Computer support

Time to Change Your Passwords

2013-12-05T07:57:00.001-05:00

With more than 2 million passwords stolen from Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter and the payroll company ADP It's time to Change your password.

I. Two essential password rules:

Following two rules are bare minimal that you should follow while creating a password.

Rule 1 – Password Length: Stick with passwords that are at least 8 characters in length. The more character in the passwords is better, as the time taken to crack the password by an attacker will be longer. 10 characters or longer are better.

Rule 2 – Password Complexity: Should contain at least one character from each of the following group. At least 4 characters in your passwords should be each one of the following.

Lower case alphabets
Upper case alphabets
Numbers
Special Characters

I call the above two rules combined as “8 4 Rule” (Eight Four Rule):

8 = 8 characters minimum length
4 = 1 lower case + 1 upper case + 1 number + 1 special character.

Just following the “8 4 Rule” will be a huge improvement and instantly make your password much stronger than before for most of you who don’t follow any guidelines or rules while creating a passwords. If your banking and any financially sensitive website passwords doesn’t follow the “8 4 Rule”, I strongly suggest that you stop everything now and change those passwords immediately to follow the “8 4 Rule”.

II. Guidelines for creating strong passwords:

Follow “8 4 Rule”. Like I mentioned above this is the foundation of creating a strong password.
Unique Characters. Should contain at least 5 unique characters. You already have 4 different character if you’ve followed “8 4 Rule”.
Use Password Manager. Strong passwords are hard to remember. So, as part of creating a strong password you need a reliable and trustworthy way of remembering the strong password. Using password management tool to store passwords should really become a habit. Anytime you create a password, note it down on a password manager tool, that will encrypt the password and store it safe for you. I recommend Password Dragon (Shameless plug. I’m the developer of this software), a free, easy and secure password manager that works on Windows, Linux and Mac. This can also be launched from the USB drive. There are lot of free password manager tools available, choose the one that best suites your taste and use it.
Use Passphrase. If you don’t want to use password management tool, Use Passphrase to easily remember the passwords. You can use initials of a song or a phrase that are very familiar to you. for e.g. “Passwords are like underwears, change yours often!” phrase can be converted to a strong password “Prlu,Curs0!”

III. Guidelines for avoiding weak passwords.

Avoid the following in your passwords. Even part of your passwords should not be anything in the following items.

Password same as username or part of the username
Name of family members, friends or pets.
Personal information about yourself or family members. This includes the generic information that can be obtained about you very easily, such as birth date, phone number, vehicle license plate number, street name, apartment/house number etc.
Sequences. i.e consecutive alphabets, numbers or keys on the keyboard. for e.g. abcde, 12345, qwert.
Dictionary words. Dictionary words with number or character in front or back
Real word from any language
Word found in dictionary with number substitution for word look alike. for e.g. Replacing the letter O with number 0. i.e passw0rd.
Any of the above in reverse sequence
Any of the above with a number in front or back.
Empty password

Create your own App.

2012-07-24T17:03:00.001-04:00

Do you have an app for your business, group, or church? Maybe you just want an app for you and your friends. Now making apps can be as easy as following a wizard and create you own. You don't have to write code. So hows it done well with new websites like http://www.appsbar.com. you can sign up using your Facebook or Google+ and start making your own. Once you create your own app it gets published to Google play store and you get links that can be used for the iPhone or other mobile devices. you can download my business app created using appsbar at http://market.android.com/details?id=com.appsbar.DNFCompmputing109027 or play with it below. Vote for Appsbar at vote for them at http://tiny.cc/lxichw

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Your browser does not support iFrames please visit:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.appsbar.com/WebApp/Facebook/?AppID=109027&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;Device=Embed&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;Style=app"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;http://www.appsbar.com/WebApp/Facebook/?AppID=109027&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;Device=Embed&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;Style=app&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
#voteforappsbar

Zoho Brings Office Suite to Google Drive

2012-07-19T09:32:00.002-04:00

Zoho Brings Office Suite to Google Drive

Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show Integrated into Google Drive

Integration lets Google Drive users create, open and edit files with Zoho Office apps
Integration also supports collaboration with other Google users, all without Zoho account creation

Google Drive users can create, open and edit files with Zoho Writer word processor, Zoho Sheet spreadsheet and Zoho Show presentation applications - all while working in Google Drive's web interface. To set up the Zoho applications for use with Google Drive, users can add them to Google Chrome by visiting the Chrome Web Store at http://ow.ly/ch2TX (Zoho Writer), http://ow.ly/ch2Xp (Zoho Sheet) and http://ow.ly/ch347 (Zoho Show).

