20 Laptop Security Tips

1. Install Mozilla Firefox - Mozilla Firefox will stop spyware dead in its tracks. Mozilla Firefox has many different plugins and advantages for other browsers and has a large community dedicated to keeping it secure.

2. Firewall. If you're your operating system is anything but Windows 98 then you have a built-in firewall. The problem is that most computers I fix the firewall is turned off. You wouldn't leave your front door open!! Firewalls close all the open doors or ports that enable remote users or applications to connect to your computer. No firewall means that all open ports can and will enable some application to connect to your computer remotely.

3. Encrypt your files - I don't care if you have a super secret password on your computer and all the latest patches if someone has physical access to your computer they can take your hard drive and pop it into another computer and access your files. If your files and folders are encrypted then they can't access them and steal your Identity. Pick a folder for you important documents-right click the folder then press advanced and then press encrypt folders and contents.

4. Updates - I don't care what operating system you use but make sure that you enable automatic updates. Updates should be install within twenty four hours of their release. Hackers will reverse engineer the published updates and use the exploits to create their own, so patch away.

5. Car Storage - OK, easy suggestion but if I'm a hacker all I need to do is follow the target home and wait for them to leave the laptop in the car. Dumb, but I felt like it needed to be said.

6. Laptop locks - Don't buy cheap laptop locks. Some of the cheap laptop locks on the market can be cut with small pliers. Good laptop lock cables will mesh together preventing it from being cut.

7. Policy - If you have own a business make a policy on how laptops are to be stored. You need to have a double lock policy. If a laptop is left unattended in a room it needs to be locked down with a laptop lock and the door to the room needs to be locked.

8. Harden Your Operating System - Locking down your operating system means stopping all unneeded services, installing updates and proper configuration of applications and server apps.

9. Passwords vs Pass Phrases - Make your passwords longer and more complicated.

10. Inventory - Assign inventory numbers and asset tags to laptops prior to giving them to employees. When a employee is fired or leaves the company get the laptop back, simple but often overlooked.

11. Wireless Security - Enable some sort of wireless security like WPA2, if you have no wireless encryption set up then all of your wireless clients can be tracked and subject to exploit. Kismet and other hacker tools will not only sniff wireless traffic they will also identify all the wireless clients for that wireless access points.

12. Walking Away - When you walk away from your laptop you need to press control-alt-delete and lock your computer. Dumb but it needs to be said.

13. AD-HOC Wireless networks - If your at a library or on campus or at a coffee shop and you scan for wireless networks and you see a computer to computer network don't' connect some one is trying to screw with you.

14. Rename your computer - Pretty easy to find you target if you computer's name is your name. Once a hacker knows your name the social engineering game begins.

15. Virtualization - Install Virtual PC and install a virtual machine. Use the Virtual computer to test all applications prior to use. Utilize the virtual pc for all risky websites.

16. Drinks -I think I have seen more lost data from someone spilling a drink on a laptop than anything else. So keep your drinks away from your laptop...yea simple.

17. Stolen Laptops - Register your laptops with one of the many different laptop recovery services. If you install their software and the thief accesses the Internet they can track it, deleted your data, and report the location to the police...in theory.

18. Ant-Virus - Update your virus definitions.

19. Install Linux - Ubuntu Linux is free, you can install it in about 15 minutes, and its more secure than anything Microsoft has to offer.

20. Install Linux - oops I put that twice but I think it deserves two listings, good luck

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Laptop Bateries

There are indeed several types of laptop batteries that are essential for keeping a laptop running properly. In this regard, there are a number of ways to properly care and maintain a laptops main power source, the battery, since the batteries of laptop are constructed with a number of crucial components for regulating charge and power supply to the laptop.

What and how many types of laptop batteries are available in the market? Well there are many but if you are the consumer there is a need for you to check and also to know the ideal battery for your laptop. Now, in respect of the different types of batteries that come to our concern are the Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) Batteries, which are in reality were the first rechargeable batteries manufactured for laptops. Though inexpensive, and being of high output and versatility the have been abandoned by the laptop manufacturers with the introduction of several efficient and lighter-weight batteries. The next that do come in the category are the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) Batteries, which at the time of its commencement was regarded as big development concerning power output, reliability, cost, safety and capacity. It is to be noted, that it was the "memory effect" that was the only issue, which required them to be fully discharged before recharging to gain maximum output.

