Data Protection: How to go about it

Introduction

First time I worked on a computer was in high school; just 2 years before finishing my school. Floppy disks (not discsJ) were more common those days and I never heard of thumb drives. I remember the day I find an option to hide a folder; it was late night and as usual I was doing something on my PIII, I was able to hide a folder but struggled for more than couple of days to get it back. I was excited; I got something to hide my data. Than after 6 months or so MS launched WinXP; I installed it after a month. I got very excited when I saw that one user cannot access data in another user’s folder. The ‘Access Denied’ message gave a happy feeling. Though I never really needed any type of data protection that time I was happy that if needed I can do that. Than with time I learned lots of other measures and with time I used to update measures I use to protect my data.

Let’s see what I am doing now a day to protect my data. Four five months back all of my data which needed protection was encrypted with three layers of world class encryption algorithms; first layer encrypts data using AES algorithm, second layer encrypts data using Twofish algorithm and third layer encrypts data with Serpent algorithm. So that’s something which even all combined computing power of this world will not be able to break in life time of our universe. But now a day my data is encrypted with only a single algorithm; AES. I used three layers only to experiment and even this single layer of protection is more than enough that US Defence department is using this algorithm for there classified docs, so I think for me this is enough. And my system got very slow due to real time encryption/decryption of data passing through three layers of heavy encryption so I am no longer using that implementation but yes it feels really cool to know that yes the baby is protected.

People think that if they have a password protected account then no one can access there data. Guys this is not true, I can any day put a Linux Live disc and can copy anything I want. Now say you have a laptop and used to travel a lot, in this case Windows protection is not sufficient. You need encryption to protect your data as for most users there data is more valuable than the laptop. So in this post I am covering security measure you can keep for such a scenario.

There are hundreds of solutions to do what I have just explained; some are good, some are pretty complex, some are free, some are paid, etc etc etc. I am using TruCrypt which is free and open source software. Guys believe me this is really good software which gives you very good options to secure your data which even top class paid softwares cannot match. I am using this software from more than 2 years and it still have to crash; I still have to see any other software which is this much stable. This software is really rich in options; today I am covering just the basics so that you can start using the software. I am only explaining how to encrypt a partition with a user defined string, in future posts I ll cover more features and capabilities of this software like hiding data inside an already encrypted partition, using keys files to encrypt data, encrypting whole system, etc.

Installation

I am just mentioning the main steps here:

Step 1

Here you have two options; one is Install and other is Extract. Use Extract only if you need to use TrueCrypt on multiple systems without installing it; like want to carry it in a Thumb drive. Only thing you cannot do with Extract option is encryption of system drive otherwise more or less things are same. Keep defaults for all other options

Step 2

So that’s all in installation.

Steps to Encrypt Data

Now let’s see how all this works.

Step 1

This is interface; straight but yes little complex. Let’s start with encryption; click on Create Volume button.

Step 2

You will get three options. As I am only covering encryption of a (non system) partition in this post, select second option.

Step3

Keep first option selected. Second option is very complex and is needed when due to some reasons you have to reveal encryption keys/password; yes you can even keep your data protected in case someone get access to your keys. I ll cover this thing in future posts, for now keep first option selected. Yes do read the long message written below the second option; it’s interesting.

Step 4

Click Next and then click on Select Device; you ll get a similar screen as shown above. Here you have to select the partition you want to encrypt. I have two hard drives; one of 8GB capacity and another of 2GB capacity having one partition each, here I am encrypting second partition. Guys always name computer partitions, like here I have named the partition to Data. I have seen many people formatting wrong partition; name given to a partition goes long way to keep these mistakes in check. And yes don’t ask me from where in this world I got 2GB hard drive :)

After selecting the partition you will get a long warning. If you want you can read it, in end you have to click on Yes.