Appbar

2012-07-12T16:10:00.002-04:00

appsbar has been nominated for a Best New Product of the Year as part of The 2012 American Business Awards. We’re honored that the support our community has given us over the last year has led to this recognition. lets all vote for them at http://tiny.cc/lxichw . The are one of the best sites for creating apps the interface is great and simple to you take a look at them and start making your own apps. #voteforappsbar

What are Hacker using Malware for?

2012-07-06T15:17:00.000-04:00

So we all know what Malware is and that it includes Viruses, Spyware, Addware, and Trojans. So what are Hackers using them for? here are the top 6 uses for Malware.

1. Hold your computer ransom
2. Direct you to money-making sites for hackers
3. Espionage
4. Hacktivism
5. Target you via social media
6. Break into your (Android) phone

Want to know more about these visit http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/6-new-ways-hackers-are-using-malware for the whole story

The FBI may shut down your internet access

2012-07-05T13:58:00.000-04:00

Will July 9th be the end of your internet access? For months now, the FBI has been warning people that a blackout of their access to the Internet could be coming. The warnings about the Internet problem have been splashed across Facebook and Google, and Internet service providers have sent notices as well. But tens of thousands of Americans may still lose their Internet service Monday unless they do a quick check of their computers for malware that could have taken over their machines more than a year ago. So how do you make sure your computer is not infected if you have been notified? Download the free version of Malwarebytes at http://www.malwarebytes.org/.

The iPad mini coming soon?

2012-07-05T11:30:00.000-04:00

That's right Apple's component suppliers in Asia are preparing for mass production in September of a tablet computer with a smaller screen than the iPad, people familiar with the situation said, suggesting a launch for the device is near. The screen size is said to be less than eight inches compared to the current iPad which measures 9.7 inches. With the Smaller Screen comes a smaller price to try and defend off all the other tablets coming to market.

Computer and Tablet Wars are in full swing

2012-07-04T10:56:00.003-04:00

With the announcement of Google's new tablets the Nexus 7 and the Nexus Q and Microsoft's new tablet the Surface the tablet wars are on. Apple is working on a new device that is a merge between a Mac and the iPad. No matter who wins this will be a win for consumers.

As Google brings the war to the computer market, Computers are starting to hit the market running the Chrome OS. No longer with you have to to just decide between an Apple computer and a Windows computer but now you have a new alternative in the Chrome OS this is good news for those of us using android phones. Right now the Chrome OS only supports the computers that it ships on but I'm sure that will change in the near future. So hold on this may be a bumpy ride...

Microsoft makes Windows 8 upgrade affordable

2012-07-03T09:14:00.000-04:00

Microsoft has announced that, for a limited time only, Windows 8 Pro upgrades will cost just $39.99 via download, or $69.99 for a boxed DVD from retail outlets. Download customers will be able to buy a backup DVD for $15 plus shipping and handling.

Between its launch—whenever that will be—and January 1st, 2013, users of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 will be able to buy the cheap upgrades to Windows 8 Pro. Windows 8 Pro is the higher of the two mainstream Windows 8 SKUs, and it includes features such as BitLocker, Hyper-V, and the ability to join Windows domains.

So if your looking to upgrade to Windows 8 get it quick before the price goes up.

Facebook e-mail mess effects contact lists on phone and computers

2012-06-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

The recent change face book has made to to members Facebook profile to the @facebook.com have caused issues with contact lists and emails. Facebook users say contacts' e-mail addresses on phones and personal devices have been altered without their consent -- and their e-mail communication is being redirected elsewhere, and lost. so check your contacts. So check your devices and you may be able to resync your contact from other sources I sync mine with Google so its an easy fix for me.

New Malware uses Mac- and Windows-based malware to snoop on Chinese dissidents.

2012-06-30T13:09:00.000-04:00

Just recently Kaspersky and security firm AlienVault found a new piece of Malware out of China. . It arrives in e-mails that attempt to trick the receiver into installing a new variant of the MaControl backdoor and works on Macs that are powered with processors from Intel, as well as older PowerPC CPUs. They added that the Windows malware they found also uses e-mail-based social engineering to infect users. Once the malware is on your computer it allows the creator of the virus to take control of your computer. The malware has ties to Gh0stRat, a huge malware-based spy network uncovered three years ago that infiltrated government and private offices in 103 countries. So be on your toes and don't open any attachments from people you don't know and even if you do know them talk with the sender to confirm they sent it.

FEMA and National Weather Service launch Wireless Emergency Alert System

2012-06-30T10:49:00.000-04:00

While it's a little later than expected, the free SMS emergency notification system has now gone live. Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages will be delivered to cell towers in affected areas, which will then broadcast them to all compatible devices in their range. While the system is looking to cover over 97 percent of the country, it's being gradually rolled out across carriers. check out the CITA website at http://www.ctia.org/consumer_info/safety/index.cfm/AID/12082 for more information and to see device compatibility

If you have a WEA-enabled phone, you are automatically enrolled.

