Encryption
3:15 AM
About Encryption and Making Your System Secure
What does encryption do for me?
Encryption and cryptographic software has been used in many different ways to make systems more secure. This article discusses only a few ways that such software can make your system more secure, including:
1) Encrypting your email
2) Encrypting your files
To programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information. There are many more programs out there that will help, but these programs are good and a good place to start as any. They have the added benefit of both being free with source code available.
Will encryption stop people from accessing my information?
Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to important information, like passwords or sensitive information in a file. The first thing you should know about encryption is that the algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and that affects how securely what you have encrypted is protected. Encryption systems have been broken when the method of encryption is understood by hackers and is easy to break.
Why bother to encrypt my email?
It should be noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for two very good reasons: first, electronic data can be accessed easily over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is really simple to copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in your email despite your best intentions to stop it.
How do I go about encrypting my email?
There are many programs out there that can help you encrypt your email. A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu offshoot GPG.
PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/) self-describes itself this way: This "is a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise doesn't have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text."
Why bother to encrypt my files?
The answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer. If you have financial data with important information like social security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and passwords, then you open yourself up to losing very valuable information. Most corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to the Internet you are vulnerable.
How do I go about encrypting my files?
AxCrypt File Encryption Software (http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/) Self-described as "Free Personal Privacy and Security for Windows 98/ME/NT/2K/XP with AES-128 File Encryption, Compression and transparent Decrypt and Open in the original application."
Computer Viruses
3:14 AM
Computer Viruses that Come a Callin’
Every day new computer viruses are created to annoy us and to wreck havoc on our computer systems. Below are ten viruses currently cited as being the most prevalent in terms of being seen the most or in their ability to potentially cause damage. New viruses are created daily. This is by no means an all inclusive list. The best thing you can do is to remain vigilant, keep your anti-virus software updated, and stay aware of the current computer virus threats.
Virus: Trojan.Lodear
A Trojan horse that attempts to download remote files. It will inject a .dll file into the EXPLORER.EXE process causing system instability.
Virus: W32.Beagle.CO@mm
A mass-mailing worm that lowers security settings. It can delete security-related registry sub keys and may block access to security-related websites.
Virus: Backdoor.Zagaban
A Trojan horse that allows the compromised computer to be used as a covert proxy and which may degrade network performance.
Virus: W32/Netsky-P
A mass-mailing worm which spreads by emailing itself to addresses produced from files on the local drives.
Virus: W32/Mytob-GH
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan for the Windows platform. Messages sent by this worm will have the subject chosen randomly from a list including titles such as: Notice of account limitation, Email Account Suspension, Security measures, Members Support, Important Notification.
Virus: W32/Mytob-EX
A mass-mailing worm and IRC backdoor Trojan similar in nature to W32-Mytob-GH. W32/Mytob-EX runs continuously in the background, providing a backdoor server which allows a remote intruder to gain access and control over the computer via IRC channels. This virus spreads by sending itself to email attachments harvested from your email addresses.
Virus: W32/Mytob-AS, Mytob-BE, Mytob-C, and Mytob-ER
This family of worm variations possesses similar characteristics in terms of what they can do. They are mass-mailing worms with backdoor functionality that can be controlled through the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. Additionally, they can spread through email and through various operating system vulnerabilities such as the LSASS (MS04-011).
Virus: Zafi-D
A mass mailing worm and a peer-to-peer worm which copies itself to the Windows system folder with the filename Norton Update.exe. It can then create a number of files in the Windows system folder with filenames consisting of 8 random characters and a DLL extension. W32/Zafi-D copies itself to folders with names containing share, upload, or music as ICQ 2005a new!.exe or winamp 5.7 new!.exe. W32/Zafi-D will also display a fake error message box with the caption "CRC: 04F6Bh" and the text "Error in packed file!".
Virus: W32/Netsky-D
A mass-mailing worm with IRC backdoor functionality which can also infect computers vulnerable to the LSASS (MS04-011) exploit.
Virus: W32/Zafi-B
A peer-to-peer (P2P) and email worm that will copy itself to the Windows system folder as a randomly named EXE file. This worm will test for the presence of an internet connection by attempting to connect to www.google.com or www.microsoft.com. A bilingual, worm with an attached Hungarian political text message box which translates to “We demand that the government accommodates the homeless, tightens up the penal code and VOTES FOR THE DEATH PENALTY to cut down the increasing crime. Jun. 2004, Pécs (SNAF Team)”
Fighting Spam
3:13 AM
How prevalent is Spam? According to Scott McAdams, OMA Public Affairs and Communications Department (www.oma.org):
“Studies show unsolicited or “junk” e-mail, known as spam, accounts for roughly half of all e-mail messages received. Although once regarded as little more than a nuisance, the prevalence of spam has increased to the point where many users have begun to express a general lack of confidence in the effectiveness of e-mail transmissions, and increased concern over the spread of computer viruses via unsolicited messages.”
In 2003, President Bush signed the “Can Spam” bill, in December of 2003 which is the first national standards around bulk unsolicited commercial e-mail. The bill, approved by the Senate by a vote of 97 to 0, prohibits senders of unsolicited commercial e-mail from using false return addresses to disguise their identity (spoofing) and the use of dictionaries to generate such mailers. In addition, it prohibits the use of misleading subject lines and requires that emails include and opt-out mechanism. The legislation also prohibits senders from harvesting addresses off Web sites. Violations constitute a misdemeanor crime subject to up to one year in jail.
One major point that needs to be discussed about this: spam is now coming from other countries in ever-greater numbers. These emails are harder to fight, because they come from outside our country’s laws and regulations. Because the Internet opens borders and thinks globally, these laws are fine and good, but do not stop the problem.
So what do you do about this? Her are the top 5 Rules to do to protect from spam.
Number 1: Do what you can to avoid having your email address out on the net.
There are products called “spam spiders” that search the Internet for email addresses to send email to. If you are interested, do a search on “spam spider” and you will be amazed at what you get back. Interestingly, there is a site, WebPoison.org, which is an open source project geared to fight Internet "spambots" and "spam spiders", by giving them bogus HTML web pages, which contain bogus email addresses
A couple suggestions for you: a) use form emails, which can hide addresses or also b) use addresses like sales@company.com instead of your full address to help battle the problem. c) There are also programs that encode your email, like jsGuard, which encodes your email address on web pages so that while spam spiders find it difficult or impossible to read your email address.
Number 2: Get spam blocking software. There are many programs out there for this. (go to www.cloudmark.com or www.mailwasher.net for example). You may also buy a professional version. Whatever you do, get the software. It will save you time. The software is not foolproof, but they really do help. You usually have to do some manual set up to block certain types of email.
Number 3: Use the multiple email address approach.
