ENCRYPT YOUR IMPORTANT FILES BEFORE SYNCING TO THE CLOUD

As we all know how cloud storage services have become an integrated part of our everyday computer use. Cloud storage gives us flexibility to store our data and to access them from anywhere in the world and also gives many other advantages too. But the main concern raises over here is the security of the data. We always wish that our data must be secured and does not get changed or hacked by others, as we all know how important our data is. So this can be deal with using the Secured Cloud Drive, which encrypts the files using military-grade 256-bit AES encryption prior to sending them your selected cloud drive. This will make your data unreadable to others. It supports almost all your cloud storage services like SkyDrive, Dropbox etc.

Secured Cloud Drive lets you synchronize a shared folder on your computer with the exchange folder on your cloud. The files will be encrypted with the 256-bit encryption layer, so that no one can have access to your files except you. So for this, the software of Secured Cloud Drive is required to download. You can do this by clicking the following link http://www.secured-cloud-drive.com/download/. Once installed, now you have to follow some of the configuration steps that show how the service works.

Select Next and Next option to proceed and in the fifth step you can see the Select Folder option. This option let’s you allow to give the path where your folder is present that you want to share and then click to next to proceed.

Similarly in the sixth step, the application will ask you for your exchange folder. This folder should be present on your cloud drive.

Next you have to specify a password for the encrypted files. The application uses the same password when you download your files to your computer.

Secured Cloud Drive uses a license code for each shared folder. You get a single license for free, but additional licenses have to be purchased for sharing more than one folder. As you receive the license code, enter it to the application and click Next to proceed.

 

Now all you need to do is to store files on the shared folder and they will get automatically encrypted and synced to the exchange folder. This application creates a foldername.exchange directory on the cloud to which the encrypted files are actually moved.

                                                         

The additional folders can be shared by clicking ‘New share’ from the application’s right-click context menu in the system tray. You have also many other options to select such as pause synchronization, exit etc.

                         

This application will keep all your important files safe on your cloud drive.

Connecting USB modem in Ubuntu 12.04 and 12.10

Hi Ubuntu Users, you might just install the newly fresh Ubuntu 12.04 or Ubuntu 12.10, but you might not get the connection to internet by using USB modem. You can’t directly connect internet connection by just plugging USB device and setting the internet connection. Ubuntu developers and Canonical Community didn’t notice the small bug of network connection manager, the problem is that modem does not get detected, so we can’t setup to the internet settings. So in this blog I will be publishing a very simple technique to connect to the Internet connection by using USB modem.

 

If you have just installed the Ubuntu the first step is to create the root account in Ubuntu because Ubuntu and Debian based operating Systems doesn’t have the root account. So we will have to create it by just entering the following command,

  

     Sudo passwd

Entering this command on terminal will ask you for password and it will create a root account with the same password.

Now you have to login as a super user, so enter the following command

   Su

Enter your root password

Now, you have to plug your USB modem

After plugging, check if your modem is mounted or not by the following command

   lsusb

 

This command will list all the drives and USB devices of your system.

Just check your USB is mounted or not. It is mounted but not detected, so for settingup internet connection enter the following command:

   modprobe –v option

modpobe is a command to add and remove modules from Linux Kernel.

-v  --verbose

Print messages about what the program is doing. Usually modprobe only prints messages if something goes wrong. This option is passed through install or remove commands to other modprobe commands in the MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable.

After that you just have to enter the following command

echo"1c9e 9605" > /sys/bus/usb-serial/drivers/option1/new_id

 

This command will write the entry for the modem in the new_id file

That’s all now your modem is detected and you can set up your internet connection through network manager.

UNIX password scheme

In most of the computer security contexts, user authentication is the fundamental building block and primary line of defense. User authentication is the basis for most type of access control and for user accountability.

Hashed passwords are widely used in UNIX like operating system. UNIX uses hashed password and salt value are used in UNIX like operating system. This password scheme is completely different form windows like operating system. Windows uses only encryption of passwords rather than like UNIX that’s why windows have not much of powerful authentication scheme. UNIX password scheme is explained below and fig 1 shows UNIX password scheme.

To load new password in system user have to select new password. This password is combined with the salt value. Salt values are of fixed length and can be anything like time, date etc. But latest implementation uses random number as a salt value. 

The password and salt value are given input to the hashed algorithm to produce fixed length of hashed value. The hashed value is then stored with the plain text copy of salt value in the password file for corresponding user ID. 

fig1.UNIX password scheme

When user attempts to log on to UNIX system, the user provides an ID and password. The operating system uses ID as index in password file and retrieves plain text salt value and encrypted password. The new provided password and salt value are given as input to encryption algorithm. Algorithm generates encrypted password which is compared with the encrypted value returned with salt value if the both matches then only log-in is allowed otherwise denied.

The other benefit of this mechanism is even if two users chooses same password it does not conflict because salt value for each user ID is different.

An Official Inauguration of SnashLUG

On Monday i.e. 22^nd of January 2013, we had an official inauguration ceremony of the SnashLUG which is the Nashik Linux users group in the presence of the renowned Dr. Achyut Godbole and respected Pravin Rahane and Pradip Patil from  ESDS company. SnashLUG is not for profit or non-profit organization of the Linux users group, for those who wish to expand, share their thoughts & improve their skills related to the Linux or in any new invention which are related to technology. 

                                    Achyut Godbole Sir at Sandip foundation

Achyut Godbole Sir shared about his experiences about his life that how he over-came all the hurdles which came in his journey of the life. Dr. Achyut Godbole is a Chemical Engineer from IIT Mumbai. He had travelled all over the globe more than 150 times for IT business purpose. He has 32 years of experience in the Software Companies in India, UK and USA. Dr. Achyut Godbole had written books on ‘Operating Systems’, ‘Data Communications and Networks’, ‘Web Technologies’ and ‘Demystifying Computers’ published by McGraw-Hill Used as textbooks worldwide. He was awarded by very prestigious ‘Distinguished Aluminus’ by IIT, ‘Udyogratna’, twice by the Prime Minister for excellent performance of his company, ‘Kumar Gandharva Award' by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, ‘Sahyadri Navratna’, ‘Indradhanu’ awards and ‘Dr. Parnerkar Award’ for contribution to Economics, prestigious ‘Sonopant Dandekar Award’ for contribution to Psychology by Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, Pune and ‘N. C. Kelkar Award’ for ‘Nanoday’.

                    Official Inauguration of SnashLUG Nashik Linux Users Group

Godbole Sir had inspired all the students with his speech. According to him, “Vitality shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over”. Godbole Sir had enlightened us about the state of Information technology in India with respect to past, present and future. Godbole Sir had shared that how he had crossed all the hurdles of the life to reached to his desired target. Godbole Sir taught us that whichever path we choose may be it is tough or full with hurdles, only what is needed is the self determination and pure dedication. No job in the world is difficult if you give your full participation in it. Godbole Sir explained us with the fact that how the globe is moving towards the world of technology and how the field of information technology is the participant of that race.

                            A very motivational speech by Achyut Godbole Sir

This inauguration ceremony of the SnashLUG became very successful because of the presence of Achyut Godbole and Mr. Pradip Patil and Mr. Pravin Rahane. The speech by Achyut Godbole proved to be a really motivational and inspirational one not only for the students but also for the faculty members. Thus this proved to be an unforgettable event and successful official inauguration ceremony of the SnashLUG Nashik Linux users group.

Lastly, I would just like to say that we all have dreams, but in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and efforts.