By David Johnston
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Tor, sponsored by the EFF, and Google’s new beta VPN are both aimed at those of us who want to protect our privacy and rights online. While Google claims that its VPN program is to boost security on wireless networks, it can also be used with wired internet connections to add some more security for the rest of us. Tor, on the other hand, does not use a VPN but instead its own program which acts essentially like a VPN with a few exceptions. One of the nice features of the Tor network is that instead of connecting two only one server it connects to one server which then connects to another server (and so on) and forms a chain of encrypted traffic. Each hop also has a unique key, so that makes it incredibly difficult to track where information is going. That’s not to say that Google’s VPN isn’t secure. It’s more like saying that the people who made Tor are insanely paranoid.

Other key differences are the nature of the forces behind each program. The EFF does not in any way have access to your surfing data while Google specifically says that it will store (and possibly sell) information about your surfing behavior though they also say that they strip this data of anything personally identifiable. Something that is interesting to note here is that the Google VPN is centralized while Tor is not. That means that it would be easier to find information out from Google than it would from the Tor network (by many degrees of magnitude). Also, since Google is a commercial company it will most likely comply with requests made by the government or organization like the RIAA or MPAA to track the identity (or at least the IP and/or MAC address) of certain users. For these reasons, the Tor network is inherently more secure and anonymous than Google’s VPN. Google’s VPN is, however, anonymous for the most part unless you start doing things online which will get you noticed by said organizations.

Read more below to find out what kind of effect these applications have on the speed of your browsing and downloading and some final thoughts. More

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

File this one under “Don’t Let Happen to You” because cell phone etiquette or celliquette as some are calling it (and should be shot - Alice) is starting to get way out of hand. First came the loud talker, then the annoying custom ringtones, and of course, the person who answers the phone every time it rings no matter what. (Does Paris Hilton ring a bell, so to speak) But one of the newest celliquette culprits is the Bluetooth headset, which many people say leave users wandering the street like scary Borgs talking to themselves.

When Reginald Davis, a sales manager in Washington, D.C., bought a wireless headset in November, his wife, Shan, thought it looked cool — until he started wearing it constantly. Her sister-in-law would ask her: “How can you stand it?” For months, Reginald says he had assumed his wife could tell from the lights on the earpiece whether he was on the phone, but Shan hadn’t noticed them. Unable to predict whether he would ignore her or respond, she got in the habit of forging ahead with whatever she needed to say. “I just keep going,” she says. “I know he can hear me. He just doesn’t answer me.” “The headset has become such a part of my everyday life that I didn’t recognize how much it is actually in my ear,” Reginald says. Source: Statesman.com via the Wall Street Journal

We say: forget about looking weird, doesn’t anyone care about having a giant electronic device so close to your brain? No thank you. Personally, as an “early adopter” I have always been hated for using a cell phone. First because few had them, then becuase I had ringtones before they caught on, and then for taking pics with my phone, then for talking on my Blackberry, so I am happy as can be to fall behind on this one.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

There’s been a lot of fury and curiosity around Google’s new secure VPN option. You can download it and see for yourself. (it is supposed to be for San Francisco residents only, but people as far away as London have reported being able to use it.) The question no one can seem to agree on is how secure it really is. While the jury is still out, there is an interesting product from the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) called Tor. It’s free and available for downloading.

Tor: An anonymous Internet communication system
Tor is a toolset for a wide range of organizations and people that want to improve their safety and security on the Internet. Using Tor can help you anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, IRC, SSH, and other applications that use the TCP protocol. Tor also provides a platform on which software developers can build new applications with built-in anonymity, safety, and privacy features.

Your traffic is safer when you use Tor, because communications are bounced around a distributed network of servers, called onion routers. Instead of taking a direct route from source to destination, data packets on the Tor network take a random pathway through several servers that cover your tracks so no observer at any single point can tell where the data came from or where it’s going. This makes it hard for recipients, observers, and even the onion routers themselves to figure out who and where you are. Tor’s technology aims to provide Internet users with protection against “traffic analysis,” a form of network surveillance that threatens personal anonymity and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security. Source: tor.eff.org

We say: Privacy nuts love Tor. Surf from your bunker or your home office and no one is the wiser. Alice Adds: Isn’t it weird that in the example picture they use the name “Alice” as the computer looking for privacy? Eerie!

