OS X Lion

Since Windows 2000, Microsoft has included an Encrypting File System built within the OS. This can be used to encrypt your important data using a series of keys.

The Windows 8 Encrypting File System (EFS) uses the Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA) algorithm to encrypt files and folders that contain private information. To encrypt the data, EFS uses a series of keys, including the User Password, DPAPI Master Key, File Encryption Key (FEK or bulk symmetric key), and SYSKEY. These steps will show how to generate the file encryption certificate and key required to use EFS in Windows 8.

Prerequisite: If you’re using a Local Account instead of a Windows Live account, you must have a password set on your account.
[Read more →]

Windows 8 is all about Metro. What are the unique advantages of Metro that are generating all the buzz?

Since I posted our initial article describing how to use the touch motion of the Windows 8 Metro Environment, many people have dropped me questions about this revolutionary new user interface from Microsoft. It is a radically different both functionally and visually from prior versions of Windows. Some people are intrigued, while others are appalled. For Microsoft, this is a bold step.

Obviously, Metro is Microsoft’s attempt to simplify Windows. The iPhone and iPad have exploded in popularity because their use is intuitive. Metro is Microsoft’s translation of this simplicity to the desktop. While the visual cleanness (and lack of familiar landmarks like the Start button) will be what new Windows 8 users will notice first, the Metro environment actually brings several advantages under the hood as well.
[Read more →]

Navigating Windows 8 on a tablet or touchscreen is a new skill. This basic tutorial will demonstrate how to use the touch or Metro interface.

In an overly simplistic sense, Windows 8 is mostly Windows 7 with an additional method of navigation–the Metro environment. This new user interface allows users to navigate using touch as well as the mouse. Driving through this new experience can be a little confusing. Many users who have installed Windows 8 have complained of “getting stuck” as the methods of using the system are so unique.
[Read more →]