Proxy Torrent Configuration ::ByPass Cyberoam/Firewall and Unblock Torrent with Open Trackers

Hi Friends ..!

This is keenly for you the college students who are struggling with / worrying about downloading from TORRENT in your college network. The Firewall used in most of the colleges is the CYBEROAM which makes blocks downloading your favorite movies or games or software or anything from Torrent.

You can make it possible by the way I mentioned below. Follow these steps as I illustrated and unblock your torrent, speed up your data transfer rate and enjoy downloading.

STEP 1 : ADD TRACKERS

1. Open the torrent file in your Torrent client software(Say uTorrent).

2. Then Right-Click the file and select Properties

3. A window opens up. In the General Tab you may see the list of trackers (It is the Url that begins with UDP / HTTP) in the Trackers Textboxwhich you can edit as per your wish. Goto the end of the list and paste the Trackers I mentioned below. Make sure that every trackers are separated by a blank line (empty line).

udp://tracker.publicbt.com:80/announce

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80/announce

udp://tracker.istole.it:80/announce

udp://tracker.1337x.org:80/announce

http://exodus.desync.com:6969/announce

udp://fr33domtracker.h33t.com:3310/announce

http://fr33dom.h33t.com:3310/announce

udp://fr33dom.h33t.com:3310/announce

udp://tracker.publicbt.com:80/announce

udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:80/announce

udp://tracker.istole.it:80/announce

udp://tracker.publicbt.com:80/announce

udp://tracker.torrent.to:2710/announce

http://exodus.1337x.org/announce

udp://tracker.ccc.de:80/announce

http://tracker.zokio.net/announce

STEP 2 : Change Setting

1. Goto Options Menu and select Preferences

2. Preferences window opens up. Select BitTorrent from left-pane. Change the value of Outgoing (dropdown) as Forced and click Ok.

STEP 3 : Update Trackers

1. Now Right-Click the file and select Update Trackers from the pop-up menu. Thats it ..!

And finally its time to see the magic of higher speed as ever before with no more interuption ..

Enjoy Torrent download ..

Source :Rambabu Saravanan

Hadoop 2: Big data’s big leap forward

Hadoop 2.0 goes beyond MapReduce to create a general framework for distributed data-processing applications

 

The new Hadoop is nothing less than the Apache Foundation’s attempt to create a whole new general framework for the way big data can be stored, mined, and processed.

It ought to not only further stimulate the way apps are written for Hadoop, but also allow for the creation of entirely new data-crunching methodologies within Hadoop that simply weren’t possible because of its earlier architectural limitations. In short, it’s good stuff.

What’s been holding Hadoop back all this time? More important, where’s it going from here?

Various criticisms of Hadoop have revolved around its scaling limitations, but the biggest constraint on scale has been its job handling. All jobs in Hadoop are run as batch processes through a single daemon called JobTracker, which creates a scalability and processing-speed bottleneck.

With Hadoop 2, the JobTracker approach has been scrapped. Instead, Hadoop uses an entirely new job-processing framework built using two daemons: ResourceManager, which governs all jobs in the system, and NodeManager, which runs on each Hadoop node and keeps the ResourceManager informed about what’s happening on that node. (Each running application also has its own governor, ApplicationMaster.)

This setup is so unlike the previous MapReduce that Apache gave it an entirely new name: YARN, or Yet Another Resource Negotiator, with the new MapReduce running as one of many possible components for it. In fact, Apache claims that any distributed application can run on YARN, albeit with some porting. To that end, Apache’s maintained a list of YARN-compatible applications, such as the social-graph analysis system Apache Giraph (which Facebook uses). More are on the way from other parties, too.

As radical as this approach is, Apache wisely decided not to break backward compatibility, so MapReduce 2 still has the same APIs as its predecessor. Existing jobs just need a recompile to work properly.

It’s also hardly coincidence that YARN makes Hadoop far more cross-compatible with other Apache projects for massaging big data. Use one, and it becomes far easier to use the rest. Such a rising tide for Hadoop would help lift all of Apache’s related boats.

