TECH

Attack on my bookshelf: Amazon Kindle Voyage 3G

Sven Krumrey

Perhaps the greatest hobby on earth: Reading

Nearly all of us have their holy ritual, their bulwark against the world or the perennial fluctuations that affect our society. For some, it's a model railroad, others have their phonograph record collection. For me, it's books, the ever-lasting constant. Some have been with me for decades, traveled with me on every relocation and are full of tattered and yellowed pages. Others are still in mint condition and awaiting their first read. All that is supposed to change now thanks to technology - at least on a trial basis.

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TECH

Exif - The identity card for your photos

Sven Krumrey

The world made up of images

Recently, while I was happily browsing through my photo collection by means of the new Ashampoo Photo Commander, checking out its latest new features and reviewing the 812 photos from my trip to England, I noticed that I had taken way too many shots. I began to ponder over the age old question of where I had taken each photo. Was it Southampton? And what was the name of that quaint spot in Wales with the beautiful church again? Did I ever know that? Finally, I was helped by something I had ignored for years - the Exif data contained in my photos.

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TECH

Taping over your webcam - mere paranoia or reasonable action?

Sven Krumrey

The eye of the machine

I like to be security-conscious, it's part of my job. When you read about security leaks and computer virus infections every day, it becomes an automatism. Yet, I dislike paranoia and I still believe the best security advisor to be sitting between each user's ears. That's why I haven't taped over my webcam yet. It seemed overcautious - and then HE appeared. HE got me thinking.

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TECH

Hostage situation on your PC - Ransomware

Sven Krumrey

Your own files encrypted - a nightmare

Those affected may find it quite spooky, either parts of or their entire system is no longer accessible. Instead, they are presented with notifications that can give you goosebumps: A police department is supposed to have found illegal material on their machines. Their copy of Windows is illegal and they need to purchase a license or they have violated copyright laws. Other messages may be more "honest" and will tell mortified users their PCs have been taken over and that their files have been encrypted. They are now required to pay a ransom because they fell victim to ransomware.

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TECH

The dream of anonymous web browsing - the Tor network

Sven Krumrey

The power of the onion

Whenever we surf the web, we leave traces that not only help Google but also every site we visit learn a lot about us. Whether it's cookies, IP address analysis, the referrer URL (the site we visited before) or the powerful Google Analytics, we're constantly being watched. Anyone who disagrees is forced to resort to measures that may require lots of technical expertise. The Tor network is the easy solution. Read on to learn about its advantages and risks.

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