I’ve met a lot of people who didn’t quite understand the difference between hard drive encryption software and file encryption software, or that were assuming one is the other. It seems to me that such confusion can only lead disappointment with encryption products, so here’s a really, really basic primer on what’s what.

Encryption

A process for keeping data secret. The only way it to unearth the secret is to provide the correct key. I won’t go into the details of how it works, but essentially it will take an entry like “keep this a secret, OK?” and turn it into “wKsn a@kn q si1n,z$ !nZ.” Provide the key, and that crazy jumble of words, numbers, and symbols will turn back into the original text. Modern strong encryption is so advanced that, if someone were to try every combination possible to crack the crazy jumble, they’d have to take all the computers in the world (including supercomputers) we have now and run them for centuries to take a guess at what the jumble means.

Data Encryption

Ambiguous terminology. It could mean either disk encryption or file encryption since both deal with data. I personally don’t think it’s anymore descriptive than the term “encryption.” If anyone is trying to sell you a product that does “data encryption” you may want to ask whether it’s disk encryption or file encryption. As you’ll see below, they protect your data in different ways.

Disk Encryption

Disk encryption is the encryption of an entire disk — not just specific files. In other words, if you open up your computer and pop out the hard drive, all the contents of that physical hard drive are encrypted. Disk encryption is also known as hard drive encryption, full disk encryption, whole disk encryption, and partial combinations of these three (hard disk encryption, full hard disk encryption, etc.). If anyone or anything alludes to an entire disk being encrypted, chances are this is what they’re talking about. The real-world counterpart to disk encryption is the use of a safe (strongbox, if you prefer) with a built-in lock. That is, if you place any documents and close the door of the safe, the documents are protected. The only way to get back those documents is by knowing the combination or having the key to the lock, or busting the safe’s door open. Likewise, any files that you save on a computer or digital device with full disk encryption will be encrypted (read: protected) automatically, due to the fact that disk encryption is being used. However, if you decide to e-mail that same file to someone else, it will not be protected anymore, just like taking a document out of a safe means that document is now not secure.

File Encryption

File encryption is the encryption of specific files only. So, if you have only two documents on your computer, you can elect to encrypt one but not the other. Unlike disk encryption, which I mentioned above, you actually have to make a decision on what you’re going to have encrypted. (This does not necessarily mean that you have to remember which files to encrypt every time. There are managed data encryption service providers like AlertBoot that allow the use of “policies” to automate the process. For example, your Excel files will be encrypted automatically but not any jpegs saved to your computer). Unlike disk encryption, since the actual file is encrypted, passing around the files (via e-mail or otherwise) will still ensure the security of those files. File encryption is also known as content encryption. There is no real-world counterpart to file encryption except encryption itself. It might be useful, though, to think of file encryption as translating a document into a language only you know. So, if you leave the translated document on a table and someone picks it up, that person can’t make heads or tails out of it.

Folder Encryption

Is the same concept as disk encryption, in that anything that’s saved to a particular folder is encrypted. Take the file out of the folder, and it’s not encrypted anymore.

Password Protection

A lot of companies and agencies announce, when their laptop computer is lost or stolen, that it had password protection. It’s the worst kind of “security” you could possibly have for your data. In fact, I call the term “password protection” a misnomer because it doesn’t really afford you any protection. The real-world counterpart for password protection is hiding stuff beneath your mattress. Now you understand why data security professionals tear their hair out whenever they read that something was password protected. The game’s over if someone decides to look under the mattress. And, surprisingly enough, bypassing password protection is about as easy as lifting up a mattress. All you have to do is pull out the computer’s hard disk and plug it into another computer. That’s it.

Knowing When To Use What

When it comes to encryption products, there are pros and cons. For example, disk encryption is great in the event your laptop gets stolen. On the other hand, if you send a sensitive file to the wrong person via e-mail, you can’t rely on disk encryption to protect you; file encryption is what you want. If you’re looking into USB disk data security to protect external hard drives, your options are the same as those for a laptop or desktop computer, since the data to be protected resides in the same component: the hard disk. Sometimes it will be hard to know what your specific data security needs are, and you’ll need to consult with a professional. You may need different encryption products to be used at the same time; it certainly is not unheard of to use both disk and file encryption on the same machine, although at first glance it sounds like overkill.

Regardless of what you decide to use, the one thing to take from this one article is that you should never, ever under any circumstances come to the conclusion that password protection is protection.

