COMPUT3R, M0B!L3 H4CKIN 71P5 & 7R1CK5

I know we featured a password tip in the newsletter just the other day, but in the meantime, one of our loyal readers (thank you Mr. Kenneth J. Roberts!) sent me another great password idea. It's the method he uses for all of his passwords and I thought it was so great, I just had to pass it along to all of you as well. So, if you ever have trouble coming up with secure passwords,...

Just a few weeks ago, Erin wrote about a fake antivirus program called XP Antivirus 2008. That program forces itself onto your computer and starts causing all kinds of trouble. Now, it looks like there's another program out there doing the exact same thing. I have received several phone calls and e-mails...

Everyone knows there are a ton of Web sites out there that can be harmful to your computer, unsafe for your children and just simply unwanted by everyone. I'm sure all of you have come across a site you wish you would have never seen. People are always asking me how they can filter their Internet access so that those...

A reader asks: My antivirus software says it has "real time" protection. Since it's always monitoring for virus activity, do I ever need to run a full virus scan on my whole system? Well, the quick answer is yes. You still need to run a full virus scan about once a week. Now, I'll give ...

I have written several different articles about securing your wireless connections. Having an insecure wireless network is like getting a megaphone and announcing your social security number to your whole neighborhood. When your wireless network is not encrypted, anyone within range can gain access to your data fairly...

Please listen up! You don't want to miss this important announcement! Last Thursday (October 23, 2008), Microsoft released a critical Windows security patch, which is something they haven’t done since April 2007. And of course, it quickly started raising eyebrows in the technology community. The security...

You may not know it, but just yesterday, we celebrated a very sad milestone in the world of computing. On November 2, 1988, the first Internet based worm was released to the public. The worm wasn't really intended to do any damage, as it was just there to try and find out how many computers were using the Internet....

Did you know that when you send an e-mail, it's not secure? I'm sure you've heard people say you should never send personal information, such as credit card numbers, social security numbers and sensitive files through e-mail, but do you know why? Well, today, I'm going to explain all of that and give you options...

I often find myself saying, "Please keep your computer up to date!" Well, today is another one of those days, but it may be too late for some of you. As you may or may not recall, back in October 2008, Microsoft released an emergency security patch to protect computers from a worm that could exploit the...

PayPal Security Key PayPal has recently introduced the new PayPal Security Key service and that's what I'd like to talk to you about today! The PayPal Security Key service is essentially designed to add an additional layer of security to the existing PayPal authentication, which uses a username ...

Would you like to have one of your pictures as a desktop background? It's easier than you think! 1. Figure out your screen resolution. Before you begin, you'll need to figure out what size the final image needs to be. Fortunately, this is really easy. Just right-click a blank area on your desktop and select Properties from the resulting menu. Then, click the Settings...

I love it when I find a cool picture or graphic to use as a wallpaper image. The only problem I run into is that I usually find too many pictures to use as wallpaper and can never make up my mind. So what I end up doing is changing my wallpaper constantly— I'd say I change my wallpaper on the average of once every day or two. There's still one issue I had to deal with...

Do you ever get tired of the repetitive process of shutting down your computer? You know, you have to go to your Start menu and then select Turn Off or Shut Down, whichever your computer has. Then you have to wait for it to actually shut down just to make sure it did it properly. Well, how would you like to bypass all of that and make...

The time may come that you'll need to reinstall your Windows XP. It could happen. Maybe you'll add a new motherboard or hard drive. Maybe you'll get constant errors and problems that just won't go away. Or perhaps you're a neat freak who wants to rid yourself of clutter and start fresh with a clean operating system. If you do reinstall Windows XP, then you'll need...

Do you share a computer with other users and want some extra security on your folders? There are two ways to password protect a folder built into Windows XP (for other Windows flavors, there are some freeware/shareware programs out there). #1: If you have a log in password for your account, this can be used to protect folders from other users. Your hard drive must be...

We all know that cell phones are one of today's big crazes. An even bigger one is camera cell phones. Before we know it, all cell phones will probably have camera abilities, because the world today likes to see real images rather than just words. So, it may be a good idea to know what you can do with the pictures you take on your phone...

The energy consumption needs of technology As late as 1993, high-tech paraphernalia like computers, printers and video games had a negligible effect on power usage. Today, it's estimated to account for more than 13 percent of a typical household energy budget. By 2020, it could be as much as 25 perce...

Where do computer viruses come from ?70 percent of virus writers work under contract for organized crime syndicat...

Simple Steps:To protect your computer So you've bought your computer and want to get online? It's not as simple as connect the wire and off you go these day's. The internet is a weird and wonderful place as long as you can control what you do. That's why you need to protect yourself. These can be done in a number of very simple steps. This article will get you started but...