Rrruff! (video tutorial)

Okay. I admit. That is a weird title for a tech article. Maybe too weird?

Unless, maybe, you know who Scotty is.

Today, an “oldie but a goodie”! It has been a while since I have mentioned one of my favorite little free computer protection apps – WinPatrol.

Clean up your Taskbar, ActiveX, Brower and Startup programs. WinPatrol monitors and exposes adware, keyloggers, spyware, worms, cookies, and other malicious software. This program puts you back in control of your computer with no need for constant updates.

I not only have been using WinPatrol forever, highly recommend it, count it as one of those few apps and programs that is fersher worth the small fee to “go Pro” (aka “paid version”), but I like the author.

You do not need to be “computer savvy” to benefit from having WinPatrol on your PC, but Über Geeks will find plenty to fiddle with (aka “good, advanced, tools”). Improve performance and enhance your online safety. That’s a “win”.

Today I have a video ‘demonstration’ of WinPatrol, made by a fellow blogger.. which will give you an idea of what it does (and why you want it).  Again, you do not have to be as savvy as is shown, or open all those menus — he’s trying to show all that it can do.

Today’s free download: Download WinPatrol (Window XP, Vista, Windows 7 – includes 64 bit support. There’s a “portable” version as well.)

Today’s Bonus: Five things you should know before trying to fix a smartphone or tablet

“Bill Detwiler shares essential advice for everyone who wants to repair a cracked iPad screen or broken smartphone.” watch video..

Today’s quotable quote: “The thoughts of Plato and Machiavelli… don’t seem quite enough armor for a world beset with splitting the atoms, urban guerrillas, nineteen varieties of psychotherapists, amplified guitars, napalm, computers, astronauts, and an atmosphere polluted simultaneously with auto exhaust and TV commercials.” ~ John Fischer

Copyright 2007-2012 © “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.

A Gift For You

Folks,
To help celebrate this special weekend, I have a nice surprise.

PearlMountain Image Converter is a photo converter as well as batch image converter, which helps you convert images to other formats, resize, rotate, crop, add watermark, apply effects and add border to thousands of images at a time.

Some of the features include:

•    Convert thousands of files at once in batch mode.
•    Supports the most popular image formats: BMP, JPEG, TIFF, RAW, PNG, GIF, TGA, and PSD, and almost all image formats.
•    Save operations that you usually use as profiles and bring convenience to you in the future.
•    Convert between many different image file formats.
•    Resize image for any different use, such as for web, e-mail, photo printing, Facebook, MySpace, mobile phone, ipod/ipad/iphone, etc., with optimum quality.
•    Add image and text watermark for Image Copyright Protection
•    Adjust image brightness, contrast and saturation in batch to make your images look more special.
•    Apply borders to your images.
•    Crop photos, removing unwanted areas.

Product info page: http://www.batchimageconverter.com/image-converter/

Due to time constraints, I only had time to play with test this utility a little bit. So I can only tell you it worked, and that I enjoyed the animated GIFF feature (aka “no product review here.”) And for me, there was zero “learning curve”, as I have used this type of graphics program before. But even if you have not, learning how to make optimum use of this photo/image tool should not take long.. maybe, mere minutes. (The link above has a illustrated How To. Take a peek, and see for yourself.)

PearlMountain has generously donated ten licenses to me, and I have  had the pleasure to give them away – to the first ten people to leave who left a comment with a valid (not Facebook) email (so I can send you the license keycode). This software retails for $29.90.

Happy Mother’s Day! (And thank you, PearlMountain!)

*** Update: Sorry Folks, but that’s all the licenses I have to give away — for now. ***

You can download a full-featured “trial” version, here, if you’d like. It will put a watermark on any output files, but otherwise performs just like the paid version.

Copyright 2007-2012 © “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.

 

Overnight Mail | Poll | Friday Fun

Today’s Friday Fun video took over two years to make.. And fit ever so nicely with me, as our nice weather has me thinking about vacation plans… It is spectacular time-lapse photography — enjoy!

Also: this week I posted a poll. I am curious what you think. Specifically, what number of hours spent sitting at a computer surfing the web would be too many hours (aka “a problem”) .. if there is a number. Results so far are interesting..

I guess I am normal in that one of the first things I do in the morning is check my email. Overnight my ISP delivered…

I read yesterday that phishing “attack” emails was actually getting worse in the U.S. – three times worse: Report: Phishing is getting worse in North America

“North America experienced a 300% increase in phishing activity last year, according to a Websense report. “This was an amazing jump across the board,” said Patrik Runald of Websense Labs. “And it’s the most dangerous category because you don’t have to click on anything to get infected. This is also a moving target, as are bot networks, while phishing is more static in the way it works.” Read more..

