GigaTribe - Safe P2P File Sharing

GigaTribe (also known as TribalWeb) is a revolutionary
program that lets you share entire folders with friends in
a private peer to peer (P2P) environment. Share all your
files (home movies, pictures, documents…) no matter how
large they are. It’s secure, encrypted…and free!

You create your private network by inviting your friends.
No one can join your network unless invited.
You can dismiss or ban your guests at any time.
Your guests can’t see each other on your network.

Easy
Install GigaTribe, select the folders you want to share
and invite your friends to join your private network!
Share all your files (movies, pictures, documents…) no
matter how large they are.
Interrupted exchanges automatically resume with no data
loss.
All files are exchanged at maximum speed.

Secure
Only the folders you want to share are visible.
Only the users of your network can see your shared folders.
When exchanging a file, only the sender and the receiver
are aware of the exchange.
All data exchanged on your network is encrypted (Blowfish
encryption with a 256-bit key).

Free
All these features are included in the standard version
and are totally free.
GigaTribe contains no adware and can be uninstalled easily.

Pick of reviews:
PC Plus June 2007Monthly DVD - The PC Plus Essential
Collection”Harnessing the power of peer to peer, GigaTribe
provides a network to exchange large files with your
friends.”
Computer Shopper May 2007DVD Edition: Expert Toolkit - May
Specials”Create a private network over the internet to
share files with friends.”

Please Note: 
The limited allocation of free upgrades has now been reached.
You can still download the free version and upgrade for a small fee.

Premium  Version features:
Download faster The number of files downloaded at the same
time is unlimited!
You are no longer limited to 1 download at a time.

Enjoy multisource downloads.
As soon as you begin downloading a file, GigaTribe will
automatically look for this file from all the users
connected to your network. It will then download it from
every source available.

Share files more easily.
When sharing a folder, you may: Select which user groups
will see you shared folder.
This way you can share a folder with your family and
another one with your friends.
Choose the level of authorization granted:
read only / write enable / total control (rename, delete).
Protect your shared folder with a password to limit the
folder access without modifying your user groups.

Receive Premium support.
Your emails are given top priority.

To your safety and security
cotojo

Clearing Your Browser’s Cache

Clearing Your Browser’s Cache
Often referred to as the cache, the Temporary Internet
Files folder contains a kind of travel record of the items
you have seen, heard, or downloaded from the Web, including
images, sounds, Web pages, even cookies. Typically these
items are stored in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

Storing these files in your cache can make browsing the
Web faster because it usually takes your computer less time
to display a Web page when it can call up some of the
page’s elements or even the entire page from your local
Temporary Internet Files folder.

Your browser’s cache stores the contents of all the Web
pages that you have visited during a session. To safeguard
your information and prevent another user from viewing what
you have entered, you should clear the cache memory after
you have completed the application. To clear your browser’s
cache, follow the instructions below:

All those files stored in your cache take up space, so
from time to time, you may want to clear out the files
stored in your cache to free up some space on your
computer. This is called clearing the cache.

You can adjust your Internet Explorer 6 settings to
automatically clear the cache whenever you close Internet
Explorer 6. Go to the Tools menu, and click Internet
Options. Click the Advanced tab. In the “Settings” box,
scroll down to the section labeled “Security,” and click to
check the box next to the “Empty Temporary Internet Files
folder when browser is closed” option. Click OK to finish.
This option does not delete cookies, but it will clear your
cache of other files when you close your browser.

If you tend to go online a lot and have ample space on
your computer, you might want to increase the size of your
Temporary Internet Files folder. Why? Because Internet
Explorer 6 will read already-viewed files from the cache
first rather than take the time to download the same page
from the Web, thus saving you time and money.

Adjusting How Often to Update
While it’s true that the more files you can load from your
hard disk, the faster your browsing speed, it’s also true
that those pages on the Web might have changed since being
stored on your computer. You might not want to miss fresh
content just to save a little time. Fortunately, in
addition to the size of the cache, you can also customize
how often Internet Explorer 6 checks the Web for updated
content.

First you will need to go to the Internet Explorer 6
Settings box:

1.
 On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. The Internet
Options box should open to the General tab.
 
2.
 On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files
section, click the Settings button. This will open the
Settings box.
 
3.
 In the Settings box, there are four ways to check for
newer versions of pages that are stored in the Temporary
Internet Files folder:

• Every visit to the page: You’re assured of the most
current content, but it’s slower to browse previously
viewed pages.
 
• Every time you start Internet Explorer 6: On your first
visit to a page, Internet Explorer 6 will check for new
information, but not on subsequent visits in the same
browsing session.
 
• Automatically: Internet Explorer 6 will check
automatically for any new content.
 
• Never: This option is fastest, but you could be viewing
old content from the cache. To refresh the page, press the
F5 button on your keyboard—this will connect you to the
page on the Web and download new information to the
Temporary Internet files folder. 
 

