What is Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS Protocol

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a protocol used in networking. When you type any web address in your web browser, your browser acts as a client, and the computer having the requested information acts as a server. When client requests for any information from the server, it uses HTTP protocol to do so. The server responds back to the client after the request completes. The response comes in the form of web page which you see just after typing the web address and press “Enter”.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a combination of two different protocols. It is more secure way to access the web. It is combination of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) and SSL/TLS protocol. It is more secure way to sending request to server from a client, also the communication is purely encrypted which means no one can know what you are looking for. This kind of communication is used for accessing those websites where security is required. Banking websites, payment gateway, emails (Gmail offers HTTPS by default in Chrome browser), and corporate sector websites are some great examples where HTTPS protocols are used.
For HTTPS connection, public key trusted and signed certificate is required for the server. These certificate comes either free or it costs few dollars depends on the signing authority. There is one other method for distributing certificates. Site admin creates certificates and loads in the browser of users. Now when user requests information to the web server, his identity can be verified easily.
Here are some major differences between HTTP and HTTPS:

HTTP	HTTPS
URL begins with “http://”	URL begins with “https://”
It uses port 80 for communication	It uses port 443 for communication
Unsecured	Secured
Operates at Application Layer	Operates at Transport Layer
No encryption	Encryption is present
No certificates required	Certificates required

Top 5 latest trends in cloud computing

While cloud computing continues to be adopted in its various forms, it is also constantly adapting to the changing needs of businesses and providers. While organisations search for a long-term strategy to combine their internal system with the cloud, providers continue to offer greater benefits, such as big data analytics and application services, lowering the playing field for small businesses.

The rise of the hybrid cloud

As cloud computing has gone mainstream, it seems businesses have had a hard time choosing just one cloud service to stick to. In fact, a report by Virtustream found that most businesses employ multiple cloud providers to meet different demands, including a mix of public and private IaaS clouds. This amount of cloud sprawl has led to concerns about whether businesses can track their resources and spending effectively and maintain expertise on every cloud they are using. While it seems that companies won’t be scaling down to just one option anytime soon, an increased adoption of a hybrid cloud that simplifies the public and private cloud mix through a single provider is quickly becoming a popular business solution.

Big data analytics

Big data may be competing with cloud computing for the tech news headlines, but many providers and businesses are now starting to see the value in combining the two. Big data as a service seems like one of the most practical options for big data analytics, as it is scalable and within the reach of any organisation, no matter its size or resources. These cloud providers are also overcoming the technical barrier by transforming Hadoop from an open source platform to an enterprise-ready service, all without the need for a data scientist.

SMB application protection

It has long been touted that cloud computing provides a huge advantage to small and medium-sized businesses, and cloud providers are still finding new ways to help lower the playing field. While most small businesses can’t afford an entire application testing program or expensive tools to check safety internally, cloud application protection is making it possible to do just that. This technology allows companies to scan source code on their web applications for any changes in order to detect potential cyber attacks and since it is on the cloud, it is available on demand.

Emphasis on performance

While security and loss of control were the primary concerns of IT managers when the cloud first landed, it seems the main emphasis is now on cloud performance. Businesses want to know that the service will be reliable and perform up to the capacity they need without failing during critical periods. At the same time, since the cloud is now a tried and tested technology, organisations are increasingly trusting it with sensitive applications.

Gamification

Gamification has been on the rise among marketing professionals for several years. In 2012, Gartner predicted that by 2014, 70 per cent of Fortune 2000 companies would have at least one cloud-based application that uses game theory, and so far gamification has continued to gain in popularity. With so many benefits, from increased consumer participation to increased access to behaviour analytics, companies are taking notice of what games can do for their brand.

5 ways to get more out of Google Drive storage

You may love it for its free productivity suite, but Google Drive is first and foremost a cloud storage service. As the nexus of Google’s other services, its 15GB of free space can be leveraged to improve almost any productivity task. Here are a few ways you can maximize your Drive.

1. Set it as your default document location

If you’re reading this, you’re probably already using Google Drive as your go-to storage option. You can streamline this process by making it the default save location for all your documents on your PC.
In Windows, right-click on your Documents folder and select Properties. Click Include a folder, then locate your Google Drive folder. Highlight it, select Set save location, and click Apply. Next time you save a Google or Microsoft file, it will save to Drive.

2. Attach Drive files to Gmail

The ability to insert Google Drive files into your Gmail messages provides a few significant advantages over uploading files as attachments from your hard drive. First, it allows you to email larger files. Gmail caps file attachments from your computer at 25MB. But if you insert a file direct from Google Drive, you can send a file up to 15GB—and up to 1TB if you have a paid plan.

