Review: Best Internet Security Suites 2016

Folks, the guy I trust has published his product reviews for the all-important software category of Internet Security for 2016.

* Stay Safe With a Security Suite

“Using your computer for games and social media is fun; keeping it safe isn’t. A security suite can be your one-stop solution. We’ve tested almost four dozen of them, and these 10 get our highest recommendation.” Read more..

I cannot say often or fervently enough that one simply must do everything they can to protect themselves from the scumbuckets and nation-states who have ruined the Internet. It is a most dangerous place. Far worse than we can know. Do what you can!

(And that title should say “safer”, not “safe”. No product is bulletproof.)(And no product protects you from you. Careful what you click!)

* * *

Today’s quote: “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” ~ Winston Churchill

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Best read in a while..

This article is the most interesting ‘techy’ piece I’ve seen in a bit…

* The Good and the Terrifying Things at Black Hat 2016

“Car hacks, cash-spewing ATMs, Apple’s special blenders, and computers generating Taylor Swift songs were just a few of the things at Black Hat 2016.” Read more..

*     *     *

Today’s quote: “Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.” ~ Anton Chekhov

Beware of being ‘worn out’ folks. Take good care of yourselves. Get rest. Do what you have to for your emotional, spiritual, psychological, as well as your physical ‘well-being’.

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Windows X Review

Many of you will be aware today is ‘Windows 10 Day’ (meaning, you can get it today). And many of you are wondering what I think of it. (I’ve already said, “wait for the Service Pack”.) No I won’t be downloading it — I don’t want any of it’s new “features” (they’re kinda creepy, in a Big Brother kind of way) and I use what it will remove (i.e., Media Center), so, I refer you instead to this article for a detailed review of Microsoft’s latest operating system.

* Windows 10 review: Full of promise, but not a must-have just yet

“Should you upgrade to what Microsoft has called the last version of Windows?” Read more..

Today’s quote: “The human race is a herd. Here we are, unique, eternal aspects of consciousness with an infinity of potential, and we have allowed ourselves to become an unthinking, unquestioning blob of conformity and uniformity. A herd. Once we concede to the herd mentality, we can be controlled and directed by a tiny few. And we are.” ~ David Icke

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Best Free Antivirus, and Security Headlines

Here’s an assortment of Items of Interest for you.

* The Best Free Antivirus for 2015

“Relying on Windows’s built-in antivirus for protection is a big mistake. Luckily, you can get an upgrade without paying a cent.” Read more..

* CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield breached, more than one million individuals notified

“CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is notifying more than one million individuals that their personal information could have been accessed by attackers who gained limited, unauthorized access to a single CareFirst database in June 2014.” Read more..

Does this next indicate a change in the wind? I hope so.
* Federal prosecutors charge Chinese nationals with trade secret theft

“Over the weekend, federal agents arrested a Chinese professor who had just entered the United States via a flight to Los Angeles – one of six Chinese nationals charged with economic espionage and theft of trade secrets from U.S. tech firms.” Read more..

* Half Of Retail, Healthcare Sites ‘Always Vulnerable’

“Finding vulnerabilities in custom web applications isn’t the major problem; fixing them in a timely fashion is, a new report from WhiteHat Security finds.” Read more..

* Oil & Gas Firms Hit By Cyberattacks That Forgo Malware

“New spin on the ‘Nigerian scam’ scams crude oil buyers out of money with bait-and-switch.” Read more..

… I’ve noticed that the Apple Watch dropped out of the headlines quite quickly.. (listen Folks, it’s pretty simple: Never Buy The First Version of Anything) but if you are thinking it’s time for you to get a “smartwatch”, this article may interest (I’ll never own one, but, hey, here you go): The Best Smartwatches You Can Buy

“Think it’s time to upgrade your traditional watch by adding some apps and notifications to your wrist? Check out our top-rated smartwatches for the best place to start” Read more..

Today’s quote: “If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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.

Cybersecurity and Cybercrime: 2012 in Review

(And Congrats to Buster Posey!)

Folks, another brief slideshow I think you should see.