The biggest win of all here is how MapReduce itself becomes just one possible way of many to mine data through Hadoop. Apache’s own Spark, another candidate for porting to YARN, might be better suited to some kinds of work than MapReduce, so Hadoop 2 gives you more flexibility to choose the engine that’s the best fit.

The two big Hadoop vendors, Cloudera and Hortonworks, both have their own discussions of how YARN is crucial stuff, even if they approach Hadoop from markedly different directions. Cloudera’s Impala offers the ability to run low-latency SQL queries against HDFS-stored data, which makes them best suited to live analytics; Hortonworks has chosen to go with Apache’s native Hive technology, which is best for data warehouse operations (like long-running queries with lots of join-type operations).

Porting apps to YARN isn’t a trivial effort, though, so the payoff involved in reworking Hadoop this radically will be strongly based on how much gets deployed within the new framework. But the fact that both Cloudera and Hortonworks are solidly behind Hadoop 2 and haven’t forked the product — or stuck with its earlier iterations — is major evidence Hadoop 2 isn’t just smoke or mirrors. Or tangled yarn.

Unknown Characters or Vertical Rectangles are Showing in place of Metro Icons in Windows 8 Start Screen and Login Screen

Today we are going to address a weird problem which has been faced by several Windows 8 users. I have received many emails about this problem from various AskVG readers. Recently I received another similar email from an AskVG reader “Ashok Singh Chauhan” which helped me in investigating this problem as well as finding a working solution for it.

OK. Let’s talk about the problem first. Many times Windows 8 starts showing weird characters such asvertical rectangles instead of new Metro icons in several places such as Start Screen, Login Screen, several Metro apps, etc. Following images will help you in better understanding the problem:

Vertical rectangles showing in Windows 8 Start Screen:

Weird characters in Windows 8 Login Screen:

As you can see in the above screenshots, the default icons are missing and unknown characters are showing in place of these icons. In many Windows 8 systems, the scrollbar arrows at Start Screen are also replaced by these strange rectangles. It looks very ugly and users have no idea why is this problem occurring in their systems?

Start Screen and login screen are not only the places which show these weird rectangles, you may also see these characters in several Windows Store apps such as Mail, Weather, etc.

Now you might be thinking why does it happen? Let me tell you the reason. This problem occurs if a system font “Segoe UI Symbol” is missing or corrupt in Windows 8. This font contains several metro icons which are shown in the places mentioned above and if the font gets deleted from Windows 8 or if the font becomes corrupt, then Windows 8 starts showing these weird characters instead of metro icons because Windows can’t find the required icons to show.

Sometimes 3rd party software also replace the default “Segoe UI Symbol” font in Windows 8 with an older version of the same font which can also cause this annoying issue.

If you are also facing this problem, first check the version number of “Segoe UI Symbol” font in your Windows. It must be version 5.90 as shown in following image:

If the version number of the font in your system is 5.01, it means either you or a 3rd party software replaced the default font with an older version of the font which comes preinstalled with Windows 7:

Now the question comes how to fix the issue? Very simple! You just need to grab a copy of the original “Segoe UI Symbol” font which comes with Windows 8 and install the font in your system. It’ll immediately solve your problem.

Just check out following steps to fix this weird rectangle problem in Windows 8:

STEP 1: Grab the Original Segoe UI Symbol Font

First you’ll need to get the original font file to install in your system. You can follow any of following 3 methods to grab a copy of the font:

Method 1:

If you have access to another Windows 8 computer, you can copy “Segoe UI Symbol” font from that system and paste the font in your Windows 8 computer. You just need to type Fonts in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Fonts folder. Scroll down and you’ll see “Segoe UI Symbol Regular” font in the list. Right-click on the font and select copy option and then you can paste the font file in your USB drive. After that copy the font file in your Windows 8 system.

Method 2:

You can also extract the font from Windows 8 setup ISO. Just check out following tutorial to learn how to extract system files from Windows setup ISO:

How to Extract / Copy System Files from Windows Setup?

Using this method you can extract the seguisym.ttf file present in Windows\Fonts folder.