You can insert Drive files into your Gmail messages as an attachment or a link.

Inserting Drive files also makes collaboration more efficient. Normally if you send a collaborative document to multiple people, you’ll be returned a separate version of that document from each recipient, from which you’ll have to compile feedback into a master doc. But because Google Drive’s productivity apps—Docs, Sheets, and Slides—make each collaborator’s comments and changes visible in real time to everyone that file is shared with, there’s no need to pass several versions of the same document, spreadsheet, or presentation back and forth.
Lastly, inserting a Google Drive file gives you greater control over who sees it. When you attach a local file to an email, there’s nothing to prevent a recipient from forwarding it on to unauthorized viewers. But because Drive’s sharing feature lets you designate who can access a file—and change those sharing settings at any time—you’ll have more peace of mind when emailing sensitive material.
To insert a file from Google Drive, click the Drive icon at the bottom of your Gmail message and select the file from your Drive account. You can insert it as a link to the original file or as an attachment.

3. Share many files at one time

Emailing attachments is fine when you need to send just one or two standalone files. But if you need to distribute many files to the same group of people, it’s better to compile all the files into a folder and then share it.

When you need to send many files, you can add them to a folder and share it.

To do this, open the folder containing all the files and click the share icon (it looks like a person with plus sign next to it) in the upper right. Enter the email addresses for each person you want to share the folder with and select the type of access for them—for folders you can give them either viewing or editing privileges. Type any instructions in the message field and hit send. Each recipient will be notified that you’ve share a folder with them. Once you’ve shared a folder, any files you add to it will be shared with the same access rights.

4. Save web content

One of the perks of data collection apps like Evernote and Microsoft’s OneNote is the ability to easily capture content from the web and save it online. You can do much the same in Google Drive with the help of the Save to Google Drive extension for the Chrome browser.

Install the Save to Google Drive extension to capture web content.

Once you’ve installed the extension, click the Drive icon in the Chrome toolbar to save the currently viewed webpage. You can save it as a screenshot (the whole page or just the visible portion), a web archive, or HTML by configuring the extension options. You can also save any documents, images, links, or HTML5 audio and video by right clicking on the object and selecting Save to Google Drive from the drop-down menu.

5. Manage your Drive space

If you find yourself bumping up against Google Drive’s 15GB storage limit, you can always check which of Google’s services—Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos—are eating up the most space by hovering over the usage data in the lower left corner of your Drive page. Clicking on it will show you the same data in a pie chart.

When you need to audit your storage, Drive lets you know which of Google’s services is consuming the most space.

From there, you can either start pruning files or upgrade to a paid plan. Currently, Google offers 100GB for $2/month, 1TB for $10/month, 10TB for $100/month, 20TB for $200/month, and 30TB for $300/month.

What is Big Data? The Basics – Meaning and Usage

The term Big Data is being increasingly used almost everywhere on the planet – online and offline. And it is not related to computers only. It comes under a blanket term called Information Technology, which is now part of almost all other technologies and fields of studies and businesses. Big Data is not a big deal. The hype surrounding it is sure pretty big deal to confuse you. This article takes a look at what is Big Data. It also contains an example on how NetFlix used its data, or rather, Big Data, to better serve its clients’ needs.

What is Big Data

The data lying in the servers of your company was just data until yesterday – sorted and filed. Suddenly, the slang Big Data got popular and now the data in your company is Big Data. The term covers each and every piece of data your organization has stored till now. It includes data stored in clouds and even the URLs that you bookmarked. Your company might not have digitized all the data. You may not have structured all the data already. But then, all the digital, papers, structured and non-structured data with your company is now Big Data.
In short, all the data – whether or not categorized – present in your servers is collectively called BIG DATA. All this data can be used to get different results using different types of analysis. It is not necessary that that all analysis use all the data. Different analysis uses different parts of the BIG DATA to produce the results and predictions necessary.
Big Data is essentially the data that you analyze for results that you can use for predictions and for other uses. When using the term Big Data, suddenly your company or organization is working with top level Information technology to deduce different types of results using the same data that you stored intentionally or unintentionally over years.

How big is Big Data

Essentially, all the data combined is Big Data but many researchers agree that Big Data – as such – cannot be manipulated using normal spreadsheets and regular tools of database management. They need special analysis tools like Hadoop (we’ll study this in a separate post) so that all the data can be analyzed at one go (may include iterations of analysis).
Contrary to the above, though I am not an expert on the subject, I would say that data with any organization – big or small, organized or unorganized – is Big Data for that organization and that the organization may choose its own tools to analyze the data.

Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users

It’s official, folks: Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for existing Windows users—as long as you claim it quickly.
Kicking off the consumer-focused Windows 10 event in Redmond on Tuesday, January 21, Microsoft operating system chief Terry Myerson announced that current users of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to the new operating system for free as long as they do so within one year of Windows 10's launch—even if your version of Windows is pirated. Once you’ve claimed the upgrade, it's permanent, and Microsoft will keep you updated for the supported lifetime of the device.
“We think of Windows 10 as a service,” Myerson said.
Here's the fine print from the Windows 10 page on Microsoft's site:

“It is our intent that most of these devices will qualify, but some hardware/software requirements apply and feature availability may vary by device. Devices must be connected to the internet and have Windows Update enabled. ISP fees may apply. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update required. Some editions are excluded: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise, and Windows RT/RT 8.1. Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise outside of this offer. We will be sharing more information and additional offer terms in coming months.”

Did you catch that? Windows RT tablets won't be upgraded to Windows 10—though they'll get some of the new features—and business users will have to pay to upgrade and receive continued support.
The decision to make Windows 10 a free upgrade for existing users makes sense. Windows 8 users have vocally expressed their displeasure with the operating system, prompting happy Windows 7 users to stay put on that OS. That hinders Microsoft's ability to execute its vision for a service-centric, cloud-connected future for Windows; making Windows 10 free could spur more users into embracing a modern Microsoft operating system.
And hey, it'd be weird to charge for Windows 10 after Windows 8 flopped so hard and Apple started giving away OS upgrades. Right?
Here's how to give the Windows 10 Technical Preview a test drive today, if you're the adventurous sort. Once you're in, you'll want to check out these killer new features first, and once you're feeling comfortable, dive deep into the myriad tips, tricks, and tweaks buried under the hood.

7 new hardware technologies you'll see in Windows 10 PCs

The arrival of Windows 10 later this year could usher in more convenient, fun and wire-free PC computing.
Some new features that make for easier hardware handling are already available, but not yet in Windows PCs, which still make up the vast majority of desktop and laptop machines. For example, Apple’s MacBook and Google’s Chromebook Pixel have set the stage for USB Type C ports and its associated reversible cables to be used in Windows PCs later this year. Meanwhile, the new Windows Hello feature—which will allow users to unlock a Windows 10 device by recognizing a face, iris or fingerprint—could bring 3D cameras and more sensors to PCs.
New hardware could also turbocharge PCs while improving battery life, and wireless features could free PCs from cord clutter. Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for existing Windows 7 and 8 users, but if you decide to get a new PC, you may want to look for some of these features:

USB Type C, and 3.1

Expect the smaller USB Type-C port to become mainstream in PCs around the time Windows 10 ships later this year. The multifaceted USB Type-C ports will recharge

laptops and connect PCs to monitors, external storage drives, printers, cameras and other peripherals. There’s also excitement around the Type-C cable, which has an identical connector on both ends. PCs will ultimately also benefit from the faster data transfer rates of the USB 3.1 protocol, which can transfer data at 10Gbps (bits per second), double that of USB 3.0. But for now, the USB Type-C ports in MacBook and Chromebook Pixel are transferring data at USB 3.0 speeds, though desktop motherboards supporting USB 3.1 are already shipping.

Face recognition

One of Microsoft’s goal with Windows 10 is to kill passwords, and it hopes to do so with
face, fingerprint and iris authentication. Laptops with Intel’s RealSense 3D camera will be able to recognize faces and use that capability to log users in to Windows. The first iteration of the depth-sensing camera is already in a handful of tablets and PCs, and the next version of the camera, expected to be in Windows 10 PCs, will do a better job of recognizing objects, measuring distances and even taking selfies.

Sensors

A standout feature in Windows 10 that separates it from Windows 8 is the ability to

automatically switch between tablet and PC user interfaces. That is made possible by sensors that detect the position of a laptop. Microsoft has also suggested Windows 10 devices could be capable of measuring temperature, environmental pressure and carbon dioxide levels, though it’s not certain whether PCs would carry the necessary, related sensors.

Better performance

Microsoft is tuning Windows 10 to work well with Intel’s upcoming Core chips code-named Skylake, which will be in PCs in the second half this year. Skylake will boost graphics and applications while improving battery life in laptops. Skylake is also a platform for freeing laptops of wire clutter. The first Skylake chips will likely be Core M processors for tablets and low-power laptops, and will be followed by laptop and desktop chips.