Step 5

Now you can select whether you want to format the drive before encrypting. If you already have data in the drive then you can choose the second option otherwise choose the first one. Say you have 200GB partition and have couple of GBs of data in it then its better to copy that data to another partition and choose the first option. Formatting will make the process very fast otherwise be ready to sit for couple of hours just to encrypt a 200GB partition. I am choosing the first option as the partition I want to encrypt is blank.

Step 6

Now you get the main options related to Encryption algorithms and Hash algorithms. Just for curiosity let’s choose three layers encryption I just talked about, but as said only AES is much more than needed. There is a Test button; you can click on this to check performance of various algorithms. Keep Hash algorithm as default, I ll keep the explanation on this for some other day. Do remember that there is a large performance impact especially if you choose multiple layers of encryption.

Step 7

Enter the password; min 10 characters long. I ll explain concept and usage of Key files in a future post.

Step 8

In FileSystem drop down choose NTFS; FAT is useful only for partitions (or file containers) less than a GB in size. Do read the ‘Important’ note in the window. Most people don’t know that when you delete a file it still remains there and can be easily recovered. So if you want that no one can recover such past deleted data keep Quick Format option unchecked, in case you don’t want to wait for ages to get this thing completed and there is no critical data which you have deleted in past than check the Quick Format option. Then click on Format button.

Step 9

You ll see a progress bar. See for a 2GB partition my system will take more than 10mins, so if you have 200GB partition better to check Quick Format option otherwise all this might take more than 10hours. Performance would increase by 2x or more if a single algorithm is used.

Step 10

So that’s all about encrypting the partition. Now you cannot use the partition directly, you have to first Mount the partition using the password you just entered. But first see what happens if you try to access the partition without entering the password and this is something you should understand.

Step 11

See after encryption as Windows is not able to access the drive, it refuses to identify the partition. Look carefully that you can still format the partition, yes one can format the partition and use it but the person cannot access your data. So this method only prevent unauthorized access and do not protects the data, feel free to ask your question in comments section if you have any doubt on this. So if you think such things can happen do have backups of your data; you can encrypt your data and burn it to optional discs so that no one can access it but yes someone can still break the discs.

Now to access you data you have to first ‘Mount’ the partition from the software. Run the software and click on Select Device button.

Step 12

Select the partition and click on Ok. Internally this software will mount encrypted E drive to another drive letter. As you cannot use E drive letter to access the data, you have to choose the drive letter on which you want to mount the encrypted partition. I am selecting R here; then click on ‘Mount’

Step 13

System will prompt you for password. Enter the password and click on Mount, then open My Computer.

Step 14

Now you have a new partition with drive letter R. You can use it as any other partition.

So Guys that’s all about encrypting a partition. In future posts I ll cover more capabilities of this software and this approach.

Points to remember/best practices:

1. This approach only prevents unauthorized access to your data under any attack but anyone can still delete all of your data.
2. No need to encrypt things like multimedia things, games, etc.
3. Best is to create a separate partition for data which needs protection and then encrypt it.
4. This method will not protect your data from world’s top security experts. AES or any other type of encryption is still venerable to Side Channel attacks but I doubt you need that much protection.
5. There is no way to get your data back in case you forget the password.
6. Windows reinstallation will not affect your data/encryption and you can still access your data. In case of Windows inbuilt encryption (available with Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate Editions) if Windows got corrupted or something similar happens you also loose access to your data.
7. You can access your data anywhere; you only need the software and the password.
8. AES is the weakest algorithm in all these but is much more than enough. Why I am using AES is that it’s compatible with almost every other encryption system and software.
9. There is big performance impact if you want to do heavy read/write to the encrypted partition. For data like documents, movies etc this is not a problem.
10. If you have large amount of data and you don’t want any performance impact then go with Intel Corei7 processors; couple of Corei5 processors can also do the job. These processors have hardwired support for AES. I ll cover the technical details in a future post.

RAM - How much of it your system needs

Guys due to some reasons it’s long time I have posted anything but now onwards I ll be sharing my knowledge and experience regarding computers and related technologies.