However, with the up gradation of batteries, these older ones are found in the older model laptops. In this respect, the Lithium Ion (LiON) batteries happen to be the latest version, and ahs become the most popular for laptops. This device has been most successful since the elimination of "memory effect", and also happens to be much lighter than the other two in weight. For this the market price is also the highest. But again, at the time of detecting the ideal one among the various types of batteries there is a need to be cautious of the battery cycle.

It is known that one battery cycle is used every time when a battery is charged or discharged. Now, what is a battery cycle in reality? It technical terms, it is defined as the number of cycles a battery can perform before its nominal capacity falls below 80% of its initial rated capacity. In addition, the lifetimes 500 to 1200 cycles are typical. Besides while buying try to have a prior knowledge of the run time of the batteries, which does depends on a great number of factors. In maximum segments, it is the design of, and the power demands made by the machine that determines the actual battery run-time. For instance, the three factors of using the screen, the hard drive and other accessories do play a significant role to influence the duration of the run-time. There are also other types of batteries, known as Smart and Dumb Laptop Batteries. There are some laptop batteries, which are, equipped with internal microprocessor circuits and do play a considerable role in the management of battery energy, setting the charger to the correct charge algorithm, predict running time, or according to Smart Battery System (SBS) forum, provide a state-of-charge (SoC) indication. Theses are known as "Smart" batteries. On the contrary, those batteries that remain devoid of these features are known as the dumb ones, found to provide power only.

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How To Replace Your Laptop Computer's LCD

Laptop computers have been around for ages. Just as a human, laptop computers also age. Along with age comes broken or damaged parts. Hence, you either have to replace the laptop computer or repair the broken parts. One of the most expensive parts of a computer to replace is the monitor, commonly called the LCD.

LCD stands for liquid crystal display - the technology used to make the flat panel screens and laptop computer screens.

Some common reasons that might make you consider replacing your laptop computer's LCD are (1) the screen has been cracked; (2) you want to upgrade the standard computer screen that came with your unit to a higher resolution LCD screen; or(3) there are lots of dead spaces on your screen which might come from dead pixels.

If you want to tackle the task of replacing your laptop computer's LCD, consider the following steps to ensure that you perform the replacement seamlessly.

Step One
Power off your laptop computer and disconnect the battery and all cables. You will also want to remove the battery as it could cause an electric shock if it remains installed through the process.

Step Two
Remove the rubber screw covers to expose the screws that hold the screen frame in place.

Step Three
Gently pry the LCD screen frame loose. You should then be able to find the LCD screen cable and power cord. Unplug both of these and remove the tape (if any) that is holding the screen in place.

Step Four
You will next need to find out who the manufacturer of your laptop computer's LCD screen is. Keep in mind that the screen's manufacturer might not be the same as the manufacturer of the computer. Ensure that you match the screen that you purchase matches the screen's manufacturer model number.

Step Five
Once you have obtained the appropriate replacement screen, plug the new LCD screen in, secure it with tape, and replace the frame. Be cautious not to crimp any cords when you replace the frame.

Step Six
When you power up your laptop computer, your LCD screen should work properly. If it doesn't, call the supplier where you purchased your replacement screen and ask for technical help.

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The Hewlett Packard HP Pavillion dv6000 Laptop Computer

The Hewlett Packard Pavillion dv6000 laptop computer is a wonderful computer that is both easy to use and fully equipped with Microsoft Vista. It comes with an Intel Pentium dual-core processor. The computer is small and thus easily transportable for typing anywhere.

The Hewlett Packard Pavillion dv6000 has many wonderful features, many of which are a part of Windows Vista. It has a DVD/CD ROM drive/burner and two USB ports. The battery does not last for too long however, so portable typing and computing must be done in a timely fashion. There is a port for a printer, dial-up and cable modems, an expansion port, and a port for another monitor.

