Keeping your Computer running Like New

Many people buy computer and after a month they complain that there computer is slower then it was when they got it. They don’t know are under stand that there computer needs maintenance just like a car. Unlike a car computer maintenance is easy to do and cost nothing.

What you should do is set a day either once a week or every two weeks for computer clean up. For me I do this every Friday I do mine. The first thing I do is I open Microsoft update and check to make sure I have all the important updates downloaded and installed. Then I check for third party software updates like Skype and Firefox to make sure they are up to date. There is no point in clean up your computer if there are security flaws in that can be fixed.

The second thing I do is run clean disk this finds files that you just don’t need like temp files and deletes the files. When you start it up it will tell you how much room you are freeing up. You might find that you are freeing up a lot of space.

Another thing you can do is run a spyware scanner to look for spyware. Spyware if you have it can suck up resources which means your computer will run slow. I use Spybot Search and Destroy to look for spyware. There are others to look for it like adware which works just as well.

The last thing you should do is run a Viruses scan. You never know you might have a virus that is slowing your computer down. I personally think paid AV software like Norton are scams. I use a free one by Microsoft called Microsoft Security Essentials. It works and it never bugs me unless something happens. There are other free AV’s like AVG  is a good one that I used for along time.

These are simple things you can do to keep your computer running fast. Now I can say that it will run as fast as the day you got it, but it will run faster then if you didn’t do these things. I hope this helps.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft Secusity Esenchals,AVG,Spybot,Ad-ware,Clean disk,AV

Tips for Staying more Secure On Face Book

Attacks on Facebook are on the rise and I thought this would be a good time to share some basic tips on how not to get your facebook account hacked. These tips are pretty basic and you should be doing them but hey everyone forgets the basics every now and then so let me remind you.

1. Use a good password: Your password is you first defense when protecting you Facebook account. You shouldn't be using your pet names for your password for it. You should use something long and random. If you cant think of one there good places that generate good ones like Steve Gibson Perfect Passwords. Im sure your not going to remember it or even want to type it in when you log in to Facebook well that is solved with Last Pass I talked more about it in my post the other day.
2. The Youtube is a lie: You might have herd of this happening to someone or it has happen to you. You get a message form one of your friends saying that they found a video on Youtube or they put one on Youtube with you on it doing something crazy. Then you click on the link to see the video and you see a page that looks just like Youtube but you get the you need to update your flash player error. So what do you do you click on the link to install the new flash. Well what you really just did was install malicious software that is key logging your every key stroke to get your Facebook password so they can then send that same message to someone else, then they can do the same thing. The tip here is if you get this and your 50% or more sure you didn't do anything dumb or crazy to be put on youtube lately then it is probably a phishing scam.
3. Facebook apps: The apps are a grate way for someone to get your Facebook password. These apps already know so much about you all the info on your page (even hidden info) plus they have the same access to your friends info as well. How they get your password would something like this, you take a quiz on Facebook to see what Pokemon you are or somthing and you finish the quiz. Now you hit summit and it says oh you you have to log back in to Facebook, so what do you do you log in but the login page was not really the Facebook login page and now they have your password. Now Facebook dose try to get rid of these rouge apps but they can't get them all.
4. Don't Share: If you do anything for the love of god don't share your password with your friends. They maybe your friends to day but you could piss them off and what would be grate way to get revenge but to spill your darkest deepest secrets as status updates on Facebook and change the password so you cant get in to get rid of it. I have seen this happen so many times before its just bad and so preventable.

I hope these tips keep you from getting your Facebook page hacked. There easy things to do and keep in mind when you using Facebook or any social networking site like it.  So have fun and be safe.

Just as note here is the address for Perfect passwords: https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm

Technorati Tags: Facebook,hacked,tips,secure

Staying MORE SUCURE

This year I vowed to be more secure by doing simple things that most of us probably don’t do but should. These little things are in the back of most of our minds, we know we should we just don’t do them. Thing like changing your passwords once a month or every two months, using strong passwords and not using password1234 for your password.

If you are like me your not going to remember long random passwords. You need something that will remember for you. Well I use two and I will tell you why latter. The two password management software I use are Keepass and Last Pass. These two work vary well for me to feel a little bit safer. Keepass has a nice simple UI, easy to use and makes it easier to organize your passwords so when you need them you can find them. Keepass also has a grate password generator, so if you cant think of a good password just hit generate and it will make one for you. Last Pass is a cloud service that I use to keep track of my passwords online so even if I'm some ware other then home and I need a password for a web site I can just go to the last pass site and get the password I need. Last Pass also has a Firefox extension as well.

So why do I use two? Well Keepass and Last Pass have both there positives and negatives. Keepass works well on the desktop and it is easy to setup and make new passwords on it but if I'm not home I cant get to my passwords. I know keepass can be installed on a flash drive (which I have it installed on right now) but if I lose that drive there all gone now. Also Keepass dose not sync with my other computers so I always have figure out what password is right and which on is old or in some cases not even there. Keepass is what I use for passwords that don’t change much like the password to local admin accounts on my computers or the network key to my WIFI. These things don’t normally change a lot. I use Last Pass to keep trace of things that change a lot like my bank password, Twitter,Facebook I think you get it. Last Pass is online so I don’t have to worrie about things not syncing up cause its all online it just works good with web sites. Last Pass just dose not work as well with things like Network passwords and local computer account passwords.

