A RAMDisk acts as a virtual drive on your system. It allows you to create directories, copy files to and from it, etc…. However , the data is not written onto a hard disk, but remains purely stored into a particular part of the physical RAM memory. Hard disks have mechanical parts that are needed to seek to a particular position on the magnetic storage media and to read/write data. This makes them relative lazy. A RAMDisk does not need to seek , and by this , it can read and write the same data to upon 30-60 times faster than a hard disk ! However, the data stored in RAM is “volatile” : it disappears when you cut off the power to the RAM memory, in other words, if you turn off your system. This applies to the content of the RAMDisk too !

A ramdisk can perfectly be used to store :

– web content of web servers.
– temporary index files and tables of database servers ( MS-SQL-Server , MySQL , …).
– temporary files ( TEMP and TMP environment variable ) and “Temporary Internet Files”.
– the scratch disk for Adobe (R) Photoshop (R).
– games and installed programs (1). The startup times of programs may decrease drastically !
– audio and video capture / editing.
– creation and playback of slide shows.
– the printer spool folder.
– data that has to be written to CD , to prevent underrun during the burn process.
– as storage of the “ReadyBoost” cache on Vista.
– all kinds of data that may be lost ( or MUST be lost for security reasons ) at shutdown.

(1) The software may be installed directly to the ramdisk , or an existing installation may be remapped using a “junction” ( with means of , for example , linkd.exe ) to a copy on the ramdisk. In both cases , the content of the ramdisk must reload automatically at boot time from an image file , or by means of a backup program.

These are only a few examples. There will certainly be many more tasks for which a ramdisk can be used, depending on people’s “inventivity” .

The “GiliSoft RAMDisk” is conceived to support a RAMDisk size of maximally 64 GB. The maximum obtainable RAMDisk size depends on the available physical amount of RAM that the OS allows to allocate within its own addressable RAM space (*). This RAMDisk has the capability to automatically reload an image file at boot time ( and before other services / programs are started ) and to save the ramdisk content at shutdown and/or at regular intervals. Home users, small and large business users, may experience this RAMDisk as a state-of-the-art solution. Be aware that  the GiliSoft RAMDisk can install and run on both 64-bit and 32-bit version of the OS.

(*) The 32 bit versions of XP , Vista and Windows 7 do not allow the RAMDisk to allocate memory above a particular 3.x GB boundery. A RAMDisk should not use this so called “unmanaged memory” for reasons that are described ( copy and paste links ) here http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2008/07/21/3092070.aspx and here http://www.osronline.com/showthread.cfm?link=178074 .

Details :

For more details about the ramdisk , to download and purchase , go : GiliSoft RAMDisk  Version (32 and 64)

In tһіѕ day and age, wіtһ identity theft аחԁ corporate spying running rampant, уου саח′t bе tοο careful аbουt protecting tһе sensitive information tһаt еνеrу business deals wіtһ οח a daily basis. It іѕ wise tο protect yourself. It іѕ now tһе law tһаt еνеrу business mυѕt properly ԁеѕtrοу аחу potentially sensitive information аbουt іtѕ clients, employees, οr customers before discarding іt. Jυѕt аѕ tһеrе аrе many ways іח wһісһ уου store, handle аחԁ protect confidential information, tһеrе аrе аƖѕο many ways tο safely ԁеѕtrοу tһаt information wһеח tһе time comes tο ԁο ѕο.

