Getting the BIOS Ready

So you’ve carefully picked out some parts and built a computer, but it doesn’t really do anything…yet. Before we hop into installing your operating system, we need to take a quick look at the BIOS and prepare it for our operating system.
BIOS stands for “Basic Input-Output System.” It’s a tiny program that’s stored on a small memory chip in your motherboard, and it runs on your computer before the operating system does, setting everything up and allowing you to change basic settings. It’s what allows you to install a new operating system, overwrite an old one, or do more technical stuff like overclock your processor.
(Technically, most new motherboards including ours are loaded with a more advanced kind of pre-boot environment called a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, or UEFI. It has a ton of new and useful features to better support modern hardware. But everyone still calls it “the BIOS,” because it covers all of the same bases.)

Getting Into the BIOS

If you don’t have an operating system installed on your storage drive, the UEFI/BIOS program should start immediately when you turn your computer on. If it doesn’t, take a look at the splash screen (the one with your motherboard’s logo or text): it will have directions on how to start it.

Usually you do this by quickly pressing F1, F2, F11, F12, Delete, or some other secondary key on your keyboard as it boots. (On our Gigabyte keyboard, the command is “Delete,” in the lower-left portion of the screen above.) If you don’t get it on the first try, just turn the computer off and give it another go.
Once you’re in, there are a few things you may want to do.

Update Your BIOS or UEFI (Optional)

Chances are, your motherboard is not running the latest version of its UEFI. Updating it helps to support new features, patch bugs and security vulnerabilities, and generally give the place a bit of spit-and-polish. Because the UEFI runs before the full operating system, it doesn’t have a way to update itself over the Internet, and you’ll need to do it manually.
Note that you don’t generally need the latest version of the motherboard firmware, unless you run into specific compatibility problems with newer hardware and features. For example, if you have a last-generation motherboard and a current-generation CPU that happens to use the same socket, you may need to update it for the CPU to work properly. Updating is also sometimes recommended for specific, critical security updates or bugs.
You can check for the latest version of your UEFI/BIOS by putting the model number into Google and adding “BIOS update.” (Check the box or one of the UEFI menus if you don’t know your motherboard model.) On your manufacturer’s product page you’ll find a list of updates, usually under “Support.” Download the latest one if your UEFI isn’t already running it.

Again, for each manufacturer this process is a little different, but more or less all of them should have some means of updating the UEFI program without an operating system installed. In the case of our Gigabyte motherboard, the process went something like this:

1. Download the updated UEFI file from the Gigabyte website (on another, working computer, of course).
2. Transfer the file to a USB drive.
3. Plug the drive into the new computer, start up UEFI, and press F8.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest version of UEFI.
5. Reboot.

Your motherboard and BIOS/UEFI will follow the same general steps, but not necessarily exactly. You can usually find the process with a quick Google search. If for some reason you can’t get it working, don’t worry: motherboard manufacturers also frequently offer programs that can update the BIOS/UEFI once you get Windows up and running, too.

Check Your Storage Drives

Next, check to make sure that your motherboard can recognize your storage drive. If it can’t, the Windows setup utility you use in the next article won’t have anything to install to.
The instructions here are unfortunately going to be a bit vague, because every company’s UEFI program is laid out differently. All we’re really trying to do is find the page that manages the storage drives. On our Gigabyte motherboard, this is found under the “BIOS” tab (because the new UEFI includes all of the old “BIOS” settings, you see).

I’ve selected “Boot Option #1,” the first thing that the BIOS will attempt to boot. If this fails, it will continue to the second option. Under the available list, you can see the Corsair solid state drive we installed in the last article. If you’re installing your operating system with a DVD drive, make sure you can see it here too. (Sometimes both are labelled “SATA” for their motherboard connections.)
If you don’t see your drive or drives, double-check the power and SATA data cables in your case. If you’ve verified that they’re connected and you still can’t see the drives in BIOS, you may have to replace them.

Going Further with Other Tweaks

There’s a lot of other interesting stuff you can do with your computer’s UEFI or BIOS, but none of it is really necessary to get an operating system up and running. Feel free to poke around at some of the options; most of it is self-explanatory, like powering up the computer when the mouse or keyboard is touched. If you don’t understand what something controls, don’t touch it without doing a Google search first.

Are Mesh Wi-Fi Networks secure?

