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Windows Home Server is Incredibly Awkward

18 Comments | This entry was posted on Sep 29 2010

I was compelled to set up a file server because my clients maxed out their Dropbox. Originally, they were only sharing about 100MB worth of documents, so, I figured Dropbox was the ideal solution for them. Of course as they got real comfortable, they started sharing folders and moving enormous PDFs, .wav files and videos into the Dropbox. Needless to say, they maxed it out pretty quickly. I could upgrade their Dropbox, but then I’d have to upgrade everybody’s Dropbox and at this point there are at least ten different clients accessing the data at any given time. So, a dedicated file server seemed like the logical choice.

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How-To: Enable Complete Full Root Sharing in Windows 7

2 Comments | This entry was posted on Jul 11 2010

Having just (relatively) recently begun using Windows 7 in a complicated and demanding work setting, I can truly see why it takes businesses years to upgrade to the latest from Microsoft. My office uses a series of encrypted volumes, which are mounted and then shared across our network. It’s not terribly complicated since there are no multiple domains or active directory stuff, but it does need to have effortless n0-nonsense sharing and be totally reliable.

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How to Setup a Foolproof Proxy for Anonymous Browsing

1 Comment | This entry was posted on May 31 2010

All of my years of experience with proxies doesn’t much help those who want the benefits of a proxy, yet don’t have the technical wherewithal to accomplish it. As such, I set out in search of a sure thing, a foolproof proxy that anyone could use with minimal setup. I was surprised to find Vidalia.

Vidalia has proven by far the simplest (free) proxy solution. By GUI-ing Tor & combining a Torbutton for Firefox, it couldn’t be simpler. Here’s how to anonymize your Internet activity in just a few minutes.

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Norton Internet Security 2009

1 Comment | This entry was posted on Feb 06 2009

The Symantec Corporation, makers of the decades-old Norton Security/Productivity suite, has been around a long, long time. I happened across an advertisement for Norton 2009 in Time magazine.

What struck me about this ad, was that Symantec seems to have finally admitted that their Norton suites wreaks of bloat. By stating: “Norton Internet Security 2009 is the fastest security suite anywhere…delivering fewer, faster, shorter scans” tells me that maybe Symantec has learned from their mistakes.

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Why I Still Avoid Windows Vista’s UAC

9 Comments | This entry was posted on Nov 22 2008

I remember beta testing Windows 95 when it was code-named Chicago. Back then, I was running MS DOS 6.22 and running Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11. I also beta tested numerous versions of Windows 98 when it was codenamed Memphis, Windows 2000, Windows XP, which brings us to this century where I beta tested so many versions of Microsoft Windows Vista (or, Longhorn) that I can’t even recall. I watched as Microsoft scrambled to try to meet the security disaster that were plaguing Windows XP. Some of you may not recall, but Windows XP was such a disaster in terms of security that it was rare to find a computer running a default copy of Windows XP, without a ridiculous infestation of spyware of some kind.

Back in the DOS days, I rarely used Windows 3.11 for hardly anything. I would use DOS to copy files, defragment my computer, browse BBSs, send e-mails, write batch scripts, just about everything. In fact, even when I switched over to using Windows more often I would still go back to DOS to do simple copy commands because it was easier for me to just write out the commands longhand. I used a hex editor to check executables for viruses because I didn’t have any antivirus software at the time. I guess my point is that Microsoft has had more than enough time to make a working security model for Windows.

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