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What You Need to Know About PC Compatibility with Linux

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Even Linux’s hardware support is better than what it used to be, there’s no harm in checking if it is compatible with your system.

It can be safe to say that not every laptop or PC found at your local store will work perfectly with Linux. So, if you’re buying a PC for Linux or to use the dual-boot option for the future, thinking about it before time will actually pay off.

If you already have a PC, you can test drive Linux almost immediately. It won’t take that long to figure out whether or not Linux works with your system.

 mysystemjpurnal2Not only is this easy to do but also safe to carry out. All you have to do is download an ISO, install it on a flash drive, reboot your computer and boot into a live Linux environment that is running on the flash drive.

If it doesn’t work according to your liking, then you can shut down your system and log back into Windows forgetting about Linux as a result. Keep in mind that closed-source graphics and WiFi drivers might be necessary and won’t come ‘out of the box’ either.

Apart from this, you can also find information about PC specifications that will work with Linux perfectly. One such location is the Ubuntu desktop certified hardware database. Also, the Ubuntu components catalog can provide you with information if you are looking for a list of components instead.

Of course, if you don’t want to go through list that aren’t exhaustive by any means, the simplest way to solve this issue is to buy a PC or laptop that has Linux preinstalled by its manufacturers.

Best part: you can easily save money on a Windows license too and the PC or laptop will work perfectly with Linux too.

Two companies that offer pre-installed Linux PC or laptops include Dell and System 76. You can look for a comprehensive list of manufacturers at LinuxPreloaded.com too.

What You Need to Know About Encrypting and Password Protect ZIP Files

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If you’ve been wondering whether there is a way to crack a password protected ZIP file, it really depends on the software you have been using to create the ZIP file.

The ZIP format has been used for years now to compress files but encryption also is a feature that comes with it these days.

Yet the kind of encryption that is offered depends on the program you are using and that is directly related to whether it can be cracked or not.

Simply put, there are two typmysystemjpurnal1es of encryption and password protection that is available. The first of which is ZipCrypto is very easy to crack. A number of organizations including the Info-Zip organization consider it to be a weak form of encryption too.

The second, known as AES-256, is much safer. If you create a strong password, it is virtually unbreakable.

 Yet when you use it for ZIP archives, AES-256 comes with another problem. Windows’ own in-built compression tool does not support this format. Unfortunately, if they try to open an AES-encrypted file within Windows Explorer or File Explorer, none of the files in the archive will be available.

But there’s a fix for this problem: there are third-party tools such as 7-zip that support AES-256 and that you should use since you will not be able to work around this issue.

One last thing: no matter which encryption you opt for, the names of the files within the archive can still be seen. If the file names offer sensitive information, then this can cause trouble.

Apart from that, they will still not be able to open the file without the password.

Alfred Mann Foundation Creates Amazing Robotic Hand for Retired Denver Marine

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The biggest challenge for those who lose limbs through amputation or trauma is that life never really returns to a sense of normalcy. If you lose a leg, going for a run feels like a luxury. Losing your sight or your hearing can completely change how you interact with the world around you.

This harsh reality was daily routine for James Sides, a retired Staff Sergeant from Colorado. During his second tour of Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Sides encountered an IED. Trained in disposal, Sides went to work on clearing the bomb. Without warning, the bomb detonated. The blast sent shrapnel into his body and knocked him over. It also blinded him in one eye, broke his forearm and took one of his hands.

That’s where the Alfred Mann Foundation, Steve Doctrow and Rogers and Cowan thought that they might be able to help improve the quality of Sides’ life. Founded by Alfred Mann in 1985, the foundation has several core goals including the exploration of how bionics can improve quality of life for people like James Sides. Rogers and Cowan helped to facilitate this exchange and promote the project. This kind opf breakthrough is unprecedented, and the Foundation wanted big attention for their unveiling.

They fitted Sides with a device that has two components. The first is smaller than a penny. It’s a tiny sensor that must be embedded within the muscles of the arm. This transceiver uses radio frequencies to interpret muscle movements that would dictate how the hand might respond. Outsides see a man moving his hand, but the science behind this shows an incredible understanding of the human body.

Although this technology is promising, Sides is one of only seven people in the world to have a robotic arm. The Alfred Mann Foundation hopes that these early proofs of concept will give way to more affordable devices that can be deployed to the general population.

3 Tips For Website Users To Defend Themselves From Hackers

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Most cyber attacks are targeted at smaller websites that do not have the skills or time to protect themselves.

One clear example of this was a number of WordPress sites that were hacked just last year itself. If you don’t want to be one of these sites, then you have to conduct regular maintenance.

This is because cybercriminals are looking for a loophole. It could be anything from easy passwords, failure to add the latest patch or even sire misconfiguration.

