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Recent newsmaker stories regarding Microsoft Windows security highlighted the recurring theme that there are “care and feeding” issues related to using computers in the dynamic, connected world of the Internet. Just days ago this month, computer users of home PCs, businesses, and mobile laptop users were affected. In this case, the issue was an animated cursor (typically, an “.ANI” file) exploit, which abused a Windows feature, and therefore created the issue.

The impact potential was high; if attacked, most recent versions of Windows (2000, XP, 2003, Vista) permitted the bug to engage “Remote Code Installation and Execution” without the user’s knowledge. Under the right conditions, simply viewing a baited web page could set into motion the steps to infect the host PC with progressively damaging malfunctioning software (malware). The malware could take many forms, in a stealth-like fashion, with users unable to detect anything unusual, which makes this particular infection damaging to Internet coupled PCs. At worst, potentially your PC could automatically join a network of remotely controlled “zombie” computers, ready to perform additional malicious tasks to the connected world under remote direction. PCs left powered on for long periods unattended or in “screen saver” mode could do lots of downstream damage, switching to a more subdued, “light-impact” mode when the unsuspecting user returned to the PC.

This particular exploit was notable, in that a variant was apparently identified and patched in 2005, with a second form of the exploit surfacing in December 2006. Further, the typical practice of using firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus applications would not have prevented infection, leaving many users with a false sense of security, so to speak. Reportedly, the exploit could happen whether you used Firefox or something other than Internet Explorer 7 under Windows Vista (in protected mode) to browse the web (though Vista was not totally immune).

The good news- there have been several patch updates from Microsoft to correct this condition on the windows update website. This real-life technology drama may illuminate a thought in your own situation. Is now maybe a good time to review my own procedure for ensuring a secured and sound computing environment in my company? Could be; Array Systems suggests the following basic operational components be included in a security review:

Anti-Virus.
Make sure you have recent versions and current definition (signature) updates. There are license fees/renewals with most products, which should be maintained or checked.

Anti-Spyware.
Similar to Anti-Virus in function- ensure updates and versions are current for this tool to be effective. This can be part of a suite of defense products, all with the intent of providing added protection.

Microsoft Update.
A free Microsoft web service that provides direct and concise access to software updates for Microsoft products (Windows, Office, etc.) You can set manual or automated updates, but you should understand the ramifications of each method.

Firewall.
Hardware firewall devices are preferred, as some software based firewall/Internet security products can be ineffective for certain environments.

Gateway/Content Filter.
Hardware and software based devices which can provide active protection between internal users and the Internet, and also manage wireless, PDA/mobile users, remote access, etc.

In addition, there are behavioral (human factors) components that should be part of the security review, which do not involve hardware or software. For example, antivirus experts have noted that perhaps 35-40% of virus definition/signatures are unavailable on average, due to delays in developing remedies or in detecting new malware exploits. Therefore, the habits and interaction patterns of users become a vital part of a security protection strategy, which might include:

Email.
Don’t open attachments, or click on hyperlinks unless you are sure of the content. This is similar for web links embedded in email messages, and is independent of whether full-client applications or web-based browsers are used. Consider when to use email, or revise company policy to standardize its use.

Web browsing.
Stay away from unknown websites. Websites are now the most common source of PC infection. (Even the official NFL SuperBowl website got infected most recently). Spear phishing is particularly harmful in that it targets truly authentic looking, legitimate websites, using well written grammar and customer data, to lure the user viewing the website into infection.

Passwords.
Maintain established complexity and change frequencies suitable for your environment. Like keys to locks, passwords are the primary mechanisms for controlling access to networked computers.

Remote access.
Consider the method and management of outside access to company infrastructure. Who is permitted, how, and using what devices may be a part of the design.

Data management.
Similar to remote access, consider the data involved. Allow only authenticated access to critical information, and actively manage where and how information is used if on portable devices or outside systems. Is internal business data stored permanently on portable devices? Are portable devices/laptops protected?

Security issues related to Windows fall under many names (beyond malware), which specifically equate to hardware, software, network and user components too numerous (and specialized) to adequately address in this article. Terms such as IDS (intrusion detection), port attacks, Phishing/Spear phishing, Root kits, Social Engineering, Spam, Spyware, Trojans, Virus, etc. are but a brief sample list of keywords found on popular web searches. Each has deeper meaning and implications that can fill entire articles in themselves. Awareness, understanding, acceptance, and change start the steps toward action in the highly interconnected world of present day secured computing. The fluid, interactive nature of the Internet will require a progressive response to maintain a trouble-free web experience.

Got a question? Need Help?
Please visit our website: Array Computer Network Support in Los Angeles
Ask a question at our blog site:AskSid.com
Email: skato@arraysystems.com
Call us Toll Free: (877 ) 412-7729

Sid Kato is the president of Array Systems Inc. and author of the Daily Breeze “computer-wise” column. Array Systems is an IT Outsourcing and Computer Network Support company that aims to help small businesses throughout the greater Los Angeles area with all of their technology demands. In business for over 16 years, Sid knows where the pitfalls are.

Author: Sid Kato
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

One of the latest fake antispyware applications that is starting to spread widely is Security Central. It is cleverly designed to look the same as the legitimate security software for Windows. Don’t be fooled, however. This scamware application gets into the system though Trojans, and once inside, installs itself to automatically load up every time the computer starts. It uses various tactics to succeed with its main goal: collect money and sensitive personal information from its victims. Let’s figure out how to remove Security Central before it causes you any potentially irreversible damage.

