Posted in
Computer Security on
March 12, 2025 – 6:32 am
Today, more and more people rely on their computers for everything from communication to online banking, investing, and shopping. However, engaging in these activities increases the risk of encountering hackers, attackers, and crackers. Some may attempt phishing for your personal information and identity for resale, while others may use your computer to target unsuspecting victims. Below are several easy and cost-effective steps to enhance your computer’s security.
1. Backup Important Information:
Always create backups of your essential data and store them in a safe location separate from your computer.
2. Update Your Software:
Regularly update and patch your operating system, web browser, and other software. For Windows users, start by visiting www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com to run the update wizard, which will help you find the latest patches. Additionally, check www.officeupdate.microsoft.com for potential patches for your Office programs.
3. Install a Firewall:
A robust firewall is essential to protect your computer from viruses, worms, Trojans, malware, and adware that can easily access your system via the Internet. Consider the benefits and differences between hardware and software firewall programs.
4. Adjust Browser and Email Settings:
Review your browser and email settings for optimal security. Hackers often use Active-X and JavaScript to plant malicious programs on your computer. While cookies are generally harmless, they can track your online movements to create a profile of you. At a minimum, set your security level for the “Internet Zone” to High and your “Trusted Sites Zone” to Medium-Low.
5. Install Antivirus Software:
Please install antivirus software and set it for automatic updates to receive the most current versions.
6. Be Cautious with Email Attachments:
Do not open attachments from unknown sources. Many viruses can spread from familiar contacts, even if you recognize the sender’s address.
7. Avoid Running Unknown Programs:
Do not run programs from unknown origins, and refrain from sending these files to friends or coworkers, even if they contain amusing stories or jokes. They may harbor Trojans waiting to infect your computer.
8. Disable Hidden Filename Extensions:
By default, Windows hides file extensions for known file types. Turn off this option so that you can see all file extensions. Although some extensions may remain hidden, this will help you identify any unusual file types.
9. Disconnect When Not in Use:
Please turn off your computer and disconnect it from the network when you are not using it. A hacker cannot attack your computer if turned off or disconnected.
10. Create a Boot Disk:
Consider creating a boot disk on a floppy disk if your computer gets damaged or compromised by a malicious program. Remember, this should be done before you experience any hostile system breaches.
Posted in
MPLS,
Multi Protocol Label Switching on
March 12, 2025 – 12:25 am
MPLS, or Multi-Protocol Label Switching, is quickly replacing frame relay and ATM as the technology of choice for carrying high-speed data and digital voice on a single connection. MPLS provides better reliability and increased performance and can often decrease overall costs through increased network efficiency. Its ability to assign priority to packets carrying voice traffic makes it the perfect solution for carrying VoIP calls.
MPLS Basics
MPLS is a form of protocol rather than a specific type of service. It can deliver any circuit that a customer needs, from IP VPNs to optical connectivity.
Packet Labelling
The key to MPLS is its ability to label data packets. In traditional IP networks, packets are routed based solely on the data’s network-layer data. The arrival of each packet forces a router to “decide” where it should go “ext with no regard for its actual content.
The Need for Speed
MPLS dramatically speeds up the routing process by labeling each packet as it arrives on the network. Each network router stores information on handling different packet types, as indicated by their header label. This directly translates to higher efficiency by lightening the load on an organization’s router organization’s needed resources. The packet transmission speed increases as the network infrastructure load is reduced.
Not All MPLS Traffic is Created Equal
The inherent advantages of MPLS are most noticeable in situations where real-time traffic is configured to be preferred over data packets that do not require the same speed or priority. With a traditional IP circuit, all traffic is treated equally. This becomes a critical problem when the bandwidth demand temporarily exceeds the circuit’s capacity. The only form of prioritization on most traditional IP networks is “first come, first served,” with n, “special treatment given to real-time sensitive traffic like voice and video conferencing.
Priority Treatment
For example, a large e-mail attachment of personal photos sent to an employee’s employees would typically receive the same network priority as a real-time video or audio conference being held by company executives. The result can be phone calls or video transmissions of inferior quality as the two sources battle against one another for priority. An MPLS network, on the other hand, will instantly assign a high priority to real-time voice and video. E-mail traffic and other connections less likely to be affected by latency will be pushed to the back of a router’s queue to make the router’s high-priority traffic. This noticeably improves the performance of real-time applications and has a minimal effect on lower-priority traffic such as e-mail, where a delay in milliseconds is almost impossible to detect.
Life and Networks Require Proper Priority
In a nutshell, MPLS puts your high-priority, mission-critical IP traffic in the fast lane to its destination. All of this is done seamlessly, with absolutely no interaction needed on the part of the customer and with no significant changes to their network infrastructure. It’s like having a neIt’sk engineer inspect every packet on your network and decide how to load balance the circuit based on the data’s importance. MPdata is a value-added service that can pay for itself every month.
Top 5 Reasons To Move To MPLS (from Network World Magazine)
1. Cost savings. Depending on the specific mix of applications and network configuration, MPLS-based services can reduce costs by 10% to 25% over comparable data services (frame relay and ATM). As companies add voice and video traffic, cost savings can rise to as much as 40% networkwide.
2. QOS enablement. One of the primary benefits of MPLS-based services is the ability to support QoS, which is particularly key for companies rolling out voice and video.
3. Improved performance. Because of the any-to-any nature of MPLS services, network designers can reduce the number of “hops” between network” poi “ts, which translates directly to increased response time and improved application performance.
4. Disaster recovery. MPLS-based services improve disaster recovery in a variety of ways. First and foremost, data centers and other key sites can be connected in multiple redundant ways to the cloud (and thus to other sites on the network). Secondly, remote sites can quickly and easily reconnect to backup locations if needed (unlike ATM and frame networks, in which either switched or backup permanent virtual circuits are required). That’s why several beThat’sk participants listed “flexibility for business recovery” as a key justifier “in their MPLS rollouts.
5. Futureproofing the network. Most companies have concluded that MPLS represents “the wave of the future.” Investment in legacy” WAN services (ATM, frame) has reached almost no companies plan to invest in ATM or frame services within the next six to 12 months. As a result, companies increasingly say they’re planning to use MPLS primarily to avoid being left behind.
Top 5 list courtesy of Network World. Reprinted under fair use.