TV channels on PC or laptops are here to stay. The questions to ask yourself are what are the benefits and do I want to watch it. In other words is it for me. You can have access to over 4000 and some suppliers advertise 6000 TV channels on PCs. When most people read this they think “what a load of rubbish, who can ever want that many channels” . However if you go through a process of elimination and ask yourself how many of those channels am I going to watch, you will find that even if you do not want to watch foreign language movies , children’s programs, arts, animal programs, if you watch TV at all you will still have access to more of that particular genre than what you have now.

Sport is always a good example, if you are interested in a sport that is mainly played overseas it is hard to get coverage, the rugby league world cup is going to be played shortly and many of the cable TV channels will not be showing it live, if at all, however with TV channels on PC you will be able to access it by watching overseas television programs. Some providers are now offering television from over 75 countries. This gives you the advantage of getting a different perspective on world news, world sport and if you are living abroad this is an opportunity to see some of your own movies, sport and news.

This works for minority sports and the main sports. The main golf tournaments are televised but do you get live coverage where you live, not always. Watching TV channels on PC or your Laptop offers flexibility that cannot be matched with a TV, if you want to quickly catch up with the news or the financial markets or see an update on your team you can look on your computer and be located anywhere. Certainly for people who are on business trips, holidays and out of town the chance of catching up on their TV shows is a great idea.

Once you decide there is an advantage in watching TV channels on PC you will want to know the cost. At the moment Satellite TV channels on PC are much cheaper than cable or sky TV and I believe it is only going to get cheaper. Not having to buy any extra hardware makes it very easy to access, there is no downside whilst waiting for the company to put up a dish and make any physical connections.

With the speed of the changes in technology your services will only improve and with competition prices will be kept down. A one off payment is the only cost you should incur. If you are asked to pay monthly charges you are being ripped off. This will entitle you to download the software immediately and again make sure you are being offered all future updates at NO cost. Already during this year alone we are seeing improvements to the quality of the picture and the extra options of radio channels and downloading your own media. TV channels on PC and Laptops is just the beginning, it is convenient, fun and allows you to choose your own form of entertainment.

Let’s get one thing straight up front: at some time or another, we have all used someone else’s wireless connection to check our email, get directions, or find something entertaining during a less than exciting vacation.

With that being said, there are others who abuse the privilege: The college student next door who decides to use your connection to download hi-def porn. The tweenager who has to have that bootleg Miley Cyrus album. A novice hacker who decides it would be fun to use your gateway for some “exploration”.

In this article, I will give you a few steps that will help you reclaim your bandwidth, make your network more secure, and give freeloaders the boot.

1. Change the default username and password on your router.

Many security problems start with the fact that most people don’t know how to log into their router to start with.

First, you must open up your browser, and type the IP 192.168.0.1 (or 192.168.1.1 for linksys routers).

It will bring up the login screen automatically. All manufacturers have a default password. For example, dlink’s default username is “admin” and the password is left blank.

Check your user manual or the underside of your router for your manufacturer’s defaults.

Go the administrative or settings tab once you have logged in, and change it to whatever you would like. Change the username to something unrelated to your first or last name. Try to add a password that has at least one number in it.

Don’t forget to change the “user” username and password as well. While you cannot change anything while logged in as “user”, this can let experienced freeloaders see your settings, and find a backdoor more easily.

2. Change your SSID.

What is an SSID? In layman’s terms, it is your router name. The router will usually come defaulted to the name of the manufacturer, and when the SSID is “Belkin54G”, it screams “free internet access”. Change it to something boring, and unexciting. This is not time to play “Pimp Your SSID”. An unusual or exciting name will automatically attract freeloaders. You can usually find this in the “settings” tab as well.

3. Create a WPA Key

This is simply an 8-63 character password that is stored on your router. In order for anyone to access your connection, they must first type in the correct password. To set up your WPA key, log in to your router. Once there, select the “wireless” tab. Then, enable encryption.

If there are two types of WPA, select “WPA-PSK”. This is the one intended for home use. Enter the password. Restart the router.

The next time you (or anyone else) tries to access the router, you will be asked for the key. Your computer will save the key for the next time you access the network, and things should go smoothly from there. You are now moderately secure.

4. Turn down the juice.

Your router is automatically configured for the maximum transmission range. This is great if you live in an 1800sq. foot house on an acre of land. If you live in an apartment or townhome, however, most of your neighbors will get strong signal as well. To prevent this, log into your router. Go to the “settings”, or “system” tab, and turn down the signal (or transmission) strength to 50 or 75%. This should give you more than enough signal to get access anywhere in your apartment, and keep the guy down the hall from siphoning your bandwidth

5.Enable MAC based filtering.

