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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Albert Gonzalez | Spokeo | Giffords + Social Media | Passwords

A “grab bag” of interesting stuff for you today.

* Three reasons to dump your cable provider: Boxee, Roku and Apple TV (updated)

“I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t want to cut the cord with their cable provider — at least the television part, that is. Now it’s possible thanks to several inexpensive solutions for Internet and streaming TV that are worth looking at including: Boxee, Roku and Apple TV.”

* See, The Day of the Password Is Done

“When the popular Website Gawker was hacked into recently, more than a million user IDs and passwords were released. If you were one of the people compromised, that’s annoying — very annoying.

People never have, and never will, use good security practices. After more than 30 years of working with networks and security, I’m ready to give up on trying to get the general public to do the right things to keep themselves safe. In a company, it’s a different matter. It’s a pain, but if you keep at it and enforce the rules, eventually you’ll get most of the people to do the right things most of the time. But people at home? It’s not going to happen.”

* An alert reader (you know who you are) wrote in informing me about the alarming amount of personal information they discovered to be revealed on a website called spokeo.com… and what they did about it. Anyone concerned with their privacy should read http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/spokeo.asp (IMHO), and follow the steps suggested too.

* Have you ever wondered about hackers (really “cybercriminals”)? Who they are, and what makes them tick? This (lengthy) NY Times Magazine article looks at perhaps the most significant “security event” to date, and tells us about “mastermind” Albert Hernandez — his remarkably successful criminal ‘career’, his arrest, his working with the Secret Service, his re-arrest, and 20 year prison sentence. (You might remember the TJMaxx “identy theft” incident?)
It is the most comprehensive and informative article on cybercriminals (and our vulnerabilities) I have seen — I highly recommend it folks read it.
See, The Great Cyberheist

* The Giffords Tragedy and Social Media

“The shooter’s media manifestos are online in lurid detail. Getting to know Loughner is so easy, it feels surreal. Loughner’s social media footprints are easy to find – yet shared almost like social media gluttony.”

Today’s free download: Netcraft toolbar This anti-phishing protection is highly recommended, and works with both IE and Firefox. It clearly indicates “safe” websites (with a green indicator bar), suspicious sites, and blocks access to known Phishing sites.

Copyright 2007-2010 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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