computers « Tech – for Everyone

Today’s ‘Must Read’

Folks, here’s an article I recommend everybody reads.. even those who are ‘not techies’. (Especially those..)

* How one hacker exposed thousands of insecure desktops that anyone can remotely view

Today’s quote: “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” ~ Lyndon B. Johnson

All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

March 29, 2016 Posted by techpaul | cloud computing, computers, cyber crime, Cyberwarfare, hackers, Internet, Internet of Things, News, security, tech | computers, hack, hacked, hackers, Internet, network, News, remote desktop, remote viewing, security, tech, vnc, vulnerabilities | Leave a comment

A Daily Read*

It’s a fact: over time, things grow, and expand. The Internet itself is constantly growing, and every day thousands of new websites, blogs, and ‘online services’ appear.

I find it hard to keep up! (As, other things that are constantly growing are my business and my To Do List..) I simply do not have the time to explore them all.. and I bet you don’t either. (As a matter of fact, they say over 1,000 new ‘tech blogs’ are created each month. That’s the kind of market I am in!)

Fortunately, I know a guy.

That “guy” is Rick Robinette, and for over two years now his What’s On My PC… website has been a daily read of mine — one of the half dozen (or less) remaining “daily reads”. I cannot say enough nice things about him; but the reason I am mentioning him to you, Dear Reader, is — he is reporting on the new ‘cloud computing’ developments as they happen, and bringing us the best of this new stuff. As you can see from his list of ‘pages’, below. (With a strong emphasis on free.. which I like!)

His writing is friendly, relaxed, fun, and yes, educational. He enjoys exploring fun and useful small utilities like desktop clocks and weather reports and sticky notes. As evidence, here’s a few recent What’s On My PC… articles:

Freahly printed: Three Technological Innovations That Will Blow Your Mind

Other samplings..

If you are at all interested in free software, useful tips, and/or want to get a feel for this “cloud computing”.. well, now you ‘know a guy’ too. Visit http://whatsonmypc.wordpress.com and find out why I cannot say enough good things about this great online resource.

I am pretty sure that if you do, Rick will become one of your “must reads” too!

* Orig post: 1/18/11

November 18, 2011 Posted by techpaul | advice, cloud computing, Internet, tech | best, computers, education, great, instruction, recommended, rick robinette, tech, top, website, websites, whatsonmypc.wordpress.com | 9 Comments

Android Adventures – Part 3

Welcome to part 3 of my Android series. (Previously, My First Look At Android, part 1 and Playing with an Android – Part 2.) Yesterday, in part2, I ran long listing the features of my new Android smart phone I am finding most neat-o and useful. So let me continue…

7) “Hands free”/voice search/”Genius button”: Along with my phone, I got one of those Lt. Uhura ear doodads (Bluetooth headset), as Kallyfornyah has a much-ignored “Hands-free” Law. With it (or the ‘genius button’) I can tap a button, and say, “call, Joe Smith, mobile” and – like magic – a woman’s voice confirms that I am calling Joe’s cell. Or, I can say “find pizza” and – like magic – my phone will display results, and a map. I mentioned before that I am a dinosaur: so, I am a bit “weirded out” by voice recognition, but the more I use it the more I like it. I have to confess, too, it’s cool.
(The “genius button” is a dedicated “voice recognition” activator. Those w/o such a shortcut might prefer Vlingo.. from what I understand, it has fewer errors than Google’s app.)

8) “Swype”: Being the old dinosaur that I am, I completely missed the the whole ‘texting’ thing, and never learned to “thumb type” on those little-bitty buttons. While I find “touchscreen” keyboards doable, I also find myself using the backspace button almost every other letter. That is why I LOVE “Swype”, and consider it a must have. Here’s a video demonstration..

9) Clock/timer: I am somewhat like the “absent-minded professor” and get caught up in what I’m doing; which makes me a wee bit forgetful, and the ability to quickly set a timer to chime and remind me that it’s time to move the hose, or check the oven, has proven quite valuable to me.
(I still (usually) wear a wristwatch, but I have set each screen on my phone to have a clock ‘widget’; so a glance there is just as good as a glance at my wrist.. well.. my phone’s clock will tell me the temperature too.)

