VPN and other internet anonymity tools have become a norm after witnessing the activists and social benefactors, highlighting the government/private organisations responsible for breaching the user privacy. Edward Snowden and Wikileaks Top Secret documents made it clear that privacy is just a hoax as it was brought to the spotlight that our own government is monitoring online user activity and phone calls. Using VPN or similar tools to encrypt our important data while accessing the internet on the public network has become a necessity. Well, this article is not about how we ended up like this, but to discuss one such anonymity tool called RocketVPN.
Rocket VPN is a free app (in-app purchase required for unlimited data) for Android that encrypts your data, unblocks geographically restricted content and keeps you anonymous for a safer, better browsing experience. RocketVPN is particularly designed to encrypt Android and iOS smartphone’s network, which is a good thing and a tradeoff for some. It is nice to have an app specially designed for major smartphone platform as it will integrate with it flawlessly, however, for power users who prefer “One plan for all” would be disappointed.
RocketVPN is an application developed by renowned developer liquidum, dedicated to designing, developing and marketing innovative utility apps for the mobile market, including The Cleaner, Rocket VPN, Hemlock and Battery Time for Android and Presto! and Fast for iOS. Liquidum’s apps are distributed through the Google Play Store and Apple App Store and have been downloaded over 30 million times.
RocketVPN like any other VPN is capable of securing the network from intruders and data snooping while lifting the restriction imposed by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) or websites. The popularity of the app can be determined by the fact that it has already been downloaded up to 5 Million times on Google Play Store.
The two main features of a VPN that make it a powerful tool of privacy: Firstly, Your data is encrypted, meaning that you can browse the Internet over unsecured Wi-Fi networks (like at Starbucks) without worrying, or you can rest assured that your ISP isn’t spying on your Web activities.
Secondly, you can bypass geo-restrictions. Americans can access the UK-only BBC iPlayer, Indians can access US-only services like Netflix, and so on. Not only can your location not be tracked, but the contents of your data can’t be either. This will really help you browse the Web anonymously.
During our test, we noticed some drop in overall speed but it is evitable for any VPN network depending on the location of the server you choose.
The minimalistic material UI and interactive environment do the trick while still holding some pleasant animations. However, it does not offer unlimited free data usage. You’ll have to buy the subscription starting at $2.99/month or $29.99/year if you are expecting to exceed 500MB monthly data limit.
Have you ever heard of ‘time capsules’? Well, it just got a serious upgrade!
Researchers at Southampton University in the UK developed a tiny glass disc that can store data up to 360TB (that’s 368,640 GB of data) which can be preserved for 14 Billion years. Yes, you heard it right!
The technique uses femtosecond laser pulses to write data in the 3D structure of quartz at the nanoscale. These pulses can write data in three layers of nanostructured dots separated by 5 micrometres (that’s 0.005 mm).
The team behind the new 5D discs says these discs could be most useful for institutions who deal with large archives: libraries, museums, and anywhere else extensive records are kept (like a Facebook data centre).
So where do the five dimensions come from? First there’s the three-dimensional position of each dot within the layers, and then the extra dimensions are the size and orientation of the dot. The nanostructures created by the technology can be read using an optical microscope in tandem with a polariser (a filter designed to block specific polarisations of light).
The team has now written a series of major works to small glass discs— including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Newton’s Opticks, the Magna Carta and the Kings James Bible. They also point out that the data is extremely stable: It could endure for as long as 13.8 billion years at temperatures up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
The whole market is shifting and just as everyone is thinking of getting ahead in the tech race, why would anyone assume that Samsung will stop. Recently the company acquired a new company called Proximal Data, which is a software developer related to the server market.
Proximal was one picked for the honor by Samsung’s ownership, because the software is unique in the way it caches Input/Output in the virtual part of the server and thus helps in boosting the SSD market response. Seems samsung is really excited to earn its name in the solid state device market along with Servers.
