Some useful tips about passwords

With everyone worried about security these days, Friendly Computers found some helpful tips for the next time you need to create a password:

Imagine a world where keys are not necessary. You could walk out the front door and not having to lock it, get into your open car and drive to the bank. At the bank you could open your safety deposit box and take what you needed.

Doing all this without the hindrance of keeping track of keys and operating locks would seem to be the height of efficiency. Society as a whole has decided that the risk is far too high to let any passerby enter your home, take your car or empty your safety deposit box.

We all must make our judgments about how to address the risks we encounter in life. In this article I will discuss passwords (electronic keys) and how to ensure they create the desired effect of securing systems and data.

My first suggestion is to use a strong password. You can do this by choosing passwords that are not easily guessable (family birthdates, pet names, favorite cars, dictionary words, etc.) and are reasonably long. Simple length (in characters) is easier to remember and creates more complexity than using a lot of numbers, upper and lower case letters and special characters (punctuation and other symbols).

A security expert that worked for the National Security Agency for many years once told me that 14 characters was a good minimum. This may sound very long but “wasagoodminimum” is 15 characters and much easier to remember than “G4_0df!.” I encourage everyone as much as possible to grow the length of the passwords they are using for sensitive information.

A second thought is to keep your password private by not sharing them with anyone else, changing as frequently as possible and necessary (based on employee turnover, the sensitivity of your data). If you suspect that anyone has discovered your password, immediately change it (in windows you can hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and hit the “change password” button).

Other ways that people often compromise their passwords are by using the same one on insecure sites and by that action disclosing the password to untrustworthy personnel, or by writing down passwords and leaving them in easily findable locations.

When you walk away from your computer for an extended period of time, it is wise to “Lock” it (Windows key + L) or logoff because otherwise anyone walking by can operate your computer with your credentials. If your password must be written down make sure it is stored in a secure location (safe or safety deposit box).

Finally, a good password is one component of information security and should not be the only step that is taken. Please invest in good antivirus software, antispyware software, backup solutions, web content filtering and patch management practices.

There are ways that malware (viruses, worms, spyware, etc.) can be written to capture even the best password while it is being entered so please be careful and budget for all the pieces necessary to maintain a safe computer. For home PC users there are free versions of a variety of security solutions that can be used, but businesses should make the investments to purchase the best options to protect themselves.

 

Source: http://www.humboldtbeacon.com/ci_12467568

Got junkware? Here's a strategy for removing it

Many computers come with software demos pre-installed. Below are some tips that Friendly Computers found that should help you remove unwanted trials and speed up your system:

For years, the makers of Windows PCs have cluttered their products with junkware — unruly background programs, trial versions of software and applications that are little more than marketing come-ons.

Anyone who’s ever brought home a new, brand-name computer from the store knows what I’m talking about.

Here’s why they do it: Money. PC manufacturers aren’t just throwing those programs onto the hard drive out of the goodness of their hearts. They get paid to do so, and it’s part of the reason why Windows-based systems are relatively inexpensive.

But while a PC may be cheaper, it’s often at a cost of performance and usability.

In fact, it’s my contention that one of the reasons why Vista gets such a bad rap is the junkware that comes with many machines. A brand new computer with a virgin installation of Vista actually runs quite well.

Microsoft knows this, and has been urging PC makers to go easy on the software add-ons when Windows 7 is released later this year. Frankly, I’m not holding my breath. In a down economy, companies like HP, Sony, Dell and others aren’t likely to kick the junkware habit.

Fortunately, you are not defenseless. Junkware is software, and it’s almost always removable. It can seem overwhelming on some systems, but you can strip it off to the point that you have a pretty clean Windows setup if you take the right steps.

I’ve provided some basic tips for removing junkware in the past, but now I’d like to offer a strategy to make it easier. These instructions presume you’re using Vista, since that’s what’s on most PCs these days, but they should also work with Windows 7 when it comes out.