There are a lot of free email addresses to be had. If you must subscribe to newsletters, then have a “back-up” email address. It would be like giving your sell phone number to your best friends and the business number to everyone else.
Number 4: Attachments from people you don’t know are BAD, BAD, BAD.
A common problem with spam is that they have attachments and attachments can have viruses. Corporations often have filters that don’t let such things pass to you. Personal email is far more “open country” for spamers. General rule of thumb: if you do not know who is sending you something, DO NOT OPEN THE ATTACHMENT. Secondly, look for services that offer filtering. Firewall vendors offer this type of service as well.
Number 5: Email services now have “bulk-mail” baskets. If what you use currently does not support this, think about moving to a new vender. The concept is simple. If you know someone, they can send you emails. If you don’t know them, put them in the bulk email pile and then “choose” to allow them into your circle. Spam Blocking software has this concept as well, but having extra layers seems critical these days, so it is worth looking into.
Trojan Horse
3:13 AM
Trojan Horse….Greek Myth or Computer Nemesis?
We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it? A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.
The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn’t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Or, even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their “free”, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer to a laundry list of ailments.
When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that they can come and go as they please.
To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.
1. Remain diligent
Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.
2. Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.
3. Install reliable anti-virus software. It is also important that you download any updates frequently to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.
4. Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.
Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computer's security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines.
Hardware mechanisms that protect computers and data
3:12 AM
Hardware based or assisted computer security offers an alternative to software-only computer security. Devices such as dongles may be considered more secure due to the physical access required in order to be compromised.
While many software based security solutions encrypt the data to prevent data from being stolen, a malicious program or a hacker may corrupt the data in order to make it unrecoverable or unusable. Similarly, encrypted operating systems can be corrupted by a malicious program or a hacker, making the system unusable. Hardware-based security solutions can prevent read and write access to data and hence offers very strong protection against tampering and unauthorized access.[citation needed]
Working of hardware based security: A hardware device allows a user to login, logout and to set different privilege levels by doing manual actions. The device uses biometric technology to prevent malicious users from logging in, logging out, and changing privilege levels. The current state of a user of the device is read both by a computer and controllers in peripheral devices such as harddisks. Illegal access by a malicious user or a malicious program is interrupted based on the current state of a user by harddisk and DVD controllers making illegal access to data impossible. Hardware based access control is more secure than logging in and logging out using operating systems as operating systems are vulnerable to malicious attacks. Since software cannot manipulate the user privilege levels, it is impossible for a hacker or a malicious program to gain access to secure data protected by hardware or perform unauthorized privileged operations. The hardware protects the operating system image and file system privileges from being tampered. Therefore, a completely secure system can be created using a combination of hardware based security and secure system administration policies.
Console security
3:12 AM
Machines and consoles need to be secure. A person can simply turn off a computer if one has access to it. If they have access to the console, they can often interrupt the boot process to get access to the root prompt. If this doesn't work, they can keep guessing the root password in hopes of compromising the system.
For these reasons (and more), the computers and associated consoles should be kept in a secure room. A limited number of people should have access to this room, of course with a limited number of keys. Some places actually have security guards let people into the computer rooms for guaranteed secure access.
If your data is sensitive, be certain to verify that there are no alternative methods for getting into the room. This includes hidden spare keys in an unsecured place, gaps in the raised floors that go past the locked access point, and space above the ceilings.
Data Security
3:11 AM
Companies that value their data need a detailed backup recovery scheme. This includes on site backups for least amount of down time, a copy of this data off site in case of computer room disasters, as well as contingency plans in place. Unfortunately, an easy way to get access to a companies data is to gain access to backup tapes and sensitive printouts. Hence, all sensitive information should be stored in locked cabinets. Backup tapes sent off site should be in locked containers. Old sensitive printouts and tapes should be destroyed.
To protect against computer damage from power outages (and spikes), be certain to have your computers on a UPS. This provides consistent power, protects against outages, as well as protects the computer from power spikes. Ideally, there should be a backup generator for production systems. For non-production systems, there should be a automatic way to shutdown the computer if the power has switched to the UPS for more than 1/2 the time the UPS is rated to supply.
To prevent snooping, secure network cables from exposure.
What does antivirus software do?
3:11 AM
There are a variety of antivirus software packages that operate in many different ways, depending on how the vendor chose to implement their software. What they have in common, though, is that they all look for patterns in the files or memory of your computer that indicate the possible presence of a known virus. Antivirus packages know what to look for through the use of virus profiles (sometimes called "signatures") provided by the vendor.
New viruses are discovered daily. The effectiveness of antivirus software is dependent on having the latest virus profiles installed on your computer so that it can look for recently discovered viruses. It is important to keep these profiles up to date.
What is an IP address?
3:10 AM
IP addresses are analogous to telephone numbers – when you want to call someone on the telephone, you must first know their telephone number. Similarly, when a computer on the Internet needs to send data to another computer, it must first know its IP address. IP addresses are typically shown as four numbers separated by decimal points, or “dots”. For example, 10.24.254.3 and 192.168.62.231 are IP addresses.
If you need to make a telephone call but you only know the person’s name, you can look them up in the telephone directory (or call directory services) to get their telephone number. On the Internet, that directory is called the Domain Name System, or DNS for short. If you know the name of a server, say www.cert.org, and you type this into your web browser, your computer will then go ask its DNS server what the numeric IP address is that is associated with that name.
Every computer on the Internet has an IP address associated with it that uniquely identifies it. However, that address may change over time, especially if the computer is
dialing into an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
connected behind a network firewall
connected to a broadband service using dynamic IP addressing.
What is cable modem access?
3:09 AM
A cable modem allows a single computer (or network of computers) to connect to the Internet via the cable TV network. The cable modem usually has an Ethernet LAN (Local Area Network) connection to the computer, and is capable of speeds in excess of 5 Mbps.
Typical speeds tend to be lower than the maximum, however, since cable providers turn entire neighborhoods into LANs which share the same bandwidth. Because of this "shared-medium" topology, cable modem users may experience somewhat slower network access during periods of peak demand, and may be more susceptible to risks such as packet sniffing and unprotected windows shares than users with other types of connectivity. (See the "Computer security risks to home users" section of this document.)
Who would want to break into my computer at home?
3:09 AM
Intruders (also referred to as hackers, attackers, or crackers) may not care about your identity. Often they want to gain control of your computer so they can use it to launch attacks on other computer systems.
Having control of your computer gives them the ability to hide their true location as they launch attacks, often against high-profile computer systems such as government or financial systems. Even if you have a computer connected to the Internet only to play the latest games or to send email to friends and family, your computer may be a target.
Intruders may be able to watch all your actions on the computer, or cause damage to your computer by reformatting your hard drive or changing your data.
