey, and survived black Friday. I know personally I am now at least 20lbs heavier (Damn my wife is a good cook!)

Anyway, I found this cool registry hack to make Windows XP Service pack 3 available in Windows Update. Full credit is due to DailyApps.net where I found this script, which you can download here: (Windows XP SP3 Hack)

The script deletes an old Windows update registry key, then ads a key option for the the latest release candidate.



From DailyApps:

Please note this hack is the exact way Microsoft expects its beta testers to try Windows XP SP3 out, so you don’t have to worry too much about Microsoft catching hold of you.

Just download it, run the script, and check online for windows updates. If you don't see the option for Service Pack 3, reboot once and try it again. Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments!.

Buying Guide to Graphics Cards

The graphics card is a vital performance component of your computer, particularly if you play 3D games, or work with graphics and video content. The graphics card sits in an expansion card slot in your PC and it is specifically designed to process image data and output it to your monitor, enabling you to see it. A graphics card works by calculating how images appear, particularly 3D images, and renders them to the screen. 3D images and video images take a lot of processing capacity, and many graphics processors are complex, require fans to cool them and need direct power supply. The graphics card consists of a graphics processor, a memory chip for graphics operations, and a RAMDAC for display output. It may also include video capture, TV output and SLI and other functions. You can find the graphics card that suits you by comparing specification between brands and vendors on Myshopping.com.au

At Myshopping.com.au you can compare a great range of appliances, and assess them according to their specifications, brands, prices and vendors.

Graphics Cards

What are your needs?

The first decision you need to make is whether you need a graphics card for handling 3D images or whether you are simply requiring 2D image rendering. For 2D requirements, you need only a low-cost solution. In many cases, an integrated graphics solution will suffice for 2D applications.

However with 3D graphics, the performance of the graphics card will impact directly on the frame rate and image quality of 3D programs and games. The differences between the low and high-end cards can be substantial, both in cost and performance.

Rendering 3D graphics is like lighting a stage, both the geometry of the shapes in question and the lighting of it need to be taken into account. The geometry of an image calculates the parts of an object that can and can\'t be seen, the position of the eye and its perspective. The lighting is a calculation of the direction of the light sources, their intensities and the respective shadows that occur. The second part to presenting a 3D image is the rendering of colours and textures to the surfaces of the objects, and modifying them according to light and other factors.

Most modern graphics cards include a small microchip called the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which are provide the algorithms and memory to process complex images. They reduce the workload of the main CPU, and provide faster processing. Different graphics cards have different capabilities in terms of processing power. They can render and refresh images up to 60 or more times per second, calculate shadows quickly, create image depth by rendering distant objects at low resolution, modify surface textures fluidly and eliminate pixelation.

What Specifications to Consider

Processor clock speed

This impacts on the rendering capability of the GRU. The clock speed itself is not the critical factor. Rather it is the per-clock performance of the graphics processor, which is indicated by the number of pixels it can process per clock cycle.

Memory size

This is the memory capacity that is used exclusively for graphics operations, and can be as much as 512MB. The more demanding your graphics applications are, the better you will be served with more memory on your graphics card.

16-32M
64M
128M
256M
512M
640M and more

Memory bandwidth

One thing that can slow down 3D graphics performance is the speed at which the computer delivers information to the graphics processor. A higher bandwidth means a faster data transfer, resulting in faster rendering speeds.

Shader model

DirectX Shader Models allows developers control over the appearance of an image as it is rendered on screen, introducing visual effects like multi-layered shadows, reflection and fog.

Fill rate

This is the speed at an image can be rendered or \"painted\". This rate is specified in texels per second, the number of 3D pixels that can be painted per second. A texel is a pixel with depth (3D). The fill rate comes from the combined performance of the clock speed of the processor and the number of pixels it can process per clock cycle, and will tell you how quickly an image can be fully rendered on screen.

Vertices/triangles

Graphics chips don\'t work on curves, rather they process flat surfaces. A curve is created by multiple flat planes arranged to look like a curve. 3D objects are created with multiple triangular surfaces, sometimes hundreds or even thousands, tessellated to represent the curves and angles of the real world. 3D artists are concerned with the number of polygons required to form a shape. There are two different types of specification: vertices per second (I.e., angles the triangles), and triangles per second. To compare one measure with the other, you have to take into account the fact that adjacent triangles share vertices.

Anti-aliasing

A technique used to smooth images by reducing the jagged stepping effect caused by diagonal lines and square pixels. Different levels of anti-aliasing have different effects on performance.

RAMDAC

The Random Access Memory Digital to Analogue Converter takes the image data and converts it to a format that your screen can use. A faster RAMDAC means that the graphics card can support higher output resolutions. Some cards have multiple RAMDACs allowing that card to support multiple displays.

TV-out

Some graphics cards provide the option to connect a television via either a composite (RCA) or S-Video connector. TV Out

S-video Out

S-video In and S-video Out (VIVO)
YPbPr Connection for HDTV

DVI

Some graphics cards include a connector for DVI monitors, handy because a lot of LCD screens support DVI. DVI offers better image quality than the standard VGA connector.

Dual-head

Dual-head is a term used when two monitors are used side by side, stretching your desktop across both.

SLI (Scalable Link Interface.)

With SLI you can couple two graphics cards in your computer, enabling each card to take half the rendering thereby doubling the performance.

When considering your graphics card, it pays to think about how much you need your computer to process your graphics output. Using a high end graphics card with a high pixels per clock rating, large memory, fast processor and other features means that you can run the latest games efficiently, or work in intensive graphics development.

Different Models

While there are many vendors of graphics cards, there are actually only two major manufacturers of chips for graphics cards. Nearly every graphics card on the market features a chip manufactured by either ATI or Nvidia. Cards using the same graphics chip will perform roughly the same as each other. However, even though they use the same chip, some feature slightly higher clock speeds, as well as manufacturer guaranteed overclocking-an even higher clock speed than that specified. Other factors that will influence your decision should include the amount of memory a card has (128MB, 256MB, 512MB) and its additional features, such as TV-Out and dual-screen support.

Use the search facilities at Myshopping.com.au to compare the features, prices and vendors of graphics cards.


By: Andrew Gates

Andrew Gates is a writer for Australian comparison shopping site http://MyShopping.com.au. Smart shoppers can save time, money and effort here. This site serves your need for online shopping and shopping in Australia.

Find Email Passwords Using Ettercap

I was surfing the internet today and came upon a video from Sclipo.com on how to find a password for someone's online email account using Ettercap, which is a linux utility that, according to the Ettercap website, "is a multipurpose sniffer/interceptor/logger for switched LAN. It supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (even ciphered ones)"

Ettercap comes pre-installed on the Backtrack live CD which is what the guy in the video uses.

One thing I find particularly interesting is that the guy finds the password for a Gmail account where the login page is encrypted using SSL. Check it out!

Picking Older Master Combo Locks

A few weeks back I posted a video I found on Youtube on how to make a padlock shim from an aluminum can to open padlocks.

Well I was looking around my bookshelf at home and came across something I downloaded a few years ago and decided to take it out to thumb through. It is the Anarchy Cookbook 2000 by The Jolly Roger. There is some really nasty looking stuff in this book, and most of it WILL get you into some serious trouble with the law, so be careful what you decide to test out in it.

Anyway, one of the things in there is how to find the combination for Master Padlocks.

According to the ACB2K, Master has since fixed this security flaw, so this most likely will only work on padlocks made by cheaper companies, or Master locks older than 2000. The good news is that lots of people don't know about this, so they probably haven't replaced their padlocks with new ones (i.e. high schools, or junior high schools).

Anyway, the idea behind this is that Master originally designed the locks to stop turning if you pulled on the clasp. This is the key to finding the combo.

To find the first number, pull on the clasp while turning the dial counter clockwise. When it stops and will not run any more, you add five to that number and that gives you your first number.

To find the second number, spin the dial around a few times then go to the first number you got. Now spin the dial clockwise, and bypass the first number once. As soon as you bypass the first number start pulling on the clasp and keep spinning slowly. The ACB2K then says, "The knob will eventually fall into the groove on the lock. While in the groove, pull the clasp and turn the knob. If the knob is loose, go to the next groove, if the knob is stiff, you have the second number of the combination."

Finally, to find the last number of the combination, spin the dial several times to clear it out. Once cleared, spin the dial and enter the first two numbers.Now slowly spin the dial to the right and pull up on the clasp at each number. The lock will eventually open if everything was done correctly.

I haven't tested this one out personally, but if anyone has I would love to know about it in the comments. I would also love to hear if anyone has tested out anything else in the book. (Yes, you can post anonymously)

Protecting Your Computer From Power Surges

Computers today consistently pack more power for the dollar than models just a few years old. Faster processing and greater storage has become the norm.

That's good news for value-conscious consumers, but can lull home users into poor practices. With hardware and computer memory so inexpensive, why worry about power surges?

Protection of data is why. As computers have become cheaper, they are being used for more tasks - online banking, online tax filing, financial spreadsheets, storing irreplaceable family photographs, personal address books, family Web pages and more.

Officials with World Energy Solutions, an energy services company based in St. Petersburg, Fla., note that home computer users should protect their computer equipment and data by using the same practices employed by professional information systems managers: data backup, installation of anti-spyware and protection from power surges.

While nature provides the most spectacular surges in the form of lightning, the power company's attempts to handle brownouts, damage to transmission equipment from construction accidents, even household appliances cycling on and off, can create damaging surges. Further, "noise" in AC lines from electric razors, fluorescent lamps and dimmer switches can harm computers.

Point-of-use surge suppressors such as E-Clips offer good protection from most surges except direct lightning strikes. (Damage from such catastrophic strikes can be minimized with proper house grounding and professional installation of surge arrestors outside the house and panel protectors on the electrical panel inside the home.)

When shopping for a plug-in surge suppressor, check to see that the product:

• is manufactured to meet Underwriters Laboratories 1449 standard;



• possesses a UL rating of 330 volts (representing the average voltage the device is supposed to allow through);



• offers "round-robin protection" between each of the three wires in an electrical circuit - hot, neutral and ground;



• is "thermally-fused," which means the device will shut off if it overheats.

Data lines, telephone lines and coaxial cables should be protected from surges as well.

World Energy Solutions provides more information on surge protection at www.eclipspts.com or by phone at 800-526-1556. World Energy Solutions is a publicly traded company under the symbol WEGY on the NASDAQ OTCBB.- (NewsUSA)

Something Cool About Gmail

I was stumbling around online when I came across an article on makeuseof.com that pointed out a pretty cool feature I never realized about gmail, the Google email service.

You can take almost any variation of your email address and alter it slightly and it will still magically get to you!

For example, lets say your email address is bauerpower@gmail.com. If you change it in any number of ways using periods such as bauer.power@gmail.com, or b.auerpower@gmail.com, or b.a.u.e.r.p.o.w.e.r@gmail.com, you will still get your email.

Another way you can modify it is by adding whatever you want after a + sign. For example, bauerpower+is_a_kick_ass_blog@gmail.com, and it will still work!

You might not need to do this, and you may even mark this down as useless knowledge item number 84, but it is still pretty interesting. Make Use Of suggests using it to track spam, or make changes depending on purpose suck as work, school, etc.

Do you know of any other secret gmail tips, or features? Let us know in the comments!

Where's The Best Place for Adsense?

As you probably have noticed I have been placing Google Adsense up on Bauer-Power to sort of monetize my blogging hobby a bit. I apologist if it turns some of you off a little, and I'm sorry if some of you think I'm a sell-out, but lets face it, money makes the world go round, and I have some free space I can sell for some spare change.

Anyway, I have experimented with Adsense and other advertising companies a little in the past and didn't really have too much success with them. This time around I decided I should do some research on some strategies and perhaps I would do a little better.

One of the things I happened upon was the Google "Adsense heat" chart which shows where the best places on a website do the best statistically. To the right is a copy of the heat chart. As you no doubt have guessed, the darker area's are where the ads do the best.

Since making some slight modifications around here (I.E. Parsing the HTML code for XML to place into the site code) I have managed to place some of my ads in better locations.

The place I learned to do this from was My Digital Life, in their post about adding advertising code directly into the blogger template.

Since making these changes I can tell you that there has been a dramatic increase in Adsense numbers. These techniques really do work, and I recommend doing it right away.

For those of you who don't like it so much, once again I am sorry, but I guess you should have purchased some Bauer-Power Gear. If you had, I wouldn't need Google to supplement my expenses ;-)

How Do Computers Work?

The average person who uses a personal computer on a frequent basis doesn't think about what happens inside a personal computer once the electricity is switched on. As long as their version of MS Windows pops up within a few seconds, most people are quite happy to continue on with what they want to do on their personal computer. A personal computer goes through many processes from the moment the electricity is switched on before its operating system (ex. Windows, Linux) is fully loaded and takes over. The operating system is stored on the hard drive of a personal computer. It is stored on the hard drive because this kind of storage is much less costly and an operating system requires a large amount of storage space. So, in order to make personal computers more inexpensive, they are designed to use a mixture of ROM, DRAM, and hard disks. An account of each follows.



Once the electricity switch is switched on, the "boot-up" process begins. To "boot-up" a personal computer merely means to initiate it. Electricity then moves through all of the chips and their circuits. The instructions for what the personal computer is meant to do next are found in the Read Only Memory, Basic Input/Output System (ROM BIOS). ROM is memory that can only be read from and has data that is permanently burned into it. It is nonvolatile and will not be lost or vanish once the electricity is switched off.



ROM BIOS or just BIOS, is intended to begin giving instructions as soon as it receives electricity. The BIOS contains an entire set of instructions, in effect a personal computer program written into the chip that manages the boot-up process. Without the BIOS, the personal computer would'nt know what to do next. The first task that BIOS completes is to make sure that all of the hardware components are working properly (for example: disk drives, external buses, the mouse, the printer). This is called a electricity-on self-test (POST). After the POST is complete, the BIOS activates other chips on different cards installed in the personal computer (SCSI and graphics cards) and provides a set of low-level routines that the operating system uses to interface to different hardware devices such as the keyboard, mouse, printer, etc.



Once the POST is complete, the BIOS hands the next stage in the boot-up process over to the central processing unit (CPU). The central processing unit is a one chip processor or microprocessor that has two distinctive capabilities:



1. The CPU carries out all of the mathematical and logical operations including basic math and comparisons of two or more numbers.



2. The central processing unit has the ability to intelligently manage the flow of instructions and data going into and out of its circuits.



The final instruction that the ROM sends to the CPU is to go to a precise location or address to locate its next instruction. An address is a string of numbers that gives instructions to where something can be found, much like an address on an envelope. Personal computers use addresses to keep track of data much the same way as the post office uses them to locate residences and businesses. The larger the number in an address the more locations it can refer to. Most present personal computers use a 32-bit address space for memory, which indicates that there can be over four billion separate locations to contain data.



The instruction that the ROM BIOS wants the central processing unit to carry out is sent through a chip on a bus (a set of wires) to the address specified. The data bus is able to carry data into and out of the chip inside the CPU. The data isn't available inside the CPU so it has to search elsewhere. The CPU then sends the address on another bus called an address bus. When the CPU does this, it is called a fetch. The address bus is "fetching" data from elsewhere inside the personal computer. The address bus is only able to carry instructions out of the CPU.



The address bus fetches data from the personal computer's memory. Memory is a kind of silicon chip that can contain instructions or data. This kind of memory can be read from or written to by the CPU, but this kind of memory or Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) is volatile. Once the electricity is switched off, the DRAM looses its memory or data. Since the DRAM is basically a blank slate, the CPU has inside, a set of sequential instructions as to where to search for the required data.



Before the address bus can get to memory, it has to pass through a set of chips called a chipset. The chipset refers to a collection of chips that provide an intelligent interface for the core workings of a personal computer - central processing unit, memory, graphics, I/O system, described as core logic or glue logic. If the data that the chipset needs isn't in memory, the chipset then sends or redirects it to the Input/Output (I/O) bus. The I/O bus connects the chipset to supplementary places where the data is stored, such as the hard drive. The hard drive permits the CPU to read from it and to write to it. The hard drive is non-volatile so it keeps its data or data once the electricity is switched off. A hard disk is much slower at retrieving data from than memory but memory is much more costly.



Once the hard drive gets the address (via the I/O bus and chipset), it retrieves the data and sends it back through the chipset and then puts it on the address bus back into the CPU. The chipset functions as a bridge for the two buses; the I/O bus and the address bus.



The central processing unit uses a four step sequence: fetch, decode, execute, and store. Since the CPU does not retain its memory, it has to obtain its data or fetch the data from elsewhere inside the personal computer. To help with the speed of the process of fetching, the CPU has a pre-fetch area to make the data available more readily.



Once the data has been fetched, it has to be decoded. Part of the decoding process of the CPU is to decide which circuits are appropriate to use for executing the instructions. Once that decision has been made, the CPU begins to execute the instructions. The part of the CPU where the actual execution of instructions takes place is called the Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU). The ALU includes groups of transistors, known as logic gates, which are organized to carry out basic mathematical and logical operations. Logic gates are grouped into electrical circuits that execute the CPU's instructions such as "add" two numbers or "compare" two numbers.



The final step of the central processing unit is to store the data. This final step takes place after the ALU completes its calculations. The results of the calculations are stored on a chip that has an area called a register. Registers can be accessed more quickly than any other kind of memory but are only for temporary containing (storage) of data.