All the other financial details of this deal were kept private. Proximal which is centrally based in San Diego, California has really developed something new here. According to a product briefing, the software works in collaboration with other server virtualization softwares like the VMware. Its AutoCache service program attatches itself into the softwares and keeps a constant eye on all the input and output. Out of these, the most used ones are cached directly in the local PCIe flash card or the SSD, to provide faster access to data.
But jst doing tht is not enough. Now the hot I/O are stored, there is the need of an intelligence embedded in the circuitry to read and thus provide the server with required data streams directly from cache without any storage access permissions.
CEO of Proximal Data, Rory Bolt is taking the high road with this deal as he positively hopes that the this deal will enhance the Autocache software in the future along with more products on the enterprise storage side. Rory is a big name in the storage and software market, as he has been previously involved in three startups including the enterprise class data protection software company named Avamar technologies, sold to EMC in 2006.
There is no doubt that this deal with help Samsung expand its SSD business since the software mainly addresses to the I/O Bottleneck problems which is a very big problem in virtual server environments. AutoCache very efficiently manages all the cache I/O with minimizing the use of Guest OS resources, which is really good thing in the business. Proximal works with standard flash cards or SSD in the virtual servers such as Microsoft Hyper-v or VMware ESXi.
This is not allegedly the first time that Samsung has applied the same strategy as other tech giants are using like Apple Inc. and Facebook Inc. which simply includes buying out the companies and services who could be used for company’s future. Samsung bought “Nvelo”, another company based in Santa Clara, California in 2012 which is specialized in SSD caching and for the better part of the year all its new SSD have been using its technology.
For Samsung, as the history shows, all the other software seem like a big key factor in differentiating which company is better than others, as basically Samsung belongs to the hardware market, and yet the company is also focusing at the same time on newer chip level technologies.
It even made it clear that they have started the mass production of its 3 dimensional vertical NAND flash memory to be used in the SSDs, which provided much higher storage density (32 vertically stacked cells) almost up to a total of 128 GBs per chip.
Awesome! seems not that much of a surprise with the way the company is looking forward to newer and newer technologies. What comes out of this new deal, time will sure show us, till then Good luck to Samsung.
Share what you think about this new advancement, we are eager to hear. Comment below or post at www.facebook.com/digitfreak
Been too long since updated you guys. Latest news in technological developments shows us that the computing can’t only be used for studies. Another wearable computer that will sure take the lead. Foodies can now check out a restaurant’s menu only by looking at the signboard with this glass.
Imagine that. K-glass is the new stuff on the market. THe head mounted Display (HMD) has been developed by scientists in korea. Consider this example: – You are walking by a restaurant and if by chance you are wearing your k-glass then you just need to look at the signboard and you will see the day’s menu on the screen in 3D form popping up. But if thats now enough then you can also see the number of Tables available.
To build this a completely new type of processor has been employed which is now quite used. It runs on an In-built Augmented Reality(AR) processor. Unlike the virtual reality processors, it actually incorporates the digital data generated by the computer into the real-time environment of a user.
In simple terms the computer in the glass takes up raw data sound, video, graphics or GPS data along with everything else digital like wifi etc, and manipulates that to turn the user’s real world interactive and live. Imagine the Iron man’s 3d computer used by Tony stark. Only in this case only you will be able to see the actual layout.
When all this is just to be done for you then one can assume that it will sure as hell need to be efficient and if that condition is true then it must be Energy Efficient with great battery life.
In the words of Professor Hoi-Jun Yoo –
” Our processor can work for long hours without sacrificing K-Glass’s high performance, an ideal mobile gadget or wearable computer, which users can wear for almost the whole day.
HMDs will become the next mobile device, eventually taking over smartphones. Their markets have been growing fast, and it’s really a matter of time before mobile users will eventually embrace an optical see-through HMD as part of their daily use. Through augmented reality, we will have richer, deeper, and more powerful reality in all aspects of our life from education, business, and entertainment to art and culture.”
