Everything you need to know about firewalls by: Nick Roche

 Did you know that when your computer is connected to the internet, it has over 131,000 ‘ports’ that a hacker could connect to? These ports are like doors in a building and if they aren’t protected properly, then someone could sneak in without you noticing. If the hacker is not installing a virus, they can still do some serious damage without alerting your security software, including transmitting your personal information. So how do you watch all of these doorways to your information? You need a firewall!

In construction terms, a firewall is a fire-resistant wall that subdivides a building to stop the spread of fire from one area to another. In computer terms, we need to stop communications between your computer and others on the internet. A total block of all internet communication would be useless though, so you need a way of selecting which type of communications you want to receive. For this, computer firewalls have rules and filters much like construction firewalls have access doors.

Where do I put this firewall?

Firewalls can be on a hardware box (a separate unit or part of your internet modem or router) or can be software installed on your computer. Most popular security software packages also include a firewall. A hardware firewall is great for providing a barrier before your computer is even reached and will also mean that your computer doesn’t have to spend its precious resources on running the firewall software. It also reduces the risk of the firewall itself being compromised, as some viruses can try and disable security software features that are running on your computer. The downside is that a hardware-based firewall can be more expensive and not as easy to configure and maintain if you are unsure of how to use them.

If Microsoft gives me a firewall, do I need another one?

The Windows Firewall (on Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Vista) only examines inbound communications coming into your computer from the internet. If your computer becomes infected (e.g. if you install some free software that turns out to have a hidden nasty) then your outbound communication to other computers on the internet won’t be examined or filtered. This can turn your computer into a source of infection, impacting your security and internet connection. It’s also not recommended that you run more than one software firewall as this uses more processing power and can cause conflicts, so if your security software includes a firewall, turn off the Windows Firewall.

If I have a secure wireless connection do l need a firewall?

A wireless connection is another way to get onto the internet and wireless security controls who can use that connection. This is similar to allowing who can plug into your phone line. Once you are connected, your 131,000+ ports are still open to hackers, so you still need a firewall. A firewall may be included on your wireless router but it pays to check.

Why does it keep on giving me messages?

If you are doing something specific (like installing new software or troubleshooting a connection problem) you may need to temporarily disable your firewall. Software firewalls may alert you that a connection has been attempted and blocked and may ask if you wish to allow that kind of connection in the future. In general, if you are doing something new which would probably involve a connection to the internet, you can allow the connection – either ‘this time only’ or for all future connection attempts. If in doubt, block it, as you can always allow it later if you find that it is needed.

Firewalls provide an enhanced level of security that has now become the minimum standard to protect your computer. They do require a certain level of knowledge or a great computer support person, so talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter to ensure that you are protected. 

Understanding How Downloading Services Work by: Deeprana

Today, if you want to buy or rent a movie, you have a lot of options. You can drive or walk to a store, pick up a movie and return it when you're done. If you'd rather not make the trip, you can sign up for a service and have your movies delivered to you. If you don't want to wait for the mail either, you can order and download movies online. This is where free movies come into the quotient. In most cases, you can begin to watch free movies online within minutes of starting your download.

There is much to be said about downloading content from the internet. Most important of all is the legality issue. For example, the not yet released or latest movies online are most usually branded as illegal. Until recently, most people who downloaded movies online were using peer-to-peer file sharing programs to share pirated videos. This usually violated copyright laws, but now there are lots of legal businesses that offer movies for sale or rent online as well as allowing you to watch movies online.

Terms of use, system requirements and selection of titles can vary widely from one to another. Similarly, different sites can use different protocols and applications to deliver movies. However, there are some things that remain basic to every web portal. For example, the most viable component is the website where such movies are to be shopped or downloaded from. These portals organize their titles much the way retail sites do.

Once you make a decision, some sites require you to use a download manager, like u torrent, to get your movies. This is a program that can add your movies to a queue, resume paused downloads and keep track of which movies you've selected and paid for.