Security Central will display false notifications about supposedly detected infections on the system. It will convince the victim that the only way to remove the infections is to purchase its full version. Of course, this is false. The only thing that Security Central can remove is cash from your Credit Card! Ignore Security Central’s threat warnings and remove this parasite immediately.

How do I know I am infected with Security Central?

If you experience any of the following on your computer, then you possibly infected by Security Central:

* Popups and warnings stating your computer is infected
* Some programs shutting down or not opening at all
* Security warnings even when browsing a legitimate website
* System scans every time Window is booted
* Web browser redirected to malicious websites

How did Security Central get into my computer?

Creators of this parasite are real crooks. They programmed it to sneak into the computer without the owner even knowing. That’s why by the time the victim finds out, it is already working on the system. Most of the sources of infection are from: downloading email attachments from unexpected sender/s, visiting malicious websites such as adult sites, downloading files from unknown provider/s, and using P2P download software.

How do I get rid of this parasite?

Getting rid of Security Central can be done in two ways: Manual and Automatic removal. However, if you are a beginner, manual removal is not recommended as this procedure is probably too risky for you. Manual removal involves digging into sensitive files on your registry, and the system registry is one of the most critical and sensitive parts on your computer system. If even a single mistake is made during the process, it could cause you more trouble instead of having just the one problem: you may even have to reinstall everything from scratch onto your computer again.

If you think you are expert enough and can remove Security Central safely by yourself, then the first that you must do is to make a back up of your computer’s registry and your important files just in case something goes wrong during the process.

You will need to locate and delete all DLL and LNK files related to Security Central from the LOCAL_HKEY_USER registry folder. Remember to be very careful when doing this step as a single mistake or omission can cause your computer to malfunction. Then, delete all the folders that are infected with the spyware on your hard drive. Make sure to totally remove all the folders where it is stored because this kind of parasite is able to reactivate itself and spread the virus again. You will then need to block all related system processes plus related websites.

Is There a Quicker, Easier Way to Delete Security Central?

Absolutely. Using legitimate automatic removal software is the most simple way to eliminate this parasite. Even computer experts are choosing to use this automatic removal tool method as it not only makes it easy to remove, but is also the surest way to remove all the hidden viruses that could be overlooked, if doing it manually. Additionally, software will protect a user’s computer against future viruses such as this one.

Are you sick and tired of worrying about the next virus to deplete your system? Stop the crooks, remove Security Central right now!

Bob Walker is a veteran IT consultant with over twenty years of experience in the industry. He’s helped clean up the computers of everyone from fortune 500 organizations to individual users and families. His website is dedicated to anti-spyware and virus removal research, where he ranks the most efficient anti-spyware and anti-virus programs currently available.

http://www.spyware-review.net

Author: Bob L Walker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Using The Linux env Command To See “Environment” Variables

When you’re at the Linux command line, you’re working in the “bash shell environment”, often just referred to as the “shell”.

This environment uses several variables to manage itself and provide you with information.

To see your current environment variables, simply type in:   env   which stands for environment and press Enter.

These variables are shown in upper case letters and you use them in upper case with Linux commands.

Linux Commands Training Tips:  

The Linux System Administration concepts and commands covered here apply to ALL other Linux distributions, including: Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware, SUSE, openSUSE, Red Hat, Fedora, Edubuntu – and Kubuntu.

Viewing Your Environment Variables While Working As A Regular User

As a regular user, run the command below to see your current environment variables.

$     env     |     less

When you are working as a regular (non-root) user, you have a group of settings in your environment variables and when you are working as the root (main Linux system administration user) you have a similar, but somewhat different set of these variables.

Viewing Your Environment Variables While Working As The root User

Now open a different terminal emulation window and do the steps below.

To start working as the root user, run the following command (without the quotes): “su -” (if you’re not using a variation of Ubuntu Linux) – or run “sudo -i” (if you are using a variation).

Now run the same env command as above and compare the difference in the output between the regular and root users.

For example, in the first terminal window the PWD variable for a regular user will show /home/username, where username is the currently logged in user (in that window). And this variable will show /root in the window for the root user. If necessary, press q to quit out of less.

And now I would like to offer you free access to my Linux Commands Training Mini-Course, a 7 Lesson, Daily Mini-Course, including the free Linux Commands ebook and Linux audio podcasts – showing you how to get started learning how to use Linux commands.

You can get your instant access at: http://www.LinuxCommandsTrainingCourse.com

From Clyde Boom – The Easy Linux Training Guy – Easy, self-paced Linux training – In Plain English!

Author: Clyde E. Boom
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Linux is a widely-used open source operating system based on the Unix operating system. Open source means that the source code that comprises this gigantic program may be freely modified, used, and redistributed by anyone. The name “Linux” comes from the Linus Torvalds, the Finnish computer engineer who wrote essential components of the software in 1991 at the age of 22. He later obtained a master’s degree for this software. Torvalds is still very actively involved in Linux, and is the final authority on incorporating extensions into the operating system.

Linux is used in a wide range of embedded devices such as cell phones and consumer electronics, industrial automation, and medical equipment. It also runs a wide variety of computers ranging from personal computers to servers and supercomputers. Linux is a major player in the rapidly expanding netbook market, very light and inexpensive portable computers.

System administrators often communicate with Linux via the text-based command line interface. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen a techie enter a series of arcane commands at what seems to be the speed of light. This operating system supports a variety of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that often resemble Microsoft Windows. Linux fans will tell you that their interface (and everything else of theirs) is light years ahead of Microsoft offerings.

