Sunday 29 September 2013

Is Windows Password Really Protect Your Data?

Is Windows Password Really Protect Your Data?


So, everyone have set a password to open your Windows desktop or laptop and you always sign-out or lock the screen when leave the system alone.
 

Well! This still wouldn't protect your valuable data, if your system is ever stolen and an attacker may physically access your system to gain and the password could not help much.

A Windows password just prevents someone from logging into your user account; however, if the person have the ability to restart the system, i.e., accessing physically, using a Linux Live CD or even through USB drive, he may boot from these devices and access your files from the live environment. 

This is only possible if the system's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), which is built into the PC, is the first software run by a PC when powered on and is set to boot from removable devices. This is default's general setting. 

Even the BIOS is set 'not to boot' from removable devices, the computer thief may enter into BIOS and changes the setting to enable booting from removable devices. This could also be prevented by setting a password for BIOS; but few users do this. 

And even a password has been arranged for BIOS to prevent the booting from removable devices would not protect your data. The thief may remove the hard drive from the system then attached it into another computer and access your data. An attacker, once, boots your system using a removable device, then he may reset your Windows password, and BIOS settings as well. A Windows password is not fully useless, but you can physically lock-down to prevent the peoples, who mucking on your system. 

If you really like to protect your data then not only rely on a Windows password. You should have to use encryption, which is a software, whose main task is encryption and decryption of data, usually in the form of files on (or sectors of) hard drives and removable media, email messages, or in the form of packets sent over computer networks.  
 
Encryption software executes an algorithm that is designed to encrypt computer data in such a way, which can not be recovered without access to the key. The purpose of encryption is to prevent third parties from recovering the original information. This is particularly useful for sensitive data like credit card numbers and other personal info. So, when you using encryption, the files are stored on your system's hard drive in a seemingly scrambled form.

When you boot the system, you'll be prompted to enter encryption key of passphrase, which makes your files to accessible. The encryption will prevent the thief, even he reboots the system into another OS or removes the HD and plugs into another computer, and appears as scrambled unless he know the encryption passphrase.

Want to use Encryption: There were plenty of free encrypting software available on net; so, you may choose and install as for your requirements.

Bitlocker is an encryption software available in Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Windows 7 and Vista, but requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) on the system. It helps keep everything from documents to passwords safer by encrypting the entire drive that Windows and your data reside on. Once BitLocker is turned on, any file you save on that drive is encrypted automatically. Bitlocker has a new feature, BitlockerToGoReader, which is an application that provides users read-only access to BitLocker-protected drives on computers running Windows XP or Windows Vista. For Windows 7, it gives a lockdown treatment to the misplaced portable storage devices like USB drives and external hard drives.

Truecrypt is an open source, free encryption software. It never saves any decrypted data on disk, but stores them temporarily in RAM. Even when the volume is mounted, data stored in the volume is still encrypted. When you restart Windows or turn off your system, the volume will be dismounted and files stored in it will be inaccessible (and encrypted). If power supply is interrupted, files stored in the volume are inaccessible (and encrypted). To make them accessible again, you have to mount the volume (and provide the correct password and/or keyfile). When you use this software, you should have to enter the encryption password each time your computer boots. You could also set it up to store your important files in an encrypted container, and leaving the rest in your computer as unencrypted. The encrypted container would still be protected the important files you stored in it.   
    
FolderLock is a full suite solution letting to keep your personal files encrypted and locked, while keeping an automatic and real-time backup of encrypted files to an online storage. It also offers portable security for USB drives and CDs/DVDs. Folder Lock also lets you lock files, folders and drives; save your personal information in Wallets; shred files and clean your Windows History. Folder Lock works under all flavors of 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7/Vista/XP and later. 

A Windows password is still useful; but encryption is more powerful and secured. If your laptop is stolen while powered-on, the thief have chances to open the laptop and access the data, which means the system is already in running mode; so he can access. If the laptop was in a lock screen mode then he required a password to log in, and have to restart the system to try to access. And doing so, he would lock himself because the system forgets the encryption key when its power off! 

Thursday 19 September 2013

How To Transfer Files Between Nearby Smartphones


How To Transfer Files Between Nearby Smartphones


There were variety of ways to transfer photos or files between nearby smartphones; but they're not simple and the method of transfers are not interoperable. Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone has their own ways to transfer files.
 
NFC: Any Android device running on 4.1 or later version and included a NFC chip inside then able to send files via NFC using Android Beam, a feature from Android mobile OS.
Android Beam allows the rapid short-range exchange of web bookmarks, contact info, directions, YouTube videos, and other data. Just open the file or photo then press the phones back to back and you'll be prompted for the file or photo will 'beam' to other phone!

