Configure Thunderbird To Use SSH SOCKS Proxy Tunnel

Before you do this, PuTTY needs to be configured to connect to your SSH account and to open the encrypted tunnel. Click here for instructions on doing this first.

Thunderbird is a free E-Mail program designed for security. Download Thunderbird for free if you have not done so already.

1. Open Thunderbird.
2. Click 'Tools' at the top to pull down the Tools Menu. Select 'Options' from the menu. This opens the Options window.
3. Click 'Advanced'.
4. Click the 'Network & Disk Space' tab.
5. Under 'Connection' where it says '"Determine how Thunderbird connections to the Interenet.' click the 'Connection...' button. This opens the Connection Settings window.
6. Click 'Manual proxy configuration:'.
7. Where it says 'SOCKS Host:' enter localhost into the box.
8. Where it says 'Port:' enter 9853 into the box.
9. Click 'OK'.
10. Click 'OK' on the previous window.
11. Close Thunderbird and restart it.

Click here for instructions on configuring Firefox to use the secure tunnel. You will also find out how to download it if you do not have it already.

Click here to sign up for VectroProxy SSH tunnel and go online anonymously.
READ MORE!

Configure Pidgin To Use SSH SOCKS Proxy Tunnel

Pidgin is a free Instant Messaging alternative to AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). It uses the same network and you can chat with the same buddy list you use on AIM. It is just a different program to use for the same thing. Pidgin can be configured to use a secure SOCKS proxy tunnel.

Before you do this, PuTTY needs to be configured to connect to your SSH account and to open the encrypted tunnel. Click here for instructions on doing this first.

If you have not done so yet, download Pidgin (opens in a new window) and install it. Then, open it and add your usual instant messenger screen name(s). Close Pidgin and follow the steps below.

Instructions for configuring Pidgin to work with the secure tunnel:

1. Open Pidgin.
2. Click the 'Cancel' button when it asks you to sign in.
3. In the Pidgin main window click 'Tools' at the top to pull down the Tools Menu. Select 'Preferences' from the menu. This opens the Preferences window.
4. Click the 'Network' tab.
5. Under 'Proxy Server' where it says 'Proxy type:' and has 'No proxy' selected, click on 'No proxy' to pull down the menu and select 'SOCKS 5'.
6. Where it says 'Host:' enter localhost.
7. Where it says 'Port:' enter 9853
8. Click the 'Close' button.
9. Close Pidgin entirely and re-open it. Log in when it asks you to and you are now connected securely.

NOTE: If you plan on using Pidgin later without using the secure tunnel, you will have to repeat steps 1 through 5 and switch back to 'No proxy' on step 5.

Click here for instructions on adding even more security to Pidgin by configuring encrypted chats with your friends.

Click here for instructions on configuring Firefox to use the secure tunnel. You will also find out how to download it if you do not have it already.

Click here to sign up for VectroProxy SSH tunnel and go online anonymously.
READ MORE!

How To Automatically Clear The Windows Paging File When The Computer Shuts Down

Windows has a nice feature called "virtual memory" which converts hard drive space into RAM. This works in addition to the RAM already installed in your PC. The file is named pagefile.sys. The purpose of this is to have more memory available for running applications. As much as the paging file is a helpful feature, there is one drawback: Data remains there even after the computer has been shut down and started back up. If the machine is infected or has been hacked into, this is one thing the intruders might look for since information such as passwords and browsing history can be stolen from it. There is a simple value that can be added to the registry to have Windows automatically clear the paging file when the computer shuts down. This may slow the shutdown time by one to two minutes, but is worth it to be safe in the long-run.

NOTE: It is very important that if you do not feel comfortable editing the registry or have never done it before that you avoid doing this right away and learn more about the Windows registry. Changing the wrong setting or changing a setting incorrectly can cause Windows to not function correctly.

Here are the step-by-step instructions to automatically clear the Windows paging file when the computer shuts down:

1. Click "Start"
2. Click "Run..."
3. Where it says "Open:" type "regedit"
4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management
5. Look for a an entry on the right side of the window (where the list of REG_DWORD entries are) for an entry called "ClearPageFileAtShutdown". If you see it, skip to step 11. If you do not see it, continue to step 6.
6. Right-click any blank space on the right frame of the window (a good place would be underneath where all of the REG_DWORD values are, in the blank white space). You will see a menu come up that says "New".
7. Highlight the word "New" so it opens up a submenu.
8. In the submenu, select "DWORD Value"
9. A new value will be created and with the highlited text "New Value #1".
10. Delete the text "New Value #1" and rename it "ClearPageFileAtShutdown".
11. Right-click it to pull down a small menu and select "Modify".
12. Where it says "Value data:" and has a text field with the number "0" entered, change that to "1" (without the quote marks of course).
13. Click "OK".

Finished! The changes will take effect after you reboot your computer.
READ MORE!

How To Customize Google And Remove Browser Tracking And Ads

Want to take control of Google? There is a magnificent Firefox add-on which allows users to Customize Google. This extension is called CustomizeGoogle and is free from CNET's download.com. This neat tool filters the output of Google when you perform a search. It will actually change the way the results look based on your liking. Some possibilities are removing ads, disabling Google analytics and tracking for privacy, adding links to results from other search engines and placing a history link under each result. The history link can be used to quickly access the WayBackMachine to view older versions of a particular site.

Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to customize google:

1. Download the CustomizeGoogle Firefox extension from download.com
2. When the Software Installation window opens, click the "Install Now" button. It may take 5 seconds after the window opens before this button becomes available.
3. Once the extension is installed, close Firefox and open it again.
4. Click "Tools" in the Firefox menu, then click "Add-ons". This opens the list of add-ons installed in Firefox.
5. Click "CustomizeGoogle" once to highlight it.
6. Click the "Options" button. This is where you can set preferences to customize what Google will look like from now on. It is reccommended that you select the option that says "Remove ads". "Remove click tracking" is another suggested option to select for privacy reasons. Another helpful feature is "Add links to the WayBackMachine (webpage history)". For those not familiar, the WayBackMachine is a large cache of old versions of web sites. To view an older version of a site, click the "History" link for any given site when browsing within the Google search results. From here you can also select any other options which may be of use. Click each item in the list on the left (Web, Images, Groups, News, etc.) one at a time to configure options for each feature.

READ MORE!