Give the Gift of Netflix
Dec 19, 2010 Information
Give the gift of Netflix this year to a friend, co-worker, or family member. Its easy!
Netflix is great for streaming movies and TV shows to your TV through Boxee, Roku player, Apple TV, many Samsung and other televisions with built in web apps, and more. Also works with the Wii, Playstation 3, Iphone, Ipad and many many other devices.
HOSTGATOR BLACK FRIDAY
Nov 25, 2010 Information
WOO HOO you are not going to believe this one day deal HostGator is offering! Who is HostGator? They are a hosting company like Godaddy and offer web hosting services.
Tomorrow November the 26th from 12 AM until 11:59 PM (-6 GMT) you can get some really astounding deals on hosting.
HostGator is offering 50% OFF EVERYTHING From 12:00AM CST to 5AM CST also 80% OFF EVERYTHING From 5AM to 9AM CST WHILE SUPPLIES LAST (first come, first receive; so definitely don’t miss out!)
If you act now, you can receive up to 80% off of up to 3 years worth of Hosting! That would come out to $35.64 for 3 FULL YEARS!
That includes Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS Hosting AND even Dedicated Servers! Never before has HostGator allowed such a promotion on EVERYTHING including reseller, vps and dedicated servers.
Shared Hosting: $4.95/month AS LOW AS $0.99/month
Reseller Hosting: $24.95/month AS LOW AS $4.99/month
VPS Hosting: $19.95/month AS LOW AS $3.99 First Month
Dedicated Servers: $174/month AS LOW AS $34.80 First Month
As you can see, this is an absolutely CRAZY DEAL!
Remember this offer is only running for 1 DAY on Black Friday so hurry and act now!
Tags: blackfriday, hostgator, hosting
Happy Thanksgiving
Nov 25, 2010 Information, Rants
Yes its that time once again where we gather around the table to give thanks and feast on delicious foods prepared by family and friends. It seems like it takes hours and hours to prepare the feast and only minutes to devour it and return to our arm chairs or couches, or even to a rear bedroom for a nap after we stuffed our gullets full of food.
Oh but you cant rest…no you are the tech guy of the family…you have work to do whilst you are visiting.
How can you say no right?
Never fear, USERBYTES is here to offer some help.
OK lets go ahead and make the assumption that you will be dealing with Microsoft Windows computers probably dating back to Windows 95 no less too right? I mean if everyone was using Ubuntu or Mac OSX, I wouldn’t have to even right this article now would I?
Does that look like you up above?
I found a great article on LIFEHACKER.COM today that wrote what I wanted to write only better.
Here is the article http://lifehacker.com/5413223/ Check that out! They tell you how to do a quick triage of windows and how to back it up and easily get rid of malware and other slow auto starting crapware.
NOTE: Pictures are from TheOatmeal.com
Tags: Thanksgiving
Netflix Streaming Only and iOS 4.2.1
Nov 22, 2010 Apple, Information, iphone
Big news in tech today! Netflix announced its Streaming Only package, and Apple released its long awaited iOS 4.2.1 for all of its idevices.
Not too long ago I signed back up with Netflix to take advantage of the new streaming video they offered. I wanted to stream video to my iPhone and to my Media Center in the living room which ran Boxee. It was a not braining to go with them since their service was $8.99 and I could stream as much as I wanted to as many devices as I wanted.
All the while I was thinking it would be great if they offered a cheaper streaming only package since that’s all I used anyways. Then I read where Netflix was thinking about doing just such a thing. They thought about it for a few months and BAM! They did it!
Today they announced that they would offer a streaming only package. Here a list of the new price matrix.
So as you can see my current plan was about to increase by a dollar and I didn’t even use the mail DVD option, so I quickly went to my account settings within the Netflix website and chose the streaming only package.
If you have not took the time to sign up with Netflix, do it now! Its a great service.
In other news Apple released their 4.2.1 software for the ipod touch, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad. This is great for the iPad as it now allows the iPad to have backgrounding, airplay, and folders for apps.
Here let me break it down for you:
Multitasking for the iPad
Folders on the iPad
Airprint
Airplay
Find my iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch (for free now)
Notes with fonts that you can easily change
Reply to Calendar events to Yahoo, Google, and Exchange.
Messaging with Text Tones, now 17 new text tones that you can set for individuals that contact you.
Find Text on Web pages in Safari (finally this comes to the iPhone)
Airplay (video)
I am really glad that the Find My iPhone is now available for free. See how it works here. (video)
Updating is easy.
Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to your Mac or PC and follow the onscreen instructions in iTunes.
For those wondering about the Jail Break for the iOS 4.2 READ THIS
Tags: netflix
Do Macs and Linux get Viruses and Malware?
Nov 17, 2010 Apple, Information, Operating Systems
I often get asked do Macs get viruses like Windows?
Well the short answer is NO they do not. Apple themselves say… “Mac OS X doesn’t get PC viruses. And its built-in defenses help keep you safe from other malware without the hassle of constant alerts and sweeps.”
Notice they say “PC viruses”, or let me put it this way, Macs do not get viruses that infect Windows computers.