The CPU also has a clock inside it to keep the timing of all of the flow of data and processes of the personal computer. This clock is vital to the synchronization of all of the processes of the personal computer. This CPU clock controls all of the operations on its chip. The processes of the CPU can also be interrupted by an external interrupt controller chip which is part of the chipset. The chipset contains a small database of interrupt vector (numerical table). When an interrupt signal comes onto the chip, the CPU saves what it is doing and goes to the interrupt vector to locate the address of the instruction that the interrupt is telling it to execute instead. Once it is finished with the interrupt, it goes back to what it was doing. The CPU locates what it was doing in a register called a stack. If interrupts were not possible, the CPU would have to complete one task before it could start another causing the speed to be greatly reduced.



Now that the central processing unit has found the operating system, loaded it into memory, the operating system takes over and the personal computer is now ready to be used by its owner. The user can now check email, play a game, or do whatever they wanted to do when they started the personal computer.

By Andrew James

Mr James started My Business Tips Online (Melbourne) in 2006 providing business advice, tips, tutorials etc & regularly writes articles about his industry - full article here


Article Source: keywordarticles.org

Advantages of Using Refurbished IT Equipment

Refurbished IT equipment was once regarded as only a means to cut IT-related costs. But, the market for used and refurbished IT components is now mainstream. No matter if you want to buy, rent, lease, or trade IT components, refurbished IT equipment serve as an excellent option. In other words, refurbished equipment is a great way to stretch your IT dollars.


Refurbished IT equipment come from a myriad of sources including customer returns as well as canceled orders, overstocks, demonstration, and damaged items. Depending upon the product line, the returned equipment is put through a meticulous re-manufacturing process to restore them to its original condition as well as performance. In the refurbishment process, each of the items is thoroughly tested and broken as well as defective parts are replaced. Later, the test results are re-verified. In short, refurbished IT equipment is mostly upgraded to meet present performance specifications. In this article, we will further discuss some of the advantages of using refurbished IT equipments.


A prime benefit of using refurbished IT equipment is that it allows you to own IT equipment of top brands at exceptionally low prices, such as, Hewlett-Packard, WANG IBM, EMC, and Hitachi Data Systems. Refurbished computer hardware and equipment can save you up to 80-90% off the price of a new component. Typically, the refurbished equipment provides the same performance that new equipment offer, such as, advanced capacity memory and larger hard drives. Since used and refurbished IT equipment are fully tested and mostly come attached with a warranty ranging from 30 days to two years, it guarantees quality as well as performance of the product. In most cases, refurbished equipment renders the same quality a new product offer and that too at a discounted price. This, in turn, helps you to achieve a better overall ROI (Return on Investment) in long run.


However, in order to derive its full benefits, it is important to take into consideration certain things prior to the purchase of refurbished IT equipments. It is always recommended to buy refurbished equipment directly from an authorized dealer, who in turn ensures that your IT components are tested to meet your requirements. It must also be checked that the seller provides any kind of guarantee on the quality of the refurbished items. Additionally, it must be checked whether the refurbished equipment you have chosen is covered by a warranty. Also, enquire regarding its shipping policies. Some incur a minimal charge for shipping while others provide it for free. Above all, once you have chosen refurbished equipment for your IT needs, don't forget to ask about its return policies while its purchase.


With the introduction of the Internet, you can easily find an authorized seller of refurbished IT equipment online. Since many of the manufacturers and dealers have their own sites on the web, it allows for a convenient searching of an outlet selling refurbished items. Magazine, yellow pages, and online directories are the other significant sources to locate a genuine dealer of refurbished IT equipments.

Article Source: www.articlesbase.com

About the Author:
Lloyd Ross, CEO of RossDataCom.com, has been involved in the computer networking industry for over 5 years. RossDataCom.com is a leading provider of used networking equipmentused cisco switches, used extreme equipment, used foundry equipment, and much more. Lloyd Ross can be reached at 866-508-8886. providing

Is Freespire Really Free?

A while back the good folks behind Freespire, the free version of Linspire, sent me a CD with version 2.0 for me to review. I was very happy to look at it as Linspire has been a leader in getting preloaded Linux systems into retail and online outlets, something I believe is critical for mainstream Linux adoption.

I knew going in that Freespire was “free as in free beer”, not an OS that would be considered free by The Free Software Foundation or most free software advocates. For those of us who are not free software purists Freespire does have one compelling feature: Linspire’s settlement with Microsoft allows them to offer Win32 codecs for playing DVDs, MP3s, etc… at no cost to the end user. For those of us who use our Linux systems for both home and business, who use laptops in front of consulting customers, who simply wish to comply with the law of the land here in the U.S., namely DMCA, whether we agree with it or not, Freespire offers a real option.

Having said all that one of the first things you see when you boot a Freespire CD is their End User License Agreement (EULA), a mass of legalese reminiscent of the Windows EULA. I tried to read through it and it seems to me (and I may well be wrong about this) that if I use my system for both home and business then Freespire is NOT free for me as I can’t fall under both the “family license” or the “business license”. I can’t freely copy or redistribute the OS as a business user. I’m limited to “solely up to the number of Seats you have.” The EULA also says that I, as a business user:

“You may not (and shall not allow any member of Your Business or any other third party to): (i) copy, reproduce, distribute, relicense, sublicense, rent, lease or otherwise make available the Software or any portion or element thereof except as and to the extent expressly authorized herein by Licensor; (ii) translate, adapt, enhance, create derivative works of or otherwise modify the Software or any portion or element thereof; (iii) decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer (except as and to the extent permitted by applicable local law), or extract ideas, algorithms, procedures, workflows or hierarchies from, the Software or any portion or element thereof;…”

That read to me entirely like a proprietary license. Of course I am not a lawyer and I may be misinterpreting something. Still, I am seriously uncomfortable about having Freespire on my system based on their EULA.

My review was also postponed by the release of version 2.03 which corrects many of the bugs I ran into. So… do I review 2.03? Probably not, at least until Freespire makes clear that they are truly an Open Source OS that I can use as I see fit without fee. I’m not at all sure Freespire is even free “as in free beer”.

Originally Posted on The O'Reilly Linux Dev Center By Caitlyn Martin

The End Of Operating Systems As We Know Them.

The end of the Operating System as we know it is at hand.


Well actually, not quite at hand but the blueprint has been laid down and the race is on to see who can make the future happen. I happen to know three entrepreneurs in the valley who are actively working on making this happen.


How pray tell? I'll tell you. Not because I want to share a secret but because so far they no one has discovered a cost effective way to do it...It's pretty well understood that this is the direction we're headed in.

First, let's take a look at the way operating systems have evolved.

Earlier operating systems actually just came on the hardware because the computer age was in it's infancy.

Then came the age of the early computers with the large floppy discs (they were actually floppy). Next came the smaller so called floppy discs with earlier Windows PC's. Then came CD's and of course, here we are today with DVD's.

These models of O.S. were all based on an install process, based on the theory that you would have a piece of hardware called a computer and that this computer could start off as a blank slate.

You could then take your CD's, DVD's etc and install whatever operating system you wanted on this computer and (relatively) tailor the install to your own needs.


The new model is more interesting. It states that all you need is a web enabled terminal and a keyboard. The operating system is hosted by the particular company you choose and all you have to do is log in to your environment with a username and password. This is how you log into Hotmail or Yahoo now.


It makes sense. Nothing for the user to install, all they need to do is pay as they go. If you want office, you pay to add it and download it onto your OS module. If you want games, add them to your profile and there they go.


Also, since this O.S. is now a service as opposed to a stationary piece of software, who needs to take a laptop with them? All you need is your username and password and you can really work globally from any web enabled terminal.


So far, no one has executed this model perfectly. The hardware requirements are well...Googlish but the winners would rule the earth. Think about it. Ability to work from anywhere. To have the SAME EXACT desktop wherever you went.


To have access to all the notes you left in Notepad wherever you are. To have the same desktop background and colors. The same distracting programs that you love and the exact same feel as your "home" computer.


You would have the same exact footprint wherever you were.


My prediction is that Microsoft or Google will do this first. If I had to call it now, I would say Google would be my choice. They are BOLD, wildly innovative and know how to scale the sort of infrastructure required to pull off this madness.


Microsoft could catch up but they are burdened with supporting legacy operating systems. It makes the transition harder.


Anyone who has used a Citrix thin client sees this model coming. I predict this will be here in less than 5 years and will be highly disruptive technology.


I for one, can't wait.


Till next time.

Onuora Amobi




About The Author:

Onuora Amobi is the CEO of Nnigma Inc. and editor of http://www.Windows-Vista-Update.com. He writes a monthly article for the website that can be found at http://www.windows-vista-update.com. Windows-Vista-Update.com is the premier Microsoft windows Vista information portal. On this site, you can find news, information, tips, new features and updates about Windows Vista.

Article Source: thePhantomWriters Article Submission Service

Take a Killer Quiz: Literally

I found this really interesting and slightly disturbing flash quiz game while stumbling a little while ago and keep meaning to put it up here.

In this game you take a look at a guy in a picture and have to decide if he is either a computer programmer, or a serial killer. Pretty funny how easy it is to mistake them.



Game From http://www.mattround.freeserve.co.uk

Hacking into Security Cameras

Have you ever seen a movie like Ocean's Eleven, or Sneakers where a team of experts hack into a security camera system so they can control the surveillance system? Sure you have, we all have.

What if I told you there are millions of unsecured surveillance systems out there, and all you need to do to get into them is do a simple Google search? Don't believe me? Check out this report from Fox News:






Pretty cool huh? I like the part where they are controlling that one guy in Japan's camera and are looking all around his bedroom. Pretty scary.

Incase you missed it, the search term they used was: inurl:/view/index.shtml

If you try it, you will get hundreds of listings for unsecured video cameras.

In Time for Black Friday: Tips to Becoming a Technology-Savvy Shopper

Many adults grew up in a world without the Internet, cell phones or personal computers, and often find themselves lost in the ever-changing realm of technology.

Today, students carry laptops and numerous gadgets that ring, buzz and sing, which leaves a number of adults at a loss when it comes to shopping for the younger generation.

So, in an effort to help parents and adults navigate the technology maze, we've compiled a list of buying tips.

• Cell Phones vs. Smartphones: With the ability to send and receive calls and the ever-popular text messages as well as take photographs and browse the Internet, both cell phones and smartphones have similar features.
  
  Smartphones, like the Blackberry and Treo, take things one step further by including full keyboards and software that tracks appointments, manages contacts and performs a host of other business-level functions.
  
  While smartphone software can be useful, it can also become a distraction for students. So, unless your student is a budding entrepreneur, a standard cell phone with a plan that includes both calling and texting is ideal.



• Mac vs. PC: Mac or PC? While PCs are more widespread, Macs are user-friendly and perfect for editing and downloading photos, music and videos. Macs also tend to be more secure because they are less likely to become infected with annoying viruses or spyware. PCs, however, are more affordable and have a wider variety of programs and games available.
  
  But who says you have to choose? You can get the best of both worlds by purchasing a Mac computer and downloading Parallels Desktop for Mac. The software enables users to run both Windows and Mac applications at the same time on any new Mac computer.



• Ask the Experts: Hopefully you're feeling more prepared to take a stroll through your local electronics store. If need more ammunition, you can also consult feedback from students and teachers.
  
  
  Each year, Project Tomorrow, through its NetDay Speak Up research project, surveys students in kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as teachers, to determine which technologies they are using. For more information, visit www.tomorrow.org. - (NewsUSA)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everyone! I am hoping that you are enjoying a great Thanksgiving, and if you are able a well deserved four day weekend! If you prepared yourself as I have, you should be able to eat at least four plates of turkey, and another 3 or 4 slices of pie! In the end, we should all come back to work Monday about 15lbs heavier.

I figured I would put up some videos to tide you over until Monday since I will be spending time with the family, and also since my wife has banned me from blogging until the weekend is over. Please note that the youtube box displays random videos. If you don't like the one that is showing refresh, or use the menu button on the screen. Enjoy, and once again, happy Thanksgiving!

Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com

Coolest Business Card Ever!

Kevin Mitnick, one of the worlds most notorious hackers of all time, now runs his own security consulting business (Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC). For his business he has come up with one of the most ingenious business card ideas I have ever seen!



As you can see by the above picture, his business card also doubles as a lock pick set! You can now get one yourself, but since he has been getting so many requests for them he is asking for $2 per card to cover the costs. If you are interested in a genuine Kevin Mitnik business card/lock pick set just write to:

Mitnick Security Consulting, LLC
2245 N. Green Valley Parkway
Suite 411
Henderson, NV 89014

Enclose $2 cash only plus a self-addressed stamped envelope. If you want to get a free card you can attend one of his speaking engagements.

What To Do If Linux Refuses To Boot

This deals with what action is to be taken (during a reboot) after a power failure or an incomplete shutdown of a Linux system due to any reason. This problem seems to be very common since many newcomers install Linux and get all the various softwares/hardwares working under Linux and suddenly one day the power fails. There are a few things that you can try to get Linux back on track..

1. While rebooting, Linux may print a message saying that there is a problem with the file system and it might force a check. It would do this for all Linux partitions. If the checks (they generally take around 30-60 seconds. also displays a rotating indicator) are successful then you are lucky. Linux should mostly continue booting and you should be back in business soon. If this is what happens then you may be under an impression that a direct switch off of a Linux machine leads to no problems. Please note that you were just lucky that you got away without any major problems.



2. While rebooting, Linux may not be successful in any of the file system checks. In this case, the booting stops abruptly with a message stating that you should run fsck manually without a few parameters. Once you reach the hash prompt (#) then run the fsck command as mentioned (fsck -a -p /dev/hdaX). The fsck command requires the partition which it has to check. So if you have installed Linux on /dev/hda1 then you have to run fsck as follows: fsck -a -p /dev/hda1.
   
   When you run fsck it would mostly find some inode problems and ask you whether you want to fix them, Select the default option (yes). It would do so for all the problems found. Once this is over you can restart the machine using either "Ctlr+Alt+Del" or "shutdown -r 0", whichever works. Now this time your Linux machine should boot properly.



3. It has so happened that once when the power failed, Linux simple failed to boot on my machine. It gave no errors at all, but the init process would just not get initiated. It would find my partitions, mount the ext2 file system as read only and then would simply display a prompt. Even with this prompt I wasn't able to do a lot. Also I noticed that a few of the default directories were missing on the native partition. The only solution that I found to this was to Reinstall Linux.
   
   Note: While reinstalling, the best and safest way for the above problem would be to insert the installation media (Redhat Linux 6.1 CD). And instead of selecting to install the OS once again, select to upgrade the existing installation. This would effectively replace all the damages areas of the OS and would also retain all your personal data and configurations in Linux (This should work in almost all cases).



4. Hence I would always advice an upgrade to the same version (If you originally had Redhat Linux 6.1, insert the CD and once again select to upgrade to Redhat Linux 6.1 itself). If the upgrade option doesn't fix the problem, then you would have to do a reinstall after a reformat of the Linux partitions.



5. In one case when Linux refused to boot I noticed that a few of the main files / directories were missing. I found that the /sbin directory (which is a very important directory) wasn't there in the root directory. I performed a search for this directory and found it to be within another directory. After some discussion I realized that my friend has accidentally moved this directory within his GUI when he was working in superuser mode. As long as he was working a few commands didn't work but he did not bother about finding out why they didn't work. Once he rebooted his machine the absence of this directory hung the booting process. So I suggest that you never work in superuser mode unless absolutely necessary. Even within the superuser mode prefer the shell, since you can hardly ever do anything accidentally in the shell. In my friend's case I simply moved that directory back within the root directory and Linux booted without any problems.
   
   Take the time to have a look at the file system and make a mental note of the directory structure which appears to be pretty complex.

If you can think of other things to do, or check let us know in the comments!


By: Faye Bautista

About the Author:
The author writes about Linux Tip and blogs at http://www.hackitlinux.com/.

Article Source

Wal-Mart's $199 Linux PC back in stock!

"Just in time for the holidays, Wal-Mart has re-stocked a Linux-based PC that sells for $199."

I posted about this a few weeks ago, but just as I was jumping on the Everex announcement bandwagon, it was selling like hot cakes. If you were looking to get one for those in your family that just refused to upgrade their old PII boxes, then get in while the gettin' is good! Wal-Mart has restocked this bad boy!

In case you missed it in my original article, here is the link to purchase it online: (Everex gPC)

read more | digg story

Dell XPS ONE = SEXY

My buddy Karl over at Ask The Admin posted this little blurb about the new Dell XPS One:

This is definitely a sweet looking PC. This is the way a home desktop PC should look. It's a little pricey, but it is in line, price wise, as the iMacs and the other Windows based all in ones that have hit the market.

His comment was based on the PCMag.com review by Joel Santo Domingo which said:

The Dell XPS One ($2,399 direct) easily outclasses its all-in-one competitor (and namesake), the Gateway One, and matches or surpasses the Apple iMac, which has long been the gold standard of all-in-one PCs. While the XPS One starts at $1,499, Dell sent us its top of the line $2,400 model for testing with a built-in HDTV tuner, 802.11n wireless capability, and Blu-ray drive. Although the model I reviewed is the expensive in the XPS One family, it is worth the money for the technology fan with deep pockets. Except for the graphics choice, the XPS One uses components that are competitive those found in traditionally-designed desktop tower PCs and has the benchmarks to prove it. Better still, it looks good doing it. The XPS One shows once and for all that the future of desktop PCs is in the all-in-one form factor.