A Linux distribution, call it a “distro” if you want to sound like an insider, is a version of the operating system and selected applications. There are said to be more than 300 distros, which are all at least slightly different. Widely used distributions include Red Hat, Debian, and recently Ubuntu whose name is Zulu for humanity. Ubuntu claims to have about 30% of the Linux desktop installations. One of my favorites is Damn Small Linux which can run under Windows, even on old, clunky computers. Some of the bigger distributions aren’t free of cost, but they are still quite inexpensive when compared with Microsoft or Macintosh operating systems.

Linux is a great environment for writing programs. It supports numerous programming languages and other programmers’ tools. But you don’t have to be a programmer to use it. An increasing number of people go for Open Office, an open-source competitor to Microsoft Office. There are said to be thousands of free software applications written for Linux. Linux is an essential component of the LAMP software suite. Among the other members of this family are Apache, the most widely used web server software, MySQL, a major database management system, and PHP, the most widely used web programming language. To be fair, I must tell you that it’s possible to run Apache, MySQL, and PHP on Windows computers.

While Linux is estimated to have less than 2% of the desktop market, it controls about 12% of the server market, and is by far the major operating system for supercomputers. Tivo uses a specialized version of Linux. The One Laptop Per Child project in developing countries that hopes eventually to supply several hundred million children with a netbook relies on Linux (but there is a Windows option.)

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet. He teaches Linux and Windows operating systems plus other computer courses at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his new website www.mysql4windows.com which teaches you how to download and run MySQL on Windows computers, even if they are “obsolete.” For a break from computers check out his global wine website at www.theworldwidewine.com with his new weekly column reviewing $10 wines.

Author: Levi Reiss
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Here are some short answer Cisco certification exam practice questions to help you prepare for success on exam day! Answers are at the end of the article. No peeking!

CCNA Certification And CCENT Certification:

Whether we’re routing or switching, we’re always glad to have all the redundancy we can get! With switches, we’re particularly happy to have multiple paths between two given points. Redundancy does present a potential problem with switches, however.

Three questions for you:

What potential issue does this topology pose?

What protocol can help avoid that issue?

Assuming the switches are running at their defaults, what do we need to do to enable that protocol?

.

CCNA Security Certification / CCNP ISCW Exam:

What is the net effect of the following configuration?

R1(config)#access-list 110 permit tcp any 10.0.0.0 0.255.255.255

R1(config)#ip tcp intercept list 110

CCNP Certification / BSCI Exam:

What’s the main difference between the following two BGP community values?

NO-EXPORT

NO-ADVERTISE
.

CCNP Certification / BCMSN Exam:

What command will assign a MAC address of 11-22-33-44-55-66 to the virtual router in HSRP group 5?

CCNP / ONT Exam:

What’s the basic purpose of Voice Activity Detection?

Here are the answers!

CCNA / CCENT Answers: If these redundant paths are all open at the same time, we have the potential for switching loops to form. The Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) helps to prevent these loops. If these Cisco switches are at their default, we don’t need to do anything to enable STP – it’s enabled by default.

CCNA Security / ISCW Answer: To configure an ACL to define the source and destination of packets that should be subject to TCP Intercept, write the ACL and then apply it with the ip tcp intercept list command. Most likely, you’ll specify a source of “any”, as I did in the above example.

BSCI Answer:

NO-EXPORT: Marking a route with this community attribute prevents it from being advertised to an eBGP peer.

NO-ADVERTISE: Taking the previous community one step further, this community attribute prevents the route from being advertised to ANY other router.

BCMSN Answer: On rare occasions, you may have to change the MAC address assigned to the virtual router. This is done with the standby mac-address command. Just make sure you’re not duplicating a MAC address that’s already on your network!

ONT Answer: VAD detects voice activity, and perhaps more importantly, it detects when there is no voice activity. When there is no talking on a call using VAD, no audio packets are transmitted. Studies show that a normal conversation is 35 – 40% silence, VAD can give us big-time bandwidth savings as well as cutting down on overall traffic.

Look for more Cisco practice exam questions and fully-illustrated tutorials on my website, as well as the one you’re on now!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA Security certification tutorials.

Get your CCNA exam with this special offer from The Bryant Advantage!

Author: Chris Bryant
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When it comes to computer security, many of us live in a bubble of blissful ignorance. We might be vigilant and never open email attachments from people we don’t know, we might take care to make sure an ecommerce site is secure before entering our credit card information, or we might even go so far as to install a standard firewall on our computers. Unfortunately, much of the common sense advice we follow when it comes to Internet security does little to combat the cyber-crime that is rampant.

Federal Trade Commission

Even the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a governmental agency that is designed to help consumers, had to issue a press release stating that “consumers, including corporate and banking executives, appear to be targets of a bogus e-mail supposedly sent by the Federal Trade Commission but actually sent by third parties hoping to install spyware on computers.”

There’s little doubt that spyware, malware, and insidious virus attacks make any computer with Internet access vulnerable. But, because not all Internet security breaches are immediately apparent, people are often unaware that their seemingly hassle-free computing is anything but. The Federal Trade Commission offers seven guidelines to help consumer surf the Web safely:

1. Protect your personal information. For example, when shopping on an ecommerce site, make sure that the page where you enter your personal information is secure, as designated by “https” before the URL. It’s important to stop identity theft before it starts.

2. Know before you click. For instance, many cyber-criminals impersonate legitimate businesses, or send “phishing” email that asks you to click a hyperlink. Check out online merchants and never click on emailed hyperlinks unless you’re certain of the source.