With Windows being the majority of the computers on the internet, they are more susceptible to viruses and malware. Macs do not hold but 10% of the computing market so they are a smaller target and less susceptible to threats.
Think about this….in order for a virus to be effective, it has to be viral, it has to spread from machine to machine.
Imagine a cold or flu…if only one person had a cold in your town, how would the cold spread? It wouldn’t.
On windows with its exploits, its easy to have a virus become viral, again because there are more Windows computers out there on the internet than there are Apple and Linux computers.
Another reason is the way the operating system is built. With Windows, the core of it which is still based on the old Windows NT framework has lots of flaws that are exploited. Viruses will write themselves to the root of the operation system or to its system32 directory, and most of the time, every install of windows sets the user with full administrative control, so when you accidentally run a malicious program, it installs what it needs to without question, wherever it needs to, and has full admin rights to do so. This is also known as running as root.
The Mac however is a form of BSD Unix, a bigger brother to Linux. On most all Unix/Linux systems, no one runs as root. You operate the computer as a regular user and only elevate yourself when something needs elevated privileges to do so. You will be prompted to enter your password. What’s interesting to know about BSD and Linux is that the core is open source. This means that you can basically download the Source to BSD and compile your own operating system, and use it for free. This is essentially what Apple did. They took Darwin Unix and BSD derivative and made it their own and sold it.
Now you would think that with it being “open source” many virus writers would see what was there and be able to write code to specifically exploit the operating system, but it’s actually the opposite. People who try and protect machines from viruses and malware can contribute making it more secure, whereas at Microsoft, their core is only seen by their small group of people, so it’s harder for them to come up with ideas on how to prevent the malicious things out there on the net.
Another thing that makes Windows a lot less secure than the Mac, is Internet Explorer and its use of Active X. Active X basically embeds an application inside the web browser, and executes as the system user, so you can actually go to a site that has a malicious active x control embedded in it and instantly get infected. On Mac and Linux systems, this doesn’t exist.
The core of the Mac is a lot more secure than the core of Windows. This is debatable but true.
The 64-bit applications in Snow Leopard are even more secure from hackers and malware than the 32-bit versions. That’s because 64-bit applications can use more advanced security techniques to fend off malicious code. Yes you can get Microsoft Windows in 64 bit, but remember we are still facing core issues.
Also with the Mac, with virtually no effort on your part, Mac OS X offers a multi-layered system of defenses against viruses and other malicious applications, or malware. For example, it prevents hackers from harming your programs through a technique called “sand-boxing” — restricting what actions programs can perform on your Mac, what files they can access, and what other programs they can launch. Other automatic security features include Library Randomization, which prevents malicious commands from finding their targets, and Execute Disable, which protects the memory in your Mac from attacks.
So really it boils down to virus and malware writers do not want to waste their time writing for the Mac and Linux because for one, it’s a limited number of user base, and its harder to write for since the Mac uses randomization and there is no easily exploitable active x and internet explorer on these systems.
Some tips to help you avoid getting viruses and malware.
- Download files only from known and trusted websites.
- On the Mac, use FileVault to encrypt your most important documents.
- Control access to your Mac by locking your screen after a period of inactivity.
- Securely delete outdated sensitive files with the Secure Empty Trash command.
- Don’t do anything stupid.
See the image below? It clearly states that its a Possible Phishing Site and gives you the option to leave!
Tags: Apple Computer, iMac, Mac, OSX
How to Create and Remember Strong Passwords
Oct 20, 2010 Information
If you are like me you have a dozen or so passwords for different things on the web, like youtube, bank, shopping, and other logins.
Oh and please tell me you are NOT using the same one for all, cause that would be down right stupid.
Here is a clever video put together by the guys over at Mozilla that will help you make strong easy to remember passwords.
I made the switch!
Oct 8, 2010 Apple, Information
That’s right, I drank the kool-aid, I MADE THE SWITCH!
Usually when you hear “I MADE THE SWITCH” in the tech circle, it no doubt means you moved away from Microsoft Windows to something else like Mac OS/X or Ubuntu.
Well I did both. I got me an Apple iMac and I scrubbed my old Dell D810 laptop and put Ubuntu Linux on it. Unfortunately for my Media Center computer, I had to stick with Windows 7. I plan to blog about the complete media center setup later on, and tell you why I had to stick with Windows on that one.
At work as a IT Specialists, I have no choice but to use Microsoft Windows for the most part, but at home I had definitely had enough!
Why did I change? What was the final straw? For the most part I was sick and tired of having to bend over backwards making windows secure enough to use on a daily basis and not get attacked by malware.
What is malware you ask? Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to secretly access a computer system without the owner’s informed consent. It usually takes the shape of fake anti-virus software pretending to show you that your system is infected when in fact it is not, and trying to nag you into visiting a site where you can purchase their software and rid your computer of the virus that it pretends to find.
My wife had gotten infected with malware and I had to get it off, then 30 days later it happened again, then again. It also happened to me on my computer and I was using Firefox with lots of precautions in place and yet malware still got through to me. Then it happened on my laptop! Enough is Enough!
For years I had played with Linux and dabbled with many Apple operating systems before and this time I decided to just go ahead and dive head first into the world of Apple.