Check out this tech also on Youtube through this video :-
Another year is coming to a close, and as we get closer to the ball dropping and flipping the calendar page to 2014, think about getting your computer in working shape and ready to start fresh with the New Year. Taking time to clean up your computer now and taking care of a few important issues will actually save you time down the road, especially if things go wrong.
While no one wants to think about the possibility of their computer crashing and losing all of their data, the fact is, it happens, thanks to viruses, overloaded hard drives and other issues. Even if you don’t lose your data, failing to keep your computer up to date and clean increases the likelihood you’ll fall victim to a cybercrime, and have to spend a great deal of time and money fixing the damage.
That being said, you can prevent some of the most significant computer problems by planning ahead and taking time at the end of the year to perform a few simple tasks.
Changing Passwords Security experts recommend changing your passwords, particularly those for high stakes accounts like your bank, every 60 to 90 days. The reality is few people actually do make the changes unless prompted to — and that presents a security risk, especially if you use the same password for all of your accounts like so many people do. When a cybercriminal accesses one password, he or she may try those credentials in a number of places and stumble upon a great deal of information. So at the end of the year, change all of your login credentials, taking care to make the passwords challenging and unique. If you have trouble remembering the passwords, invest in password management software to keep them safe.
Manage Security Protection It’s Dec. 31 – do you know where your antivirus protection is? Check your protection on a regular basis to ensure you have the latest virus definitions and your automatic updates are occurring properly. Check the expiration date of your virus protection to determine how much time is left; if you’re close to running out of time, update it now so you don’t have any gaps in your protection.
In addition to updating your virus protection, install any updates to your operating system or add-ons that you’ve been putting off. Doing so will repair any vulnerabilities in your system that can be easily exploited by criminals. Also, double-check your firewall protection and your wireless Internet connections. If your wireless router is not password-protected, make that a priority; if your connection is already locked, change the password to thwart hackers.
Run a Backup Losing your data can be devastating. While the best hard drive data recovery software will most likely recover your files if your computer crashes, running regular backups of your machine doubly ensures you won’t lose any of your precious files, photos or other data, and your recovery will be quick and relatively painless.
Before you back up your files, delete unnecessary “stuff” from your hard drive. Do you need to keep every single photo from your daughter’s dance recital — even those that are blurry or where her eyes are closed? Deleting the files you no longer need and moving those files that are important, but using cloud storage or a removable disk will keep everything organized and can improve your machine’s performance.
Develop a Recovery Plan The best way to avoid losing your mind if something goes wrong is to have a recovery plan in place. A computer crash can be devastating — and if you have to purchase a new computer or hard drive, not having all of your data can make the transition frustrating, not to mention disheartening when you realize everything is gone forever. That’s why it’s important to run regular backups, and know where to go for help should things go awry. Research your recovery options, watch a video tutorial and reviews for recovery services and know exactly who to contact before you have a problem. Having that information easily accessible will help get you back up and running as soon as possible.
Getting your computer ready for a fresh start in the New Year takes a few hours, but the rewards are great. Not only will you be secure in the knowledge your machine is protected and running as well as possible, you’ll also have the peace of mind of knowing you won’t be left high and dry — should something go wrong.
Every country has some sort of spying mechanism that monitors your activity online and stores the data that can be used against you. No matter how hard you try to keep something to yourself, you can’t hide it without any third-party services. This is where VPN (Virtual Private Network), Private DNS service and masked ip addresses comes handy.
Private DNS service is something new, which is not familiar to everyone, but other traditional methods are widely used to protect one’s privacy online. However, they still don’t ensure 100% security and privacy because these company’s has your original ip address log and access data, which can be accessed by the government in certain country under the law.
Recent NSA leak by Edward snowden and other surveillance system in different countries states that everything is being monitored. So, taking the steps to mask your online activity is essential for those who wants to keep their activity on the Internet a “secret.”