3. Update anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software often. Hackers and others who engage in cyber-crime seem to always be a step ahead of the good guys. If your computer protection is outdated, you’re vulnerable.

4. Use Web browser and operating system security features. Make sure your browser settings give you optimal privacy and security, and ensure that you update your operating system regularly to take advantage of security patches.

5. Safeguard your passwords. For example, create a unique password for each site you visit, and keep them in a secure place. Use letter, number and symbol combinations that can outsmart automated password detection programs.

6. Always do backups. If your computer does get a virus or a worm, your files may be goners. Make sure to regularly back up any important files and store them in a secure place.

7. Prepare for emergencies. If something does go wrong, such as your computer being hacked or infected, or if you accidentally divulge personal information, know what courses of action you should take to remedy the situation and prevent further problems.

A Hassle-Free Solution

Protecting your computer from all of the threats in cyberspace can seem like full-time job. Thankfully, there are companies who make it their business to offer individuals and businesses the most technologically advanced computer security solutions available. The best of these services offer PC maintenance, full system optimization, problem diagnosis and repair, installation assistance, and a full complement of professionally managed security services. Typically, you pay a small monthly subscription fee and in turn can surf the Web knowing that your computer is locked down and that you’ll never again have to stay abreast of the latest security software or lug your computer down to a high-priced repair center.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Computer Security Solutions or Majon’s Computers directory

Author: Chris Robertson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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One huge advantage of Linux is it’s flexibility. Different pieces of open source software can be put together in order to make it work on certain types of hardware. One graphical user interface that is good for older hardware is Fluxbox. It uses so little resources that even a machine that is nearly 10 years old can run it well. The problem is that very few distributions actually have a Fluxbox edition. Linux Mint 8 has now come out with their Fluxbox edition meaning it’s one of the most modern and up to date versions of Linux that is using Fluxbox.

Linux Mint is a distribution that is based on Ubuntu. There are a few differences. First, it looks better than Ubuntu. Instead of the brown and orange colors, it uses greens and blacks to create a pretty slick looking desktop. It also comes with proprietary plugins already installed like Flash and Java as well as the codex that you will need to play certain music formats on your computer. While you can install these manually with Ubuntu, Mint has it done when you install the distribution.

Fluxbox can be added onto any Linux distribution. The problem is that you will have to configure it to work well. While this can be done by expert users, newer users have a hard time knowing all the pieces that you will need to make it work properly. Linux Mint 8 Fluxbox has all this already done for you setting it up so that everything works that way you need it to.

While it is made for older hardware, you might not be a huge fan of interfaces like Gnome and KDE. Fluxbox and XFCE are some popular alternatives to these. The advantage of Fluxbox is that it’s so simple that it doesn’t get in the way like other interfaces tend to do. You can use this edition even on a high power machine if that is something you want.

The author has developed a website dedicated to the Excalibur food dehydrator of which he is a big fan. He uses the Excalibur 2900 dehydrator. Take a look at his site for some great deals and a guide to buying one.

Author: Richard Hove
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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First of all, you must keep in mind that choosing the right web host can save you from a world of worries and tensions. Having done all the hard work in designing a flawless website and the needful SEO to bring it on top of Google, nothing can be worse than having your website down for several hours due to downtime or maintenance issues.

Selecting a Versatile Website Hosting Provider

More so, you don’t want to select a web host that only takes care of Linux web hosting flawlessly, but doesn’t cater to the needs of those who require Windows hosting, mainly due to the fact that you may want to shift from WordPress web hosting service to Joomla or Drupal web hosting service tomorrow. However, irrespective of the type of hosting services you require, your web hosting provider must be able to handle everything effortlessly.

A Quick Check-List

Here’s a quick checklist of all that you need to find out, before selecting your next web host -

Does the vendor support Linux as well as Windows Web Hosting?

Does the vendor provide you with free goodies like Website Builder?

Is your potential hosting provider reliable enough? (look at their downtime history and customer complaints)

How long has the company been in existence, and what are its areas of expertise?

Does your host also provide you with eCommerce hosting solutions too (if yes, find out the minute details too)?

What are the limitations of hosting services provided by your potential host?

How economic are the web hosting packages provided by the potential host?

And most importantly – how prompt & friendly is the support team of your potential host?

After analyzing the answers to the above questions, you should list out some of the best options at your disposal, which provide you reliable hosting services at a reasonable cost.

Lastly, depending upon the specific requirements, you may want to look for a web host that specializes in the area of your interest. For instance, if you’re planning to launch a series of WordPress blogs, you may be interested in finding out the best WordPress hosting providers.

Shared Web Hosting or VPS?

As mentioned earlier, it would be in your interest not to choose a web host that doesn’t provide you with all the options (as your requirements may change in future). In most of the cases, you should be able to manage everything with a reliable shared web hosting provider, but if your requirements are too extensive, it may be worthwhile to consider a dedicated web server or VPS service as well (though it may seem to be a costly affair).

Om is an accomplished tech blogger cum cyber entrepreneur who runs several highly popular latest technology blogs and happens to be the author of over 12,000 articles published over the internet.

Author: Om Thoke
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

In this article, I would like to write about one of the web host that I have been using. This web host is call Dinsol.

It is one of the better web hosting business that I have come across. I have hosted for than one websites under their shared-hosting plans. Because of their excellence, I have gone back to them several times to host my other websites.

For all the websites, I opted for a Linux server option. Somehow, I prefer Linux web host to Windows-based ones. Perhaps, Linux gave a better impression of reliability.