A year in cybersecurity and cybercrime: 2012 review

“During the year, we have seen the destruction of SOPA and PIPA but the emergence of CISPA and similar laws around the world, a growing trend in hacks and scams, an explosion in malware, and states committing cyberwarfare on their friends and foes. Here’s a run-down of what happened in 2012.” See the (14 slides) slideshow here.

.. funny … they didn’t mention all the big data “breaches” (nor the “corporate espionage”) … but, still, take a look.

Related: Reports: Obama Signs Classified Cybersecurity Directive

“President Obama has reportedly signed a classified directive establishing guidelines to protect the nation’s computer networks.” Read more..

[Reactions in the InfoSec community are mixed.. It’s a good read.]

Kinda’ Sorta’ related: 2012 in Review: Tech Turkeys of the Year

“And now, for your reading pleasure, the very worst from the tech world in 2012.” Read more..

Apropos of nuttin at all: I liked Buster Posey from Day One. And while no one player makes a team a champion team, I think few could argue that the S.F. Giants would not be where they are without this kid. Congratulations, Mr. Posey! Buster Posey is voted NL MVP

“The National League Most Valuable Player award voters came to the same conclusion that any Giants-watcher had to reach in 2012: This team would not have gone far without its 25-year-old catcher and leader.” Read more..

[I like it when – against all odds – good things happen to good people.]

Today’s quote: “There are three things which are real: God, human folly, and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension. So we must do what we can with the third.” ~ John F. Kennedy

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.

Review and Giveaway – Office Backup

User Friendly Backup Solution?

In talking with the folks at Novosoft prior to my most recent software license giveaway, which featured the top drawer Handy Backup Standard, (to read my review, click here) a lesser-known product of theirs came up, which – it was suggested – might be easier (aka more “user friendly”) for the Average Computer User, called “Office Backup”.

Publisher’s Description:

Novosoft Office Backup 4

Novosoft Office Backup is a usable and reliable backup software designed for backing up and restoring your documents and important files.

Novosoft Office Backup is designed to work with just about any type of storage media, including: CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray media; SFTP or remote FTP servers; local network drives; ZIP, JAZ, MO; USB-flash; HDD and floppy disks.

Automatic backup of most frequently used applications: Outlook, ICQ, AOL IM, registry, etc. Email Backup via POP3 directly from the mail server.

If you are looking for a simple yet powerful backup utility, you have just found it – Novosoft Office Backup.

Benefits

• With Novosoft Office Backup you can easily keep all important files synchronized between servers, desktops, laptops, LANs, ZIP disks, secondary hard disks, etc.
• It helps you to protect your business from risks associated with loss of valuable data.
• Guaranteed technical support.

Key Features

• Support for different types of backup storage (including “cloud storage”)
• Windows-based flexible interface
• Integrated ZIP compression
• 128 bit encryption
• Free backup plugins
• Email Backup via POP3 directly from the mail server
• Flexible and powerful scheduler
• Flexible file and folder selection criteria
• Multi-threaded transfer engine
• supported: Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000 and Windows Server 2008/2003/2000.

Unfortunately, I only had time to do the briefest of  testing with Office Backup, but I can give you my ‘initial impression’. And say that the key to “user friendliness” is a good wizard.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It seemed to me that Office Backup is a “sister” (or.. close cousin) to Handy Backup, and most of what I said about HB in that review is applicable here. Installation was smooth (and it uninstalled cleanly). After the setup completed, the wizard opened automatically. Step One of any backup program is to create the backup rules. Immediately, I hit a ‘bump’ (see the second & third slides) – the boxes on the left, and on the right, are empty…

Most of us have learned to “expand” folder trees. And most of us know how to “select” by placing checks in check boxes. And.. I hope most of us know how to “add” those selection from one window to the other by using the ‘arrow’ in the center column.. (see 3rd slide). But some people are going to be stuck at Step 2 of the wizard, and I think they should have (at least) My Documents expanded and selected by default.. and so I think Office Backup’s powerful tools are more appropriate for Intermediate to Advanced Users.

