Friday, March 28, 2014

Choosing a VPN To Protect Your Data From Hackers

By Elijah Bitson

VPN short for virtual private network is a technology that allows a group of computers to be connected over the internet without sacrificing the privacy of the users. This can be really useful when it comes to protecting your security and privacy especially if you deal with sensitive information. In this article we will be looking at the benefits of VPN when it comes to security.

VPN provides you with the ability to encrypt your data when connecting to the VPN provider. Whether you are connecting to your company's site or a social media website, the data will be encrypted and it will be impossible for a filtering entity or hacker to see which site you are accessing. This provides you with a useful tool if you work in areas where there is sensitive information at risk.

Whether you are working for the creating of a new product where trade secret is of paramount importance or you just do not want anyone to prey unto your browsing activities then using a VPN is a must for you.

Tips for choosing your VPN

Make sure that you choose a reputed VPN provider. Although your data is encrypted, your VPN provider can still log your data if they want to. So before you go for any particular VPN provider, make sure that you read its policies regarding data to ensure they fit your requirements. You might also want to consider where the server is located. Indeed the VPN provider may be subject to the laws of the country
Protocols used

There many protocols that are used by VPN providers and you might want to enquire which one is used by your provider before purchasing their service. SSL/TLS,PPTP, IPSec and L2TP are all examples of VPN protocols and each one of them have their own benefits and drawbacks. In most cases people will go for the SSL protocol and do not hesitate to contact your VPN vendor for more information prior to signing up for their services.

Cost

This is another important factor that you need to take into account when it comes to choosing your VPN provider. Some vendors provide both a free and a paid service. In the majority of cases the free service will be showing ads and there is the possibility of data logging. The paid service will provide you with the most powerful experience and will ensure maximum privacy. Just take some time to shop around in order to get the best possible price.

Privacy Concerns and the Internet of Things

By Kanu Avasthy

Wearable technology is fast becoming part of the "Internet of Things" theme that was current at CES 2014. Below are just a few of the wearable technologies that have recently been announced

· Google recently announced that they are working on contact lenses that are able to monitor a spike in glucose levels via the tears produced by our eyes.

· Sony has created a 'life blogger', which monitors all aspects of your health and ensures that you are aware of what is lacking in your nutrition and health. The younger generation, as Sony admitted, are more liable to share the majority of their data than the older generation.

· Oral B recently announced a Bluetooth toothbrush that would gather data on your brushing habits and would share this information with your dentist.

· Google bought Nest Labs and while there was shock at the price tag; the company primarily makes and sells thermostats and people took to Twitter to share their concerns regarding privacy.

It is possible that not only will Google and Facebook know what we prefer based on our clicking, swiping and likes on web pages, but they will also know how we feel about products and experiences in those moments we don't have access to our smartphones or tablets. You can actually imagine it; walking past your favourite store (a gadget store in my case), and the latest wearable fitness tech senses an increase in your heartbeat. This information synced with your location could be analysed and allow companies to determine how to advertise to you in an even more precise manner. Purchasing could possibly not even become a choice anymore and become something that is embedded in the layers of our subconscious!

There are several questions that would need to be answered before this technology was in use. Such as, how will companies use the data that will inevitably be collected? How will this data be stored? How will it be protected? We are used to targeted ads online but will the same type of ads blight our shopping trips? Can that much data even be protected? After all, MtGox lost nearly half a billion worth of Bitcoins and Target was famously hacked successfully before Christmas 2013 compromising almost 70 million customers' data.

We are all becoming connected in one way or another and cloud computing/solutions will provide that connection in real time. IBM's "cloud of cloud" proposed service would ensure that all data should, in theory, be fiercely protected and will be able to move the data across other cloud platforms in real time.

This technology will be an innovation in becoming hack proof but with innovations abound in ensuring data protection; are we actually ready for so much data being collected from the things we purchase and it being stored? What do we make of having a 'Bill of Rights' that was suggested by Tim Berners-Lee recently? Data and privacy are fast becoming points of discussion that need to be addressed in an open way!

Ways to Increase Battery Life of Your Laptop

By Keith Auerbach

Even with all the modern technology that is available in the world today, there still is not a laptop battery that can last all day long without it being recharged. This can be rather irritating especially if you can not find a plug to plug your laptop into. This always happens when you need your laptop the most, Murphy's Law you know.

Here are some tips on how to preserve the life of your laptop battery during the day or evening so you can avoid having to scramble for an outlet.

1. Screen Backlighting

Lowering the brightness of your screen will save you a lot of battery life as the brightness takes up a lot of battery juice. Set your backlighting so that it automatically lowers when you unplug your laptop.

2. Stop scheduled tasks

Your virus scanner and automatic updates run on a regular schedule. Disconnect these from automatic so you have to turn them on manually. This will save on your battery life. Run these only when your laptop is plugged into an outlet.

3. Unplug USB devices and discs.

When you have something plugged into your USB drive your laptop's battery is constantly connected to that device. The same with CD's which are sitting idle in your laptop; even though they are not being used, your laptop is reading them. Remove what you don't need to use when using your laptop if it is not plugged in.

