Angry Birds is Big Brother

Here’s some food for your mind.

* The NSA Is Using Angry Birds to Spy on You

“Many popular smartphone apps are being mined for user data by the government, and authorities are using them to track your sexual habits.” Read more..

* The Only Thing Scarier Than Self-Driving Cars Are the Hackers Waiting to Attack Them

“A new study claims that nearly 54 million autonomous vehicles will be sold by 2035. But as smart devices proliferate across all categories, risks abound.” Read more..

* Malicious intent can turn Chrome speech recognition into spying device

“A speech recognition expert contends malicious players can turn Google’s Chrome web browser into a remote listening device.” Read more..

* The Real Reason Why Google Bought Nest for $3.2 Billion

“Here’s a hint: It has to do with things people do ‘twice a day.‘” Read more..

* Did you miss it? Tuesday was Data Privacy Day.

Yes, that’s right. Data Privacy Day. Sponsored by the National Cyber Security Alliance (aka staysafeonline.org).

“Today the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is officially kicking off Data Privacy Day 2014, along with federal and private sector leaders. The theme for Data Privacy Day is Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data and Enabling Trust and will be echoed during numerous local and online events taking place globally and around the country.“

I did not notify you of this important event. Why?

“NCSA is teaming up with Facebook to broadcast the Data Privacy Day Kick Off event live online for the world to watch.“

ROTFLOL. Facebook???? It sure seems to me… somebody just isn’t “getting it”.
* Facebook CEO Admits To Calling Users ‘Dumb Fucks’

“Mark Zuckerberg admits in a New Yorker profile that he mocked early Facebook users for trusting him with their personal information.” Read more..

* Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder

“The rise of social networking online means that people no longer have an expectation of privacy, according to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.” Read more..

There’s some important things to know in the information above. I hope you’ll do some reading, and then tell your friends/family. (Because yes, the lunatics are running the asylum.) I apologize, Dear Reader, for reprinting that naughty word, but I do believe there’s good cause.

* Work From Home Like a Boss: Top Tech for Your Home Office

“Here are four tech tools to help telecommuters work harder, smarter and, yes, more comfortably, too.” Read more..

[Question: will these devices really help someone be more productive?]

Today’s quote: “If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.” ~ Bear Bryant

It is incumbent upon us to use the brains we have …

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of. And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.

IE, Firefox, or Chrome – Which is best?* | Consumer as beta tester

I am frequently asked my opinion about web browsers: mainly, “which is best – Firefox or Chrome?” Yes, sometimes I am asked about IE or Opera too. Well.. what do you mean by “best”? And is your definition of “best” the same as mine? Fortunately, I don’t have to think too hard when I am asked, as web browsers all basically do the same thing –> show you websites.

I use Firefox as my “alternative” browser. And I have chosen it simply because of the many Add-ons available. If these “Add ons” were not available, I would not use Firefox. It’s that simple.

So, what Firefox Add-ons do I use? I’ll show you:

[addenda: I have recently added OptimizeGoogle (specifically to strip out the ads in Gmail) to my suite of defenses.]

With the exception of the Vimeo video capture-to-blog plug in, I would recommend this configuration. Why? Well, what do these things do? Look at them, and you’ll see that they are defenses – typically, blocking elements I do not want. And yes folks, your machine needs defenses on the Internet. (OK. The Java is not a defense. It’s a vulnerability.. see, Java, the new Adobe (+How To Protect Yourself).)

Adding Add-ons to Firefox is easy: click on the Tools menu, and then Add-ons. A window like the one pictured will open. In the upper left is the Get Add-ons button. Click it.
(If that seems like too many to you, I would say at a minimum you want NoScript, WOT, and Flashblock.)

*     *     *

Do you have a favorite TV show? Do you ever record movies?

I thought so. So I have a reading reco for you, a tutorial: How To Burn A Recorded TV Show in Windows Media Center

“Many people out there that have Windows Vista and Windows 7 based computers have never tapped into the Windows Media Center component that is right under their noses.”

* Orig post: 11/12/2010

Today’s reco’d read: Should we now expect to pay $500+ to be tablet beta-testers?

“Tablet makers continue to fall short of the Apple iPad and roll out buggy and incomplete tablet devices, at prices of $500 or more, and I am getting tired of it. Aren’t you?” Read More…

Today’s quote: “Success is simply a matter of luck.  Ask any failure.”  ~ Earl Wilson

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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***Make $6,513 a day doing this***

(or, Fun With Spam)

I am a little bit weird I guess – I actually get a chuckle out of opening up my Spam folder. I look at the *stuff* collected there, and I ponder my fellow humans. Specifically — I wonder, “what were they thinking???”

One yesterday caught my attention. It was from someone named “Giedrius”. The subject line said, “***Make $6,513 a day doing this***”

* I have met an awful lot of people (in several different countries) in my life.. but never one named “Giedrius”. I have however, met lots of Pauls, Peters, Toms, and Joes, Jerrys, Jacks, Phils, Rogers .. and just about every other name in the book.