Yet the problem does not lie with the content management systems but with the users themselves.

Here are 3 tips that can help users defend themselves from hackers:

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1: Update Quickly

If you are managing a site, make sure that the core content management system updates are taken care of by the hosting service. Keeping up with information about these vulnerabilities is necessary but very tough to handle. In fact, it is considered almost impossible to do this. So, it’s a good idea to use web-security services such as Incapsula, Cloudflare and Sucuri to ward off attacks until you stay updated.

2: Remember Plugins and Themes

It’s not easy to keep the main content management system up-to-date. This is because patching every plugin can be cumbersome. Yet attackers are exploiting the vulnerabilities in plugins and themes.

Use plugins built for security purposes. Some of them are iThemes Security, Wordfence and BulletProof Security.

3: Regular site maintenance

If you have a hosted website, then it requires regular responsibility without fail. Administrators should remember to backup the site. Also, they should make sure that it is copied off the web server too.

If you don’t have time to do this, then go with a fully managed site as offered by WordPress. For Joomla and Drupal, a hosted service provider can do what needs to be done.

2 Writing Tools to Check for Word Frequency

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As writers we all have problem words. Words that we use all the time and can’t rid of because it is a habit.

This is where a couple of tools can come in handy where the first is easy to use while the other requires advanced understanding.

Here are two of these writing tools that can come in handy:

 mystemsjournal31: Web App Solution

Probably the easiest to get an idea of how many times you are using a particular word is by using an online app.

All you have to do is cut and paste the text and hit the count button. It will throw up a report and that should tell you all you need to know. One of these tools is Text Fixer. Just paste the text under the area ‘Word Analysis Tool’ and select the ‘Count Words’ button. Also, just uncheck the option ‘Exclude common areas from word frequency count’.

 2: Microsoft Add-In

Adding a Microsoft add-in requires you to go through Windows folders. For this, you need to look at your hidden folder by selecting Windows + E. Click the View tab and make sure you check the Hidden Items box. Now you have to look for add-ons by the developer, Gregory Maxey. A ZIP file containing a .dot and .dotm file will be downloaded. Extract the latter file.

Now copy and paste this file to the following path: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP

After this, open a Word document that you’d like to check. Now look for a new tab at the top of Word menu titled Add-Ins. When you click that tab, you’ll find a menu item for word usage. You can obtain a word frequency report that will appear as a new document.

What You Need to Know About Troubleshooting Wi-Fi Issues

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Trying to figure out what is wrong with a network can be a difficult task. You need patience if you want to resolve the issue.

The problem can be either simple or a complex one depending on the situation and there are steps that you take in either case.

Apart from the complex issues that might be reason why your device cannot access the Wi-Fi network, there are two simple ones: your laptop or your router.

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Probably the first thing that you should do is test the network by using another laptop or any other device that uses Wi-Fi. If this device can use Wi-Fi flawlessly, then the problem is with your computer instead and not the network.

Now that you know that the problem is with your system, ensure that the Wi-Fi switch is turned on your system. Usually there’s a hardware switch that you can flip off and on.

Windows will usually tell you whether it’s turned back on or not. However, if that doesn’t fix the problem, then you can try to reboot the system in order to see if that works or not.

Also, make sure you are connecting to the right network and using the right password if that didn’t work either. For that, click the Wi-Fi icon in the notification area for the networks in your area. It should say ‘Connected’ but it probably won’t.

Another thing that you can try is to shut down your firewall. Also, try checking for the number of bars right next to your network’s name to see if you have a strong connection or not.

If none of these work then there’s a problem with the network. Try rebooting it. Unplug the modem and router, wait for a couple of minutes and start it again.

Finally, if that doesn’t work, connect the laptop to the router through the Ethernet cable. This should tell you whether the issue with the router’s Wi-Fi. If that’s the problem, the go to the router’s settings and change the Wi-Fi channel.

How to Extend Battery Life on a Linux Laptop

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There are a number of advantages that come with using Linux but a long battery Life isn’t one of them.

While new versions of the Linux kernel has come with improvement in saving power, it still eats through the battery faster.

For starters, if you have a gaming laptop with Nvidia Optimus or AMD’s switchable graphics option, Linux will not be able to handle it as well as Windows will out of the box.

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Even if you don’t have the switchable graphics but Nvidia and AMD graphics, the open-source graphics drivers will not help you power management support. For extend battery life, you will have to use the proprietary drivers from Nvidia and AMD instead.

Of course, you can disable the switchable GPU while using the integrated one. But the verdict is in: Linux handles everything except switchable graphics well.

