Software

Secure Web Browsing Using Lightweight Portable Security

Posted by Steven Swafford on January 22, 2012

Stop for a moment and ask yourself just how safe to do feel when logging into your favorite social network site and at some point in time logging into online banking for example. I am not advocating that social networks fall short in the area of security but the reality is the internet is a dangerous place.

Today’s threats are increasing with each passing day and I would go so far to say that many individuals do not understand nor take the time to properly address security. In fact the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon states:

  1. Many users have a tendency to click on links without considering the risks of their actions.
  2. Web page addresses can be disguised or take you to an unexpected site.
  3. Many web browsers are configured to provide increased functionality at the cost of decreased security.
  4. New security vulnerabilities may have been discovered since the software was configured and packaged by the manufacturer.
  5. Computer systems and software packages may be bundled with additional software, which increases the number of vulnerabilities that may be attacked.
  6. Third-party software may not have a mechanism for receiving security updates.
  7. Many web sites require that users enable certain features or install more software, putting the computer at additional risk.
  8. Many users do not know how to configure their web browsers securely.
  9. Many users are unwilling to enable or disable functionality as required to secure their web browser.

Each of these points demonstrate the need for a mechanism that the average person can utilize to reduce the risk across the internet. Going back to the example of online banking, what would you say if you could simply boot off a DVD into a Linux Operating system and protect you credentials? This is entirely possible with Lightweight Portable Security (LPS) which was developed by the United States Air Force.

Lightweight Portable Security

LPS differs from traditional operating systems in that it isn’t continually patched. LPS is designed to run from read-only media and without any persistent storage. Any malware that might infect a computer can only run within that session.

LPS is updated on a regular basis (at least quarterly patch and maintenance releases). Update to the latest versions to have the latest protection.

For those that are not familiar with Linux there is nothing to fear. Go grab yourself a download of Lightweight Portable Security (LPS) and see for yourself just how easy LPS is and protect yourself at the same time.

Books and Whitepapers

Discover how to protect yourself from Firesheep and other Sidejacking attacks! The release of the Firesheep Wi-Fi attack tool has increased awareness among both users and attackers of the inherent insecurity of unprotected HTTP connections. Firesheep allows an attacker connected to the local network to monitor the web sessions of other users on that network. As experts proclaimed in reaction to Firesheep, the best solution to the problem is to use TLS/SSL for all connections to web sites, including the home page. Download ” Protecting Users From Firesheep and other Sidejacking Attacks with SSL” to learn how to avoid these attacks.

The Web Security Challenge: A Competitive Guide to Selecting Secure Web Gateways. In the search for reliable, comprehensive Web security, there is a clear leader. Third-party testing confirms that only Websense Web Security Gateway meets or exceeds industry analyst criteria across nine functional areas including malware protection, data loss prevention, and Web 2.0 threat detection accuracy when tested against competitive products.

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Colorlabs Wardrobe WordPress Theme Giveaway

Posted by Steven Swafford on December 26, 2011
Update: If you were not selected as a winner stay tuned in February as I will have another giveaway.

On January 1, 2012, I will giving away this theme. Wardrobe provides exceptional control for all aspects of your e-Commerce website. Whether you’re already running an online fashion store that needs updating, or planning to build a new WordPress-powered online store, the Wardrobe theme will be incredibly valuable to you. The pre-made template makes the job of putting up an online store easy without much complication.

Wardrobe has a simplified design with clean graphics and good use of color that shift the visitors’ focus to the products. Uncluttered design that makes great use of white space making it easier for the user to understand how to navigate and use the site.

Wardrobe Theme Project

Features

  • Automatic thumbnail resizer: Theme is powered with a script that automatically generates thumbnails from your post images. This will save you time and make your web site easy to re-design.
  • Theme administration panel:Manage important theme elements from a dedicated panel and be free from the hassle of editing codes. Here you can integrate your web site with AdSense, Analytics and Feedburner in a few clicks.
  • WordPress threaded comments:Optimize user discussion on your web site with WordPress threaded comments. Say ‘goodbye’ to hard-to-follow comment posts and ‘hello’ to neatly organized comment threads.
  • Cross-browser compatibility: Coded and designed according to web standards. This ensures complete accessibility and compatibility in modern internet browsers, such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and many others.