• Live with it for a while. Because there’s often so much junkware on a retail computer, it’s hard to tell what you should remove and what might actually be worthwhile. Take some time to get to know what’s on the machine by living with the junkware. If you can avoid it, don’t immediately install the programs you normally use, but instead work with what’s on the PC. After about a week, you should have a feel for what can stay and what can go.

• Take an inventory. When you are ready to begin removing software, make a list of every program that’s on the computer. You can do this by clicking the Start button, then All Programs. You can also see a list of software by going to the Control Panel, then launching the Programs and Features module, which can also be used to remove programs. Or, download the free Belarc Advisor (www.belarc.com), which provides a very detailed view of both the hardware and software on your computer.

Once you have your list, go through it and check the ones you know for sure you want to remove.

• Do some research. If you aren’t sure what a program is, do a Google search on its name. You can also explore startup items at www.sysinfo.org, but this is a fairly geeky site. If, after your due diligence, you still are unsure, leave the program in place.

• Temporarily turn off startup programs. Click the Start button, then enter msconfig in the search field and hit Enter. This brings up the Configuration Utility. Click the Startup tab, then uncheck programs that run at startup that you think you may want to uninstall. Restart your computer and see how it behaves. If you are happy with the results, you can uninstall the program in question. If you don’t like what you see, rerun the Configuration Utility, re-check the box next to the title in question and reboot the PC.

• Begin cleaning. Once you have a good grasp on what needs to go, begin uninstalling.

The Programs and Features module in the Control Panel is the place to do this, or you can check in the folders in All Programs to see if individual programs have their own uninstallers. Some programs may prompt you to restart the computer after you have removed them, but you generally can wait until you’ve cleaned them all out to do a reboot.

And once you do, I think you’ll see a remarkable improvement in the way your system runs. It will probably leave you shaking your head, wondering why the maker of your PC wouldn’t leave well enough alone.

 

Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/6440776.html

How-to back up e-mail to an online account

 

Things happen! Always be sure to back up your important documents, including emails. Friendly Computers thinks keeping them saved online is a great way to know that they will be safe if you run in to computer issues down the road:

 

First, you will need a Hotmail account, if you don't yet have one; it's free to sign up. After that, download and use Windows Mail Live to connect with the Hotmail account. This process is pretty straightforward.

Windows Mail Live synchronizes with your Hotmail account, which means all the e-mails you have downloaded to your computer will remain on Hotmail server and available for you to view using a Web browser.

Apart from Hotmail.com and Live.com e-mail accounts, Windows Mail Live can also handle other types of accounts, including POP3. When you have multiple e-mail accounts with Windows Mail Live, each account will have a separate set of "Inbox," "Sent Items," "Drafts," and so on, as well as other user-created folders.

If you want to upload an existing Outlook Express e-mail archive to your Hotmail account, first run Windows Mail Live and import your Outlook Express messages. (To do this, press Alt-F then choose "Import" on the menu). Once the import process is done, create a new folder within your Hotmail account and name it, say, "POP3 backup." You can create different folders for different groups of e-mails. After that, you can drag and drop or copy messages from the POP3 import into these new folders.

Now all you need to do is sync the Hotmail account and voila! You will see those added folders and e-mails you've just imported on the Hotmail server. This means you can access them wherever you are via a browser and they are saved in Hotmail server.

The sync process can take a long time if you have a big POP3 archive (and a slow connection), and, of course, you can't sync any archive larger than the space allowed by Hotmail, which is 5GB.

If you use Outlook, you can first use Outlook Express to import Outlook's archive before doing the process. Basically, you can use Outlook Express as the intermediary for the import process.

For ThunderBird users, you can use the eml2mbox function of this free conversion tool called IMAPSize to convert Thunderbird's e-mail archive into Outlook Express' format.

Of course, once you have those e-mails in a Hotmail account, you can always import them into Gmail by using the new migration tool. It's good to keep data at multiple places anyway.

