Computer Support Blog

We all know Google, Bing, and Yahoo are the most popular search engines. Why, when there are hundreds of other possible choices, do people choose these three? Maybe there is a better choice out there, but how will you know? How do you choose a good search engine?

According to comScore’s latest press release, Bing now controls 15.1% of the market share for search engines in the United States. Yahoo, which dipped to 14.5% in December, has been decreasing in market share for quite some time now. Google, unsurprisingly, reigns supreme with 65.9% market share. If Bing continues to rise in popularity though, it may eat slowly away at that impressive number.

But what makes one better than another? Why did Bing finally surpass Yahoo? Why is Google the most popular?

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Yahoo was a leader in the formation of the Internet. Millions of people used Yahoo mail, set it as their home page, and searched the Internet through Yahoo. These users trusted Yahoo for everything, and it repaid them with tight Internet security and a great experience at the time. Over the last few years, however, Yahoo’s popularity has dropped considerably in favor of Google and other websites that offer similar services.

Yahoo fell behind and there is a multitude of reasons why that happened. Small decisions and large ones both have brought Yahoo to the point the company is currently at – a struggling former leader that is slowly losing ground to the newer companies. Some people have begun to blame Jerry Yang for these problems.

Yang, the co-founder of the company, has been on the board of directors since the company’s inception. In 2008, while Yang was Yahoo’s CEO, he rejected an offer from Microsoft to buy the company. This decision was not popular and was a major factor in Yang stepping down as CEO.

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After the federal government took down the file-sharing website MegaUpload, many people have renewed the copyright debate. MegaUpload, and the associated site MegaVideo, were some of the most popular websites on the Internet, with millions of page views a day. The Justice Department’s quick and efficient takedown of MegaUpload has scared many of the other major file-sharing websites.

FileSonic and FileServe have both suspended users’ ability to download any content that the users did not upload themselves. This reaction, immediately after the MegaUpload takedown happened, is meant to save them from the same criminal charges the owners of MegaUpload are facing.

Other than file-sharing sites changing the way they function, there have been many mixed reactions to the Justice Department’s actions. Some say that it was unconstitutional, as users who had legal files on MegaUpload cannot access those files anymore. Others praise the decision and swift action for stopping online piracy.

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Over the last few years, millions of Angry Birds have attempted to rescue their stolen eggs from the evil green pigs. They fling themselves repeatedly at the pigs’ enclosures, attempting to knock them over and kill the pigs inside. Each time they succeed in killing all of the pigs they are one stage closer to the return of their precious eggs.

We have all heard of the Angry Birds game, and probably most of you have played it at least once. Have you ever wondered how this simple game of flinging birds at pigs became a nation-wide trend? Who thought up this game and why?

Rovio Entertainment Ltd created the hugely popular game Angry Birds in December of 2009 and launched it as a smartphone app. The game was a final effort to bring the company back from bankruptcy, according to Business Insider. Their efforts certainly paid off, with their small puzzle game launching a $50 million business built around the merchandising from one game.

There are Angry Birds plush toys, t-shirts, board and card games, blankets, headphones, backpacks, and so many other products. Rovio knows how to make money from their products – that they have created a game that so many people play is an accomplishment in itself, but to sell so many unrelated products simply because they have Angry Birds on them is phenomenal.

The game itself is very easy to learn how to play, but can be quite difficult to win. A basic understanding of physics and a lot of trial-and-error can take you far in the game, but the stages are progressively harder as you move further into the game. It could be said that Angry Birds has the popularity it does because of this method of game design – anyone can play it, but it takes determination to win.

There is currently an Angry Birds game available for all of the popular operating systems, including Windows, Mac, IOS, and Android. As an added incentive to buy their other products, Rovio has recently made the Angry Birds game completely free on Android.

Users should take caution, however, of possible Internet security threats from pirated copies of the Angry Birds game. With its huge success come many pirated copies of the game, some of which could contain malware and other threats to your Internet security. If something happens to your mobile device because of these Internet security threats, do not wait, get help from professional computer repair specialists at RESCUECOM.

Rovio is still keeping their focus on Angry Birds for now, but they have hinted that they are working on a new game, but it will be a while before it is ready. It is very likely that Rovio’s next game will capture the world’s attention the same way the Angry Birds has.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

It seems that no matter whom you talk to recently, everyone has his or her favorite browser. If you express any other opinion, you may find yourself in a debate over which is the best browser, but how can you know which is the best browser if you do not know about the different choices?

