Monday, October 8, 2001		Downloads of the week

It’s a law of nature that good and bad always co-exist. This law has universal application and also finds its application in the world of computers and the Internet. The Internet is no doubt a useful tool for everyone, but it has some dark side also. This dark side is about the personal and PC security from hackers and also from the onslaught of virus attracts. With the kind of losses hackers have caused to the PC users, it has now almost become necessary for the PC users to use some kind of firewalls. Sygate Personal Firewall is one such firewall that is useful for stand-alone desktops and has some powerful security features. It not only provides security against viruses but also guards virtually every entry point into your PC, thereby blocking any possibility of hacking or unauthorised access via Internet or even LAN. This firewall program is very useful especially for PCs, which are connected through leased lines, DSL, cable modems etc. This software not only protects your computer from the outside world but also allows you to regulate the physical use of PC and the Internet. This is a feature-rich program, is easy to operate and has been designed keeping the home-user in mind so that even they can configure and use it. Moreover, it is also flexible and provides various levels of security to the computer user. Even the novice can use this program with the preset security levels ranging from low to ultra. This software is also interactive and capable of learning everyday usage habits and adapts to it accordingly. Using this software, you can also keep a check on the Internet traffic and may get alerted on any unauthorised data request. There are many more features of this program, which computer user will find useful. However the best part of this program is that it is free for non-commercial use and can be downloaded from www.sygate.com.

Security is not the only concern against hackers and viruses, but also involves security of data and files from the eager eyes of many onlookers who can directly access your computer in your absence. In this case, you would need something more than firewalls to protect your data and files from these nuisance-mongers. SafeDisk is one such security program that protects your computer, folders, files, and data from any unauthorised access directly. This software creates virtual disks, which simply goes beyond creating encrypted copies of life and folders. These virtual disks are a safe way storing precious data in secured form. Any sensitive information or important data or document can be placed into encrypted containers created by using this software which other persons would not be able to use. SafeDisk uses high level of security standards as it supports some of the strongest encryption algorithms available including RIJNDAEL, Blowfish, Square, GOST, SKIPJACK and RSC. Using this program you would be prompted to select an algorithm and also the amount of disk space you would want a disk to hold. However, the best part is that these containers and virtual disks are completely hidden from the view and nobody can browse through it. Since for opening, loading and closing the virtual disk, you would need the hotkey combinations specified under this program so only authorised person would be able to access the critical information. This program also offers a couple of other security measures, such as an option to lock your computer at startup or whenever the system is idle. It also provides low-level wiping to destroy sensitive data you no longer need. Overall, this software could be of immense use for the people who store many critical information and data on their PC and are scared of unauthorized access. This software can be downloaded from www.softcomplete.com.

It is a common observation that most of the problems of the PC users are related to the Internet. And out of these Internet-related problems, a majority is related to dial up networking. These problems could be numerous and may range from redialing the ISPs Internet access number in case it is busy automatically connecting to the Internet when the Windows loads. The solution to all these problems is in the form of a functional Internet utility called Dial-Up Monitor. This is great software for all those suffering from dial-up related problems and can take the burden of problems related to dial up networking. Using this software, you can automatically connect the computer to the Internet and in case the access number of your ISP is busy, it can keep dialing them automatically until you get connected. Besides this, you can also program it to connect on demand or whenever Windows loads. This program also addresses the problem of the Internet disconnection, as it will automatically re-dial the ISP number once you get disconnected. In addition to this, you can also program it to open a set of applications like a browser or e-mail client whenever the Internet starts and even closes it when you hang up. Using this software, you can also gauge your Internet connection, both in terms of connection statistics and data transfer rate. This is not all about this software as it is flexible and user-friendly. This program can be used to create scheduled connection and disconnection of your Internet connection depending on the defined parameters. You can also limit the Internet usage in terms of hourly usage and thus can keep a check on expenses. You can also maintain a log of online session the details as wide as time and hours spend by any particular user on a machine. This software also takes care of the security needs, securely store the passwords and can encrypt all personal settings. This shareware version of the software can be downloaded from www.dmonitor.f2s.com.