For example, if a person with a WEA-capable device from Washington, D.C., happened to be in Southern California when an earthquake occurred in that area, they would receive an "Imminent Threat Alert" on their device.

The alert messages will not disrupt text, calls or data sessions that are in progress..

How card skimmers getting millions from banks

2012-06-29T16:29:00.000-04:00

Skimming isn’t new—it’s been around almost as long as ATM machines. Buta pair of Bulgarian-born Canadians named Nikolai Ivanov and Dimitar Stamatov benefitted from a new generation of skimming technology that has turned the once-difficult crime into a mass-market business. Using pre-fabricated gear perfectly matched to the hardware of Chase Bank ATMs, they were able to read the magnetic stripe off of victims' cards and even record victims punching in their PINs. After this bit of fun, the duo went on a cross-country withdrawal spree using clones made from their victims' cards, pulling over $264,000 in cash from machines in Arizona, Illinois, and Canada.

At left, one of the Chase ATMs "compromised" by Ivanov and Stamatov's skimming gear. At right, the card reader—disguised as a lip that fits over the ATM's existing card slot—and the pinhole video camera used to capture victims' PINs.

Skimmers are cleaning house getting an average of $50,000 per incident there are not only hit ATM's but also Self check out lanes in stores and gas pumps.

In an effort to fight skimmers banks are come up with new ways to fight this in Europe the have begun to use smart chips in place of the magnetic strips. US banks have started adding sensors to detect if something is added to the machine and jammers to prevent the transmission of data find out even more at http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/06/automated-robbery-how-card-skimmers-still-steal-millions-from-banks/

Google's Chrome browser can now be used to surf the Web on the iPhone and iPad.

2012-06-29T13:41:00.000-04:00

Google Inc.'s Chrome, the world's top Internet browser, is now available on the iPhone and iPad, as Apple Inc. finally granted access to its foe's more popular Web-surfing app. So now you can take information in Google chrome right to your iPhone or iPad. so all your bookmarks with you where ever you go. Go to the Apple app store and download it now.

SWAT team throws flashbangs, raids wrong home due to open WiFi network

2012-06-28T16:11:00.000-04:00

That right more often that you would think law enforcement offices from local police to the FBI are raiding homes for warrants related to internet activities only to find out its the wrong home. This problem is being caused by unsecured WiFi Networks everywhere. Unknown to the homeowner criminals are using there WiFi network for illegal activities online.

So don't have the SWAT team come knocking on your door get your WiFi network secured today.

What to do when your Facebook account keeps posting spam links

2012-06-28T11:51:00.000-04:00

One of the most obvious and common signs that something is wrong with your Facebook account is when you notice it automatically posting spam messages and links to websites without your permission. These potentially malicious messages and links are likely to start appearing in the newsfeeds of all your Facebook friends who may think you posted them, so it is important to find out why your account is posting them and how to stop it.

So how do you Identify what they are and how to get rid of them?

Take a look at http://thatsnonsense.com/blog/?p=243 they have detail instructions.

Google Glass Explorer Edition

2012-06-28T07:43:00.001-04:00

Google Glass Explorer Edition is the first product to come out of the company's Project Glass. At its most basic level, the Glass is a device that lets you show and interact with the world around you without disconnecting from it.

The Glass is designed to be out of the way so it doesn't interfere with your activity. According to Google, it weighs less than most sunglasses. On the side is a touch pad for control, on top is a button for shooting photos and videos with the built-in camera, and there's a small information display positioned above the eye out of the line of sight.

The actual spec details given were pretty light, other than to say it has a camera, multiple radios for data communication, a speaker and a mic, and a gyroscope so the Glass can tell your position and orientation at all times.

Facebook Hides Your Email Address Leaving Only @Facebook.com Visible.

2012-06-27T16:35:00.001-04:00

In an attempt to improve email address privacy, Facebook has screwed up big time in what seems like a self-serving attempt to increase usage of@facebook.com email addresses that direct to your Facebook Messages Inbox.

Now everyone’s personal email addresses have been hidden from their profiles, regardless of previously selected privacy settings. Instead, your@facebook.com contact info is the only one visible to people with permission to see your email addresses. This makes it harder for friends to contact you via third-party email unless you reset your controls. So once again Facebook makes changes for you and doesn't tell you.

Raise of the Machines??

2012-06-27T13:27:00.001-04:00

They may not fit in our homes or budgets yet but Artificial Intelligence computers are just around the corner A neural network built over the years by researchers from Stanford University and Google has managed to teach itself to recognize faces and cats. The network consists of 16,000 processors on a cluster of 1,000 computers. After being exposed to 10 million images downloaded from the Internet, the network software learned to recognize human and cat faces, as well as human bodies, according to the researchers.