Oh. Well. Nothing can be done about it.

So why worry.

Hey. Cheer up! It’s Friday!

Today’s quote: “Few companies that installed computers to reduce the employment of clerks have realized their expectations… They now need more, and more expensive clerks even though they call them ‘operators’ or ‘programmers.‘” ~ Peter Drucker

Copyright 2007-2012 © “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.

This is interesting…

This is for those of you who still think hackers are gifted, and bored, teenagers..
(Please, put on your thinking caps.)

* Cybercriminals offer bogus fraud insurance services

“Security researchers from Trusteer have spotted a clever new technique used by cybercriminals interested in optimizing their malicious campaigns in an attempt to earn more revenue.” Read more..

I am not surprised by this. And I have to give the blackhats their ‘props’ for creative thinking. (It’s a bit like a gang of thieves forming their own rent-a-cop company..)

But, really, what I want to say here is, if you do not want to become a victim you really do need to do your research, think before you click, and exercise a healthy “paranoid common sense” when online.

Because they are out to get you.

Think of it this way: back in the olden days, before 1995, you pretty much only had to worry about the bad guys who lived in your city/town. And you had your local cops there protecting you.

Now, the Internet has invited the whole world’s criminals into your home — and there aren’t any cops AT ALL. ¹
Just you.
(Those in the know liken the web to the “Wild, wild, West”.)

Update: Yes, that computer in Berlin is still merrily spewing out hundreds of spam comments a day (just to this blog.. think of how many others it is annoying.. and then think of the electricity used to send those 1’s and 0’s) as the owner is still unaware they are hacked (aka “pwned”).

Today’s free download: Think it might be possible that you have been ‘botted’ (aka “pwned”) like that person in Berlin? One tool to help you find out is the free RUBotted from Trend Micro.. recently improved.

RUBotted monitors your computer for potential infection and suspicious activities associated with bots. Bots are malicious files that enable cybercriminals to secretly take control of your computer. Upon discovering a potential infection, RUBotted will identify and clean them with HouseCall.

Related: Infographic: How cyber-secure are public companies?

“The infographic below, courtesy of Veracode, presents a pretty sobering look at how well public companies are doing with cybersecurity.” Read more..

(How well??? I think that should have been written “How poorly”. You are counting on them to keep your info safe.. Right? Take a look at the reality..)

Attention: Did you cast your vote? If you haven’t already, please participate in my most recent “real life survey” — won’t take but 22 seconds of your time! Too Much Time Online?

Today’s quote: “Being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life.” ~ Marilu Henner

(¹ Though – thankfully!!! – there are some “whitehats” out there, and people, including our government, are finally taking cybercrime (and cyberwar) seriously.. what I mean is there really has been no law enforcement, and what laws have been passed have been toothless. IMHO. )

Copyright 2007-2012 © “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.

Collusion

Reading the back of the menu at Buck’s, while waiting for my burger the other night, reminded me of an important topic I have been meaning to share with you since its announcement at the recent TED U event. (If you are not familiar with the TED Talks, click here.) It concerns a subject near and dear to my heart, and this little item is a bit of good news for all us ‘little guys’.

What I am talking about is called “Collusion”.

Meet Collusion, announced today onstage at TED U

“This morning onstage, Gary Kovacs of Mozilla announced a fascinating browser add-on for Mozilla: Collusion. It allows you to track who’s tracking you online … and the results are surprising to say the least.“

You should know, tracking our online behavior is big business. The revenues involved in the top online tracking companies is over $39 billion — I’m in the wrong business: that’s pretty good money for spying on us!

(And f you think this is some small issue.. or some NBD thing that only happens when you’re online doing Google searches, you really really really need to watch the video Big Brother Big Business. I think it ought to be required viewing before you can vote!)

Why this is important:

“Take control of your data

We recognize the importance of transparency and our mission is all about empowering users — both with tools and with information. The Ford Foundation is supporting Mozilla to develop the Collusion add-on so it will enable users to not only see who is tracking them across the Web, but also to turn that tracking off when they want to.”

What you should do: Please take two minutes (or less) and look at the animated demo, here, http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/collusion/demo/. Learn about how these vile and repugnant “tracking cookies” automatically build a “behavior profile” about all of us, so somebody can make an easy buck selling our ‘information’.. or serving us up “targeted advertisement”.

