Software And Internet Blog

Windows XP and Windows Vista have pretty good file and folder security- but only if your drives and partitions are formatted using NTFS. FAT and FAT32 volumes do not provide the ability to lock down individual files or folders. Even if you use NTFS though, the ability of Windows to protect data is limited. If you are using the Home versions of XP or Vista your options for securing and protecting your data are even more limited. Hide Folders 2009 extends the abilities of the Windows operating system and enables you to protect data on your terms.
Key Features of Hide Folders 2009:

* Hide files and folders from users and applications in Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Vista
* Four protection methods available: Hide, Lock, Hide & Lock, Read Only
* Support for NTFS, FAT32 and FAT volumes
* Protect unlimited number of files and folders
* Enable trusted processes to access protected data.
* Removing Hide Folders 2009 folder from the system will not
* Command line support for main Hide Folders 2009 functions
* Manage Hide Folders 2009 functions with hot keys
* Runs in stealth mode- program does not show up in Task Manager

Protection Modes:

* Hide: Hidden files or folders will not be visible to a user, but are still possible to access if you know the path to the object.
* Lock: The protected file or folder will be visible but not accessible.
* Hide & Lock: The protected files or folders will not be visible to users nor will it be possible to access them.
* Read only: You can access the protected files and folders, but you cannot modify them.

Stealth Mode and Trusted Processes:
Stealth Mode: Hide Folders 2009 runs in stealth mode and covers its tracks. When Hide Folders application is not running, hidden files and folders remain hidden. Even if the Hide Folders 2009 application folder is removed, hidden data is still invisible. Hide Folders 2009 also clears links to protected data from Recent Documents, and the Recycle Bin.

Trusted Processes: While data is hidden with Hide Folders 2009, some programs or functions may still need access. You can assign Trusted Processes that have unrestricted access to the protected files and folders.
Getting Hide Folders 2009:
Download the free evaluation version
Purchase Hide Folders 2009:

Small businesses want to take their company to the next level, increasing their customer base while also increasing revenues. But every small business also has to make sure that computers in their organization are secure. For a small business this is a tough task as some either don’t have a full-time IT resource, or the resources they do have are stretched extremely thin. That’s without mentioning the high cost of consultants. This has led to organizations looking for ways to become more efficient, not only with their budget, but also with the IT resources they have. This is where SaaS offerings come in. Investing in Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions has enabled small businesses to reduce their administrative, hardware, and power consumption costs.

Security vendor Panda, has recently announced a new SaaS security solution targeted at small businesses, Panda Managed Office Protection (PMOP). The product is an endpoint security solution, offering the typical antivirus and firewall protection for desktops, laptops, and even servers in your organization. The SaaS part of the solution is the management infrastructure, as you don’t have to worry about installing servers to manage the database, reporting, or administrative functions. The management infrastructure and administrative interface is all in the cloud.

The PMOP endpoint protection agent will run on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows 2008, and even Windows Embedded Point of Sale (WePOS). The support matrix mentions support for VMWare virtualization, but no mention of Virtual PC or Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V support. With the growing popularity of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, support for Hyper-V virtualization must come very soon.
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Search is the gateway to the Internet for most people; for many of us, it has become second nature to distill a task into a set of keywords that will lead to the required tools and information. But Adam Cheyer, cofounder of Silicon Valley startup Siri, envisions a new way for people to interact with the services available on the Internet: a “do engine” rather than a search engine. Siri is working on virtual personal-assistant software, which would help users complete tasks rather than just collect information.

Cheyer, Siri’s vice president of engineering, says that the software takes the user’s context into account, making it highly useful and flexible. “In order to get a system that can act and reason, you need to get a system that can interact and understand,” he says.

Siri traces its origins to a military-funded artificial-intelligence project called CALO, for “cognitive assistant that learns and organizes,” that is based at the research institute SRI International. The project’s leaders–including Cheyer–combined traditionally isolated approaches to artificial intelligence to try to create a personal-assistant program that improves by interacting with its user. Cheyer, while still at SRI, took a team of engineers aside and built a sample consumer version; colleagues finally persuaded him to start a company based on the prototype. Siri licenses its core technology from SRI.
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Maya celebrates its tenth anniversary with the 2009 release, an event marked by enhancements across the board. Although some of these have popped up in other Autodesk tools before now.
For example, Maya’s modelling toolset gains true Soft Selection (below), a technique found in 3DS Max and Mudbox that allows you to sculpt smoothly by manipulating weighted selections of a mesh. Once the selection is created with the mouse (Select, Move, Rotate or Scale tool) and keyboard shortcuts (B), it can be moved, scaled and rotated.