Do I need Computer Security ?
3:08 AM
Every organization and individual possesses certain vital information - a unique formula, specialized customer database, a personal diary, annual financial data, etc. The organization would be compromised if such data fell into the wrong hands.
Until a few years ago, protecting such information was relatively easy. All one required was a strong safe with a single key to access it. However, such privacy does not exist anymore. Encryption is now the only way to protect your valuables. Currently, except for a few strong encryption packages, there are no means available to perform this critical encryption function.
Passwords within most programs (Word, Excel, Access etc.) can be broken by mere novices without any computing knowledge. Such password breaking tools are easily available on the Worldwide Web, for as little as $5.95, or sometimes even for free!
Most companies invest millions of dollars in putting up firewalls and trying to secure their networks. Ironically, they spend the least amount of money in protecting the area where the data actually resides or is created, the PC their employees use. The costs involved in securing data at the user level are minimum. They refuse to pay only 35$ for a security software.
Encryption renders your data, even if accessed by an unauthorized person, unintelligible and unusable. By adopting the simplest prevention techniques, you can ensure complete data privacy.
Hacking no longer requires experts. There are literally thousands of off-the-shelf programs available on the Internet that are as easy to use as the software packages you are so familiar with. Anyone, even a child with limited or no computer know-how, can use these packages to hack into your systems. There is no defined, requisite learning curve - the amount of knowledge or background essential to be an effective 'hacker' is virtually zero.
Simple acts like going online to check your mail exposes your machine to being hacked. It is a trivial task to 'wiretap' somebody's email, so that all future correspondence is now in the hacker's inbox as well.
At http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html you can find a scientific study made by Peter Gutmann, from Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland, in which is explained with full technical details the principles of the Magnetic dispositive and what methods can be used to recover the files after they have been overwritten several times with data. You can also find there a ton of references to other scientific paperwork's on the same subject.
Security by design
3:08 AM
The technologies of computer security are based on logic. As security is not necessarily the primary goal of most computer applications, designing a program with security in mind often imposes restrictions on that program's behavior.
There are several approaches to security in computing, sometimes a combination of approaches is valid:
1. Trust all the software to abide by a security policy but the software is not trustworthy (this is computer insecurity).
2. Trust all the software to abide by a security policy and the software is validated as trustworthy (by tedious branch and path analysis for example).
3. Trust no software but enforce a security policy with mechanisms that are not trustworthy (again this is computer insecurity).
4. Trust no software but enforce a security policy with trustworthy mechanisms.
Many systems have unintentionally resulted in the first possibility. Since approach two is expensive and non-deterministic, its use is very limited. Approaches one and three lead to failure. Because approach number four is often based on hardware mechanisms and avoids abstractions and a multiplicity of degrees of freedom, it is more practical. Combinations of approaches two and four are often used in a layered architecture with thin layers of two and thick layers of four.
There are various strategies and techniques used to design security systems. However there are few, if any, effective strategies to enhance security after design. One technique enforces the principle of least privilege to great extent, where an entity has only the privileges that are needed for its function. That way even if an attacker gains access to one part of the system, fine-grained security ensures that it is just as difficult for them to access the rest.
Furthermore, by breaking the system up into smaller components, the complexity of individual components is reduced, opening up the possibility of using techniques such as automated theorem proving to prove the correctness of crucial software subsystems. This enables a closed form solution to security that works well when only a single well-characterized property can be isolated as critical, and that property is also assessible to math. Not surprisingly, it is impractical for generalized correctness, which probably cannot even be defined, much less proven. Where formal correctness proofs are not possible, rigorous use of code review and unit testing represent a best-effort approach to make modules secure.
The design should use "defense in depth", where more than one subsystem needs to be violated to compromise the integrity of the system and the information it holds. Defense in depth works when the breaching of one security measure does not provide a platform to facilitate subverting another. Also, the cascading principle acknowledges that several low hurdles does not make a high hurdle. So cascading several weak mechanisms does not provide the safety of a single stronger mechanism.
Secure coding
3:07 AM
If the operating environment is not based on a secure operating system capable of maintaining a domain for its own execution, and capable of protecting application code from malicious subversion, and capable of protecting the system from subverted code, then high degrees of security are understandably not possible. While such secure operating systems are possible and have been implemented, most commercial systems fall in a 'low security' category because they rely on features not supported by secure operating systems (like portability, et al.). In low security operating environments, applications must be relied on to participate in their own protection. There are 'best effort' secure coding practices that can be followed to make an application more resistant to malicious subversion.
In commercial environments, the majority of software subversion vulnerabilities result from a few known kinds of coding defects. Common software defects include buffer overflows, format string vulnerabilities, integer overflow, and code/command injection.
Some common languages such as C and C++ are vulnerable to all of these defects (see Seacord, "Secure Coding in C and C++"). Other languages, such as Java, are more resistant to some of these defects, but are still prone to code/command injection and other software defects which facilitate subversion.
Recently another bad coding practice has come under scrutiny; dangling pointers. The first known exploit for this particular problem was presented in July 2007. Before this publication the problem was known but considered to be academic and not practically exploitable.[2]
In summary, 'secure coding' can provide significant payback in low security operating environments, and therefore worth the effort. Still there is no known way to provide a reliable degree of subversion resistance with any degree or combination of 'secure coding.'
Secure operating systems
3:06 AM
One use of the term computer security refers to technology to implement a secure operating system. Much of this technology is based on science developed in the 1980s and used to produce what may be some of the most impenetrable operating systems ever. Though still valid, the technology is in limited use today, primarily because it imposes some changes to system management and also because it is not widely understood. Such ultra-strong secure operating systems are based on operating system kernel technology that can guarantee that certain security policies are absolutely enforced in an operating environment. An example of such a Computer security policy is the Bell-La Padula model. The strategy is based on a coupling of special microprocessor hardware features, often involving the memory management unit, to a special correctly implemented operating system kernel. This forms the foundation for a secure operating system which, if certain critical parts are designed and implemented correctly, can ensure the absolute impossibility of penetration by hostile elements. This capability is enabled because the configuration not only imposes a security policy, but in theory completely protects itself from corruption. Ordinary operating systems, on the other hand, lack the features that assure this maximal level of security. The design methodology to produce such secure systems is precise, deterministic and logical.