4. Turn off all messaging apps.

By turning off your messaging apps and Skype you will be able to save a lot of battery life as these apps are constantly pinging the web. If you are watching a movie or working on a project you don't want to be bothered anyway so turn these off and watch how much juice your battery will keep.

5. Turn off your volume

If you are not in need of using your volume control while you are working on your laptop simply turn it off or mute it. Believe it or not even if you put your volume control all of the way to the lowest mark it is still using your battery. Simply shut it off or mute it when you are not using it.

6. Clean your battery contact

By using rubbing alcohol and water wipe down the contacts on your laptop battery. Making sure your battery contacts stay clean will help preserve the live of your battery. Make sure they are completely dried before returning the battery to your laptop.

Can the Government Really View Your Emails?

By Keith Auerbach

Internet and email users expect their information and interaction with others is inherently private. That is not the case. The FBI routinely conducts scans and screens on a regular basis. The Freedom of Information Act has opened the door to a new dawn of internet scrutiny. What does that mean for the average person who is using email to correspond with family, friends and business contacts?

Some basic security precautions are to think before acting. Never open attachments from unknown or unauthorized sources. Hackers use these to infect computers with viruses, to steal information and even bank accounts.

Anyone who uses their employer's internet service to send personal emails can expect that information to be read on a regular basis. Most companies now require new associates or employees to sign a waiver allowing the employer to do so. Since many new hires sign anything placed before them, you may have done this and never even knew it.

All email and internet contact leaves an indelible record. Just clicking the Delete button does not erase the message. People trained and skilled in retrieval can recover this information and bring it back to haunt the person who wrote it.
These can be used in court, in custody disputes and divorce cases.

What does that mean for the right of speech and reasonable privacy? The public has a right to privacy as long as that right is not used outside the bounds of the law. If the police, FBI or any other law enforcement agency feels the need to inspect a person's email and internet usage, all rights are immediately forfeited. There are ways to ensure security and privacy for someone who is honest and ethical, one who just desires a bit of privacy.

Email and internet security can be found through Remailers. These are networks that receive coded messages with instructions on where to send them without revealing where they originated. More and more email servers are emerging that do not require the user to provide their actual name, telephone number or other information. These can be had for a monthly or yearly fee.

While once the domain of radicals or people who have something to hide, these remailers and email servers are becoming more popular as privacy concerns arise. A sharp increase in identity theft, banking hacks and other issues that create a sense of violation, make these a haven for honest people.

Cookies are collected by almost every place a user visits. These can be seen by anyone monitoring that website and allow an innocent user to be located if the government, FBI or any other agency chooses to do so.

Email privacy and security essentials are serious matters, one that is individual to every person. Some people just don't care if their communications are read because they have nothing to hide; others have nothing to hide but demand privacy because it should be expected. Whatever one's decision, research shows this is an issue that will only become more prevalent as internet use continues to increase.

Unlimited Hosting And Its Limitations

By Alex H D

Many people are under the impression that unlimited hosting is the answer to all their problems to web site resource management. This is a myth. Web resource management is a key question for any organization, small or big.

Any organization with a limited number of employees or participants, need email addresses for them. One key resource is providing email addresses for all the participants.

Email Addresses

Many providers will limit the number of email addresses you can create and the storage space you can use in each email address. Some providers do not tell you the limits upfront and will implicitly restrict this later on when you start using the service. You should always try to find out from your provider if there are any limits on the number of email addresses beforehand. You don't want to get stuck with a provider and find out later on that there are limits on the number of email addresses you can have or there is a limit on the storage space that each of your email address can have. An unlimited hosting provider may or may not necessarily provide unlimited email addresses for each account. The limit may be one fold, or two fold. You should be aware and ask questions before you buy.

Storage Space

Many providers say that the storage space provided is "unlimited" so to speak. But none of them technically mean that you can use as much hard drive space as you want. No one in this world can actually provide you with as much hard drive space as you want, because the resources in this world are inherently limited and making a promise of giving you something that implies that it is "infinite" so to speak is counter intuitive. However, that being said - "unlimited" is generally is interpreted as being as required by the user, in keeping with practices of the trade. That being said, as a user you should not imagine that if you need 500GB of space, an account that is $1 a month would be enough for you. If you are a user that is running a video streaming service, you cannot expect that you can host that for $1 per month. Always remember that getting something for nothing is non existent. You never get a free lunch in life.

SQL Storage

Many providers will restrict the amount of SQL space you can use, the providers do this using Cloud Linux, and by making hard restrictions based on it. Depending on what you need as a user, you should investigate this key limitation for your needs. If you need to make 65000 SQL connections to a 5GB SQL database, you cannot expect to be satisfied with your $1 per month account. Always ask questions, rather than getting into an account that makes you promise a three year contract, before you buy. Rather, chose a month to month account and use it for a few months, and then move to a three year contract to save on money.