Let’s talk about RAM today; something most people want in quantities without knowing why they need that much in the first place itself. Out of numerous queries regarding laptop and desktop purchases I used to get, RAM used to be something people demands a lot. Everyone seems to want 4GB RAM but they have no answer when I ask them why they need 4GB RAM, typical answer used to be that it’s the latest!! Other thing surprises me is that everyone wants DDR3 RAM only thinking that it’s the best. I ll cover the difference between DDR2 and DDR3 some other day but in short in day to day use it really don’t matter which type of RAM you have. Better to spend that money on a performance hard drive as hard drive used to be the bottleneck in desktop usage. One thing which people used to ask me is whether they should go for a high performance RAM or a value RAM would suffice; I ll discuss this thing while talking about DDR2 and DDR3 but in short you can go for a Value RAM but yes exceptions are part of life.

Though DDR2 RAM prices have almost doubled in a year but in my view it is still a good option to keep performance at optimum levels, just go with the recommended RAM capacity and then invest money on other components. If I talk a little on industry fronts then in short I can say that industry has limited chip manufacturing capacity and in future RAM prices will only increase. DDR3 prices can decrease somewhat but in end they are bound to increase. I ll post my analysis on RAM industry some other time but what I want to say is that don’t wait for future, and go for recommended RAM today itself.

So let’s see how much RAM capacity your system really need…

I am dividing this topic in two posts; one for people going to buy a new system and one for people already have a computer system and feels RAM upgrade is needed. In today’s post let me cover the first scenario; I ll cover second scenario in couple of days as a separate post and in that I ll put everything you need to know before upgrading the RAM.

In past I have received couple of queries where people have asked me whether more amount can be a disadvantage, I ll cover this thing also. One thing which couple of laptop users have asked me is whether capacity of RAM impacts battery backup time; this is really a good question and here I ll explain this here also. Today if you buy a new system you will get Windows 7 as OS. Now let’s divide this post in various categories:

            Home system

Surfing and multimedia being main usage with casual gaming and performance in application like Photoshop don’t matter.

Gaming system

Performance in Gaming being the main priority with good performance required in other applications.

Workstation system

Need to do things like coding in high level languages like VB 2008 with local DB server like Oracle or want maximum performance in CAD/CAM or video/animation editing software’s like 3dMax/Photoshop, etc.

Home System               

In past I have seen that most guys who want to buy a system for home use don’t understand how performance can vary just by changing small things. I have seen people with lots of RAM still complaining that there system is very slow, so let’s talk a little on this and then we will see what RAM capacity is perfect for home use system. Most complaints people talk about are that there system takes ages to boot and take very long time to launch applications. Guys this problem is not related to RAM, it’s due to data fragmentation which happens over time. I ll talk more on this some other time but its better to defrag your C drive or the drive on which OS is installed once a month; right click on the drive – properties – tools – Defrag Now. This simple thing can decrease boot time a lot and will decrease application loading time by 20-50% depending on application.

In home use we typically runs media player which consumes about 50-200MB of RAM, couple of browser windows which depending upon what is opened can consume anywhere between 50-300MB; at times my usage runs in more than a GB but that when I have more than 200 pages opened which might not be the case with you, then casually people use applications like Winzip which don’t use more than 100MB if you are not compressing hundreds of file. Most people have antivirus running in background which depending upon antivirus and what its doing can consume between 50-300MB of RAM. Most people go with Windows 7 Basic or Windows 7 Home Premium; default installation without anything else requires about 500-700MB of RAM.

So if you do everything above at same time, you need at max 1.5GB of RAM considering that Windows do not put temporary data in page file, typically Windows put most of temporary data in page file so the value decreased to little more than 1GB. What this means is if you used to do above things then 1GB RAM is sufficient, add couple of more applications or do light gaming and that at max sums to 2GB of RAM. So for home use 2GB is more than enough and this also means that there is nothing to get excited about if you are getting a system with 3GB RAM. As RAM is cheap so if in default configuration you are getting 3GB RAM then that’s fine but if you are really tight on budget than 2GB is more than enough even 1GB is enough if you don’t do all above things at same time.