Wire-free computing

In an ideal universe, Intel wants laptops free of all wires. The company is bringing wireless charging technology to laptops later this year so users don’t have to carry bulky power bricks. Charging a laptop will be as simple as placing it on a table or another surface; Intel wants wireless charging be as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi. Intel is talking to airports, cafes and other businesses about installing wireless charging tables and surfaces for customers. However, it may be years until the technology becomes practical.

Qualcomm

Intel will also link up laptops to wireless monitors, storage devices and other peripherals via WiGig technology, which can transfer data at 7Gbps (bits per second). Much like Wi-Fi, laptops will start getting WiGig chips. But it could take a while for WiGig-compatible monitors and storage peripherals to become available.

Advanced displays

Dell has suggested it couldn’t incorporate OLED screens into Windows 8 laptops or tablets due to lack of native support for the screen type. The company also hinted that it would bring together Windows 10 and OLED displays in the future, though it didn’t reveal exact plans. OLED screens are used mostly in TVs, tablets and smartphones, but not yet in Windows PCs.

Hardware upgrades

Windows 10 PCs could pack graphics cards that support DirectX 12, which will improve PC gaming. The battery life of laptops will also get better with DX12. Later in the year, laptops could also ship with DDR4 memory, which will improve internal data transfer between memory, processor and other components.

Sorting text in Word: 3 tips and some secret tricks

Basic sorting in Word 2013 is a breeze: Essentially, it’s just select a list of text, click the Sort button, and then choose Ascending or Descending order. However, it gets a bit more complex when sorting multiple columns or tables. There are a few tricks and relatively unknown techniques that can save you time and make this task easier. 

Sorting multiple columns

Sorting multiple columns is the same process as sorting a list: Just click the Sort button. Word automatically highlights all the columns and sorts them consecutively in the order you specify.
Trick: When sorting the columns individually (that is, treating each column as an independent list), you must select the text in each column separately—one at a time—and then click the Sort button.
Also, you must specify the data you’re sorting—text, dates, or numbers. The good news is that Word generally knows the data format and selects it for you.

JD Sartain

Taming table sorts

Sorting all the columns of data inside a table does not work the same way as lists or columns. If you just click the Sort button, believe me, very strange things happen.
For tables, you must highlight the entire table, which reveals two new tabs on the ribbon bar: Design and Layout. Click Layout > Sort; choose the column you want to sort by in the Sort By field box; check Ascending or Descending, then click OK.
Trick: Manually selecting text can be cumbersome. Try this instead: Position your cursor over the first table column (above and outside the table). When the black arrow appears, click once, then hold down the Shift key and click above the remaining columns until the entire table is highlighted.

Sorting a single column inside a table is slightly more complicated. For example: Click the column you want sorted, then click Layout > Sort. The highlighted column you just selected is automatically listed in the Sort By field box, plus the Type (Text) and order (Ascending) is also automatically selected.
Secret warning: At this point, if you just click OK, the entire table is rearranged, but not really sorted. The selected column sorts in the order you specified (sometimes), but the other columns in the table are just randomly rearranged, resulting in a real mess.
Now what! Click Undo and read on.
The next step, unfortunately, is not intuitive. Word requires multiple sorts for this option to work properly. First, you must check the Sort Column Only box under Layout > Sort > Options > Sort Options. But once you check this box, then click OK, and OK again, the column you selected is rearranged, but not sorted. Now you have to sort it again, because Word can’t (or won’t) perform this function in a single step.
Secret trick: Try this: Position your cursor in the top, right margin (outside the table) and, when the black arrow appears, click once. Word displays a column of small gray boxes (intended for the addition of a new column). Now click Layout > Sort > Options > Sort Options and check the Sort Column Only box. Click OK, then OK again. Nothing changes (or so it seems), but the Sort Column Only box is now checked, which is necessary to proceed.

JD Sartain

And now, it works. Click the column you want sorted—in this case, the center column (as explained above)—then just click Sort > OK. This step sorts the center column alphabetically in ascending order and does not rearrange the data in the rest of the table.
Trick: Imagine that after you’ve sorted the table, you decide to put your home state of California first on the list. Rather than manually adjusting the data, you can quickly move any row up or down with a simple shortcut. Position your cursor on the California row. Press Shift+ Alt+ Up-arrow continuously until California is moved to the first row (or Shift+ Alt+ Down-arrow to move the row down).
Note: The Sort Column Only box remains checked until you exit Word, then it reverts back to the default of “unchecked.” So you must repeat these last two steps to sort a single column inside a table of multiple columns each time you access Word.