TrueCrypt

TrueCrypt is a software system for establishing and maintaining an on-the-fly-encrypted volume (data storage device). On-the-fly encryption means that data is automatically encrypted right before it is saved and decrypted right after it is loaded, without any user intervention. No data stored on an encrypted volume can be read (decrypted) without using the correct password/keyfile(s) or correct encryption keys. Entire file system is encrypted (e.g., file names, folder names, contents of every file, free space, meta data, etc).


In the simplest sense TrueCrypt will allow you to create a password-protected encrypted folder in which you can secure files of any type.

TrueCrypt Docvumentation

Dia Drawing Program

From their website:

Dia is roughly inspired by the commercial Windows program 'Visio', though more geared towards informal diagrams for casual use. It can be used to draw many different kinds of diagrams. It currently has special objects to help draw entity relationship diagrams, UML diagrams, flowcharts, network diagrams, and many other diagrams. It is also possible to add support for new shapes by writing simple XML files, using a subset of SVG to draw the shape.

It can load and save diagrams to a custom XML format (gzipped by default, to save space), can export diagrams to a number of formats, including EPS, SVG, XFIG, WMF and PNG, and can print diagrams (including ones that span multiple pages).

http://live.gnome.org/Dia

Network Security: Free Tools

Greetings and Salutations!

Today I am going to be introducing the popular network scanning tool, Nmap.

Nmap allows one to 'map' an entire network by scanning ports (both TCP & UDP),  performing operating system detection, ping sweeps and more.

This allows for a network administrator to determine the relative security of their lan; by detecting the state of all ports on a specific target.  Nmap will even give hints as to what certain ports are primarily used for.

Here is a sample input and what to expect as an output:

nmap -sS -vv 192.168.0.0/24

This command will  perform a TCP SYN (-sS) scan of the entire 192.168.0 network, with two levels of verbosity. (-vv)

As a result the administrator would know which TCP ports are open on all hosts, and the services associate with said port.  This is just a small sample of the power of Nmap, which like all network tools, should be used for the purposes of good, not evil.

-Chris

keybr.com

keybr.com is a nifty site that provides a flash-based on-screen keyboard to help improve typing skills.

The thing that I really like about keybr.com is how each key is color-coded to show how well you are typing that particular letter. The keys that need practice turn a darker shade of red, while the keys that are hit correctly are shaded green. Well worth a try to at the very least find the weaknesses in your typing style.

iTunes Alternative

CopyTrans Manager is a free alternative to organizing media on an iPod or iPhone.

CopyTrans Manager Website

Add music to iPod, videos & more

• Add music, podcasts, audio books, videos, films and TV-shows to iPod or iPhone
• Drag & Drop songs directly from any folder to your iPod, iTouch and iPhone
• Add tracks from any PC to iPod, iPod Touch and iPhone

Organize iPhone or iPod and manage playlists

• Create iPod Touch playlists or edit existing ones
• Drag & Drop iPhone songs directly into iPhone playlists
• Import all album artwork automatically to your iPod or iPhone
• Edit track information (artist, album, ratings, genre, etc.)
• Search iPhone tracks by album, artist or anyway you want
• Synchronize iPod instantly or manually

Standalone, light and fast

• No installation required
• Takes only 3MB of hard drive space
• Loads in less than a second

Play iPod tracks directly on any PC

• Listen to your iPod Touch music, audio books, podcasts
• Keep your iTunes alternative on your iPod
• Use your iPhone manager on every PC without installation

Remove iPod tracks & playlists

• Remove tracks from your iPod playlists
• Remove iPod Touch playlists
• Delete iPhone tracks definitively

Windows 7 Snipping Tool

Windows 7: A Beginning

I will be blogging about different features and aspects of Windows 7 often in the near future,  but today I am going to start by examining a relatively obscure and useful built-in tool called "Snipping".

The Snipping tool can be found can be found in the Start menu under “Accessories”,

or by clicking the start button and typing Snipping.

This tool allows one to drag the cursor around an area of screen that one would want to capture. Much more effective than print screen -> paint -> crop -> paste.

Free Software of the Week

WinDirStat (Windows Directory Statistics)

WinDirStat is a disk usage statistics viewer and cleanup tool for Microsoft Windows.

This utility will allow you to see a visual representation of how your storage device's space is allocated.  This is great for finding large files that are nested away, or forgotten about.  Another handy feature allows you to manipulate the files directly from WinDirStat;  you can delete,  open containing folder, etc.