Systems designed with such methodology represent the state of the art[clarification needed] of computer security although products using such security are not widely known. In sharp contrast to most kinds of software, they meet specifications with verifiable certainty comparable to specifications for size, weight and power. Secure operating systems designed this way are used primarily to protect national security information, military secrets, and the data of international financial institutions. These are very powerful security tools and very few secure operating systems have been certified at the highest level (Orange Book A-1) to operate over the range of "Top Secret" to "unclassified" (including Honeywell SCOMP, USAF SACDIN, NSA Blacker and Boeing MLS LAN.) The assurance of security depends not only on the soundness of the design strategy, but also on the assurance of correctness of the implementation, and therefore there are degrees of security strength defined for COMPUSEC. The Common Criteria quantifies security strength of products in terms of two components, security functionality and assurance level (such as EAL levels), and these are specified in a Protection Profile for requirements and a Security Target for product descriptions. None of these ultra-high assurance secure general purpose operating systems have been produced for decades or certified under the Common Criteria.
In USA parlance, the term High Assurance usually suggests the system has the right security functions that are implemented robustly enough to protect DoD and DoE classified information. Medium assurance suggests it can protect less valuable information, such as income tax information. Secure operating systems designed to meet medium robustness levels of security functionality and assurance have seen wider use within both government and commercial markets. Medium robust systems may provide the same security functions as high assurance secure operating systems but do so at a lower assurance level (such as Common Criteria levels EAL4 or EAL5). Lower levels mean we can be less certain that the security functions are implemented flawlessly, and therefore less dependable. These systems are found in use on web servers, guards, database servers, and management hosts and are used not only to protect the data stored on these systems but also to provide a high level of protection for network connections and routing services.
Security architecture
3:06 AM
Security Architecture can be defined as the design artifacts that describe how the security controls (security countermeasures) are positioned, and how they relate to the overall information technology architecture. These controls serve the purpose to maintain the system's quality attributes, among them confidentiality, integrity, availability, accountability and assurance."[1]. A security architecture is the plan that shows where security measures need to be placed. If the plan describes a specific solution then, prior to building such a plan, one would make a risk analysis. If the plan describes a generic high level design (reference architecture) then the plan should be based on a threat analysis.
Subsystems should default to secure settings, and wherever possible should be designed to "fail secure" rather than "fail insecure" (see fail safe for the equivalent in safety engineering). Ideally, a secure system should require a deliberate, conscious, knowledgeable and free decision on the part of legitimate authorities in order to make it insecure.
In addition, security should not be an all or nothing issue. The designers and operators of systems should assume that security breaches are inevitable. Full audit trails should be kept of system activity, so that when a security breach occurs, the mechanism and extent of the breach can be determined. Storing audit trails remotely, where they can only be appended to, can keep intruders from covering their tracks. Finally, full disclosure helps to ensure that when bugs are found the "window of vulnerability" is kept as short as possible.
what is computer security?
3:04 AM
Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or not someone attempted to break into your system, if they were successful, and what they may have done.
Security should be a very important and concerning issue in you every day activity. No matter you are part of a company or a home user, it is very important to protect your work. You need a good security software. Computer Security protects you encrypting sensitive data, hiding it in innocent carriers, allowing safe transfer through encrypted self-extracting package, delete files beyond recovery and even locking application from your children or " welcomed quests".
Computer Security takes care of your sensitive data, encrypting and decrypting it, hiding it in innocent carriers, becoming the first level of defence against attacks.
Computer Security encrypts information using over 20 algorithms like Twofish, Blowfish, Ghost, Rijndael, Sapphire II , making it impossible to decrypt without the correct password.
Children or employees often browse your applications. Got some personal programs? Tired of leaving your PC afraid that someone will find them? Now you can do that with no concern, because Computer Security locks any program so that no one can use it.
Most of the other shredding utilities overwrite the files to be deleted with random or junk data! Well, keep away from those ones! Experts say that no matter how many times the files are overwritten with random patterns, they can still be recovered using the magnetic reminisce!
The HP Touchsmart computer
10:16 AM
The HP Touchsmart computer This diverse portfolio of projects is standard fare at Lunar, where John, an engineer-designer who would look at home as the bassist in an indie rock band, rallies the troops to create award-winning designs that have included everything from the Zootr to the ULTRA II SD PLUS flash memory card and a green version of San Disk's ImageMate Reader. Lately, John says, the company's focus has been on best practices in sustainability, both within the company and in the designs they create. The group recently published the "Designer's Field Guide to Sustainability," and John regularly speaks at industry conferences on the topic. All that's just fine, but as John noted recently on , the company's blog, "As designers, we have a panoply of motivations. We want our clients to be happy, for their products to sell in the millions, for our peers to admire us, for our work to matter to people, to make a difference in the world. But now I realize all that is meaningless. What we really want is for our work to be featured in the music video at the top of the charts. Check it: Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas uses the HP TouchSmart PC to frame their hypnotic vision of the future."
Breakdown reveals new Mac pro with eight CCU cores
10:05 AM
Had emerged the new Desktop computer, which according to standard with Intel a Xeon with four processor cores is delivered, in the British Apple on-line Shop. To all appearances it concerned here a breakdown, short time the offer of the new model again had later disappeared itself. This time interval was sufficient however the night-active Britisher to be able to discover that offer.
Wie letztendlich die neuen Mac Pro's aussehen werden, steht dennoch in den Sternen. Denkbar wäre zum Beispiel eine Änderung am Prozessor. Vielleicht greift man auf die kürzlich von Intel angekündigten, stromsparenden Xeon-Prozessoren zurück. Diese ziehen nicht mehr als 50 Watt Leistung, verfügen aber ebenfalls über vier CPU-Kerne.
Elite Wikipedia
10:04 AM
So far Citizendium is only in English language available, is however, success to be presupposed, in further languages started
AOL expands in Europe
10:04 AM
The Internetdienstleister wants to open six further European markets beside the stages Germany, Great Britain, France and Austria already taped.
AOL wants to expand in Europe. That comes out from a report of the Frankfurt general newspaper. Apart from the existing commitment in Germany, Great Britain, France and Austria the Internetdienstleister wants to arise in the future in six further European markets. Instead of the Internet entrance business sold in the meantime AOL in the advertisement wants to become active, both on own and for stranger portals. For this purpose continue to consider the enterprise Zukäufe within the range of the advertising technology and Web 2,0, so the report.
MSI M670 Notebook of Norma for 777 euro
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The Schleppi has the following characteristics: AMD Turion™ 64 X2 dual core mobile processor TL-50 with 1,60 GHz Crystal-clear Widescreen screen in the highly soluble 15.4 " - format Large 120-GB-Festplatte in SATA technology - place for up to 60.000 MP3 or digital photos Diagram with nVidia® GeForce® 6100 GO! Giant-large main memory 1024 MT GDR 2 Always in connection - Wireless LAN with 54 MBit/s Multi-format specialist with DVD double Layer, 8,5 GB - burners Express Card card location for UMTS map 4-in-1-KartenleserWindows® Vista™ Home basic German keyboard with nummerischem key block Left-ion-Akku 4400 mAh with 6 cells Firewire connection to the digital Camcorder (IEEE 1394) 3 x USB 2.0 loudspeaker integrated 2 Software PC Suite PE 2007 (Office, knowledge, diagram, Routing, security) Large Cyberlink package Mass: L/B/H approx. 36 x 26 x 4 cm, approx. 2.7 kg
The equipment is not settled in the top class, however it has a responding diagram a modern and high performance processor, and enough memory, in order to be able to work well thereby. The keyboard is outstanding!