Method 3:

If you don’t want to copy the font from any other Windows 8 system or don’t want to extract the font from Windows 8 setup ISO, you can download it directly using following link:

Download Segoe UI Symbol Font

After downloading the ZIP file, extract it and you’ll get the font file seguisym.ttf.

STEP 2: Install Segoe UI Symbol Font in Windows 8

Once you get the original font file, right-click on it and select “Install” option.

It’ll ask you to replace existing font, click on Yes button.

That’s it. It’ll immediately fix the problem. You can also restart your system to take effect. After restart you’ll see default icons instead of those annoying rectangles in Windows 8.

How to hack Account with Cookie stealing

How to hack Email account:

If you are a newbie and don’t know about cookie, then for your information, Cookie is a piece of text stored on user computer by websites visited by the user. This stored cookie is used by webserver to identify and authenticate the user. So, if you steal this cookie (which is stored in victim browser) and inject this stealed cookie in your browser, you can imitate victim identity to webserver and enter hisEmail account easily. This is called Session Hijacking. Thus, you can easily hack Email account using such Cookie stealing hacks.

Tools needed for Cookie stealing attack:

Cookie stealing attack requires two types of tools:

1. Cookie capturing tool
2. Cookie injecting/editing tool

1. Cookie capturing tool:

Suppose, you are running your computer on a LAN. The victim too runs on same LAN. Then, you can use Cookie capturing tool to sniff all the packets to and from victim computer. Some of the packets contain cookie information. These packets can be decoded using Cookie capturing tool and you can easily obtain cookie information necessary to hackEmail account. Wireshark and HTTP Debugger Pro softwares can be used to capture cookies.

Update: Check out my Wireshark tutorial for more information on cookie capturing tool.

2. Cookie injecting/editing tool:

Now, once you have successfully captured your victim cookies, you have inject those cookies in your browser. This job is done using Cookie injecting tool. Also, in certain cases after injection, you need to edit cookies which can be done by Cookie editing tool. This cookie injection/editing can be done using simple Firefox addons Add N Edit Cookies and Greasemonkey scripts. I will write more on these two tools in my future articles.

Drawbacks of Cookie Stealing:

Cookie Stealing is neglected because it has some serious drawbacks:

1. Cookie has an expiry time i.e. after certain trigger cookie expires and you cannot use it to hijack victim session. Cookie expiry is implemented in two ways:
   1. By assigning specific timestamp(helpful for us).
   2. By checking for triggers like user exiting from webbrowser. So, in such cases, whenever user exits from his browser, his cookie expires and our captured cookie becomes useless.
2. Cookie stealing becomes useless in SSL encrypted environment i.e. for https (Secure HTTP) links. But, most Email accounts and social networking sites rarely use https unless vicitm has manually set https as mandatory connection type.
3. Also, most cookies expire once victim hits on LogOut button. So, you have to implement this Cookie stealing hack while user is logged in. But, I think this is not such a serious drawback because most of us have the habit of checking “Remember Me”. So, very few people actually log out of their accounts on their PCs.

So friends, this was a short tutorial on basics of how to hack Email account using Cookie Stealing. As I have stated, Cookie stealing has some disadvantages. But, I think Cookie stealing is a handy way to hack an Email account. In my next articles, I will post detailed tutorial to hack Facebook and Gmail accounts using Cookie stealing. If you have any problem in this tutorial on how to hack Email account using Cookie stealing, please mention it in comments.

Enjoy Cookie stealing trick to hack Email account…

Source & Credit :: go4expert & Rajesh Chaukwale

Text Anywhere off-the-grid satellite messaging lets you text … anywhere

outed as a simpler, subscription-free alternative to the Delorme inReach, the Text Anywhere is a portable, satellite-powered hot spot that adds virtually unlimited text-messaging range to your phone. If your work or play takes you to remote regions of the world out of mobile phone range, this device can keep you in touch with the folks back in civilization.

The Text Anywhere unit pairs with compatible Wi-Fi-equipped computers, smartphones, laptops and tablets. However, unlike some other satellite pairing devices, the Text Anywhere works via a Web app rather than relying on an OS-specific app, giving users a little extra device flexibility. Just like the inReach, it works on the Iridium satellite network, providing global coverage – with the exception of some countries where it is currently disabled, such as Cuba and North Korea, and in places with no clear view of the sky, such as canyons and under thick tree canopies.