Lock It Up: Tһеrе іѕ חο telling wһеrе аחԁ wһеח уουr sensitive information wіƖƖ bе compromised. Yου mау, іח fact, bе giving prying eyes аח opportunity еνеrу time уου step away frοm уουr desk fοr a few minutes. Thus, іt іѕ highly recommended tһаt уου find secure, physical protection fοr such things аѕ confidential documents, CDs, floppy discs, zip drives аחԁ tapes, password cheat sheets, аחԁ file cabinet keys. Fοr portable computers wһісһ contain sensitive info, уου ѕһουƖԁ рυrсһаѕе аחԁ υѕе laptop locks. Another necessity іѕ tο mаkе sure tһаt уου keep аƖƖ office doors аחԁ filing cabinets locked wһеח tһеу аrе חοt іח υѕе, аחԁ аt tһе еחԁ οf each day.
Shred It: Obviously tһе mοѕt secure οf аƖƖ tһе solutions, tһе best way tο eliminate unnecessary risk іѕ tο shred daily, οח site, аחԁ bу hand, аחу items tһаt уου חο longer need, tһаt mіɡһt bе ԁаחɡеrουѕ οr compromising іח tһе wrοחɡ hands. AƖѕο уου ѕһουƖԁ mаkе sure tһаt уου сƖеаח tһе areas around аƖƖ printers аחԁ fax machines аt tһе еחԁ οf еνеrу day (οr even еνеrу few hours) аחԁ shred аחу confidential info tһаt mау һаνе bееח left behind bу careless employees οr co-workers. Bесаυѕе οf tһе added security, having уουr οwח οח site shredders іѕ much preferable tο giving уουr sensitive documents over tο a shredding service.
Password Protect It: One easy аחԁ wise thing tο ԁο іѕ tο set up уουr computer tο implement a password protected screen saver аftеr fifteen minutes οr less οf non υѕе. AƖѕο, іt ѕһουƖԁ ɡο without saying tһаt уου ѕһουƖԁ never share уουr passwords wіtһ anyone, οr even store tһеm anywhere οח tһе computer. If уου саח′t avoid tһаt, disguise tһеm іח a file tһаt doesn’t υѕе tһе word “passwords” іח tһе file οr file name.
CƖеаח It: Aѕ іח tһаt laptop tһаt уου аrе passing οח tο a חеw employee, selling, οr even throwing away. Before doing аחу οf tһе above, mаkе sure tһаt уου һаνе properly wiped аחԁ reclaimed аƖƖ οf уουr information. If уου аrе throwing a computer away, take pains tο securely ԁеѕtrοу іt, аחԁ іtѕ hard disk οr flash drive. Remember tһаt simply deleting files mау חοt bе sufficient. If уου really want tο wipe уουr hard drive уου wіƖƖ need tο υѕе a special utility tο overwrite tһе sectors οח tһе hard drive ѕο tһаt tһе data саח bе undeleted.

Of course, tһеѕе security measure need tο bе adopted company-wide tο bе effective. It mіɡһt bе a ɡοοԁ іԁеа tο һаνе a meeting wіtһ аƖƖ οf уουr employees іח wһісһ уου ɡο over tһеѕе basic security measures. Later, уου сουƖԁ even conduct аח audit ѕο уου саח ensure tһаt уουr office іѕ аѕ secure аѕ іѕ possible.

These days, hiding or locking a folder or file is probably something you will need if you use a computer that others use too.

Let me introduce the 5 Ways to Lock Or Hide A Folder, A File Or A Drive On The Computer.

Method 1 (the easy one)

1. Click “Start”, “Run,” and then type cmd. When the command prompt opens type “CD C:\Test” (replace “Test” with the name of the folder you want to hide.)

2. Now type “attrib file +s +h” and replace “file” with the name of the actual file name you would like to hide.

3. Now, go back to C:\Test and look for your file or folder, it’s not there! You cannot find it through simply browsing around, through the command prompt, or even if you click “Show Hidden Files and Folders”.

4. To find the folder and it’s contents again simply go back to the command prompt, type “CD C:\Test” (of course, again replacing “Test” with the name of the folder,) and then type “attrib filename -s -h”. You should now be able to find your file again!

Method 2 (this is where it starts to get slightly more difficult)

This method, unlike the previous one, hides an entire drive instead of individual files or folders:

(Before you ever use the registry I HIGHLY RECOMMEND backing up your registry with a tool similar to Registry Tool or CCleaner. You may as well use a manual method similar to this.)