Let me first describe some of the pains that I have endured over the years with Windows.
Tags: Apple Computer, iMac, Microsoft Sucks, Windows Sucks
Canned Responses in Gmail
Apr 12, 2010 Information
I don’t know how it happened, I think my email address was sold as a part of a list or something, but I started receiving emails in one of my Gmail accounts about some stupid money making scheme.
At the bottom of the email it had a place to unsubscribe to the email but simply emailing a reply with the subject of REMOVE ME.
I did this several times and I kept on getting emails. I even marked it as spam inside of Gmail for good measure and it still kept coming over to my phones email inbox.
Then it hit me. I remembered that Gmail had lots of filtering features that I could take advantage of. A simple way to deal with this guy that constantly refuses to remove me from his list would be to set a filter to move his incoming emails to the deleted items folder and I would never see it. But I wanted him to know that I was sending his email to the deleted items. I wanted a CANNED RESPONSE! Something set up to automatically let him know each time he sent me and email.
I went into Gmail and I knew where it once was but it was gone! This made me mad for a little bit till I looked deeper and Google had moved it to a new tab in the settings called LABS.
On the labs tab there are lots of little tools you can enable to use for your Gmail. Canned Response is one of them.
Here is how you can enable the feature and set up your first Canned Response.
Open up your mail and visit the settings tab
Now click on the Labs tab.
From there scroll down till you see Canned Responses and enable it.
After you have selected enable, scroll to the bottom and select Save Changes.
Now lets setup a canned response.
Compose a new email.
Save the email as a response.
Create a filter for emails you do not like or from people you do not care to get emails from. We will set an auto response for these.
Click CREATE A NEW FILTER
Here I will type who to filter the email from.
Here I will tell it to skip the inbox, and send the canned response. The one I made and saved earlier.
There you have it. Next time I get an email from the jerk, he will get my response and I will never see it.
Tags: canned response, gmail
Many Companies Say FACEBOOK is the Riskiest Social Networking Site
Feb 2, 2010 Hacks, Information
Did you read my earlier article about how some applications were not really safe on Facebook? The article is here.The article was basically about how Facebook doesn’t always have your best interest in mind. They are not screening the applications on there very well and what you get when they do not screen the applications very well is malware and spyware and even viruses on your computer.
Over 70% more companies reported spam and malicious infections arrived via social networks in 2009 vs. 2008. By the end of last year, 72% of companies expressed concern that their employees’ use of popular social sites could result in a security breach. Of all the companies that reported, 60% of companies now consider Facebook to be the riskiest social network out there.
Those findings, released Monday, come from a survey of 500 companies worldwide conducted by security firm Sophos. They help quantify the rising tide of spam and malicious infections proliferating on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo and other such social networks.
As the planet’ s largest social network, Facebook might naturally be expected to emerge as the No. 1 target of cybercriminals, says Graham Cluley, a senior analyst at Sophos. But he says Facebook has exacerbated matters by asking its members to embrace a new, more granular privacy setting. Cluley demonstrates in this video how the new setting, in effect, authorizes Facebook to expose more of its member-generated content to everyone on the Internet.
Facebook’s new privacy setting gives the company leeway to submit more content to Google, Microsoft Bing and Yahoo Search so the search services can incorporate more Facebook content into real-time search results, much as they’ve begun doing with Twitter microblog postings, says Cluley. Don’t believe me? Google your name. When I Google my name the first thing that pops up is my twitter account.
However, the wider release of Facebook members’ data “inevitably means more information will be made available to cybercriminals who want to target you or you company for an attack,” says Cluley.
Facebook continues to defend its new privacy setting as flexible and easy to change. But privacy advocates continue to criticize the move. And last week the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada launched an investigation into a citizen’s complaint about the new settings.
Meanwhile, Sophos’ new survey includes extensive analysis about how Facebook, Twitter and other social networks have become like a candy store for data thieves. The fast-morphing Koobface social network worm is a case in point:
Most notably, the notorious Koobface worm family became more diverse and sophisticated in 2009. The sophistication of Koobface is such that it is capable of registering a Facebook account, activating the account by confirming an email sent to a Gmail address, befriending random strangers on the site, joining random Facebook groups, and posting messages on the walls of Facebook friends (often claiming to link to sexy videos laced with malware). Furthermore, it includes code to avoid drawing attention to itself by restricting how many new Facebook friends it makes each day.
Koobface’s attack vectors broadened, targeting a wide range of sites other than the one that gave it its name (i.e., Facebook). Social networking sites, including MySpace and Bebo, were added to the worm’s arsenal in 2008; Tagged and Friendster joined the roster in early 2009; and most recently the code was extended to include Twitter in a growing battery of attacks. It is likely we will see more malware following in the footsteps of Koobface, creating Web 2.0 botnets with the intention of stealing data, displaying fake anti-virus alerts and generating income for hacking gangs.
This is why you have to be aware of who you FRIEND on Facebook and other sites. If you are allowing random people you don’t know to befriend you on Facebook, that’s a problem!. Are you just after a high number of friends? Well, welcome to virus-ville. I don’t even friend some that I do know as friends.