To use the Text Anywhere device, you simply select it as your Wi-Fi network on a compatible device and open the browser-based application. You can then send 160-character text messages or text-only emails. It is a two-way device, so you can also receive text messages and text-only emails, and other functions include social media integration and location sharing.

Unlike the inReach, the Text Anywhere is not designed as a rescue device. While you could theoretically use it to contact a friend or rescue agency via text or email, it does not connect you directly to a global rescue coordination center the way inReach and SPOT satellite beacons do. Its location-sharing feature is also not designed as a rescue pinpointing tool. This is really just a device to keep you in touch with friends and family while out of mobile phone range, not a satellite rescue beacon.

The Text Anywhere measures 4 x 4 x 1.5 in (10 x 10 x 4 cm) and weighs 7 oz (200 g) before you pop in the four AA batteries. The device can also be powered by a vehicle’s electrical outlet with the included 12-volt adapter.

An advantage of the Text Anywhere is that it doesn’t require an annual or multi-month package subscription contract. As I personally learned with the SPOT messenger, annual subscriptions for such satellite beacons cost a lot of money (especially when they lock you into an auto-renew) for very little usage. Most users will only need them for a couple of weeks or months out of the year, so a flexible, no-subscription model is an advantage.

Text Anywhere offers a monthly package for US$29.99, which includes 100 messages. The overage rate is $0.27 per message, and there is a one-time activation fee of $35. The device itself costs $399.

Source: Text Anywhere

Dual-boot Windows Phone 8 and Android

First dual-boot Windows Phone 8 and Android handsets said to arrive by June

Windows and Android are such good pals, they’re quite literally inseparable on a number of dual-boot devices. Aside from some old community-driven projects, however, the relationship between Google’s mobile OS and Windows Phone hasn’t blossomed to a point where they’re officially comfortable sharing a smartphone. Well, they better pencil in a bonding session, because The Times of India reportslocal manufacturer Karbonn is set to launch the first such dual-boot handset by June. With the ink now dry on a deal with Microsoft — presumably a WP license agreed behind closed doors at MWC — plans are to offer a range of split-personality devices with professional and tech-savvy types in mind. Perhaps they’ll run Windows Phone 8.1 right off the bat, too, given the new version’s broader hardware support, and show that you needn’t create mutant advocates to tempt consumers one way or another.

Source : http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/03/karbonn-dual-boot-windows-phone-android/

Article : Times Of India

Supposed iPhone 6 parts surface on Twitter, hint at a larger screen on the way (update: likely fake)

Lately it seems like Apple can’t build anything without a few prototype casesleaking into public view, and now we’re seeing pictures of what could be the next iPhone. Posted by a Twitter user earlier today and addressed to several Apple-focused websites, the “iPhone 6” shells look very close to current models, but are thinner and have space for a larger edge to edge-style display, which has been rumored before. Sonny Dickson, who has previously obtained iPhone and iPad parts prior to the launch of new devices, has also apparently received the same pictures and tells MacRumors they came from a source in China. Based on the ports, MacRumors says the parts here are 2.6-inches wide, compared to the iPhone 5s which is 2.31 inches. Are these pics the real thing, and if they are, do they represent what we’ll likely see from Apple later this year? Without any details to back them up we can’t be sure, but you can check out a few more pictures for yourself after the break.

Update: Forum posters at MacRumors have taken a closer look at the images and found several reasons to believe they’re rendered fakes, including textures that repeat and the usage of an out-of-date font.