So make this your weekend project and back up those precious messages.

 

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10246758-2.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody

Not an easy time to pick a computer

Friendly Computers knows that when buying a new computer you want the best and you don’t want it to be outdated soon after purchasing it. Windows 7 is going to be released soon and this information may help you make an informed decision about when to get your new computer. Read on below…

If you're shopping for a computer now, it may feel like purgatory.
Early reviews of Windows 7 are glowing, but Microsoft's new operating system won't be available for at least three months.
Meanwhile, most computers on store shelves have Windows Vista, which had a bad reputation even before Windows 7 started making it look like day-old bread.

Buying a Mac is no longer an easy solution. Apple's also entering the homestretch on a new operating system that's set to come out later this year, presumably with new hardware as well.

This situation is especially tough during the "dads and grads" season when millions of people usually buy computers for Father's Day or graduation gifts.

Microsoft is putting them in a quandary by releasing nearly complete test versions of Windows 7 that should give pause to anyone considering a new PC.

Vista has improved since its debut in early 2007 and it's working for 180 million people. But Windows 7 performs and looks better. It's as if Vista went on summer vacation, lost its awkwardness and pimples, and came back elegant and poised.

So what are computer buyers supposed to do? Here are a few options and tips that may help.

1. Wait for upgrade coupons.
To keep computers moving off the shelves, Microsoft and PC makers are likely to offer coupons for free and discounted upgrades to Windows 7. They haven't said when this will happen, but it might be around August, in time for back-to-school sales.

Upgrade coupons were announced three months before Vista went on sale. Windows 7 is supposed to be on sale during the holiday season, so that suggests coupons in early fall.

Upgrade coupons won't necessarily be free, though. Some PC makers gave coupons with a 50 percent discount on Vista, and there were charges for shipping and handling discs.

2. Go ahead and run Windows 7.
If you're comfortable with the process, you can start running Windows 7 today. Many enthusiasts are doing this on their home machines. A near-final "release candidate" version of the software is available free from Microsoft, but you'll have to buy a full version after it expires in June 2010.

Prices aren't out yet, but it will probably cost around $200 for a new consumer version or less for an upgrade from Vista.

You can even install Windows 7 on a partition on a big hard drive, so you can decide at startup whether to run it or Vista.

But this is complicated and potentially risky. Be sure you've saved your files and proceed with caution. Windows 7 is still test software and Microsoft advises people not to run it on a primary or essential PC.

3. Don't sweat it. Buy a computer when you need one.
You'll probably be fine with Vista if you buy a current, reasonably powerful system. You can upgrade to Windows 7 later.

Vista, with its "service pack 1" upgrade installed, is now a "very solid product," said Christopher Flores, Windows marketing director.
"I'll be the first to admit that we had Vista hiccups out of the gate - drivers weren't ready, certain things weren't working," he said. "With Vista SP1, Vista performs really, really well - extraordinarily well."

So why bother with Windows 7?

Flores said the new software is "faster, more responsive, much easier to use, more refined, more reliable."

If you buy a Vista computer now, thinking you may upgrade to Windows 7, you won't need a top-dollar system. Microsoft's line is that systems that can handle Vista can handle Windows 7.

The release candidate requires at least a 1 gigahertz processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM for the 32-bit version or 2 gigabytes for the 64-bit. It also needs a graphics processor that supports DirectX 9.
To be safe, I'd get a system with a discrete graphics processor, which is best for premium versions of Vista.

You can also check a PC's preparedness by downloading and running the "Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor" tool from Microsoft.com.

4. Wait for Windows 7.
This is basically the advice big companies are getting.

Last week, Microsoft Windows Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said companies gearing up for Vista should "switch over" and start testing the Windows 7 release candidate.

Consulting firm Gartner said the same thing in a May 13 report, advising companies that haven't started upgrading to Vista to skip it altogether. Even if it means delaying desktop upgrades by six months, it's worth the wait, the firm said.