[ Update:  A version is available for Chrome as well. See, Collusion for Chrome maps how sites are tracking you, courtesy of the Disconnect team. ]

Related reading:

* TED 2012: New Browser Add-On Visualizes Who Is Tracking You Online

* Say Everything

“As younger people reveal their private lives on the Internet, the older generation looks on with alarm and misapprehension not seen since the early days of rock and roll. The future belongs to the uninhibited.“

Unrelated: Privacy concerns drive 1 in 4 Facebook users to lie

“Almost 13 million users say they have never set or didn’t know about privacy controls on Facebook, according to Consumer Reports.”

(I wonder how many million declined to admit their ignorance..?)

Much good information here. I hope you’ll click some links (at least view the demo).

Today’s quote: “Common sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Copyright 2007-2012 © “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.

Wednesday’s Food For Thought

I only have time today to share a few item I hope you will find of interest.

I have a list, and I go through it each afternoon. I find that the more I can check off a “Yes”, the better I feel:

• did I make someone smile?
• did I answer all my mail?
• did I ride a bike, or take a walk?
• did I learn something new?
• did I do a “random act of kindness”?
• did I tackle an unpleasant chore?
• did I tidy up a mess?
• did I receive any money?
• did I “stop and smell the roses” and/or appreciate nature’s beauty?
• did I do anything nice for ME?

(I am curious.. Do you have a list like that? Does it work for you?)

Some “Tech News” items..

* The slow and steady evolution of cross-platform malware

“Malware isn’t just for Windows anymore. As the number of Macs rise, the economic incentive for criminals to build cross-platform attacks rises. And so do the stakes.” Read more..

* Over 1.5 million Visa, MasterCard credit card numbers stolen?

“U.S.-based credit card processor company Global Payments is about to announce more details about the security breach that recently saw millions of credit card numbers stolen. It doesn’t look good.” Read more..

* HTC One X is the best HTC device I have ever used (review & gallery)

“HTC is focusing on quality instead of quantity this year with the HTC One series their premier launch device line. The HTC One X is fantastic and I have never used a better HTC device.” Read more..

* California thanks Facebook for 800% boost in organ donors

*     *     *

Blowing my own horn department: Loyal readers might like to know that I have added to my already busy schedule, and now am writing for Find The Best.com, as their “resident expert” in Desktop and Laptop/Notebook PC’s.

Find The Best is a relatively new concept: a “comparison engine” (on virtually any subject or item).

FindTheBest.com | Unbiased, Data-Driven Comparisons.

“FindTheBest is an objective comparison engine that allows you to find a topic, compare your options and select the best choice for you.”

*    *     *

Today’s quotable quote: “The kindest word in all the world is the unkind word, unsaid.” ~ Unknown

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> 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. <<

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

Some Thots & Reco’s

Today I noticed in my stats that yesterday the search engines had sent me three viewers who had searched for “rootkit for iPhone“.
Nice.
(A “rootkit” is a virtually undetectable item of malware [aka “virus”]. Very, very nasty.)

I am going to speculate that these people were up to no good.

And I am going to tell you that there are a lot more than three people up to no good out there in the “world-wide” web yesterday.
A lot more. Cybercrime costs us over $100 billion (with a “B”) every year — that we know about.

And I am going to ask you, is your antivirus (or, “security suite”) expired? I sure hope not! But if it is, fix that right now. At the time of this writing (May, 2012) my recommendation for an Internet Security Suite (paid subscription) is Norton (either the “360” or “Norton Internet Security 2012”).
And my recommendation for a free antivirus is Avast! for PC’s, Lookout for smartphones and tablets, and Sophos for Macs. (If you look in my Blogroll, you can find independent security product reviews.)

Some reading 4 U:

* Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Drive: which one is right for you?

“If you’re a Windows user looking for free online storage, three services stand out from the rest. Although Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Google Drive are superficially similar, there are some big differences. Here’s what to look for.” Read more..

* Ben Franklin would say our online liberty is the same as liberty itself

“It’s a fine line to walk. Rather than great thinkers like Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin, we’re stuck with the 112th U.S. Congress.” Read more..

* Growing Number of Mobile Device Infections Traced Back to Social Media

“Hackers increasingly are turning to social-networking applications such as Facebook and Twitter to deliver malware to mobile devices, according to AVG Technologies’ “Q1 2012 Community Powered Threat Report.” AVG said Google’s Android platform is particularly susceptible to attack, and noted that the search giant removed more than 100 malicious applications from its Google Play store last year.” Read more..

Hmm.. one more reason I’m glad I don’t do that Facebook thingy. (BUSTED: Wall Street Journal Catches Facebook, Zynga Giving Your Info To Advertisers)

Today’s quote: “I used to do Facebook but you get a little too wrapped up in that stuff. Its more distracting than anything so I don’t any more. I left it behind. I detoxed!” ~ Emma Stone

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> 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. <<

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