Twitter : mornray886 @mornray886

Read More  : http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/12/alleged-iphone-6-parts-leak/?ncid=rss_truncated&cps=gravity

Ex-Microsoft employee arrested for leaking company secrets

Remember all those Windows 8 screenshots that surfaced before the platform was released? Well, some of those might have been courtesy of Alex Kibkalo, an ex-Microsoft employee who was just arrested for stealing and leaking company secrets. Unlike the HTC execs who reportedly stole trade secrets to run a new firm, though, Kibkalo allegedly leaked info to a French tech blogger for something akin to revenge — he was apparently angry over receiving a poor performance review when he was still with Microsoft. According to Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the accused sent the blogger (whom he met on a forum) parts of Windows 8’s code and Microsoft’s Activation Server Software Development Kit. While Kibkalo’s charging paper states that the blogger only posted Windows 8 screenshots, Microsoft believes its former employee also encouraged him to share the development kit online. He supposedly wanted that to happen so hackers can use the kit (one of Microsoft’s defenses against software piracy) to crack the company’s products.

If you’re wondering how exactly the accused got caught, it’s because the blogger contacted Microsoft in September 2012 to verify the Windows 8 code Kibkalo sent. When Redmond determined its authenticity, investigators looked through the blogger’s Hotmail account and instant messenger, where they found incriminating emails and chat logs. In one of those sessions, the accused even claimed that he broke into one of the company’s buildings in an attempt to copy a server. Kibkalo’s now facing criminal charges for this particular offense, but according to investigators, he also bragged about leaking Windows 7 files in the past.

[Image credit: Victor/Flickr]

Database Programming with C# & MySql

Software Requirements

1. MySQL DB with Work Bench
   DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/
2. MySql Connector for .NET
   DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/
   Download the binary and install to your machine where you need to run your application.
3. .NET Platform / Visual Studio
   DOWNLOAD LINK: http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/netframework/default.aspx
   You may download and install the .NET framework of your required version 1.1/2/3.5 or 4.
   This article supports all the above mentioned versions.

MySql Database Creation and Table Creation
I assume that you can create MySql Database and Tables I proceed to the C# Programming part

Web.config File
The following is a simple connection string statement I use in my development practice. You may also ignore Web.config and write the connection string inline on the code page. But it is not recommended as it is vulnerable to disclose your database credentials (Database Username and Password) in the code page. Say you may have more than one developers working on the project and you many not want to share the database credentials with them, this practice will help you the most. Apart from this the content in the web.config file is more secured than content in other pages by the ASP.NET architecture.

Syntax:

<add  name=”<give some name to call this connection string>”
connectionstring=”server=ip address or name>
initial catalog=<database name>
uid=<database username=””>;
pwd=<database password>”
providerName=”MySql.Data.MySqlClient”/>

Example:

<add  name=”MyConnection1″
connectionstring=”server=localhost;
initial catalog=mysampledb;
uid=root;
pwd=mypassword”
providerName=”MySql.Data.MySqlClient”/>

ASP.NET C#
Here I use ASP.NET and C# to explain the database programming with MySql. I assume that you have basic knowledge of ASP.NET and C# programming.

Go to the code behind and proceed with the following code.

1. Incluse the usings.

   using MySql.Data.MySqlClient;

2. Declare the private variables inside the main class (pls not the class not the main function)

   //CREATING CONNECTION INSTANCE / NOTE: CONNECTION WILL NOT OPEN HERE
   MySqlConnection con = new MySqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings[
   “myconnstr”].ConnectionString);
   //CREATING INSTANCE OF COMMAND AND DATA READER / REQUIRED FOR ACCESSING DATA MANUALLY
   MySqlCommand cmd;
   MySqlDataReader dr;//CREATING INSTANCE OF DATA SET / REQUIRED FOR BINDING DATA WITH DATAGRID/DATALIST
   DataSet ds = new DataSet();
   

3. Opening Database Connection

   if (con.State == ConnectionState.Closed)
   {
   con.Open();
   }
   

4. Adding Data to the Database

   string qry = “INSERT INTO sample_table(first_name, last_name)”;
   cmd = new MySqlCommand(qry, con);
   cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();

Introduction to C# / ASP.NET with C#

ASP.NET is a Microsoft technology for web applications. ASP stands for Active Server Pages. As the name specifies the pages are programs that are stored and executed on the server. When a call is made to the page the page gets compiled (if not already compiled) and returned to the client browser as a file in HTML and JavaScript combination. The .NET platform is a proven Microsoft technology for applications. ASP.NET is limited to Windows platform. We will discuss more about the ASP.NET and C# in a separate article soon.