10) Productivity ‘apps’: I have found that get-myself-organized tools, like To Do Lists and calendared appointments (and reminders) are most useful to me when they are actually in the same place I am: it has proven near useless for me to write myself a note, and then leave that note at my friend’s house, or in my car, or some other location I am not.

It occurred to me that, as a full-blooded Geek, I am never too far away from a computer.. so I decided to start using Google Calendar, Tasks, and Evernote (whose slogan is “Remember everything”). I wanted that same ability on a phone. Android is a Google product, so seamless editing/updating of Calender, Gmail, and Tasks was/is a big “selling point” for me. I really enjoy being able to schedule a follow-up appointment, while I am with my client, by just tapping my phone — and having that appointment appear on my computers at home/office automatically (no ‘multiple entry’).
With Evernote, I can use the phone’s camera to ‘snap’ an image as a note/reminder.. which has come in handy a few times already. And I use it kind of like an ‘everywhere sticky note’.

I am curious what mobile “business productivity” apps folks out there are using, and finding “best”. I hope readers will leave their reco’s as a comment.

11) This last one is just plain .. odd. I downloaded a compass/leveling tool to fiddle with, and dang, if the bubble-leveler didn’t come in handy for some household chores I had to do (picture frame leveling).

March 12, 2011 Posted by techpaul | Android, cellular, gadgets, hardware, Internet, iPhone, mobile | advice, android, apps, cellular, computers, features, gadgets, Google, IM, iPhone, mobile | android, review, smart phone, techpaul | 2 Comments

What is a “Virtual Machine”?*

Yesterday’s article brought up the topic of VM’s (virtual machines). The following article was one of my early Tech – for Everyone efforts, and while it references XP frequently (the main OS of the day), required only slight updating. I hope you will enjoy it.

One of the hot topics in the IT industry is virtualization ¹. Basically what this is, is software that creates an environment — on an existing PC — into which you can install (and run) another operating system [OS]; in short, running a PC on top of your PC.. which gives you two PCs. This “on top of” machine is called a “virtual machine“.

Tip of the day: Get more out of your PC by using a virtual environment.
(I must take a moment to state that it is the power of the newer generations of PCs that allow us to take advantage of machine virtualization. VM “shares” resources (CPU, RAM) with the existing install… so if you’re barely clunking along as it is, forget about VMs and click here to read my article(s) on when it’s time for a new machine.)

How can this benefit you? One of the main advantages is when you are thinking about a dual-boot install, or would like to do away with an existing dual-boot set up — say, for security reasons. Instead of partitioning your hard drive, and using FAT32 to run (boot to) either Windows 98 or XP, format your drive in NTFS, install XP/Vista/Win7, and run 98 inside the virtual environment. (I am using Windows 98 as an example. You may want to run a Linux distro, and learn about Open Source. The fact is you can run any OS that you have a license for [I believe. I have not tried to load every OS personally…])
If you do this, and create a shared folder for the VM on your ‘base OS’, you will be able to switch back and forth between the two and share files with both OS’s.

Another advantage of using a VM is, it loads much like “mounting” a disk image. You can make multiple ’snapshots’ of your VM, and load the one of your choosing. This is an absolutely fantastic method for dealing with security issues. I know several geeks who run an XP VM on their XP machine– they use the VM version for their daily surfing and usage, and as a “sandbox” for testing downloaded programs and patches/Updates. At the end of the day, they just close the VM, and when they open it again (unless they take a ’snapshot’ and Save those changes to the VM) their pristine VM loads: no browsing history, no spyware, no trace of yesterday’s activity… just a brand-new XP machine.
By keeping a copy of the VM snapshot in another location, they always have a full system backup on hand. (And all my readers know about the importance of recovery backups!)

These are just two uses and applications for virtual machines (VMs). You may be able to think of others. You are not just limited to one VM, either — but each VM (unless it is an Open Source OS, like Linux) does require a valid Product Key/license. This is not a way to cheat.

Today’s free download(s): The most popular virtual machine software is put out by VMware. The free offerings are VMware Server (don’t worry about the use of the word “server”) and VMware Player (which is a web browsing sandbox). Not only is this a flexible (highly compatible with your particular hardware) program, but VMware offers several pre-configured Open Source ’snapshots’, called “appliances”, that you can download and run without going through an OS install process.