Contest Rules

Entering the contest is simple. All that is required is to follow @raddevelopment and leave a comment on this blog post that ranges between 100 – 200 words as to why you’re deserving of the free copy.

At the time of the drawing, January 2, 2012, Radical Development will select one random winners so be sure to follow the rules to win!

Summary of Rules and Regulations

To enter to win a single copy of the Colorlabs Wardrobe WordPress Theme, $69.00 retail value of prize, no purchase is necessary. Contest closes at midnight of January 2, 2012. If you’re selected as a winner, you must provide a valid email address.

Complete Rules and Regulations

  1. This contest is open to residents of the United States of America, except employees of Radical Development who is sponsoring the Promotion and their affiliates.
  2. The chance of being selected will depend on the total number of eligible entries received. If the selected entrant cannot be contacted by the email address provided in the comment within 10 days of being selected, he/she will not be eligible to win the prize and an alternate entrant will be randomly selected.
  3. The prize is not transferable or convertible into cash or otherwise and must be accepted as awarded.
  4. The right is reserved to terminate or withdraw this contest at any time without prior notice.
  5. This contest is subject to all and Federal, State and Municipal laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
  6. Radical Development and its affiliates accept no liability or responsibility in connection with injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising out of this contest or prize. Entries not meeting the guidelines or irregular in any way will be considered void.
  7. There is no technical support from Radical Development nor Colorlabs and Company.
  8. Good luck.

QuickPick Is A Launchpad Clone Of OSX Lion

Posted by Steven Swafford on March 24, 2011

OSX Lion LaunchPad

In the event you have not heard of the LaunchPad to be released within OSX Lion it is a nice feature that bring the iPad style of accessing your application to your MacBook. Apple says, “Launchpad gives you instant access to your apps — iPad style. Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. Your open windows fade away, replaced by an elegant, full-screen display of all the apps on your Mac. It takes just a swipe to see multiple pages of apps, and you can arrange them any way you like by dragging icons to different locations or by grouping apps in folders. And when you download an app from the Mac App Store, it automatically appears in Launchpad. Ready to blast off”.

In the event you want this capability today then you’re in luck. The Araelium Group has QuickLaunch available at a cost of $10.00 via their online store or the Apple App Store. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of use and quick access. It’s great from the aspect that you can create pages and add shortcuts to applications and folders. You can configure QuickPick to either use the keyboard or a screen corner for quick activation. You can even have the application sit in your dock and the menu bar or any combination of.

Now if you have made it this far then I wanted to let you know that you can grab QuickPick for free from MacUpdate. Act fast because I’m not positive how long they will offer this app for free! So what do you think of QuickPick? Is it something you would spend $10 on or will you wait for OSX Lion?

How To Use ScreenFlow To Capture Netflix Streaming Media

Posted by Steven Swafford on March 19, 2011

streaming media

First things first, I am not advocating violating copyright laws and you should clearly understand the Digital Millennium Copyright Act surrounding digital media before you try capturing media. Previously I wrote about How to Backup DVDs with Handbrake and this article is very different in nature. Because you do not own the content that you wish to capture you will likely find yourself in a legal battle should you distribute such content. That being said since I am a paying NetFlix subscriber there are often times that I may be traveling and I don’t have access to the internet. Because of this fact I thought to myself there must be a way to capture that movie or television show and play it on my iPad and then ultimately deleting the media once I have watched it.

In the past few months I have begun using my MacBook Pro more and more and when it comes to digital media and software associated in this area I feel nothing performs better than the Mac Operating System. Case in point is ScreenFlow which is a professional screencasting studio. Just stop and think about it for a moment and I am sure you will begin to understand just how simple it is to capture streaming media.