Dinsol offers many web hosting options, of which shared hosting is the most cost-effective for me.

For the relatively low hosting rates that they offer, the reliability and uptime is very good indeed. For the many years that I have been hosting my sites on Dinsol’s servers, I only remembered one downtime.

Technical support wise, they are also very responsive. Because of their excellent uptime record, I have requested for technical support only once. And it was responded within the same day.

To be frank, Dinsol is not the cheapest webhosting service around. I am sure that there are other web hosts that offer higher bandwidth and webspace at a cheaper rate. But, I think very few can match Dinsol in terms of uptime, speed and reliability.

Well, thats is all for the article. I am in no way affiliated to Dinsol. I wrote this mainly for the purpose of giving credits to good businesses and service. Thank you for reading.

The author runs Idea Cosmo – creative solutions, a website which provides Remote control helicopter information and many other creative articles.

Author: Shen Gerald
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When Apple released Safari for Windows last year – remember really hard for a spell, and you’ll recall that it actually did happen – I wrote that all Web browsers are essentially the same, with the important exception of security, which has improved across the board, and discretionary features that excite some users and bore others.

With Google’s new Chrome, released in beta last week, I have to take it all back.

Of course, this is the part of the post where I am obliged to say: Don’t let your business users install this until at least a few patches/updates roll out. ALL initial-release software is untrustworthy, and already there are reports of a carpet-bombing vulnerability in Chrome. So, it’s not ready yet. But you already knew that.

Now, to the good stuff.

About 10 times a day, I ask myself, “Where did I read that interesting piece on application virtualization?” So I am frustratingly in love (more on this later) with Chrome’s ability to search a complete index of pages I’ve visited, not just the meta page headers and URLs. Literally, this feature would have saved me 15 minutes and a bunch of under-the-breath cursing just yesterday.

It’s the best thing since bookmarks, even with the understandable privacy concerns that surface any time a piece of software collects a lot of data about user behavior, and Chrome is all about user behavior. Oddly enough, I have no need of a “porn mode” at work, so having complete access to my browsing history is divine.

Now, the frustrating part. Chrome is so stripped down that I can’t use it right now for my day-long professional Web browsing. Most notably, it doesn’t support the Google Toolbar and its Page Rank meter, which you tend to use a lot in the Web publishing business. Sure, the browser is in beta, but not having the Google Toolbar available – or as an option for a custom install, which I would imagine is coming – just seems weird. After all, Google Calendar is still in “beta,” and it’s pretty darn functional. Even if you’re Google, rolling to market with a complete product is advisable.

The absence of the Google Toolbar has drawn the most ire from the blogosphere. Second on the list probably would be the dearth of RSS support (like I said, stripped down). I find the latter omission more interesting than irritating, since I made the move to Google’s Web-based Reader service ages ago. I’m left wondering how hard a company that is staking its future on cloud-delivered software is going to push to convert existing services to traditional client-side installs. And Google would really, really like for you to have an iGoogle page.

My personal big complaint is that there is no History toolbar, complete with my precious search of visited pages. The feature is available only through the History menu and the New tab, which also has really fat thumbnails of your most commonly visited pages.

These thumbnails fall into the boring category for me – that’s what bookmarks are for, although Chrome clearly embraces what I find to be Google’s somewhat creepy ambition to suggest things to you, based on previous behavior. When I get even more forgetful, that might be useful, but right now explicit search works great, thanks.

I can’t imagine that a History toolbar, or a sidebar pane, a la Firefox, won’t be on the menu soon. It’s Chrome’s differentiator, so put it front and center – I beg you.

Some other quick notes about the Chrome beta:

I need the Page Rank meter, but other Google Toolbar junkies might be placated by the fact that the “omnibox” in Chrome tries to double as the default Google search element. Type in a term and you are invited to search for it on Google – or any leading engine of your choice; it’s configurable. But again, you get those creepy predicative behaviors.

Google makes me kinda nervous, so I poked around to see exactly what kind of data Chrome is sending back to the mothership, and I found this useful post from Google watcher extraordinaire Matt Cutts about his Q&A with the Chrome team.

Cutts is not worried, so neither am I – too much. The one point of contention with Cutts’ post I found is that the setting to send “anonymous” – insomuch as anything is actually anonymous on the Web – usage data about features and crashes was active in my default install. It’s simple enough to turn off, which, of course, I did, as I would imagine most corporate users would want to.

The main toolbar button for your Home page actually is turned off by default, and has to be turned on under Options. Weird.

Of course, there’s always some wackiness that emerges when you experiment with any new software. In writing this article, I found that Chrome has trouble identifying line breaks in the visual editor mode in WordPress 2.2.2. These things tend to shake out, but expect a few irritable support calls from your most eager Google adopters.

You want porn mode, you got porn mode, complete with a nifty logo on Incognito pages.

These pages are launched from a menu in a completely new window, which seems like an OK option, but a simple On/Off switch makes more sense to me. Chrome’s FAQ on Incognito mode notes that it does basically nothing to actually hide info from people with even rudimentary means to find out what you’ve been looking at, including “people standing behind you.” Google left “system admins” and “employers” off the list, but hopefully most users get this by now.

You can always hope.

Read about “Vulnerabilities Found in Google’s Chrome” – http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/hdw/?p=2980&nr=inbound

Author: Ken Hardin
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Today, most people with diabetes are only treating the symptoms. And many medications given to people with diabetes are actually
compounding the underlying cause of the disease.

The best way to manage your diabetic condition is to address the
actual cause. Doesn’t that make more sense? So let’s look at what
type 2 diabetes really is.