By combining this step 3, you can create a highly secure home network. This step is for those who don’t mind reading the manual, and playing around with the settings a little.

Every wireless card, network card, and modem has what is known as a MAC address. No device has the same MAC address. This is quite possibly the biggest step you can take towards making your network secure.

This is a pretty technical step, so I will refer you to your user’s manual for specifics. I will tell you in broad terms what you will have to do.

Make sure that all the computers that you want on your network are on, and connected to your router.

Log in to the router.

Under the “Security” tab, you find a section that will usually be called “Network Filters” or just “Filters”.

Select “Filter by MAC Address”.

One by one, add the MAC addresses of your wireless(and wired) devices to the table. Most routers will allow you to add up to 20 addresses.

If you can’t find your MAC address, click href=”http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/windowsnetworkin1/ht/findaddrwinxp.htm”>here for a tutorial.

Then select “Allow Access for these PC’s”.

Save your settings, and let the router reboot.

Your PC’s will be able to access the internet as usual, everyone else will be shut out.

This should eliminate casual and intermediate users of the internet from even being allowed access to router login.

If you make a mistake, and lock yourself out, just do a hard reset of your router, and it will go back to the factory defaults.

These are generic instructions, but they hold true for most consumer level routers currently on the market. For more in-depth instruction, always consult the user’s manual that came with your router.

Hopefully, this will ease some of your bandwidth woes, and allow you to get the best out of the internet access you are paying for. So kick those freeloaders to the curb, and then make sure they can’t get signal.

I’m gonna go download that Miley Cyrus bootleg.

To set up any type of PC to TV system whether to watch home TV on a computer or use a computer Internet TV (with PC Satellite TV software installed) to watch free Internet media on a home TV-set, it requires two key components: 1) Video Card, and 2) Video connector cable. Setting up this type of system using number 2 will be the focal point of this article.

Whichever one is the goal, watch home television on a PC or watch computer Internet TV (with PC Satellite TV software) on a home television set, keep in mind the picture quality on a digital high definition television will be higher than on a computer screen. This has a lot to do with the computer and screen capabilities/limitations that determine the video quality.

Setting up a PC to TV can be very cheap and simple enough that even a cave man can do it. For instance, while there are all kinds of computers today, many of them share common audio and video ports to make the transition easier. There are four different types of video/audio connectors that can do the job, and requires just a little work. Here is a list of some of the most popular video connectors to consider:

Identifying Four Connector/Adapter Cables…

1. VGA, stands for Video Graphics Array, and are available to almost every Windows-based computer. Although this connection doesn’t offer the highest quality that a HDMI or DVI connection offers, it’s commonly used and works well with a SD (standard definition) or HD (high definition) TV that uses a VGA port. The price for a used VGA connector can be a few dollars and under $20.00 to buy it new.

2. HDMI stands for high-definition multimedia interface and DVI means digital visual interface. Both of them offer the best connection for HD TV. A few high-end video cards on computer already have HDMI ports on high definition (HD) television sets. Many times, MAC computers will have DVI ports that allows a connection to your television’s HDMI port–using an HDMI-to-DVI cable or adapter. For a used HDMI connector, it could run under $10.00 and a new one can cost over $10.00.

3. S-Video, stands for separate video and are often found in SD and HD TV-sets. The most common use for this type of connection involves connecting a DVD player to a SD TV-set. And it works well when using either a desktop or laptop computer that has an S-video port. The cost can be as little as a couple of dollars for a used connector cable to over $5.00 for a new one.00 (new).

4. Composite/RCA often comes with many TV-sets. More than likely, you have seen these cables at one time or another. They are those yellow, white, and red connector head cables for your video and audio. You can also use them to connect your video camera and DVD player. Some computers have video cards with RCA connections and they can be used to convert a computer’s video signal through the RCA cable going into a TV-set.

How to make the audio connection depends on what type of port a computer has, which determines whether or not separate cables are needed to get the video and audio to work properly. More than likely, you will have to optimize the computer’s audio output such as volume settings and surround sound. This requires going into the computer’s Control Panel to make minor adjustments.

How to make the audio connection depends on whether or not a computer has a HDMI port, which in turn determines if a single cable or separate cables for the audio and video are required. Also, connecting a headphone jack and external speakers to a computer can be made as well. Optimizing the audio output may be required but very simple to do. It’s just a matter of adjusting the volume settings by going into the computer’s control panel.

