When trying to choose a certain web host, there are specific things to keep an eye out for. And one of the top things to look out for is the customer service offered by the web host. But apart from customer support, the technical support side of their service also has to be very good. Looking for a company that offers 24/7 support is therefore imperative in your search for a good web host. This is vital, especially for people who are new to the whole process and may feel they will need much assistance at the beginning. Checking out customer reviews about the web hosting service is also a great way to ascertain they are doing what they advertise in the correct manner.

A good web hosting company will also offer many different packages to suit a variety of needs. Future expansion in terms of disk space and bandwidth should also be catered for by the web hosting company.

Also, a guarantee on the uptime of a server should be offered by the web hosting service in question. Continuous uptime is imperative for any good online business so a web host that can offer up to 99 percent uptime is a good place to start.

Obviously, choosing a host that is user friendly will make the whole experience even better for the customer. Another feature of a good web host is the provision of email accounts which means that you will not need to use free email accounts and will give your business a much more professional look.

But first – SSL stands for Secure Socket layer, written by Netscape in the 1990s for the Netscape Navigator browser. This browser was the very first to offer secure and reliable e-commerce features. It addressed the problem that when browsing the web anyone could spy on your communications. Unfortunately there is a complete lack of security in HTTP, which means that we cannot use it for electronic commerce..

Netscape designed a protocol, a language for two computers to talk with each other, securely with encrypted messages.. This made it impossible for anyone to read the messages being sent apart from the two computers involved.

The way it works is for the owner of the web server to get what’s called a digital certificate from a company called a certification authority (CA). Each certificate comes with a link to the company that issued it, and eventually ends at what’s called a “root” CA.

Every browser has a list of CAs that are considered “trustworthy.” When you make a secure connection to a web server that has a digital certificate, your browser traces up what’s called the “chain of authority” – checking each certificate to see if the CA that issued it is in the list. If the browser gets all the way back to the root CA without finding it in the list, you get a warning that this certificate is not trusted.

When a certificate is not trusted, you don’t know for sure that the information listed in the certificate – the company name, address, phone number, etc. – is accurate. Trusted CAs verify business licenses and contact information. Any of the Other CAs may not. But even if the contact information isn’t verified, the traffic between your browser and the web server is secure from eavesdroppers.

Once the browser has established that you want to trust this web site’s certificate, whether because the CA is in the browser’s list or you confirm your trust in the warning dialog, the two computers will exchange “keys.”

A “key” is just a large number that is mathematically related to another number in a very specific way. The way these numbers are chosen is complex; explanations of the process tend to start with things like “Agree on a finite cyclic group G with a generating element g in G.”

Many people seeking to understand cryptography often find it easier to pretend it’s magic !.

Each computer will create two keys. The special mathematical relationship of these keys guarantees that any data encrypted with one key can only be decrypted with the other. One of these keys is kept secret, and the second is sent to the other machine.

Once the keys are exchanged, each machine uses its own secret key and the key received from the other machine to encrypt any data it sends. When the other machine receives the data, it will decrypt the data using the two keys it has.

Because the keys will only decrypt data encrypted with the matching keys, each machine knows both that the message came from the same machine, and that it was intended for this machine. This ensures that the data is secure and nobody can intercept it.

If you are concerned about your privacy online, and you want to protect your anonymity, then there is a way. Protect your privacy online and your identity by surfing through a High Anonymity proxy. To learn about other privacy issues read this blog – Online Privacy protection

So who exactly are all these online people spying on us.?

Just remember the sheer size of internet crime, we are never really sure but rest assure it’s billions of dollars every year.. A very high proportion of cyber crimes never make it onto the official statistics.. We can only deal in estimates and approximation

All over the internet major crime syndicates are moving or expanding into cyber crime. Crime on the internet offers huge rewards with minimal risks.. Even a simpel case of identity theft can cost the victim thousands..

Computer hackers or identity thieves will often target the average internet surfer. The professional and sophisticated gangs will also be very careful about HOW they steal from you. Once they have your information, your details then there are literally hundreds of ways to use this. The mad spending spree on a debit card or bank account is easily detectable but how about credit applied for in your name, how about the inoffensive looking direct debit for $30 which is removed every month.