You’re considering a mesh Wi-Fi network, because you’re sick of that one spot in your house not getting any reception. But does the convenience of these systems come with the same security as other routers?
We understand why you might wonder this: mesh networks include multiple devices, and they’re just as much smarthome devices as they are routers (and smart devices have come under a lot of scrutiny for security). In addition, such systems—like the Google Wi-Fi System or the Eero Home Wi-Fi System—tend to obscure advanced settings, which might affect the security settings you can toggle.
It leaves us wondering: how secure are mesh networks? Here’s a quick rundown.

Encryption Is Identical to Other Routers
If you’re worried about encryption, don’t be: mesh Wi-Fi systems use industry standard levels of protection. We’ve explained what Wi-Fi security settings mean, but the basic summary is you should be using WPA2 with AES security. That’s the exact specification major mesh Wi-Fi networks use at this point, and often they don’t even offer any alternatives. This is a good thing: there’s no reason to use anything but the most secure settings at this point.

A Centralized System With Automatic Updates

If you’re currently using a single router, you might be considering purchasing a Wi-Fi extender to reach more spots in your house, or even using a PC as a repeater. And while that’s not a bad idea, there’s one thing to consider: you’re now maintaining multiple different pieces of networking equipment.
This might be okay if you’re the sort of person who loves thinking about networks, resolving conflicts, and tweaking things. If you’re not, a mesh Wi-Fi network gives you multiple pieces of identical hardware that work well with each other, meaning you only need to configure one system.

More importantly, mesh Wi-Fi systems install security updates automatically, and to all pieces of your network. This means security flaws, like the KRACK vulnerability revealed a few months ago, will be patched across you’re house without much intervention from you.
This is not the case if you’ve got a router and multiple extenders to maintain. You’d have to update the firmware on your router, then on each of your extenders, in order to lock things down. Mesh Wi-Fi networks are a lot easier to keep up-to-date, and keeping up to date is everything when it comes to security. Don’t overlook this.

Easy to Configure with Good Safety Features

Tech enthusiasts know how to access their router’s firmware: type the IP address and use the web interface to make changes. Most people, however, aren’t really aware that you can configure your router, and that means that they never do.
Modern mesh Wi-Fi systems change that with easy-to-use smartphone apps. These make it simple for everyday users to do things like change WPA access codes, and make sure updates are being installed. Some even have easy-to-use parental control features, which can make the web a safer place for kids.
All of this helps keep you secure, but traditional router setups mean most people’s interaction with their router is unplugging it and plugging it back in. Most people never touch their router’s settings; a simple user interface can change that, which is a great thing for security.
Of course, friendly user interfaces aren’t unique to mesh networks: many recent releases offer similar functionality. But mesh networks like Google Wi-Fi are the first to make managing multiple access points this easy, which is a big plus over managing a router and an extender. Combine this with generally secure default settings and you’ve got a more secure setup than most.

Some Advanced Features Won’t Be There

Of course, for advanced users, the opposite might be true, because some settings are missing entirely and most mesh systems. If you’re the sort of user who swears by advanced security steps, like whitelisting MAC addresses, you might not love the stripped down user interface provided by Eero, Google Home, and other mesh Wi-Fi providers.
It’s not relevant for the vast majority of users, but it’s worth knowing about before making an expensive purchase. And there are workarounds: you can use an Eero in Bridge Mode, for example, and still have access to advanced functionality provided by your current router. Our advice: do your research before making a purchase.

What Is a Corrupted File, and can you Get It Back?

Corrupted files don’t happen too often on modern computers with good security measures in place. But when they do, it can be a nightmare. Let’s take a look at the common causes of corrupted files, how you can help prevent them, and what you can do when it happens.

Why Do Files Become Corrupted?

Usually, files become corrupted when being written to a disk. This can happen in various ways, the most common of which is when an app suffers an error while saving or creating a file. An office app might suffer a glitch at the wrong time while saving a document. A compression app may experience problems while creating an archive. Your backup app may have problems when writing out your backup. Your browser (or other download app) may even have problems writing a downloaded file to disk.
Often, these apps will notice the error and let you know that something went wrong, giving you the chance to try again. Sometimes, though, you’ll have no idea that something went wrong until you try to open the file later.
There are, of course, other reasons that files can become corrupt, as well.
When you shut down your computer, it is supposed to close out any files it has open properly (or give you the chance to do so). When this doesn’t happen—like, say, if you lose power or if your computer crashes—it doesn’t have the chance to close files the right way. This can lead to the corruption of any files that were currently open, including not just your documents, but even operating system files.