Companies in the midst of upgrading to Vista should continue but plan to switch to Windows 7 in late 2010 or early 2011, it said. "The Vista ship has pretty much sailed," said Stephen Kleynhans, co-author of the report. "If you're not on it already you might as well wait for the next one, which is Windows 7, because it's just right around the corner."

Source:  http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/052109_computer_shopping.html

Break Google's Monopoly on Your Data: Switch to Yahoo Search

Friendly Computers thinks you might not have known how much personal information can be gathered if you use Google. Read more below…

I've switched my primary web search engine from Google to Yahoo—not because Yahoo's better, but because Google already has enough of my personal information. Let me adjust my tinfoil hat and explain.

All Your Internet Eggs in One Company's Basket

If you spend as much time online as I do, you can pump a significant amount of personal information into the cloud every day. Think about what percentage of that cloud Google owns. For me, it's three years of work and personal email in Gmail, years of events in Google Calendar, phone calls and voicemail in Google Voice, documents and spreadsheets in Google Docs, web page viewing habits in Google Reader. To top it all off, Google also has a record of everything I search the web for every day in their logs.

Of all that data input, web search queries can be the most revealing.

You compose email messages, calendar events, and voicemail with natural filters because often you're sharing them with other people—like the recipients of your messages. On the other hand, web search queries reveal your innermost thoughts and most private troubles, filter-free, because you're just talking to a machine. You won't email your pals about your growing toe cheese problem or asking about the best ways to get a quickie divorce, but you might Google those things. Given your email, calendar, and RSS feeds AND your web search queries, Google could build a very complete profile of who you are as a person (and therefore what companies might be interested in advertising to you, among other things).

If the thought makes you uncomfortable, it might be time for you to take a few personal information eggs out of Google's basket. Truth be told, since I moved to Yahoo Search, I've barely missed GOOG. At this point, the two leading search engines aren't that far apart when it comes to quality of results and features.

Yahoo's Search Results Aren't That Different from Google's (Give or Take a Little)

After a solid week of searching with Yahoo instead of Google, I've found that Y! offers many of the same features Google does and a few good ones Google doesn't. Also, and nine times out of 10 Yahoo's results are just as good as Google's. Let's take a look.

Where Yahoo Wins
While it appears that Yahoo's mostly just been playing catchup with the big G, it does offer a couple of features that Google doesn't have or improves upon Google's version.

Open Shortcuts: As a search keyword junkie, the feature I love best in Yahoo search is its Open Shortcuts system, a way to assign keywords to queries you do often. For example, I often search Lifehacker's archives, and using Open Shortcuts I can do so using the keyword !lh. I can and have done the same thing using Firefox keyword bookmarks, but the beauty of Yahoo's solution is that they're available in any browser, on any computer you use, as long as you're signed into your Yahoo account.

Playable Music in Results: While it's not earth-shattering, going from a web search for an artist directly to a Play button in your web browser is super-handy. Yahoo offers playable music in its search results thanks to a partnership with Rhapsody. There's a limit on how many free songs you can stream per month, and it won't have every song you search for, but it's very handy when you just want to sample a band's big hits in one place.

Search Assist: Google's got Google Suggest and Yahoo's got "Search Assist"—that helpful drop-down of words you're likely to be looking for based on what you've typed already. Google Suggest has one thing that Search Assist doesn't—the number of results each suggestion will yield—but Search Assist offers an "Explore related concepts" area that shows other searches related to the one you're doing. See what Search Assist came up with for a search on "American Idol Ad" below.

Where Yahoo Fails: With Search Results Still Not Quite as Good
While Open Shortcuts and playable music clips and Search Assist are nice, fact is, you want your search engine to find what you need right away, and preferably put it at the very top of the page. While most of the time, Yahoo's results mirror Google's, in my usage so far there have been a few misses.