Some of these criminals have gone to incredible lengths to steal your data and information. I have seen a copy of Windows XP from Eastern Europe that looked 100% legitimate, shrink wrapped, certificate of authenticity all included, the only problem was this version of XP was preloaded with trojans, viruses and keyloggers ready to start stealing your details from the first install. Soon as you connected this box to the internet any passwords and account were gone, mailed to a Russian criminal gang..

So just as you would lock your doors at home, many are beginning to do the same online, there is a real value to <a href=”http://www.anonymous-proxies.org” target=”_blank”>Anonymous Surfing</a>. I personally want internet privacy protection because I use the internet to pay bills, do my banking, and lots of other activities which involve both my financial and personal details. Do I really want all these details logged on the internet, and at my ISP for example, well no not really.

You see it’s not exactly hard to steal these personal details online. Yes a gang of cyber criminals based in Rio de Janerio can steal from you, even though you’ve never been to Brazil. When you discover your bank account emptied, what can you do? In reality very little but attempt to get your money refunded from your bank or credit card company, either way the criminal himself is very unlikely to pay for his crimes.

How to avoid the completely unsecured anonymous proxy servers and really surf securely with your privacy intact, Anonymous Surfing. There are even other benefits by using this software to watch UK TV Abroad for example.

That’s especially the case with IT assets, given the fact that computers and telecommunications now lie at the heart of almost every organisation or commercial business. The frequency of software audits will increase as more emphasis is placed on managing software licences on the asset inventory to comply with SIRB and Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) legislation.A central register that records the serial number and asset location as well as the value of each IT item is necessary if you wish to avoid a ten year jail term, that being the maximum penalty for illegal software use. Aside from keeping out of pokey, it’s well worth maintaining a central register for reasons of increased business efficiency and overall economy. Competent UK asset tracking software packages will also provide the ability to present detailed information that can inform management decisions about the disposition of resources.

Asset management in no small way determines corporate value and has direct impact on the bottom line. The process of asset tracking can satisfy the requirements of a finance department and provide detailed information required to track valuable IT assets in particular. This is not a question meaningful only to finance teams.Should the company suffer a disaster such as flood or fire, insurance cover will help get the organisation back up and running as soon as possible?However, any inconsistency between the asset register held centrally and other inventory records will raise questions that could delay or prevent payment.

Free web hosting i a trap that many with an online presence fall into. Bandwidth issues and web space needs are just two of the problems that can arise from using free web hosting. Because all free web hosts make their money through online advertising, this means they place ads on their subscribers sites, so although this may seem like a great idea at first for those not in the know, it can ultimately harm the website as well as making it appear not very professional.

Paying for web hosting can seem like a stupid idea when you think you can get a web hosting service for free but for those in the know, there really it really is a no-brainer. Choosing the right paid web host can greatly benefit your website, and it doesn’t have to be expensive at all. Ensuring your web space is adequate is very important when choosing a web host. It is also prudent to ensure that your new host offers 24/7 technical support as you never know when help may be required. Knowing that assistance is forthcoming whenever you need it is a great advantage for a site owner.

Also, ensure you do not pay out too much money for web hosts that offers features you will just not use. You should look for a happy medium when searching for a good quality web host. Make sure that everything you require from the web host is offered in the package you choose.

Cleaning the Temp folder:

All of your temporary files are stored in C:/Windows/Temp. Since they are one-time use files, you can safely delete all of them from the folder.

There may be anywhere from a few to very many files in the folder. Select them all and either hit the “Delete” key on your keyboard or right click on one of the files and select Delete

Searching for *.tmp files:

In addition to the Temp folder, temporary files are sometimes stored in other places on your hard drive, such as software files used for installation. To remove these temp files, go to the Start menu and select Search. Select All files and folders and type into the “All or part of file” box: *.tmp and hit Search. When it’s finished, delete all of the files.

Disk Cleanup

To rid your hard drive of any other unneeded, outdated, or duplicate files, run the Disk Cleanup by going to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and selecting Disk Cleanup. It takes a few minutes to complete.

Defragmenting your hard drive:

You may also use the disk defragmenter tool to optimize your hard drive. To use the Disk Defragmenter:

¢ Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools and select Disk Defragment.
¢ In the Disk Defragmenter window, select the Defragment option.

It starts by analyzing the file configuration and then compacting the files.

It is suggested that while utilizing your disk defragmenter, all other programs are closed and you leave your computer idle. Since the process can take up to several hours on a computer that has not been fragmented recently, it is also suggested to let the defragmenter run overnight.

