Create Strong Passwords with Password Hasher

Paul

Firefox only: Create strong passwords with Password Hasher, a Firefox extension that automatically generates unique passwords based on the destination. Unlike previously mentioned PwdHash, Password Hasher has integrated functionality (the “Bump” button) that assigns version numbers to passwords. It also consolidates passwords for domains, which is particularly useful if you use the same login across several subdomains on the same main site. Finally, save portable versions of the HTML so that you can generate your hash words on any machine without requiring the Password Hasher extension itself. Password Hasher is a free download, works wherever Firefox does.
Password Hasher [Firefox Add-ons]

Nice program if you are concerned with online passwords!! Only use this if you intend to keep your password file backuped!!

Share Clipboard Contents Across Your Network with BeyondCopy

Paul

Windows only: Copy and paste text and files between computers on your Local Area Network (LAN) with free, open source application BeyondCopy. Just set up BeyondCopy on every Windows computer you’d like to use it with (it can handle several) by installing the utility and entering in the hostname of each computer you want to share with. Once each computer is set up, BeyondCopy automatically syncs your clipboard between computers each time you copy something, including text and files; you can then paste the same clipboard contents on any connected computer. We’ve highlighted how to share your clipboard and mouse with Synergy in the past, but if you don’t want the mouse sharing or you need file copy sharing, BeyondCopy looks like an excellent solution. BeyondCopy is free, Windows only.
BeyondCopy [SourceForge via Inspect My Gadget]

Nice little program!!

Consumer protection org warns: resist Vista, “back to the future” with XP

Paul

In yet another blow to the reputation of Windows Vista, the Dutch Consumers’ Association (Consumentenbond) has recommended that customers who purchase new PCs insist on obtaining Windows XP over Vista. In addition, it called on computer shops to provide Windows XP downgrades to customers who have already obtained Vista from said shops. After unsuccessfully trying to persuade Microsoft to provide those free downgrades, the DCA said that consumers would have to take matters into their own hands since Microsoft does not agree with its assessment of the OS, which the organization said appears to have been released before it was truly ready, according to comments recorded by Expatica. Related Stories * XP on OEM hardware? Not after January, 2008 * Microsoft’s OEM catch-22: XP still in the driver’s seat * Report: Vista Business, XP Pro sales down in Europe * Forget big service packs, Vista “high quality right out of the gate,” says execThe organization’s spat with Microsoft began when it conducted a survey on Vista’s performance. According to the survey results, the OS performed quite poorly, racking up 5,000 consumer complaints in less than five weeks. Commonly reported issues center on printer and hardware compatibility, system crashes, and slow peripherals. The DCA met with Microsoft to discuss its concerns before issuing its statement warning consumers away from Vista—evidently, whatever olive branch Microsoft offered wasn’t enough to satisfy the group.

read more | digg story

Man I am with them on the Vista problems!!

Verizon Wireless Opt-Out Plan For Customer Records

Paul

An anonymous reader writes to let us know that Verizon Wireless is planning to share its customers’ calling records (called CPNI) with “our affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries.” The article explains that CPNI “includes the numbers of incoming and outgoing calls and time spent on each call, among other data.” Some subscribers, it’s not known if it’s all of them, received a letter in the mail giving them 30 days to opt out of this sharing by calling 1-800-333-9956. Skydeck, a mobile and wireless services company, seems to have been the first to call attention to the Verizon initiative on their blog; they also posted a scan of the letter (sideways PDF) from Verizon.

Man that just boils my biscuits. I say we all call them and complain and tell them that we do not want it!! If you believe what I believe it isn’t right

Hitachi breakthrough: 4TB disks by 2011

Paul

When Hitachi — the first disk manufacturer to go perpendicular and subsequently break the 1TB consumer disk drive barrier — speaks about advances in hard disk technology, you’d be wise to listen. Today they’re touting the world’s smallest read-head technology for HDDs. The bold claim? 4TB desktop (3.5-inch) and 1TB laptop (2.5-inch) drives within the next 4 years. The new recording heads are more than 2x smaller than existing gear or about 2,000 times smaller than a human hair. Hmmm, Samsung may have to update their SSD vs. HDD graph after this, eh?

Hmm, Does that mean when those come out the 1 TB are going to go down in price!! 🙂 I hope so, maybe they’ll come up with a way for a 1 TB for a laptop!