Having a program or app which is digitally signed shows potential users that it really is from the person or company that it says it is, and that it has not been modified by a third-party and / or had a virus, worm, or other nefarious code added. To find out more about Digital Code Signing Certificates, and how they can make computing safer, check out my latest YouTube video .

From time-to-time one may come across a reference to the Registry, whilst reading articles in respect to the Windows operating system or PCs. So, what is it?   The Registry The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that contains information, settings, and options about software and hardware installed on the Windows operating system. It also contains information about users, programs, preferences, and settings relating to how Windows behaves.   Why modify the Registry? For intermediate and advanced Windows users, it is sometimes preferable to edit settings directly in the Registry. This may be done for convenience, or because it is

SHA-256 is one of a set of cryptographic hash functions designed by the NSA. The SHA-256 algorithm is often used to produce a hash value (see below) in order to confirm a file’s integrity.   Why do we need a hash value for file downloads? When we download files from the Internet, we need some way of knowing that what we are downloading is an exact copy of what we are expecting to download. We want to know that it hasn’t been altered in any way. Viruses, Trojans, and other nefarious payloads can be added to downloads without the author’s

Many people still unpack their new router and set up their WiFi network without giving a second thought to security. This is sometimes due to the fact that the less experienced WiFi user believes that the router is secure, straight out of the box. This, of course, is not the case. Let’s examine some simple steps which can be taken in order to change your router from a security liability to a secure piece of networking equipment.   The Admin Interface (built-in browser page) In order to make any of the recommended changes below, you will need to access the

Often referred to as Pending File Renames, these operations are events relating to folders and files which take place when your PC is rebooted, or switched off and back on again. These events fall into the following categories: Delete files / folders Rename files / folders Move files / folders These operations are required to take place during the reboot phase as the selected files are locked by a process (program) and the operation cannot be performed during normal PC operation. A typical example of this would be when a new program has been installed or an update to an

Alternate Data Streams (ADS) are part of the NTFS file system in Windows operating systems. They are not included in the FAT and FAT32 file systems. ADSs were originally included in NTFS to provide compatibility with the Macintosh File System. What is an ADS? Every file has a primary data stream called :$DATA. This stream contains the information we are used to seeing, such as the content of a word processor file or plain text document. The ADS is another data stream (file) which can be attached to the primary data stream (file). It contains information which is not typically