Quickplay DVD controls are highlighted in blue above the key board. The Hewlett Packard Pavillion dv6000 is really an entertainment computer and is great for playing music, watching TV or DVD's, storing and playing with photos. HP imprint allows for high-gloss finish to printed photos and the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 allows for fine photo editing. The expansion port allows for connecting to the internet and more and the dv6000's integrated 5-in-1 digital media reader allows quick file transferring and sharing. The computer boasts a 100 gigabyte hard drive and is good as a game computer as well as for photo and digital fun.

The laptop has a plasma screen with an amazingly nice display. Vista comes with Microsoft Works as its standard paper template, but files can be saved as html or Word and even more. The computer allows for different network and internet connections, including wireless broadband. It does not have a three and a half-inch floppy disk drive, but those are mostly a thing of the past anyway, but it does have USB ports for a portable three and a half-inch floppy drive which can be purchased for around twenty-five dollars. The Hewlett Packard Pavillion dv6000's price tag is around a thousand dollars, but this little computer pays for every dollar spent.

In conclusion, the Hewlett Packard Pavillion dv6000 laptop computer is an affordable entertainment computer which is portable, lightweight, easy to use, and perfect at home, college, or at work. Photo fun with the Pavillion is its specialty along with typing documents, internet surfing, and DVD's and music. All in all this computer is one fine machine and if you are looking for a new laptop computer the dv6000 might be the computer to suit your needs.

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Laptop Is Better Than PDA

Talking about PDA and laptop is always interesting. Which one will become your friend in your journey? Depend on your needs, right? A PDA is a better portable and lighter hardware than laptop. If you need to do some important things but you need a simpler tool, PDA is your friend. But PDA couldn't do as many things as laptop. If you need to play some light games (or even heavy ones), laptop is the only choice for you (when you are outside your home sweet home).

Beside of this, laptop always has better specification. Some softwares won't work properly in your PDA (especially Adobe softwares because they need good memory). So if you think PDA is a better choice than laptop, think twice. Laptop has many extra features that you won't get in PDA. If you prefer larger monitor size, laptop is the winner once again. Do not forget that reading small fonts in PDA sometimes can be really annoying. For better internet browsing and word processing experiences, laptop has proved its worth.

But it doesn't mean PDA is not popular. PDA is a matter of speed. If you need to work faster, PDA is absolutely better. Laptop has bigger space, better specification, can do many more things, but about speed, PDA is still better. Some of us only care about effectiveness, that's why PDA is still popular (in fact, it's getting more and more popular).

Actually, I prefer to buy a high-tech laptop than to buy a PDA. Yes, the differences between PDA and laptop are not big nowadays because laptops are smaller now and PDA has stronger performance. But for what reason you buy a powerful PDA? If you want to play games (especially heavy ones like HALO 3 or CoD 4), of course a bigger monitor is better. I think at least a 17" monitor is needed to get the best experience. A heavier laptop is okay. In fact, your hand will be stronger if you carry a heavy laptop everywhere. Consider it as an exercise.

Ruddy S. Gunawan, author of this article, is the webmaster of best laptop website. He is also the blogger in laptop guide blog. To know more about all the best laptops, you can check his site.

Laptop Speakers

Laptops are made with their speakers embedded in the device. Many prefer the convenience of not having to deal with another external accessory. However, many find that laptop speakers are a nuisance with poor quality sound and a small variety of options. Instead, consumers turn to multimedia speakers, also called external speakers, which are the same kind that come with a regular computer. Most computer speakers are made with a lower powered amplifier that is included inside of the speaker.

The cord that attaches the speaker to the computer is called a stereo jack plug. The connection accessory usually has lime green tip so that the consumer can locate it quickly. If the computer is fairly new, many laptops do not have the regular sound card where the audio connection can be plugged in. RCA came out with a converter connector for those who do not have a typical sound card. They are typically used for large home stereo systems.