The Simple Explanation

Other than the genes you inherited, there are two primary causes of diabetes:

1) a long-term diet that has been high in carbohydrates, and

2) nutritional deficiencies.

Your body breaks down carbohydrates into sugar (glucose) which then enters your blood stream. The more carbohydrates consumed, the higher your blood sugar goes. In response, your body produces insulin. Insulin’s job is to push the blood sugar into the cells so they can use it for energy.

On the surface of the cells in your body are insulin receptors, which act like little doors that open and close to regulate the inflow of blood sugar.

After many years of consuming a high-carbohydrate diet, your cells have been bombarded with so much insulin that these doors begin to malfunction and shut down.

With fewer of these doors open, your body needs to produce even more insulin to push the glucose into the cells. More insulin causes even more doors to close and as this vicious cycle continues a condition called “insulin resistance” sets in.

When your body can no longer produce enough insulin to push the blood sugar into the cells, type 2 diabetes develops. It is simply an extreme case of insulin resistance.

The key point for you to understand is that your energy, wellness and longevity are primarily dependent on improving the sensitivity of your cells to insulin — how well your cells open and close the doors and clear sugar from the blood.

What’s the Bottom Line?

Since type 2 diabetes is really a severe case of insulin resistance, the solution to your condition is to find a way to increase the sensitivity of your cells to insulin and help your body get the sugar out of the blood and into the cells so it can be metabolized and turned into energy. (This inability to metabolize sugar is one of the reasons why most diabetics often feel tired and fatigued.)

The Deadly Effects of Excess Insulin

Your “metabolism” is the food processing and energy production system of your body. It is made up of many extremely fine-tuned internal processes, and can be thrown off by even the tiniest of imbalances.

Insulin is the master hormone of your metabolism. When it is out of balance and your insulin levels are consistently elevated, a long list of deadly complications are created:

* Heart Disease

* Hardening of the Arteries

* Damage to Artery Wallsv
* Increased Cholesterol Levels

* Vitamin & Mineral Deficiencies

* Kidney Disease

* Fat Burning Mechanism Shutdown

* Accumulation & Storage of Fat

* Weight Gain

In his best-selling book, “Protein Power,” Dr. Michael Eades wrote, “When insulin levels become too high… metabolic havoc ensues with elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, diabetes, and obesity all trailing in its wake. These disorders are merely symptoms of a single more basic disturbance in metabolism, excess insulin and insulin resistance.”

Nutritional Deficiencies from Excess Insulin

Science has shown that excess insulin also causes your body to become deficient in many vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. It’s a proven fact that being deficient in these nutrients is directly linked to and a cause of high blood sugar levels.

Chromium

Chromium is essential to proper metabolism and maintaining safe sugar levels. Excess insulin depletes your body’s chromium. In “Protein Power,” Dr. Eades further states, “The insulin receptor, the structure on the surfaces of your cells that actually become resistant to insulin, requires chromium to function properly. Deficiency of chromium is rampant – it affects 90% of the American population – because a diet high in starch and sugar puts a heavy demand on the insulin system to handle the incoming carbohydrate load, and that demand depletes chromium.”

Chromium is critical to blood sugar metabolism and, and as a diabetic you can be pretty sure that you are severely deficient in this nutrient. If you ever wondered where your “sweet tooth” and sugar cravings come from, now you know – chromium deficiency!

Calcium and Magnesium are also depleted by excess insulin, which can cause many problems, as they are critical to over 200 biochemical processes in your body.

Other very important nutrients that excess insulin causes
deficiencies in are Zinc, Selenium, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vanadium, B Complex vitamins, essential fatty acids, and many more.

Now that you know how and why people develop type 2 diabetes and know some of the consequences of not controlling your blood sugar level, here are your choices:

You can continue on with what you’ve been doing…

Or you can research the science and testimonials surrounding
Glyconutrients.

Fortunately, your body has miraculous healing powers, is very
resilient and operates in a very intelligent manner. If you give it the right fuel and the right nutrients, it will respond very quickly. Some exercise and the right attitude also help!

The first step is to switch your body from an out-of-control,
nutrient-depleting and fat-storing machine into a clean, nutrient-rich, fat-burning machine!

To do this you must:

1) Restrict the carbohydrates in your diet, and

2) Take the right nutritional supplements.

These two actions are not optional or negotiable! Your body will only burn fat (and properly utilize nutrients) if its metabolism is balanced. Doing 1 and 2 above on a regular basis is the only way to address the root cause of your diabetic problem and balance your body’s metabolism for the long-term.

Jason Carriere is an alternative health advocate and wellness crusader, specializing in glyconutrient education.

Author: Jason Carriere
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The Nature of Data

Everything stored on your computer can be divided into exactly two categories: applications and data. Applications do the work and data is what they work on. Data is by far the more valuable. A case can be made for the value of individual applications, but in reality it is the algorithms they employ, not the applications themselves, which are valuable.

Most business people and technology professionals will agree: data is king. Whether in government, banking, telecommunications, medical imaging, manufacturing process control or transportation the secure use of electronic data is the lifeblood of a global economy.

Data can be further divided into two very distinct categories: inward facing and outward facing.

Inward facing data is that information, often proprietary in nature that allows a company to produce its goods and services. This data is used internally by employees and the company’s various business components. Efforts are made to ensure that inward facing data does not leave the organization.

Outward facing data is that private information that the company uses to compete in the marketplace. This “portable” or “mobile” data may be used in sales, customer service and analytical functions that are often used by employees outside the confines of the company proper. The data stored on the laptop of a salesperson is an example of outward facing data. It may be just as sensitive as inward facing data, but it probably is exposed to higher risk.