My second impression was.. “You know, if it said, ‘make $6,750 a day’, I might open it. But $6,513? That’s just not worth it..”
How did the crook decide on that number? Aw.. who cares?

PS – no, I did not open either the Importantt message nor the Immportant one. There’s a reason there’s a Spam folder.
* 97% of all the ‘signals’ traveling the Internet at any given moment are scam *stuff* like this. Clogging our bandwidth and wasting energy.
And, no, I don’t know what “this” is.. didn’t open it. Why validate my e-mail address?

Today’s free download: Have you encrypted your My Documents folder yet? Especially on your laptop? If you have an address book, tax info, a resume, business docs? More than half of all identity theft victims resulted from the physical theft of unencrypted laptops and thumb drives… which contain personally identifying data.

The easiest way to seamlessly encrypt your whole hard drive, folders, or just selected files, is to install the free TrueCrypt. Use this and even if your laptop is stolen, the thief won’t be able to read your files.
Be sure to set a good password!

Today’s free links:
Cupid Is Out To Get You – Valentine’s Day Spam Jumps. This article contains some excellent, and timely, advice.
And in the “cloud computing” Dept, Turn your cloud apps into desktop apps with SSB. Don’t know what SSB is? Find out.

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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A Real Life Review of Google’s New Browser

Google recently made news with its entry into the Web browser “war” — a direct challenge to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox.

Google’s browser is called “Chrome” (no, I don’t know why). It is still in Beta, but was released to the public early this month.

Needless to say, the “tech community” was a-buzz. Why would Google build a browser? Aren’t there enough of those? (Read Google’s answer here.)
It was fun to watch.. especially the conspiracy theorists.

But seriously, are you still searching for the perfect Web browser? Or, do you have your favorite ‘tweaked’ just right.. and it would take some kind of revolutionary quantum leap forward to get you to change? (I am one of the latter.)

I recently exchanged e-mails with a frequent reader of Tech–for Everyone, and the subject of Chrome came up. Since she is an excellent writer (check out her poker-oriented blog http://www.gadzooks64.blogspot.com/) and computer savvy, I asked her for her opinion of, and experiences with, Chrome.

She has kindly agreed to allow me to share with you what she wrote.. a non-techie review: 
“Chrome is definitely nicer than Firefox is some respects.  I certainly don’t have the Flash issues with it that I sometimes have with Firefox…

The interface is clean, but I prefer that my actual window space be maximized and the menus and toolbars to be as small as possible…

I realize this is still a Beta release so I hold out hope that the issues I had with it will be addressed prior to release. (Issues = nit picky quirks.)
• Every time Chrome opens it opens in the same place and size: WHICH IS NOT THE PLACE AND SIZE I WANT IT TO BE. Even after I maneuver it into the spot I want and the size I want, it continues to open where it darn well pleases. A nuisance for sure but not necessarily a deal breaker.
• Chrome must have and/or allow Add-ons: I LOVE my Delicious Toolbar, Woot Watcher, Abduction!, Adblock Plus, Colorful Tabs, Forecastfox, ScribeFire… you get the picture.  I assume Chrome won’t have any need for IE Tab.  Honestly, I could live without all of those BUT Delicious.  I have to have my Delicious.  I assume the Chrome will take Add-ons once it’s released.  I can’t see anyway they can compete with Firefox without add-ons.
• For something that is supposed to be so streamlined I find the title area to be pretty large compared to my compact theme for FF.  I think they could do a better job minimizing the browser and maximizing the viewable area. Since Chrome has no footer bar, it appears they have pretty comparable viewing areas..

Other than those quirks I found Chrome to be delightful (my emphasis). I would be inclined to give it a serious go as my default browser when it’s released.. provided I will have access to my Delicious bookmarks toolbar!

There’s a good chance I will use it before IE when I run into a Webpage that just won’t load right for me in FF.  I recently pulled up a page with video feeds from all over the areas being hit by the hurricane.  Firefox just didn’t want to load that page correctly while Chrome loaded it just fine. 
I will be giving Chrome another tryout once they release the full version, that’s for sure.  It definitely needs some work before it will replace Firefox as my default browser.

So there you have it– an average person’s (by that I mean, not a tech blogger’s) experience with Google’s new browser.

I don’t have anything to add. I welcome competition in the browser market. I am looking for serious improvements in security (and speed is nice too).
Who will win the “browser war”? You got me, but I’ve no doubt Chrome will prove a very serious contender.

Today’s free download(s): The new generation of Web browsers are here, and if you’re still using IE 6, well, please stop. Try a more secure and capable browser– such as:
* Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 (currently in Beta2).
* Firefox 3 from Mozilla (first update released).
* Google’s Chrome (Beta).
* Apple’s Safari for Windows.
* Opera 9.5 | Avant | Maxthon | Flock 2.0 | etc.

Bonus link(s): for an excellent advisory on general browser security, please read Drive-by Downlods–Update Your Browser Right Now! by Bill Mullins.
And for TWiT’s (Leo Laporte, Steve Gibson) podcast on Chrome’s security, click here.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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