The four most popular browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. Internet Explorer, commonly shortened to IE, has the most users with a market share of 52%, according to NetMarketShare. IE is the default browser preloaded onto most computers and many people simply use it out of convenience, however, it is by no means the fastest or sleekest of the choices. IE does not have the internal spell check function that the other three have, and it is the only one that does not support Macs.

Firefox is slower than IE in start-up time, but faster in navigation time and with 22% market share, Firefox is the second-most popular browser available.  One of the downsides of Firefox, however, is that it does not use thumbnail previews to allow users to preview pages by hovering over the tab.

Google Chrome, the newest of the popular browsers, has been rapidly growing in popularity. Chrome’s market share is currently at 19 percent after only three years. The best features of Chrome include its speed, simple design, and the Omnibox, which allows users to search directly in the address bar.

Safari, made by Apple, has the smallest market share of the popular browsers with only 5%. This could be because its main market is Macs. There is a Windows version, but with the other great browsers available, it is possible that PC users have already made their choice. The best things about Safari are its great look and the convenient gallery of most-browsed sites.

The best choices in terms of Internet security are Firefox and Chrome. Firefox has a ‘private mode’ that can be turned on, in order to increase your Internet security, which does not affect how your browser appears. Chrome uses ‘sandboxing,’ which means that each tab runs on its own and therefore better contains any threat to your Internet security. IE has good security, but it is not quite of the innovative quality of Firefox or Chrome. Safari does not have a private mode or anti-phishing capabilities, according to NetMarketShare.

Overall, there is no ‘best browser’ out there. Each one features different benefits, so choose one based on what you want out of your browser. Chrome fades into the background, Firefox is the fastest, IE is the most popular, and Safari has the reliability of Apple. Each one is unique and targeted at different browsing needs, but there is no rule that says you only have to have one. Try them all and keep whatever works for you, or use different browsers for different things – it is all up to you.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Ever since its introduction, the Stopping Online Piracy Act (SOPA) has caused a lot of uproar among the Internet community. The SOPA was designed to increase Internet security and help protect copyrighted content from being stolen on the Internet. Many who have read the bill, however, say that it goes far beyond that. The majority consensus of the Internet community is that it is too harsh and will greatly restrict or even stop the creative, free use of the Internet.

According to Dory Carr-Harris on PSFK, experts are worried that the SOPA will ruin the Domain Name System (DNS), a backbone of the Internet that allows computers all over the world to access websites. The problem with blocking domain names is that many thousands of websites exist under one domain name.

Recently, the Internet community decided to boycott GoDaddy for just that reason, and the Internet users won. GoDaddy pulled their support of the bill because of the boycott and said “GoDaddy will support [SOPA] when and if the Internet community supports it.” Anyone else who has given his or her support to the SOPA could be in trouble.

This amazing retraction could be the beginning of a major onslaught from the Internet community. Now that they have realized the extent of their power, it would not be surprising to see even more successful boycotts taking place soon because of SOPA and PIPA (Protect-IP Act).

At the first hearing in the House of Representatives, nothing was decided for sure and the Internet community made itself heard afterwards. There was uproar over who the speakers were and the Representatives’ seeming failure to understand anything about the bill itself. Rep. Jason Chaffetz asked his colleagues to “bring in the nerds” in order to satisfy the public’s call for expert testimony on the bill.

This time, they have. A new hearing has been set in the House of Representatives for the SOPA, which will address many of the issues that the Internet community has with this bill. Seven prominent Internet-savvy experts will speak at the hearing in the House and perhaps shed some light for the Representatives on the bill and the restrictions it will bring to the Internet.

There is even a WhiteHouse.gov petition for President Obama to veto both of the bills. Each of the individual petitions has garnered many signatures and the petitioners are awaiting the President’s response about his official position.