This distinction is particularly important to security professionals as the large number of data breaches in recent years bear witness to the fact that many security professionals do not understand the implications of the differences between protecting inward facing data and outward.

While there are occasions when applications themselves need to be secure, more often than not, it is the securing of data that has the biggest impact on business continuity and profits. To achieve this, the successful security officer needs to focus on only two actions-keeping inward data inside and outward data from being acquired, compromised and/or coerced while outside of the corporate environment.

Further confusion occurs, when security professionals seek solutions that facilitate successful information assurance but fail to take into account real-world conditions. These errors result in the inevitable selection of a tool set that becomes burdensome to both the corporation and the operation of its computing systems. These implementations may survive a few years but are ultimately removed due to their disruptive effect upon the business environment and culture. We predict that many of the organizations rushing to employ full disk encryption today will be retiring these solutions a few years from now.

Whole disk encryption will protect against system loss.

The knee-jerk reaction of most IT professionals, when asked to secure portable information, such as laptops, is to blanket an entire system in encryption. This appears, at first blush, to be the “easy and simple answer.” What is often miscalculated is the inherent danger of key management. Whole disk encryption requires that a set of keys be distributed with the encrypted system so that the core applications can subsequently be unencrypted before the system can run. Transportation of an encryption key with the encrypted information provides opportunity for the encryption to be broken. It is unlikely anyone will find a way to brute decrypt AES 256 encrypted information, but the four digit pin that protects the encryption key is not as much of a challenge to attack
Shipping the key with the encryption set, or making the safety of the encryption key reliant on the user of the system, also puts the user at risk of harm. Depending upon the attacker’s level of intent, knowing that the user can provide critical parts of the key, may result in direct or indirect (family members, etc.) threats of harm in order to obtain key information. In all cases it is better that the user has no knowledge of the key or its seeds.

There will be a huge performance penalty to be paid.

Encryption of common applications is a performance impacting and unnecessarily burdensome action. Encryption of data, not common applications, mitigates the performance degradation as the operating system is not subject to decryption.

The additional and unfortunate issue with encrypting application sets is failure recovery. When encryption fails or keys are corrupted, unless there is a recovery mechanism, the whole system is lost. Once corrupted, it is even more difficult to get the system into a working state in order to recover the data.

System encryption will not keep data from being stolen.

Hiring employees and consultants implies a level of trust. Trust, in security, implies access. In order to conduct business employees must have access to unencrypted information. Encryption is therefore unable to protect the data when it is being used.
All encryption efforts must be enhanced with data access logging and data copy protection.

Data Proximity – Security that enables data at work.

We can apply our understanding of inward and outward facing data, encrypted data at work as well as endpoint security and devise a solution based on Data Proximity. Data Proximity is the ability to access secure data while “proximal” (in the proximity) to the workplace without the worry of key mobility, the overhead of full system encryption, and outward data loss.

Data Proximity provides an encrypted data store on each system into which any type of data file can be placed. Once placed in the data store, the file is encrypted and can only be accessed while the system itself is within connected proximity to the enterprise work environment. The key necessary for opening the encrypted files can only be accessed when the system is connected to the key store manager which is responsible for key storage and randomization. Placing and retaining the key store within the corporate infrastructure removes the issue of key mobility and adds the extra security of randomization. Keys are never written to the disk of a client and are therefore not available away from the workplace.

This approach is further enhanced by the extensive logging of actions on data (read, writes, deletes) and the disabling of memory-sourced data copies. Many applications will leave data memory or scratchpad residue, allowing the user to make untracked copies of data to other unknown data files.

Data Proximity is designed to be a lightweight information security solution that supports a mobile workforce without negatively impacting their ability to be productive. When an employee is at work, they should be able to work. When they are mobile, the ability to access and use data should not be impeded, but the company’s information must be safe from intentional and unintentional security risk.

Summary

Whole Disk Encryption:

o Extreme system performance degradation due to Operating System and application decryption overhead

o Total system loss if key corruption occurs

o Keys follow the mobile system making them or their users susceptible to compromise

o Problematic when mobile systems require new applications or updates.

o Memory resident copies may be enabled depending on vendor configuration

Data Proximity:

o Better overall system performance as compared to whole disk encryption

o All keys are kept at the place of business and do not follow the mobile system

o Memory resident copies are disabled.

o High level of file interaction logging.

o Employee access to files only while at work (customizable).

o Systems are always bootable since the operating system is never encrypted

o Control of external device attachment and use (memory sticks, CD drives, external drive, etc).

About Savant Protection:

Savant Protection is the industry pioneer in preemptive malware spread mitigation and containment technology for all business environments. Founded in 2004, Savant Protection quickly established itself as an innovator in its approach to product development, design and the implementation of advanced technologies.

About Ken Steinberg:

Founder and CEO of Savant Protection, Ken brings a track record of over two decades in computing and high technology. As founder of the company, Steinberg has responsibility for its day-to-day operations, overall direction, as well as its technological and business strategies. Prior to Savant, he held senior positions with DEC, Hughes, Hitachi, Softbank and at the John Von Neumann Super Computing Center for the National Science Foundation.

A thought leader in the security/encryption field, Steinberg has addressed national conferences and tradeshows as well as being a columnist and contributing author to several regional newspapers and technology publications.

