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I recently had the pleasure of installing and testing the Linux Ubuntu OS. I have old pc I use for testing hardware that I installed Ubuntu on. The computer is a PII 400mhz with 256mb of RAM.

The First steps of installing Ubuntu involve downloading the OS from the Ubuntu website, www.ubuntu.com. Once you have downloaded the OS you need to decompress it and burn the ISO file on to a CD-R. Once you have created your install CD you can begin the process of installing the OS into your PC.

Ubuntu has a great install interface. It runs a small version of the OS off of the CD-R with the purpose of checking your hardware for compatibility. Which in my case was not an issue. Once the hardware check is done you can click the install option to begin writing Ubuntu to your hard drive. Its installed size is a bit smaller then 2 gigs.

Ubuntu installed rather quickly with little help from me. Once it was installed I had not only a functioning operating system, but also many extras such as Mozzilla Firefox web browser, Open Office productivity suite (word processor, spreadsheets, presentations, etc) and several other goodies. There was basically nothing extra I needed to install to make Ubuntu a productive environment for working in. Ubuntu has a built in update manager that allows the OS to update itself (similar to the update manager in Windows) and once you have it installed the OS even has the same sort of look that has made windows so popular.

The greatest feature of Ubuntu is it is freeware, meaning there are no licensing fees or costs involved in using the software. Ubuntu seems to be a secure OS and a stable OS with many bonus features including the additional software I mentioned above. For more information about Linux Ubuntu please visit www.ubuntu.com.

The launch of Microsoft Vista a month ago has spurred a lot of my clients to ask me if they should upgrade their current operating system, of which most are using Windows XP. I haven’t had the opportunity to personally use Vista as of yet, but have done some research on the subject.

THE GOOD

From all accounts Vista has a slick new look over the aging Windows XP interface. This new look includes 3D imaging. 3D imaging does look nice and seems to be a feature Microsoft is really promoting. In addition to its new look Vista boasts it is more stable the previous Windows OS’s and that it has several more built in support feature which will help the user get the most of Vista.


THE BAD

I have checked several sources and read many reviews of Vista and a lot of come to the same conclusion. The new interface is nice, but seems to not much than a Vista theme on an XP platform. Unless you have upgraded your computer recently Vista will be a hog on all your system resources as it requires high end video, lots of ram, a large hard drive (the OS weighs in at a hefty 11GB after install), and a high speed processor. Vista is also very ‘chatty’- meaning that it will ask you a lot of questions as you try to use the OS and any related software.


CONCLUSION

When you add those items up with the fact that some hardware you are currently using many not be compatible with this new OS, in my opinion, Vista is not worth the time, hassle and money to upgrade too at this point. I couple the above opinion with the fact that Vista will have at least two or three service pack updates to fix bugs and Microsoft’s admitted mandate that they will launch a new OS every two to three years will make it obsolete relatively quickly.

According to Wiktionary a scam is a verb that means, "To defraud or embezzle". Scams have been around for several centuries - developed to ultimately separate you from your money. As technology evolves, scams evolve. I have been told by law enforcement representatives that the Nigerian money scam that we have all had emailed to us dozens of times has been around for several decades via mail, phone and fax. The scam just re-invents itself with each new technology.

How can you avoid an online scam? First and foremost is to use your common sense. If it is too good to be true than it probably is too good to be true. No honest person is going to contact you out of the blue and offer to pay you an outrageous fee to move several million dollars to your account for a few days while they escape some foreign country.

If you are in doubt of an email that you suspect is scam then use your favourite Internet search engine and check it out. Chances are if it is a scam then it will show up on a search engine as a scam in one form or another. You can also go to websites like http://www.scambusters.org/ and use their resources to help decide if you are about to be scammed or not.

A few things to keep in mind are:

1) Never give out personal information about your banking or anything else for that matter.

2) A Financial institute will never email you to tell you to update your information. Even if they call you and ask you to I would be suspicious. In most cases a trip down to your local branch will confirm whether you are being scammed or not.

3) Use your common sense - if it is too good to be true, than it probably is too good to be true.

For more tips about Internet scams please find an informative scambusters.org report at this address:

http://dl.scambusters.org/ScamBusters1.pdf

According to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission there are several tell tale signs for online financial scams.

1) "Be wary of promises of quick profits, offers to share "inside" information, and pressure to invest before you have an opportunity to investigate".

2) "Be careful of promoters who use "aliases." Pseudonyms are common on-line, and some salespeople will to try to hide their true identity. Look for other promotions by the same person".

3) "Words like "guarantee," "high return," "limited offer," or "as safe as a C.D." may be a red flag. No financial investment is "risk free" and a high rate of return means greater risk".

4) "Watch out for offshore scams and investment opportunities in other countries. When you send your money abroad, and something goes wrong, it's more difficult to find out what happened and to locate your money".

(Source: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/cyberfraud/signs.htm)

In conclusion, before you proceed with an online transaction with some one you don’t know you should do your homework to ensure that you are protecting yourself and your money.