Problems with your hard disk can also lead to corrupted files. Sometimes, like in the case of a bad physical sector on the drive, your corrupted file may be part of a much larger problem. Sometimes, smaller errors—like a cross-linked file or lost cluster—are the culprit in your file corruption problems and are not necessarily indicative of a failing hard disk.
And finally, of course, malware and viruses can also cause corruption, though in that case, it’s more intentional than accidental.

How to Protect Against Corrupted Files

First and foremost, the single best thing you can do to protect yourself against corrupted files is make sure you’re backing your computer up regularly. And note that cloud storage and other file syncing options may not be enough to get the job done. If you have a corrupt file on your local disk that then gets synced to your cloud storage, you don’t really have a good backup of that file. If you do rely on cloud storage, at least make sure that you have the option to recall previous versions of files (like in Dropbox).
It’s always best to use a true backup solution like File History (on Windows), Time Machine (on macOS), or Backblaze, all of which allow you to restore multiple previous versions of files.
Next up on the prevention checklist, make sure that your computer is protected from viruses and malware. This includes not only running a good antivirus app, but using common sense when browsing and downloading.
And finally, you might want to consider investing in an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) to help protect your computer from sudden shutdowns when you lose power. A UPS works as a battery backup that provides you a buffer against power loss. Typically, they can supply your computer with anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more of power, giving you ample time to shut your computer down properly. Having a good UPS can not only help prevent corrupted files from a bad shutdown, but the hardware problems they can cause, as well.

What Can You Do When a File Is Corrupted?

If you have a corrupted file, your best bet is to try grabbing that file from the source again. Download it again, if that’s where you got it, or have someone resend the file to you.
In the case of corrupted system files (from an unexpected shutdown, bad update, or malware), you can always try something like Windows’ built in System File Checker. It scans your system for corrupted system files, and then replaces them with originals.
Before you do that, though, it’s best to try fixing the cause of the problem. In the event of malware, you should first make sure you’ve removed that malware from your computer. If you suspect a bad update caused the problem, you might be able to roll that update back.
If your corrupted file is a document that you’ve created, unfortunately, your options are limited. Some apps (like those included with Microsoft Office) autosave multiple versions of your document, letting you open a previous version if the current version becomes corrupt.

If you don’t have the luxury of opening a previous version, you may be able to repair the file or, at the least, recover the text from it. Again, Microsoft Office apps offer built-in tools for recovering lost or corrupted documents, as do some other programs. Even if you can only recover the text from a document, you can save a lot of time when recreating the file.
There are also a number of apps out there that claim they can recover different types of corrupt files. Some are free and some are paid, but the truth is, most don’t work very well. And a few that we tested were bloated with companion apps or, worse, malware. Given that, we recommend just not using them.

What Is a “Blockchain”?

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you might have heard about something called a blockchain. It’s a concept that makes data ultra-secure for specific uses. You’ve probably heard it in connection with Bitcoin, but it has applications far beyond everyone’s favorite cryptocurrencies. Here’s a quick explanation of how it works.

It All Begins with Encryption

To understand blockchains, you need to understand cryptography. The idea of cryptography is far older than computers: it merely means rearranging information in such a way that you need a specific key in order to understand it. The simple decoder ring toy you found in your box of Kix cereal is a form of the most basic cryptography—create a key (also known as a cipher) that replaces a letter with a number, run your message through the key, and then give the key to someone else. Anyone who finds the message without the key can’t read it, unless it’s “cracked.” The military used more complex cryptography long before computers (the Enigma Machine encoded and decoded messages during World War II, for example).
Modern encryption, though, is entirely digital. Today’s computers use methods of encryption that are so complex and so secure that it would be impossible to break them by simple math done by humans. Computer encryption technology isn’t perfect, though; it can still be “cracked” if smart enough people attack the algorithm, and data is still vulnerable if someone aside from the owner finds the key. But even consumer-level encryption, like the AES 128-bit encryption that’s now standard on the iPhone and Android, is enough to keep locked data away from the FBI.