It is not for the High end enterprise or the ultimative Gamer!
Google enters into the television business
9:58 AM
After its entrance into the marketing of radio and print advertisement the Suchmaschinenprimus Google wants to seize in the future also in the TV-segment foot. Together with the satellite TV operator echo star put the enterprise on a first test project, as the system Adsense for the television, well-known from on-line advertisement, can be converted. With “TV Ads” are to tracken recruit-rubbing their campaign success on the television in real time and be able to optimize. In addition the spectator behavior over Settop boxes is anonymizated seized and evaluated.
Echo star radiates over its “DISH” - satellite network of 120 TV-transmitters at altogether 13.1 million spectator.
Recruit in “Office on-line ones"
9:57 AM
The software giant Microsoft markets immediately in Germany advertising surfaces in “Office on-line one”.
On-line Microsoft digitally immediately its on-line offer “Office on-line one” markets Advertising Solutions in Germany. According to own statements the service under www.office.microsoft.com counts monthly more than 1.2 million German Unique user on. Target group are main Businesses Professionals, Entscheider, IT-specialists or developers, which look there for information, assistance, product Downloads, on-line training courses as well as document collecting mains for the different Office programs.
Recruit-rubbing have the possibility of switching advertising formats such as Sykscraper (160x600 pixel) and content Ads (300x250 pixel) on the sides from Office on-line one. Per Website maximally an advertising surface is platziert, thus can an accordingly prominent placement be ensured.
Apple is to introduce Abodienst
9:56 AM
Large disk labels such as Sony BMG or universal the Music Goup pressurize the computer company Apple to introduce for its on-line music net curtain Itunes a Abodienst. How the “Financial Time Germany” reports, those of Studios make its demand the component of up-to-date lining up negotiations the prolongations of a contract. A goal of the Plattenbosse is it to set in motion by a Abomodel the conversion and increase their income security.
Still however the music companies stand according to “FTD” in a bad negotiating position, since Itunes control three quarters of the entire on-line music market. Experts assume the disk labels lock only contracts with short running times. “You look for desperately for a iPod killer, thereby it Steve job not obligated are”, quote the trade journal a representative of the music industry.
IBM wants to create 3-D-Internet-Standard
9:55 AM
After lab of parts of its developer code for the 3D-Welt Second Life put lime trees openly, the technology company IBM works on a general standard for virtual worlds.
In co-operation with the 3D-Welt “Second Life” wants to make the technology company IBM virtual worlds the mass medium. So that this succeeds, the reverse-feed industry needs in the opinion of IBM however a success model similarly the computer language HTML used at present in the Internet. “Virtual worlds do not have a chance to become a mass medium if there are, said no open standards” Herbert Kircher, development boss of IBM Germany, opposite the “Financial Time Germany”. The vision of the future of IBM is it that Web users surfen instead of linear in the Internet to, virtually business entered can, in order to buy books, refrigerators or entertainment electronics there.
Google negotiates with DirecTV
9:54 AM
The Suchmaschinen Primus Google is to negotiate with DirecTV about the marketing of advertising places, means current rumors. Meanwhile competitor Yahoo already locked his negotiations with Viacom.
After its marketing co-operation with the satellite network operator Dish expands Google its television commitment: How in the Web log „venture Beat is to be read “, the Suchmaschinenprimus negotiates at present also with DirecTV, the largest satellite network operator of the USA. The discussions could drag on however longer than with Dish, since DirectTV must regulate its owner conditions at present, after Corp end past yearly announced news to want to sell its portions at Liberty. With Google and DirecTV employer speaker refused any statement.
Meanwhile Yahoo with the television station Viacom came into the business. The Internet portal, which in February in the USA its Internet Werbebuchungstool Panama launchte, markets immediately search word announcements on 33 web pages of the transmitter, among them MTV.com and VH1.com.
IBM 73P4485 72W Slim AC/DC Combo Adapter
9:52 AM
IBM 73P4485 72W Slim AC/DC Combo Adapter
This is a Brand New IBM/Lenovo Boxed Original Product
Lighten your load when you travel with our new thinner 72W AC/DC Combo Adapter. Get more access to power for your ThinkPad notebook with this AC/DC adapter. Enjoy the convenience of having one power adapter for the office, home or travel. Maintain your power while traveling in your car, or on the plane (where supported) with the DC connector so your system keeps working as long as you do. And, when you arrive, plug into the AC wall outlet at your destination.
Features and Benefits:
• New slim design is 40 percent thinner than our previous model to take up less room when you travel
• AC/DC power means one adapter for office or travel
• 72W output to work with most ThinkPad systems
This option is not compatible with G and Z Series ThinkPad
With a little bit of care, you can maximize the battery life
9:51 AM
Your New Notebook
Be sure to fully charge your portable when you plug it in for the first time, and then run Software Update to ensure you have the latest software. Apple periodically releases updates that may improve battery performance.
Standard Maintenance
For proper maintenance of a , it’s important to keep the electrons in it moving occasionally. Apple does not recommend leaving your portable plugged in all the time. An ideal use would be a commuter who uses her MacBook Pro on the train, then plugs it in at the office to charge. This keeps the battery juices flowing. If on the other hand, you use a desktop computer at work, and save a notebook for infrequent travel, Apple recommends charging and discharging its battery at least once per month. Need a reminder? Add an event to your desktop’s iCal.
Long Term Storage
If you don’t plan on using your notebook for more than six months, Apple recommends that you remove and store battery with a 50% charge. If you store a battery when it’s fully discharged, it could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding any charge. Conversely, if you store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may experience some loss of battery capacity, meaning it will have a shorter life. Be sure to store the ejected battery at the proper temperature. (See “Notebook Temperate Zone.”)
Optimal Setting
You can choose to use your Apple notebook in a way that maximizes its battery life.
Energy: The Energy Saver control panel offers several settings that determine power levels for your PowerBook. Your portable knows when it’s plugged in, and runs accordingly. When on battery power, it will dim the screen and use other components sparingly. If you change this setting to maximize performance, your battery will drain more quickly.
Brightness: Dim the screen to the lowest comfortable level to achieve life. For instance, when watching a DVD on an airplane, you may not need full brightness if all the lights are off.
AirPort Wireless: AirPort consumes power, even if you are not using its features to connect to a network. You can turn it off in its control panel to save power.