This thing is one of the prettiest stock PC's I have seen in a while. You can check out the full review from PCMag.com here: (Full Dell One Review)

6 Tips For Improving Wireless Network Security

With many individuals and businesses connecting to the internet using wireless devices, and the reported cases of security breach and identity theft, having an awareness of wireless security measures to improve system security is a must. Many wireless users simply do not know that they are open and exposed to system penetration and bandwidth theft. Here are several suggestions to prevent your system from becoming a wireless hotspot.

1. Change the password on your router. All routers come with preset service identifiers. Hackers are familiar with these protocols. You should change the password to something that is difficult to guess. Do not change the passwords to something as simple as my router which is easy to guess. You can rotate passwords frequently as an extra precaution.



2. Enable encryption. You should follow the encryption procedures provided by your routing device. WEP and WPA2 are the two preferred encryption measures with WPA2 the preferred and most up to date option. This technology encrypts traffic and scrambles it so that unauthorized third parties can’t make use of it throwing a spanner in the works for packet sniffers looking to procure sensitive details.



3. Keep a close check on remote access points. For companies that run web interfaces or remote system access points, security protocols should be established. Password access should be changed frequently.



4. Avoid using unsecured wireless hotspots in public locations. Malicious third parties frequently setup traps that are designed to route traffic through setups that are used to screen traffic with the intention of securing sensitive details.



5. Always scrub all hardware that is sold or disposed of. This eliminates the chance that a third party can discover sensitive data or passwords that can be used for identity theft, financial crime or to gain access to corporate systems.



6. Use wireless security software. Whether you’re an individual or a corporation, this software has many benefits. A program such as Mcafee wireless home network security uses automatic security key rotation every three hours for encryption purposes. The software also secures your router and provides event logging and alert monitoring to scrutinize for terminals attempting to gain access. Institutions should consider more advanced software such a Manage Engine Wifi Manager.

Taking the time to plan and implement security measures prior to wireless use is the best way to protect yourself. A little extra time during setup is time well worth spent.

By: Andrew Winthorp

Andrew Winthorp owns and operates http://www.wireless-network-tutorials.com Wireless Network Tutorials - Learn more about key aspects of wireless setup and security.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

Hidden Technology Makes Cool Gadgets Go

Time Magazine recently grabbed headlines by announcing its winning product for the 2007 Invention of the Year. Not surprisingly, the magazine's winning invention turned out to be the year's most hyped -; the Apple iPhone.

While some have debated whether or not Apple's new cell phone was truly the best of the best, most agreed on one thing -; the phone's overwhelming influence on modern gadgetry. The buzzworthy iPhone introduced a variety of groundbreaking features to the cell phone world, such as its touch-screen keypad and polished, sleek interface, setting the bar for all future cell phone models to come. But all the credit for "the phone that changed everything" doesn't go to one person or even to one company.

For hundreds of years, new inventions have shaped modern technology for the better, putting many companies' names on the map and into the buying minds of average consumers. What many don't realize, however, is that the vast majority of products carrying one company's name and logo contain dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of various technologies developed by others.

Smaller companies like San Diego-based Patriot Scientific have helped lend a hand to innovative computer products and technology for several years. And while creating behind-the-scenes technology may not always lead to their brand name being prominently placed on the newest cell phone or other popular device, their presence is felt. Computer-processing giants such as Intel, Sony and HP have all purchased licenses from Patriot Scientific that have allowed their own products to flourish in the competitive market of new technology.

"The average person buying a cutting-edge product like the iPhone doesn't immediately think, 'Wow, I'm holding dozens of companies products in my hand right now,'" said Jim Turley, Patriot Scientific's president and CEO. "But large companies are constantly utilizing patents and technology developed by other corporations and people that give their own product a life and promotes overall growth in the industry."

As consumers continue to be wowed by advanced, high-tech products, there are many smaller companies that will continue to contribute to big-name gadgets. For more information on Patriot Scientific, visit www.patriotscientific.com. - (NewsUSA)

Apology to Ironkey

A few weeks back I posted an article about Ironkey saying that there was no real need to purchase one because you could do the same thing for under $40.

Encryption: Yes. You can encrypt your $35.00 4GB USB thumb drive for free using Truecrypt.

Durability and Quality: No. The fact is that Ironkey is a more durable piece of hardware, and will last longer than a standard flash drive (unless someone tries to brute force your password, in that case, it will self destruct).

Truth is, you just get more with the Ironkey which is why there is the added cost. Stuff like hardware encrypted password storage, and anonymous surfing software just to mention a few. It is more of an investment thing.

I think I really put off a lot of my readers by trying to hold my ground that security wise it is the same, and for that I am sorry. Though I don't always like it, I can admit when I am wrong.

I still feel that the average person can benefit from Truecrypt on a regular thumb drive, but if high security is a factor, then Ironkey is money well spent.

My offer is still on the table to Ironkey though, which is if they send me one I will do an honest objective review of their product.

Do any of you have an Ironkey? How are you liking it?

Internet Explorer: Benefit Analysis vs Firefox

Microsoft Internet Explorer (MSIE) is very much the incumbent in the web browser arena. Before the arrival of Firefox, MSIE had estimates of >97% of market share. Firefox has cut into MSIE's marketshare, dipping MSIE usage below 90% in the US, and down to the 60% range in markets such as Germany.

Advantages Integration with other Microsoft products Microsoft often offers its customers good integration among its products, and MSIE is no exception. One can drag an Excel bar graph from an MSIE webpage onto an existing Excel document, or view a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation from within MSIE. Within a Microsoft-only corporate intranet, this integration is very helpful. However, for a business interacting with the outside world, the argument weakens since the foundation of the Internet is to share among different platforms. Outside users expect documents to be in platform-agnostic formats such as HTML or Acrobat PDF files.

MSIE also offers strong integration with its Microsoft operating system, though is a double-edged sword, since it contributes to its security woes.

ActiveX and VBScript support ActiveX refers to small Windows executable programs that can be run from MSIE, and VBScript is a client-side script for Windows code.

Some business have heavily invested in either developing or purchasing custom ActiveX software (and/or VBScript), for applications ranging from web-based accounting to e-learning simulators.

The Firefox team made a conscious decision to support neither ActiveX nor VBScript, since they are not accepted web standards and are often the source of the security vulnerabilities within MSIE.

Since Firefox will not likely ever support ActiveX and VBScript, businesses whose products revolve around these technologies would be better served with MSIE than with Firefox.

Still some MSIE-only webpages Since MSIE formerly had such a large marketshare, some businesses' webpages still only display correctly in MSIE.

However, Firefox's increasing marketshare has caused many companies to revamp their pages to work correctly in Firefox also.

There are several reasons. Businesses want to ensure that they can sell to the Firefox customers. Moreover, many of the users who purchase with credit cards have moved to Firefox because of the extra security for that sensitive transaction. Finally, many businesses see that it costs less to fix the pages, than to cover the "Why doesn't work in Firefox?" technical support calls support calls.

Arrives with a new Windows computer MSIE arrives installed new Windows and Mac computers; Firebird does not.

However, the initial MSIE is unpatched and thus riddled with security holes. Thus, novice Windows users are often disappointed as their computers become increasingly unresponsive with viruses and spyware.

Thus, the convenience of having MSIE preinstalled on Windows is minimal, since Firebird can be downloaded and installed about as easily as patching the initial insecure MSIE.

Microsoft has ceased new development of MSIE for the Mac, so it has decreasing usefulness on the Mac as an out-of-box browser. Disadvantages Closed source and tied to a U.S. company Closed source prevents users from reviewing the code to ensure that there are no security backdoors included in the software.

This is particularly important for Internet communication software, as the U.S. government may approach Microsoft to either divulge or include security backdoors that can be used for information surveillance, especially on foreign governments or high-risk suspects. Some governments don't want to have a foreign country’s closed source software at the heart of their information network. This may partially account for the higher adoption rate of open-sourced Firefox in countries outside the U.S.

Selling of other Microsoft items and forced end-of-life Part of any corporation's mission is to maximize profits. For Microsoft, this includes selling the maximum number of its own products and services.

So to use the newest MSIE, one has to purchase a license of their newest OS. MSIE's built-in search only works with Microsoft's MSN search, versus Firefox's built-in search toolbar that uses technically superior Google as the default and is user-selectable.

Moreover, since MSIE is closed-source software, users always face the possibility of forced end-of-life of the MSIE software and anything the user has built around it.

Total cost of ownership Both browsers can be downloaded and used free of charge, so their initial cost is equal.

For technical support questions, both are widely enough used that many solutions to common problems can be found in free online public forums. Telephone support for Firefox costs $39.95 per incident, and Microsoft costs between $35.00 per incident and can cost over $200.00 for advanced issues.

However, MSIE has heavier ongoing support costs due to the nearly monthly security patches that are required. Also, there are ongoing costs from lost work time due to the poor stability and viruses when using MSIE. Finally, with MSIE requiring the newest version of their operating system, it forces the total cost of ownership to include the cost of updating all licenses to Windows XP SP2.

Matt Bacak, The Powerful Promoter and Entrepreneur Magazine e-Biz radio show host, became a "#1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours. He has helped a number of clients target his specialty, opt-in email direct marketing systems. The Powerful Promoter is not only a sought-after internet marketer but has also marketed for some of the world's top experts whose reputations would shrivel if their followers ever found out someone else coached them on their online marketing strategies.

For more information, visit Bacak's site at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or sign up for his Powerful Promoting Tips at http://www.promotingtips.com

Linux vs BSD

What is BSD?

BSD family of Unix systems is based upon the source code of real Unix developed in Bell Labs, which was later purchased by the University of California - "Berkeley Software Distribution". The contemporary BSD systems stand on the source code that was released in the beginning of 1990's (Net/2 Lite and 386/BSD release).


BSD is behind the philosophy of TCP/IP networking and the Internet thereof; it is a developed Unix system with advanced features. Except for proprietary BSD/OS, the development of which was discontinued, there are currently four BSD systems available: FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD and Mac OS X, which is derived from FreeBSD. There are also various forks of these, like PC-BSD - a FreeBSD clone, or MirOS, an OpenBSD clone. The intention of such forks is to include various characteristics missing in the above BSD systems, on which these (forks), no matter how well they are designed, only strongly depend. PC-BSD, for example, has more graphical features than FreeBSD, but there are no substantial differences between these two. PC-BSD cannot breathe without FreeBSD; FreeBSD or OpenBSD are independent of one another.


What is Linux?


Albeit users like to use the term "Linux" for any Linux distro including its packages (Red Hat Linux, Mandrake Linux, etc.), for IT professionals Linux is only the kernel. Linux started in 1991, when its author, Linus Torvals, began his work on a free replacement of Minix. Developers of quite a few Linux system utilities used the source code from BSD, as both these systems started parallelly in about the same time (1992-1993) as Open Source.


Today, there are a few, if not many developers of their own kernels/operating systems (FreeDOS, Agnix, ReactOS, Inferno, etc.), but these guys simply missed the right train in the right hour. They did not lose anything except for the fact that they may be even better programmers, but without the public opinion acknowledging this at large. Linus built his fame also from work of many developers and he went on board in the right time. Linus deserves a credit as a software idea policy maker and he helped very much in this respect.


(Open)BSD vs Linux


It is often difficult to say what is better if you compare two things without regarding the purpose of their use. Mobile Internet may appear better for someone who travels often, but for people working at home such mobility is not necessary. In this view, it is a stupid question when someone asks: "What is better, a mobile or static Internet?" It all depends...


If you compare Linux and OpenBSD in their desktop environment features, Linux offers more applications than OpenBSD; but in a server solution BSD systems are known to be robust, more stable and secure, and without so many patches distributors release soon after their new version of Linux slithered to light.


BSD systems are based upon real Unix source code contrary to Linux, which was developed from scratch (kernel).


Differences between BSD and Linux

1. BSD license allows users/companies to modify a program's source code and not to release changes to the public. In other words, BSD licenses allow commercial use and incorporation of a code into proprietary commercial products. This is how Microsoft incorporated BSD networking into their products and how Mac OS X earns money through muscles of FreeBSD.



2. Linux uses GPL license for most of the time (applications in Linux can also have a BSD license - or any license; it is up to developers how they decide). With a GPL-licensed program anybody can change the source code, but he or she MUST share it with the Open Source community to make sure that everybody will benefit from such a change.



3. BSD has the so-called "core system" (without packages). The core system consists of basic utilities (like ssh, fdisk, various commands like chmod or sysctl, manual pages, etc.) and anything beyond this is strictly seen as an add-on. Linux (not only the kernel, of course) is usually packaged as the whole system where this difference is not seen.



4. On BSD systems, all add-on packages are strictly installed into the /usr/local directory: documents to user/local/share/docs/application_name; themes and other things to /usr/local/share/application_name; binaries to /usr/local/bin/application_name. By application_name we mean a program's name, so if you install IceWM, for example, its binary will be here: /usr/local/bin/icewm. With Linux, on the other hand, all applications get mostly installed into the /usr/bin directory.



5. BSD systems use the system of "ports", which are fingerprints of applications in the /usr/ports directory, where a user may "cd" and execute a make command, which will download, via a directive contained in such a fingerprint's code, the application's source and the system will compile it as well. "Ports" are actually add-on packages for BSD systems and they are also packaged in packages repository of a concrete BSD system. They can be installed as binaries, too, with use of the "pkg_add" either directly from the Internet or locally. But "ports" have that advantage that if an author of any package makes a new version, a user can immediately get its newest/updated version. Packages released for a particular BSD version (like OpenBSD 4.1) are not updated and users have to wait for a new BSD release (like OpenBSD 4.2).



6. BSD systems have also their stable version. With FreeBSD, for example, you have a FreeBSD-Release (a version that can be used normally), FreeBSD-Stable (system more profoundly audited for bugs and security holes), and a development version - Current, which is not stable and not recommended for a regular use. Some Linux distributions started to imitate this philosophy, but with BSD systems this way of making distributions has become a rule.



7. Of course, the kernel is absolutely different.



8. BSD has FFS file system; it is the only file system on BSD's contrary to Linux, where you can use dozens of file systems like ext2, ext3, ReiserFS, XFS, etc.



9. BSD systems divide their partitions internally. This means that after installing a BSD system to a hard disk, programs like fdisk, Partition Magic, Norton Ghost and many others will not see this internal division of a BSD (FFS) disk; thus, repartitioning of a disk is not such a pain when administrators require a rigorous partitioning (for /home, /tmp, /var, /etc directories). As a consequence, the naming convention also differs a little: a disk - /dev/ad0s3b in FreeBSD indicates that you deal with "slice" 3 ("s3"), which is the equivalent of Linux /dev/hda3; the internal "partition" has the name of a letter: "a", "b", "e", etc. ("b" is a swap partition). BSD systems also use different naming conventions for devices (disks, etc.).



10. Unless you make a good kernel hack, BSD systems can only be installed into the primary partition. This is not the rule with Linux. However, as BSD systems offer the above-mentioned internal division of partitions, this is not any pain. PC architecture for disks (IDE) follows the rule that you can have only four primary partitions. We will illustrate this on Linux: /dev/hda1 (note: first partition on master disk on first IDE channel), /dev/hda2 (second partition), /dev/hda3 (third partition), /dev/hda4 (fourth partition). PC architecture allows creation of the so-called logical disk on a physical disk (/dev/hda5, /dev/hda6, etc.). You can have as many logical disks/partitions as you wish and you can also install Linux into these "logical disks". On the other hand, installing a BSD OS into such a "logical partition" is not normally possible.



11. System configuration is manual for most of the time, but various clones like PC-BSD break this convention. The manual approach is a very good thing, as administrators have everything under control without being pushed to waste time in a labyrinth of bloated configuration menus. A good comparison is to imagine a car mechanic repairing the car's engine covered by a thick blanket. To give you even a little better example - you will hardly find a Linux distro that does not have a default X startup (graphical environment). Of course, you can switch off the X environment during the installation configuration, but if you keep forgetting like me and forget to switch this off, or you have difficulties to find it in the menu somewhere, you realize that most Linux distributors do indeed impose on us only one approach - to put our fingers first on the thick blanket, then on the engine. If you are a good administrator, you do not usually trust vendors who program you how to use Linux - you are the boss and you must have your own freedom. However, in most cases you lose few hours instead by deactivating various services, which are, unfortunately, not even necessary but almost always activated by default. Linux is praised both for being a good desktop and server, but administrators of a good server do not need X. The more software is stored on your hard disk, the more security problems you will face, because it is impossible to audit every package in every unthinkable situation. Good and secure systems are always tight, light and simple.



12. All BSD systems have a Linux emulation support. Running BSD binaries on Linux is a little harder.



13. BSD systems have less support from driver vendors, thus they lag behind in this view (they are not worse, but many vendors support only Microsoft and Linux). With a BSD system you must carefully research the Internet for supported products/chipsets before purchasing any hardware.



14. BSD systems do not use the Unix System V "runlevel scripts" (initialization startup scripts) like Linux.



15. BSD kernels can be set to several security levels. This is also possible with Linux, but BSD's have taken a very good care of this kernel-tuning feature, which makes it even impossible to change something in files in higher security levels - you cannot delete them.



16. BSD's have everything under one ROOF. Various Linux programs are often not even compatible with other Linuces. For example, if you install a SuSE RPM package on Mandrake, it may not work. BSD's have one solid crown of power. If you move from Linux to FreeBSD, you will soon find out that you got out of this chaos. Do you want a package? Just visit: http://www.freebsd.org/ports/ and download it. Unless its developer made some programming errors, it will always work.