Introduction to MySql Database
MySql is an opensource database backed by Oracle Corporation. It is a powerful and efficient database that you can rely on it for your enterprise needs. Most companies prefer MySql for their data storage needs and high transaction processing. MySql is reliable and programmer friendly too. It has a large user base and strong community to support. However, the PHP & MySql combination is the best pair on internet! It is not that C# doesn’t go well with MySql but the opensource PHP beat the C# or any other language on Internet. Let us not worry about that! We have enough articles and resources for C# integration and programming with MySql and abundant help content for MySql. We will discuss more about the MySql in a separate article soon.

Source : Arun’s Blog

How to use ILMerge?

IL Merge is a technique and a research product from Microsoft, to merge multiple DLLs and EXEs (.NET Assemblies) together to form a merged file (exe or dll). This way no separate DLL file is required.

Follow the below steps for merging an exe and dll associated with the project.

Installing ILMerge

ILMerge is not distributed with the .NET framework and so must be obtained and installed separately. The installation file can be downloaded free-of-charge from the ILMerge download page of the Microsoft web site. Once downloaded, simply double-click the file to begin the installation process and follow the instructions provided.

Download and install the ILMerge utility from Microsoft Website.

Step 1: Download ILMerge utility and install it in your machine
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=17630

Step 2: Compile and Publish your Project to a folder (eg: C:\Publish\)

 

Step 3: Use the ilmerge command to merge the exe and dll files and output single exe file

 

ILMerge Command

Syntax (Simple*): ilmerge /out: /target:<dll|exe|winexe>

*For complete set of options and syntax refer ILMerge Documentation

Example:

 

C:\Program Files\Microsoft\ILMerge>ilmerge C:\Publish\MyProgram.exe C:\Publish\MyLibrary.dll /out:C:\Publish\MyWinApp.exe /target:winexe /ndebug

Source : Arun’s Blog

Password Protect files and folders with encryption

Whether you want to store sensitive data on a USB drive, securely email it, or just add an additional layer of security on your hard drive, there are a variety of ways to protect your files with a password.

When we say we’re “password protecting” a file, we generally mean we’re encrypting the fileso it can’t be decrypted and understood without your encryption password. That’s the most secure way to password protect files.

Create an Encrypted Archive

Windows XP allowed you to create password-protected ZIP files, but Windows 7 doesn’t. That’s fine — you can download a free third-party file compression program that will handle this for you. There are many file-compression programs you could use, but we recommend the completely free and open-source 7-Zip.

After installing 7-Zip, use it to create a new archive — either via the 7-Zip option in your Windows Explorer right-click menu or the Add button in the 7-Zip application. You’ll be able to specify a password for your archive — be sure you leave AES-256 selected as the encryption type. Any files and folders you add to your .zip file (or whatever other type of archive you choose to create) will be encrypted with your selected password. You’ll need to enter your password when you open your archive file in the future.

Encrypt an Office Document

Microsoft Office allows you to apply encryption to documents, securing them with a password. Microsoft switched to AES encryption in Office 2007, so if you’re using an earlier version of Office, the encryption will be nowhere near as secure.

To password protect a document in Office 2013 or Office 2010, click the File menu, click the Protect Document button in the Info section, and select Encrypt With Password. You’ll be prompted to enter a password, which you’ll have to provide each time you open the document in the future. You can also fully decrypt the document in the future, removing the need for a password.

Follow these instructions to encrypt a document if you’re still using Office 2007.

Other productivity programs may offer similar features. For example, Adobe Acrobat allows you to create password-protected PDF files. Word 2013 can encrypt PDF files with a password, too.

