Email encryption is serious business and it’s not only for spies and spooks. Everyday users need the cloak of privacy too. Public-key cryptography is just too perplexing for most of us; what’s needed is a simpler no-hassle, no-brainer way of sending emails for ‘your eyes only’. There are a few security minded online apps which [...]
privacy
When we surf the web, our browsers store copies of recently visited webpages locally; commonly graphic files and HTML pages. The purpose is to speed up a site’s page loading the next time you visit the same page. Just like any other browser, Firefox also stores it all in the internet cache. Page loading speeds [...]
If you’ve got members in the family or colleagues in the office who have a habit of taking a peek into your files and folders whenever they are using your computer, then you should consider hiding the files that are meant only for your eyes. We’ve written about a method for hiding files in plain [...]
What do you do when you don’t want your ex-girlfriend (with whom you’re friends on Facebook) to see the pictures of your new girl that you just posted? How do you hide the snaps of the weekend drinking binge you had with your friends, from your conservative relatives ( and parents )? In both the [...]
There have been two recent incidents of password and user data breach that have caused a huge number of internet users to rethink on their password creation and management strategy (usually, most of us don’t have a strategy for that but nonetheless). First was the Gawker media data breach where the comments database of top [...]
When it comes to pop ups, Firefox has a pretty efficient built-in pop up blocker that can block the unnecessary advert pop ups and show you a notification just below the browser tab saying that “pop ups are blocked.” But if you want to consider blocking (or allowing) pop ups permanently from a specific site, [...]
There were times when every house had only one computer and one internet connection, generally delivered through a phone modem. Today, things have changed. Often there are two or more computers in the same household, and often at least one of them is a laptop. If you want all of these computers to be internet-enabled, [...]
DNS, which stands for Domain Name System, can convert the elusive IPv4 or IPv6 addresses to meaningful names, and then translate the characters back to IP addresses. For example, when you want to visit a website, DNS will tell your web browser the real IP address of it, and then web browser will download the [...]
While email is the most common way of communicating online, when it comes to having a quick word with someone online, using an instant messaging tool (IM) like gtalk or AIM is the preferred method. However, if you are looking for a secure and encrypted chat solution to talk about sensitive stuff then the popular [...]
Internet censorship is something which almost all of us, no matter where we live, encounter in one form or the other. Social networking or video sharing sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are usually blocked in offices. Some sites, like Pandora, are country specific. And if you are in a place like China, well, you’ve [...]
Let’s say a program (for example Firefox) is open on your computer and you are doing some important (or private) activities. Now, suppose someone, like a friend or colleague, suddenly comes up at your desk and needs to borrow your PC to get something done. If you don’t want that person to see what you [...]
You are a concerned parent who doesn’t want his child to visit any unsafe website. Sometime back, we mentioned about Windows parental control feature of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Probably, this is the best way in Windows to restrict internet access. But if you don’t feel like going through all the options in parental [...]
We discussed how to hide files inside JPEG/GIF/PNG images in Windows PCs in a previous article. The method was not difficult but it involves some hassle. It includes making a new folder and copying files through the command line. There is a tool known as JPGFileBinder which can be used for the same purpose. The [...]
When you type any letter in the address bar, web forms or username field, your browser helps you by showing previously entered values in a drop down interface. This feature is known autocomplete. The feature’s useful but you might want to disable it in case you don’t work in a completely private environment. In the [...]
For those who don’t know, private browsing refers to a mode of the browser where details like cookies, browsing history etc isn’t stored. Once you close the browser, all that data gets erased automatically. Previously, we talked about how to turn on private browsing in Firefox permanently. This article would discuss a common method of [...]
With the advent of Windows Vista , a new feature called Windows Parental controls was introduced. This feature allows parents to supervise PC usage of their kids. It lets them decide the kind of access, be it for programs or games or websites, they want their kids to have. This guide will cover all the [...]
We discussed various methods for hiding files inside your computer. Methods include super secure Truecrypt which offers military level security and handy MyLockbox to lock any folder. But all these methods require installation of software on your PC which is obviously visible to others. We are now going to talk about a unique method of [...]
Firefox’s address bar (or the awesome bar as it is called) is a useful feature because it remembers your bookmarks as well as the websites you visited earlier, and suggests them as you type your query. All that sounds great unless the history contains private stuff, something which you don’t want others to see (you [...]
If you want to protect your folders from any other user of your computer then My Lockbox is a perfect tool for that purpose. This Windows-only tool can password-protect folders and only the one who knows the password will have access to it.