The simplest and most famous method to do so, is to use a VPN service. It hides your activity and changes the Geo-location of the originating system – wonderful, isn’t it?… But, the thing is that, how to choose from literally thousands of them? To sort the things out we tested “VPN4ALL,” which has been there for last 3 years. I have been using it since last 24 hours, so that I can sort the good, best and worst of it. Lets find out what we got:
The Registration:
VPN4ALL is simple and robust service that provides traditional VPN mechanism to hide your online identity and keeps your “privacy” safe from the intruders. The first thing you would need is to get an account on their website. The registration process is simple and you won’t find any hassle while performing it. To make things clear, it is not a free service — you need to subscribe on the monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. (Register here).
Plans and Pricing:
The website offers 3 basic subscription options – “For Mobile & Tablet devices,” “For Regular browsing” and “For streaming & downloading.” Each of them has different usage and data allocation that is suitable for the specific user group.
If you want to secure your computer system, but don’t want to use it to stream contents or download files — you can simply opt for “VPN4ALL-50GB” plan. It allocates 50GB/month for windows and Mac. You’ll have to buy additional package “VPN4ALL-Mobile” if you want to use it on your mobile devices as well — We choose both for a year subscription (which helped us save $32).
When processed to the checkout, the VPN4ALL automatically offered us onetime “20% discount,” which minimized our overall cost to $80.80 (i.e. $6.74/month for 1 year) for both computer and mobile devices. The best thing is that, this discount is applicable for every new registration. To redeem the 20% discount you must follow this link – Register here.
I was pretty happy that I would have to spend less from my salary. Pretty cheap, isn’t it? If you’re smart enough, you can buy the same package again with a new account once your subscription expires. pss! don’t let the VPN4ALL website know that you got this idea from digitfreak!
After checking out with preferred payment option (there are various payment option that includes PayPal, credit/Debit card, and bitcoin), I received several emails from VPN4ALL that included account details, License key for windows software and mobile app key.
Downloads
I found account details in my email, which helped me log into client area. You’ll find details about your subscribed package and license key in your account. The email sent by them has full detailed information about the service and how to use it.
You can download the setup files and android application on their download page. I found it little difficult and annoying to download the setup file. There were two weird restriction — the download was not resumable and it had speed throttling issue. I never reached the maximum download speed that my ISP provides. Additionally, while downloading the file, it timed out once – forcing me to download the setup again from the beginning.
First, I thought it might be the issue with the ISP and Geo-location of the originating server from where I am downloading the files, but other digitfreak writers and staffs confirmed that they experienced the similar issue — not being able to get the good speed and download being timed out.
However, you can breath a sigh of relief because the windows setup is only ~48 MB.
Using the VPN
Setup:
The setup process is anything like installing other software — you just need to agree to the terms, click “next” several times and “Finish” at the end. There nothing you will have to take care of while installing the software. When installation completed, the setup offered us to choose from two configuration — “Basic” or “Andvanced”. I just choose basic one, and clicked on “Finish.”
Windows:
When you run VPN4ALL for the first time it will ask for the activation key. You bought the software, so they have already sent you the activation key. Just visit your account and copy paste your activation key to use the service.
Once activated you’ll find a really simple and effective layout that allows you to transform your internet connection into a secure network. You’ll find a drop down menu that has dozens of ip addresses to choose from — selecting one of them and clicking on “connect” button quickly connects the computer to the server for data encryption and tunneling. I was pretty impressed with the simplicity of it. It changes your “visible to the world” IP address and protects you against online snoopers and intruders. — All in one click!
VPN4ALL uses enhanced OpenVPN to ensure that (1) all your Internet traffic is encrypted with military-grade encryption as it’s transmitted over the Internet and that (2) your digital ID (IP address) remain invisible to the worldwide web at all times.