When it’s finished, your computer should run a lot smoother. If you would rather download a registry cleaner to speed up your computer, you will save a lot of time. It will also provide regular maintenance and prevent future registry errors.

Article created by Jake Ruston.

PDF, Adobe PDF, Convert to PDF, Firefox, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox

Here at our office, we love the Firefox browser. The innovative tabbed browsing system that Internet Explorer has finally adopted in IE8 is just one of the many advancements Firefox brought to the table when it was first launched in 2004. Interestingly, the most useful change is also one that hasn’t been embraced by other browsers as fully: the introduction of plug-ins or extensions. Extensions are supplemental programs that improve your browsing experience, changing Firefox to make the management of the information you’re viewing less complicated. Some plug-ins offer powerful advertisement and pop-up blocking options, others allow web developers to test their code right in the browser, and some enable you to scrape information from a website and save it in a different format.

One such extension we’ll look at is Web2PDF, a nifty tool that allows you to convert a web page you’re viewing into a PDF format. This is very helpful if you’re hoping to distribute the information found on that particular web page to several people. With Web2PDF, all you have to do is convert the page to PDF format and distribute it through email or other connections.

Once the extension has been installed, you’ll have the ability to begin converting those page. Looking at the top of your browser, you’ll notice the addition of a button associated with the task. After you’ve decided to convert the page into a PDF, you’re tasked with just pressing that one button. Upon its submission, you will observe the conversion process.

When this process is finished, the tool will tell you to download your new PDF. Simply right click and designate a location to which you’d like the PDF saved.

As you look at the directory in which the file has been saved, you will notice that the filename corresponds to the webpage from which it originated.

The appeal of being able to save web content this way may be difficult for some users to see, but there are many uses for this format. PDF files work seamlessly across different systems, even PCs and Macs, meaning it’s one of the easiest ways to share information with a large group of people. PDFs offer advantages to offices as well, because their format makes them easy to print and doesn’t involve all the hassles of trying to print from a web page. Saving a PDF of information found online also ensures that this will be available to you even if something should happen to the website, such as the owners allowing their domain registration to lapse, intentional changes to the content that is available, or server failure on their part resulting in the loss of content.

If you’re one of those people who is unsure about installing too many extras on your browser, Web2PDF can be accessed directly. You can visit their website where you will see a field in which you can enter the URL of the web page you want to convert.

For anyone who is looking for a better means of saving the information you read while browsing the web, this is a simple way to do so.

You can download the Web2PDF converter for Firefox at this address: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/14979
If you don’t have Firefox, or would prefer to use the online service you can visit their home page: http://www.web2pdfconvert.com/

Geek Choice is proud of educating you about the daily advances introduced to this world in which our company continues to grow. If you have any questions, feel free to contact one of us. We are a Computer Repair company specializing in: Virus Removal, Malware Removal, Data Backup, Data Recovery, Wireless Networks, Business Networking, and much more. At Geek Choice we can fix a wide range of problems including: Slow Computer, Slow Internet, Printer not printing, blue screen of death, and anything else computer related.

With several tabs opened, Firefox has become infamous for using an inordinate amount of memory. On systems with a shortage of ram, being forced to quit the application altogether is not a rare occurance.

These issues are most prevalent on those PCs that either need to be upgraded or have not been correctly optimized. We understand that not everyone can go out and outfit their PC with lots of ram, especially in this age where budgetary concerns remain paramount. Taking that into consideration, it should be observed that there exists an efficient means of enhancing the performance of Firefox with the use of a simple utility made for just that purpose.

Coming from TotalIdea, Firetune is a quick solution for augmenting your experience with Firefox on a slow computer. Giving particular attention to the speed of your net connection and that of your computer’s processor, Firetune adjusts several internal settings of Firefox for increased performance.

Firetune works with Firefox versions : 1.x, 2.x, and 3.x

Firetune can be downloaded here.

Browser speed is but one of several areas of concern when taking notice of your personal computer’s performance. There are many more applications and settings that can be optimized. If you ever feel overwhelmed by all of this contact a professional computer repair technician. At Geek Choice we can help you properly setup your PC for the best possible performance. You can pick up the phone at any time and call us at 1-800-GEEK HELP (433-5435).

Protecting children from the hazards of dangerous and inappropriate material online has been a great challenge for families and schools since the internet became a part of daily life for the majority of Americans. Some may feel in their frustration that the easiest solution is to simply keep children off the internet entirely, but research has shown that keeping kids offline can stunt their development in the information age.