Your Facebook status shared with the world

2012-06-27T10:34:00.002-04:00

If you think that only your friends see what you post to Facebook you might just be wrong. check out this site www.weknowwhatyouredoing.com due to a lack of, with regards to their account privacy settings. People have lost their jobs in the past due to some of the posts they put on Facebook, so maybe this demonstrates why. Efforts have been made to remove any personal data from the results, such as the actual phone numbers, surnames, etc. The data is still easily accessible from the API, the filters have been put in place to protect the site from legal issues.

So how do you make sure your posts don't end up on this site or some other site just go to https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=privacy and make sure Control Your Default Privacy is not set to "Public". You can set it to "Friends" but for the best privacy it is recommended you choose "Custom" and go through each option to choose who can see what

Not so friendly friend finder in Facebook

2012-06-26T09:37:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Facebook started testing a new add-on to Facebook Mobile this feature would allow you to find Facebook members nearby you even if you are not friends with them. Can you say Facebook for stalkers? Facebook quietly pulled this feature earlier today when a company called Friendthem accused Facebook of stealing the idea. In a release provided to CNET and other outlets, Friendthem's CEO said the company was mulling a lawsuit. Lets all keep an eye on this and protect our own privacy.

All about the weather

2012-06-25T09:56:00.001-04:00

Florida is a beautiful place to live most of the time but there are some days like today that all you can do is stay inside and look out your window and watch it rain sideways. With Tropical Storm Chris looming off our coast we get lost of rain, thunderstorms, and Tornadoes.

There are some very important things you should do for your computer:

1. Do a backup and take the back up with you if you leave the area. If you are using an external and your not leaving put it some where safe I would put it in a couple layers of Ziploc bags if you can.

2. Shut your computer down and unplug it. Sure you may have the really nice surge protectors but what are you going to do for the few months it will take you to collect on the insurance they have to get a new computer?

3. It's a good idea to to put your computer, Monitor and printer in heavy duty garbage bags and seal the bags shut. ( don't for get all your extras speaker, keyboard , mouse ect...)

4. Stay safe remember its all just stuff and its not worth dying over.

iPhone 5 Coming Soon

2012-06-24T10:40:00.004-04:00

For all you iPhone Junkies out there rumor has it you may get your latest fix with the New iPhone 5 later this year first the bad news the iPhone 5 will have a smaller 19-pin port. According to earlier rumors, this type of connector is supposedly going to make its way into all of Apple's future mobile devices. While the 30-pin connector is what the iPhone maker has been using for years, a smaller port will create more space in the internal structure of the device. so there goes all those useful docks that you had on your devices or cars. now the good stuff you may be able to swap out the camera lens, screen has a 3.95-inch display,reported details of a development version of the hardware, and iOS 6, the next major version of iOS. Among the details is that the next iPhone will sport 1GB of RAM, powered by mobile chip design specialist ARM (of which Apple is a licensee), we'll see a quad-core processor debut in the new iPhone 5 - probably called the Apple A6. all of this will be tucked neatly inside a gray, metal, and sleek all over outer shell. So when will you find this in your local iStore ? Rumor has it that it will be released in Sept and Oct of this year. So Starting Saving now because this may cost you $800.

What are Viruses,Trojans, and Malware

2012-06-23T21:54:00.000-04:00

A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly, but erroneously, used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have a reproductive ability.

Malware includes computer viruses, computer worms, Trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware and other malicious or unwanted software, including true viruses. Viruses are sometimes confused with worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. A worm can exploit security vulnerabilities to spread itself automatically to other computers through networks, while a Trojan horse is a program that appears harmless but hides malicious functions. Worms and Trojan horses, like viruses, may harm a computer system's data or performance. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious or simply do nothing to call attention to themselves. Some viruses do nothing beyond reproducing themselves.

So why do People create Malware and Viruses

There are many reasons why people make virus/malware. Ill start with viruses.
Viruses are made to prove something such as a hole in Microsoft, a recongnition of the programmers skills "I was responsible for the...", to harvest sensitive information (passwords, ccard numbers and such) or to take over PCs to become part of a "botnet" which can be used for things like attacking webservers to bring them down.

As for malware, its usually made for financial purposes. With Adware you get ads popping up on your computer, they want you to click it and/or buy whatever is being advertised and the Malware maker gets a commission for it. It might be X amount per click, might be a percentage of the product cost.

Spyware is typically used to gain market information. For example, lets say you installed a Music downloading program to get MP3s and it has spyware in it. The spyware will keep track of what type of songs you download and what type of bands, send it back to base and now they have information like who is the most popular band and what genre is becoming more popular so a record company can sign more of that genre.

Video of Microsoft Surface crashing in debut goes viral | Microsoft - CNET News

2012-06-22T16:01:00.001-04:00

This is great windows 8 Epic fail during its public sneak peak of the surface tablet

Video of Microsoft Surface crashing in debut goes viral | Microsoft - CNET News:

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