Try several combinations of these options and cache size
to find the best fit for your needs. You may need to use
the settings for a few days to fully gauge how they are
working.
Netscape 6.x, 7.x and 8.x users:

Select Edit, then Preferences.
Select Advanced from the Category listing.
Select Cache.
Select the Clear Disk Cache button then the Clear Memory
Cache buttons.
Select OK.
Internet Explorer 7.x:

Select Tools, then Internet Options.
Select the General tab at the top.
Under Browsing History, select the Delete button.
Select the Delete Files buttons next to Temporary Internet
Files.
Internet Explorer 5.x and 6.x users:

Select Tools, then Internet Options.
Select the General tab at the top.
Select the Clear History button.
Select Yes to confirm.
Select Delete Files.
Select OK.
Select OK to close the Internet Options Screen.
AOL 9.0:

Select Settings.
Select the Essentials tab.
Select the Internet (Web) option.
Select the General tab.
In the Temporary Internet Files area, select the Delete
Files button, and select OK.
AOL 8.0:

Select Settings.
Select Preferences.
Select the Properties option.
In the Temporary Internet Files area, select the Delete
Files button, and select OK.
AOL 5.0-7.0 and AOL Explorer 1.2 users:

Select System Information.
Select the Utilities tab.
Select the Clear Browser Cache.
Mozilla Firefox 2.0 users:

Select Tools.
Select Options.
Select the Advanced option.
Select the Network tab.
Select the Clear Now button.
Mozilla Firefox 1.5 users:

Select Tools, then Clear Private Data.
Select the Browsing History, Saved Form Information,
Cache, and Authenticated Sessions options.
Select the Clear Private Data Now button.

Use a “wipe” utility program, which overwrites the entire
hard drive and makes the files unrecoverable.  Use Ccleaner
available for free at
http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ and when
installed select ‘Options’ then select ‘Settings.  Under
the heading ‘Secure Deletion’ click the ‘Secure file
deletion (Slower)’ radio button and change the setting to
NSA (7 passes).

To your safety and security online
cotojo

AVG Anti-Virus Installation Guide

This video tutorial will show you how to install AVG Anti-Virus.
If you have Norton or McAfee I personally wouldn’t pay their
fees especially when you can have this protection for free.
If you have any other Anti-Virus and intend to install AVG,
please uninstall any other Anti-Virus program that you may
have.
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is one of the most popular
solutions to provide basic security protection on home and
non-commercial PCs and is used by millions of people worldwide.

Important

Create a backup of your system or a restore Point before making any changes

Can also be viewed in Windows Media Player by clicking:
AVG Installation

Encryption And Making Your System Secure

What does encryption do for me?
Encryption and cryptographic software has been used in many
different ways to make systems more secure.  This article discusses
only a few ways that such software can make your system more secure,
including:  

1) Encrypting your email  

2) Encrypting your files

Two programs are mentioned that will help encrypt information. There
are many more programs out there that will help, but these programs
are good and a good place to start as any. They have the added
benefit of both being free with source code available. 

Will encryption stop people from accessing my information? 
Encryption simply makes it harder for people to gain access to
important information, like passwords or sensitive information in a
file. The first thing you should know about encryption is that the
algorithm that is used to encrypt can be simple or more complex and
that affects how securely what you have encrypted is protected.
Encryption systems have been broken when the method of encryption is
understood by hackers and is easy to break.  

Why bother to encrypt my email?
It should be noted that email is far less secure than paper mail for
two very good reasons:  first, electronic data can be accessed easily
over an Internet and secondly, electronic data is really simple to
copy. There is a very good chance that someone has snooped around in
your email despite your best intentions to stop it.  

How do I go about encrypting my email? 
There are many programs out there that can help you encrypt your
email.  A very popular one is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) or its Gnu
offshoot GPG.   

PGP (http://www.pgpi.org/) self-describes itself this way: This “is
a program that gives your electronic mail something that it otherwise
doesn’t have: Privacy. It does this by encrypting your mail so that
nobody but the intended person can read it. When encrypted, the
message looks like a meaningless jumble of random characters. PGP has
proven itself quite capable of resisting even the most sophisticated
forms of analysis aimed at reading the encrypted text.” 

Why bother to encrypt my files?  
The answer to this boils down to what you store on your computer.
If you have financial data with important information like social
security numbers, email addresses, account numbers and passwords,
then you open yourself up to losing very valuable information.  Most
corporate Internet security employees will attest to the widespread
theft of very valuable information. As long as you are connected to
the Internet you are vulnerable. 

How do I go about encrypting my files?
 AxCrypt File Encryption Software  (http://axcrypt.sourceforge.net/)
Self-described as “Free Personal Privacy and Security for Windows
98/ME/NT/2K/XP with AES-128 File Encryption, Compression and
transparent Decrypt and Open in the original application.”