17. Generally, BSD systems boot and reboot faster than Linux. Linux can do this, too, but it must be tuned. It is very surprising that Linux is shipped, on the one hand, on huge DVD's and, on the other hand, it has a compressed kernel. BSD systems do not use (but they can) a default kernel that is compressed, thus the system boots always faster. As I mentioned earlier in this article, Linux vendors program users to use various, often unnecessary services. I do not need SAMBA (file and print services) and many other things as well. Linux reboot process takes longer because various services running on Linux need time for deactivation. Many Linux users do not even know what is the purpose of these services.



18. In comparison to BSD, most Linux distributions are overbloated. Few good users noticed this some time ago and a new trend in the Linux world started with ideas to get closer to a BSD-style use. One of such distributions is Gentoo Linux, but also Slackware Linux, which has preserved a very good shape since its first release (1993). The Gentoo "About" page (http://www.gentoo.org) says that, "Gentoo is a free operating system based on either Linux or FreeBSD..." Therefore, if you use Slackware or Gentoo, these Linuces will always reboot faster than any other Linux.



19. If you compile programs from ports, you will not stumble into compilation errors. BSD packagers prepare their packages carefully, so that users will always compile them successfully. This does not always happen with Linux.

Conclusion


I really like all BSD systems. If you are interested, look into FreeBSD documentation, which is one of the best. It will give you a very good overview of history and hard work done in the development of these robust systems. Today, BSD Unices are the only quality alternative to Linux in the Open Source world.


Author:Juraj Sipos


Author's website about FreeBSD and OpenBSD
Article Source: articlebase.com

Emoze - Free Push Email without a Blackberry - The true path to democratized, real-time mobile email.

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is your friendly Commodore 64 here to report on yet another useful, tech-improving, free service that is bound to improve any nerd's life fo sho.

This new service, which has solved a long standing problem, in my view, with send/receive, hates attachments, crappy, slow, sluggish, snap-crackle, pop3 email technology. The software is called emoze, which is a spin-off of a company called Emblaze.
We covered this service in one of our previous posts here, but now we've really gotten up close and personal.

Now we are not instant fanboys of anything or anyone here, but we are a bunch of wise(ass) admins, and we do know what's good for us, and any of our end users who are on the go, and email dependent. That person will attest to the fact that it sucks to have to send/receive on a schedule. Most people have their email send/receiving on an average of every 5 minutes, which makes for a very cumbersome convo, at best. If those convos are short and sweet, like most, they become exponentially cumbersome. So we know whats good, and after trying emoze with my corporate outlook mail, and using it's proprietary 'desktop to mobile push' clients for about a week now, we can truly say this a great service, and good for you too! Best of all, for a single end-user, the service is totally free, just the way we love it here at AskTheAdmin.

We had the pleasure of personally meeting with Neftali Shani, Chairman of Emblaze and Active Chairman of emoze, in a one on one pow-wow where we were really able to get a sense of his vision and mission for the company and the free service:

We are committed to enhancing the user experience, making emoze the world's most flexible and user-friendly push email and synchronization system...

All in all, emoze is the most efficient and effective way to keep up to date with emails, calendars, contacts and other data when on the move, no matter what mobile device or information management system you use.
We support Lotus Notes and Domino Servers, Microsoft Outlook and Exchange, POP3 and Web-Access, among others - democratizing push email and data for consumers and businesses alike.

The emoze program installs a client on your desktop that 'listens' to any new emails coming into your Outlook running on your pc. On the mobile side, a program running on your pda/smartphone listens to what the desktop client has to say, and integrates that with an email account that looks pretty much like your other mobile email accounts - with one caveat - NO SEND/RECEIVE!

The service, while connection dependent, works pretty invisibly, though it uses it's own notification to let you know an email has come in. I'm pretty sure thats the same notification that MMS uses, but I dont get enough MMS messages to tell the difference.

Messages come through to your phone almost as instantly as they do to your outlook, so I'd have to say this service is pretty tight.

The only gripes I have involve issues that, in all fairness, might not be the fault of emoze. These issues might actually be the responsibility of the hardware or OS manufacturer. For example, when starting up the phone, the emoze client takes a little long to load, sometimes taking more than a minute to go through it's syncing process. However this is most likely due to my connection speed. Also, while tethered to my laptop via bluetooth and internet connection sharing, it seems to want precedence over my shared connection so connection speed was pretty hampered. All in all, these are problems that would likely solve themselves in time, as connection speeds make their way up. Also as more hardware manufacturers adopt the HSDPA standard, this will do away with whatever lag time the emoze client unearths.

Also worth noting is that I can't be considered the average user. My HTC Hermes/8525 has ALOT of stuff loaded on it, besides the 4gb memory card i have blazing inside. I'm pretty sure that for the average business end-user, this service would be almost completely transparent and would invisibly provide someone with exactly what emoze promises - Free Push Email For ALL!
In summary, emoze is a wonderful service. Free push email for the masses is a big undertaking but the good people over at emoze have taken it upon themselves to try to improve the democracy associated with email.

Very noble.

_ThePushyCommodore_ (yup still the one you used to play Bruce Lee on)

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Commodore

Tech Buzzwords 101

With technology moving at such a quick pace, it has become harder to keep up with the lingo that lingers in cyberspace.

A new survey conducted for Windows Live by Harris Interactive shows that only 43 percent of adults in the U.S. feel they are knowledgeable about the latest tech buzzwords.

For example, one in three U.S. adults do not know what "VoIP" is.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) allows people to have voice conversations using their computers through instant messaging services such as Windows Live Messenger, or even just through a regular phone.

"Many people seem to shy away from using new technologies," said Windows Live Director Phil Holden. "But just because these things sound complicated doesn't mean that they are. These technologies are built into many services people already use on a daily basis, such as instant messaging and e-mail."

The survey also found that nearly half are unsure of the term "Internet tagging," a tool for categorizing information on the Net.

Seventy-one percent of U.S. adults, and 41 percent of people ages 18 to 34, have never heard of "RSS," or Really Simple Syndication, which allows Internet users to subscribe to the information that appeals to them online, such as updates to blogs or online newspapers.

Subscribers to a Web site's RSS feed can receive real-time updates to their e-mail inbox or have a special Web page set up specifically to receive feeds from their favorite sites.

One way to put RSS to use is with sites such as http://live.com, which enables users to create a customized home page, similar to having a personalized newspaper that is updated 24 hours a day.

"Once they scratch beneath the surface and get past the intimidating lingo, people can discover new and wonderful ways to harness the Internet and perhaps even become passionate about discovering the next big tech breakthrough," Holden said.

Tech Buzzwords Explained

• VoIP. Short for Voice over Internet Protocol, it allows people to have voice conversations through their computers.
• Beta. The term is used to describe a preview version of a Web site or product.
• RSS. Short for Really Simple Syndication, it allows Internet users to subscribe to information via real-time updates to their e-mail inbox or a special Web page.
• Tagging. Similar to a bookmark, a tag helps people categorize information on the Internet. Tagged Web pages are stored online and can be accessed from any computer. .

Courtesy of Windows Live -(NewsUSA)

The iPod Is Almost Obselete

The iPod, in all its aliases such as nano, and the shuffle are practically antiques. Functionally, it's really just a personal stereo, which was originally patented by Srirekam Jayram Purushotam in 1974. It first reached true commercial success with the electronics giant Sony in 1979 when they sold their first Walkman model called the Soundabout. The iPod is still filling the same need, but using newer technology to do it better. Many of today's generation of clones marching around with white ear buds growing out of their ears, have probably never heard of a Walkman. Much in the same way the next batch will have no idea what the heck an iPod is.

There is technology just waiting in the wings which will replace the iPod as we know it. The iPod (and most mp3 players) markets, and differentiates its line of products by capacity. All the models really do the same thing, with the same set of controls. The biggest difference between them and the biggest factor determining price, is the capacity of the drives inside them. The second differentiating factor is of course the color. Kind of hard to charge more for blue or pink though. Anyway, there will come a time, when actually having a drive in your mp3 player or iPod will not be necessary. It really doesn't make sense. It makes the unit bigger, and drives the price up. Those little drives are far more expensive than comparable drives for bigger machines. Carrying your entire song collection on your person is kind of risky as well. What happens when Uncle Bob thinks its funny to pick you up and throw you into his new pool? Ooops, is that your 80Gb iPod with 20,000 of your favorite being sucked towards the pool drain? You've got that thing backed up right? Ha!

The answer is of course to store your entire song/picture collection on a server somewhere with proper data protection and backup facilities. Then all you need is a network ready receiver about half the size of a iPod nano with the ability to access your music off that protected server wherever you are. Capacity becomes meaningless. Running out of disk space on a current iPod / mp3 player means either deleting songs (are you nuts!) or buying a new player. Great for the manufacturer, but not so much for the consumer. The different pieces of technologies are there, it's just a question of someone putting it all together, and marketing it to the masses.

I think, maybe I'll just hold on to my old cassette Walkman, for a little longer. The next really great personal stereo for me is just around the next corner.

By: Chris Campbell

If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about iPod Nanos procedures visit audiomp3players.info or simply read other articles about iPod Nanos and other topics by this author at foolishmumbles.com

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Now What's Going on With Blogger?

I posted yesterday about a problem I was seeing with Feedburner (Which I am still seeing today) and now I am having problems editing my site lay out with Blogger! Seriously, what is going on with Google's products?

What's next? Will Youtube crash today? Will all of your Adsense dollars go away? What can possibly go wrong next? (I know, I'm getting into slippery slope territory, but I don't care!)

Google! Hear me! Please get your act together! Wordpress is looking awfully attractive right about now! If only Feedburner had some competition, I might look into that too!

Am I the only one seeing this, or experiencing this? Let me know in the comments!

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Nexenta Offers NAS...errr...NSA

I wrote about an Ubuntu based Solaris disribution a few months back called NexentaOS. Well, I was just let in on a little secret via e-mail from the Nexenta team. They have just released a new ZFS based NAS operating system based on their Ubuntu/Solaris hybrid. They are calling it the Nexenta Storage Appliance, or NexentaStor.

Here is the basic overview from Nexenta.com:

Nexenta Storage Appliance (NexentaStor) is a software based NAS that meets the current feature sets of the best of breed NAS, including unlimited snapshots, snapshot mirroring (replication), NFS v3/v4, CIFS, FTP, RSYNC/Amanda, SSH and easy management of extremely large storage pools. NexentaStor delivers richly featured software in the form of a software appliance that is trivial to install and easy to manage.

The product is designed and built to operate as 2nd tier storage alongside pre-existing commercial storage, providing online continuation of data for months and years, with tapes relegated to archival purposes only. The appliance is targeted for 2nd-tier NAS and iSCSI applications requiring extremely low cost storage as well as dramatically simplified provisioning, expansion, backup, replication and archiving. NexentaStor can also be used as a primary NAS in businesses that wish to expand at closer to commodity pricing.

Cost: Save 80% or more over proprietary products! Leverage industry standard x86/64 servers and off-the-shelf commodity hardware.

Freedom: Simplify storage deployment by running NexentaStor on x86/64 hardware, server blades, or common virtualization platforms.

Control: Open source base, open standards, and community participation allow for faster feature integration, better quality assurance, and the freedom to build your own custom solutions.

You can read more about NexentaStor in their white paper here: (NexentaStor White Paper)

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What's Going On With Feedburner Lately?

Today I keep checking my page stats on Feedburner and I can't seem to break 200 visits. So I start thinking, what could I have possibly done to turn off all of my loyal readers. Then I decide to hit up my backup stats checker AddFreeStats, and I am showing almost 500 page views today. What is up Feedburner?

It is almost like deja vu. Just a week or so ago, there were a number of complaints in the blogging community about a problem where everyone's RSS feed numbers being dropped almost in half!

Just take a look at this article from Deep Jive Interests:

Well, for reasons that have yet to be explained, my Feedburner subscribers were just halved. I actually noticed it first on Mike Arrington’s Techcrunch, as his numbers are “way down” too — from 600k to about 300k; however, it seems like its everwhere else as well. Mat Ingram’s blog: 1600 to 1100, and Stan Shroeder’s FranticIndustries down to 1200 from 2000. (I’d quote others, but those are the only ones whose pre-drop numbers I recall).

My RSS numbers don't appear to be affected this time (Thanks God), but this little trend of miscalculations needs to end.

Is anyone else noticing this today too? Hit me up in the comments.

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Why Those Free Software Downloads May not Exactly Be Free

Most downloadable software sites are just spy ware. By downloading from these sites you leave yourself vulnerable to hackers and pop ups. If you receive an email with anti spy ware links do not click on these.

When using the Internet be very cautious of free downloadable software, such as sites that offer you free downloadable cursors, tool bars, and smiley faces as well as many other appealing things. If you don''t know this site is a safe site then do not download anything from the site. Most downloadable software sites are just spy ware. By downloading from these sites you leave yourself vulnerable to hackers and pop ups. If you receive an email with anti spy ware links do not click on these. These advertisers are trying to make you think they are a reputable site giving you anti spyware when really you are downloading those programs.

If you think you may have these programs on your computer make sure you find a reputable site to provide protective spyware for you. If you wish to limit pop ups and spy ware; adjust your browser accordingly to limit your pop ups and spy ware. Some tool bars give you the option to block all pop ups, as much as this may be a good thing it can be bad as well because it can stop all windows from popping up including normal ones you are familiar with. Always try to be familiar with any pages you plan to open other wise you may be opening spy-ware. Again it can be downloaded with or without your knowledge so the best you can do is to keep an anti virus/spyware program on your computer.

If you think you may have these programs on your computer, then you need to get it off of your PC as soon as you can; spyware can take your personal information and give it out to anyone without your knowledge. Some anti virus programs are designed with removers built in. There are two types of anti spy-ware programs: those that alert you after the it has already been downloaded onto your computer. These are okay but not always a best choice because they may have already done their damage. The second type alerts you as it is trying to download onto your computer. These are very good ideas because it can stop the program in its tracks.

If you tend to use the Internet a lot you should run a scan of your computer at least once a week to check for any viruses or other malicious programs. If you do not have a protective program try to find a reputable detection program such as; Ad Aware, Spy Sweeper, Pest Patrol, Spy bot search and destroy. All of these are great programs to help your computer stand up against malicious programs and keep your computer safe from the hassles of the Internet.

By Gregg Hall

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as popup blocker software at http://www.firstpopupblocker.com

Access Your Computer From Anywhere

One of the most valuable things I ever discovered (Thanks to my buddy Ryan) when I was just starting out was that I could access my home computer by simply opening port 3389 on my home router (Check out this post on port forwarding), enabling remote desktop on my Windows XP machine, and creating a Dynamic DNS account.

Then I started going to a school that just hadn't gotten with the times. Don't get me wrong, I love going to Coleman College. I have learned quite a bit their, but a vast majority of their computer lab computers are still only running Windows 2000 (Only a month or so ago did they add a row of Windows XP boxes...So sad). Anyway, the problem with Windows 2000 is that is doesn't have a remote desktop client installed natively. Sure, you can download a client from Microsoft.com, but you still have to have admin rights to install it. That of course, I do not have since it is a school computer.

I still had some options though, and I'll tell you what I did for the longest time. I installed the free version of Real VNC server at home, and opened up port 5900 on my router. I then carried around a copy of Tight VNC on my thumb drive, because it didn't need to be installed, and I could access my computer that way. The only problem with that is VNC is not secure.

Now before I go any further, it is important to point out that I often have people showing me easier ways of doing things. The only difference in this case is that I sort of figured this one out on my own. You see, Real VNC (And Ultra VNC if you can get it to work right) both have the option to access the VNC server over http using Java! If you open port 5800 on your router, you now don't need to carry around a VNC client with you as long as there is a browser handy with Java installed!

What's more is you can run STUNNEL on your VNC server to encrypt your browser based VNC session using SSL! All for free!

Now when I go to school, and I am forced to use one of the Windows 2K machines, I just open a browser, and surf to my home computer!

A Few Techniques To Keep Spam Under Control

Everyone at some point in there life has been affected by the big "S" when it comes to the Internet. No I don`t mean surfing or another four letter word that I can`t use here. I am specifically talking about spam, and I do not mean that canned processed meat you can find at your local grocery store or market. (What is that stuff anyway?)

I am talking about spam, the unsolicited email. Many laws have been passed to curtail businesses from "spamming" people, or sending email to them that they just didn`t ask to receive. If you are reading this and you do send out unsolicited emails to people, rest assured you are breaking the law.

According to a recent article in PC World magazine by Grant Gross a, "temporary restraining order was issued by Federal Judge Morton Denlow of the Northern District Court of Illinois to Sill Neutraceuticals. The order calls for the company to stop sending unsolicited e-mail for its products." Gross goes on to say, "It was issued following a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the company and its owner Brain McDaid. In the lawsuit, FTC accuses Sill and McDaid of spare-marketing their Web sites based on false claims on the efficacy of their products."

In defense of some companies that do send out large bulk emailing to market their products or services, they sometimes purchase large mailing lists, from list servers or brokers and other companies that collect email addresses. They are told that these emails were collected via opt-in lists.

An opt-in list means a person agreed to receive emails from companies and then "opted in" by entering their email address. What happens a lot of times are that these list brokers (who sell the email addresses) gather a lot of these emails unethically by crawling the Internet and indexing pages that email addresses appear and then do a technique called "scraping" to retrieve the email address off of the page and store it into their own database.