Author: Ken Steinberg
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Computer security issues are a problem for computer users especially those connected to the internet. Doing nothing isn’t the safest option anymore unless you never go online. There are some responsibilities that need to be taken to make sure your computer is secure.

First, get the latest and updated virus and spyware scanners. These don’t completely protect a computer, but it’s one of the best options for protection. Run these regularly especially in safe mode to get rid of viruses that are harder to remove.

Be careful about which domains you go to when clicking on links in email. Many sites might look like PayPal and ask for your user name and password but in reality it’s not PayPal. Never click links in emails and insert personal information. Go to the site first from your browser window instead of trying to click provided links as this is safer.

Don’t download software or applications from untrusted sources. Many people get all sorts of issues by downloading files especially illegally. If you aren’t sure about it, don’t open up the file or email attachment.

Keep your Windows operating system and the software you use updated. This also include the plugins in your browser like Flash support. Many times there are vulnerabilities that are patched with the updates. Not having these updates leaves one open to attacks.

Although it might seem burdensome consider reinstalling the operating system from time to time. There are many lingering issues that can be on a computer that are hard to remove. A complete reinstall will get rid of all the problems like viruses or even worse botnets.

If you continually have problems, using Mac OSX or Linux like an Ubuntu computer might be best for surfing the internet. These operating systems don’t have as many of these issues and security problems.

Albert Newton is an online entrepreneur who is an authority in reviewing dog related products. Check out his new site Dog Raincoats featuring a variety of different types of dog raincoats including small dog raincoats.

Author: Albert Newton
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In today’s scenario, security of your computer system from intruders has become a difficult task. Intruders can access your important data and may harm your computer system. Your computer system becomes more vulnerable to malicious programs in case an updated antivirus is not installed on it. The reason behind this is the fact that any malicious program like virus, worm can enter into your system from many ways.

Malicious programs get installed on your computer system when you browse infected websites on the internet, when you download any infected software, when you open an infected e-mail message and so. If you want to protect your computer system from these malicious programs, then you have to install updated antivirus software on your computer system.
Why you should install antivirus?

Antivirus software offers computer security and protection from malicious programs like virus, worm, Trojan horse and other harmful things. The role of an antivirus is to check all the files for presence of viruses or any malicious program. In case it detects any viruses, it will suggest suitable action to remove them from your computers.

After installation of antivirus software, you should update it whenever anew update is available. If you have the latest antivirus program installed in your PC you will be able to identify newly discovered viruses and security threats. You should select an antivirus program depending upon your usage of computer and Internet.

If you are downloading any antivirus software from Internet, then you should investigate about the source of antivirus. In case the source is not legitimate you might end up installing some viruses along with the software causing harm for the health of your computer.

Antivirus software make use of many methods for identifying viruses. Some of the most common methods are signature based detection, heuristic based detection, and many more. In the signature based detection, antivirus software compares the content of files with virus signature. Heuristic based approach is used to identify unknown viruses.

So, you should install antivirus software for protecting your computer system and confidential information from intruders. Antivirus software will scan your computer system periodically. It will also scan incoming e-mail attachments and make sure that your computer is safe, secure, and healthy.

K.P. Pandey is an online technical support specialist for iYogi which provides detailed information on computer optimization, technical support, virus removal, spyware removal, adware removal, 24/7 Support etc. Furthermore, the upkeep of your HP computer is looked after by highly skilled HP computer support professionals. They look into all aspects of security and software updates and ensure that your PC is clean, virus-free, and performing well. Some of the providers also provide tech support for your peripherals, i.e. your printers and scanners to name a few.

Author: Kali Prasad Pandey
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Logging In To A Linux Desktop As A Linux “Regular” (Non-root) User

When you boot a Linux server system that doesn’t have a desktop installed on it, you simply log in at the plain white text-based Linux “Login:” prompt to log and you are “at” a terminal and you’re also immediately “at” the Linux command line prompt so you can run commands.

However, if you’re working on a Linux desktop system, you need to work in one or more terminal emulation windows to be able to run commands.

To do this, you boot a Linux desktop system and then you see a Linux GUI “Login” prompt asking for your Username and Password – and then you log in as a “regular” user (and for “reasons of security” you never log in to a Linux desktop as the root user).

To run Linux commands while working at a desktop, you “open” a “terminal emulation window” on the desktop to get to the command line prompt.

You type in Linux commands in this window, at the right of the command prompt and you also see the output of commands in this window.

Linux Commands Training Tips: You never log in to a Linux desktop as the root user.

So, it’s very important to remember that after logging in to a desktop as a “regular” user and then opening a terminal emulation window to run commands, that you are working at the prompt as a “regular” user and not the root user.

You need to run the Linux su command (with the – “dash” option) or the run the Linux sudo command and put in the password of the root user, to work as the root user at the Linux prompt.

The concepts covered in this Linux Commands Training Quick Tips article apply to the Red Hat, Fedora, Ubuntu, Slackware, Debian, and Ubuntu – and ALL other Linux distributions!

By the way…do you want to learn exactly how to use Linux and run Linux commands for Linux System Administration and get real, practical Linux training experience by running hundreds of examples of Linux commands?

Just click to download my free new Linux commands training course book and Linux audio podcast (.mp3) files here: Linux Commands Training Mini-Course

Clyde Boom says “Learn how to use Linux commands with easy, self-paced Linux training materials that show you how to run hundreds of examples of the essential Linux System Administration commands – and get that new and better job, promotion, raise – or keep your current job!”

You can get your instant access to my free Linux commands training course at: http://www.LinuxCommandsTrainingCourse.com

Author: Clyde E. Boom
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