Bluetooth Wireless: Likewise, you can turn off Bluetooth to maximize your battery life, as it also consumes power when not in use.
Applications and peripherals: Disconnect peripherals and quit applications not in use. Eject CDs and DVDs if not currently accessing them.
At Microsoft, seeking the next billion computer usersBill Gates and Steve Ballmer got Microsoft its first billion customers.
9:49 AM
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer got Microsoft its first billion customers. It's Will Poole's job to get the next billion.
Poole, who co-leads Microsoft's emerging-markets push, is chartered with enabling the company's goal of allowing 1 billion more people to access computing technology by 2015.
The company has a number of efforts under way in the area, from the Starter Editions of Windows XP and Vista, to shared computers for classrooms, to research into turning a cell phone into a low-cost computer by connecting it with a large display. Poole said the last effort, which has garnered a fair bit of interest, is moving from the drawing board to reality.
"We've got it in development in China right now," he said during a recent meeting with CNET News.com reporters and editors. "We've got a manufacturing partner signed on with us and our group in Beijing is working quite hard on it. It'll be in trials I think within a year, and we'll see how people respond to it."
In the meeting, Poole talked about Microsoft's approach, as well as some of the challenges, which stretch well beyond the fact that many people can't afford the latest technology. In actuality, relevance and accessibility are bigger hurdles for the world's poor, Poole said.
When I started looking at this about five years ago, I thought that affordability was the biggest challenge. It turns out that affordability is actually the third on the list of issues. The first one turns out to be relevance.
Q: How can Microsoft reach people who historically have not been users of its technology?
Poole: Let me begin by clarifying the difference between emerging markets and emerging segments. An emerging market is what people typically think about--such as Brazil, Russia, India and China. The other includes very large developing economies. Of course there are many people in those countries who do not have very good access to technology. At the same time, we look more broadly at a concept called emerging segments...people who do not have access to technology in whatever market they're in.
So what do you do to reach those people? There are obviously people who can't afford technology here in the United States, as well as in our neighboring countries and in emerging markets.
Poole: There are three primary areas where we can help people realize social and economic opportunity through technology. Transforming education is one. The second one is looking at fostering local innovation, and the third one is enabling jobs and opportunities.
When I travel around the world I see the power of the PC to bring people new opportunities--either to have skills that they can apply to get better jobs to earn more money, or to take a disadvantaged person who simply could not get a job at all because of a handicap.
What are some of the technologies that you guys are working on that can really help beyond the economic issues that are in play?
Poole: You bring up a very good point. When I started looking at this about five years ago, I thought that affordability was the biggest challenge. It turns out that affordability is actually the third on the list of issues. The first one turns out to be relevance. That means bringing a product to market that really meets the needs of somebody in an emerging segment--be it in rural India or in urban China or down the street, here in San Francisco. Are we building a technology that is relevant to the specific needs and problems that they have?
The second thing is to look at whether the technology is accessible to them. Can they find a place to buy it? Can they get support? Can they get broadband connectivity to bring them into the world of the Web? And then the third thing is affordability.
So, for example, in Asia we focus a lot on education because that's a very high priority there. In Latin America, we focus a little bit more on the jobs and opportunities and helping people get better jobs through the use of software technology. So there's a variety of different technologies we'll bring to the market, depending on the specific needs of local people.
I've seen a lot of interesting demos from across the company of some different approaches. One of those is called MultiPoint, where it's basically an entire classroom using one computer. Can you talk a little about how that works?
Poole: MultiPoint came from Microsoft Research India. They had sent people out to see what kids were doing with PCs in schools. What they found was that kids tended to be gathered around a PC and (watching) one person do their thing and then they took turns every five minutes or so. It was really not very engaging. So they developed this technology called Microsoft MultiPoint, which enables an application to be built that lets multiple mice be used with a different cursor for each kid. So one kid can be solving a math problem in one part of the screen while another one is solving a math problem on another part of the screen.
They basically can be time-sharing the screen and working collaboratively. What we found is that not only do they get to be more engaged with what they do on the PC...but they help each other. That's turned out to be something that's very beneficial from an education perspective. The kids are engaged and collaborating to solve a problem.
A lot of people think that for much of the world the first computing device that people use won't be a PC. It'll be some sort of mobile device. Obviously, that's an area that Microsoft has spent some time on, but it's a little bit further from its comfort area. What are you doing in the mobile space as far as non-PC devices?
Poole: Well, we certainly agree that the first computing device which will be used by many people around the world will be a phone. You see this happening in emerging segments all around the planet today. Mobile phones are really just taking off as the prices come down and the access is going up. We think that there are some interesting things to do to help make the mobile phone become a better device.
How close is that to being a product? You take the phone that people are already getting, hook it up to the TV they already have and you've got a computer. The phones that we use today in the U.S. certainly are capable of that from a technology perspective. How close is that?
Poole: Well, it's still got a ways to go. We've got it in development in China right now. We've got a manufacturing partner signed on with us, and our group in Beijing is working quite hard on it. It'll be in trials I think within a year and we'll see how people respond to it. It's a new concept in the sense of trying to bring together PC and phone technology in a lower-cost device. It's not something that you're going to see a businessperson in a developed market using while walking down the street. We're trying to really target the needs of a broader population and so we're very excited about the opportunity there, but time will tell.
Obviously, Microsoft is not the only company looking at how to get computing devices into the hands of more people across the globe. The project that's gotten the most attention is the One Laptop Per Child project. What do you make of a program the group is launching in which people in the U.S. can buy one of the laptops for their own use, and then a second computer would go overseas?
Poole: It's an interesting way to get people involved in this challenge that we all see, which is how do you effectively apply technology to education. I'll be very interested to see how it comes out as well.
How important is it that that first device people use be running a Microsoft operating system versus Linux or another operating system?
Poole: Interestingly enough, we don't see that as much of a battle. The battle is around nonconsumption or around buying a new two-wheeled motor vehicle as opposed to buying a PC for the home...Clearly, we have an interest in having our software used and we think that the value that we offer is very deeply desired--particularly as people get into more of the business world...But our primary goal is around just getting technology to be adopted.
Needy schools a priority in computer rollout
9:49 AM
ALL secondary schools will be able to apply for commonwealth grants from March next year to boost their computer resources, but the most needy schools will be given priority.
Federal cabinet yesterday signed off on Labor's ambitious $1billion computer initiative, the first election pledge to be approved by the Rudd cabinet.
Deputy Prime Minister and federal Education Minister Julia Gillard said that under the program every secondary student in Years 9 to 12 would have access to computers and other information technology resources.
Ms Gillard said a million Australian students would benefit from the technology fund, the first step in the Rudd Government's education revolution.
"World-class ICT in schools will make a real and sustainable change in the way teaching and learning are delivered in classrooms across Australia," she said in a statement.
