Net Nuetrality, and other tidbits
Feels like Monday…
* The FCC’s Net neutrality plan is much worse than it looks
“Under the new proposal, ISPs will be slower to upgrade their networks and will find it easier to exploit customers on both ends.” Read more..
I hope you’re not surprised… * China accuses Cisco of supporting US cyberwar efforts
“China is attacking secret surveillance programs of the U.S. government with harsh words from its state-controlled press, accusing Cisco of helping the U.S. in cyber espionage.” Read more..
* IE8 zero-day vulnerability unpatched for months, possibly millions at risk
“An unpatched zero-day use-after-free remote code execution vulnerability affecting Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) was publicly disclosed on Wednesday by the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) because it has been more than six months since the flaw was initially reported and Microsoft has yet to issue a fix.” Read more..
[Please understand, one shouldn’t get too sore at MS for this, as a better question is, “why is someone using an obsolete version?”] (Some might argue a better question is, “why is someone using Internet Explorer at all?)
Follow up: The eBay data compromise: What you need to know
“eBay has joined the elite list of companies that have lost members’ personal information. Learn how that affects you personally.” Read more..
Bah. That’s enough for today.
Today’s quotable quote: “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” ~ Jim Rohn
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.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)
Internet Explorer Favorites Are Missing
Bookmarks (called “Favorites” in Internet Explorer) make returning to our favorite Websites an easy task, and I — for one — rely on mine. The other day I got a call from someone whose Favorites had disappeared. Quite naturally, I think, they wanted to get them back, and came to me for aid.
An important thing to understand is that Favorites and Bookmarks are shortcuts.. just like the icons on your Desktop are shortcuts to programs (.exe’s) located in your c:\Program Files folder. Your “Favorites” are simply a list of shortcuts to URL’s, and when you click on the gold star Favorites icon, this list is displayed. You can (and should) “export” this list to other browsers, a comma-separated-values (.csv) file, or a HTML file.. And you can add and delete items from this list as your heart desires.
[note: Firefox answer is here: Restore Bookmarks in Firefox– quick tip]
Tip of the day: IE is a integral component to Windows, and Windows stores your custom configurations in your User Account– your Desktop icons, Theme, Settings, etc.. Windows allows for multiple users, and each person who uses the machine should have their own user account– it also has some built-in accounts, like Administrator, and Guest (or “Public”).
If your Favorites list is empty, and not displaying any shortcuts, the first thing you should check is that you’re logged into your User Account. Click the Start button, and then choose “Log off” (or “Switch User”, depending) and verify that you are indeed logged into your user profile (and not Guest or Admin..).
If this is not the issue, navigate to the folder that contains the shortcuts list– this is called “Favorites”, and it’s located in your User folder. In XP, your User folder is in the Documents and Setting folder, so your path is C:\Documents and Settings\username*\Favorites.
In Vista and Windows 7, it’s C:\Users\username\Favorites.
Open the Favorites folder and see if your bookmarks are there. If they’re not, well, something’s happened to them somehow, and this might very well be a cause for concern (has a hacker been playing on your machine?) or it might be just ‘one of those things..’ we Windows users sometimes experience.
To restore the shortcuts, you can “import” a .csv, or .html ‘export’ you made earlier (hint, hint).. or copy the contents from a backup copy of your Favorites folder (which, because you follow my advice, you have on CD/DVD and/or another drive).
Or, you have never exported and haven’t backed up your files and folders.. (ahem), well, here is where you can try System Restore to revert your computer to an earlier date. System Restore does not restore deleted files, but it does store User Account information, and so you may have luck this way.
My article on using System Restore is here.
Today’s free download: PowerISO is a powerful CD/DVD image file processing tool, which allows you to open, extract, create, edit, burn, compress, encrypt, split and convert ISO files, and mount these files with internal virtual drive. It can process almost all CD-ROM image files including ISO and BIN.
Today’s quote: “People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
Let’s review: If your “favorites” list is important to you, back it up. “Export” it to a file. Like, now. (Maybe.. email the file to yourself, too.) The How To steps are here.
Note: You may have noticed from the dates on the screenshot that this article was first published back in 2008. Back then, I used to urge people to “make a backup” at least once a month. Years ago, I gave up .. “wasting my breath”. But, since it is NCSAM, I’ll say it one more time (though the evidence is in and it’s conclusive: not one person will get smart, and follow through. Oh, well. Your loss, tears, and heartache.)
Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Troubleshooting Internet Explorer (A Collection of How To’s)
It is a simple and well-known fact of life — sometimes things go wrong with computers.
When that something is your web browser, and you cannot surf the ‘net, or log in to your email, or Google Docs, well, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a computer these days.
Causes: There can be many reasons your browser can get ‘corrupted’ and stop functioning properly – from viruses, to Updates failing to install properly, and also “cookies” can ‘go bad’ – and so there is no 1-click-cures-all, (wouldn’t that be great?) but here are some things you can do to try to get Internet Explorer working like it should, and/or working like you want it to .
[note: most of the practical steps described in the article links below can be applied to other web browsers.. (Firefox, Chrome, etc.) ]
Restore Missing Favorites In IE*
Internet Explorer Runtime Error!!*
Quick Tip: Turn on ClearType in Internet Explorer
View Multiple Mail Identities in One Browser
Extracting text from Web pages*
Precautions for your Internet privacy*
Quick Tip: Customize new tabs behavior
IE’s Menu bar, Taskbar icons, and bad Updates*
Internet/E-mail Troubleshooting – JavaScript
I hope you found this collection of How To articles helpful.
