Apparently it's impossible for social media networks to be non-evil or even non-sneaky. Area536 doesn't feature Facebook buttons because those buttons track your movements across the internet without your consent, invading your privacy without your knowledge. Until today Twitter didn't pull any such shenanigans, so I tolerated their buttons on my site for convenience. Today, however, that changes.

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OpenSSL is a completely free tool which allows you to employ industrial strength cryptography, on par with or even surpassing what major banks use, from the comfort of your own home. You can use it to create your own super-confidential Virtual Private Network (VPN) between your own PC and those of your friends across the public internet to exchange files confidentially. OpenSSL can also help your WLAN become the toughest one to crack in the entire neighborhood. However, it all starts with a certificate authority. This article shows you how to build a simple one.

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This article is part 1 of a series which describes how I went about setting up Opens internal link in current windowArch Linux with XBMC, using the Android phones in my household as personal remotes to complete the experience. This part of the series deals with hardware considerations. A media center may look like a regular PC but it won't be functioning as one. You may repurpose an old desktop or server for it, but you should be aware of some potential pitfalls to prevent disappointment later on.

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