Tor

The Tor Project
www.torproject.org
Free

Tor (short for The Onion Router) is a combination of client software and a network of encrypted proxies and data routers that effectively defends against most kinds of network surveillance. By using it, you make it very hard for a third party to determine what Web sites you�re visiting and even who you are and where you�re located.

Most Internet communications are easily traceable: Each packet has the IP address of its source (you) and its destination (a Web site) in its header. However, the Tor client encrypts your packets and routes them to a random Tor node, which then routes them to another random Tor node, which then decrypts them and passes them on to their destination. Return communications follow a similarly random path. Yes, the system can be slow, as it relies on the bandwidth of volunteers for the nodes, but its popularity increases your anonymity further: Who can sort through all those packets to find just you?

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010

TrueCrypt 7.0

TrueCrypt Foundation
www.truecrypt.org | Free

If your notebook contains sensitive information you wouldn�t want out in the wild should you lose your notebook, then you need to look into hard drive encryption. Once encrypted, your computer won�t boot without the proper password, and, better still, evildoers can�t even read your hard drive�s contents if they remove it and use another computer to look it over. Some notebooks and hard drives have this type of encryption built in at the hardware level, but for the rest of us, True-Crypt is a great alternative (and maybe even better).

Using AES, Twofish, or other military- grade encryption algorithms, TrueCrypt can encrypt either a �data section� of your hard drive, or if you prefer, the entire hard drive including the Windows boot partition. It can also create a second undetectable (and encrypted bootable) partition within the first, giving you a plausibly deniable area to store really, really secret stuff. Amazingly, there�s almost no slowdown when using TrueCrypt. Even its price is amazing� free.

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010

Total Commander 7.55a

Ghisler Software
www.ghisler.com | Free

Ever since Norton Desktop for Windows 3.0, power users have sought better ways to manage files in Windows than Explorer. The old DOS-based Norton Commander served as the model for Total Commander (which explains its retro�some might say antiquated� appearance), but Total Commander has kept up with the times to make it the most feature-filled file manager available for Windows. Total Commander generally eschews the Explorer-like collapsible tree in one pane and its contents in the other, instead employing its dual panes to display files and folders, encouraging you to drill down into folders directly. Once you embrace the workflow, file manipulations are lightning-quick. When you factor in features such as built-in compression/decompression, FTP, file finding, and directory comparison, and then consider the hundreds of plug-ins, Total Commander becomes the indispensible file manager that leaves Explorer in its dust.

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010

Dropbox

The Dropbox Team
www.dropbox.com | Free (Basic)

There are lots of online backup programs out there, but why not use one that�s also a private workgroup collaboration tool, public filesharing tool, iPhone/Android remote file access tool, and multiplatform file synchronization tool? That�s a lot of tools. You might think Dropbox would cost an arm and a leg, but prices start as low as free (for 2GB of online storage, with an extra 250MB free for each new user referral, up to 5GB). Packages offering 50GB and 100GB of storage are also available, for $9.99 and $19.99 per month, respectively. Using Dropbox couldn�t be simpler, because there really isn�t a �front end� on computers. Once installed, Dropbox creates a �Dropbox shared folder,� which basically looks like a normal folder with a green dot. Any files you put into the folder are automatically uploaded or synced (via SSL secure link) to your Dropbox account and your other Dropbox-equipped computers. Mark subfolders public or private for different types of sharing and access it all with your smartphone, if you like.

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010

Remote Desktop Isn�t Just For Desktops

The LogMeIn Ignition application, although currently compatible with Android and iOS, isn�t available for smartphones running the Windows Mobile OS. But that doesn�t mean WinMo users are out of luck. There are actually a number of remote access applications available for virtually all mobile OSes that can use VNC, for example, but most Windows Mobile phones actually ship with a version of Remote Desktop that works surprisingly well and is probably already installed on your phone.