Today’s quote: “Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” ~ Thomas Carlyle
Bonus tip: If you are in a position where you need to get your Dear Sweet Aunt Martha (or other utterly tech unsavvy type) a computer so that they can have email, do yourself a favor, spring for an iMac.
Bonus reading:
“Spammers and “slammers” took advantage of world-wide attention on the London 2012 Olympics to flood us with junk and fill the social media streams with abuse. Here’s a snapshot of their activity.” Read more
* Are You Forwarding Hate Email As A Political Propaganda Tool?
“Have you noticed that as the we ramp up for the U.S. Presidential election the hate email propaganda starts to roll in. I have been getting so much of it (mostly from personal acquaintances) that it actually makes me very uncomfortable and has me questioning the stability and IQ of our population. I sometimes feel […]” Read more..
Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Repair Internet Explorer
Sometimes things go wrong with PC’s.
When that something is your web browser, and you cannot surf the ‘net, or log in to your email, or Google Docs, well, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a computer.
There can be many reasons your browser can get ‘corrupted’ – from viruses, to Updates failing to install properly, and also “cookies” can ‘go bad’ – and so there is no 1-click-cures-all, (wouldn’t that be great?) but here are some things you can do to try to get Internet Explorer working like it should, and/or working like you want it to .
[note: much of the practical steps described in the article links below can be applied to other web browsers.. ]
Restore Missing Favorites In IE*
Internet Explorer Runtime Error!!*
Quick Tip: Turn on ClearType in Internet Explorer
View Multiple Mail Identities in One Browser
Extracting text from Web pages*
Precautions for your Internet privacy*
Quick Tip: Customize new tabs behavior
IE’s Menu bar, Taskbar icons, and bad Updates*
Internet/E-mail Troubleshooting – JavaScript
I hope you found this resource helpful.
Today’s quote: “Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” ~ Thomas Carlyle
Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
Safe Browser Rebuttal + More
The other day I mentioned a study which concluded that Internet Explorer by far and away blocked more malware than the competition (see Which Browser Blocks The Most Malware? Surprise!). Today I noticed a fresh article which takes quite a different view..
• Internet Explorer is the safest Web browser!? Ha!
“Microsoft is trying again to con people into thinking that Internet Explorer is the safest browser around. It’s not. At best, it’s tied with Chrome.” Read more..
Some other items of interest..
• Google engineer calls Google+ a “pathetic afterthought” and “knee-jerk reaction”
“A Google software engineer who accidentally broadcast a 4,578-word rant about the company’s failings saved his toughest criticism for the Google+ service. A list of features can’t make up for a…” Read more..
• New UK ISP porn filter: a tragedy of transparency, privacy and security
“UK government will hold ISP’s responsible for filtering internet content to appease a Christian charity. There is no technical or peer scrutiny in filter implementation.” Read more..
[What? Government does something stupid? No!]
Oh. Yes. There’s a new iPhone. (Yippee.)
• iOS 5 breaks down upon arrival for some mobile users
“iOS 5 is here…at least for some iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners.” Read more..
(Oops..)
• RIM ramps apology parade for outage: Lazaridis up to bat
“The timing of RIM’s outages couldn’t be worse with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S and a new BlackBerry 7 cycle.” Read more..
(Oops)
• Again? Sony’s PlayStation Network hit with another attack
“Sony’s PlayStation Network, the gaming and entertainment platform knocked offline for weeks this spring, has been hit again. … Read more..”
(Oops)
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
How To Set Your Browser To Surf More Safely – Picture Tutorial*
How to Configure Internet Explorer to Stay (More) Secure Online: Step-by-Step
The Internet is an amazing place. It is the world’s largest man-made object. It has changed and enhanced our lives in countless ways. Like most things, it has it’s “good side” and it’s “bad side”. I think you need to know: cyber-criminals are ruining the Internet, and stealing billions of dollars a year in the process (that we know about.. think “tip of the iceberg”).
Instead of simply telling you “be safer”, I have a link to a step-by-step slideshow tutorial: How to configure Internet Explorer for secure surfing.
The pictures make it very easy to follow, and performing the steps can prevent many online attacks against your computer.
“With assistance from the United States Computer Emergency Response Team (US-CERT), this slideshow will walk you through the steps to configure Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to limit the damage from hacker attacks.”
click for slideshow
“In this digital age, we are all connected, and each of us plays an important role in securing cyberspace.” So do your part. Make sure your web browser is “hardened” against online attacks. Click and learn!
Today’s free download: For further browser security, I recommend installing Spyware Blaster as well as the steps above. It works well with your existing protections.
SpywareBlaster doesn’t scan for and clean spyware–it prevents it from being installed in the first place. SpywareBlaster prevents the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, dialers, browser hijackers, and other potentially unwanted programs. It can also block spyware/tracking cookies in IE, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, and many other browsers, and restrict the actions of spyware/ad/tracking sites. With the built-in Check for Updates feature, you can help ensure your protection is up-to-date. SpywareBlaster also includes a System Snapshot feature, which lets you take a snapshot of your computer in its clean state and later revert, undoing many changes made by spyware and browser hijackers.
Related: Earlier I posted a slideshow tutorial for the web browser Firefox (see, Safer Internet Surfing Cont. – Tutorial: Tweak Firefox for Greater Security)
Folks, to find out more about cyber-security, and connect to more educational resources, click here.
* Orig post: 10/18/10
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
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.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
• 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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