Social Networking Privacy Tips

Written on November 7, 2009 by Kay

How To Use Social Media Responsibly

Remember when USENET was the big social networking hub? If you don’t remember USENET, don’t feel bad. It was before the world knew about the world wide web, and it didn’t have any fancy widgets that you could embed into your profile to stream an mp3 or play Tetris, not like the cool stuff that have nowadays.

Thanks to the social networking phenomena, and services like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, it seems like everyone and their grandmother is either posting a tweet or updating their status or extending a friendly poke to one of their online friends. The whole concept of social networking boils down to this: Open information and community, two concepts that are easy to exploit if you’re possessed of a devious mind, and, if unarmed with adequate information, easy to fall prey to. To make the entire social networking affair safer for everyone, let’s go over some basic safety guidelines so that we can all make services like MySpace and Facebook more enjoyable.

Mind What You Share

Be mindful of what you post on your profile and what you share with others, publicly or privately. Think twice before posting that photo of your party escapades in Vegas last weekend, and rethink that blog tirade before making it public and attaching your name to it. Embarrassing things have a nasty way of coming back and haunting you when released on the Internet. All it takes is a Google or Facebook search, and your past can resurface with questionable results. Think of it like a tattoo: It’s hard to undo without significant effort, so do you really want that tat of your girlfriend’s name on your arm?

Also, employers are notorious for Googling, MySpacing, and Facebooking your name to find out what kind of a person you are, to get a feel for a prospective hire. Don’t diminish your chances of success by posting embarrassing things online.

Mind What You Say

Facebook status updates and Twitter Tweets can be typed out from anywhere on a mobile device: In traffic, at the local coffee shop, on the ski lift, even on a good old-fashioned laptop, which is why it’s so easy to say something that you wished you could take back. Remember who your buddies are and who has the potential to read your posts, tweets, updates, or whatever. For example, you don’t want to post a Facebook status update proclaiming that “I’m seriously bored …” during office hours and have your boss read it, landing you in hot water. The last thing you want is to get Facebook Fired.

My Friend’s Friend …

The Internet really has made the world a smaller place. Communication at the speed of light has connected the world. Unfortunately, this can work against you. Here’s an example. Let’s say that you decide to rant about your boss’s spastic way of handling a crisis at work. You check, double check, and triple check that your boss IS NOT in your network, therefore you can post your rant with impunity, right?

Well, this looks good on the surface, but you never know if your boss is in one of your friends’ network, or is in the network of a friend of one of your friends (it can get incredibly complicated.) All it takes is for your friend to comment on your ranting status update, and if your boss is in your friend’s network, the status update that you thought was hidden from your boss now becomes viewable. A good rule of thumb is this: Don’t post anything online that you’re not 100% comfortable with everyone seeing.

Be Wary of Quizzes

Facebook users love to take online quizzes. It’s fun, and if taken with honesty in mind, can say a lot about a person. Unfortunately, quizzes can reveal a little too much information about a person, unbeknownst to them. Most of the social networking quizzes will pop up a permission page, clearly stating that by proceeding you’re giving the quiz application access to your profile information, content, photos, friend’s photos, so on and so forth. Many users don’t take the time to give said permission pages a good look-over. If they did, I think a great deal would opt out of the quiz right off the bat.

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How To Make The Most Of Windows Updates

Written on November 4, 2009 by Kay

Updating your Windows system is essential to eradicate bugs and to arm yourself against the most recent security exploits, not to mention updating important programs (sometimes a plus, sometimes not.) I’m lazy and forgetful at times, so I turn on Automatic Updates; then, I won’t have to worry about manually updating. But then I get angry at my PC when I’m in the middle of something (work, web surfing, Solitaire, etc.) and Windows continually informs me that it needs to reboot in order for the automatic updates that it just installed to take effect (maybe I should stop working at 3 in the morning).

Navigating the Windows Update Maze

I simply take a deep breath and look at it like road construction: The streets may be messy and traffic-riddled because of the temporary construction, but some countries don’t even have pavement roads, and here I am complaining that the city’s actually fixing mine! Bad form. So, while Windows Updates may be a minor annoyance, the annoyance is small potatoes when the end result (aimed for result, that is) is improvement of the overall system.