Microsoft also offers free virtual machine software, that some people argue works better with Microsoft OS’s. From website: “Virtual PC 2007 is a powerful software virtualization solution that allows you to run multiple PC-based operating systems simultaneously on one workstation.”

Reader recommended VirtualBox is also free, and a possible alternative to Virtual PC and VMWare. Their homepage is here, http://www.virtualbox.org/.

Either way you decide, you are not making fundamental changes to your hard drive or currently installed operating system. This is just a program, like Excel or Word is a program. Simply uninstall it if you find you don’t like or need it.. but I doubt very much that you ever will– it’s just too useful and safe.

¹ (For IT types) Virtualization in the Data Center has (under the banner of the “green movement” – and because it saves money) been for several years now, an area of study and certification not to be overlooked.

* Orig post: 9/8/07

January 27, 2011 Posted by techpaul | computers | computers, distro, dual boot, how to, Linux, machine, operate, player, run, server, tech, techpaul, tips, use, virtual, Virtual PC, virtualization, vmware, what is | 10 Comments

A Daily Dose of Tech

It’s a fact: over time, things grow, and expand. The Internet itself is constantly growing, and every day thousands of new websites, blogs, and ‘online services’ appear.

Fortunately, I know a guy.

His writing is friendly, relaxed, fun, and yes, educational. He enjoys exploring fun and useful small utilities like desktop clocks and weather reports and sticky notes. For proof, here’s a few recent What’s On My PC… articles:

I am pretty sure that if you do, Rick will become one of your “must reads” too!

Share this post :

January 18, 2011 Posted by techpaul | cloud computing, computers, Internet, tech | best, computers, education, great, instruction, recommended, rick robinette, tech, top, website, websites, whatsonmypc.wordpress.com | 8 Comments

WikiLeaks: Lessons – for Everyone

I think we have all by now heard about the rather embarrassing publication of thousands of “secret” government correspondences on WikiLeaks.

Many are/were shocked and surprised, and wondered, “how could this happen?”

Ha. The better question is – how could it not? In fact, you don’t have to know much about network communications, nor data storage, nor databases to know “secure” does not mean secure – not the way you and I think of it. (Secure in computing seems to mean “difficult”, as in in, it’s difficult to access, so it’s secure.)

“WikiLeaks Teaches Us that No Data is Safe.”

Though I harbor no intention of ever becoming a CISSP, I have studied the material (yes, I am that “geeky”) and occasionally take practice tests. For fun, yes, and because we live in the “digital age”. And I am in the front lines of one of the “cyber wars” we have been waging (for over a decade) — the war against “hackers” (they’re really just criminals using computers) and the viruses and spyware they infect us with (“malware” is a much better word).

And I watched tech rise up, and start toddling around.. and I watched all the bright boys say “wouldn’t it be neat if we could get these machine talking to each other?!” And so I understand how cobbled together and makeshift all these “protocols” and “new technologies” are. Because at first, the machines were either non-talkative, or only spoke to similar machines.

And the whole while, I lived right here in the Silicon Valley, and watched people become overnight millionaires just because they rushed something out and got to market first (with a prototype, in “beta” development). (Or worse, just marketed an idea for an alpha prototype.) And a word got invented and it was filled with magical powers — “startup”. It attracted money out of thin air.

But, I digress – back to the CISSP (that’s the ‘competency test” for Information Security types). You know what it teaches, essentially? “Risk Management” (choose what risks are acceptable, and which you should dump money into “shoring up”) and “What To Do After You Have Been Violated”. Nowhere in the curriculum can I find the chapter that says “Do This And Be Safe, Secure, & Bullet-Proof”.

“Cuz there is no such thing. Any security pro could tell you (I believe) that even if there were some way to harden down communications and the machines that use them (and on the current Internet, with our current machines and devices, there is not) all the way to “bullet-proof”, there’s still the humans using the machines.

Do you think it took a super spy like James Bond to obtain those documents? You know.. using some laser in his wristwatch to cut his way into some heavily guarded “commo room”? So he could pocket some super CD? Like in the movies? (the first Mission Impossible, maybe?)

Ha.. I made myself chuckle at that. No, all James would have to do is get a job as a night janitor, and walk from PC to PC typing in “password” until he had full access to any database. ‘Cuz some regular employee surely is using that as their logon, (and some IT type isn’t enforcing the password policy..)