For example, a search on Yahoo for Things OS X doesn't turn up the Mac software called Things I was looking for first, but on Google it does.

Google knew I was looking for one of my favorite Mexican restaurants when I searched for Nati's San Diego and returned the actual restaurant's web site first, but Yahoo asked if I meant "Nate's" and returned Nati's Yelp page first.

A Google search for Dan Choi turned up his interview on the Rachel Maddow show (in which he broke his news) on YouTube first; Yahoo recognized that I was asking about the Dan Choi who's been all over the news but didn't return his Maddow interview clip.

That said, Yahoo told me who the winner of the Biggest Loser was last week (with a photo) more clearly than Google did.

Overall, searching on Yahoo turned up the stuff I needed and I only turned to Google to see the difference when something felt awry for the purposes of this article.

But Back to Being Paranoid: Yahoo Scrubs Their Logs Sooner

The longer a search engine retains the search logs for their users, a more complete profile they have of those people. Coincidentally, Yahoo has the most aggressive search log anonymization policy of all the big engines in place with a 90-day retention rate, Ars Technica reported last December. Google retains search logs for nine months; Microsoft for 18 months. That means that the data about web searches you do on Yahoo—including what links you clicked, what IP address you searched from, what Yahoo account you were signed into—get scrubbed 90 days after you do them. Google keeps that historical data for three times as long and Microsoft for six times as long. Since Yahoo retains the shortest amount of historical data about your web searches than anyone else, a data leak or subpoena for your search history will turn up less material at Yahoo than at any other major engine.

Don't get me wrong; I accept the privacy-for-convenience tradeoff. I hand over my personal information to enjoy the data-centric conveniences of the modern world every day. I don't think one internet company is less or more evil than another; and I already store plenty of personal information at Yahoo (like photographs of my friends and family on Flickr). Still, it's nice to spread the love around so no one company has a monopoly on 90% of what I do on the web every day.

Does Google have a monopoly on your personal information? Would you consider switching search engines to fragment what you enter where? How else do you cover your internet tracks for privacy's sake?

Source:http://lifehacker.com/5261934/break-googles-monopoly-on-your-data-switch-to-yahoo-search

Turn PDFs Into Word Documents

Friendly Computers found a useful tool to convert PDF files into Word format so that they can be edited. Read more below…

Ever wish you could edit a PDF file in Microsoft Word? Seems like that should be easy enough, especially when you're dealing with a document that's mostly text. Alas, a PDF is really just a collection of images, meaning you can't edit the contents in their native format.

Of course, there are pricey software utilities that will convert a PDF into Word-friendly text. But there's also PDF to Word, a Web service that accomplishes the same thing absolutely free.

All you do is upload your PDF and choose your desired output format: Word or Rich Text Format. Then you sit tight while the service works its magic, eventually sending you an e-mail with a link to download the converted document.

Best bet: Choose Word over RTF. Word conversions end up looking remarkably similar to your original PDFs. Ultimately, the quality varies from one document to another depending on its content, layout, etc.

This is one seriously handy tool, and you can't beat the price.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/164800/turn_pdfs_into_word_documents.html

Tech tips, from teens to adults

Friendly Computers found some great tips for computer users of any age! Read more below...

Commonly, adults, the Internet, and computers don’t go well together. Many say they are too old for technology and would rather that their kids do their internet errands for them than learn it themselves.

But nowadays, the use of Internet has become so useful in so many ways that adults are forced to immerse in and cope with technology. But it is never too late to learn. And what better way to do it than to ask for help from the young members of demography.

Yes, it’s high time that adults take a backseat and let the tech-savvy youth take the gear.

Here are some tips shared by teens with adults to keep themselves safe on the Internet:

• Use separate email addresses to minimize spam. Sometimes signing up for certain websites can cause you to receive spam or bulk emails and clutter your inbox. To prevent this, you can create two accounts for separate uses. One can be for things you sign up for on the Internet and other for personal things.

