Firewall - Your PC is under attack, defend it!

Hackers, viruses, spyware and trojans are ganging up on us, threatening the safety of our computers and, heaven forbid, our privacy. Attacks come from people using the internet. They send rogue data to your PC via the phone lines or enable spyware to send private details out. Without a firewall, you leave your computer open to attack but put one in place and your PC becomes much more secure, giving you peace of mind. It is important to fight back and that is where a firewall is essential.

In simple terms, a fi rewall monitors and filters the information that travels through your internet connection into your PC. Think of a fi rewall as a physical brick construction in a building that prevents fi re spreading

from one area to another. Firewalls have filters that allow certain data to pass and others to be halted at the gate. The filters can block certain IP addresses or domain names, control particular protocols, give access to

certain ports and bar others, or discard any information with undesirable words and phrases. Firewalls can be set up in one of two ways – they can allow all traffic to flow until certain criteria is met or they can

prevent all traffic until certain criteria is met. Either way, a good fi rewall analyses and checks both inbound and outbound traffic against the fi lter’s set of rules, discarding any rogue data. This not only prevents

damage to your PC but also helps to stop spyware sending out any data you wish to keep private. It is possible to buy a hardware firewall too. It operates as a standalone device, such as a router, that is configured via a web based interface. Hardware firewalls tend to be used to protect networks of computers

and are not essential for home computing.

Apple TV - The Most awaited technology !!!

Apple TV is designed to work with many Apple products and services, including iPhones, iPads, iTunes, a desktop PC and of course a TV. The built-in software, a stripped-down version of Mac OS X, offers access to movies and shows that you can rent any time, and the built-in Wi-Fi chip utilises your broadband connection to push the rented video to the Apple TV box. It also connects with your desktop-based iTunes library to create a single hub with which to view your media in the comfort of your favourite chair. Despite not physically storing video, the 8GB fl ash chip is used to cache films as they are playing to ensure that they do not skip and in most cases the full film will be downloaded to the Apple TV flash memory even if you haven’t finished watching it. The controller software is the hub around which everything works. Once connected to a TV and a computer running iTunes, it will detect when changes are made, such as renting a video, and it will then send the relevant information to each part of your network. For example, it will allow your desktop to send the film to the TV box and onwards to the TV itself. 

Apple TV is designed to do one thing above all else: stream video and photos. Because of this it is capable of assigning all of its resources to this one task and does not have to deal with multiple instructions at the same time. The A4 processor has to deal with multiple functions and provided the incoming broadband connection is stable and fast, the whole experience will be faster than competing streaming products. The built-in 8GB of flash memory ensures that the streamed video is cached while it is playing, which in effect stores the film ahead of its playing time to eliminate any stoppages. The low price point has been reached by using parts that are either mass produced by other companies or already in volume production by Apple, ie the A4 processor, which is used in the iPad and new iPod touch devices. The technology behind Apple TV is surprisingly simple, but of high enough quality to pull off the task at hand at lightning speed.

Polygraphs - Lie Detector Machines

How can they tell if you’re lying?

Y­ou hear about lie detectors all the time in police investigations, and sometimes a person applying for a job will have to undergo a polygraph test (for example, certain government jobs with the FBI or CIA require polygraph tests). The goal of a lie detector is to see if the person is telling the truth or lying when answering certain questions.

When a person takes a polygraph test, four to six sensors are attached to him. A polygraph is a machine in which the multiple ("poly") signals from the sensors are recorded on a single strip of moving paper ("graph"). The sensors usually record:

• The person's breathing rate
• The person's pulse
• The person's blood pressure
• The person's perspiration

Sometimes a polygraph will also record things like arm and leg movement.
When the polygraph test starts, the questioner asks three or four simple questions to establish the norms for the person's signals. Then the real questions being tested by the polygraph are asked. Throughout questioning, all of the person's signals are recorded on the moving paper.
Both during and after the test, a polygraph examiner can look at the graphs and can see whether the vital signs changed significantly on any of the questions. In general, a significant change (such as a faster heart rate, higher blood pressure, increased perspiration) indicates that the person is lying.