The fund will allow each school to apply for up to $1 million, depending on enrolments and existing technology. Funding can be used to buy computers, digital projectors, interactive whiteboards and other equipment.
"The Rudd Government will work with the school systems in every state and territory to identify schools that have the highest priority in terms of need, and assist them in making applications to the fund. Over four years, all secondary schools will have access to the fund," she said.
Ms Gillard said visits to secondary schools by Labor MPs since the election had revealed a desperate need for an increase in computer and internet access.
"Unfortunately, they found too many Australian schools don't have adequate internet access, some don't have internet access at all," Ms Gillard said after the cabinet meeting in Brisbane yesterday.
"Too many schools don't have enough computers for senior secondary students."
Ms Gillard said she was concerned that technology aids such as interactive whiteboards and digital projectors were missing from many schools.
"Today, cabinet has agreed that we will implement our $1billion fund to bring computers to Years 9 to 12 students in each Australian secondary school," she said.
An audit will be launched to establish existing resources in schools, and the Government will begin discussions with state and territory governments and independent and Catholic schools to ensure the rollout of funding.
"In the course of this financial year, there will be expenditure of $100 million in grants to schools to assist them with getting computers, internet access and other information technology aids," Ms Gillard said.
Computer security systems vulnerable to new attacks
9:47 AM
New York: A new category of computer attacks may compromise memory systems touted as foolproof, particularly in laptops, a recent study has found.
The study, by researchers at Princeton, found these attacks overcome "disc encryption," a broad set of security measures meant to protect information stored in a computer's permanent memory.
The researchers cracked widely-used technologies like Microsoft's BitLocker, Apple's FileVault and Linux's dm-crypt.
They described the attacks in a paper and video published on Thursday on the web.
The team said these attacks are likely to break through other disc encryption systems because these technologies have similar structural features.
The attack is particularly effective against computers that are turned on but are locked, such as laptops in "sleep" or hibernation mode.
One effective countermeasure is to turn a computer off entirely, though in some cases even this does not guarantee protection.
"We've broken disc encryption products exactly when they seem to be most important these days: laptops that contain sensitive corporate data or personal information about business customers," said Alex Halderman of Princeton's computer science department.
Halderman's Princeton collaborators included graduate students Nadia Heninger, William Clarkson, Joseph Calandrino, Ariel Feldman and Professor Edward Felten of the Centre for Information Technology Policy.
The findings demonstrate risks associated with recent high-profile thefts, including a Veterans Administration computer containing information on 26 million veterans and a University of California, Berkeley laptop that contained information on more than 98,000 graduate students and others, said Felten.
The team wrote programmes that gained access to essential encryption information automatically after cutting power to machines and rebooting them.
"This method is extremely resistant to countermeasures that defensive programmes on the original computer might try to take," Halderman said.
Apple Unlikely To Sell Cheaper Computers
9:46 AM
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on Tuesday said the company is unlikely to start selling low-priced computers, despite the global economic slowdown, and has no plans to enter the emerging mini-notebook market or to build a variety of iPhone models.
Jobs made an unusual appearance at the teleconference the company holds with financial analysts after releasing quarterly earnings. Apple on Tuesday reported that profits rose to $1.14 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 27, as sales increased 27%, driven primarily by iPhone and Mac computer sales. The company also said that it had surpassed during the quarter its goal of selling 10 million iPhones this year.
In answering analysts' questions, Jobs said the company is prepared for the economic slowdown with a loyal customer base that's likely to delay purchases rather than turn to competitors, a successful product portfolio that offers strong value for the money, and $25 billion in the bank.
While Apple could get "buffeted around by the [economic] waves a bit," Jobs said he was confident the company would do well in the slowdown. "I think this economic downturn will present some extraordinary opportunities for companies with cash," he said.
Asked whether he would consider returning some of the cash to investors, Jobs dodged the question, but indicated that the company would prefer to invest the money in its business during the downturn. "It's not burning a hole in our pockets," Jobs said of the money stash. He also declined to say whether Apple would use the money for acquisitions.
As to selling cheaper computers to attract consumers with thinner wallets in a slow economy, Jobs said that wasn't a strategy the company would pursue, preferring instead to beat the competition on features within the high-end market.
"What we want to do is deliver an increasing level of value for customers," he said. "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk, and our DNA won't let us do that."
One new market Apple would stay out of for the time being is for so-called "netbooks," defined as sub-$500 notebooks with displays 10 inches or smaller and running a full PC operating system. Most of the major PC makers are offering such machines as second or third computers for people looking to check e-mail or browse the Web on the road.
"That's a nascent category that, the best that we can tell, not a lot is being sold," Jobs said. "We'll wait to see how that nascent category evolves, and we've got some pretty interesting ideas if it does evolve."
In the meantime, Apple has the iPhone, which can browse the Web from anywhere on a cellular network and fit in your pocket, Jobs said. Asked whether he would consider making a variety of models, like other mobile phone makers do with their products, Jobs said Apple plans to stay with one iPhone and make it a strong platform for software that would differentiate the product from rivals'.
UPDATE 1-Dell's China sales up 30 pct so far this year
9:45 AM
Computer maker Dell (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has seen 30 percent sales growth in China and Hong Kong so far this year, in line with recent years, although it faces near-term uncertainties, a senior executive said on Wednesday. "Honestly, how things will turn out next year is hard to say," Alex Yung, Dell China vice president, told Reuters before a presentation to reporters.
"We don't know what kind of policy the Chinese government will come up with. If they continue to encourage domestic consumption, we wouldn't be too worried," he said.
"And also if the Chinese banks are not pulled too far (into global financial turmoil), we wouldn't be too worried."
The company's 30 percent sales growth in China so far this year compares with 30 to 40 percent growth over the last five to six years, he added.
Dell, the second largest computer maker after Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), said last month that slow demand had spread from the United States to Europe and Asia, and had not rebounded as expected after the summer lull. In August, it posted a steep drop in second-quarter profit, saying that companies were becoming more conservative in spending.
It has said it would realign its business to boost competitiveness, cut headcount, and invest in infrastructure and acquisitions.
Yung told reporters on Wednesday that the company was seeing a mixed performance in various sectors of the market in China, with a particularly major impact on demand from export-oriented small companies, which have been hurt by the global economic slowdown.
Gateway releases 16-inch MC series laptops
9:41 AM
Gateway on Monday released its first 16-inch laptops, the MC7801u and the MC7803u. With a 16:9 aspect ratio screen, 16-inch (and 18-inch) models.
Unlike traditional 16:10 laptop displays, a 16:9 screen matches the ratio of movies and HD content. Similar to the redesigned, the display on Gateway's MC series laptops features a glossy glass overlay that runs edge to edge. The 16-inch screen features a 1366x768 resolution; you'll need to bump up to an for 1080p playback.