Apart from this issue, there are other tips by which you can extend battery life when using a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu. First, you’ll have to access System Settings in Ubuntu’s Unity Desktop.

You can reduce the screen brightness and avoid using a screensaver. Configure your system to turn off automatically when you aren’t using your computer. In fact, you can configure the settings to go into suspend mode after a certain period of time too.

Also, if you aren’t using Bluetooth, then you should consider disabling that as well. Of course, if you are traveling and aren’t using Wi-Fi, then disable that as well.

Finally, you can use advanced tools such as PowerTOP and TLP that can help you diagnose power issues with Linux or extend your battery life as well.

Advantages to Synthetic DNA Molecules

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Written by: The Midland Certified Reagent Company

Summary: Working with the human genome has enormous potential for the future.

Along with the ability to decode the human gene pool is the process to create synthetic segments of DNA. Synthetic oligos are perfect for testing because they simulate human DNA and can give scientists accurate results to demonstrate how a potential vaccine might affect the body. The ability to work with our gene pool will greatly enhance the understanding of medical science in the future.

Synthesizing a Reaction

The first step in creating a cure is isolating the genes involved in the disease, and how they affect the body. Once we understand more about the disease itself, we can work on testing drugs that will cause a certain reaction. For instance, if we wanted to cure cancer we might want to attack the gene that causes cancer cells to endlessly reproduce. We would need to identify the cancer gene responsible, and then see how to safely destroy or deactivate that gene without interfering with others.

This would be too difficult to test in living subjects, mostly because conditions are hard to duplicate. It’s now possible to perform DNA synthesis under precise lab conditions, which completely removes the need for a live subject until a cure has been defined and substantially tested.

Future Prospects

Soon, it may be possible for scientists to utilize RNA synthesis for their own aims. One method already tested involves using RNA to write code to DNA and turn molecules into storage devices. Maybe someday we’ll be able to write entirely new genetic code to existing DNA.

How to View Webpages When Offline in Chrome and Firefox

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Almost everyone who uses the internet regularly experiences moments when their connection goes down. While this can be frustrating, you can still view these pages using Chrome or Firefox even if you are offline.

This is because both browsers have the ability to display content from their caches instead of the live version that you see on the site.

mysystemjournal4Please keep in mind that accessing these pages in this manner might change and which could render the saved webpage inaccurate. Of course, the browser cache only contains a limited number of webpages that you’ve browsed recently. This will not work on sites that have live feeds such as Netflix or Facebook.

Anyways, if you require information from a news site or from a webpage that you viewed recently, here are 2 solutions by which you can do this for each browser.

1: Chrome

Chrome is experimenting with how these webpages can be displayed. No, not the live ones but offline. That said, and for this to happen, you can start by typing “chrome://flags/#show-saved-copy” in the URL bar. After this, select Enable: Primary from the dropdown menu. You’ll find this from under the “Enable Show Saved Copy Button” heading. Once you’ve done this, then restart your browser.

Now, take your PC offline and try reading a webpage that you recently viewed. While you will see an error message from Chrome, you’ll also see a ‘Show saved copy’ button. When you click that button, you will see the version of the webpage when you were online.

2: Firefox

There’s no flag to set so as to view content offline in Firefox. Now, to view webpages from your cache, select the ‘hamburger’ icon in the upper right hand corner of Firefox. After this, select Developer>Work Offline. You’ll be able to find the webpage that you were looking for as long as it is in the browser’s cache.

What to Do If Your PC Is Overheating

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There’s a distinct relationship between heat, electricity and damaged circuits. Every computer works with this relationship. In some cases, they even break down due to getting overheated.

This is because too much heat will break down the CPU’s efficiency while wearing out components faster than usual. It is therefore necessary to keep an eye on your CPU’s temperature especially if it feels hot to the touch or the fan is working overtime.

mysystemjournal3For this, download Priform’s Speccy which is free of cost and easy to use. The main window in Speccy will offer a lot of information about your hardware. Temperatures will stand out either in bright yellow or orange text.

In particular, the System Tray offers temperature information in the notification area. Of the two colors, the orange one is what you need to be careful of because that indicates you have a real problem. But that’s only basic information. If you want more information, then make a model of your CPU and internal drive. You’ll find the information on Speccy itself – there’s nothing to worry.

Now, in order to find out how much heat is too much for your computer’s CPU, go to CPU World. Look for your particular processor, select it and look the temperature specifications involved. That said, this heat problem isn’t a problem with hard drive. In fact, a Google report stated that the activity levels and temperatures are less associated with the drive failure than anything else.

Yet any drive can be damaged by too much heat, so it is still a good idea to play it safe. Also, you can find the manual for your hard drive online. You can find the temperature numbers there if you want to double check.