This is great and quickly sending photos; but it couldn't send every type of file and having limitations in beaming of YouTube via Android YouTube app or on other platforms of specific data could not be sent as it requires Android Beam on other devices, too. A faster connection is also needed to send a larger sizes of video or photo via NFC as the Android Beam is limited in beaming of photos or videos onto other platforms, which were not currently supported.

iPhone doesn't integrated with NFC; so, they couldn't work on NFC. Blackberry and Windows Phone's are even included NFC but Android Beam couldn't send files with them. But Windows Phone devices could able to send files between each other by NFC.
 
Bluetooth: All the smartphones, generally, has equipped Bluetooth hardware, which could be used to transfer files between nearby devices and working across all smartphone platforms.
Android supports Bluetooth file transfers by setting up Bluetooth pairing between two devices. Both Blackberry and Windows Phone 8 has also been supporting Bluetooth file transfers while iOS and its devices has not updated.
To share a file, over Android, just open the file that you wish to share and view it then tap the share button and then select Bluetooth option. Before sharing, both devices should be to set Bluetooth pairing.
 
E mailing: E mail is, still, most reliable and easy way in sharing your files over smartphones when comparing third-party Apps, which even well developed and sophisticated software.
 
So, e mailing a file is the best way to share a file with anyone using any smartphone. Just open your e mail from smartphone, attach the file and send to other person's e mail address. The other person will get the file in his e mail's inbox on his smartphone.
 
Apple may refuse in supporting some standard methods of file sharing such as NFC or Bluetooth; but using AirDrop, a Wi-Fi ad-hoc service that supports Mac computers running OS X 10.7 or later and iOS devices running iOS 7 or later, will show other iPhone's in your nearby area and allowing to share files, other data between them.
 
Using third-party services: Hardware based methods are so incompatible across devices, and running platforms, too. So, you should rely on some online services to share the files, photos, videos and even links. dropbox, whatsapp, viber and some other services will work excellent. 
 
There will be a wide variety of third-party Apps, available in Apps store, to sharing files over Wi-Fi using any smartphone and generally, you should have to run the same App as the other person using.
 
Above said methods are not ideal for larger files such as music collections, which you wish to copy to a nearby phone.
In these situations, it is preferable to connect your phone to a computer then copy the files on computer; and then connect the other person's phone to computer and copy the files onto the other phone.

Saturday 7 September 2013

Windows XP: Support Terminates In 2014

Windows XP: Support Terminates In 2014


Microsoft is planning to terminate its support for Windows XP on 08 April 2014. In fact, Microsoft supports Windows XP for around twelve and half years and the supports has also been extended on several occasions; but the year 2014 looks like the deadline. 
 

Windows XP is still widely used and, without doubt, it's the second most popular OS next to Windows 7.

The mainstream support of Windows XP is ended in 2009; however, it's extended support still be continued and Microsoft is still creating security patches and sending them to its users via Windows Update services. 

And starting from 08 April 2014, Microsoft wouldn't offer any technical support and security patches for Windows XP; but Windows XP will be remain as vulnerable and the system may displaying the user is a victim and Microsoft may advise you to migrating to Windows 7 or Windows 8 - a smartest move for the people, who still clinging with XP. 

Below is the Life Cycle Supportive sheet from Microsoft for its OS, which can be accessed from: windowslifecyclefactsheet.  


If you're still interesting and need XP on your system, then you've to face more and more security vulnerabilities and further, finding a new hardware for XP machine would also be difficult. As the latest versions from Mozilla Firefox wouldn't support the older Windows OS, such as Windows 98. 

If you still love XP, and your system has the older software then you have to consider to upgrade a modern version of Windows by running Windows XP in Virtual Machine (VM), which is a software based, fictive computer. Virtual Machines may be based on specifications of a hypothetical computer or emulate the computer architecture and functions of a real world computer. The Virtual Machine runs programs in a Bytecode Interpreter (computing).

Windows 7's Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions are having a free of charge feature ' Windows XP Mode (XPM)', which is a Virtual Machine package for Windows Virtual PC containing a pre-installed, licensed copy of Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3, through which you can easily run Windows Virtual Machine.

To acquire XP Mode from said editions of Windows 7, type windows xp mode in the search box then enter.

Applications running in Windows XP Mode doesn't has compatibility issues, as they are actually running inside a Windows XP Virtual Machine and redirected using  RDP (Remote Desktop Services) to the Windows 7 host.

As the supportive for Windows 7 will be continued till 2020; so, it's better to migrating your Windows XP to a newer version of Windows. 

Linux OS is an another choice, if you wouldn't find a right one or really upset on Microsoft OS.