Recording NetFlix Streaming Media with ScreenFlow on a Mac

  • Grab ScreenFlow, a screen video capture software for Mac.
  • Launch ScreenFlow for Mac and the following dialog window will appear:

screenflow dialog

  • When you finish your recording, press command-shift-2 to stop recording. ScreenFlow will create a new video files with the recording.
  • Press Command-E or select “Export” from the File menu to export your recorded video:

screenflow export recording dialog

The end result is a high quality recording, grab ScreenFlow and see for yourself.

Update, I just ran across an article titled Media Converter for OS X is the Simplest Drag-And-Drop Video Converter Around where Whitson Gordon says, “If you need to convert a video for your iPod, a DVD, or even just rip the audio out of a movie, free app Media Converter will do it with just a quick drag-and-drop.”

Diskeeper 2011 Product Contest

Posted by Steven Swafford on March 17, 2011

If you recall my Product Review: Diskeeper 2010 from the past it is worth stating that the Diskeeper Corporation has revealed the near future release Diskeeper 2011 which bring a number of great feature to the table that goes a long way in assisting you in keeping those fragmented hard drives under control. The fine folks at the Diskeeper Corporation has graciously provided three FREE licenses of Diskeeper 2011 Home, just continue reading for details on how to win.

Diskeeper has always been the de facto standard for tooling surrounding fragmentation in my book and while there are a number of similar products out there nothing can compare to Diskeeper… But now with new Diskeeper 2011, fragmentation is becoming a thing of the past!

Who Is Diskeeper?

Diskeeper is a Microsoft Gold Partner. They also serve as a Strategic Alliance Partner to accommodate the needs of Strategic Alliances such as Intel, IBM, Lenovo, Dell, and HP in providing an optimum solution to fragmentation and other performance and reliability issues to their customers. With this type of partners it becomes evident of the quality around the Diskeeper software.

Benefits

  • Continually optimized read/write speeds with no resource conflicts
  • I/O activity reduced an average of  40%*
  • Backups 30%  faster*
  • System reliability elevated to design expectations
  • System longevity extended an average of 2½ additional years*
  • Site-wide decrease in energy consumption (12%) and in server cooling requirements**
  • Monitors new fragments and can clean fragments in a matter of seconds
  • Defrag on the fly
  • Runs in the background
  • Pricing is easy on the wallet.

*Windows IT Pro  –  Improved Reliability Is Within Your Grasp
**Going Green With Diskeeper

Diskeeper 2011 Editions

  • Diskeeper 2011 Professional edition
  • Diskeeper 2011 Pro Premier edition
  • Diskeeper 2011 Server edition
  • Diskeeper 2011 EnterpriseServer edition
  • Diskeeper 2011 Administrator edition

Contest Rules

Entering the contest is simple. All that is required is to follow @raddevelopment and leave a comment on blog post titled Diskeeper 2011 Product Contest that ranges between 250-500 words as to why you’re deserving of the free copy. Do you have a story surrounding fragmentation? If so, share with others. Don’t have a story? Well that is okay also, just comment in 250-500 words why you want Diskeeper 2011.

At the time of the drawing, April 22, 2011, Radical Development will select three random winners so be sure to follow the rules to win!

Summary of Rules and Regulations

To enter to win a Diskeeper 2011 Home Edition, $39.95 retail value of prize, no purchase is necessary. Contest closes at midnight of April 22, 2011. If you’re selected as a winner, you must provide a valid email address in order for Diskeeper Corporation to send you a licensed copy of Diskeeper 2011 Home Edition.

Complete Rules and Regulations

  1. This contest is open to residents of the United States of America, except employees of Radical Development who is sponsoring the Promotion and their affiliates.
  2. The chance of being selected will depend on the total number of eligible entries received. If the selected entrant cannot be contacted by the email address provided in the comment within 10 days of being selected, he/she will not be eligible to win the prize and an alternate entrant will be randomly selected.
  3. The prize is not transferable or convertible into cash or otherwise and must be accepted as awarded.
  4. The right is reserved to terminate or withdraw this contest at any time without prior notice.
  5. This contest is subject to all and Federal, State and Municipal laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
  6. Radical Development and its affiliates accept no liability or responsibility in connection with injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising out of this contest or prize. Entries not meeting the guidelines or irregular in any way will be considered void.
  7. Good luck.
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