Cheap GPUs are rendering strong passwords useless Think that your eight-character password consisting of lowercase characters, uppercase characters and a sprinkling of numbers is strong enough to protect you from a brute force attack? Think again! Jon Honeyball writing for PC Pro has a sobering piece on how the modern GPU can be leveraged as a powerful tool against passwords once considered safe from bruteforce attack. Take a cheap GPU (like the Radeon HD 5770) and the free GPU-powered password busting tool called 'ighashgpu' and you have yourself a lean, mean password busting machine. How lean and mean? The results are startling. It gets worse. Surely throwing symbols in there keeps you safe, right? What's the solution? [UPDATE: Take a look at this - whitepixel 2 running with 4 x HD 5970 cards (8 x GPUs) capable of 33.1 billion MD5 password hashes/sec.
How to Build a Computer" Have you ever thought about building your own computer? Actually buying a motherboard and a case along with all the supporting components and assembling the whole thing yourself? Here are three reasons why you might want to consider taking the plunge: You'll be able to create a custom machine that exactly matches your needs.It will be much easier to upgrade your machine in the future because you'll understand it completely.You may be able to save some money. And, if you've never done it before, you'll definitely learn a lot about computers. In this article, we'll take you through the entire process of building a computer. The first step in building a computer is deciding what type of machine you want to build. Let's imagine that you want to build a powerful video-editing computer. Quad-core CPUs (either Intel or AMD)At least 8GB of high-speed RAMFour (or more) SATA hard drivesFireWire connections (possibly in both the front and back of the case)USB 3.0 ports
The Tech Report - PC Hardware Explored How To Assemble A Desktop PC Building a computer can be a very rewarding experience. Since you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking about building your next computer instead of buying one pre-built. This is a very viable option these days and can bring many benefits; you can learn a lot about computer hardware by building one, you get a totally personalized computer, you can choose better components and you may be able to save some money and have fun. Additionally, if you are the sort of person who wants to understand how things work, if you take broken stuff apart just to see how it all fits together, if you have a drawer somewhere full of “parts” you think may come in handy someday, then you just may be in the right place. Contents Noted contributors · External links · Development Note to editors Please look at the talk page before editing this book. New sections and content first go into Development. See also Buyer's Guide For Building a Computer
projects Installing NAS4FreeApril 09, 2013 With so many of our memories and purchases existing only in the digital realm, having a reliable method of storing them is essential. We've written a guide to help you to install NAS4Free - free software which provides several methods of protecting your data by mirroring it across multiple disks. NAS4Free is very scalable product supporting both UFS and ZFS, meaning it is a great choice for Mini-ITX systems - which can vary from low power consumption Atoms up to powerful Core i7 and Xeon based systems. Installing NAS4Free Building an XBMC 12 Home Theatre PC with a Mini-ITX motherboardFebruary 28, 2013 We are long time fans of XBMC here at Mini-ITX.com. Here's how to do it. Building an XBMC 12 Home Theatre PC with a Mini-ITX motherboard XBMC Guide updated to version 10.0January 25, 2011 We have updated our guide to building an ION-powered HTPC using XBMC to version 10.0. Building an ION powered HTPC with XBMC Building a Green PCAugust 06, 2010 The "CAUV 2008"
Night School News, Videos, Reviews and Gossip - Lifehacker How to Build a Computer - Your Guide to building a PC HTML5 video and audio tags in all major browsers Garage Computer Mod - Custom Shop PC Mike Allen's Workshop is an orderly, well-maintained place. Located a few miles from the New Jersey shoreline, the compact garage of PM's senior automotive editor has high shelves stacked with meticulously organized, plainly labeled plastic bins of tools and welding equipment. Occasionally, however, the air in the shop is toxic. Mike is a mechanic and metalworker, and his grinding, routing and drilling sends plumes of metal particulate into the air. This is not so great for the lungs, but positively deadly for electronic equipment. That's a problem, because a workshop these days needs to be computerized. But Mike was tired of his laptops burning out every few months. It's one challenge to keep the computer cool—it's quite another to make it look cool, so I proposed that we build the machine into a Craftsman rolling tool cart. The shop PC was a difficult beast to build, but we think the concept has legs. Some Assembly Required 1. 2. 3. 4. Keeping It Cool
Free Computer Security - Personal Software Inspector (PSI) Stay secure by updating insecure programs onyour computer with the Secunia PSI The Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) is a free computer security solution that identifies vulnerabilities in non-Microsoft (third-party) programs which can leave your PC open to attacks. Simply put, it scans software on your system and identifies programs in need of security updates to safeguard your PC against cybercriminals. Using a scanner like Secunia PSI 3.0 is complementary to antivirus software, and as a free computer security program, is essential for every home computer. Learn more about PSI in these short videos PSI 3.0 WalkthroughSo simple that anyone can be secure! Tim and DaveShort animated story about security and why Tim is happier than Dave.Watch now (YouTube) Technical Product SheetHere is the full rundown of technical specifications for PSI 3.0Download now (PDF) Reviews Secunia PSI named as Security app of the week by Softpedia. Bill Mullins' Weblog- Tech Thoughts Screenshots History All ok!
30 Useful (and Unknown) Web Apps You Need to Bookmark - Page 1 At Maximum PC, computer hardware is our bread and butter. We review it, preview it, and just generally love to talk about it. Unfortunately, hardware becomes less important with each passing day, as more and more software moves onto the internet. We're not looking forward to the day that our PC's become Chrome OS-style thin client, but we have to admit, some web apps are pretty awesome. So to help you prepare for a future in the cloud, we've put together a list of 30 of our favorite web apps and services. ScreenToaster ScreenToaster is a web app designed to make life a whole lot easier for every family’s “computer expert.” OpenTable If you like to eat out, you’ve probably heard of OpenTable. Readitlater Have you ever found yourself wanting to read an online article or blog post, but without the time to actually read it? ConvertCenter Did you know that one bushel is equal to 101.9716 hectoliters? Issuu We may be a print magazine, but we all know the future is digital.