Computer Support Blog

Zappos, an Amazon retailer that sells shoes, announced recently that hackers breached their website and stole confidential client information. The stolen information included email addresses, the last four digits of credit card numbers, phone numbers, encrypted passwords and physical addresses. Using this information, the hackers might be able to determine a client’s other passwords. For many people, their email password is also the password they use for many other websites. This dangerous practice can compromise your Internet security.

Internet security is a vital issue in this age of online-everything. When we have online banking, important private emails, online shopping, and other important private information kept online, it is essential to know that your information is safe.

It is very important to make sure that your online banking passwords, email passwords, and passwords for other websites that contain sensitive information are not passwords you use for less important websites. If remembering passwords is an issue, do not hesitate to make use of the forgotten password feature of most websites or set up a master password. Your Internet security may depend on the difficulty and variety of passwords that you use. As the lesson of Zappos should teach you, low Internet security could mean hackers get your information or even plant malware and viruses on your computer.

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Over the past few years, online social networking sites have caused more and more of our social interactions to happen online. They have also changed the way we interact with our friends, even changing the definition of the word ‘friend’, but they have not changed basic human nature.

There have always been people who do not understand that their friends and acquaintances have no interest in all the tiny things they do in a day. There have also always been people who never share huge life events with their friends. Both of these types of people are still present on the Internet. Look at your Facebook feed sometime and you will notice exactly that – some people over-share and others never share. Thankfully, there are also plenty of people in the middle range who know what and how much their friends really want to know.

Soon, Facebook will allow those over-sharing people to post everything they do on other websites onto their profiles. This new release is not as widely supported as Facebook might wish. Pandora, the hugely popular Internet radio website, is one of the sites that are hesitating to allow Facebook to automatically publish every song a user listens to, onto the user’s profile. Pandora is reacting the same way that the majority of people would react: “My friends do not need to know every song I hear.” Pandora does publish on Facebook already, but the site does not want to publish everything automatically.

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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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It is still early in the new year, so advertising on television still contains reminders to drink responsibly.  That type of advertising virtually disappears right after the Super Bowl until the winter holidays (I suppose the beer manufacturers know that many people consume alcoholic beverages when confronted with either football or family), despite alcohol-related drinking deaths being a year-round problem.  And while there are numerous forms of technology that may help you find where the trendy places to drink are or what the best new alcoholic beverages are, there are few products that can help prevent drinking and driving.  Outside outright prevention, the best weapon against drunk or buzzed driving is education.  For that, HDE has a portable breathalyzer!

HDE’s Digital Breathalyzer is a blood alcohol level tester that is available for consumer use.  The specialized electronic device is very simple to use and runs on 3 AAA batteries (which HDE does not provide).  The Digital Breathalyzer runs on the same principles that the breathalyzers used by law enforcement personnel operate on.  The small black device has a tube into which you breathe and the Digital Breathalyzer determines your blood alcohol content.  Registering from 0.00% BAC up to the almost-lethal .19% BAC, the Digital Breathalyzer is an exceptional tool for preventing the operation a motor vehicle while impaired or influenced by alcohol.

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The biggest problem in the tech sector is not supply chain problems, environmental regulations, lack of creativity or even limited battery life.  The biggest problem in the tech sector, like so many industries, is hubris.  Hubris, the pride that leads one to believe that they are invincible, flawless, destined for greatness/market dominance/perfection, is the true scourge of the tech sector.  Why?  Quite simply it is the vainest form of hubris wherein the largest technology companies come to believe that because they have hired the absolute best and brightest tech school graduates, that the pool is empty, no other geniuses exist.  Virtually every major tech company believes that they have the individuals and teams who are the most skilled and most creative.  That belief makes them blind to the creative programming geniuses who work outside the corporate structure.

Symantec was so blinded when hackers cracked into their servers and downloaded the source code for Symantec’s pcAnywhere and Norton Antivirus.