So my final recommendation for RAM capacity for home use is 2GB; more don’t hurt.

Gaming System

Most people don’t buy dedicated gaming systems; they take gaming performance as granted on their systems. I have seen many queries where people buy a system with top class processor and only to complain that a game is not running or running very slow.

I ll post a separate article what should be the specifications of a gaming system but in short if your system does not have a dedicated graphics card then don’t expect much from it. Yes you can play most games at low resolution and older games at medium resolution but remember that’s the max your system can do for you. In fact most people buy graphics card only taking care of amount of dedicated RAM that card have but that’s not important you need to check its specifications, I ll post all that details in a separate post, for now let’s see how much RAM you need for a gaming system.

Depending upon game and quality setting RAM usage can be as low as 100MB to as high as 2GB, rarely any game require more than 2.5GB of RAM and this too when your system have top class graphics card with good amount of dedicated graphics RAM and you are using two or more displays. So if we consider the usage pattern of home system with gaming being the top priority than that sums to 3GB of RAM for a gaming system.

People in Infy Pune knows that couple of times I have posted against 3GB RAM; I ll keep the technical details for some other post but in short compared to 2GB RAM sometimes 3GB RAM can decrease computer performance. This might be surprising but it’s true.

So for gaming system I strongly recommend 4GB RAM even though you are using 32-bit OS. For people who don’t know 32-bit version of Windows 7 or any other desktop version of Windows cannot use more than 3GB of RAM so yes you are effectively wasting 1GB of RAM but I ll still recommend you to go for 4GB RAM. For guys who are going with high end gaming systems based on Intel’s X58 chipset, 6GB RAM should be used in 3x2GB layout or 3GB RAM in 3x1GB layout would also suffice.

Workstation system

Workstation is a system meant for getting high performance under any application except gaming. Workstation can be a system where you do animation for ultra resolution images, you do lots of video editing and want this to be completed asap or you have good budget in hand and want your main computer system to be ultimate in performance for heavy duty tasks or like me you want to multitask heavily and at same time want to run multiple virtual OS at same time; well I used to do all this on my laptop with only 4GB of DDR2 800Hz RAM. I ll post a separate article what all should go in a workstation system; here lets limit our talk to RAM only.

First of all I ll strongly recommend 64-bit OS for your workstation system as 32-bit OS will not be able to support more than 3GB of RAM. Another question I have answered many times is whether one should go for Server edition of Windows for workstation system and my answer used to be that Professional or Ultimate Edition of Windows is more than enough for this task and Windows Home editions are also capable of doing most tasks but as they don’t support Domain services so you might face problems if you want to run software which requires these services like Apache, etc and other this is 64-bit edition of Windows Home can only support upto 16GB of RAM which is more than enough. So if your system comes with Windows Home edition then do give it a try before upgrading your OS.

All major software vendors have plans for 64-bit versions of their software and this is good news for people who want more performance from applications. If you only want to image/video editing than 4GB will be sufficient till you don’t want to multitask this thing otherwise more RAM should be considered. Also type and speed of RAM directly affects application performance in workstation environment so 4GB high speed low latency RAM system can outperform a system with 6GB low speed high latency RAM.

So my final recommendation is that if you have budget than go with 8GB RAM especially if you want to multitask a lot and that too working with high amount of data. Otherwise 4GB will be sufficient but yes at times you will feel slowness doing things like applying filters to a video etc. Do remember that a 32-bit applications cannot use more than 3GB of RAM even though you are using 64-bit OS, so you need 64-bit applications to get the speed boost.

