USERBYTES.COM

Give the Gift of Netflix

Dec 19, 2010 Information Leave a comment

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.

Give the gift of NETFLIX now!

HOSTGATOR BLACK FRIDAY

Nov 25, 2010 Information Leave a comment

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!

Happy Thanksgiving

Nov 25, 2010 Information, Rants Leave a comment

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

Netflix Streaming Only and iOS 4.2.1

Nov 22, 2010 Apple, Information, iphone Leave a comment

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

Do Macs and Linux get Viruses and Malware?

Nov 17, 2010 Apple, Information, Operating Systems 2 Comments

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!

How to Create and Remember Strong Passwords

Oct 20, 2010 Information Leave a comment

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 Leave a comment

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.

Read More..

How to get the most battery life for your iphone

Oct 8, 2010 iphone Leave a comment

I often see people with their iphones and they love it, but often complain of battery life issues.

Here are my top ten tips to help you maximize battery life on your iphone. This mainly applies to the Iphone First Gen phone, the iphone 3G, and the iphone 3GS. The iphone 4 has significantly better battery life than its predecessors, so some of the following are a non issue.

1. Adjust Screen Brightness: Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. In addition, turning on Auto-Brightness allows the screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to Settings > Brightness and set Auto-Brightness to On.
Also, it may seem obvious, but you should lock your iPhone when you aren’t using it. You will be able to receive calls and text messages while it is locked, but nothing happens if you touch the screen. To lock iPhone, press the Sleep/Wake button. You can also set the Auto-Lock interval so your iPhone will turn off more quickly after a period of inactivity. To set Auto-Lock, go to Settings > General > Auto-Lock and set the interval to a short time, such as 1 minute.

2. Turn off 3G if you don’t absolutely need it: Using 3G cellular networks loads data faster, but may also decrease battery life, especially in areas with limited 3G coverage or in large metal buildings where it constantly switches from EDGE to 3G. To disable 3G, from the Home screen choose Settings > General > Network and set Enable 3G to Off. You will still be able to make and receive calls and access cellular data networks via EDGE or GPRS where available.

3. Turn off Bluetooth: If you rarely use a Bluetooth headset or car kit, you can turn off Bluetooth to save power. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and set Bluetooth to Off.

Read More..

Iphone 4 Anti Glare Film Set

Oct 7, 2010 iphone Leave a comment

I can’t describe to you how much I loved my iphone 3G when I first got it. I blogged about it here, its cases, and screen protectors. Especially the Anti Glare film set from Power Support that I picked up from the Apple Store.

Power Support makes THE BEST screen protectors for the iphone that I have ever used, and I had used several different brands in the past.

When June 24, 2010 rolled around, I had me a new iphone 4. If you thought I was crazy about the 3g, I went absolutely nuts over the the new 4th generation iphone. It is 3 x as fast and powerful as my older iphone.

Since I use TOM TOM, Google Maps, Slacker Radio, and other apps while its in a dock on my dash in the car, it is imperative that I have an Anti Glare film over it so that I am not constantly seeing my reflection.

Again I turn to Power Support only to find that they, at that time, didn’t have any yet for the iphone 4. This I did not like so I had to settle on some from the ATT store and they work, but are not all that great. The ones the ATT store offers pick up face grease way to easily.

Just recently Power Support supplied Apple with some new HD Anti-Glare Film Sets for the iphone 4.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!

I can not tell you hour durable and great these film sets are. On my old 3g, I still have the first one I ever applied to it. They last what seems like forever. I know on the 3g I put it on about 14 months ago and its still fine.

I just put one on my 4th generation iphone and I have an extra in the kit, that I will probably never use. Thats a good product!

I put a link here to get you some. They are now also on Amazon.com

Get you a set and thank me!

Watch Movies On Your Iphone and Online, Free Through Netflix

Sep 8, 2010 iphone, Iphone App Reviews, Software, Tech News Leave a comment

Let me tell you about my story with NetFlix and Blockbuster and why I chose NetFlix once again and urge you to take advantage of the free

I once was a long time user of NetFlix. I used it and loved it, got 3 rentals at a time and things were good. Later I crossed over to Blockbuster to save a few dollars, and Blockbuster allowed you to return your movies to the store and get your next free rental right there in the store. I thought this was neat and it was at the time cheaper than NetFlix.

I was enjoying Blockbuster until an unfortunate turn of events in 2008 left me without a 9 to 5, so I dropped it.

Now that I have a new line of work, I can once again afford a simple luxury of online movie rentals, and the best part is that it all has become even more affordable.

There have also been many advances in the online movie rental business lately which makes it even more appealing.

month long trial they are offering right now.

With more than 15 million members, Netflix, is the world’s largest subscription service streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by mail. For $8.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited TV episodes and movies streamed to their TVs and computers and can receive unlimited DVDs delivered quickly to their homes. With Netflix, there are never any due dates or late fees. Members can select from a growing library of titles that can be watched instantly and a vast array of titles on DVD. Among the large and expanding base of devices that can stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix are Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii consoles; Blu-ray disc players from Samsung, LG and Insignia; Internet TVs from LG, Sony and VIZIO; the Roku digital video player and TiVo digital video recorders, and Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Streaming video is all the rage now, and NetFlix is in the lead with its new iPhone / iPod / iPad application and its even included in the new Apple TV, even Microsoft has adopted it into its Windows Vista and Windows 7 Media Center.

Poor Blockbuster…. with its lack of streaming is facing bankruptcy as it cant keep up.

Recently, I became interested in NetFlix again, especially in the streaming ability to portable devices. I wanted to stream to my iPhone and to my Windows Media Center 7 in the living room, so using another family members account and I was able to test it out and I was well pleased. I really enjoyed how smooth the video was on my iPhone. It even works really well over 3G.

On the Windows Media Center it works really well too. The install was a breeze, simply navigate to the NetFlix icon and press it. Then you will be presented with a button to press to install it. Then all you will need to do is log in and start searching for movies.