That said, Windows Updates isn’t exactly super user-friendly, and its messages are often cryptic, so many users simply install every update so that they can hurry up and get back to what they were doing. Let’s make Windows Update a little less mysterious, shall we?

Windows Update Details

Have you ever took the time to read the names of some of the updates? It’s obvious that a human isn’t naming these updates manually but rather a machine, because only a machine can label an update Windows XP (KB874212) and still make any sense of it. Thankfully, there’s a way to get an actual description of each update. On Vista, double-click the update in question and a pop-up window will give you more info. In XP, expand the “+” symbol next to the update’s name to get the same result. Now you won’t be in the dark when updating Windows.

Windows Update Levels

Microsoft assigns a level to each update, which helps you in deciding whether you need an update or not. Vista has three levels: Important, Recommended, and Optional. The Important updates are essential for security and bug fixes. You should always install all the updates listed in this category to keep your PC healthy and secure. Unfortunately, Microsoft has a nasty tendency of throwing updates into this category for their own personal gain (Windows Genuine Advantage, for example).

To use a car buying analogy, if the Important level is akin to buying a car with brakes thrown in (you don’t actually need a car with breaks in order for it to run, but it helps if you value your skin), then the Recommended level can be compared to buying a car with OnStar (not really necessary, but comes in handy). It contains updates that may help your PC to work optimally. The Optional level contains updates that may improve your computing experience slightly (new drivers, a fancy toolbar). It’s like buying a car with an iPod port.

XP’s Update service has two levels: High Priority (which is the same as Vista’s Important) and Optional (kind of like Vista’s Recommended and Optional categories combined.)

Service Packs

You should always install the latest Service Pack (a package of essential updates) for your version of Windows to acquire the highest level of security and stability possible. One of the things that really annoys me about Service Packs, though, is that you must install them incrementally. That means if you want Service Pack 3 for XP, and you don’t have Service Pack 2 installed yet, you must install 2 before you can do 3. This can eat up a lot of time. But, alas, Service Packs are vital and are very important for all versions of Windows.

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Awesome Web Applications You Can Not Live Without

Written on November 1, 2009 by Kay

The web is overflowing with applications and services that you can’t live without—Google, Google Maps, Gmail, Facebook, et al.—and, of course, there are the sub-par incarnations of web-based apps that seem to pop up everyday and are abandoned just as quickly as they are created. It’s difficult to know the cream of the crop from the bottom of the barrel at first glance. Read on the learn about a few great services that will make your computing life easier.

Comparison Shopping Made Easy

I’m notorious for waffling around before actually clicking that “Buy Now” button on Amazon or New Egg. I’ll add an item (or several) to my shopping cart, surf around the site, Google up some results, e-mail a friend, and basically float about in cloud of indecisiveness, all in the name of comparison shopping. We all want to get the best deal, but how do we know we’re getting the best bargain if we don’t do a little research first? Nobody likes to do research, even if it’s just a little bit.

This is where PriceTrace comes in. PriceTrace is a Firefox add-on whose aim is to make comparison shopping less laborious. PriceTrace can be used in two ways. Type a product name (or a URL or SKU or UPC) in its search box. PriceTrace goes through the motions and sends you its comparisons results conveniently inside a new tab. PriceTrace even offers its own spin on things with its Price History chart, giving you more data to make a more informed purchase.

New Egg and Amazon have stepped on board by integrating PriceTrace directly into their product web pages. Clicking on the “Trace the item on this page” button will give you the same results as above. Very cool. Other features of PriceTrace include e-mail alerts if a particular product drops in price and a section that you can peruse to discover products with the biggest price drops. Saving money on the web just got a whole lot easier.

Large E-mail Attachments

One of the rotten things about some e-mail services is that when your in-box becomes clogged, new e-mail simply doesn’t arrive and you can’t send outgoing mail, either, at least not until you clean out your inbox to make room. Is it your fault that someone sent you an unannounced 30 megabyte file attachment and now your future e-mail gets bounced until you delete the attachment? Nope, it’s not. And it’s really annoying for the poor recipient.