These businesses then buy these lists, and spam is born. Here are some ways to protect yourself if you are going to use email as a marketing campaign. First, whether you have a Blog, website or whatever, you should have an area where your visitors can enter their email address to receive your newsletter. Always, always, always have an "opt out" option on your newsletter. It goes a long way to the consumer if they know they can stop receiving your email. Second, if you are going to buy a list, which I don`t recommend you do, but if you do, make sure you purchase from a reputable company, and ask them where and how they obtain those email addresses.

If you are a consumer and like to sign up for the occasional newsletter from companies who sell products or talk about their services, then I recommend that you sign up for a free email account from sites like Yahoo or Google. Use that email address to receive your newsletters. The newsletters won`t clutter up your personal inbox and your "real" email address gets far less exposure on the Internet.

Email programs such as Outlook and even the free email accounts have options where you can setup spam and junk folders as well as create block lists and so on. There are ways to combat receiving or at least keep it under control and of course if you own a business, not falling into the trap of sending it. Use these tips above and you are sure to not get aggravated by it.

Seriously what is that canned meat anyway?

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:

Bruce A. Tucker is the Associate Director of Indocquent.com, an online resource that allows businesses and individuals to post their products and services for sale in 20,000 cities throughout 200 countries around the world.

Article Source: ArticleRich.com

Download Multiple Files at Once: Cool Firefox Extension

Hey guys, I just learned about a really cool Firefox extension that will alow you to download all files from any webpage all at once. It is called DownThemALL! Check out this video for a demo.

Identity Theft: Phishing in Dangerous Water

Have you received one yet? You know. The email directing you to visit a familiar website where for some odd reason you’re being asked to update your personal information? The website asks you to verify your passwords, credit card numbers, social security number, or even your bank account. You recognize the company name as one that you’ve done business with in the past, so you click on the “take me there” link and proceed to provide all the information they’ve requested. No problem right? Except you find out much later that the website is a fraud. It was created for one reason: to steal your personal information. Welcome to the world of phishing.


Phishing (pronounced as “fishing”) means to send an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. By fooling the recipient into giving their private information, the phisher has in effect stolen their identity.


It’s not easy to spot an email phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company. The "From" field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company’s website, but in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.


Many of these people are professional criminals that have spent considerable time in creating emails that look authentic. Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully. When reviewing your email remember that the "From Field" can be easily changed by the sender. While it may look like it’s coming from a company you do business with, looks can be deceiving. Keep in mind that phishers will go all out in trying to make their emails look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails. They also like to include a clickable link which the recipient can follow to conveniently “update” their information.


How do you check to see if the link is authentic? Point at the link with your mouse, and then look in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will show up for you to view. This is a fast and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site.


Also never and I mean NEVER click the links within the text of the e-mail. Delete the e-mail immediately and empty the trash box in all of your e-mail accounts as well. If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. That way you can be confident that you are being directed to the true and legitimate website.


Phishing is a major weapon of choice for online identity thieves. Don’t get hooked.


By Daryl

Daryl Campbell’s website provides free tips,resources, featured articles from experts and up to the minute news concerning identity theft and fraud

Article Source: ArticleRich.com

How Important Is Wikipedia In The Grand Scheme Of Things?

Wikipedia is the center of the online encyclopedia universe. Millions of entries on every conceivable topic makes this website an authority source that many young students and adults turn to from all corners of the globe.

The widespread popularity of Wikipedia has made it an easy target for quite a bit of controversy and critique. Many academic institutions disapprove of any use of unverified Internet sources, including Wikipedia articles. Ironically, Wikipedia prides itself on the idea that its information is verifiable. Read more about Wikipedia's Verifiability policy here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability

Wikipedia Basics

Founded in 2001, Wikipedia is a free content resource that anyone can submit information to according to certain submission rules. Articles are written and submitted by anyone interested in the topic being discussed.

Authenticity is supposedly ensured by the ability of others to edit previously submitted information and correct any errors. Grossly inappropriate or incorrect articles can be nominated for deletion. Wikipedia users are given a week to vote on the appropriate response to a deletion nomination.

These safeguards have been built into Wikipedia's design as a way of preserving both its credibility and authenticity. While Wikipedia's systems of checks and balances are not failsafe, they do eliminate quite a few of the errors that would otherwise occur.

The fact that the website's content is made up exclusively by donated content and that it has over 2 million topic articles is a testament to the popularity of this style. While there are no basic rules for submitting articles, there are basic guidelines that Wikipedia asks submitting authors to follow.

Maintaining a neutral tone and presenting the information in a fair unbiased way are the perfect tones that dictate encyclopedia articles. Authors and editors are expected to be respectful of the work of others and not to modify anything without a good reason or verifiable references.

Controversy

Academic institutions and authority reference sources such as encyclopedia companies have been less impressed with Wikipedia than the general public. There are many reasons for the less than enthusiastic response from institutions of higher learning and professional reference companies.

The publishers of Encyclopedia Britannica became enraged when a study claimed that the accuracy of Wikipedia was comparable to the accuracy of Britannica's long-standing published encyclopedia. They widely disputed the results, insisting that their publication is by far the more superior publication.

Public opinion sides with Britannica. The majority of most people, when polled, have great faith in the reputation of Britannica and hold it in much higher regard than its online counterparts.

The convenience of the Internet encyclopedia version is where a lot of its competition with Britannica arises. Being able to access any information with the click of a mouse brings research to a whole new level.

Wikipedia and Academics

Studies are regularly inconsistent on the accuracy of Wikipedia. There is a wide range in the quality and accuracy of the Wiki articles online.

Articles are constantly being modified and improved upon. When doing research, it is very important to double-check all information. Wikipedia is a great resource, but it should never be trusted as the final word on any topic.

Members of academia are prone to carry negative feelings towards to the use of Wikipedia. Most become agitated when their students source Wikipedia, because they feel their students are not able to tell the difference between a good resource and a bad one - a truthful fact or an erroneous statement.

A commonly held belief is that a student lacks the common sense or ability to differentiate between a good article and a biased, inadequate presentation of a story as fact. Academia also points to the general lack of solid research supporting most Wikipedia articles.

Lazy Research

There is no excuse for laziness, but the blame for it is often placed on the presence of technology instead of where it actually belongs - on the people who rely on technology to provide them the shortcuts they take.

The modern age is one of advanced technology and many students are more than willing to take advantage of the ease of relying on computers and minimal online research.

The primary function of schools is to teach children. Not only are they responsible for teaching them facts, but also for teaching them how to think and solve problems for themselves. When students are no longer able, or willing, to logically decide something, academics are quick to blame the ease of access to technological advances, separating themselves from the blame.

Unfortunately, schools hold as much blame as the technology they bash, for the falling ability of students to produce results on their own. When I was in high school during the early 1980's, calculators were prohibited in all classes except for the advanced mathematics classes that required the use of scientific calculators. By the mid-1990's, the children of friends were telling me that they were required to bring a simple calculator to the classroom to assist them in their basic math calculations.

Academia is generally as responsible for the falling academic performance of students as website sources such as Wikipedia. Although academia shares in the blame for falling academic performance with poor resources like Wikipedia, this shared blame should not excuse Wikipedia's less than ideal service record.

One Thousand Monkeys Typing The Next Great Novel

Wikipedia and all of its sister projects are not perfect. They are websites dedicated to providing knowledge to everyone. Those willing to share what they have learned donate to this knowledge base in hopes of helping others. At least, that is what they do in theory.

The Wikipedia frontier has real possibility for the future, but behind the scenes, it is rife with "monkeys learning to type the next great novel," as sourced in the Infinite Monkey Theorem at (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem). There are some areas of the Wikipedia that are definitely lacking in information and credibility, and yet when someone makes a gesture to add to the Wiki knowledge base, some editors frame these new contributions as unsupportable and unacceptable additions to the Wikipedia world.

The Wikipedia world relies upon its published Code Of Conduct to drive the decisions of its editors. Examples of the Wikipedia Code Of Conduct include: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:BIO

The Wikipedia Monkey Brigade

One extreme example of the "Wikipedia Monkey Brigade" is the story of how Danny Sullivan noticed the attempt by some editor to delete the Matt Cutts chapter in the encyclopedia.

For those involved in the study of search engines, Danny Sullivan is one of the most recognized experts in the field of search engines, and has been since 1997. As the founder of Search Engine Watch, and now the editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land, Danny even has his own page in the Wikipedia world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Sullivan_%28technologist%29

It seems some Wikipedia editor decided that Matt Cutts was not notable enough for his own chapter in the Wikipedia. For those of us who work in the search engine optimization community, such a suggestion is absolutely obscene. As a quality control engineer for Google and the voice of Google's spam detection department, people in the search industry pay close attention to what Cutts says about the future of search placement within Google.

Sullivan suggested that the attempt to delete the Matt Cutts page was at the very least an example of how "inept" the Wikipedia editors have shown themselves to be. You can read Sullivan's heartfelt argument here: http://searchengineland.com/070108-170335.php

Almost as interesting as Sullivan's blog post about the suggestion to delete the Matt Cutts page from the Wikipedia, was the page where people argued the decision about whether the page was worthy of deletion. You can read that interchange here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Matt_Cutts

Those supporting the deletion of the page were quick to point out the Wikipedia guidelines on Notability at: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:BIO) Strangely, I had read the guidelines myself and I felt that Matt Cutts was a slam-dunk for inclusion.

The Good Faith Argument

Much to my own surprise, the fellow who originally suggested that the Matt Cutts page should have been deleted got into the fray that resulted from his action. He even made reference to having read Sullivan's comments and chose to use them as a springboard to belittle Sullivan:

"The sources provided by Sullivan in his blog are interesting and some would even make great additions to a number of AfD-submitted articles to help fulfill notability (it's a shame he spent the time to make personal commentary about me on his blog than to improve these poorly drafted articles, but to each his own)."

For a guy who quotes the Wikipedia guidelines about "assuming good faith" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:AGF) as frequently as he does, I think his own comments about Sullivan betray his double standards about "good faith".

It is true that one would not expect anyone who studied Bioinformatics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioinformatics) in college to understand who the players are in the search industry, but then one would also not expect a person who knew nothing about an industry to judge who is notable in that industry either. It would be like me assuming to be able to identify notable people in the bioinformatics field... Yep, that would be dishonest and silly.

Final Thoughts

The one thing that makes the world of Wikipedia both great and terrible is the same; it is the ability of people to make corrections to the Wikipedia encyclopedia when they see the need to do so. But, the truth is that any monkey with a keyboard and an Internet connection can create and edit documents in the Wikipedia community.

Even I am a Wikipedia editor... I may even be a monkey editor, but at the end of the day, I don't monkey around editing information about which I am clueless.

By Bill Platt

Article Source: ArticleSpot.org

About Bill Platt
Bill Platt writes and ghost writes articles for dissemination on the World Wide Web through http://thePhantomWriters.com His company also offers article distribution services to people who write their own articles. Reach Bill at 405-780-7745 between 9am-6pm, M-F. One thing that success brings online entrepreneurs is the opportunity to travel more frequently. If you are interested in learning about wholesale travel as a way to save money or as a business opportunity, please visit http://www.DreamsByVasrue.com/ to learn more about the programs offered by Clinton Douglas IV.

More Articles by Bill Platt

Windows Vista Boot Process Overview

The Windows Vista™ boot process differs from Windows® XP in the way the operating system is located and initialized. Start-up begins with the BIOS loading the Master Boot Record (MBR) on the bootable disk. The MBR in turn loads the Partition Boot Record (PBR) on the active partition. So far, Windows Vista remains relatively unchanged.

Windows Vista is different from XP starting by the fact the PBR code written by Windows Vista no longer looks for Ntldr. The new boot loader in Windows Vista is Bootmgr. This component loads the Boot Configuration Database (BCD), which in turn loads an OS loader boot application (Winload.exe, in the case of Windows Vista). Finally, the OS loader application is responsible for initializing the kernel. This process is illustrated below.


You can think of this change in two elements:


The two key actions performed by Ntldr in previous Windows versions have been divided between two components:


1. Bootmgr reads the boot configuration, including device and path locations.


2. WindowsSystem32Winload.exe initializes the kernel.


The boot configuration stored by Boot.ini in previous Windows versions is now stored in an extensible database, BootBCD, the Boot Configuration Database (BCD).


These changes are significant because of the impact they have:


1. The boot process can be extended to support other applications, such as other operating systems or other versions of the OS.


2. Only nonversion-specific components are stored in the root of the active partition. This means that theoretically Windows Vista could be installed on a machine running some future Windows version with the same boot structure, and it would not break the boot process for that future version. With legacy Windows, installing an older Windows version last causes the newer version to fail on start-up. This is due to version-specific code improvements in Ntldr.


3. Tool-oriented boot entries can be supported to offer maintenance options on boot when a previous start-up failed. In the past, Windows supported an menu provided by a target operating system. This new structure can make tools available earlier during the boot process, meaning that they are available even if all OS-specific boot entries are damaged. The Windows Memory Diagnostic tool is provided in the boot menu in this way.


BCD Store


The Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store contains boot configuration parameters and controls how the operating system is started in Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. These parameters were previously in the Boot.ini file in BIOS-based operating systems or in the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) entries in Extensible Firmware Interface-based operating systems. You can use the Bcdedit.exe command line tool to affect the Windows code which runs in the pre-operating system environment by adding, deleting, editing, and appending entries in the BCD store. Bcdedit.exe is located in the WindowsSystem32 directory of the Windows Vista partition.


The BCD is a database used by Bootmgr. It contains the functions of Boot.ini and is located in the {ActivePartition}boot folder


Bcdedit.exe


You can use Bcdedit.exe to modify the Windows code which runs in the pre-operating system environment by adding, deleting, editing, and appending entries in the BCD store. Bcdedit.exe is located in the WindowsSystem32 directory of the Windows Vista partition.


Boot.ini Compared to BCD


BCD eliminates the need for Boot.ini in Windows Vista, although Boot.ini is still present on dual-boot systems for backwards compatibility. Because the BCD boots to the boot environment first instead of Ntldr, the location of Ntldr is not verified unless a legacy operating system is chosen.


Configuration Tools


The BCD store can be modified or repaired using several tools:

System Properties in Control Panel

SystemPropertiesAdvanced.exe

Msconfig

Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) Startup Repair

Bcdedit.exe

Bootrec.exe

Most of these tools enable you to perform simple tasks, such as setting a boot menu timeout, setting a default operating system, or configuring boot options such as /SOS and /SAFEBOOT. Others are repair-oriented tools; Startup Repair and Bootrec.exe, in particular, provide automated mechanisms for fixing problems in the BCD.

Bcdedit.exe is the main tool for detailed BCD store modifications. You can use Bcdedit to change Bootmgr options; add boot, delete, and edit boot entries; import and export the BCD store; and create a new store if it becomes significantly damaged. Bcdedit.exe is located in the WindowsSystem32 directory of the Windows Vista partition and is also available in WinRE.


BCD Store Location


The BCD store is a registry hive, stored as BootBCD on the active partition. This hive is loaded but hidden from view in Regedit.exe within Windows Vista. The store is loaded to the following registry location: HKLMBCD00000000.


You can also view the store manually in WinRE by loading the hive from the Boot folder. To obtain a copy of the hive on a running system, use the Bcdedit /export filename command to export a hive file for offline examination. This command exports the BCD store to a file called filename in the current directory.


Related Components

Msconfig

Msconfig is the preferred PSS UI tool for managing boot settings. The tool supports BCD and allows the user to enumerate all BCD objects in the system store. It allows certain elements to be altered for each OS object, including debug settings, safe mode settings, and other popular PSS options. It cannot be used with the WinRE console; Bcdedit needs to be used in these cases.

Bcdedit.exe

Bcdedit.exe is a command line tool that can be used to manage BCD settings. In summary, Bcdedit.exe is a replacement for Bootcfg.exe. However, it is enhanced for better scripting and to expose some of the more powerful features of BCD that bootcfg.exe did not expose for manipulating Boot.ini. Bcdedit.exe is designed to work on previous operating systems and in recovery environments.


For more details on this topic please go to www.wintechhelp.com

Author: arun
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

Is there a way to see through a browser window? I hate having to alt tab back and forth or print to copy data.

I can't give you X-Ray vision. I can't even explain this picture on the left (Freaky Ain't It??). But I do have an answer to seeing through one window to another.

If you are like us then you are constantly checking documents and switching between windows. You need to see your data and write your articles in separate windows, Now wouldn't it be peachy keen if you could see through your browser's window - even just a little? That way I could have an Word document or an Excel sheet open behind an editor window and just keep on type, type, typing away.

And wouldn't it be awesome if it was free and worked on most Windows machines? Well here we go check out: Glass2k from Chime Software. The project is dead but the software works and does just what I need it to.It allows me to set transparency for any window and the task bar. Run it and right click on your windows Title bar and choose your transparancy in incriments of 10%.

Cool app and at a price we like - Free. Any one else have another way to make stuff transparent in Windows? [Chime Software]

_TheXrayAdmiN_

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Karl Gechlik

How to 'Download' Your Old Computer to the Highest Bidder

When you think trash, you surely don't think about your old, trusty personal computer. But that's exactly what will become of it when you make the inevitable move toward your next laptop or desktop. And, yes, buying a new computer is inevitable, considering the pace at which computer technology zips along. Just think-about a handful of years ago, a fast microprocessor for a laptop was at 233 MHz. Now you're looking at about at least 2 GHz! That's Giga, with a G.