Create Encrypted Volumes With TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt allows you to create encrypted volumes. TrueCrypt is a very flexible encryption solution, and you can use it in a variety of ways:

• Create a small encrypted container stored in a file on your hard drive. You’ll need your encryption password to “mount” this file as a special drive, allowing you to view and manipulate its contents. When you “unmount” the drive, no one can see its contents without providing your encryption passphrase.
• Use TrueCrypt to create an encrypted volume on a USB flash drive or other removable drive, allowing you to carry sensitive files around with you worrying that they could be viewed if you ever lose the drive. TrueCrypt can be used as a portable application, allowing you to access your encrypted data even on computers that don’t have TrueCrypt installed — the TrueCrypt program files can be stored on the external drive itself.
• Encrypt your entire Windows system drive, forcing anyone to enter a password when booting your computer or resuming from hibernate. This ensures that no one can access the contents of your hard drive as long as you leave your computer locked or powered off. (Unless they use the freezer attack, which is uncommon in the real world.)

Use Built-In Windows Encryption Features

If you’re using a Professional or Enterprise edition of Windows, you also have access to some special encryption features. Home versions of Windows — and the standard edition of Windows 8, which technically isn’t named a “home” version — don’t have access to these features. Professional editions of Windows include the following two encryption features:

• BitLocker, which allows you to create encrypted volumes on drives, including external USB flash drives. BitLocker functions in much the same way as TrueCrypt, so you can use a similar feature on the more common editions of Windows.

• Encrypting File System (EFS), which allows you to encrypt individual folders and files. To use this feature, right-click a file or folder, select Properties, and click the Advanced button on the General tab. Enable the Encrypt contents to secure data option — this will be grayed out if you’re not using the correct edition of Windows. Files are essentially encrypted with your Windows user account password, so you’ll lose them if you forget your Windows password. Bear in mind that these files are only encrypted when stored on your hard drive, so you can’t email them securely without encrypting them in a different way.

---

There are many other tools that can be used to encrypt files, but the above methods are some of the easiest and most powerful.

If you just want to hide files from other people using your computer, you could try hiding them or marking them as system files, but this doesn’t prevent anyone who knows how to view system files from finding them. You could also use steganography to hide files inside other files. If you want to store passwords, you can encrypt them with a password manager like KeePass or LastPass — both allow you to attach files, although this works best with small files associated with password entries.

Change the Default Application for Android Tasks

When it comes time to switch from using one application to another on your Android device it isn’t immediately clear how to do so. Follow along as we walk you through swapping the default application for any Android task.

Initially changing the default application in Android is a snap. After you install the new application (new web browser, new messaging tool, new whatever) Android prompts you to pick which application (the new or the old) you wish to use for that task the first time you attempt to open a web page, check your text message, or otherwise trigger the event. Easy! What about when it comes time to uninstall the app or just change back to your old app? There’s no helpful pop-up dialog box for that. Read on as we show you how to swap out any default application for any other with a minimum of fuss.

Changing the Default Application

Grab your Android device and navigate to the Settings menu (either by tapping the physicalMenu Button and selecting Settings or by opening your application list and selectingSettings as seen in the first panel of the screenshot above). Navigate to Applications and then to Manage applications.

Once in the Manage applications sub-menu tap on All to list all the applications installed on your phone. Scroll down until you see the application you wish to change. For this example we will be changing our home screen manager from LauncherPro to ADW.Launcher to demonstrate how to change a default system application.

Inside the Application info menu for the application scroll down and tap Clear defaults. Once you have cleared the defaults you can then force a new default selection by triggering the action that the application would handle. In our case we’re swapping out the home screen manager so all we have to do to trigger the event is tap the physical Home button on our phone. Android then prompts us with a Complete action using dialog box. Here we can select either ADW.Launcher or LauncherPro. Note the Use by default for this actioncheckbox. If you don’t want to be hassled to pick in the future, commit to your change here.

Potential Pitfalls and Workarounds

If you’re having trouble forcing the Complete action using dialog box to appear (especially for the handling of non-default file types) make sure you haven’t uninstalled the prior default application. Android sometimes gets hung up when attempting to change the default application for a file type or action away from the prior selection if the prior selection has been uninstalled.

For example, if you installed a video application and associated it with a bunch of video file types and removed the application before switching the default application you might run into problems. In this case the best solution is to install the old application again, change the default from within the Application info screen for that app, and remove it once you’ve successfully used the new application. It’s a hassle, we know, but now that you know how to change the task associations you shouldn’t be stuck in that situation again.