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Alan
introduced four videos, all-relating to the Internet. Each video
lasted about 10 minutes and contained some useful information.
The first offering was about how the Internet worked. There was
information about IP addressing, ISP linking, routers and the
general operation of transferring data across the Internet.
The second offering continued in the same vein as the first but
this time explored Net Routers and Firewalls. The video explained
how they are used to prevent unsolicited hacking of a computer
or even a network of computers. Net routers are hardware firewalls
that sit between the computer/network and the outside world (Internet).
You can also get software firewalls that protect an individual
machine at point of entry. Both types can be programmed to support
the type of protection required by the user.
The third offering was about buffer overruns – this apparently
is a common method of hacking and putting viruses or spy ware
on a computer. Stack buffer overruns are caused by huge amounts
of incoming data overwriting the data in the computers memory
stack and downloading data that runs instead of the correct data.
Offering four was what Steve Gibson and Gibson Corporation is
all about. This is the package SpinRite. The program has been
around for 16 years in its various incarnations and is currently
on version 6. SpinRite is a disc recovery software package that
maintains a drives integrity and can recover data from a damaged
drive. The very small program has its own Free Dos and can be
used as a portable boot disc. It is reputedly compatible with
all operating systems and comes at the very reasonable price of
89 dollars. Alan gave us a short demonstration of the program
checking out his computers drive and explained that he had found
it to be invaluable in finding bad sectors on the drive and repairing
them if possible.
For more information on SpinRite and the many other packages,
some of which are free downloads, go to his website at www.GRC.com
When I visited the site, I found a lot of other videos similar
to those that Alan showed us. It is well worth a good look round
as there is lots of information regarding computer safety.
Our Thanks to Alan for a very enjoyable and informative evening.
Dave
Robb
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