So eventually, you will want a computer that can handle the latest software, the latest games, and the latest interactive Web sites, and then you'll have to throw away your old computer, right? Wrong. Try selling your used computer instead. Throwing out your computer is one of the worst things you can do. For one, your computer may be useful for someone out there, even if just for scraps.


Trashed computers and other digital equipment also make up one of the fastest growing, and most dangerous, new trash "categories" out there in your neighborhood landfill. On one hand, computers are generally bulky and made of plastic and other materials that won't be breaking down in a landfill for the next few million years. What's more, other materials in your old computer are highly toxic to the environment, like mercury, lead and cadmium. They're so toxic that their actually name in the waste-management field is "toxics."


You don't have to be a techie or a scientist to understand the danger in that-nor the benefits of selling your computer. On the Internet, there are a vast number of auction and classifieds sites, some better than others, where you can "download" you computer to a worthy buyer.


Before you boot up your replacement laptop or high-performance PC, however, be sure you read and compute the following tips. These tips will help you avoid the crashes and shutdowns that befall the computer seller who doesn't do his homework first.


Hold onto all of the operating system and software manuals that came with your old computer. This will add value to your sale, not to mention it will make you a trusted seller for offering up these helpful books to the buyer.


Erase all personal information from the hard drive. And we're not just talking about simply putting stuff in the "trash bin." It's extremely important to purge all data from your computer's memory repository, even from invisible backup files on the hard drive. If you're not sure how to do this, ask your IT expert at work or a techie friend for advice. You don't want the next user to have access to your bank accounts, old e-mails, and other private info, do you?


Uninstall any application from the hard drive that you'd like to use on your next computer, keeping the installation disk and the software serial number for yourself. When it comes to software, the manufacturers made sure that you never really own software, you license it. So you don't get free reign to keep software on multiple computers. You only get one license, so you need to bring your licensed version with you to your new computer.


Do your homework on your computer's worth. Just like you would for a car, check around at other classifieds and auction sites to see what other people are selling your make and model for.


Be sure you want to truly get rid of old faithful. You may be able to repair your old laptop rather than buy a new $2,000 Centrino model. Or you may be able to add RAM memory and a new hard drive to your four-year-old desktop rather than invest in a new $3,000 multimedia masterpiece. In other words, do a thorough cost-analysis of what it would take to rebuild your old computer, versus what it would cost to sell it and buy a new one. And check your heart too. You might be surprised just how attached you are to your old faithful.


Once you go through these steps, you are prepared to make your move and sell, sell, sell. And then, of course, you'll be ready to start on a whole new list of steps-for buying a new computer. But that's a topic for another article!

By: Donald Lee

Author Bio
Donald Lee is the public relations manager for Buysellcommunity.com. Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services. Buy, Sell and trade: auto, computers, household items, real estate, pets and much more. For global and localized classifieds, please visit http://www.buysellcommunity.com - Free Buy & Sell Classifieds

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Can I Change The Inbox Font in Microsoft Outlook?

I have this user who just got upgraded to a new laptop. When he logged in for the first time and opened Outlook, he was in for a shock. The fonts were extremely small (Apparently he is as blind as a bat, and likes larger fonts). Anyway, he called me to fix it.

If you run into the same thing, here is what you do in both Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007:

Outlook 2003:

1) Click on View > Arrange By > Current View > Customize Current View

2) Click on the 'Other Settings' button

3) Click on the Column Font, Row Font and AutoPreview buttons to change your fonts

4) Click OK, then OK again, your fonts should now be changed in your inbox list.

Outlook 2007:

Note: Microsoft made this a little more intuitive in this version

1) Click on View > Current View > Customize Current View

2) Click on the 'Other Settings' button

3) Click on the Column Font, Row Font and AutoPreview buttons to change your fonts

4) Click OK, then OK again, your fonts should now be changed in your inbox list.

I hope this helps some of you out there. If this doesn't work for you you always have some alternatives such as glasses, contacts or even lasik surgery. Good luck!

How Many Computers Do I Need?

It’s 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the phone rings and a distraught voice says, “My computer is broken. I can’t open any of my work files. I need a technician first thing in the morning. I’m due at the bank at 11 a.m.”

Fact or fiction? It’s a real call I received when working as a tech support person for one of the world’s biggest computer companies.

The caller ran her own business from home and the computer wasn’t just used for business accounting and typing. She actually ran a desktop publishing business!!!! Let’s not get started on the fact that she hadn’t backed up her work or that she had allowed her children to play games on the computer that was the cause of the computer failing to work. Fact was that a computer technician was not going to be with her first thing in the morning and tech support did not cover data recovery (always read the service agreement).

When do I need a second computer?

Where is this story leading us? Straight in to the idea that more than one computer can be a lifesaver. There are plenty of situations where a second computer makes sense. How about when:

1. Children want to use the computer. 2. You use a computer for critical business work. 3. Business computing on the road. 4. Downloading information from the Internet. 5. Trying new programs and applications. 6. College or education assignments.

Children are to computers what Mt Vesuvius was to Pompeii. They can get anything working without the need for a manual but they have no concept of the havoc they can conjure up. If you use a computer for any important task whether its business, education or the family photos have two computers one of which children are band from. At the end of my conversation with the business lady I explained that my sons are both banned from my work computer. She called me an Ogre, I explained that my computer was working and had been without problem for the last 18 months.

New or Used?

Do you need an expensive second computer? Probably not unless your work involves music or graphic files. Computer dealers always want you to buy the new state of the art mega computer with warp drive that just happens to be the most expensive. At the college where I work most of the networked computers are Pentium III and I’m writing this on a Pentium II. If you have an old computer get it out of the attic, dust it off and load up the operating system. You now have a second computer for no cost.

All you need to complete the perfect picture is to load just the basic programs you need. On this computer (running Windows 98) I have MS Office 2000 (Word and Excel only), MS FrontPage, Adobe Acrobat, Paint Shop Pro and my Epson printer utilities. Stable? You bet, the computers been working fine for over 12 months and gets used every day.

Don’t have an old computer hanging around in the basement? No problem. The solution is going to be a little more expensive but should not cost the earth. The most important thing to remember is that you probably don’t need a top of the line computer.

Try friends, garage sales, classified ads or used computer stores. You should be able to pick up a good Pentium II or III. But be careful check the price of a new basic computer with slightly older technology. Some people think that the computer they paid $1,500 for two years ago is still worth the same amount.

Finding Space.

Is finding space for an extra keyboard, mouse and monitor an issue? The solution is simple and should not cost more than $40-$60. What you need is a KVM switch and cables from any good computer store. This will allow you to use just one mouse, keyboard and monitor to control two or more computers


One final note. Having a hundred computers is no use unless you -

BACK UP ALL OF YOUR CRITICAL FILES.

By Robert Cox

Robert Cox may be contacted at:
http://www.cheap-computer-report.com

robert911ca@yahoo.ca

Your Own Personal Interpreter... or Rather, "Enterpreter"

A friend of mine, who wishes to remain nameless, just finished working on a very cool, and exciting new cell phone program, and sort of gave me the inside scoop as it were on what we will soon start seeing everywhere.

This little wonder is a new translation application that translates English to Spanish and back again, but this is no ordinary translation dictionary. The “Enterpreter” http://www.enterpret.net will produce accurate translation in seconds WITH AUDIO PLAYBACK! This is so close to a Star Trek experience, I can’t help but think that this will soon be the ultimate universal translator with speech to speech translation!

As a former Navy man, something like this would have been essential! I can't tell you how many times I spent in a foreign country trying to point at pictures, and doing some obscene form of sign language to get around. Do you realize how much easier it would have been to just say "Where's the closest bar?" into my cell phone have have my cellphone translate it for me on the fly?

The "Enterpreter" speaks over 600,000 words along with 200,000 useful phrases and fully conjugates over 20,000 verbs in English & Spanish.

What's more, it features "Word of the day" along with instant text translation with unique functions like a built in Thesaurus, audio playback and the ability to "save" your translations for future reference.

Enterpret's Mobile Translator is much more than just a two-way translator of general terms. This is the most comprehensive bilingual dictionary and thesaurus with over 600,000 translations and 500,000 synonyms, all packed into a user- friendly mobile format.

My friend also said that the Spanish to English and vice versa translation is only the tip of the ice berg. Next year they will be rolling out a European pack with German, French, Italian and more to follow.

Its unique interactive design and ease of use, together with the comprehensive amount of words it contains, make it a relational database with an innovative search and sort capability.


Enterpret Mobile Translator features user selected language modes for increased translation accuracy. You define the translation parameters by selecting simple language communication modes.

Product Features:

Translate entire phrases or sentences.

Dictionary functionality that provides related words and phrases.

Thesaurus, find a similar word and then translate that word.

Verb conjugation, conjugates all 17 verb tenses.

Saved translation feature allows you to store frequently used translations, and view at a later time.

Audio playback for correct pronunciation of the translation, with instant replay and volume controls.

Enterpreter Mobile Translator utilizes:

Ten thousand syntax rules.

Over one million significant markings embedded in the database.

State-of-the art artificial intelligence to produce context-sensitive, not literal, translations.

This whole thing is a subscription based package deal for just under $50 per year. You can download a free demo of the program here: (Enterpreter Demo) You can also check out some screenshots here: (Enterpreter Screenshots)

So travel without fear of the unknown! The "Enterpreter" is the perfect wireless translation companion for any tourist, business traveler or student learning a new language.

Variable Length Subnet Masks

Many people have heard of subnetting. Infact, if you work in the IT industry, it is a requirement to have some understanding of subnetting, or at the very least know how to use a subnet calculator. If you don't know about subnetting, I posted an interesting video about it here a few months back: (Subnetting Video)

There is a drawback to standard subnetting, and that drawback is wasted IP addresses. What do I mean by wasted IP addresses. Lets say you have 5 networks. On network 1 you have 60 hosts, on network 2 you have 40 hosts, on network 3 (WAN) you only have two hosts, on network 4 you have 25 hosts, and finally on network 5 you have 17 hosts. (See my crude diagram below)



Let's make this easy, and use a class C address scheme...Oh wait we can't, because if we allow for 62 hosts per subnet, that only leaves us with 4 networks. We can do a class B address scheme and get everything done with a 26 bit subnet mask (I used 172.16.0.1 to figure this out). That leaves us with 62 hosts per network, but then also leaves us with 1019 unused networks, and times that by 62 hosts per subnet and we now have 63,178 unused IP addresses. Not to mention the unused addresses in the networks we are using.

Lets break it down a different way, lets break it down by networks instead of hosts. The minimum number of networks we can subnet out is 8 in order to fit in our 5. With that, using the same class B scheme, that allows for 8190 hosts per subnet! That too is a huge waste of IP addresses!

So what are you supposed to do if you don't want to waste IP addresses? One solution is to use a Variable Length Subnet Mask or VLSM. This method allows us to only allocate the addresses we need to the hosts that need them with minimal waste. Have I lost you yet?

If you have never heard of it, Wikipedia says VLSM is used to, "allocate IP addresses to subnets according to individual need, rather than some general network-wide rule. Thus the network/host division can occur at any bit boundary in the address. The process can be recursive, with a portion of the address space being further divided into even smaller portions, through the use of masks which cover more bits."

I will not go into how to calculate VLSM, because frankly it is a little more in depth than I really want to get into. If you want to know more about how to figure it out, I found an interesting article about it here: (VLSM How-To). Also, I found a simple online VLSM calculator here: (VLSM Calculator).

With the scenario above, we can get away with using our original class C address scheme. By assigning only enough addresses on for the number of hosts on each network, we can now minimize the waste of IP addresses dramatically.



I will admit that many of us don't really care about wasting an IP address or two, or even a few hundred. I mean most of us are subnetting internal private IP addresses so wasting them isn't too big a deal. Also, what about scalability? You will want the ability to grow too. However, If you are paying for these IP addresses, and wasting them using standard subnetting, then it can become a pretty big deal very quickly, especially since there are limited IP addresses in IPv4.

Once IPv6 becomes the standard, we won't have to worry about tricks like these to conserve numbers, at least not for a long time.

Are You Spyware Savvy?

Most of us who use computers are afraid of spyware and the problems it causes. So, you learn all about spyware and the ways to protect yourself from it. How will you know whether you have complete knowledge? Well what you can do is to surf the World Wide Web for the latest on spyware and computer security.

You can test your knowledge by taking self-tests and quizzes. Companies like Microsoft are very consumer friendly and make an effort to upload tons of information on computers and software for users in search of knowledge.

According to Microsoft you can test your knowledge by answering the following questions:

1. How will you prevent children from accidentally downloading spyware?

The answer must be: You can prevent children from downloading spyware by giving them a limited user account.

2. What are browser cookies?

Ans: These are created by unethical persons to track your browsing preferences for their own use, to spam your pc with advertisements and marketing ploys, to steal personal information like bank account details, credit card numbers and so on, and to cause harm to your computer and business by stealing data/files.

3. How can you use technology to protect your computer?

Ans: Many giants in computer technology are offering software and hardware to prevent spyware attacks. For example Windows Defender Beta 2 is one option.

4. What is Windows Defender?

Ans: It is an anti-spyware software that can detect spyware and warn you immediately, inform you of possible dangers and new spywares, remove spyware. It protects your PC against pop ups, slow functioning, security threats, and infections.

5. What are common signs that show your computer is infected?

Ans: Signs are unwarranted pop ups, strange PC behavior, change in homepage settings, appearance of new tool bars not installed by you, slowing down of computer, loss of files, crashing of computer, and so on.

6. What are the precautions to be taken?

Ans: Precautions are: install a fire wall, update all software, pay attention to security settings, use anti-spyware programs, use the internet safely.

7. Is a firewall useful?

Ans: Yes, it examines all information and acts as a filter anything even faintly suspicious will not be permitted, it will create a protective cloak and prevent undesirable sources from detecting your computer on the net.

8. How does spyware work and what protects your computer?

Ans: A spyware is a thief it can use information on you, steal files, and place undesirable material on your computer. The pc must be protected by use of firewall, anti-spyware hardware as well as software, and careful browsing as well as downloads.

9. Where can you get protection against spyware?

Ans: There are many choices a few are: Platinum Internet security 2005, Microsoft Beta 2, Webroot Spy Sweeper, Sunbelt Counter Spy, and Spybot.

10. Name three security measures?

Ans: One must not open e-mails with attachments from unknown sources; use a spam guard for all e-mail accounts, and avoid using messengers.


These days knowledge is available at the click of a mouse button so update your knowledge base and keep abreast of new developments.

About the Author:Chris Young is a freelance writer for Free Online Games, the premier website to play thousands of free online games including arcade games, action games, card games, flash games, strategy games, puzzle games and more.

View all articles by Chris Young

Small Check List for Linux Security

Linux is an amazing operating system considering how it was originally created. It was a modest program written for one person as a hobby – Linus Torvald of Finland. It has grown into a full-fledge 32-bit operating system. It is solid, stable and provides support for an incredible number of applications. It has very powerful capabilities and runs very fast and rarely crashes.


Unfortunately Linux machines are broken almost every day. This happens not because it is an insecure operating system. It contains all the necessary tools to make it very secure. But the truth is. It hasn’t become significantly more secure with the increase in popularity. On the other hand, our understanding of the hackers methods and the wide variety of tools and techniques available contributed to help system administrators to secure their Linux computers.


Our goal in this article is to list the most critical situations, and how to prevent an invasion with simple measures.


1- Weak passwords

By far the first and most used method used by hackers to try penetrating a Linux system is cracking a password, preferently of the user root. Usually they will target a common user first, and then, using his/her access to the operating system, try to get a privileged access cracking the root password. Good password policy, and good passwords are absolutely critical to the security on any computer. Some common mistakes when selecting a password:

A- use “password” as password.

B- use the name of the computer.

C- a well-know name from science, sports or politics.

D- reference to movies.

E- anything that is part of the user web site.

F– references associated with the account.


The latest version of Linux offer shadowed passwords. If a cracker can see an encrypted password, crack it would a simple task. So, instead of storing the password in the passwd file, they are now stored in the shadow file which is readable only for root. Before a hacker can crack a password he needs to figure out an account name. So, simple accounts names must be avoided as well. Another security measure is to apply a “no login” to the account in the passwd file. This must be done to all the accounts that don’t need to log in to the system. Examples are: apache, mysql, ftp and other.


Limit which terminals root may log in from. If the root account is allowed to log in only in certain terminals that are considered secure, it will be almost impossible for a hacker to penetrate the system. This can be done listing the allowed terminals on /etc/security. The login program will consider insecure any terminal that is not listed on this file, which is readable, only by root.


2- Open Network Ports


Any Linux default installation will provide the Operating System with tons of software and services. Several of them are not necessary or even wanted by the administrator. Removing these software and services will close the path to several attacks and improve security. The /sbin/chkconfig program can be used to stop services from automatically starting at run levels 3, 4 and 5. Log in as root and type /sbin/chkconfig --list to view all the services set to start automatically. Select the ones you don’t need and type /sbin/chkconfig 345 name_of_service off. You must do that to all services you don’t want to keep running. Also, the xinetd server can be used to disable other services as well.


3- Old Software Versions


Everyday vulnerabilities are found in programs, and most of them are fixed constantly. It is important, and sometimes critical, to keep up with the changes. There are mailing lists for every Linux distribution where one can have security related information’s, and the latest vulnerabilities found.