Whether or not the SOPA and PIPA will be made into laws remains to be seen, but people on both sides of the issue are actually working for the same goal – better Internet security. No one wants their copyrighted content stolen, and everyone wants to know that what they put online is secure. It remains to be seen if these bills will resolve these security issues or not.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Despite its faults with repeatedly recommending the same hundred people to be your friend, Facebook remains a very cool social network.  Facebook is a social network where you can communicate with friends far and near and even people you just wish were your friends, all at once.  The social network that Mark Zuckerberg founded on the concept of exclusivity is now a universally-recognized facet of United States popular culture.  One of the nice elements of Facebook is that it serves as a platform for applications that do not take Facebook all that seriously.  Two of the coolest such applications are Face-Invaders and the Photo Booth Friends video slot machine.

Face-Invaders is a very simple application for Facebook.  The Face-Invaders game is a recreation of the classic 1980s video game Space Invaders.  The difference, though, is that instead of generic aliens, the creatures descending from the sky are made up of Facebook photos of your Facebook friends!  You use your own Facebook photo in Face-Invaders as the defensive weapon to save the world.

The game is very simple to play, just as Space Invaders was.  As your friends float down from the sky, you shoot them until the rows of friends are all gone.  Moving your avatar is easy, as you simply tilt your tablet computer or smartphone in the direction you want to go. To fire your weapon, you simply tap your portable device’s screen.  Face-Invaders can be a nice cathartic tool when people you are friends with on Facebook have annoyed you in real life!

For a more positive spin on using your Facebook friends’ photos, the DoubleDown Casino application on Facebook has Photo Booth Friends.  Photo Booth Friends is a standard video slot machine on Facebook, except that all of the symbols are profile photos from your Facebook friends.  Photo Booth Friends is a cool application in that you may let the program choose which friends it represents in the game or you may associate specific friends with different winning values.  Suddenly, your loved one may help you win big at the virtual casino!

Photo Booth Friends is otherwise a very typical video slot machine on the DoubleDown Casino platform.  Photo Booth Friends is a twenty-line video slot machine with eleven different symbols, including Bonus Game and Scatter symbols.  The bonus game for Photo Booth Friends is the aptly-named “snapshot bonus” that makes further use out of your friends’ Facebook photos.

Facebook profile photos can be fun or troubling, but with applications like Face-Invaders and Photo Booth Friends, you can see a lot more of your friends while gaming on Facebook!

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Everyone does it and no one really thinks about it. You register on a new website and your browser automatically asks if you want to save your password. If the computer belongs to you, you think, “Sure, why not?” and click ok. Unfortunately, there could be some major consequences to that little decision.

If your computer were ever stolen, the thieves would have instant access to all of your sites. They could get into your email, your social networking sites, your online shopping accounts, and any other website for which you have saved the password.

Even if that never happens, saving passwords in your browser does not make them secure passwords. Most browsers have a way to look up all the saved passwords, usually under the ‘tools’ or ‘settings’ menu. Anyone with access to your computer can find this registry of your saved passwords and use them.

Malware can also get into your computer and find these passwords in the same manner. If you have poor Internet security, malware can even steal these passwords undetected. Sometimes even a scan specifically designed to detect malware programs does not find them.

There are a few options available, however, to make certain you have secure passwords. At home, the easiest thing to do is simply write them down and keep them near the computer. Unfortunately, you would then have to re-enter them every time you login to the website.

Another thing to consider is that there are programs that will keep your secure passwords safe. These kinds of programs have a master password that you can set-up, which you must enter once each time you open your browser, that will then unlock all the saved secure passwords. This eliminates the need to constantly re-enter all of your passwords on different sites, but the problem with this is that you cannot ever re-set the master password, even if you forget it.

If you do not want to use either of these options but tend to forget your passwords, you can always keep changing your passwords using the ‘forgot password’ feature on the website. Most websites make this an easy and quick process, and it is another way to make sure you are using secure passwords.

Fortunately, if you ever do run into problems stemming from lost or stolen passwords, you can easily get computer support help from a computer repair company such as RESCUECOM. If you follow the tips above, however, you should have fewer worries about whether or not you have secure passwords.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Today, Wikipedia is dark in the United States.  While Wikipedia users have been subject to pleas for money and frequently unsupported articles, this is the first time Wikipedia has ever made an overtly political move.  Wikipedia is the highest profile Internet site participating in the online protest against SOPA.  Yesterday, Alexa had Wikipedia rated as the sixth most popular website in the world.  Participation in the Internet protest against SOPA is elevated by Wikipedia’s participation.