No I wasn’t, and I doubt anyone who really thinks about things would be, surprised by the “leak”. We knew it was coming, because we know the government uses the Internet for communications. And uses PC’s like ours. (And they want to put more information about us into their databases. Everyday. Great, eh?) Though they should not be. We know of other “breaches” and “thefts” and “leaks”. (Some of us have become kind of numb from seeing so many, month after month.. ) And, know this, our government (typically) tries harder at security than our businesses and corporations (typically) do. (Remember TJMax?)

But this isn’t about me, nor the government, it’s about you. I remind you of the quote higher up, “WikiLeaks Teaches Us that No Data is Safe.” That is the title of a recent article by long time tech writer Lance Ulanoff, who happens to be the current Editor in Chief of PC Magazine. Here’s an excerpt..

and here is the link to the article, WikiLeaks Teaches Us that No Data is Safe. I think it a very good, and very important read. I hope you’ll read it. And I hope you’ll think about it too..

Related links: 7 Practices for Computer Security

1 Protect your personal information. It’s valuable.

2 Know who you’re dealing with.

3 Use security software that updates automatically.

4 Keep your operating system and Web browser up-to-date, and learn about their security features.

5 Keep your passwords safe, secure, and strong.

6 Back up important files.

7 Learn what to do in an e-mergency.

Sorta related: (And just one example of why I think “cloud computing” is a fundamentally bad idea.) Operation Payback cripples MasterCard site in revenge for WikiLeaks ban

Cheer up. Some good news: Accused Mega-D botnet operator arrested

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December 8, 2010 Posted by techpaul | computers, Internet, security | computers, Internet, lessons, security, techpaul, wikileaks, wikileaks: lessons for everyone | 13 Comments

XP Error Messages.. (wink)

A loyal reader sent me this video showing Windows XP Error messages that has to be seen to be believed. I could not ’embed’ the video, so you must click here to see it.
Thank you, Dear Reader (you know who you are).

Get your attention? Find out more here: A SUPER-Special Software License Giveaway (My Last?)

A short while back now I wrote a popular series about hardware upgrading – specifically, about rebuilding my gaming rig into an Intel i7/X58 based machine to take advantage of the new technologies available to us consumers. (To see that series, click here.)

The other day I noticed a good price on an X58 motherboard on the “B stock” page at EVGA. EVGA is my company of choice for nVIDIA based graphics cards and mobo’s.
(X58 is already B-stock.. wow. I know “Moore’s Law“ tells us that tech is ‘growing’ at an exponential rate [evolving is a better word] but this is ridiculous. I think time needs to slow down…)

To see all the deals at EVGA (on slightly-older-than-cutting-edge gear) click here.

SUPER Software License Giveaway Drawing

Today’s free download: Need a “quick and simple” program for working with digital images? FastStone Image Viewer 4.2
“An image browser, converter and editor that supports all major graphic formats including BMP, JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, ICO and TGA. It has a nice array of features such as image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping, color adjustments, musical slideshow and much more.”

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July 28, 2010 Posted by techpaul | computers, free software, software, tech | computers, free software, tech, techpaul | 6 Comments

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• About Tech Paul

I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.

I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.

Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.

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Tech – for Everyone

Tech Tips and Tricks & Advice – written in plain English.

Today’s ‘Must Read’

A Daily Read*

Android Adventures – Part 3

What is a “Virtual Machine”?*

A Daily Dose of Tech

WikiLeaks: Lessons – for Everyone

“WikiLeaks Teaches Us that No Data is Safe.”

XP Error Messages.. (wink)

SUPER Software License Giveaway Drawing

• About Tech Paul

Recent Posts

Blogroll

Visitors to date

Follow Blog via Email

Pages

Recent Comments

Previous Tips & Answers (aka Search This Site)

A Winner’s Blueprint for Achievement

Site info

Tech Tips and Tricks & Advice – written in plain English.

“WikiLeaks Teaches Us that No Data is Safe.”

** SUPER Software License Giveaway Drawing **

• About Tech Paul

Recent Posts

Blogroll

Visitors to date

Follow Blog via Email

Pages

Recent Comments

Previous Tips & Answers (aka Search This Site)

A Winner’s Blueprint for Achievement

Site info

SUPER Software License Giveaway Drawing