Conclusion:

1. Value RAM is sufficient in most scenarios, any day go with more capacity value RAM than less capacity high performance RAM but yes as said exceptions are part of life.
2. Latency increases with RAM speed, so don’t think that high speed RAM is always good. Except high end use high speed RAM doesn’t show much difference in performance. Like there is not more than 5% difference between DDR3-800MHz and DDR3-1333MHz RAM.
3. Don’t go for cheap unbranded RAM; brands like Crucial, Kingston, Transcend, Hynix are good.
4. RAM upgrade for laptop is not as hard as most people think; you can do it yourself easily. Service centers charge lot of money for RAM upgrades so better to do this job yourself.
5. RAM is very sensitive to voltage changes and is the first thing to fail in case of voltage fluctuations; what this means is in case you have to carry RAM, carry it with case and never touch the edges as a single finger touch can fry your RAM; yes this is true.
6. As just discussed always install RAM in size multiple of number of memory channels. Except Intel’s X58 chipset all other desktop systems have dual channel memory controllers so install 2x RAM sticks of same size; ex you want to have 4GB RAM than it would be much better if you install 2 stick of 2GB RAM each than a single 4GB RAM stick. This also means that after 4GB next RAM capacity should be 8GB than 6GB. This way you will get optimal performance from your computer.
7. DDR3 RAM prices might decrease more in next 6 months or so but after than prices might increase so better to plan RAM capacity for your system today itself this might save you money.
8. A system with 1GB RAM can do everything a system with 4GB RAM can do but yes will do it more slowly.

Now the question whether more RAM can decrease battery backup time. The answer is it will actually increase the backup time as with more RAM your system has to do less read/write from HDD which consumes lot of power. Yes this increase can be minor or not more than 2% and at times RAM increase can decrease battery backup time or do so only if your system is sitting ideal all the time.

So guys that’s all for RAM stuff,, please do comment on this article specially what you want to know more etc. In a day or so I ll be posting a short article on latest Intel Corei3/Corei5 and Corei5 as I have seen many queries whether these are better than Core2Duo or not.

Battery usage: Recommendations

Hi Guys,

Let's talk about batteries today, the most complicated chemical devices we use every day. Most of batteries used in Laptops and mobiles are Li-Ion (Lithium Ion), some mobiles/laptops use Li-Polymer batteries which are little better than Li-Ion one but not that much. Here are some recommendations for Li-Ion batteries used in laptops which if followed can greatly save battery life. These recommendations are equally applicable for mobiles but due to their usage models it's not possible to follow each of these in case of mobiles.

1. Always fully discharge and recharge battery once in 10-15 days but not daily.
   
2. Never deep discharge a battery; beyond 1% for more than 1 hour or so.
   
3. Make sure that battery is at least 40% charged when need to store for more than 4-5 days, for longer period charge fully.
   
4. Most Li-Ion batteries have around 450 charging/discharging cycles and/or around 24 months life (whichever earlier); so use accordingly. At this point battery capacity becomes about 50% and will gradually decrease after this. So in case of laptops run it on battery only if necessary.
   
5. Heat is one big enemy of Li-Ion batteries; so keeps them away from heat, atleast from direct sunlight, and other heat sources like ovens, invertors etc.
   
6. Only charge a battery when remaining power is less than 50%. Say you unplug your laptop just to move to another room, then it's recommended not to plug it immediately. Let the battery discharge and when it reaches 40-50% then charge it otherwise it decreases battery capacity. This is applicable to Li-Ion batteries and is called as memory effect, here battery actually forgets its full capacity and in future may not charge upto its full capacity. Though this don't happen in single time but if you charge your battery from 80-90% multiple time then with time your battery might never charge beyond 80-90% of its capacity though the status will be fully charged.
   
7. NEVER short circuit a Li-Ion battery. Laptops batteries have internal circuit to protect the battery in case of short circuit but mobile batteries do not have any protection and may explode in case of short circuit. Explosion rarely happens but yes life decreases exponentially with each second in case of short circuit.
   
8. Overcharging also kills Li-Ion battery; as said laptop batteries have internal circuit for this so you can keep your laptop plugged to mains as long as you want but for mobile phones don't have this protection so don't leave you mobile on overnight charging.
   