The Blockchain Is a Collaborative, Secure Data Ledger

Encryption is normally used to lock files so they can only be accessed by specific people. But what if you have information that needs to be seen by everyone—like, say, the accounting information for a government agency that has to be public by law—and still needs to be secure? There, you have a problem: the more people that can see and edit information, the less secure it is.
Blockchains were developed to meet the security needs of these specific situations. In a blockchain, every time the information is accessed and updated, the change is recorded and verified, then sealed off by encryption, unable to be edited again. The set of changes are then saved and added to the total record. The next time someone makes changes, it starts all over again, preserving the information in a new “block” that’s encrypted and attached to the previous block (hence “block chain”). This repeating process connects the very first version of the information set with the latest one, so everyone can see all the changes ever made, but can only contribute and edit the latest version.

This idea is sort of resistant to metaphors, but imagine you’re in a group of ten people assembling a LEGO set. You can only add one piece at a time, and can’t ever remove any pieces at all. Each member of the group must agree on specifically where the next piece goes. In this way, you can see all the pieces at any time—right back to the very first piece in the project—but you can only modify the latest piece.
For something a bit more relevant, imagine a collaborative document, like a spreadsheet on Google Docs or Office 365. Everyone who has access to the document can edit it, and every time they do, the change is saved and recorded as a new spreadsheet, then locked in the document history. So you can go back, step by step, through the changes made, but you can only add information to the latest version, not modify the past versions of the spreadsheet that have already been locked.
As you’ve probably heard, this idea of a secure, constantly-updated “ledger” is mostly being applied to financial data, where it makes the most sense. Distributed digital currencies like Bitcoin are the most common use of blockchains—in fact, the very first one was made for Bitcoin and the idea spread out from there.

The Technical Stuff: Step By Step, Block By Block

How does all of this actually play out on a computer? It’s a combination of cryptography and peer-to-peer networking.
Or, to go back to our Google Docs example above: imagine that the collaborative document you’re working on isn’t stored on a server. Instead, it’s on each individual’s computer, which are constantly checking and updating each other to make sure that no one has modified the previous records. This makes it “decentralized”.
That’s the core idea behind the blockchain: it’s cryptographic data that’s continuously accessed and secured at the same time, without any centralized server or storage, with a record of changes that incorporates itself into each new version of the data.


So we have three elements to consider in this relationship. One, the network of peer-to-peer users that all store copies of the blockchain record. Two, the data that these users add to the latest “block” of information, allowing it to be updated and added to the total record. Three, the cryptological sequences that the users generate to agree on the latest block, locking it into place in the sequence of data that forms the record.
It’s that last bit that’s the secret sauce in the blockchain sandwich. Using digital cryptography, each user contributes their computer’s power in order to help solve some of those super-complex math problems that keeps the record secure. These extremely complex solutions—known as a “hash”—resolve core parts of the data in the record, like which account added or subtracted money in an accounting ledger, and where that money went to or came from. The more dense the data, the more complex the cryptography, and the more processing power is needed to resolve it. (This is where the idea of “mining” in Bitcoin comes into play, by the way.)
So, to sum up, we can think of a blockchain is a piece of data that is:

1. Constantly updated. Blockchain users can access the data at any time, and add information to the newest block.
2. Distributed. Copies of the blockchain data are stored and secured by each user, and all must agree on new additions.
3. Verified. Both changes to new blocks and copies of old blocks have to be agreed upon by all users through cryptographic verification.
4. Secure. Tampering with the old data and altering the method of securing new data is prevented by both the cryptographic method and the non-centralized storage of the data itself.

And believe it or not, it gets even more complicated than this…but that’s the basic idea.

The Blockchain in Action: Show Me the (Digital) Money!

So let’s consider an example of how this applies to a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Say you have one Bitcoin and you want to spend it on a new car. (Or a bike, or a house, or a small-to-medium sized island nation—however much one Bitcoin is worth this week.) You connect to the decentralized Bitcoin blockchain with your software, and you send your request in to transfer your Bitcoin to the seller of the car. Your transaction is then transmitted to the system.
Every person on the system can see it, but your identity and the seller’s identity are only temporary signatures, tiny elements of the huge math problems that form the heart of digital cryptography. These values are plugged into the blockchain equation, and the problem itself is “solved” by the members on the peer-to-peer network generating cryptography hashes.
Once the transaction is verified, one Bitcoin is moved from you to the seller and recorded onto the latest block in the chain. The block is finished, sealed and protected with cryptography. The next series of transactions begins, and the blockchain grows longer, containing a complete record of all transactions each time it’s updated.