Unlike LogMeIn Ignition, which is very easy to install and use, WinMo Remote
Desktop requires some tinkering to get working. First, if your desktop systems are behind a router (and let�s face it, whose aren�t?), you�ll need to enable port forwarding. Knowing your external IP address is also required, which can be a pain to keep track of without springing for a dynamic IP tracking service. But because this is CPU, however�and we�re all power users around here� we�ll assume finding and keeping track of your external IP address is within your abilities. If so, the first step to using WinMo�s Remote Desktop tool is forwarding a port 3389 to the PC you�d like to access remotely via your router�s configuration menus. Remote Desktop uses port 3389 by default. But if you have other PCs using the same broadband connection that you�d like to control, you can specify other ports, as well, for those systems.

With your external IP address on hand and the proper port forwarded to the system, the next step is enabling Remote Desktop connections on the PC. To do so, click Start, then right-click on Computer, and select Properties from the menu. Then, click the Remote Settings link at the upper left. The Remote tab in the System Properties menu will pop up. On the Remote tab, in the bottom section, select the radio button labeled, �Allow Connections From Computers Running Any Version Of Remote Desktop.� Click the Select Users button at the bottom and, in the resulting menu, add the user accounts you�d like to access remotely. If you only have a single account on the system, it will be added by default. Click OK in the Select Users menu, and then click OK again to close the System Properties.

On your WinMo device, launch the Remote Desktop application; it should greet you by presenting a simple menu that requires an IP address, username, password, and domain. Before entering any information, though, click the Options button at the bottom and set the color depth to High Color (16-bit) and the remote desktop display options to �Full Screen� and �Fit Remote Desktop To Screen.� Doing so will result in a much better experience.

With those options set, it�s time to log in. If your system is not part of a domain, which is most likely the case, simply enter your remote system�s external IP, along with the username and password for the account chosen when configuring Remote Desktop on the PC, and leave the Domain field blank. Then click Connect, and a few moments later you should have access to your PC.

We have found that WinMo�s Remote Desktop tool works infinitely better when the smartphone is connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi, but 3G connections are acceptable, too.

Source of Information : CPU Computer Power User November 2010

Pocket PC 2010

This Ain�t Your Dad�s PDA

We�ve all been in this situation at one time or another. Perhaps we�re in an important meeting or maybe out on the road assisting a family member with his latest urgent IT conundrum and we need a file or some other piece of information that�s sitting on our personal system. If you have access to another functional, Internet connected PC or laptop and have some sort of remote access software installed on the remote system, there�s no problem. Navigate through a couple of browser windows, and a few clicks of a mouse later, you�re there.

But what if you don�t have access to another PC? How else could you get at those important bits of data? You could always use your smartphone.

Believe it or not, many of us don�t always carry a laptop, and relying on public systems to access personal info is always a gamble. We are power users, however, so we almost always have a smartphone on hand, and those phones have grown exponentially more capable over the last few years. In fact, some of today�s smartphones are so powerful that they can do many things that were once squarely in the realm of the PC, such as remotely controlling other PCs, for example. A number of developers have harnessed the power of some of today�s smartphones and released applications that give users the ability to remotely log in to virtually any Internet-connected PC and access its data as if they were sitting right in front of the system.


We Have Ignition
One of the most popular and user-friendly remote access applications for smartphones comes by way of Log-MeIn (secure.logmein.com). LogMeIn�s Ignition application as it is known is available for iOS- and Android-based devices, and it works in conjunction with the company�s LogMeIn remote support service. If you haven�t used LogMeIn before, it is essentially a hybrid of Windows� Remote Desktop feature and a dynamic DNS service. Users of LogMeIn are able to access any PC registered with the service as long as the LogMeIn app is running and the machine is connected to the Internet. There�s no need to muck with IP addresses, ports, routers, and the like, which makes for an extremely user-friendly experience.

Using the LogMeIn Ignition application on a smartphone first requires creating an account and associating a computer (or computers) with the account via LogMeIn�s Web site. From the PC (or Mac) you�d like to access remotely, hit up LogMeIn�s Web site and create a free account. LogMeIn Free actually includes a 120-day trial of the more feature-laden LogMeIn Pro2 service, but the Free edition is still plenty capable and won�t expire. Once the account is created, you�ll be given the option to �add PCs to the service. Adding a PC entails downloading a small application and installing it on the PC. What this app does is keep the machine connected to LogMeIn�s service and accessible via the Web site or Ignition application. Once the LogMeIn application is installed on the PC, an icon will be present in the Taskbar Tray. As long as the system has a working connection to the Web and the app installed properly, you should be ready to go.


