Linux.com Article: Using Windows, Xbox, and iPod as Alternative MythTV Front Ends
Originally published at www.linux.com on December 09, 2008 at 09:00 AM; reprinted with the author’s permission. Digital video recorders (DVR) are becoming more and more mainstream. TiVo, in fact, has passed the truest test of any popular technology — having its name transformed into a verb. MythTV, a free and open source application that lets you turn a computer into a DVR, burst on the scene a few years ago, and has found fans among Linux users. However, with a little effort, it’s possible to run MythTV front ends on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Xbox, and even an Apple iPod Classic. When MythTV first emerged, only the bravest of the open source faithful dared to try it. Few had the specific hardware to make it work, let alone the...
Linux.com Article: Protecting Networks with SmoothWall Express 3.0
Originally published at www.linux.com on December 09, 2008 at 09:00 AM; reprinted with the author’s permission. Corporations and home users alike need firewall protection. Many choices abound, including some expensive, commercial options that only run on specialized hardware. Others, like SmoothWall Express, are freely downloadable, built on the same technology as the commercial solutions, and even deliver some superior features. SmoothWall Express 3.0, from August 2007, is an open source firewall distribution released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). It provides all the features commonly found in a modern system, but also a few that you might not expect. Stateful inspection, dynamic and static NAT, egress controls, demilitarized zone (DMZ)...
CCleaner – Clean up your Windows
Well, if you haven’t been paying attention, apparently Windows will slow down after some time in use…or so they say. Â Mine doesn’t. Â Mainly because I’m careful about spyware (not such a problem anymore since Google Chrome and Firefox), but also because I use utilities like this. So if you want your machine to stop dogging out. Â First, uninstall all the worthless programs you never use but none-the-less have collected over the last year or two. Â Go to Microsoft Update, get any updates you may need. Â Update your hardware drivers from each vendor’s website. But most of all, go to Piriform and download the excellent FREE CCLeaner. Â Once installed and started, the interface presents four tabs on the left. Â Cleaner,...
Network Security 101 – Data Classification
Ok, this really isn’t that difficult. Common Classification Systems There are two main classification schemes for data objects; the most well-known is used by the US Government for protected national information. It uses terms, now made somewhat clichéd in popular media. The other generally used schema is for the private sector. Governmental Objects Unclassified Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) Confidential Secret Top Secret Enterprise (Private Sector) Objects Public Sensitive Private Confidential The other component of any classification scheme is the subject. There three categories of subject within a data classification system, they are as follows: Classification Subjects Data Owner Data Custodian Data User In classification systems, the Data...
New Article Published – Protect Your Network with SmoothWall 3
Once again, I have pestered the editors at the ordinarily refined Linux.com into publishing an article. I had a harder time getting this one right. I was stuck in a fiction writing mode–half of the sentences I wrote were in passive voice. Very frustrating–probably more so for the editors. http://www.linux.com/feature/154568 In any case, go check out the story–SmoothWall is an excellent choice for network border...
Options for Open Source Document Management
The Problem Twenty years ago, companies managed critical documents inside a concrete-lined filing cabinet. If any instructions needed to be disseminated to all employees, they were photocopied and thumb-tacked to the bulletin boards in all the break rooms. Emergency procedures were usually kept in a brightly colored three-ring binder, which unfortunately contained printouts two or three revisions out-of-date. Twenty years is a significant amount of time. Surely technology has advanced to provide a better way. Excellent document management is a requirement for modern organizations. Even if there are no regulatory needs such as SOX, GLBA, HIPAA; keeping a tight body of operating policies and procedures is simply good business. Sadly, though, most companies...
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