After determining which television and computer connector is needed, the next step is picking the correct video/audio cable to make the PC to TV connection. You can find any one of these connectors/adapters in local computer stores or online easily. The cost is very low and can take minutes to setup a PC to television system.

Technological innovations continue to amaze each one of us. Things, which were previously considered hard, are done with such ease these days. These technological revolutions have entered our homes as well and most of us make use of them in our daily lives. The experience of watching TV has undergone a sea change. The advent of PC Satellite TV is a very popular and upcoming feature. The term though, can confuse many alike.

When clicking any channel link in a PC Satellite TV player, it will quickly access, retrieve and air the channel in media files and into many smaller pieces so that you can watch them instantly without actually waiting for the entire download to take place. PC Satellite TV allows the users to watch thousands of channels from right across the globe.

The technology used for this purpose far surpasses the one used in our conventional TV appliances. It also has the ability to air both radio and TV channels simultaneously across a PC’s I.P address in high quality definition. They can also be safely used for accessing Internet TV because of two reasons. Firstly, Internet TV channels are owned by licensed media owners who offer them free of cost. Secondly, PC Satellite TV doesn’t convert the signals from air to our sets in a traditional way. To put it in another perspective, the PC Satellite TV software doesn’t tamper any signals or access any paid channels. They are in turn tapped from the World Wide Web.

Most PC Satellite TV software programs do not permit downloading of videos like movies. However, they are a great source of entertainment in other forms. They can beam on-demand, premium and HDTV movies. They can also air many software channels and much more. Software that does permit downloading facilities has however regained the popularity among its users. PC Satellite TV software doesn’t rely on special programs for its actions. It however, uses software like RealPlayer, Windows Media Player and Frameworks of Microsoft. The incorporated features in the software will ensure you will enjoy TV viewing even further. Greater quality of audio and video will keep you hooked to it. What’s more, you can take advantage of all these in a legal and secure environment.

The software is compatible with different operating systems like Macintosh, Windows and Linux. All you need to get going is a laptop/desktop with an Internet connection. Using a high-speed Internet connection will ensure better quality of video and audio programs. Users can avail the software services for a meager sum as compared to satellite or cable TV’s high monthly fees. Furthermore, entertainment is of highest order and an unlimited one. But by no means should this software be used for illegal viewing of movies and TV shows.

We’re all concerned with keeping not only our computers, but also our personal information safe as we surf the web these days. While email viruses are less of a threat than they were even a few years ago, identity theft is on the rise and identity thieves take advantage of every new technological development; adapting almost as fast as the technologies meant to thwart them. For this reason, keeping yourself protected from prying eyes as you go about your business online is important. One way that people sometimes (and should more often) use is proxy servers - but what are these servers and how do they keep you safer on the web?

Basically, a proxy server is just an ordinary web server, albeit one with a special function. This server lies between the web user and the sites they are visiting; with requests for web pages and files being relayed via this server. This relay means that it is the servers IP address which is reported to the site being visited rather than the IP address of the web user. Why is this important? IP addresses, particularly static IP addresses, which are more and more common with the expansion of broadband service, can be used to identify specific users. Just think about the implications of that for a moment.

It should be noted that not all proxy servers will hide this information which can be used to uniquely identify you from the sites you visit - there are anonymous proxy servers as well; these provide a higher degree of anonymity to you on the web. However, how can you tell which proxies are really protecting your identity? Read on for a few tips on how to find safe web proxies.

First, you can use the “whois” command if you are running any variant of Unix or Linux on your computer. There are also web-based interfaces for this program available, including the ones available at domaintools.com which can tell you if the owner of the proxy has hidden their contact information or not.

You can also use Google or another search engine to look up the proxy and see if anyone has had any experiences of malfeasance with the proxy and what, if anything people are saying about it. Another good source of information is available from the homepage of the proxy server itself; there should be a terms and conditions of use policy posted on the site which will tell you exactly what the proxy does and does not report to other sites in terms of information about users.

Using a web proxy can be a good way to protect your personal information and your privacy in general from those who may have bad intentions on the internet. However, while any proxy server provides you with more protection than no proxy at all, you should look into any web proxy before you use it to make sure that it is giving you all of the protection you are looking for. There are safe and anonymous web proxies out there, but finding one which will perform well for you may take just a little bit of investigation. Have fun out there and remember; safety first!