Category: Privacy

Protecting your personal information!

Paul


Booted from AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1 Live CD. Image via Wikipedia

People will steal your information in a heartbeat!

If you have had your head in the ground lately, you would let people see your information without you even knowing it.  If your one of those people who use your Ipad, kindle Fire (Affiliate link), or some really good Android device to check your emails or browsing the web, then your information is vulnerable to people reading or getting your information.

There are several ways to get your information, I’ve already talk about one way that someone hacked an account on one of my favorite science fiction site.   I actually had to help solve the problem and get the site running without redirecting visitors to another site.   This isn’t always about scaring people but to help them do what is needed.

Security starts with simple stuff!

To protect your personal information is a simple as one, two, and three.   Nothing in this article is going to be very hard but I intent to help you make it even easier to for those who are untrained.   Having to help a couple of my customers with this, I’ve pretty much come up with a way to safely browse the web without leaving footprints for those really hard to find viruses.

Portable Apps — This is a great little tool that you can customize and install Lastpass.   I thoroughly recommended it in the past and still do, it is a great deterrent for key loggers and phishing attacks.  Lastpass even has a portable(Mobile) application so you don’t have to install anything on the computer in questions.

Create a Live CD — Making a Pen Drive can go a long way to prevent from getting a virus or even someone getting your personal information, but that won’t help if your using a wireless hotspot.

Install Ubuntu — This the easiest way to have a Linux system on your computer.   Now I am not going to say Linux is worry free from viruses, but that does make it less likely to get them.   I really think Linux is OS is something that will stand the test of time because of it being an Open Source and not a closed projects like Apple and Windows.

Create a Virtual Machine —  this is like creating a live CD but not having to reboot.   You can create a virtual machine and run the live cd in the virtual machine.  This is however not as secure as rebooting because some program could be watching the network and logging everything.   I don’t recommend this as much but it is something useful if you are worried about getting a virus.

Don’t forget to use a VPN(Virtual Private Network)!

Now I already talked about some VPN’s for Ubuntu/Kubuntu but that doesn’t work with Windows or Macintosh, but I will talk about some alternatives for those who want to use Windows or Macintosh!

PublicVPN — This works with Macintosh and Windows but have not tried this so I am only showing alternatives and thus you will need to determine if this is right for your situation.

Hotspot Shield — This is one of the ones that I have used in the past and still recommend it and it now seems to work with Ipads and Apple products.

Android VPN — The Android Market Place has some great choices for several different VPN’s that may work well with your situation but I have yet to test them out and see which one is the best but yet this is something that may require some testing on your Android Device.

 Do you use a VPN?

This is something that I thought I would ask and thought I would ask it as a poll.   I would love to hear if you use a VPN and how much.   I encourage everyone to use a VPN when ever you are at a open wireless hotspot.

 

Paul Sylvester

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Google doesn’t care about the small blogs!

Paul2 Replies

Google Does it again!

I don’t know why Google is so hard to understand.   I don’t know if they are good but Gail over at Growmap thinks they may be evil.   I don’t know if they are but I am quite concerned what happened to my blog over the last weekend!  It all started with a dramatic drop in people coming to my site.   I had a dramatic drop of people who were coming to my site.   This is always how it is, when a blog starts to get popular, Google drops them in popularity.

Google Plus World without me!

I don’t know what happened but after all this has happened, people around the blogosphere are recommending an FTC Probe over this.   I know I am not the only one but this was a real drastic drop of people coming to my blog through Google.   I have decide that I will switch to Bing and still use Google’s Chrome.  This is after all a means to tell Google that I am not happy with there search results.

Google No more!

I encourage everyone else that reads this to change to another default search engine in your Web Browser and show Google that we are unhappy with there choice.   The Bloggers are what made themnd we can who they are today a we can make some other search engine better or bigger than them.  Until they change their tune and goes back to “DO NO EVIL” then maybe I will encourage people to go back to them.   I’ve worked hard for this blog and I support Gail’s Attempt over at Growmap’s site and I encourage others to go visit them and tell them I sent you!

Paul Sylvester

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What is Amazon Kindle Compass and why would I want it? (Breaking News)

Paul

Angry Birds on the Kindle Image by Tim Wilson

Conscience is a man’s compass. — Vincent Van Gogh

I don’t know what the fuss is about but I thought it was something we should at least talk about! It seems that Amazon has made a bad mistake when it comes to trying to get people to Autosubscribe. This is something that I have said in the past but you know how companies are they think it is best for the consumer and want something good to come from this.  I’ve been reading about how people all around the world are being auto subscribed, and you can go and check it out at the amazon Discussion board.

Some bloggers are already talking about this and I wonder why it isn’t being blogged about more.

Amazon Bought the Domain in November!

I am unsure why they’d buy the domain in November but that just may be the tip of the iceburge.   This seems to be something they’ve been developing for quite some time and until I actually get to see what it is.   You can check the domain on the Whois and see for yourself.   Some speculate that it is something do with a actual compass on your Kindle like the Ipad has.   I don’t know if that is what this is or if it will be something totally different, only I time will tell but I do know that it has to be something that you will pay for on a monthly subscription like a magazine or news articles.