The solution, would everybody start using this, is to use the Drop.io service With Drop you can upload extremely large files to their servers, and instead of attaching said file to your out-going e-mail, you simply add the Drop link to your file in the e-mail. With only the Drop file link in the message, you’ll need not worry about gumming up your recipient’s inbox.

Best of all, the Drop service is absolutely free to use. Drop doesn’t even require you to sign-up for an account (a perpetual annoyance that most other “free” services require), and the Drop link isn’t restricted to just an e-mail; the link can be used anywhere.

Free Reference Guides

I can’t count the number of times I needed to quickly learn how to do something in MS Word or Excel. Or forgot how to do something in Photoshop. Most of us don’t have time to do lengthy Google searches, wading through dozens of incomplete forum posts, typo-riddled blog guides, and suchlike to find the particular bit of information that we need.

It would be nice if there was one source for guides and tutorials for today’s most popular applications, and here’s the good news: There is! TechPosters. This site is home to hundreds of quick-reference guides for Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, Photoshop and hundreds of other programs. Older guides even reside on TechPosters, which is great if you’re stuck in a time-warp and are still using Word 97. PDF files of each quick-guide can be downloaded and printed for your convenience. If you’re trying to learn a new application, or simply forgot how to do something in a particular app, then give TechPosters a look-over.

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4 Things You Should Know About Google Apps

Written on October 28, 2009 by Kay

When it comes to web and desktop applications, I’ve used some really bad ones (horrible interface, non-intuitive, bloated) and I’ve had the privilege of finding some really useful gems. Most of Google’s apps (web and desktop) have been excellent, and even the lukewarm ones from Google have been better than most alternatives floating about.

There was some discontent about Google collecting personal information from Gmail users for advertising purposes a while back, but you know what? I can’t seem to find a slicker, better organized, web-based e-mail app out there. And Gmail integrates wonderfully with my iPhone to boot. And what about Google Docs? For basic word document and spreadsheet viewing and editing on the web, I’m thankful that I’m never going to have to install (or pay for) MS Office ever again. And guess what? Google has just released some exciting new features to their growing collection of awesome apps.

Picasa Face-Tagging

The arrival of one’s first digital camera is always an exciting occasion. Unfortunately, the ease-of-use of digital cameras and other suchlike devices makes it incredibly simple to build your photo collection to the point of a chaotic mess. Before you know it, your digital image collection is out-of-hand, and you can’t find that one photo of Mitsu, the disobedient Lhasa Apso, because your photos are scattered haphazardly across your hard drive. To make matters worse, you’ve neglected to tag each photo or even give them apt file names, which would make searching a tad easier. I don’t blame you. It’s a bummer to assign appropriate tags and file names manually. Wouldn’t it be sweet if there was a better way?

Picasa is one of the best photo management apps available for free. If you haven’t already used it, give it spin. One of the coolest new features (version 3.5) is the ability to organize your photos using face recognition, called face-tagging. It’s simple. Have Picasa scan your photo library, and it will automatically group similar-looking faces with remarkable accuracy. Once you start scanning, you’ll see a group of faces on the main pane; here, you’ll be able to tag them with a name. Click New Person on the dialog box that materializes to tag with either a name, nickname, or even an e-mail.

It take some getting used to, but it makes organizing your humungous digital photo collection a breeze. And don’t worry: The scanning and tagging of your photos do not alter them in any way.

Fast Flip News

I must admit that I’m a bit of a geezer when it comes to my news. I can’t seem to break the habit of sitting back on a comfy sofa, flipping through an actual, tangible newspaper. Sure, I can get ink stains on my fingers, and I can get news on my iPhone or laptop, but nothing beats a newspaper’s portability and screen real estate. Google’s Fast Flip may change all of that. Still a bit shabby around the edges, Google’s Fast Flip is a step in the right direction in making reading online news a better experience.

The key is in the interface. Fast Flip gives you screen shots of each news story, all organized in categories. The screen shots are grouped in sections (Recommended, Politics, Most Viewed, et al.) and you can click back/forward arrow buttons to read a previous article or move forward to more. The news screen shots are big enough to house a small image and a headline, just enough to pique your interest. Click on the screen shot to get an even bigger screen shot. Now you can not only read the headline but also the first couple blocks of the news story text. Click yet again and you’ll be whisked away to the article’s page, wherever it resides on the web. It’s a fresh new feature direct from the Google labs (with mobile versions for iPhone and Android), and it’s apt to change the way news junkies get their news fix online.