By Dave Zatz
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

It’ll set you back about 800 bucks, but if you’re looking for a high-grade aluminum movie and gaming rig with surround sound on a racing chassis they’ve got you covered. Not to mention you’ll have a variety of seat covers and paint colors to choose from. Source: Zatz Not Funny

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Not quite on our all-tech mission but this is a good read for any car buyer out there or anyone who suffered through the new car purchase process in the US. Besides, who hasn’t wondered what exactly goes on in that back room chat with the manager? Enjoy! Source: Edmunds

What does the car salesman do when he leaves you sitting in a sales office and goes to talk with his boss?

What are the tricks salespeople use to increase their profit and how can consumers protect themselves from overpaying? These were the questions we, the editors at Edmunds.com, wanted to answer for our readers. But how could they really know that our information was accurate and up-to-date? Finally, we came up with the idea of hiring an investigative reporter to work in the industry and experience, firsthand, the life of a car salesman.

We hired Chandler Phillips, a veteran journalist, to go undercover by working at two new car dealerships in the Los Angeles area. First, he would work at a high-volume, high-pressure dealership selling Japanese cars. Then, he’d change over to a smaller car lot that sold domestic cars at “no haggle” prices.

Read Confessions of a Car Salesman Here

From the Inquirer:

PALM is is about to release its Windows Treo today, just as reviews are set to write off the Volish operating system that will run the gadget. Palm, Microsoft, and Verizon have booked a press conference in San Francisco to launch the new Windows-based Treo smart phone.

At the meeting will be Palm’s president Ed Colligan and Microsoft Chairman and software king of the world Sir William Gates III and Verizon President Denny Strigl. Palm has dumped PalmSource, the company that develops the Palm OS, and it looks like it will move to Windows Mobile 5.0. Engadget posted photos of the Treo 700w, here last week. There it was running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0. Windows Mobile 5.0 is considered by some reviewers to be a step in the right direction for Vole, but otherwise don’t like it. Source: Inquirer

Alice says: I’m a Blackberry fan and always will be. Nothing to see here folks.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I have to say I wasn’t a fan when the first alpha release of Vista came out. People rightly ho-hummed about the UI and the fact that it looked pretty much like XP. We wanted an OS that would take things to the next level, something that would have the same dramatic leap that Windows 95 had over Windows 3.1 or what Windows XP did over the sad Win 98 and ghastly ME. But guess what? If you haven’t been keeping up with Vista’s development, I have to tell you you are in for a very visual treat. (More on that later.)

Today there’s word that Vista will boot very quickly - something I personally cannot wait for. Windows XP takes over 20 minutes for me by the time ever little spy sweeping, instant messaging app loads and sets up for the day’s work. It’s a living nightmare to restart and sometimes even standby mode takes fro ever to get kicking. For ultimate stability, try “hibernate mode. (FN+ F12 on most Laptops)

Fast On and Off: A Windows Vista computer starts and shuts down as quickly and reliably as a television, typically within 2 to 3 seconds. Windows Vista processes login scripts and startup programs and services in the background so you can start working right away. You’ll also shut down and restart your computer less often by using the New Sleep state, a simple one-click on and off experience which not only reduces power consumption, but also delivers and protects user data. Source Microsoft via Digg

By David Johnston
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

A large number of new iPod Nano owners on the internet have already started complaining about their iPod Nanos getting scratched up far too quickly. There are a ton of reports of the scratching problem on various websites, including Apple’s own forums where one user said that the scratches were getting so bad so quickly that he was worried he would no longer be able to see the screen. Many of the people noting the problem are also long-time iPod users who have experience with the regular wear and tear that their iPods receive from normal use. Here is a quote from a person who took his Nano back to the Apple store where he got it:

I’ve had a series 1,2 and 3 and have never treated them very well - but none of them have ended up looking as dreadful as my white nano after just four days. Kept in a pocket with _no_ metal, the entire front plastic is badly scratched. I went back to the apple store where I purchased it and was told ‘you have to look after your stuff man’ (honest, I couldn’t make that up). Two other stores tell me that they have had no complaints and would I like to purchase a sock?

Users on the Apple boards suggest covering the screen with a trimmed piece of clear packing tape or a PDA screen protector to prevent scratching. If any of you readers have a Nano, let us know your experience.

Scratch discussion on the Apple forums.

More discussion on MacInTouch.