The 21st century has been the age of so many technological breakthroughs and advances, technologies aimed for one purpose and that is to make the lives of people better by helping them become more efficient in their work. One such technological breakthrough is computer technology.

Computer technology has grown in great proportions starting from a computer with a size that of a room to a small well-designed palm top computer. Computers nowadays have become an indispensable part of the lives of people, especially at work, at companies, businesses, schools, offices and even in homes.

It has made the world smaller, but has it made our world better? It would then lead us to ask whether computer technology is good or bad. Now let us try to look at first some of the bad effects. With the advent of computers and with the internet it has become easy to access pornographic sites, children are more exposed to explicit content; some students would lose focus on their studies as they play computer games. The number of obesity cases has increased and it has been attributed to too much computer activity that led to less physical activity among a number of people.

On the other side of the coin, computers have opened a whole new world of possibilities. It is now easier to gain information on world events; you can even find a job in the internet; you can spread advocacies to a vast number of people all over the world; and most importantly it is now easier to be connected with one another even if you are on the other side of the globe.

Computer technology, just like any other material on earth has been created with a common good in mind. Just like a knife, it has been made to cut and slice food to speed up cooking time for people but it can also be used to kill people, and you cannot ban the use of knives in order to stop killing. And so you can’t blame computers for the problems it may have caused for it is the people who use them who caused the problem. It has disadvantages and advantages that must be taken into consideration.

But the problem is not computer technology itself; the problem resides on the people who use it. Computer technology is generally good for it can bring in a lot of good if it is used properly, but can do great harm if used unwisely.

People have choices on how they make use of earth’s resources, and that choice will determine how certain materials will affect people, be it good or bad.

Computer forensics is another aspect of electronic discovery that refers to any process in which data from a particular computer or network is sought, located, secured and searched with a purpose of using it as evidence in a civil or criminal legal case.

Computer forensics has been around for a decade, but is still not popular in the commercial sector making it unexploited. Its growth from discovery to practical operation has been very slow. Now that forensics has been fully established as a science, it has encouraged the police to set up high tech crime units. This has really pushed forensics to new heights, and a lot of people have become aware of its possible uses.

Computer forensics is not a task that can be taken up by any IT professional. It requires great skills and an acute investigative instinct. The acute shortage of experts has lead to huge competition among the private cyber-consulting firms, to hire computer forensic professionals, making computer forensics a highly paid profession. Senior police officers in computer forensics can always reap the benefits of multiple job offers, as they are being recruited for law enforcement and private industry jobs all over the country.

A new law has passed in Georgia for computer forensics, stating that forensics experts who testify in court without a PI license may be committing a felony.

A new password cracker has been launched that will allow forensic investigators help law enforcement agencies in their fight against crime and global terrorism. The password cracker identifies and removes password, from platter locked hard drives used in laptop computers and will be a major timesaver in the field or during covert investigations.

Growth in computer forensics has strengthened the police force. Enabling them to find hidden evidences and preserve them for future purposes. Hence, growth in computer forensics has proved crucial in reducing the rate of crime all around the world.

News about computer viruses has been popping everywhere, from your computer screen to the nightly news. As hackers become more sophisticated, computer users need to know how to protect themselves from the latest onslaught of viruses. Use these tips to keep your computer virus-free.

Virus Prevention Tips:

1. Do not open e-mail attachments from strangers. If you do not recognize the e-mail address or subject line, delete the e-mail. Also check the file extension of attachments. Beware of suspicious extensions, such as .pif and .scr.

2. Only open e-mail attachments if you know what they are, even if they come from a reputable source. Some viruses attack address books, sending themselves out to every e-mail address they find. It’s better to check with the person who sent the e-mail, rather than opening it blindly.

3. Be careful when downloading files from the Internet. Make sure that the download source is legitimate and reputable. Most sites run virus checks on software before opening for you. For extra safety, download the file to a floppy disk and then check it with your own anti-virus software before installing it your hard drive.

4. Update your anti-virus software on a regular basis. Most software has an area where you can download the latest virus updates.

5. Back-up important files to a portable storage unit. This could be a CD, DVD, zip disk, floppy disk or host of other media storage devices. This way, if your computer is harmed by a virus, your important files can still be safely reloaded.

Technology has seeped into every aspect of our lives today. And to keep pace with the latest emerging technology is becoming more and more important in today’s scenario. If you are in the information technology field, you have have to be aware of the latest trends in technology. To be in the mainstream means to keep an eye on the each and every news related to technology. Whether it is Linux, Solaris or Windows operating system, or it is a complex technology like virtualization, you have to have a clear understanding of every emerging technology. Articles on new technology and news about latest technology can help one to make his way into the complex maze of new computer technology. Every other day an IT giant releases a new patch of software and every new fortnight a new software is released based on a radically new technology. The latest technology buzz like Microsoft Lucidtouch, Sun Solaris have become must know technology terms.

Some of the latest technologies that are going to revolutionize their respective field are

1.) Taptu: Looking for a search engine for your iPhone that is touch friendly and allows to search the web with ease? Taptu may be the answer. Taptu is a mobile search engine that just released its iPhone version that can be downloaded from Apple App Store for free.The new search engine is user friendly and quick. According to Taptu blog, it has more than 3 million webpages currently in its index.

2.) Opera Unite: Opera has launched a new technology that can turn your PC into a personal web server running inside Opera web browser. That server can be used to share everything from files to music with other computers on the web without the need of 3rd party applications. Named Opera Unite, the technology has just been released and promises to make your computer more that just a dumb terminal.

These are just two of the numerous technologies coming our way at the speed of light.