Google Calendar Sports

Do you love basketball or football (or fill in the blank) but are just too busy to keep track of when your favorite team is playing? Never miss out on your team’s schedule again, as Google has just added an exciting new sports feature to their already popular Calendar web app. Put simply, you’ll be able to add an enormous sports schedule library to your calendar. Just log into your Google Calendar account and click on the “New: Sports” link in the upper-right corner. Choose your sport: Football, Basketball, Baseball, College league, Professional, you name it. Once you locate your team, add it to your calendar. The sports calendar is completely independent from your original calendar, which keeps things neat and tidy.

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Seven Things To Know About Windows 7

Written on October 24, 2009 by Kay

Microsoft has finally unleashed Windows 7 to a public still suffering from the burns of such delights as Windows ME and Vista, but everyone agrees that Windows 7 is light-years ahead of Vista, and the consensus seems to be that Win 7 will take over for XP as king of the desktop in the Microsoft world. So, the question on a lot of users’ minds is this: Should I upgrade or simply buy a new PC with Windows 7 already installed? To put this question to bed, you’ll need to consider the type of computing you do and how old your current rig and its hardware is.

Will Windows 7 run on my PC?

If your current PC was purchased within the last 5 years, you’re in luck. Your CPU, memory requirements, and disk space will almost certainly meet Microsoft’s recommended criteria for an nice Windows 7 experience. A 1GHz CPU, 16GB of storage, and 1GB of memory are the minimum requirements for Windows 7 to run acceptably, but these scant specs won’t cut it when it comes to the newest and most exciting features of Windows 7. For an optimal experience, make sure that you have a dual-core CPU and at least 2GB of memory in your box.

Give the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor a spin, which will run through your hardware and software, checking for any Windows 7 incompatibilities. An OS upgrade is never flawless, and there are always going to be driver issues for some hardware and software that won’t play nicely with a new operating system. If you’re already running Vista, your Windows 7 transition should be smooth and without snags.

Will Windows 7 like my current hardware?

Windows 7 may run above-par on your current hardware configuration, but you may be missing out on the newest and greatest features of Windows 7, like multi-touch support and native support for SSD storage devices. SSD drives packed with the amount of terabyte storage of today’s mechanical drives are unheard of, and SSD drives are still very expensive, but the incredible speed increases you’ll gain when reading and writing your data to disk are nothing to scoff at.

XP Mode to the rescue

Some popular applications just can’t let go of XP. They’ve been specifically written for XP or utilize some kind of quirk that only XP has; as such, these programs won’t run on Windows 7 without dropping into XP Mode. XP Mode allows Windows 7 users to run apps designed for XP, inside a virtual machine. You must have good hardware specs to run a virtual machine at a decent clip, and your CPU must support hardware virtualization. Be sure to check your PC’s specs first if you need XP Mode.

Do I need 64-bit computing?

32-bit Windows can only handle so much memory, but 64-bit versions of Windows can handle a whole lot more. Today, it’s cost effective to install scads of memory into your box, and we all know that the more memory the better. If you need to go beyond the 3GB boundary of 32-bit systems, considering a 64-bit version of Windows 7. Surfing the web and composing e-mail won’t tax your computer as much as video editing and compiling humongous amounts of source code, so a 64-bit version of Windows may be overkill for your needs.

Should I just upgrade my hardware for Windows 7?

An upgrade for Windows 7 professional is $200 USD, and Home Premium will set you back $120 USD. While you could buy more RAM, or a faster CPU, or more storage space, and then shell out some greenbacks for a Windows 7 upgrade, consider investing that chunk of change into a new PC already running Windows 7. New hardware may also come stock with today’s newest technologies, such as Blu-Ray and HDMI. On the other hand, if your current hardware setup is perfect for your needs, and you’ve already calculated that it’ll handle Windows 7 nicely, a simple upgrade might be just the ticket for you.

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