“I’m pretty organized so I use two email addresses. One is for unnecessary things and one’s for my important things like my personal emails,” says Precious Uy, 17. This way, spam or bulk email and notifications don’t get mixed up with your private emails.

• Be careful when signing up for some things on the internet. Be cautious of some sites you sign up with because by signing up, your email addresses may be filled with junk email you would not wish to receive.
Protect your family’s personal computer from pornography or other things you morally disagree with.

The accessibility of the Internet is available to just about everyone including your children. Some websites can be misleading and the next thing you know, your kid is inadvertently logged on to a pornography website. To prevent this, ask you Internet service provider for help to block certain websites that you deem are unnecessary or might corrupt the minds of the young. “Internet service providers can filter the websites you don’t want to be accessed. With blocked websites, you can easily prevent being accidentally taken to porn sites,” says John Soriano, 16. You can also talk to your technicians to help you with the filters to enjoy a safer internet experience.

• Do not clutter your desktop with unnecessary applications. “A cluttered desktop can cause your computer unit to run slow,” says sophomore college student Marikit Valmadrid. Too many applications can slow down your PC and make it crash in the long run.

• Always update youRuR anti-viruses or anti-spyware. Personal computers can be easily infected with viruses and spyware if your software is not updated regularly. Updates are for free so it won’t hurt your pockets.

“Updating your anti-viruses is helpful because that way you don’t get stuck with outdated software and a lot of viruses that may cause your computer to crash,” says 19-year-old Vanessa Leonardo. “If your computer crashes, then most likely, you might lose all your important files. That is a bigger problem.” The best way to deal with this is to always update software and regularly scan your hard drives for viruses.

• Keep your passwords somewhere where no one can access them easily. Because of many reasons, adults may easily forget their passwords. To avoid this, write your passwords with their corresponding accounts on a piece of paper and keep it somewhere you think is safe.

“If you keep important and confidential files, don’t post passwords where they are visible tom anyone,” says Christian Landingin, a third year high school student. Never post your passwords where just about anyone can see them, such as corkboards or on your refrigerator door.

• Do not post everything, including your personal information, on the internet. Not everyone can be trusted on the internet. So if you keep an online site containing your personal information, have second thoughts about it. Anyone can access these data and might even threaten your safety. Stalkers for example, will be able to find information about you.

“I used to post my full address and contact numbers on my online accounts for friends to see but then, unknown people started bugging me so I took down before anything went out of hand,” says Kim Halili, a member of many friend finder sites all over the Internet.

• When keeping online accounts, make sure to adjust your default settings to prevent unknown people from accessing your page. Some websites such as Facebook or Multiply may be accessed by the public even if the page viewer is not directly related to the owner. To prevent this, tweak your setting and put them to private mode.

“I’m very private about the things I post on the Internet and I only give access to the people I know personally. This way, I can still be private,” says Myla, a blogger who posts her photos and journal on an online community. Some things are good for and left to be seen by your personal contacts only.

• Back up your important files. There have been numerous instances wherein some files have been accidentally deleted and there is no way of retrieval because a backup was not created. To prevent any of this, purchase a USB you can save your files in.

USBs are easy to use and portable, very lightweight and can be bought at a reasonable price. However, if you worry about viruses being transferred every now and then, you can always burn your files and folders into a CD and store them somewhere safe.

“I clean our hard drives every three months and if there are any files that I think are still needed, I burn them into CDs” says 18-year-old Kevin Villanueva. “That way if anyone looks for them, I have the backup.”

• Maximize your computer unit by upgrading your memory, hard drives and disks. For a faster computer unit, expand your memory by purchasing external hard drives. A bigger memory can accommodate your other files such as videos and photos you don’t want to lose but have no other place to store.

“External hard drives are the in thing right now because having can one can be helpful when storing important files,” says 15-year-old Jaye Garcia. “Also, they are portable and easy to use. Just plug them in and there you go!”

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/node/200233