Home Improvement Empire

Microsoft has markedly improved Windows Vista’s BitLocker in its latest operating system, Windows 7, to be released officially on October 22. The tool, which is the best solution for Drive Encryption, is available in the Windows 7 Ultimate edition that helps the user by encrypting the entire data. Once you turn on the BitLocker, any file on the drive will be automatically encrypted.BITLOCKER1.

BitLocker feature in Vista was too complex as the user first needed to shrink the partition to create the partition for BitLocker which took a lot of energy from the user, but this is quite simplified in Windows 7. You simply have to go to System and Security in the control Panel, turn on the BitLocker and the rest will be done by Drive Preparation tool.

Unlike Vista, BitLocker partition is already available in Windows 7. The tool can easily boot up. It takes only 30 seconds in encryption process for 1 GB. However, there are some system Windows 7 requirements to use BitLocker. Your computer should be provided with Trusted Platform Module running version 1.2 otherwise you need to save a start up key on a removable device. Primary Partition, at least of 1.5 GB, should be available which needs to be marked as active partition as it is used as boot manager to boot the system. And for data storage, you need another primary partition.

You can boot up Windows 7 once the system drive is encrypted, but USB stick should be present. If the system drive is not available, then you should know the Rcovery Key or Recovery Password. Windows 7 selects 48 digits Recovery Password. New Group Policy settings has also been included in Windows 7 unlike Vista. Moreover, the new operating system also supports New Recovery option, the Data Recovery Agent.

BitLocker To Go is a new feature of Windows 7 that gives lockdown treatment to the portable devices that can be easily misplaced. The Indexing feature in older versions of Windows operating systems decreased the speed of computer.

The indexing option in the Windows 7 setup is remarkably improved. The user can configure the sections of the hard drive to be indexed or not. If you index the files on your computer it will enable Windows to perform fast searches on the indexed locations. It is recommended by the Microsoft to index only those folders that are frequently searched. It is very easy to add indexing locations which can be done by clicking on the Modify button in the indexing option screen. With Troubleshooting option you can delete and rebuild the index. The Advanced tab provides the user the choice of indexing encrypted files.

Indexing Encrypted files on local file system are fully supported by Windows 7 search 4.0 and higher which allows the user to index and search the properties and context of the encrypted files. Windows 7 search can be manually configured by the user to include encrypted files or it can also be configured by administrator with Group Policy. Windows 7 Search ensures that the content of the encrypted file can only be searched by the user with correct permissions and also by restricting access to users with decryption permissions. Also, the access to encrypted files is also restricted to local searches by Windows 7 Search.

There are certain caution that need to be taken such as unless and until the search index is itself is protected with full volume encryption, the indexing of encrypted files should not be enabled in case of Smart Cards and Encryption, if you use smart cards certificates to encrypt your files, a cached copy of the certificate hash and its associated user SID is added by Windows Search to include with the encrypted context in the index. Therefore the default setting for the Encrypting File System properties under local Security Policy within secpol.msc should be retained for Create caching-capable user key from smart card.

In buying window tinting films, the first thing you have to know is that residential window films are different from auto window films. Never use a residential window tinting film for your car. Some people sometimes use auto window tint for their house’s windows but they have taken some precautionary steps to properly install it in their residential windows. However, if you do not want to spend money fixing and repairing damages, try NOT to use auto window tinting film for your house.

Now that you know the ideal tinting film for your house’s windows, the next thing you have to do is to know the properties that you should look for in a window tinting film. Here are some of those properties.

? You want to use tint for your windows to have some privacy. So the first thing you should look for in a film is its reflective properties. Window tints for homes have varying degrees of reflectivity. If you want to have a very private house interior especially at daytime, this means people from outside cannot see what is inside, you should choose metalized films such as silver or bronze metalized films. You can also choose non-metalized window tinting films, however, they do not provide as much interior privacy as the metalized tints. Keep in mind that you should properly prepare your window glass by cleaning it because this can cause imperfections once the window films, especially the metalized ones, have been installed.

? Keeping the harmful UV rays away from your house’s interior should also be your main concern. UV rays are not only bad for people (they can cause certain type of cancer), they also cause fading in your curtains, carpet, and upholstery. Thankfully, almost all home window tinting films can block around 96% or more of the UV rays that might enter your house. Some very high performance home window tints can even block 99% or more of these sun’s rays.

? Window tints are also installed to control the amount of light that enters the rooms. Some tints have numbers in them such as 2, 5, or 30. These numbers correspond to the amount of light that can enter your house if you install the film. For example, if you choose a film with the number 2, it means only 2% of light can enter your house, 5 is 5% of light, 30 is 30% of light, and so on. The higher the number is, the lighter the tint, and the higher the amount of light can enter your room.

? For residential window tinting films, they have the dry adhesive properties. Dry tint films are much easier to use and install compared to Acrylic films which are used in cars. There’s room for mistakes if you use dry adhesive films.

To sum things up, you should ask yourself 3 things: 1) Will I choose metalized or non-metalized? 2) How much light do I want to enter inside the house? 3) Should I use regular or high-performance? After considering all these factors, you are now ready to buy a home tinting film for your windows to have that privacy and comfort that you want in your house.