1. Go to “Start,” “Run,” and type regedit.

2. When the registry editor loads, navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Policies\Explorer

3. Right click on “Explorer” and select “New” and “DWORD Value.”

4. Name the value NoDrives and select “Decimal” as the base.

5. In the value type the number that corresponds with the drive below:

(E.g. If you would like to hide drive E, type 16. You may also hide multiple drives by adding the two numbers. E.g. If you would like to hide drives E and G, 16+64=80.)

6. Now, after you restart your computer, you should not be able to see the drive.

Method 3

1. Create a folder in a drive for easy access, e.g. C:. (Name it something related to the Control Panel, e.g. Users.)

2. Create a new file in Notepad and copy and paste the following into it:

ren Users Users.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}

3. Replace “Users” with the name of the folder you created and save the file as loc.bat.

(You should now be able to see your folder and the loc.bat file, with the loc.bat in the same directory as the folder Not in it.)

4. Now, right-click and create another text file. Copy and Paste the following into it:

ren Users.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} Users
(Make sure to replace the word “Users” with the name of your folder.)

5. Save it as key.bat.

6. Now you should see the loc.bat and the key.bat files in the same directory as the folder you created.

7. Now, all you need to do is double-click on the loc.bat file and the folder should have an icon that looks like the control panel. If you click on the folder it should redirect you to the Control Panel and thus you have locked the folder.

8. Of course, to unlock it, simply double-click on the key.bat file and the folder should turn back into the folder you first created.

Method 4

Use GiliSoft File Lock Pro or GiliSoft File Lock to hide or lock any your files ,folders,drives on your computer.

Method 5

Use GiliSoft Private Disk to create a virtual encryption disk to save your important files.

With the rise in popularity of external hard drives comes the question of their security. A user will need some type of protection to use these external hard drives with any sensitive files. That is why a person needs to password protect any external hard drive she uses.

1.
Step 1

Decide if you want to pay for a software package to provide this security on the external hard drive. There are free software downloads and pay downloads. The pay versions (GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption)may offer more security but if money is tight, you may want to choose the free version.
2.
Step 2

Connect the external hard drive to your computer.
3.
Step 3

Download the password protection software to the external hard drive. Follow the onscreen instructions to install the software. See the resources section for more information.
4.
Step 4

Choose a password to protect the external hard drive. You want to choose a password that is easy to remember but not so common that others will guess the password and gain access to the external hard drive.
5.
Step 5

Follow the user instructions of the downloaded software to password protect the external hard drive.
6.
Step 6

Test the external hard drive security by connecting the drive to another computer and try to access the drive. If successful, it will ask you for the password established in Step 4.

GiliSoft RamDisk – simple, straightforward and effective.(by Elena Santos)

GiliSoft RamDisk is a simple, straightforward partition creation utility from Gilisoft, a software developer that seems to be determined to bring the world handy, low-key tools to maximize PC power.

GiliSoft RamDisk allows you create another drive on your computer, using your system’s RAM memory. You can use this drive exactly as you would a normal one, saving to it, browsing and network sharing as normal. One of the drive’s advantages, however, is that as it is not based on the system hard drive, it is faster and more versatile. If the thought of drives and partitioning scares you, however, don’t let it. The GiliSoft RamDisk process is as easy as pie, and although the instructions are only available online, they are fairly complete.

GiliSoft RamDisk allows you to perform two Basic functions – creating a RAM disc and mounting image files. Both processes are fast and simple, while the program’s configuration options will allow you to auto-save and back-up to prevent any data loss. When you create a RAM disc, GiliSoft RamDisk will ask you to choose a file system (NTFS, FAT16 or FAT32), drive letter and size. The size available will depend on your computer’s RAM, so more powerful systems will be at a distinct advantage.

If you are looking for ways to make your computer more versatile, you could do much worse than GiliSoft RamDisk. The program’s website has a list of all the applications you might want to use such a drive for, and it’s so easy to use it is within everyone’s reach. The only negative is that for those unfamiliar with file systems, a little extra research might be in order, as the differences are not explained in the program.