Has anyone actually seen it on the Kindle Fire?

That is the next question I have, what is it and what does it do?   I wouldn’t mind finding more out about this but there is very few things out on the web about it.   Don’t forget to email me at paul[at]paulstechtalk[dot]com if you find out anything else about this and I’ll be sure to watch the comments.

Update:

Found something on the Amazon Discussion board that might clear some of it up:

I just got this email from Customer Service after a quick call they let me know it would not be charging me,but they could cancel it anyway.

“Hello,

The Kindle Compass is an editorial magazine designed to help customers get the most out of their Kindle reading experience. It is delivered wirelessly to Kindle devices, free of charge.

We are currently delivering the magazine to a random subset of Kindle customers. Customers who wish to unsubscribe from The Kindle Compass can do so from a link in the last section of the magazine, or from the Manage Your Kindle Subscriptions page at www.amazon.com/manageyourkindlesubscriptions

At this time we are not able to subscribe additional customers, but we look forward to making The Kindle Compass available to more customers in the future.

Thanks for your interest in Kindle.”

Paul Sylvester


The Novatel Mifi 2200 is coming!

Paul

Image via Wikipedia

It’s Been ordered!

I ordered a Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200(Virgin Mobile) from Amazon and was it a deal.   Normally Priced at $129.99 to $149.99, I paid $69.99 and that was Half off the price.   I am just waiting for it to come!  I don’t know how well it will work but I am quite eager to try it out.   I even got free shipping with this deal.

What does that mean to you guys, I will be looking into the connection speeds and actually maybe even testing the 2.5gb limit to see how far I can go before they start complaining to me.

I won’t expect much!

This isn’t going to be a mifi killer but it will at least help me do what I have needed.   You will need to pay $20 to $50  per month for a top up card or have them charge you credit card directly.   I never really like doing that, they always seem to include sales tax.   It is always best just to go buy them at the store and use them that way.   I have always found them to be cheaper than charging my credit card.

I’ll review this later on!

I think this will be a good alternative for people who might need occasional internet.   I don’t expect to be able to stream videos and such all the time or even a lot.   I will review this later on for a complete assessment of it’s capabilities and critic how well the batter last and such.    I don’t know a lot about it but you can be sure, I will dive in and give it my best!

Paul Sylvester

 

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My Top Five Favorite Posts for 2011

Paul

English: Posts in the sand Presumably these po... Image via Wikipedia

It’s that time again!

I know this blog has been up and down this year and thus I want to discuss some of my more popular and ones that I am really proud of.   We all know that is isn’t going to be easy for me but I thought we could at least talk about some of more favorite posts and let people who just found my blog see some of my other posts!

We’ve all seen those post each year on different blogs and I am sure I am not the only one who does this but it is something that I like to do.   It after all is about community and sharing with my friends.  I know I consider my readers like close family because I am always thinking what I can do to better my life and yours.   This is my biggest reason for blogging, to make life better for everyone and make it much more enjoyable for me also.   You don’t know how nice it is just to sit down and write to my family(readers) and not have to feel like there is pressure to post.   This is my goal every time I write a post to share and hope it makes people think about how to work smarter and not hard.

Top Five Favorite Posts!

I will start off with my Five favorite posts and discuss them in length.   You can always feel free to look around and click any article on my site without worries.

  1. How to Get a Free VPN for Ubuntu/Kubuntu! –This is was one of those that I did because it was essential for me to find a free VPN for when I go to hotspots and not have to pay.   When you are on a limited income and trying to get to your next paycheck, then you know why I couldn’t afford to pay for a VPN service.  Also I use Kubuntu and thus couldn’t use the Windows only free VPNS that were available.

  2. Three ways on how to NOT waste your Money! —  This one is a supposedly a recruiting job from (crmglobalresources.com) but after doing my research it looks to be like my other post “Why do I need to pay for recruitment?” So I was really proud of this one to tell people about it! So don’t always think there will be easy money.4

  3. Apple Needs to Worry about Security and Virus! —  This one was of my favorite post also because I am always tell people that there will always be Apple viruses and that their advertisements in the past will always haunt them because Apple can and will be targeted now and in the future for virus attacks because they are getting a larger share in the Marketplace.

  4. My Reasons why Amazon will make an Android Tablet!  —  This is another one of my favorites because it was one of those that came true.   Just look at the the Kindle Fire to verify it, that is after all an Android tablet.   I think they have more to come in the future but only time will tell!

  5. Android Malware, Ridiculous! —   Let’s face it, most people think that Androids can’t get virus or have malware.   I discuss this in length and tell you that even Linux can have viruses and you should count your eggs before they are hatched.  I am not going to say that they will or will not but I discuss why hackers and virus writers would love to do it.   Once the market gets saturated enough with Android devices they will start to develop viruses and malware for them, I am sure it.

As you can see that there were some really good posts in 2011 and I hope to get even more post done in 2012. I am going to be resolute to doing a better job of posting but that could be a futile effort.

Paul Sylvester

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