Now, when you think of a blockchain as “secure,” it’s important to understand the context. Individual transactions are secure, and the total record is secure, so long as the methods used to secure the cryptography remain “uncracked.” (And remember, this stuff is really hard to break—even the FBI can’t do it with mere computing resources alone.) But the weakest link in the blockchain is, well, you—the user.
If you allow someone else to use your personal key to access the chain, or if they find it by simply hacking into your computer, they can make additions to the blockchain with your information, and there’s no way to stop them. That’s how Bitcoin gets “stolen” in highly publicized attacks on major markets: it’s the companies that were operating the markets, not the Bitcoin blockchain itself, that were compromised. And because the stolen Bitcoins are transferred to anonymous users, through a process that’s verified by the blockchain and recorded forever, there’s no way to find the attacker or retrieve the Bitcoin.

What Else Can Blockchains Do?

Blockchain technology started with Bitcoin, but it’s such an important idea that it didn’t stay there for long. A system that’s constantly updated, accessible to anyone, verified by a non-centralized network, and incredibly secure, has a lot of different applications. Financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase and the Australian Stock Exchange are developing blockchain systems to secure and distribute financial data (for conventional money, not cryptocurrency like Bitcoin). The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation is hoping to use blockchain systems to provide free, distributed banking services to billions of people who can’t afford a regular bank account.
Open source tools like Hyperledger are trying to make blockchain techniques available to a wider range of people, in some cases doing so without needing the monstrous amounts of processing power it takes to secure other designs. Collaborative working systems can be verified and recorded with blockchain techniques. Pretty much anything that needs to be constantly recorded, accessed, and updated can be used in the same way.

How to find iPhone Backup Location on Windows and Mac

iTunes backups are stored locally on your computer. They are placed in username/Library/Application Support/Mobilesync/Backup (Check the different location for backup in different OS in the table). Simply navigate to the relevant folder in your Finder app.

Each folder under Backup contains a single backup. The folders can be copied and moved anywhere on the computer, unfortunately without the proper software, it is impossible to glean any meaningful information from these files.

1. iTunes Backup Locations for Different Operating Systems

1. iTunes backup location on Mac OS:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

(The "~" represents the Home folder. If you don't see Library in your home folder, hold Option and click the Go menu.

2. iTunes backup location on Windows 8/7/Vista:

Users(username)/AppData/Roaming/Apple Computer/MobileSyncBackup
 

(To accesse to AppData folder quickly, just click Start, type appdata in the search bar and press Return.)

3. iTunes backup location on Windows 10:

C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup



2. iCloud Backup Location on Windows and Mac

On your iPhone, select ettings > iCloud, then tap Storage & Backup.

In Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Manage.

In your Windows computer: Windows 8.1: Go to the Start screen and click the down arrow in the lower-left corner. Click the iCloud app, then click Manage.

Windows 8: Go to the Start screen and click the iCloud tile, then click Manage.

Windows 7: Choose Start menu > All Programs > iCloud > iCloud, then click Manage.

So, with the above introduction, we believe it will be easy and clear to find iPhone backup location on Windows and Mac. But you can'd read your iTunes and iCloud backup files. In order to solve this problem, dr.fone - Recover (iOS) can perfectly help you to view your iTunes and iCloud backup files for free.

Part 2. How to View iTunes Backup for FREE and Restore it to iPhone Without Wiping iPhone Data

When you find your iTunes backup files on your computer, you will find you can't open it. This is because the iTunes backup is a SQLITE file. If you want to view your iTunes backup for free or selectively restore iTunes backup to your device, then you can try dr.fone - Recover (iOS). This program allows you to view and selectively restore iTunes backup to your iPhone and iPad. What's more, the restore process won't overwrite your original iPhone data.

2.1 How to view iTunes backup (iPhone backup) for free

Step 1. Run dr.fone, connect your iPhone to computer,then select "Recover from iTunes backup File". dr.fone will detect your iTunes backup files and list them on the below window.

Step 2. Just choose one iTunes backup file you want to restore, and click "Start Scan" to extract your iTunes backup.

Step 3. When the scanning process is completed, dr.fone will list all your data on the interface. Now view your iTunes backup easily.