USB speakers are the hottest accessory on the market right now, but not specifically because of laptops. The USB speakers came out with the birth of the mp3 player as a way for the consumer to listen to the music on the device without headphones. The speakers come in very handy for laptops if the user does not want to have 2 large speakers to deal with. The speakers are powered at 200 milliamp s and use about half a watt of output power.

The most common brands that sell speakers are:

? Altec
? Bose
? Dell
? GE
? Harmon Kardon
? Hewlett-Packard
? Logitech
? Creative Labs

Laptop speakers vary in quality and price depending on the style of the speaker. The brand of the speaker also changes the price or value considerably. The speakers with better sound quality are surprisingly enough the smaller speakers. Unfortunately, they are also the more expensive type of speakers. The more higher advanced speakers have options to change the equalization such as the treble and bass. The more advanced speakers also have 'sub woofers', which aid the output quality of the bass. A amplifier is usually included as well.

Those who wish to have a more simple and confidential way of listening to music but do not want to use the laptop speakers may opt for headphones. They are also considered a form of speaker because they aid in the output of sound. Headphones now come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Many of the name brand companies have been improving the headphones so that they are more comfortable around the ear. Many worries about sound affecting hearing loss has also convinced companies to make headphones that prevent sound loss. Compared to the speakers that come with the laptops, any external speaker would be a great accessory to buy.

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New Laptop Technology You Need To Know

Laptop or notebook computer technology is advancing at a blistering speed. Ferrari fast. So fast that by the time you purchase your new laptop, it's probably already obsolete or out of date. A sobering thought considering the hefty prices you have to pay for a high-end laptop.

But laptop technology is changing so fast new innovations are coming on stream as you read this article. There is a whole new generation of notebook technology every two years or less. Therefore, unless you buy or upgrade your laptop each year you're falling behind what these sleek little powerhouses can now deliver.

And unless you're already in Geek Heaven, keeping track of all these new technologies and innovations can be quite a chore. Figuring out the right Graphics chipset that works best with the right CPU and the best Data buses is a major feat. And now that everything is being Doubled -- dual core, dual graphics -- it's entering the realm where Einstein would be amused, even on a bad hair day!

What's the ordinary laptop buyer to do?

What you really have to keep in mind are the outcomes of all this new technology. Basically, these new technologies have made laptops smaller, faster and more powerful. With every new improvement the laptop is closing the gap between its main rival -- the desktop computer.

Notebook computers are now out-selling desktops for the first time in history. Laptops are replacing the old desktop computer, whose days may just be numbered. It won't be long before laptops are also out-performing them as well.

Some major computer makers are taking note of this trend towards more powerful, smaller computers. Even the desktop computer is morphing! Just look at the sleek design of the new Apple iMac G5, gone is the bulky tower, in its place is a well designed desktop computer that's almost a laptop!

For the ordinary computer user keeping abreast of all these new technologies and inventions can be a major chore if you're considering buying a laptop in the next little while. As you approach the smiling salesperson in your favorite tech store, here's a few bits of new notebook technology you might want to have in your possession so you won't look like a complete neophyte. Hey, where technology is concerned, we have all been there, done that.

In order for you to tech-proof your next laptop purchase, here's a quick run down of some recent Notebook Developments:

Sonoma Chipset

The new Sonoma Platform, Intel's next-generation Centrino Chipset is already on the market. Members of the Sonoma club are growing daily - Sony, IBM/Lenovo, BenQ, Dell, Samsung, Acer, and Toshiba... another 80 or 90 'Sonoma-endowed' products will be released very shortly.

No doubt, it will become the Platform standard for many high-end notebooks. Actually, it won't make or mean that much difference to the ordinary Joe/Jane who just want a notebook or laptop for web surfing, word processing and e-mail. Notebooks with the Sonoma Platform will be just a little bit faster and have a little better battery life.

But for Mobile Professionals and Notebook Fanatics (they do exist)... there's a lot of good things delivered or capable of being delivered with this new Centrino Chipset. First, wireless connections will be easier with the integrated tri-mode 802.11a/b/g, already dubbed by some as the 'wireless trinity'! This will make it easier to stay connected no matter where you are.