Before I finish I want to let you know things like Keepass and Last Pass all have one flaw you have to have a master password for them. This means you have to have one password that has  to guard all the good passwords and it should be something you remember. Just thought I would give you a heads up on that. Over all these two work grate for me and are easy to use and setup. So have fun being more secure.

Technorati Tags: Keepass,Last Pass,Passwords,security

The Ipad

Today Apple announced what they called “Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price”. Steve Job’s calls it iPad.Now I was not there everything I herd was from the stream that TWIT did from inside the show. Just so you know.

A lot of people have said that the iPad runs iPhone OS. This made me think that its just a big iPod Touch, and well that's what it is but it looks so much better then that. It kind of takes the iPod Touch witch I have always said was the Apple netbook. Now the iPad is not a netbook, its not a smart book, its a pad.  For Steve a pad is in between a smart phone and a computer. They did not want this to be seen as the Apple netbook. Steve basically he said netbooks are junk.

There it is the iPad. The iPad lets you brows the web, do e-mail, look at your photos, and allot of the things that the iPod Touch lets you do. The iPad enhances what the Touch dose by really using the screen real state. The screen is  9.7” it supposable gets 10 hours of battery life and a month of stand by battery life. It also has 802.11 N WIFI and Bluetooth 2.1.

Since the pad runs iPhone OS it works with all the apps in the app store right out of the box and up scales the app to work full size on the pad. There will also be apps made just for the pad as well when it comes out. The New York Times has an app for it and so dose EA Games will also have games ready for it when it comes out.

Also since it runs iPhone OS there is iPod functionality and Video witch looks grate on the pad. The big app for the iPad is really is going to be iBook the e-book reader app. When you open it you will see something just like a real book shelf with all the books you have bought. How will you get all these books you might ask, well from the built in book store of course. Yes there will be an iTunes book store ware you can get all your books for the iPad.

When the iPad comes out Apple is also porting there office suit iWork over to the pad. You will be able to get Keynote, Pages, and Number on the pad. You will be able to work on you documents on the go. The apps will cost $9.99 each.  (If I used iWork I would want that.)

The pad will sync with iTunes via USB just like the iPhone or any of the iPods (Mac or PC). The iPad will have 3G in some models and WIFI only models. The WIFI only ones will be available in 60 day’s the WIF+3G will be out in 90 days. At this point you must be asking how much will it cost. I for one thought it would be any ware form $700-$999 I was wrong the iPad will start at $499 for 16GB and WIFI only and the 3G one will start at $629 for 16GB plus the 3G. In the US the 3G will be form AT&T $14 a month for 250 MB of data, of you can pay $29.99 a month for unlimited data. You also get free WIFI at any place that is a AT&T hot spot.

Now of course there are things you can get with the iPad like a cover that turns into a stand so you can watch movies or TV shows. The really cool thing they showed off was a keyboard dock for the pad, so wile it is charging you can pound out an e-mail or something with with a real keyboard.

Over all I do think the iPad announcement lived up to its hype. I do think this pad will change the way we consume media from now on. Though I could be wrong this will not be out for another 60 days and then we will see. I do expect we will see lines forming in front of Apple stores days before it comes out it will be like the iPhone release all over. Maybe even worse. I for one can not wait. You can go to the iPad site and look at more info on it if you like.

Technorati Tags: iPad,Apple,iBook,iTunes book store,iPhone OS,Steve Jobs,iWork

What We Might See Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day for Apple. Apple will reveal the god tablet to the world and it will either be a success or a flop. Personally I’m leaning trod it being a success, but who knows. Now there are other things we may also might see tomorrow other then the tablet. If anything the tablet will be the last thing they show. You will hear Steve say ”oh one more thing” and he will show the tablet.

Before the Tablet I do think we will see the following:

1. iLife 2010: This is one of the things that will be announced tomorrow at the announcement. I think iLife will have some way to do your own iTunes LP and do your own extras with Movies (bye bye iDVD). Pretty much what I'm saying iLife will get more modern and let people do things that they really want to do.
2. iPhone OS Update (3.? or 4.0): There are allot of people saying there might be a iPhone OS upgrade as well tomorrow, many of these people say it is iPhone OS 4.0. I for one do think there will be a iPhone OS update tomorrow but it will not be 4.0 I think it will be 3.2 is what we will see I don’t think they will do 4.0 tomorrow that will most likely be saved for the summer.
3. New iPhone?: I don’t think there is going to be a new iPhone tomorrow but there at lot of sites that keep saying that there is going to be a new iPhone. I think this is no more than wishful thinking. If there is a new iPhone it wont be different form the last one other then this one will work on Verizon.
4. The iPhone Free from AT&T: If there are any iPhone announcement tomorrow, it will be the iPhone will be freed from AT&T.
5. iTunes Update: iTunes might see a little update to add a book store if the tablet has a e-reader in it.

Theses are just predictions there is no facts in here. We just will have to wait until tomorrow to see what happens (and to see what the tablet looks like and works). If you have any ideas what we might see tomorrow leave a comment.

Technorati Tags: Apple Store,Slate,iLife,iPhone,iPhone OS,iTunes