Here are the basic steps to download movies online:

1. Log into your account.

2. Choose the movie you want to rent or buy. Depending on the site's setup, you might place it in a shopping cart or go straight to the purchasing options.

3. If applicable, the Web site's software checks your parental control information to make sure the movie complies with your settings. If necessary, the site can check your subscription information to make sure you have not used all of your allotted downloads.

4. The Web site stores your choice in a database. The site's software uses this information to make recommendations to you and to determine royalty fees owed to the company that owns the rights to the movie.

5. Billing software determines how much money you owe and presents you with a final total.

6. The site encrypts the details of your financial transaction so other people can't see it.

7. The site's content delivery system starts your download and notifies you when you can begin watching. Depending on the site's setup, you can download a file or view your movie as streaming video. When using a streaming format, the site sends the movie to your computer as a stream of information, and your player decodes it as you watch. 

Cloud Computing Is More Than A Technology by: William smith

Cloud Computing is more than a technology. Cloud Computing is more than a platform and it is more than just an application hosted as a service. It is a combination of all the above plus provides immense data storage on the Internet.

In today’s competitive economic environment, as businesses are trying their best to balance and optimize their information technology or IT budgets, Cloud computing can be an effective strategy to reduce the information technology operations and management costs, and to free up critical resources and budget for discretionary innovative projects. Typically, a business organization has a eighty by twenty split between regular ongoing information technology or IT operations cost which includes hardware, software licensing costs, development, data center maintenance, etc. versus new investment for solving needs which are critical for a business to survive in these challenging times. Cloud computing technology can have a significant impact on this by reducing the footprint of information technology operations by taking out the upfront capital investments needed for hardware and software. It enables a new model viz. - use what is needed and pay for what is used model. This entails businesses to invest on innovative solutions that will help them address key customer challenges instead of worrying about cumbersome operational details.

Cloud Computing is a paradigm that is composed of several strata of services. These include services like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Storage as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Software as a service (SaaS). Different Cloud computing services providers have developed various access models to these services. The access to these services is based on standard Internet Protocols like Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), Representational State Transfer (REST), Extensible Markup Language (XML), and the infrastructure is based on widely used technologies including virtualization. Cloud computing is the maturation and coming together of several prior computing concepts like Grid Computing, application service provider (ASP), Server Hosting, Utility Computing, and Virtualization.

Cloud Computing Technology Provides Plenty of Benefits

Cloud Computing Technology provides plenty of benefits. Some of the main benefits are given below –

Reliability plus Scalability

  

You get extremely high uptime, that is, almost up to hundred percent. You are free to scale up or down resources.

Rolling Backup

Cloud computing service provider uses rolling backup technology to backup data.

Security and Support

SAS 70 Type II compliant data centers are used. Experts provide free 24/7 support service via chat, phone, email, etc.

Cost Savings

End users save much money on Information Technology or IT operations.

Any Application

Cloud Computing Technology allows hosting of Windows Server software, Peachtree accounting software, MS SQL Server, QuickBooks accounting software, MS Office Server, ACT! CRM(Customer relationship management), Lacerte Tax software, etc. Almost any application can be easily hosted in the cloud.

Anywhere and Anytime

Cloud hosting service provider allows end users to access cloud hosted software from where ever they are located. Multiple end users can instantly share same data file at the same time.

How to Remove a Computer Virus?

If you have used a computer long enough, then you have probably had a virus infect your computer at some point. You know how annoying and potentially dangerous they can be to your PC and you wish you knew how to remove a computer virus. There are many ways to take care of this problem, but only a few of them are really good. Using a high quality anti adware and spyware software has helped to clear up my PC of annoying pop ups and increased its speed significantly.

There are several good programs to use that are trusted by millions of people the world over. Most users are not that technically savvy so they will not know the extent of the damage that a virus has done to their computer. Downloading this program will not only get to the root of the problem, but it will kill it as well.