The internet is a priceless resource for the near instantaneous transfer of information, and being able to navigate it effectively is an indispensable skill in the modern world. Students can benefit greatly from the educational material online as well, so it’s understood that some sort of compromise must be made to allow children some access to the internet. Web filters are the most common tools that parents and schools employ to try to allow children online without giving them access to everything on the web.

The balance that any web filter must create between permitting some but not all content in is a difficult one, and some services are criticized for either blocking legitimate content or allowing objectionable content through. Some even suffer from both of these problems simultaneously. Even worse, a percentage of filters can easily be completely undermined by inquisitive teens and tweens with little to no technical skill required.

Google, being the single most popular and well known search engine on the planet, is stop #1 for most web users and especially most younger ones. There’s plenty of safe content out there for children to access, and Google has always offered its own filter for search results, which has been very successful. Unfortunately these settings could easily be altered by any user, including the ones who shouldn’t not be accessing unfiltered content in the first place.

Now, Google has launched an improvement that allows a user to lock the SafeSearch option with a password to prevent minors from altering the settings. The results subsequently generated by Google’s search engine while these SafeSearch settings are in place will also be visibly different from the normal search results, with a large image of colored balls in the upper right corner letting parents and teachers know even from across the room that the filter is still working.

There’s more than one way to keep children safe online, and the best option is to combine several layers of protection. Google’s new SafeSearch is a valuable tool to help keep offensive material away from children, but it’s no substitute for active involvement with children while they are using the internet and talking with them about the dangers that lurk in the unsavory parts of the web.

Geek Choice takes pride in educating you about the daily advances introduced to this world in which our company continues to grow. If you ever have any questions, feel free to contact one of us. We are a Computer Repair business specializing in: Virus Removal, Malware Removal, Data Backup, Data Recovery, Wireless Networks, Business Networking, and a lot more. At Geek Choice we can solve a wide range of problems including: Slow Computer, Slow Internet, Printer not printing, blue screen of death, and anything else computer related. Give Geek Choice a call any time at 1-800-GEEK-HELP (433-5435).

Despite how it’s presently running, tomorrow could usher in a set of surprising problems, which is to be expected with even new machines. Windows 7 ( Vista, too ) includes a robust set of tools – all included inside one easily accessed menu – that the frustrated user can utilize when trying to diagnose the source of an issue.

Accessing these tools is as easy as entering a command in the search box that is located in the Start menu. Once you’ve entered “performance info” you will be welcomed by a window from where you can select “Advanced tools.”

After those tools are available, it becomes apparent that you have at your disposal an impressive collection of diagnostic options that may – at the very least – aid you towards determining what lies at the source of your hurting system :

* Clear all Windows Experience Index scores and re-rate system
* View performance details in Event log
* Open Performance Monitor
* Open Resource Monitor
* Open Task Manager
* View Advanced system details in System Information
* Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows
* Open Disk Defragmenter
* Generate a system health report

One of the most informative tools you can use is Open Resource Monitor. Like Task Manager, Resource Monitor provides an outline of your system’s resources, permitting you to manage the available resources ( RAM, storage, bandwidth ) your system has to work with. Unlike Task Manager, which is somewhat imprecise in its detail, Resource Monitor works at the micro level – meaning, you are given a degree of specificity that illuminates how an individual process or application figures into the allocation of resources.

Another beneficial aid is the “Generate a system health report” option. Similar to having a physical at the doctor’s office, this will assess your system’s health, generating an analysis which will enlighten you on what areas you should address when experiencing issues with your personal computer’s performance. Taking only a few moments, the system analysis will return a report that details each vital facet of your system. Using this diagnostic analysis, you will be left with a more clear picture of how your PC is faring. For instance, if there’s a driver that’s impedeing your ability to hear sound, this report will highlight that conflict.

These are just the tools that are reasonably self-explanatory in their use and interpretation. The more advanced tools – like View performance details in Event log – are just as beneficial, but they need a level of expertise that your average user might be without.

For even the most accomplished technician, the poor performance of a system will remain a problem that never permanently subsides. If you have questions about the utilization of these tools, or would like to know how to clear up any problems they unearth, Geek Choice is always available to offer you that help. If you’ve got a slow computer Geek Choice, a nationwide computer repair service, can help you properly configure it for the best possible performance.