Some place to watch for security holes are:


* http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-announce-list
* http://www.debian.org/MailingLists/
* http://www.mandrakesecure.net/en/mlist.php
* http://www.suse.com/us/private/support/security/index.html
* http://www.freebsd.org/security/index.html
* http://www.linuxtoday.com/
* http://www.lwn.net/

It is crucial to insure that the security released patches are applied to the programs as soon as they area available. The hacker community will be aware of the discovered holes and will try to explore them before the fixes are applied.


4- Insecure and Badly Configured Programs


There are some programs that have a history of security problems. To name a few IMAP, POP, FTP, port map and NFS, are the most known. The good thing is that most of these programs can be replaced by a secure version like spop, sftp or scp.


It is important that, before deploying any service, the administrator investigate its security history. Sometimes simple configuration measures can prevent serious headaches in the future.


Some advices regarding a web server configuration are well worth to mention:


- Never run the web server as a privileged user;

- Do not keep clients’ confidential data on the web server – Credit card numbers, phone numbers, mailing addresses, must be recorded on a different machine.

- Make sure the privileged data that a user supplies on a form does not show up as a default for the next person to use the form;

- Establish acceptable values for data that is supplied by web clients.

- Check vulnerabilities on CGI programs.


5- Stale and Unnecessary Accounts

When a user no longer uses his /her account, make sure it is removed from the system. This stale account won’t have this password changed periodically leaving a hole. Publicly readable or writable files owned by that account must be removed. When you remove an unnecessary service make sure you remove or disable the correspondent account.


Security Resources in the web


Bugtraq – Includes detailed discussions of Unix security holes

http://www.securityfocus.com/

Firewalls – Discuss the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of firewall systems.

http://www.isc.org/services/public/lists/firewalls.html

RISKS Discuss risks to society from computers

http://www.risks.org/

Insecure.org

http://www.insecure.org/

About the author:

Jair Santos
Software Engineer Six years programming in Client Server environment preceded by three years developing in a MVS-XA operating system for a Financial/Banking Institution. Built and maintained a Linux machine gaining system administration skills such as hardware and software installation security and firewall configuration account management partition management performance monitoring. Created and maintained Apache web servers.

View all articles by Jair Santos

The IT Room

If you have been living under a rock lately, you probably haven't heard about the new IT oriented web-based place for nerds. This new place is called The IT Room, and it just launched on November 11th.

Having watched their trailers, as well as the first "Webisode" (below) I have to say I love it! It is sort of a "Office Space" and "The Office" meet tech support sort of thing. Not to mention, they have a monkey and who doesn't love monkeys?

They also give you, the poor lonely system administrator who is just fed up with it all, the opportunity to submit your own horror stories, and video clips of IT Hell.

From their website:

The IT Room represents a world that increasingly touches all of us. Every day we praise, curse, and beg technology to get us through the day. Not enough bandwidth, we need the latest upgrade, our servers caught a virus, we can’t afford the latest upgrade, our email is down, etc. You know what it’s like. IT is no longer someone else’s problem. IT is no longer that curiously dull hobbycraft of the socially challenged. IT is the spinal cord of the global economy. IT is the central nervous system that initiates and traffics our every word and thought. When we share, rant, persuade, revolt, connect, we do it through IT. And its framers, its architects, deserve a voice. We want this site to be a place where IT professionals can talk, argue, or just hang out. We want The IT Room.com to be your place. So make yourselves at home, then make yourselves heard, and make it big.

If that doesn't do it for you, take a look at their first "Webisode"



The only draw back I found was that their video embed code didn't seem to want to work in blogger, so I had to download the video from their website, and re-upload it. That is only a minor inconvenience though, and it may also only be affecting my computer, or my browser (Firefox). DAMN TECHNOLOGY!

All in all, this looks like a fun site definitely worth visiting and spending a few minutes each week. You can check them out by visiting a http://TheITRoom.com.

New Bauer-Power Store Designs!

Hey folks! I have added a couple of new designs to the Bauer-Power Store! Go forth and show your Geek Pride! Perfect geek gift ideas for Christmas!

Things to Check Before Upgrading to Vista

Vista, the new operating system from Microsoft, is being marketed as a revolution for the personal computer. All the enticing benefits the new system offers have spurred lots of people to download Vista Windows. If you’re contemplating upgrading your XP-running PC, here are some factors you need to address first.

1. Check your PC.

Before you download Vista Windows, check your computer if it’s ready for upgrades. To do this, you need to download and run the Windows Upgrade Advisor tool. This will assess your computer and give you a list of the Vista versions that are compatible with your unit. To be able to download Vista Windows, your computer must have at least 800MHz. Premium-ready PCs need at least 1GHz.

2. Make sure you have enough memory and hard drive space.

Another thing to note before you download Vista Windows your PC must have at least 512 MB of RAM. The minimum requirement for a premium-ready PC is 1 GB of system RAM. Plus, to be able to download Vista Windows, your hard drive size and free space must be no less than 40 GB and 15 GB, respectively.

3. Determine graphics adapter capability.

To enable you to download Vista Windows, your graphics adapter must be DirectX 9 capable. Premium-ready machines need at least 128 MB of video RAM to be able to download Vista Windows. Cards that are Vista-capable should have a minimum 64 MB of video RAM. These requirements need to be met if you plan to exploit the Aero Glass graphics. Otherwise, if your existing video adapter is Vista-capable, there is no need to upgrade it. It should be noted that a notebook computer with graphics card that is not compatible has a lesser chance of a successful upgrade to the new system.

4. Your computer must have a DVD drive.

So you can download Vista Windows, your PC should have a DVD drive in which you could install Vista.

5. Determine the version of Vista your computer is capable of running.

Before you download Vista Windows, determine first the version most appropriate for your computer. The five different editions are:

· Windows Vista Home Basic – provides basic operating system usability; suitable for average home users; will sell for $200 for new PCs, and $100 as an upgrade for those with existing Windows license

· Windows Vista Home Premium – offers more functionality than previous Vista Home Basic version; best choice for most PC users; features Aero and Media Center interface, DVD Maker, Movie Maker HD, backup scheduler, SideShow that allows use of auxiliary displays, comes with a Sync Center to synchronize files with other PCs over a home network, and parental controls; premium costs $240 for new computers and P160 as an upgrade if you have an existing Windows XP Home license

· Windows Vista Business - useful for standard business needs; comparable to Windows XP Professional; will be a staple on the corporate desktop.

· Windows Vista Enterprise – has advanced features like BitLocker Drive Encryption for laptops, application compatibility tools, and multi-language support

· Windows Vista Ultimate – has all the features of Vista Home Premium; features support for dual CPUs (multi-core are supported in lower versions), remote desktop host, file encryption (with full-drive BitLocker capability), faxing, domain-based networking for office networks, and web hosting; will sell for $400 for new PCs and $260 as an upgrade if you have an existing Windows XP Home or Pro license.

6. Existing applications must be capable of running under Vista.

To ensure that you can download Vista Windows and install it successfully, run the Application Compatibility Toolkit to help you distinguish the applications that may not be operate under Vista.

7. Back up your data.

Before you download Vista Windows, do not forget to back up your data. Prior to installation of the new operating system, be sure to check that you have all the installation media from your existing software and the proper licensing information.

The steps above are all essential requirements that you need to consider before you download Vista Windows. Also, notebook computers and desktop PCs should be able to meet all the hardware specifications.

Author: Marko Hammond

Article Source: Things To Check Before Downloading Windows Vista

About the Author:
Get free tips and information on how to download Vista Windows at http://www.Vista-Windows.info.

Make Traffic Lights Change!

Here is another video from one of my new favorite websites, KipKay.com. In this segment, Kip shows you the "secret code" to press at the cross walk to make the traffic signal change in your favor! Check it out!






Once again the combination is:

3 Short Clicks

2 Long Clicks

1 Short Click

2 Long Clicks

3 Short Clicks

Print this post out so you don't have to remember!

Data Theft from Laptops

Usually, data that gets stolen includes sensitive information such as email or network passwords, social security numbers, credit card details, ATM pin codes, financial records, personal details such as medical history as well as intellectual property such as engineering drawings.

Identity Theft

Identity theft is a unique form of data theft. In this, the thief steals personal information of an individual illegally such as his or her full name, maiden name, residential or official address, date of birth, social security number, email address and passwords, confidential phone numbers, details of family members,credit card numbers, bank account details and so on.

The culprit then uses this personal information to gain unauthorized access to the bank accounts or other confidential areas related to the victim. Such personal information may also be used for impersonation or it may be sold to some other interested party.

Corporate Data Theft

These days, employees do not steal pencils or stationary anymore. Computerized office technology makes it easier for workers to steal important digital information from their employers. Recent research into intellectual property theft found that almost 73 percent of workers surveyed had stolen key information from work at some point or another.

The most pilfered items include e-mail address books, customer information databases, business proposals and presentations. Many of the data thieves who were questioned admitted that they had used office e-mail or USB Flash drives to get the stolen information off company premises.

Data Theft from Stolen: Laptops

Laptops are made for traveling and computing at the same time, and are thus very valuable for their weight. They therefore make a tempting target for thieves. Losing a laptop is like losing your wallet full of valuable things. Maybe it is even worse since a wallet cannot hold gigabytes of confidential personal or business data.

Once your laptop gets stolen, all your financial data, emails, license numbers and personal documents reside at the fingertips of the stranger who stole your laptop. For business travelers, this is very bad news indeed. Loss of confidential data can have serious implications.

Protecting Your Laptop Data

Physical Security: Companies such as Targus and Kensington manufacture chain locks that physically secure your laptop by tying it to an immovable object, much like a bicycle lock. However these also share the same disadvantage that the latter do, namely, an experienced thief can circumvent them very easily.

Biometric Security: While passwords can be cracked or stolen, biometric identifiers are difficult to reproduce. It is the task of biometric systems to apply a mathematical algorithm to the identifier (the retina of your eye or fingerprint, for example) to determine if a user is authorized to use the computer or not. The failure of correct biometric identification will prevent the laptop from booting up and thus your data would remain protected.

Laptop Identification Procedures: If your laptop ever gets stolen, having registered the device with the manufacturer beforehand can give you a much better chance of eventually getting it back. If the device is subsequently brought in for repairs at a company service centre, a record will exist and steps will be taken to notify you and the police.

Personalizing the Laptop: Want an easy way to drastically increase your chances of getting your laptop back after it has been stolen? Personalize it! Put your name and other personal information (address, phone numbers) somewhere on the laptop for easy identification and tracing. It will help the cops a great deal.

Pizza Box: Using a plain carry case or backpack will dramatically reduce the risk of laptop theft. The basic idea behind the “Pizza Box” laptop case, if you haven't already guessed it, is to store your fancy notebook in a pizza box (after eating the pizza and cleaning out the box) when you are not around. This way, you can leave your notebook out on the coffee table or pretty much anywhere in the house and no one will be the wiser that your expensive notebook lies inside.

Preventing Access to Your Data after Theft Laptop

BIOS Password Protection: BIOS password protection is a good option for users who are concerned about the possibility of data theft. A BIOS password makes it impossible to boot into any operating system until it is answered. It's not foolproof, as many manufacturers have built 'backdoor' keystroke combinations into their systems which can bypass even BIOS passwords, but it will do to stump most data thieves.

Set User Passwords: The higher the combination of numbers, uppercase letters, symbols and digits built into your password, the harder it is for anyone else to discover or crack.

Create Backups: If you are using your laptop for business work, everything important should be backed up before you leave home. Likewise, when creating documents while traveling, burn them to a CD as soon as possible and carry the disk in separate luggage.

If you follow even some of the above suggestions, your laptop will be much more likely to stay with you for at least the duration of its warranty. Back up your data, use the security measures provided and if your notebook ever gets lost or stolen, happily your important information will still be safe at hand.

[EDIT By El DI Pablo]: If you are still concerned with the safety of your data, you can also check out my article on full hard drive encryption here: (Full Hard Drive Encryption)


By: James Walsh

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk

Who says you can't afford a new PC?

Believe it or not, Wal-Mart, the large American discount chain is now offering a brand new PC for the whopping low price of $199! That is probably less than some of you spend on groceries per month!

What's the catch? This puppy comes running with Linux pre-installed. What flavor of Linux? gOS, which is an Ubuntu based distro that is "Google" oriented. Some say that gOS stands for "Google's Operating System", but that is only a rumor.

Here are the key features from the Wal-Mart website:

• 1.5 GHz Via Technologies C7-D processor Delivers energy-saving performance

• Preinstalled Software: OpenOffice.org 2.2 (includes WRITER, IMPRESS, nMATH, DRAW, CALC and BASE) This is the latest version of the leading open-source office suite, which includes upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentations and database software

• gOS Software Applications and operating system Enables you to use the supplied OpenOffice.org 2.2 software suite

• DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive Lets you play DVDs and burn your own CDs for entertainment and data backup

• 512 MB of DDR2 system memory Offers good performance and is expandable to 2 GB

• 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Connects to a local area network or broadband Internet devices

• 80 GB hard disk drive Provides space for documents, games, photos and music

The name of this bargain basement goody is called the Everex TC2502 Green gPC, and is available online and in select Wal-mart stores across the country.

Now you can finally tell your friends and family members to get out of the stone age, and upgrade their PC without breaking the bank!

Military Personnel Get Free Remote 'IT' Services

In the quiet of a mid-summer's night somewhere in the deserts of Arizona a huge military airlift command aircraft lifts off hardly noticed by the coyotes and rattle snakes. Although the rest of the world pay little or no attention, across North America the hearts of mothers, fathers and lovers break.

On board are a handful of America's finest young men...military personnel highly trained in their respective fields and protected by twelve heavily armed uniformed military policemen. Their hearts are also heavy. As they look around they cannot help but wonder who will not be coming back.

Each man is manacled to a briefcase. What is inside? What do these kids know? Where are they going? What are they doing? Who are they? Officially, they do not exist. That is what the heavy security is all about. Soon enough they will lose the visible security and be on their own.

Some things are noticeably absent. There are no cell phones, no hand helds, no notebooks (at least the electronic kind), no satellite positioning devices. The year is 1967. America is in internal turmoil, but as she has always done she exports her best and brightest to help another.

A half a world away they find it all but impossible to communicate with those they love. When there is a short wave station available, it is only able to maintain contact with the continental United States a few hours at a time and only a couple of nights a week. When one is lucky enough to be there and contact can be made he has five minutes to communicate over an open system that is difficult to hear after waiting what seemed an eternity for his turn while hoping the system would not go down before he heard a voice from the other side of the world. Maybe he got a couple of these calls a year.

Spring forward forty years and while America still has her own problems, once again she has tasked her youth to help another. But something has changed.

There are new business models with new words such as outsourced. Two score years ago the closest thing to outsourcing was hiring your neighbors to do the work on your farm. In 2007 it seems everything is either outsourced or temporary.

Technology has grown so fast that in 2007 everyone has a personal computer, laptop, blackberry, satellite positioning device, and website. They can't repair the computer or build and maintain the website. Hell, they can barely operate the contraptions (not exactly like the new fangled television or the rotary dial telephone on a party line in 1967), and whether in the shop or in home computer maintenance and repair is expensive.

Enter a group of Viet Nam Veterans who have kept up with the latest technology. Knowing what it was like to be separated from those one loves without the ability to communicate, they have decided to do what they can to keep military personnel and their families talking. Remote Helpdesk 1 (http://www.remotehelpdesk1.com) is providing free remote computer repair over the internet to enlisted and junior officers on active military duty and their families back home with priority to those serving in harms way.

Jerry Leonard of Remote Help Desk 1 said they got the idea while performing gratis services for the local police department. He said, "America's young men and women have always acquitted themselves well in the defense of our country and our way of life. I was there and I know what it is like. This is the least we can do for them. If it helps someone's spouse, children, or parents sleep a little better after hearing from their loved one tonight, it will be worth it. We may be located in Tennessee but our reach is world wide."

MM

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
remotehelpdesk1.com bpendergrass@remotehelpdesk1.com

$10 Police Flashlight Hack

I found this interesting video on Metacafe showing you how to mod a $4 flashlight using a special bulb, and special batteries to make it as powerful as a $95 police flash light for under $10. Check it out:







[EDIT] It turns out that you really have to shop around to get a good deal on the batteries. If you buy the batteries at the store, this mod may be a little more than $10.00.

Top 5 Ways To Make A Computer Run Faster

Today I am going to be talking about different ways you can make a computer run faster. There is actually a lot you can do yourself that will boost your PC's performance. So lets take a look at different ways we can remedy that slow computer of yours!

1. Free Up Disk Space

A great way to make a computer run faster is to free up some disk space. Windows comes with a disk cleanup tool that helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete without messing anything up, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.

How to use disk cleanup tool.

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.

In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list. (If you have multiple hard drives you will have to select which one to scan.)

Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK.

When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click OK.

2. Use Defrag Tool

When you add a file or a new program to a new computer, the hard drive is relatively empty so new data is saved to the hard drive in one whole block. When you need to use that information, the computer can quickly access it because it is all in one place. Defragging your system is definitely a way to make a computer run faster.

How to use defrag tool.

From the start menu point to "all programs"

Point to "Accessories"

Point to "System Tools"

Click on "Disk Defragmenter"

The disk defragmenter will display the hard drives on your computer. Just select and click Defragment.