Microsoft has just launched Internet Explorer 7.0. It is the first new release of Explorer in 5 years. Explorer's new features include tab browsing (similar to Mozzilla's Firefox), a new look interface, rss feeds and some new anti-phishing features. Although I am still reviewing IE 7 and will readily admit that it appears to be a major upgrade over IE 6, it still looks as if Mircosoft is chasing Mozzilla in the internet browser war. If you are running Windows XP (Home or Pro) or Windows 2003 Server and are interested in downloading IE 7 you can click this link www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx

A firewall according to m-tech.ca is defined as “a system, which limits network access between two or more networks.” A firewall can be hardware or software or a combination of both.

Why do I need a firewall? A firewall will not only protect your data and your systems from various computer predators that lurk out there, but will also help reduce the spread of various computer threats that exist in today’s wired world.

How do I Know if my computer(s) is (are) vulnerable? The Gibson Research Corporation (GRC) is on the cutting edge of Windows vulnerabilities and has several free utilities available to check your system for weaknesses. Shields Up is a free GRC utility that probes your computers ports to find out if you have ‘open’ ports that would allow hackers to gain access to your computer. Leak Test is another free GRC utility that tests your firewall for any vulnerabilities that may be present.

SOFTWARE FIREWALLS - Macfee and Symantec both offer firewall software that can be purchased at any computer software retailer. Another option is download the free version of Zonelabs Zone Alarm . Zonelabs has more advanced versions of their Zone Alarm firewall product that you have to pay for, but the free version offers a reliable, protective software firewall that anyone can use.

The basic premise behind a software firewall is that you have a program that controls all the programs that use your computers network/internet access. Basically it makes each program ask permission to gain access and allows the user to block access if necessary. The other function the software firewall provides is to protect incoming access to your computer from other users and programs by making the ask permission to gain access to your computer and/or blocking them from access your computer. Finally, a software firewall makes you ‘invisible’ to the outside world by masking your Internet protocol (IP) address (its like the address for you house in computer terms). You will be amazed at all the programs that try to use your network/internet access and all of the computers/people who try to access your computer from outside your network.

HARDWARE FIREWALLS - Hardware firewalls can take many shapes including, but not limited to servers and routers. In the case of a hardware firewall it physically sits in between your computer or internal computer network and any external or wide area networks. The hardware firewall limits your internal computers exposure by shielding the internal systems from external predators and essentially making the internal systems invisible to the outside world. Hardware firewalls should be used in conjuction with software solutions such as anti-virus software, software firewalls and/or in some cases filtering software.

It should be noted that a firewall alone wouldn’t protect you from all attacks. For instance the Netsky virus that is currently in wide distribution is sent to your email account and if you are not using a combination updated anti-virus software, firewalls and most importantly common sense clicking the infected attachment can still infect you and therefore make your system vulnerable to future attacks. As programs become better at protecting your computer system hackers become more advanced at defeating the protection, but a firewall in combination with anti-virus software can certainly limit your chances of becoming a victim.

Orginally published at www.24by7.ca

Linux is a free; open sourced, operating system that has been in wide distribution over the past few years as an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows operating system. There are several versions of Linux available. Knoppix is unique version of Linux that can be run on any system that is a 486 or higher and at least 128 mega bytes of random access memory (RAM) and has a CD drive. It will automatically set up all the drivers so you won’t have to install anything.

Once loaded into your RAM, Knoppix will launch a ‘windows like’ graphical interface that will allow the user to surf the Internet, create a document or a spreadsheet. Basically, anything you can do in windows you will be able to do in Knoppix including viewing the contents of any installed hard drives. You even can save any files you have created to hard drive, floppy disk, CD-r or any other portable USB device.

It should be noted that you can download Knoppix for free, but it is experimental software with the idea that users will work out any bugs and that, if possible, they will continue to advance this open source software. You can download your copy at the Knoppix site.

Orginally published at www.24by7.ca

PalMail is a small piece of software that checks your email on your email server and gives you the ability to screen that email and delete spam prior to the email actually being downloaded on to your computer. Think of PalMail as a window that allows you to look at all of your email before you open it.

Why not just download your email to your PC and delete it off of your machine? There are a couple of reasons why you would want to use an application like PalMail. The first reason would be to allow you to filter your email prior to downloading it. The great thing about PalMail is that it doesn’t run scripts such as HTML or Java. So you can safely eliminate spam without worry about that spam infecting your computer with a virus trying to run a malicious script. If you use MS Outlook or a similar program malicious scripts can run when an email is opened, even if it is just in the preview window. The second reason to run a program like PalMail is it saves download time for those of you that still rely on dialup Internet access. You can check your mail, read a plain text version of the email, and then download it or delete it.
I use PalMail to alert me that new mail is available on my mail server and to screen that mail. PalMail works well with (unlimited) multiple accounts. PalMail is a freeware application. You can download it at www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/palmail.html.