Anyone who’s had to keep the vast array of firewall, antivirus, and other security-related software up to date on a PC knows what a royal pain it can be. New versions, definition files, and an ever expanding array of malicious software (and even normal software) conspire to bring the whole house of cards down.

The Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico aims to simplify all these functions by taking them out of the system’s hands and onto a small USB device not much bigger than many flash drives. The device actually contains its own onboard processor, memory, and hardened linux system – in essence, it’s a small computer designed to sit between your computer and the wild frontier of public networks.

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The hawking home automation system is another option in the increasingly popular world of Internet-enabled home remote systems. One great thing about this system is that there is no required software to install. I did the entire setup process on a Linux computer with Firefox 3 and it worked great. This means that the Hawking HomeRemote Pro system will work with any computer, as long as it has a modern web browser and an Internet connection. There may possibly be issues with strongly firewalled home networks, or homes that do not have a router, but a conventional network setup will not cause any problems.

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