Computer Privacy : Sandbox and Virtual Machine(vm)

Sandbox:
A "sandbox" is software that allows you to run an application in such a way that it prevents the application from writing outside of the sandbox.

Normally, when you run a program like your browser, it makes changes to your system; registry settings, internet caches, browsing history and the like are all written to disk. On top of that, downloads including things like potentially unwanted spyware also arrive via the browser and install themselves onto your hard disk so that the next time you run the browser - or the next time you even just boot your system, that spyware is still there, doing its spyware thing.

When run in a sandbox, all those changes still appear to happen, except that they're never actually permanently placed on disk. When you exit the browser and its containing sandbox, all those changes disappear. History, cache, settings and spyware.

Virtual Machines(VM):
Virtual Machines are, in essence, a virtual "entire PC in a window". When you start a virtual PC, for example, the first thing you see is a window open up in Windows that contains a virtual BIOS screen as it starts up and tries to boot.

The benefit of a virtual machine is that it can't directly modify the "real" Windows running on your machine. The virtual machine is assigned its own hard disk space, and that's what it treats as its virtual "entire hard disk". Any modifications you make within the machine - its settings for example - are stored on that virtual hard disk.

You can run a browser in a copy of an operating system running in a virtual machine and any settings it changes, any history it creates, and any spyware that it downloads affect only the virtual machine. If you keep a snapshot of an original virtual machine hard disk image then any time you find you want to discard all the settings, history and perhaps malware, all you need do is erase the current image and copy over the original to start again, clean.But if you can train yourself to do casual, or risky browsing only in the VM, then it's a great solution to prevent malware from reaching your machine.

ref:
http://ask-leo.com/does_a_sandbox_or_virtual_machine_help_protect_your_privacy.html

Tech News - July 2009

1. Localized Versions of Mozilla Firefox 3.5(including Indian Lang) -

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html

2. Microsoft's latest Search Engine(Bing) - http://www.bing.com/

3. Windows Web App Gallery - http://www.microsoft.com/web/gallery/

Overview : The Windows Web App Gallery is designed to help you get up and running with a customizable web application quickly so you can focus on building the code only you can write.
The Web App Gallery is a collection of the most popular web applications, such as DotNetNuke, Umbraco, ResourceBlender.NET, and mojoPortal, all free and ready for download and installation using the Web Platform Installer. Web App Gallery contains both ASP.NET and PHP apps, and the platform for the application you choose is automatically installed with your application.

How to do it : http://blogs.msdn.com/somasegar/archive/2009/07/31/from-zero-to-a-complete-web-application-in-minutes.aspx

97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know !!!

1. Don't put your resume ahead of the requirements by Nitin Borwankar
2. Simplify essential complexity; diminish accidental complexity by Neal Ford
3. Chances are your biggest problem isn't technical by Mark Ramm
4. Communication is King; Clarity and Leadership its humble servants by Mark Richards
5. Architecting is about balancing by Randy Stafford
6. Seek the value in requested capabilities by Einar Landre
7. Stand Up! by Udi Dahan
8. Skyscrapers aren't scalable by Micheal Nygard
9. You're negotiating more often than you think by Michael Nygard
10. Quantify by Keith Braithwaite
11. One line of working code is worth 500 of specification byAllison Randal
12. There is no one-size-fits-all solution by Randy Stafford
13. It's never too early to think about performance by Rebecca Parsons
14. Application architecture determines application performance by Randy Stafford
15. Commit-and-run is a serious crime. Respect your Colleagues by Niclas Nilsson
16. There Can be More than One by Keith Braithwaite
17. Business Drives by Dave Muirhead
18. Simplicity before generality, use before reuse by Kevlin Henney
19. Architects must be hands on by John Davies
20. Continuously Integrate by Dave Bartlett
21. Avoid Scheduling Failures by Norman Carnovale
22. Architectural Tradeoffs by Mark Richards
23. Database as a Fortress by Dan Chak
24. Use uncertainty as a driver by Kevlin Henney
25. Scope is the enemy of success by Dave Quick
26. Reuse is about people and education, not just architecture by Jeremy Meyer
27. There is no 'I' in architecture by Dave Quick
28. Get the 1000ft view by Erik Doernenburg
29. Try before choosing by Erik Doernenburg
30. Understand The Business Domain by Mark Richards
31. Programming is an act of design by Einar Landre
32. Time changes everything by Philip Nelson
33. Give developers autonomy by Philip Nelson
34. Value stewardship over showmanship by Barry Hawkins
35. Warning, problems in mirror may be larger than they appear by Dave Quick
36. The title of software architect has only lower-case 'a's; deal with it by Barry Hawkins
37. Software architecture has ethical consequences by Michael Nygard
38. Everything will ultimately fail by Michael Nygard
39. Context is King by Edward Garson
40. It's all about performance by Craig L Russell