Office Backup is intended to be run quietly in the background, keeping your source (your computer) files ‘synced’ with the “destination” (the backup copies). It seemed to me that it does so with negligible performance impact, and was light on system resources. But the initial, Full Backup, and the (full) “on demand” backup sets, took a long time to complete (but, I was testing on a rather old machine). It was easy (for me) to retrieve and restore files from the backup (but again, you have to understand folder trees..). My opinion boils down to – the keywords “flexible” and “powerful” are more apt for this product than the “easy” or “simple”. But, I think most people would be better served choosing their top drawer Handy Backup Standard version.

The potential uses for Office Backup are many — besides creating backup discs, you can ‘sync’ folders across your LAN, or simply ensure your .pst file is copied in an up-to-date way, and much more.

Novosoft has generously donated 3 licenses for Office Backup to me, to award to my readers. I sincerely thank them for that. So I am doing another random drawing giveaway, in my usual way.

How to enter? Residents of the US and Canada only may enter the contest drawing by simply by leaving a comment – click on “comment” (below), and enter a name and a valid e-mail (so I can send you a license key) in the form. Actually commenting is optional. And, I shouldn’t have to say this, but multiple entries will result in disqualification. (In this contest. Entry in prior contests doesn’t count against you.)
Entries must be received before midnight (Pacific), Thurs, Oct. 20th.

Again, I thank the folks at Novosoft for making this giveaway possible. A 30-day free trial can be downloaded here, Download Office Backup. Try it out yourself. (And then leave a comment. You may just win an activation key..)

¹ All entrants will be placed into Random.org’s “randomizer”, and the top 3 results will be the winners.

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

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Halloween In August + Friday Fun + Software Giveaways

I wasn’t going to say anything but, it was two weeks ago when I first noticed Halloween paraphernalia for sale in some local stores. Now, it is in all the stores I’ve seen, even the hardware store. And the little kids are already excited and eager. (Well.. the little girl whose mom was ahead of me in line at the hardware store yesterday was certainly eager. [She wants to be a witch.][Because of the kewel hat.])

Two weeks ago it was August. Yesterday, it was early September.
The way I remember it.. Halloween happens the last day of OCTOBER. Or thereabouts.
In other words, retailers trotted out their holiday specialty wares ten weeks (which I think is more than two months’ time) early.

If you are a retailer and you did this, I, for one, say shame on you. It’s still summer, and this is a fall holiday. And you reek of greed and crass commercialism. Have you no decorum? No class? Is the dollar all you think about? What’s next, Christmas in July? “Everyone else is doing it” is never good reasoning, IMHO.

I sometimes wonder if I am all alone in my thinking, so.. a quick poll, please.

Bah! Humbug! I know we’re in a rough economy, but, sheeze!

We interrupt this broadcast to bring you some Friday Fun

Please.. if you have to try that, try it outdoors? Um, nowhere near any digital devices, please? (Or you may need to read How To Rescue A Drowned Device*)

Bonus For Reading All The Way Down To Here

• For a limited time, Digiarty Software, Inc is giving away free copies of WinX Blu-ray Decrypter ($50 retail.)

“WinX Blu-ray Decrypter is able to decrypt any Blu-ray video disc, even encrypted with recent AACS MKB v25, BD+ and BD-Live, etc., and transform 3D Blu-ray to 2D video. It comes with 2 copy methods – Full Disc Backup and Main Title copy modes. You can get decrypted Blu-ray folder or HD M2TS videos on the hard drive.” Read more.. (get your copy)

• For a limited time, BDlot is giving away, free, All-in-one BDlot Video Media Suite Giveaway

Competently make all your SD/HD videos playable everywhere

Make your DIY movie/music from YouTube with one-click

Create DVDs from Camcorder, Portable Gadgets or any video clips

(You need to scroll down a bit.) Read more.. (get your copy)

A reading reco: A Stylus for Your Tablet PC or Touchscreen Phone

“Following the purchase of my tablet PC (Toshiba Thrive – see review), the one tool I went for to make my tablet computer experience more enjoyable (and cleaner) was an omni-directional” capacitive stylus.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” ~ Roald Dahl

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

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