3. Get rid of spyware

Definition

Spyware is software with malicious intent - by design; it does something bad to your computer. Usually, it gets installed without your knowledge. It sometimes takes advantage of the fact that most people click "I Agree" to software licenses without reading them.

The only way to get rid of spyware is to have some kind of scanner, sort of like an anti-virus. In order to make a computer run faster and keep it safer your going to need an anti-spyware program. This is tricky, a lot of the spyware programs out there are malicious and will actually add viruses and spyware to your computer by using the "spyware scanner and blocker". So please remember to be very careful when choosing your anti-spyware program.

4. Find and repair disk errors

Detect and Repair Disk Errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

How to run the error checking utility.

Click Start, and then click My Computer.

In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.

In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.

Click the Check Now button.

In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.

If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Tip: Only select the Automatically fix file system errors check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

5. Get an external hard drive

Adding an External Hard Drive to your computer will allow you to clear out a lot of the things you don't need to be storing on your normal hard drive.

A great example would be your music or pictures. All those songs and pictures are sitting on your computer making it go slower. You will see a decline in your computers performance as soon as you use over half of your hard drive space.

Moving all your songs or pictures to your external hard drive will free up a lot of space on your main hard drive. You can even move applications such as photoshop or games.

An external hard drive is also handy because it is portable. You can unplug it from your computer and take it to a friends house and plug it in there, sharing photos and pictures very easily.

This is truly a great way to make a computer run faster.

About The Author


My name is Brooks Carver and I am a pretty die hard computer tech. I have been working with computer directly for over 20 years now. I have a beautiful wife and daughter, and when I am not programming or fixing computers I enjoy spending time in the out doors.

If you like these tips then you will love my website. It gives the top 10 ways you can speed up your computer. It is very user friendly, it has pictures going along with every step to show you exactly what I mean. I also give out valuable information about what anit-virus and spyware programs that are safe to buy and really work. There are other fun things there too, such as top fastest things on the internet that you can vote on. If your looking to make a computer run faster this is your #1 resource! Click below now!

http://www.squidoo.com/makecomputerrunfaster

By Brooks Carver

Encrypted Email Handed to Feds

Encrypted email is a must for individuals that value their privacy and often times anonnymity. A few months ago I offered a free open source solution for that email encryption in the form of Gnu Privacy guard, which employs PGP (Or pretty good privacy).

Not long after that post I recommended Hushmail as a free web based service that also uses PGP to encrypt your mail on the fly without you really having to know anything about PGP.

It turns out though, that sometimes the do it yourself open source solution can be better than that of a commercial solution. Especially when it comes to your privacy and the government.

Wired recently reported that Hushmail was court ordered to hand over a number of emails to federal authorities in a joint Canandian, U.S. investigation.

From Wired:

A September court document (.pdf) from a federal prosecution of alleged steroid dealers reveals the Canadian company turned over 12 CDs worth of e-mails from three Hushmail accounts, following a court order obtained through a mutual assistance treaty between the U.S. and Canada. The charging document alleges that many Chinese wholesale steroid chemical providers, underground laboratories and steroid retailers do business over Hushmail.

If you were using that service, it may be time to look for other encryption methods for your email. I am still recommending Gnu Privacy Guard as it allows you to control the encryption yourself before your email ever crosses the wire, and you can use it with any email service your already have whether you use hotmail, gmail, yahoo mail etc. The big problem with Hushmail is that you must rely on their servers which you have no control of.

Read the full story here: (Wired Blog Network)

When Life Gives You Lemons, Install DD-WRT On a New Router

I got a call at work from my wife yesterday saying that the internet wasn't working. Naturally, I told her to reboot the cable modem and the router.

When I got home, she said that the reboot didn't work. So I started fiddling, and checking the usual stuff. Anyway, long story short my router, as we used to say in the Navy, "took a shit."

That's right, my el-cheapo D-Link DI-624 was no longer responding to anything, even after a factory reset. All the kings horses and all the king's men couldn't put my D-Link back together again. I figured it was about time. I had that thing for almost three years, and it was the cheapest one in the store at the time.

So tonight I decided I would go get a Linksys WRT54G router, and flash it with DD-WRT, and that is exactly what I did. The only problem is that the new WRT54G's in the store are version 8, and there isn't too much documentation out there on how to flash it with this Linux based deliciousness.

Never fear though, Bauer-Power is here. I will give you the step by step info you need to beef up your Linksys WRT54G V8 with DD-WRT lickity split!

If you are wondering why you would want to flash it using an open source operating system that will void the warranty; according to Wikipedia, DD-WRT offers, "...Special features not included in the original firmware include support for the Kai network, daemon-based services, IPv6, Wireless Distribution System, RADIUS, advanced quality of service, radio output power control, overclocking capability, and software support for a Secure Digital Card hardware modification."

[EDIT By El Di Pablo]: If you are only planning on flashing your Version 8 WRT54G for use with the Kai network, please note that there currently isn't support for it in the current DD-WRT version. Keep checking back on the DD-WRT website for future releases.

Before going any further, I have to say that performing a firmware upgrade on your router with this Open Source firmware WILL void your warranty. If not performed properly, this could damage your router irreversibly. By continuing you agree to hold me harmless for any damage you cause your router.

Man I hate having to do that, but people are sue happy these days...

Anyway, before we begin, you will need to download some things:

dd-wrt.v24_micro_wrt54gv8.bin

VXWORKSKILLER.BIN

Linksys Tftp Utility

Once you have those, you are ready to begin.

1) Unplug your router.

2) Press and hold the reset button on the back while plugging in your router. Keep the reset button pressed for another 20-30 seconds or so.

3) Browse to 192.168.1.1, and if you did everything right you should be seeing a white page prompting you to upload a file.

4) Browse to where you saved VXWORKSKILLER.BIN, select it and click upload.

5) When it says upload complete (or successful, I can't remember) unplug the router, then plug it back in and wait for 2 to 3 minutes. After 2 to 3 minutes, unplug it and plug it back in again.

6) Now take your Linksys Tftp Utility, and point it to 192.168.1.1, leave the password blank, browse to where you saved dd-wrt.v24_micro_wrt54gv8.bin, select it and click upload. When you see the green dot, you should be good to go!

7) Now browse to 192.168.1.1 and you should have your nice new DD-WRT status page staring right back at you. Remember, the default username and password is root/admin. Be sure to change it right away!

Once again, this is for the WRT54G V8 ONLY, if you have a different version of the WRT54G, do some Googling and you should find out how to flash yours. If you use the wrong firmware, you could risk damaging your router.

Enjoy!

Compiz Fusion? What is that?

My man Karl, over at Ask The Admin, asked me to elaborate on what exactly Compiz Fusion is, and why it is so damned cool.

First of all, I want to say that I am actually kind of a n00b when it comes to Compiz Fusion, and the whole 3D desktop thing. I only recently started using it with the latest version of Ubuntu (Gutsy Gibbon 7.10) where it is installed by default if your graphic card supports it.

Let me give you a little bit of a background on the project. It wasn't always called Compiz Fusion. No, according to Wikipedia:

Compiz Fusion is the result of a merge between the old Compiz community plugin set "Compiz Extras" and the parts of the Beryl project.

That is fine and good, but seriously, what is it? In short, it is a set of plugins and other elements independent of the window manager core which provides a bunch of cool animations, and 3D effects. One of the most well known effects is the 3D cube used when moving from one workspace to another.

According to the Compiz Fusion Project:

Compiz Fusion aims to provide an easy and fun-to-use windowed environment, allowing use of the graphics hardware to render each individual window and the entire screen, to provide some impressive effects, speed and usefulness.

When Karl originally asked about it in the comments section of his post, "Honey, We are a Ubuntu Household Now" he asked if Compiz Fusion was a way to "Windowize" Ubuntu. I wouldn't say that, however for you Vista Fanboys, you might find the 3D features of vista comparable to the 3D features of Compiz Fusion. In fact here is a video comparing Windows Vista and Ubuntu with Compiz Fusion (Actually it is with Beryl, but it is basically the same):



If you want to see a video of Ubuntu with actual Compiz fusion, I recorded a short video of my Ubuntu laptop here a while back.

So basically, Compiz Fusion is the Linux answer to the public demand for kick-ass graphics in their computing experiences. As you can see by the video(s), there are many cool little aesthetically pleasing visuals you can turn on or off to really add some pizazz to your normally mundane computer.

Originally Posted on Ask The Admin By Me, El Di Pablo

Google's Way To Let You Visit Myspace From School or Work

I wrote a while back about creating your own "Myspace" proxy on your home computer. If you just aren't that technically savvy, there is an easier way to do it, and it involves Google! Check it out. This is reposted from my friends over at Ask The Admin:

Mister Admin Guy,

My school administrators are fascists and block the majority of the web. I feel like we live in South Korea! Can you help me around it so I can get to your website and others - yes they blog blogger sites! Mother f&^%ers!!! I know you can use your technical ways to get me right on thorough - lickity split no problemo - right?

Censored In Brooklyn

Aight! Who can help Censored get around his web filters?? He will be back in school tomorrow morning- and we cant have him be bored in computer lab! I know some people would be like he is just trying to look at porn - why help him??

First of all dude is in COLLEGE why block him from sites? And second no one should be blocked - young kids shoud be monitored online at all times and taught right from wrong.

Nuff Said - Hit Censored up in the comments! Lets hear how you admins out there filter traffic and how you admins get around filters...

12:36 Answered:

Exactly and for the people who dont want to read through that great
article NinjaAdmin found from:

http://news.com.com/2009-1041_3-6062548.html?part=rss&tag=6062548&subj=news

You can use Google translator service as a proxy to bypass
restrictions of your institution, isp or company!

This makes most web filters see your request as being contained
within google.
You just need to goto the following URL:

http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=enen&u=www.BlockedWebSite.com

(www. BlockedWebSite.com should be replaced with the URL you need
to go to...)

What you'll get is the translation (english to english!) of the
page you want to see... your connection is directed to a google.com page so this page won't be blocked (would be blocked if google.com is on the black list), no matter what the content is. HA! Take That!

The URL has been tweaked for our purposes with the parameter being
"langpair"(1) is set to "enen" (englishenglish) so the page is processed by Google but you can keep the original language of the page.

If you need another language you just need to tweak the parameter
langpair to "frfr" and you'll be able to read french pages in french! Or
blocked english pages in french etc "enfr".

Thanks Google!

http://www.google.com/translate?langpair=enen&u=www.bauer-power.net

Girlfriend v7.0 vs. Wife v1.0

This is an oldie but goody. I am sure you have seen it flying around the interweb via email and what not. You have probably even forwarded it a few times yourself, but in my opinon, it never gets old. Anyway, here is a letter to tech support about a man's problem with his upgrade from Girfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0:

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources.

In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3 , Football 5.0 , Hunting and Fishing 7.5 , and Racing 3.6.

I can’t seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I’m thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0 , but the uninstall doesn’t work on Wife 1.0 . Please help!

Thanks,
Troubled User…..

___________________ __________________
REPLY:
Dear Troubled User:

This is a very common problem that men complain about.

Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING !!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0 . It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed.

You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony/Child Support . I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application “Yes Dear”
to alleviate software augmentation.

The best course of action is to enter the command C:\APOLOGIZE! because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway.

Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0 , Cook It 1.5 ! and Do Bills 4.2 .

However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0 !

WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3 . This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system!

Best of luck,

Tech Support

Can I Turn a Computer on Remotely?

Some times people ask me if there is a way to remotely power on a computer for one reason or another. Of course I tell them yes there is, and this feature is called Wake On LAN ("WOL"). Usually, these people aren't tech savvy so after I tell them that I get a blank stare or two. So let me tell you what WOL is.

According to Wikipedia:

"Wake on LAN (WOL, sometimes WoL) is an Ethernet computer networking standard that allows a shut-down computer to be booted remotely."

Sweet! Now we know what it is how do we do it? It is actually pretty easy. First you need a NIC (Network Interface Card) that supports WOL, and you need a motherboard with BIOS that support WOL. The good news is that most modern day NIC's and Motherboards support WOL, you just have to be sure that it is turned on in the BIOS. A lot of Motherboard manufacturers turn it off by default as a security feature.

Now that it is turned on, we need a program that will do it. WOL is not a built in command or program in Windows or Linux, you need a utility to do this. The good news is there are a plethora of tools out there. One for Linux is aptly named ETHERWAKE (sudo apt-get install etherwake wakeonlan for Ubuntu). There are some other configurations you need to make this work in Linux, which I will let you Google yourself. For this post I will mainly concentrate on Windows.

In Windows there are a bunch of tools, one I found that I like is called MC-WOL. The reason I like this one, and once again there are many like it, is because this lets you wake up computers that are on a different network. Some tools will only work on the same network you are on so be sure to look at all of the features and plan out exactly what you need. The good thing about MC-WOL is it works on both your local network, and across other networks.

So now we have our tool, the only thing we need it the MAC address of the computer we want to turn on, and if it is on a different subnet or network, we will also need the IP address of the target computer, or broadcast address for that network (If you use DHCP and the IP addresses changes). Can anybody tell me why we need both a MAC and an IP Adress if going across different networks? I will give you four guess and the first three don't count! The reason for this is WOL operates at layer 2 of the OSI model which requires MAC addresses, but in order to be routed to another network, we need logical addressing which operates at layer 3 of the OSI model. Anyhoo, enough about that.

So, to get the MAC address of our target computer you can simply run ipconfig /all, and write down the HEX number for your network card (Hint, it is called physical address). You will also get the IP address, and subnet mask of that computer using that as well (write it down). With the IP address and subnet mask, you should be able to identify the broadcast address pretty easily by using a subnet calculator. If the computer is set to static, all you need is the IP address.

Now with that information we are ready to test it out. Turn off that target computer, and run the following command from command line (Remember to change the information for your machine, e.g. your target MAC and IP):

MC-WOL 00:01:02:58:A3:C7 /a 172.16.1.125

To do this using the broadcast address for the network you would use:

MC-WOL 00:01:02:58:A3:C7 /a 172.16.1.255

If you did everything correctly, your computer should now be turning on!

Whack Your Boss

The mood has been a little darker here at Bauer-Power for the last few days due the IronKey controversy. To lighten things up, and because I haven't done this in a while I thought I would post a new flash game that I found. It is called Whack Your Boss. Be warned, it is a little graphic.

Enjoy!

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Rebuttal from Ironkey

I guess my last post struck a cord with the people at Ironkey. They apparently are really proud of their product, and it's level of security. I will repost their response to my article, but first I want to say something. That article really is aimed at the casual, security conscious, average user. It is by no means intended to suggest that the U.S. Military should lower their security in order to save $110.

Seriously, is money an issue for the U.S. Government? I mean they will spend $3,456 on a friggin' hammer for crying out loud!

Anyway, here is the response from Dave at Ironkey:

Bauer, thanks for your article post. Yes, casual users can use software truecrypt on a regular flash drive for $40. For those who need more security, or who need to deploy encrypted USB to employees or customers, the difference between truecrypt on a cheapo flash drive and an IronKey are:

- Security: IronKey has hardware-enforced password guesses at 10. TrueCrypt can be brute-force password guessed, as there is no way to prevent a password guessing program. Basically any TrueCrypt encrypted data can be cracked with off the shelf freeware password brute force guessing software

- Robustness: The IronKey is an expensive piece because you are getting the most premium USB flash drive on the market. It is waterproof and tamperproof.

- Long Life: Most $40 flash drives use cheap MLC memory which is slow and only lasts for 5,000 write cycles. The IronKey uses the most expensive and highest performance SLC memory. This lasts 100,000 write cycles, and is much faster. This is important if you are running portable apps from your USB drive.

- Works in Enterprises and Governmnet: TrueCrypt requires Admin privileges on Windows XP. This doesn't work in 80% of enterprise and government networks. IronKey spent millions of dollars designing a system that does not require Admin privs or drivers.

- Secure Surfing: Sure you can use the free pubilic experimental TOR network on your $40 flash drive. But then your traffic can be spyed upon by phishers, you can get infected by malware, you can be pharmed by malicious DNS operators. Or you can use the high performance IronKey SecureSessions network. 1 year subscription is part of the purchase price.

- Validated: IronKey is spending a lot of time to get their system FIPS validated by third parties and NIST, which makes this an ideal solution for government and enterprise deployments.


Certainly, TrueCrypt on a cheap MLC flash drive is a good option for a casual user not all that concerned about security or reliability. For other, the IronKey is in a different league of security, reliability and privacy.



You can read about why hardware encryption is superior to software encryption here:

IronKey_Whitepaper-Benefits_of_Hardware_Encryption.pdf


Thank you for the open opportunity to discuss the issues.

Dave @ IronKey

Dave does have a point, you have to admit. Their product is really, really secure!

I do want to point out that Dave throws out the cool buzz word of brute forcing. He is right about that, the Truecrypt password could be attacked using brute force. However if you use a strong enough password, it will take an ungodly amount of time to do it.

Personally, I have a text file that I created by randomly mashing keys. There are over 7000 characters in that text file including upper, lower case and special characters. Somewhere in there contains my password, which is something like 1000 characters long with upper, lower case and special characters. With a password that long, and that complex it would take the worlds most powerful supercomputers something like 10,000,000,000 years to crack using brute force. I don't know about you but if they want to spend that kind of time cracking my password, that is cool. I will be dead by the time they crack it, and I won't care too much at that point. In fact my grandkid's grandkid's will be dead too, and they won't care, so have it!

You don't have to do anything that complex though, you can come up with some kind of oddball sentence, alternate upper an