The $950 MC7801u features a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T5800 CPU, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 64-bit Vista Home Premium, and a 320GB hard drive. So what don't you get on this sub-$1,000 laptop? You miss out Intel's latest platform, and the laptop relies on integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics.
A second model in the 16-inch MC series, the $1,000 MC7803u, will feature a dedicated 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 graphics card. Providing the MC models with a distinctive look, a thin pleather strip runs down the middle of the lid. The lower-end MC7801u features a burgundy lid, and the higher-end MC7803u features a black lid.
Other features include HDMI and VGA ports, backlit keyboard and multimedia controls, Webcam, DVD burner, Draft N Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 2.0 ports, and ExpressCard and media card slots.
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Apple laptops
10:41 PM
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and manufactures consumer electronics and computer software products. The company's best-known hardware products include Macintosh computers, the iPod and the iPhone. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software, the iWork suite of productivity software, Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products, and Logic Studio, a suite of audio tools. The company operates more than 250 retail stores in nine countries and an online store where hardware and software products are sold.Apple ipod iPod Classic (previously named iPod from 2001 to 2007), portable media player first introduced in 2001, currently available in a 160 GB model.iPod Nano, portable media player first introduced in 2005, currently available in 8 and 16 GB models. The newest generation has a 640x480 video camera (H.264, 30FPS) and a FM tuner with live pause and iTunes.Apple laptops Tagging.iPod Shuffle, digital audio player first introduced in 2005, currently available in 2 and 4 GB models.iPod Touch, portable media player first introduced in September 2007. Currently available in 8, 32, and 64GB models. The 32 and 64GB Gen 3 models feature a faster processor and include voice control and an external microphone.Apple iPhone iPhone, a convergence of an Internet-enabled smartphone and iPod.[88] The original iPhone combined a 2.5G quad band GSM and EDGE cellular phone with features found in hand held devices, running a scaled-down versions of Apple's Mac OS X (dubbed iPhone OS), with various Mac OS X applications such as Safari and Mail. It also includes web-based and Dashboard apps such as Google Maps and Weather.Apple TV a set-top video device intended to bridge the sale of content from iTunes with high-definition televisions. The device links up to a user's TV and syncs, either via Wi-Fi or a wired network, with one computer's iTunes library and streams from an additional four. The Apple TV originally incorporated a 40 GB hard drive for storage, includes outputs for HDMI and component video.
Hewlett-Packard
10:41 PM
software
10:40 PM
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things and that manufacturers of consumer-facing hardware allow user modifications to their hardware. Free software is available gratis (free of charge) in most casesComputer software, or just software is a general term used to describe the role that computer programs, procedures and documentation play in a computer system.[1]The term includes:Application software, such as word processors which perform productive tasks for users.Firmware, which is software programmed resident to electrically programmable memory devices on board mainboards or other types of integrated hardware carriers.Middleware, which controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.System software such as operating systems, which interface with hardware to provide the necessary services for application software.Software testing is a domain dependent of development and programming. Software testing consists of various methods to test and declare a software product fit before it can be launched for use by either an individual or a group.Testware, which is an umbrella term or container term for all utilities and application software that serve in combination for testing a software package but not necessarily may optionally contribute to operational purposes. As such, testware is not a standing configuration but merely a working environment for application software or subsets thereof.Software includes things such as websites, programs or video games, that are coded by programming languages like C or C++."Software" is sometimes used in a broader context to mean anything which is not hardware but which is used with hardware, such as film, tapes and records
microsoft windows
10:38 PM
Microsoft Windows is the collective brand name of several software operating systems by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs).[25][26] The most recent client version of Windows is Windows Vista and the current server version is Windows Server 2008. The upcoming client and server versions of Windows, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, are scheduled to be available at retail from October 22, 2009.Linux is a family of Unix-like computer operating systems. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and open source development: typically all underlying source code can be freely modified, used, and redistributed by anyone.[27] The name "Linux" comes from the Linux kernel, started in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The system's utilities and libraries usually come from the GNU operating system, announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman. The GNU contribution is the basis for the alternative name GNU/Linux.[28]Predominantly known for its use in servers, Linux is supported by corporations such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Novell, Oracle Corporation, Red Hat, Canonical Ltd. and Sun Microsystems. It is used as an operating system for a wide variety of computer hardware, including desktop computers, supercomputers,[29] video game systems, such as the PlayStation 3, several arcade games, and embedded devices such as mobile phones, routers, and stage lighting systems.
printer
10:38 PM
History Of Computers
10:34 PM
The history of computing hardware is the record of the constant drive to make computer hardware faster, cheaper, and store more data.Before the development of the general-purpose computer, most calculations were done by humans. Tools to help humans calculate are generally called calculators. Calculators continue to develop, but computers add the critical element of conditional response, allowing automation of both numerical calculation and in general, automation of many symbol-manipulation tasks. Computer hasundergone profound changes every decade since the 1940s.Computing hardware has become a platform for uses other than computation, such as automation, communication, control, entertainment, and education. Each field in turn has imposed its own requirements on the hardware, which has evolved in response to those requirements.Aside from written numerals, the first aids to computation were purely mechanical devices that required the operator to set up the initial values of an elementary arithmetic operation, then propel the device through manual manipulations to obtain the result. An example would be a slide rule where numbers are represented by points on a logarithmic scale and computation is performed by setting a cursor and aligning sliding scales. Numbers could be represented in a continuous "analog" form, where a length or other physical property was proportional to the number. Or, numbers could be represented in the form of digits, automatically manipulated by a mechanism. Although this approach required more complex mechanisms, it made for greater precision of results.Both analog and digital mechanical techniques to be developed, producing many practical computing machines. Electrical methods rapidly improved the speed and precision of calculating machines, at first by motive power for mechanical calculating devices, and later directly as the medium for representation of numbers. Numbers could be represented by voltages or currents and manipulated by linear electronic amplifiers. Or, numbers could be represented as discrete binary or decimal digits, and electrically-controlled switches and combinatorial circuits could perform mathematical operations.The invention of electronic amplifiers made calculating machines much faster than mechanical or electromechanical predecessors. Vacuum tube amplifiers gave way to discrete transistors, and then rapidly to monolithic integrated circuits. By defeating the Tyranny of numbers, integrated circuits made high-speed and low-cost digital computers a widespread commodity.This article covers major developments in the history of computing hardware, and attempts to put them in context. For a detailed timeline of events, see the computing timeline article. The history of computing article treats methods intended for pen and paper, with or without the aid of tables. Since all computers rely on digital storage, and tend to be limited by the size and speed of memory, the history of computer data storage is tied to the development of computers.