Improved performance will be experienced because the new Pentium M's have a 533MHz frontside bus, supported with up to 2GB of DDR2 DRAM, Serial ATA Hard Drive, and PCI Express, plus improved integrated graphics, including Intel's Hi-Def Audio. All are possible with the Sonoma Platform.

PCI Express

PCI(Peripheral Component Interconnect) Express is a new standard for expansion cards that comes in different versions. Presently, we have the x16 and x1 lanes, which will be followed by x4 and x8 versions. It offers increased bandwidth for example, x1 lane offers 500MB/sec instead of just 133MB/sec for PCI.

All computers, including laptops have different buses, (collection of wires) that transmit data from one component to another.

Of course, in an ideal world, all the data in your computer should move thru just one BUS - however, most experts agree it's not likely to happen unless we start over and build a computer system from scratch. For now we have to rely on different internal buses to move the data around, the PCI Express is a great improvement and will make your laptop faster.

Graphics Card

These are always improving. A Graphics Card handles the graphics or visuals on your notebook. If 3D graphics and games is a pastime, you will want to buy the highest quality system. Some of the higher end products are: ATi Mobility Radeon 9800, X800, and FireGL V3200 or Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900.

If you can, go with a NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 graphics card or for the real game diehards - wait for the debut of NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 that features NVIDIA's TurboCache technology.

Gamers will be aware of NVIDIA SLI technology, ATI's CrossFire and Hyperthreading. All new stuff that's bringing the gaming experience up to a higher level of perfection that would even be worthy of a Spielberg or a Lucas Production. Not really, but it's getting there.

64 Bit Laptops

Most systems today run on the 32 Bit System. Keep in mind, the major difference between a 32-bit and a 64-bit system is the amount of memory that they support. Around 4 GB for 32-bit and 8 GB and up for the 64-bit. Right now -- Intel, Apple, and AMD all offer 64-bit systems.

Do you need all this memory? No, for the average laptop user it amounts to overkill. However, if you're interested in gaming, desktop publishing, or the graphic arts you will benefit from 64-bit technology.

Dual Core Notebooks

Two is better than one!

Dual core laptops are now on the market. The gaming industry is the starting point for many of these advanced systems. For example, the British Laptop maker Rockdirect now produces Xtreme 64, a gaming laptop with AMD’s new dual core Athlon 64 X2 processor. This same laptop also sports the ATI Mobility Radeon X800 XT graphics card that features 16 pixel pipelines, an industry first for notebooks.

The major producers of dual-core chips are Intel and AMD. The Intel dual-core processor has hyperthreading (HT), the two cores are divided into four virtual CPU units. Is all this needed? Again, if you're into heavy graphics or gaming, it's something you should consider and explore further.

Built-in Cellular Modem

Most high-end laptops now come with an integrated tri-mode 802.11a/b/g for wireless WI-FI connections.

Some recent models, like the Sony's New Ultra-Portable VAIO VGN-T350P, are raising the bar; it has the world's first 'Built-in Cellular Modem'. You can use your cell phone to connect to the Internet. This may be a great advantage since finding a 'Hot Spot' in some parts of the world can still be difficult.

The Avant-Garde: LumiLED Display

Be on the look-out for LED monitors in the near future. The brightness, colors and backlighting technology in LED monitors will be quite different from LCD displays.

The Forerunner in this field is NEC's SpectraView LumiLED, and will offer a much better image and color. Keep your eyes peeled.

On the Horizon:

19 or 20 Inch Laptop Screens

There is a rumor, only a rumor, that Dell is coming out with a 19-inch laptop in early 2006. There is also buzz that LG-Philips has a 20-inch LCD panel which could easily be used by laptop makers if they want to explore this market area. Andre the giant will be pleased!

Conclusion

Of course, there are many more laptop innovations in the pipeline but they're beyond the scope of this article. Just keep all these new technological notebook changes in mind when you're checking out your next laptop. Maybe, just maybe, most of these won't already have been replaced by something new by the time you buy your next laptop. But don't bet your Google Stocks on it!

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