Fighting off Viruses

Advancements in Antivirus Software Suites

Protecting your computer from a virus is getting harder
and harder each day.  While it may border on the paranoid,
it goes without saying that you can’t leave your guard down
for one second.  Even corporate giant Microsoft has found
its own systems compromised on more than one occasion. 

Remember the “good old days”, before the advent of the
Internet and downloadable programs?  Life was simple then
in terms of computer viruses.  With the primary way in
which a virus could be transmitted being limited to floppy
disks, the ability to catch and eradicate the virus was a
lot easier.    By today’s standards, it used to take quite
a while before a virus was able to infect a computer and
slow down the system.  The antivirus software of that time
was typically able to identify and eradicate viruses before
they caused too much damage.  Additionally, computer users
were pretty savvy on how to protect themselves in terms of
scanning all floppy disks before copying them to our
desktop. 

The Internet helped change all that.  The Internet
provided a conduit by which viruses could move from host to
host with lightening speed.  No longer could a computer
user just worry about floppy disks as points of entry, but
they now had to worry about email, email attachments, peer-
to-peer file sharing, instant messaging, and software
downloads.  Today’s viruses can attack through multiple
entry points, spread without human intervention, and take
full advantage of vulnerabilities within a system or
program.  With technology advancing everyday, and the
convergence of computers with other mobile devices, the
potential of new types of threats also increase. 

Protecting Your Computer
Luckily, the advancement of antivirus software has kept
pace with current virus threats.   Antivirus software is
essential to a computer’s ability to fend off viruses and
other malicious programs.  These products are designed to
protect against the ability of a virus to enter a computer
through email, web browsers, file servers and desktops.
Additionally, these programs offer a centralized control
feature that handle deployment, configuration and updating.
A computer user should remain diligent and follow a few
simple steps to protect against the threat of a virus:

1. Evaluate your current computer security system.
With the threat of a new generation of viruses able to
attack in a multitude of ways, the approach of having just
one antivirus software version has become outdated.  You
need to be confident that you have protected all aspects of
your computer system from the desktop to the network, and
from the gateway to the server.  Consider a more
comprehensive security system which includes several
features including antivirus, firewall, content filtering,
and intrusion detection.  This type of system will make it
more difficult for the virus to penetrate your system.

2. Only install antivirus software created by a well-
known, reputable company. 
Because new viruses erupt daily, it is important that you
regularly update your anti-virus software.  Become familiar
with the software’s real-time scan feature and configure it
to start automatically each time you boot your computer.
This will protect your system by automatically checking
your computer each time it is powered up. 

3. Make it a habit to always scan all new programs or
files no matter from where they originate.

4. Exercise caution when opening binary, Word, or Excel
documents of unknown sources especially if they were
received during an online chat or as an attachment  to an
email. 

5. Perform regular backups in case your system is
corrupted.  It may be the only way to recover your data if
infected.

Recommended Antivirus Software
There are numerous applications available to consumers.
With a little research, you can pick the program that is
right for you.  Many programs provide a trial version,
which allows you to download the program and test its
abilities.  However, be aware that some anti-virus programs
can be difficult to uninstall.  As a precaution make sure
to set up a System Restore point before installing. 

Here are a few programs, which typically receive high
marks in terms of cost, effectiveness, ease of use, and
customer service.

The Shield Pro 2005™ provides virus protection and hacker
security through ongoing support and updates. When a virus
breaks out, The Shield Pro 2005™ promises to provide a
patch within 2-3 hours and a fix for the virus within 5
hours. You can set your computer to update viruses weekly
and run a complete virus scan.

BitDefender 9 Standard provides antivirus protection, as
well as Peer-2-Peer Applications protection, full email
protection, and heuristics in a virtual environment.  This
provides a new security layer that keeps the operating
system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious
pieces of code for which signatures have not been released
yet.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 5.0  program is simple to
install and use. The user only needs to choose from three
levels of protection.  It allows updates as frequently as
every hour while promising not to disrupt your computer.
The program also offers a two-tier email protection feature
and round-the-clock technical support.

PC-cillin Internet Security  combines antivirus security
and a personal firewall-for comprehensive protection
against viruses, worms, Trojans, and hackers. It also
detects and removes spyware and blocks spam. It even guards
against identity theft by blocking phishing and pharming
attacks.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition is a free downloadable
antivirus program that has received high marks for its
reliability.  In the past, free downloadable antivirus
programs have been viewed skeptically because of issues
relating to its reliability.  However, AVG from Grisoft,
remains one of the best-known free anti-virus programs
available.  While AVG cannot be installed on a server
operating system and there is no technical support, it
still makes a good choice for many home computer users.
The best part is that since it is free, you can try it with
no further obligation necessary.