41. Engineer in the white spaces by Michael Nygard
42. Talk the Talk by Mark Richards
43. Heterogeneity Wins by Edward Garson
44. Dwarves, Elves, Wizards, and Kings by Evan Cofsky
45. Learn from Architects of Buildings by Keith Braithwaite
46. Fight repetition by Niclas Nilsson
47. Welcome to the real world by Gregor Hohpe
48. Don't Control, but Observe by Gregor Hohpe
49. Janus the Architect by Dave Bartlett
50. Architects focus is on the boundaries and interfaces by Einar Landre
51. Challenge assumptions - especially your own by Timothy High

52. Record your rationale by Timothy High
53. Empower developers by Timothy High
54. It is all about the data by Paul W. Homer
55. Control the data, not just the code by Chad LaVigne
56. Don't Stretch The Architecture Metaphors by David Ing

57. Focus on Application Support and Maintenance by Mncedisi Kasper
58. Prepare to pick twoby Bill de hOra
59. Prefer principles, axioms and analogies to opinion and taste by Michael Harmer
60. Start with a Walking Skeleton by Clint Shank
61. Share your knowledge and experiencesby Paul W. Homer
62. Make sure the simple stuff is simple by Chad LaVigne
63. If you design it, you should be able to code it by Mike Brown
64. The ROI variable by George Malamidis
65. Your system is legacy, design for it by Dave Anderson
66. If there is only one solution, get a second opinion by Timothy High
67. Understand the impact of change by Doug Crawford
68. You have to understand Hardware too by Kamal Wickramanayake
69. Shortcuts now are paid back with interest later by Scot Mcphee
70. "Perfect" is the Enemy of "Good Enough" by Greg Nyberg
71. Avoid "Good Ideas" by Greg Nyberg
72. Great content creates great systems by Zubin Wadia
73. The Business Vs. The Angry Architect by Chad LaVigne
74. Stretch key dimensions to see what breaks by Stephen Jones
75. Before anything, an architect is a developer by Mike Brown
76. A rose by any other name will end up as a cabbage by Sam Gardiner
77. Stable problems get high quality solutions by Sam Gardiner
78. It Takes Diligence by Brian Hart
79. Take responsibility for your decisions by Yi Zhou
80. Dont Be a Problem Solver by Eben Hewitt
81. Choose your weapons carefully, relinquish them reluctantlyby Chad LaVigne
82. Your Customer is Not Your Customer by Eben Hewitt
83. It will never look like that by Peter Gillard-Moss
84. Choose Frameworks that play well with others by Eric Hawthorne
85. Making a strong business case by Yi Zhou
86. Pattern Pathology by Chad LaVigne
87. Learn a new language by Burk Hufnagel
88. Dont Be Clever by Eben Hewitt
89. Build Systems to be Zuhanden by Keith Braithwaite
90. Find and retain passionate problem solvers by Chad LaVigne
91. Software doesnt really exist by Chad LaVigne
92. Pay down your technical debt by Burk Hufnagel
93. You can't future-proof solutions by Richard Monson-Haefel
94. The User Acceptance Problem by Norman Carnovale
95. The Importance of Consommé by Eben Hewit
96. For the end-user, the interface is the system by Vinayak Hegde
97. Great software is not built, it is grown by Bill de hora

ref:

http://97-things.near-time.net/wiki