9. If you want to go on a leave for say 30 days, then fully charge the battery and keep it in a cool place like wooden box.
   
10. First charge a new battery for 4-6 hours before using. First use without charge can greatly affect battery, so before using your new laptop/mobile for first time don't forgot to charge the battery fully.
    
11. Humidity affects component connectors, so keeps your laptop/mobile away from humid environments. Thing is not that its not recommended to take your laptop on a hilly area, thing is sudden change in humidity affects electrical connections, so don't talk laptops/mobile in toilets unless necessary. Well almost all battery connectors are gold plated but they are not sufficiently thick so do take care of humidity factor.
    

 

So that's all, below are some answers to very simple and good questions which i have answered multiple times:

1. There is absolutely no harm to a laptop if you keep it plugged required it is receiving quality AC current. As said laptop batteries have inbuilt circuit to take care of it but this thing is not applicable to mobile phones so unplug mobile from charger as soon as it gets fully charged.
   
2. You want to download something overnight, absolutely no problem if you keep your laptop plugged to mains.
   
3. Never disconnect a laptop battery if it is plugged to mains even if laptop is powered down. First disconnect charger from mains and then remove the battery.
   
4. Every laptop battery has number of cells and its common impression that 6 cell batteries have 1.5 times capacity of 9 cell batteries. Well while buying a laptop never go for number of cells, look for capacity as capacity of individual cells is what matters. Capacity is mention in WHr (Watt Hour) or mApm (milli Ampere), if you today (Nov 2009) buy a laptop with standard config without dedicated graphics then a 50WHr or 4000mApm battery will give you about 3.5 hours of battery life, so take this as approx matrix and decide accordingly.
   
5. Well most laptops can work directly from AC without batteries but don't do this unless necessary.
   
6. Some laptop manufactures like Dell will give you option to choose a high power charger or some manufactures have super charge feature which decreases charging time. Well this also decreases battery life, yes you can charge a battery in less time by charging it at more voltage but a battery can handle only a specific current rating at specific voltage, increasing any of these decreases battery life. So choose these fast charging options only if absolutely necessary.
   

 

So Guys these are all some simple facts about laptop/mobile batteries, if you have any doubt then do ask in comments and do share your views.

Introduction

Hello guys,

Great thanks to you all as only the importance you give to my views and knowledge is what made me to publish this blog. This is all your great demand in form of numerous mails, pings and calls that I am trying to put all my technical knowledge in this blog, defiantly in increments. I have decided to dedicate this blog to computer and other hardware tech, shortly I will be publishing another blog related to everything other than hardware like smart tips, smart hacks etc.

 

For all who don't know me, I am working in Infosys Technologies Limited as Systems Engineer from last 1 year and this is the place where I have started my career. I used to post tech related solutions on shared bulletin board and this is where I received numerous requests to create a shared place and at least put my recommendations and views on various technologies there. I didn't find anything better than this blog to start from, thanks again for all your great response and being my fans.

 

I have some plans regarding this blog, these are following please share your views on this as this will shape future of this blog. Also do share your expectations from this blog.

1. I am not creating this blog for people interested in high tech things, I will keeps things and language as simple as possible, yes you can comment on anything and then ill post all details you want.
   
2. Mostly I will only be talking about things that actually matters and no all possible details, but yes you are free to ask any question in comments and I will be happy to answer.
   
3. Every month or so I will be putting recommendations regarding system specifications for home use, surfing and medium to high end gaming. These are categories for which I used to receive most of requests.
   
4. Every week or so ill put 'Tip of the Week' which can be anything but most likely be a practical tip.
   
5. As said this blog will remain dedicated to hardware only, soon I will be creating a new blog for all other tech things like security , etc
   
6. As requested by most of you I will share some of my own tips which I am using to keep my data secure and safe and yes some good backup tips from time to time
   

 

Please comment on each and every post and feel free to give your recommendation and this will be your blog. So I am starting this blog with these lines, hope to see lots of queries and recommendations from you in this blog.