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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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Google+ has some real challenges to overcome as it becomes the new kid on the block of social networking sites.  Even so, Google has shown resiliency in its corporate history, so there is every reason to believe that Google+ could become the next Facebook at the top of the social network food chain.  Here is why Google+ may well succeed:

1. The social network market is dynamic.  Google+ enters the social network race exceptionally late.  Even so, the rise of Facebook and Twitter over Myspace illustrates that users have remarkably little brand loyalty to their social network.  Users have Facebook for friends and family contact, Picasa for online photo storage, and LinkedIn for professional networking.  Google+ combines all of those aspects, especially the data storage options for photo albums, all on one platform.  With over 40% of social network users belonging to 3-5 social networks, it is clear that social network enthusiasts enjoy the process of exploring new networks.

2. The Google+ interface.  The Google+ social network is based on the idea that people have several different groups or cliques to which they belong.  You make your own groups and associate your friends and acquaintances with whatever group you want.  You can watch as people move you between different groups.  The advantage is that you have the ability to compartmentalize the different people in your life and that is a clever way to run a single profile over many different interests.  The ever-changing nature of the Google+ relationship model encourages you to check in frequently.

3. The advertising.  Google+ advertising constantly during prime time this holiday season hits all of its key demographics fast, making it seem like it is an already established phenomenon.

4. A solid revenue model.  Google+ arrives on the social networking scene with its fundamental advertising revenue model in place.  Because Google’s AdSense is already in place and integrated with the Google+ platform, Google does not need to devote nearly as many resources to courting advertisers.

Google wants a piece of the social networking business, but they are coming very late with Google+.  Even so, it seems the platform has everything needed for Google to have another success in its portfolio.  Because social network users are fickle enough to constantly change their relationships, Google+ seems to have an interface that speaks directly to its target demographic.  Just as Google+ allows users to move friends among different groups the user creates, Google hopes to woo users from the other social networks.  Hopefully, it has a model to keep them there once they land on Google+!

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

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

As the new year blossoms and you consider your New Year’s resolution, you may find that you have, metaphorically, bit off more than you can chew.  Two of the most popular New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight and to quit smoking.  While technology can be used to help you lose weight, what you might not know is that there are now ways to use technology to help you quit smoking.  Livestrong, the marketing and merchandising arm of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, helped to develop the MyQuit Coach application for the Apple iPhone and it may help you to quit smoking!

MyQuit Coach is available through iTunes for all variations of the Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running iOS 4.0 or above.  The application runs as a blend of a motivational program and journal function designed to help you rid your body of nicotine!  The MyQuit Coach app will help you quit smoking if you do not want to use medicines or other smoking cessation methods and no data yet exists on how effective the program is.  However, for those who believe in the power of mind over matter – but just need a partner in the process – the MyQuit Coach application may be just the ticket you need to quit smoking this year.

The motivational aspect of the MyQuit Coach application comes in the form of screenshots and slogans.  Each time you access the MyQuit Coach application, you are greeted with a statement, like “Smoking affects me and my loved ones,” to help keep you aware of the consequences of your actions.  The application also includes videos that help detail the consequences of smoking.  The MyQuit Coach acts as a “good-cop, bad-cop” routine on your iPhone encouraging you and warning you of the consequences of slipping from your plan.

Perhaps the more useful function of the MyQuit Coach is the journal function.  Using the MyQuit Coach, you may program your iPhone to detail specific benchmarks in your goal to quit smoking.  If you have tried and failed in the past as quitting smoking cold turkey, you may use MyQuit Coach to wean you from cigarettes incrementally.  Under such a plan, you use MyQuit Coach to keep track of how many cigarettes you have had in a day and the application warns you when you are about to pass the goal number you have set for yourself.

The MyQuit Coach application is actually a very smart use of smartphone technology.  Because one of the common complaints smokers have when the relapse and smoke again is that they did not know what to do with their hands when they were not smoking, the MyQuit Coach comes up with an elegant solution.  By keeping the smoker’s fingers busy on an iPhone, the application helps break the physiological connection to smoking that seasoned smokers might have.  That is a clever idea and makes the MyQuit Coach application a very cool app!

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