The admin can then control the computer systems that run the client software and are connected in the computer network. The admin can use the interface to get an overview of all client computers that are currently connected. Basic options include issuing a ping or tracert command. The major functions on the other hand become available after clicking on the Package Work button.

This menu gives the administrator the option to enable or disable cd-rom drives, flash (read only) devices, floppy drives and flash drives. It is furthermore possible to restart a connected client computer or synchronize the time between computers. The client version of the software program uses less than three Megabytes of computer memory while running which is perfectly acceptable for a software of this kind.

Passwords can be added to the server version of the software to protect it from unauthorized access. AdminDeviceLan is definitely not the most sophisticated tool to control hardware devices in a computer network but it handles its tasks nicely.

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The software has been designed to discover communication patterns that are typical for malware infected computers. While Bothunter has been designed as a network security software that can analyze the traffic of the network it can also be used to analyze a single computer or basic home network.

Bothunter is supplied as a Linux or Windows version. The Linux version comes as a installation but also in form of a live CD that can be used from any computer that is capable of booting from CD and compatible with Ubuntu Linux.

Bothunter needs some configuration in the beginning. Most home users will only need to enter the local network IP which they can discover this way:

Click the Windows desktop Start Menu, Control Panel, Network Connections. Find the local area connection that is “Connected”. Double click the connected network icon. Click the Support Tab. Your IP address will be listed.

Optional data like the IP address of SMTP servers or DNS servers can be entered if they are used in the computer network. Home users usually leave these information blank. The only other information needed is the network adapter that should be used to scan and analyse the computer network.

Once that is done the network security software will scan the computer network in two minute intervals and display any potential bot infection in the interface.

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The ban which was issued directly by the commander of U.S. Strategic Command applies to both the secret SIPR and unclassified NIPR nets and includes all removable media including removable hard drives, USB sticks, recordable disks and even floppy disks.

The computer worm that lead to the ban has been identified as a virus called Agent.btz which is a variation of the SillyFDC worm which spreads by copying itself on removable media that gets connected to the computer system.

The article reveals several interesting – some would say scary – insights. The computer worm known as Agent.btz is known by most antivirus databases for months at least which leads to the conclusion that the worm is either a variant that cannot be detected yet or that the US Military is running ineffective antivirus software in parts of their computer systems.

The second interesting tidbit is that it seems that personally owned, that is non-authorized devices have not been banned in the past.

Eventually, some government-approved drives will be allowed back under certain “mission-critical,” but unclassified, circumstances. “Personally owned or non-authorized devices” are “prohibited” from here on out.

One could argue that non-authorized devices are automatically banned but the system does not seem to have been that effective if a computer work relying on removable media has spread across the networks.

Now imagine if this would not be just a random well known virus but a planned attack by sophisticated computer hackers knowing what they were doing.. Scary? Yes.

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The open source software Synergy makes this possible. Once installed you can use the keyboard and mouse that are connected to your desktop pc on your notebook as well. This is done by installing the Synergy software on all computers that you want to work with that way. Synergy is available for Windows, Linux and Mac which means that it is also possible to use this feature for computers with different operating systems.

One system – the one that uses the keyboard and mouse that you want to use – has to run the Synergy server software and all other computers the client version of Synergy. I don’t want to go over the installation of the server, the synergy website has a very good installation instruction which is all that you need to get everything started.

Synergy has additional features that make it even more worthwhile. It is possible to copy text into the clipboard and paste the same text on the other computer again. It is also possible to use a hotkey (Scroll Lock by default) to prevent that the cursor of the mouse moves outside of the current computer. This is especially useful if you play computer games for instance.

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