Ready For Take Off
Preparing your smartphone for use with LogMeIn Ignition is very straightforward. Simply access the App Store on your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch or the Android Market for your Android-based device and download the application. It�s available for both platforms for $29.99. Once the app is downloaded and installed onto the device, launch it and accept the license agreement. You�ll then be greeted by a menu asking for login credentials. On this screen, enter the email address and password you used to create an account on the LogMeIn Web site. Once you input the necessary credentials, the Ignition app will connect to the LogMeIn service and present you with a list of systems associated with the account. You can then access any of the systems that are online and connected to the service by simply selecting them from the menu.

Once an entry is selected, Ignition will take a few moments to connect to the remote system. When it does, said system�s desktop will be presented on the smartphone�s screen. With touch-enabled smartphones, dragging across or tapping the screen mimics the corresponding mouse actions on a desktop system, and pinch gestures can be used for zooming in and out. If you�re only accustomed to using a keyboard and mouse, navigation takes a bit of getting used to, but it�s fairly intuitive and easy to use once you get the hang of it.

For the most part, LogMeIn Ignition offers a streamlined and smooth user experience: Scrolling, opening applications, and navigating through the system are all relatively quick and painless. Of course, your experience will vary based on the speed of your device and the quality of its connection to the Internet. Although the service works fine over cellular networks, we�ve found that using Wi-Fi whenever possible results in better performance. Virtually all current-generation smartphones offer more than enough horsepower to adequately run Ignition.


Your PC In The Palm Of Your Hand
Having remote access to a faraway PC, whenever and wherever you�d like, is undeniably useful and just plain cool. Whether it�s to perform professional support calls or simply view documents stored on a machine somewhere, being able to access a remote PC from a smartphone opens up some interesting possibilities. And keep in mind, there�s technically no limit to the number of LogMeIn Free accounts you could set up. Link one email address/account to your home PCs, another to your office PCs, and maybe a third for the PC of that family member you invariably end up supporting. Accessing any of these machines simply requires logging in to Ignition using the proper account.

Since we�ve begun using the service, we�ve found ourselves fixing basic problems for friends, organizing music and photos on our desktop systems while waiting for the train or sitting in a restaurant, and performing any number of tasks on our PCs during general downtime. Having the ability to do these things from basically anywhere has been a real productivity booster. If you�ve ever found yourself in the position of needing access to a remote PC from the road and you have a compatible smartphone, do yourself a favor and check out LogMeIn Ignition.

Source of Information :  CPU Computer Power User November 2010

SugarCRM Announces Sugar 6

SugarCRM announced the release of Sugar 6, an enterprise customer relationship management platform based on PHP. Three versions of SugarCRM are available: the fully open source and free Sugar Community Edition, Sugar Enterprise, and Sugar Professional. Community Edition contains roughly 85 percent of the onboard functionality found in Sugar Professional and Sugar Enterprise. Community Edition is released under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.

SugarCRM also released a set of open source testing tools for testing PHP deployments.

� SODA is an XML-based testing environment for Watir, a Ruby library for automating web browser alternative.

� SodaMachine runs alongside SODA and is a GUI used for creating, editing, and debugging SODA tests.

� MeterMaid is a Java application that reduces the steps necessary in writing JMeter tests for HTTP protocol.

� SugarMMM creates XML data bundles for MeterMaid load testing.

� TidBit creates massive amounts of data to do SugarCRM performance testing.

SODA and SodaMachine are available under the BSD License. MeterMaid and SugarMMM are both available under the Apache license. TidBit is available under the AGPL v3. All tools can be downloaded at http://github.com/sugarcrm. More information on Sugar 6 can be found at http://sugarcrm.com/crm/.

Source of Information : Website Magazine November 2010