Bravo to Wikipedia!

For those unfamiliar with the issue, the Stop Online Piracy Act is a bill the United States Senate is currently debating.  It is the Senate equivalent of the House’s Protect IP Act.  The stated goal of SOPA is to protect the intellectual property of those who use the Internet for advertising and media distribution.  Critics of SOPA and PIPA argue that the methods written into the bills range from dramatic overkill – the ability for the United States Federal Government to seize servers that pirated materials pass through – to utterly ineffective, i.e. the attempt for the U.S. to moderate a worldwide network like the Internet.  Even many of SOPA and PIPAs supporters are queasy or unclear about what the law, if executed, would actually mean for Freedom Of Speech.

Wikipedia is obstructing all access to its site today as part of a protest against SOPA and PIPA.  The metaphor is an apt one and the educational potential is incredible.  Of course, Wikipedia’s blacking out the site is meant to illustrate that should Congress pass SOPA, sites like Wikipedia could be shut down abruptly and with much less respect than the protest did (users were notified over a day in advance that Wikipedia would be participating).  For those not hip to the issue, visiting Wikipedia today and discovering it dark affords Wikipedia the unparalleled ability to educate its users.  By providing users with information as to what SOPA proposes Wikipedia might just wake up the sleeping giant that is the American electorate.

While some might argue that it is inappropriate for Wikipedia to stage such a protest, the Wikimedia Foundation’s statement on the subject is remarkably articulate.  There, the site’s controlling board point out that, making SOPA into law would dramatically impact Wikipedia and that, because the site is not beholden to stockholders, they ought to raise their voice.  With ironclad logic like that it seems particularly cowardly that Facebook, the #2 site on the Internet, did not participate as well.  As a haven for even the most banal free speech, the passage of SOPA would certainly affect Facebook as well.

At this point, SOPA is virtually dead in the Senate and President Obama has done everything but explicitly state that he will veto SOPA should it reach his desk.  Too often, though, we look at history and wonder why people did not speak up while sweeping changes robbed citizens of their lives, liberties or property.  Today, Wikipedia stands up and the Internet is better for it.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Tax season is officially upon us!  Sure, you could procrastinate and wait until April 15 to get your taxes in at the last minute or you could make a change this year for the better!  Maybe you are waiting a few weeks to earn enough money to pay a tax service to prepare and file your taxes for you.  Whatever your excuse for not filing your taxes the same day you get your last W-2 in the mail, you are out of excuses!  For those who make less than $58,000 in adjusted gross income, the IRS now has a surprisingly cool product that makes procrastination seem utterly passé.  The program is called Free File and it is part of the federal government’s attempt to make paying taxes easier and more hip.

Free File allows you to use your computer to pay your taxes and it boasts the fastest speed for a return for any free service, which makes sense as the program is directly through the IRS!  Free File may get you your tax refund within ten days when you select direct deposit as your refund option.  Fear not!  If you use the Free File software and determine you actually owe the federal government money, you still have until April 15 to pay your taxes!

Off your computer, you need your W-2, 1099 and other tax forms ready and organized.  It helps if you have your prior year’s tax return as well.  On your prior year’s tax return, you will be able to see what your adjusted gross income was.  If you have not gotten a significant raise or taken on more jobs, your adjusted gross income is likely to be in the ballpark for this year.  If your adjusted gross income is less than $58,000, you may use the Internal Revenue Service’s Free File.

If you qualify for the income threshold, you must establish an account for Free File directly through the IRS website.  While the usual concerns about Internet security persist, Free File is more secure than most tax filing systems as the IRS is cutting out the middleman.  Because you are transmitting your data directly to the IRS, there are fewer opportunities for data thieves to access your personal financial information.

More than just a means for filling out tax forms, Free File brings the power of reputable tax calculation software to bear.  The IRS teamed with twenty tax computing companies to offer tax calculation software free to citizens using Free File.  As a result, you no longer have to pay to use software that helps you calculate your tax debt and refund.  Free File calculates your taxes and files your taxes, ensuring accuracy, speed and efficiency.

It is a weird system of government that expects citizens to pay taxes but then makes paying taxes such a complicated process that only a paid professional would understand it.  The IRS makes the process simple again with powerful, free software through Free File.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com