Every time a user connects with VPN4ALL, 2096 bits of random numbers are converted into a unique pair of keys for each user and for each session — one private key and one public key. These two keys are mathematically related in a very useful way. Data encrypted with one key can only be decrypted with the other key in the pair, and vice versa. This means your data is safe and can only be encrypted at VPN server to return your request.
With secure Military-grade encryption, data tunneling, secure DNS, random IPs and masked Geo-location — you are ready to go. You can worry less about being exposed to most of the security flaws and organizations/hackers spying on your internet behavior.
Android:
Android Application is simple and effective, it is minimized to keep things simple and yet powerful. You can download the android application (.apk file) from downloads page mentioned above. Just install the application as you would do with other .apk files — i.e. run the setup and click on “install” on your android device.
Just like on windows, When you first run the application it will ask the account details of the user credentials to activate the application. Enter your registered email ID and license number provided by the VPN service and login. You’ll find a simple user interface that allows you to connect to the VPN without much hassle. If you are advanced user, there are some optional setting to play with — selection locations (globe icon) and settings (tweak icon).I left all the settings to default and simply slide the toggle button to activate the VPN on my android device. It quickly connected to the server and I could confirm in the notification area that I am connected to AES 128 bit secure connection that is now encrypting my data over my internet. At first, the surfing speed was real slow – so, I had to manually switch to the Geo-location that is nearest to my current location and I was good to go.
I visited several websites and services to make sure that VPN is actually working. To my surprise everything went so smooth that I didn’t felt any difference. In 5 minutes I was able to encrypt my internet connection on my mobile phone and successfully secured my privacy.
Benefits
So, you are ready with the robust and reliable VPN service and your internet is now secure, but do you really need this? What are the benefits you would achieve by opting for the private VPN service? Let us try to solve this riddle:
VPN service is necessary if you don’t like the idea of government and other private organizations spying on your activity on the internet. If you want some privacy and data protection you can rely on reputed VPN service.
VPN doesn’t only protect you against unwanted privacy violation, it also blocks eavesdropping and data spoofing.
VPN sometimes gives better access to the content, which is faster and more efficient.
It allows you to access websites and online services that is Geo-blocked or not available in your country. You can access the data more fluently and lifts restrictions.
It bypasses all the ISP restriction that might be there in your country, which helps you access the internet without any restriction and hence reinstate freedom.
VPN4ALL encrypts data with AES 256 RSA 2096-bit military level protection, which ensures protection of data from hackers and intruders.
You can lift blockage (if any) at your school, offices or any public internet access hub.
Whether downloading legally or illegally, you don’t want to find yourself on some company’s witch-hunt list just because you have a torrent app installed on your computer.
VPN gives you a perfect opportunity to download through our secure VPN servers in complete privacy, security and anonymity. VPNALL servers are placed in p2p-friendly locations and are connected to high-speed channels (up to 10 Gbps) from the world’s largest data centers.
You can hide your local ID and Geo-location.
Securely use your credit card and/or PayPal account even on an unsecured Internet connection.
You should definitely use VPN4ALL when you travel or on the go and connect to an unsecured / untrusted network.
and more…
If any of the above bullets gets through your wall of requirements — You need a VPN service! and VPN4ALL provides just that.
Before using VPN:
After using the VPN service by VPN4ALL, I could access all the digital content online, like Netflix and Hulu:
Verdict
The Internet is a huge community which promotes freedom and human rights. Everyone should have the ability to choose between privacy and anonymity of internet activity — VPN4ALL is capable of doing just that.
The simple and robust service provided by them works well on windows and android atmosphere. Both platform has simple user interface and lets you switch between VPN and unprotected connection easily. There is some hiccups at downloading the setup file from their website and it takes some time to choose the right IP address that works best for you, but once you have tweaked the settings and selected the right Geo-location and ip address – you are good to go.
You can access restricted and geographically blocked internet services within minutes — protecting your online identity.
If you are looking for the anonymous and secure internet access, you should go for it.