One of the better things about this is that you do not have to be a technical geek to be able to use it. The directions are easy to follow and very effective at getting the job done correctly. There are only a few steps involved and at a certain point, all you have to do is sit back and let the program work its magic. This is the ideal program for those whose lives are busy and do not have the time to babysit the process.

There are many ways that a PC can get infected and viruses are always updating themselves as to how to infect your computer. They are sneaky like this and it is why they are constantly coming back. Anti adware software knows this and keeps itself updated as well with the latest methods that can effectively thwart those attacks. It can be seen as a battle of wits that anti adware programs are winning.

In addition to cleaning up and destroying the viruses in your PC, this anti adware program can also immunize your system so it doesn't get sick again. This is the best plan of attack that there is if you think about it. It's like a preventative maintenance program for your computer. It is effective, quick, and it leaves no stone unturned.

Once the virus is gone and your system has been immunized, then the anti-adware program implements the scanning process. This is a very neat and useful tool that allows you to periodically check on the status of your system. It knows what it is looking for and if it finds adware, will notify you of the issue.

As mentioned before, we all have busy lives that are run more effectively when on a schedule. The scanning process is no different in that you can set up a certain date and time for the scanning to take place. This way, if there is a problem, you can take care of it right away.

One reason why some viruses are so damaging to a person's system is that they are left undetected for long periods of time. The quicker you can identify the problem, the quicker you can fix it. Your PC has some very sensitive and important information on it, and the anti adware program can help you keep it all safe. I am glad that all the spyware, adware and viruses on my computer are all gone now all thanks to high quality software which I downloaded and would highly recommend it.

The Importance of Play in a Child's Life by: Harry Yadav

It’s true that education is like a building block for a child’s future. All parents dream for a better career for their child’s life. Everybody wants their child to be doctor, engineer and wants to see them in high posts. In this cut throat competition children get pressurize with their activities to the extent that they don’t get spare time for their own entertainment. Teachers also keep the child busy during the holidays by giving them assignments and homework. Earlier children used to play with their siblings. So, the children easily got a play environment at the home. However, now the time spent by children in playing was very less as compared to the past two decades. Parents should understand that play is an important activity and they should not deprive their child from this opportunity.

Group games allow children to learn the values of team spirit. It also teaches them to cooperate with other members of the team and develop self discipline. This also enables them to face negative situation in life and make them strong when they get defeated. Many studies have proved that children playing games which have lots of violence are likely to be more short tempered and aggressive.

It is the duty of the parents to find out whether the child knows the difference between fantasy and reality. When this problem is not uprooted in the initial stages then it can take very ugly turn in child’s life and they will start presuming that real life is also like the games which they play. It will have a negative impact on children mind because inappropriate games will impart wrong set of values in them. Through play children develop essential life skills; they also learn how to interact with their peers and adults. It is through play that children develop essential life skills; they learn how to interact with their peers and with adults.

There are certain benefits that child get after playing. These benefits are given below:

1. Reduces fear, anxiety, stress, irritability

2. Creates joy, intimacy, self-esteem and mastery not based on other's loss of esteem

3. Improves emotional flexibility and openness

4. Increases calmness, resilience and adaptability and ability to deal with surprise and change

5. Decreases tactile defensiveness

6. Healing process for hurts

7. Enhances feelings of acceptance of difference

8. Increases empathy, compassion, and sharing

9. Creates options and choices

10. Models relationships based on inclusion rather than exclusion

11. Alternative to aggressor-victim model of relationships

12. Decreases revenge and need for self defense

13. Improves touch and nonverbal socialization skills

14. Increases attention and attachment capacities

15. Positive emotions increase the efficiency of immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems

16. Decreases stress, fatigue, injury, and depression

17. Integrates sensor motor, kinesthetic and emotional responses

In conclusion every child should be allowed to play as they learn so many skills from playing, and from defeating. Play is essential for every child’s development as it make them well balanced grown up and prepare with all the essential life skills needed.