Sunday, June 29, 2008
Low-Cost Internet Content Filtering
If you manage a small network at the office or even your home you want to protect employee's productivity and your child's nativity. There are many solutions that you can purchase from centralized appliances to software that installed on individual computers.
OpenDNS offers a free, easy-to-use solution. I have used OpenDNS at several locations for quick domain resolution for a couple of years. The advantages of OpenDNS over your ISP DNS servers is that on many occasions the DNS machine at your ISP is most likely a long-forgotten, over-worked box in the corner of the data center. This can slow your web surfing.
In addition to speed, OpenDNS can now also provide content filtering for your network. You go to the OpenDNS.org web site and register for an account. You can then setup your network and filtering options on the site. In addition to filtering, OpenDNS will also track web sites accessed from your network.
Once you have setup your network(s) on the web site you will need to make some changes to your network. The easiest place to make the change is in your DHCP server which will be in your router on small networks. Enter the DNS servers given to you by OpenDNS.
If you have a dynamic IP address, OpenDNS provides a small utility that you can install on a Windows or Mac computer so that OpenDNS can keep track of your changing IP address.
Understand that this is not bullet-proof fix for content-securing your network. A knowledge computer user will know a work-around if they are really intent on finding questionable content on the Internet.
OpenDNS offers a free, easy-to-use solution. I have used OpenDNS at several locations for quick domain resolution for a couple of years. The advantages of OpenDNS over your ISP DNS servers is that on many occasions the DNS machine at your ISP is most likely a long-forgotten, over-worked box in the corner of the data center. This can slow your web surfing.
In addition to speed, OpenDNS can now also provide content filtering for your network. You go to the OpenDNS.org web site and register for an account. You can then setup your network and filtering options on the site. In addition to filtering, OpenDNS will also track web sites accessed from your network.
Once you have setup your network(s) on the web site you will need to make some changes to your network. The easiest place to make the change is in your DHCP server which will be in your router on small networks. Enter the DNS servers given to you by OpenDNS.
If you have a dynamic IP address, OpenDNS provides a small utility that you can install on a Windows or Mac computer so that OpenDNS can keep track of your changing IP address.
Understand that this is not bullet-proof fix for content-securing your network. A knowledge computer user will know a work-around if they are really intent on finding questionable content on the Internet.
Labels: content filtering, network, OpenDNS
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Portableapps - A Computer On Your Thumb Drive
I recently took the opportunity to try out Portableapps. The premise of this collection of open source software is that you can use your software and store data on a thumb drive without leaving any personal information on the borrowed desktop computer. Each piece of software included is not trial software, but actually full-blown programs especially designed to operate from your portable drive.
You visit the portableapps.com web site and download the main suite. The executable program downloaded to your program will extract the main menu and applications onto your portable device. A thumb drive will probably be the most obvious choice, but you can also use a portable disk drive or even your iPod.
The base suite includes Open Office, Firefox, and a couple games and utilities. You can easily add more programs listed through the site. The choices are limited to open-source software. These full versions are free of any advertisements or spyware.
I tried Portableapps out on a new 1 gigabyte thumb drive. The main menu application starts up immediately when you insert the drive in a Windows computer. A simple menu pops up in the lower-right hand screen, and disappears to a tray icon when it is not being used.
I tried out a couple of Open Office applications as well as two versions of Firefox. Everything worked very well. Some extensions but not all worked in Firefox. The main problem was speed. The convenience of having my data and favorite applications close at hand were off set by an incredibly slow computing experience. I did not expect overwhelming speed, but it was sometimes difficult to use the applications do to waiting for actions to complete.
If you are looking for applications to use when you borrow someone else's computer try out portableapps. It seems to be the most-thought-out system that I have seen so far. Just be sure to bring your patience with your thumb drive.
You visit the portableapps.com web site and download the main suite. The executable program downloaded to your program will extract the main menu and applications onto your portable device. A thumb drive will probably be the most obvious choice, but you can also use a portable disk drive or even your iPod.
The base suite includes Open Office, Firefox, and a couple games and utilities. You can easily add more programs listed through the site. The choices are limited to open-source software. These full versions are free of any advertisements or spyware.
I tried Portableapps out on a new 1 gigabyte thumb drive. The main menu application starts up immediately when you insert the drive in a Windows computer. A simple menu pops up in the lower-right hand screen, and disappears to a tray icon when it is not being used.
I tried out a couple of Open Office applications as well as two versions of Firefox. Everything worked very well. Some extensions but not all worked in Firefox. The main problem was speed. The convenience of having my data and favorite applications close at hand were off set by an incredibly slow computing experience. I did not expect overwhelming speed, but it was sometimes difficult to use the applications do to waiting for actions to complete.
If you are looking for applications to use when you borrow someone else's computer try out portableapps. It seems to be the most-thought-out system that I have seen so far. Just be sure to bring your patience with your thumb drive.
Labels: Firefox, open source, portable
Monday, June 23, 2008
Zoho Update
I promised earlier this month to begin using Zoho products and doing a write-up.
At times I feel a little guilty about looking at a product or service quickly, and sometimes just missing the point or some great features. I am taking my time in going through the Zoho suite. I am currently using the word processor and spreadsheet applications a couple of times a week. I will post some thoughts soon.
At times I feel a little guilty about looking at a product or service quickly, and sometimes just missing the point or some great features. I am taking my time in going through the Zoho suite. I am currently using the word processor and spreadsheet applications a couple of times a week. I will post some thoughts soon.
Labels: zoho
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