Colour feedback indicates the size of the area affected and a much smoother transformation than normal is possible. The fall-off area of the effect (the strength and coverage of the selection’s influence) can be increased or decreased by holding B and the left and right mouse button, while the shape can be modified through the use of the Falloff curve.

It’s also possible to set the fall-off to affect multiple objects at the same time (setting it to have a global basis) such as deforming a row of teeth to match a jawline. By pressing ‘ on the keyboard and simultaneously dragging a component, you can also invoke a Tweak mode allowing you to quickly move components under the mouse regardless of whether you are currently using the Select tool, Move tool, Rotate tool or Scale tool. Soft selection also works well when used with symmetrical modelling – another key feature of Mudbox.
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Another year has just started and with it comes a clutch of new Linux distro releases, among them the somewhat predictably named Mandriva Linux 2009.

As with previous versions, the 2009 implementation of Mandriva Linux is predominantly designed for desktop rather than server use. As such it can detect and handle most desktop hardware straight out of the box, including wireless notebooks and the latest breed of lightweight ‘netbook’ devices.

Another plus is the ability to integrate easily into mixed Windows/Linux networks, added to which Mandriva Linux is easy to install, simple to learn and a good starting point for those new to the open source platform.

The Mandriva Linux kernel naturally gets updated in this release (to 2.6.27) while the default KDE desktop is upgraded from KDE 3 to 4. More specifically, you get the latest KDE 4.1.2 implementation which includes numerous performance and interface enhancements together with a number of new applications, including Dolphin file manager, Okular document viewer and Dragon media player.

No special video hardware is needed to run KDE 4, but the new interface does take a little getting used to so the older KDE 3 desktop is still there for those who need it. There’s also a Gnome (2.24) implementation and LXDE, a lightweight desktop designed, primarily, for use on low-powered netbook PCs.
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Introduction

Windows Server 2008 R2 and the Windows 7 client were made for each other - and made to provide better and more secure computing when used together. DirectAccess is a new feature that allows Windows 7 users to establish a remote connection without a VPN, and the Remote Workspace, along with Presentation Virtualization and Remote Desktop Gateway can allow users to access their company desktops from anywhere, safely and securely. In this article, we will look at these and other features that make the Server 2008 R2/Windows 7 combination the best bet for organizations looking to improve the security of their Windows-based networks.

With the emphasis at Microsoft on trustworthy computing, each edition of the server and client operating systems gets more secure. Windows Server 2008, and especially its latest incarnation, R2, provides IT administrators with many built-in security mechanisms. However, securing the server is only half the battle. The client machine is often targeted for exploit – especially in today’s mobile world where users connect from laptops that leave the company premises and thus are not always under the absolute control of the IT department. If your organization needs a high level of security (and in the current compliance-mandated environment, who doesn’t?), you should be planning ahead for the deployment of the Windows 7 client in combination with Windows Server 2008 R2 as soon after the Win 7 release as possible. Let’s look at some of the advanced security features you’ll be able to take advantage of by doing so.

Note:
Many organizations make it a policy to wait for the first service pack before rolling out a new client OS. Should you wait for SP1 before you deploy Windows 7? The Gartner Group says no. “The first Service Pack for Windows 7 is not necessary for the operating system’s stability and security readiness.”
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Internet Security is something that has grown to be a main concern among society. Companies have come out with Identity Theft prevention services, but often, by the time you get those, it is already too late or doesn’t help. The purpose of this guide is to help you try and develop safe internet habits and to keep you as safe as possible from unwanted problems relating to your personal security.

Many of you probably hear on the news, every so often, “A popular website has been compromised and many people have had their personal data stolen!” When a website is compromised, it puts thousands at risk for one of many possible types of identity theft. It is rare that a site is hacked to this extent: usually, the data is collected through look alike sites, through spyware, or through other means of collection; most of which happen on a single-user basis. It makes many people nervous when giving out personal information to anyone online because they are not sure what can really happen, and they do not have all the facts.

The goal of this article is to help you understand internet security, so you can protect yourself from thieves. We will take a look at how you can protect yourself, what websites are doing to protect you, and what laws are in place to help protect you. The best way to be safe is to understand what common tricks are, and how to avoid getting exploited.
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