CHRISdotTODD

Do you have files that you do not want others to see? Perhaps you keep your tax returns archived on your hard drive. Or your employee's files at work. Using a very simple, free program you can protect those files from others accessing them using TrueCrypt . Version 5.1a was released March 17, 2008, so you know this isn't some beta software you're running. From the TrueCrypt website, here are its main features: Creates a virtual encrypted disk within a file and mounts it as a real disk. Encrypts an entire partition or storage device such as USB flash drive or hard drive. Encrypts a partition or drive where Windows is installed (pre-boot authentication). Encryption is automatic, real-time (on-the-fly) and transparent. Provides two levels of plausible deniability, in case an adversary forces you to reveal the password: 1) Hidden volume. 2) No TrueCrypt volume can be identified (volumes cannot be distinguished from random data). Encryption algorithms: AES-256, Serpent, and Twof

To claim a blog with Technorati , you need to create a post with some custom code -- Technorati Profile . Since I have moved off of Blogspot and onto my own domain ( http://www.CHRISdotTODD.com ), I need to reclaim my blog. For those unfamiliar with Technorati, it's a site that tracks blogs. Currently tracking 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media... Technorati tracks these links, and thus the relative relevance of blogs, photos, videos etc. We rapidly index tens of thousands of updates every hour, and so we monitor these live communities and the conversations they foster. While I'm at it I thought, "Why not see if there are any Technorati Add-ons for Firefox ." Here's what I found: Technobar : displays Technorati linked websites to the blog you are viewing Technorati Search Engine plug-ins Rank Status Bar : displays the page/blog rank on Technorati Who is this person? : when highlighting a name, it will search Technorati and other

If you're like me, you have multiple sources of audio, and getting them all into one iTunes is a problem. Sure if you're ripping a new CD, iTunes makes it easy; but if you're merging existing digital collections, it can be very time consuming and error prone. No longer is this a problem with the iTunes Library Updater (iTLU). You can run iTLU through a GUI or from a console (which allows scripting). The following features are supported with iTLU: Adding new music or video clips to the iTunes library Removing entries from the iTunes library that point to non-existing files Synchronizing the iTunes library with one or multiple directories Updating iTunes track information with meta information out of the media files (for example ID3 tags in case of MP3 files) Updating your iPod (initiates a synchronization) iTLU appears to be only available for Windows, but is completely free and comes with a short manual in English and German. If you want to clean up your iTunes, this is a

Seems the investigation by the FCC on how Comcast handles its network traffic management is having an effect on who Comcast does business with. As reported in today's Wall Street Journal, Comcast is now working with BitTorrent to find an acceptable solution for network traffic management. Currently Comcast has just discontinued any P2P traffic during busy times by sending requests to discontinue communication to each party. It appears Comcast now has a better approach in the works -- manage total bandwidth by user. Because cable Internet puts entire neighborhoods onto one network, busy times can cause slow downs. Comcast's plan of eliminating certain types of traffic (P2P, which they assumed was mostly illegal file transfers), though maybe successful in many cases, did not meet normal terms of service. Take for example the popular World of Warcraft -- users get updates via legal P2P traffic -- there is no law breaking going on there. What made one protocol more okay on the ne

Download Statusbar offers several ways to view the status of your downloads using Firefox without the annoyance of a separate dialog box. I've chosen to use the mode where it's just another icon on the status bar. You can opt to have an additional bar added above the status bar when downloading. After your file has downloaded, through a simple hover, you can see all the specifics about the downloaded file(s). For example, you can see the site you downloaded it from, the file size, and the time it took to download. Additional options include a notification when complete and even an auto-virus scan. I like it just because it reduces the clutter.

Over the next few days my new domain name will start propagating across the Internet. the-cream.blogspot.com will become www.CHRISdotTODD.com .

Time is running out, but it's still not too late to get Windows XP. Computer World recently published Microsoft's current schedule, among other related information. I bought a new Dell laptop for my daughter in November with XP installed. I bought it from Dell because it was an easy choice on their website; other sites that I heard has XP available made it difficult to get XP. You should be able to get XP on new PC purchases until June 30, 2008 (from Microsoft , Sept 27, 2007). The Computer World article links to a recent blog post from Dell . Here's part of that post: The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this summer. InfoWorld is sponsoring a petition to encourage Microsoft to continue selling XP beyond the current deadline. Before you sign the petition, you may want to review InfoWorld's privacy statement. Postal addresses, and other personally identifying information and data will be used to promote InfoWo