Geek Tips 4 the Non-Geek

Hard drive deal.....

2005-01-26T03:22:00.001-08:00

Quick Action: Go to CompUSA and get a 250GB hard drive for $140 out the door....$100 after you send in the additional $40 rebate.

Right now, CompUSA has a great deal on 250GB of hard drive space for your music, videos and precious documents. The Hitachi 7200rpm 8MB buffer 250GB internal hard drive is listed at $179.99. CompUSA has a $30 instant no-paperwork rebate (gotta love those kind) and another $40 rebate. The out the door cost (without tax) is $139.99 and if you get off your lazy but and fill in the rebate paperwork and send it in, you get the drive price down to $99.99.

I picked one up yesterday and will be upgrading my ReplayTV personal video recorder. Woohoo!!!!

Ahead of the curve.....

2005-01-26T03:22:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: If you haven't done so already, go download Firefox or Opera now and replace Microsoft's Internet Exploder as your web browser.

I have covered this topic about web browsers before. But mainstream media is also jumping on the bandwagon. Two articles recently at www.wired.com (this one on Firefox -- http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65668,00.html , and this one on Opera -- http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,66394,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2 )review the benefits I have been touting about these browsers. The Firefox article documents it's quick rise in popularity. That, my friends, is a good thing that people are beginning to be more concerned about security but also should be a warning sign for us as part of our security model. One of the benefits about using good software the general masses don't is that you fall below the radar for viruses, spyware, popups, hacks and other non-wanted annoyances. A piece of my security philosophy is to make yourself as small a target as possible. Let the viruses, spyware and other stuff target the most popular software packages while I contently use a lesser known, but more secure software package. It is kinda like not living in a house on Main Street where every bad guy can see you while passing by but rather living a couple of streets out of the way, perhaps on a dead end street. Just that alone lowers your visibility to the bad guys.

So anyway, keep your eye on the popularity of Firefox because that just might be the time to jump ship to a new, lower profile browser. Opera is one option and I hope to research a few more in the near future.

Update: Picasa 2.....great dig photo software improved

2005-01-18T04:35:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: whether or not you read a previous post review of Picasa, a great digital photo software tool, go to www.picasa.com and download the new version.

I have been a Picasa user for quite a while now. I picked up the CD at a Comdex or CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2 or 3 years ago. It was a great piece of software back then. Google bought them a while ago and they improved it a bit. Now, Google has upgraded features in it for the new Picasa 2 release. Features like adding captions to your photos, adding identification icons and labels, ordering online pix, uploading to blogging sites, editing with some cool new tools and (my favorite) burning backup CDs directly from the software -- a much needed and neglected task that 99% of digital photo users ignore (including you!).

Go to www.picasa.com to check out the new release and download it. Let me know what you think. I'm already using it.

Article: Kids and the internet.....

2005-01-12T04:50:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: If you have kids that use the internet, check out this article at http://aroundcny.com/technofile/texts/tec121904.html

It's about time.....

2005-01-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: If you do your taxes yourself (and I would encourage you to try it), go to CompUSA and get H&R Block's TaxCut Deluxe, TaxCut State, Microsoft Money Deluxe and Microsoft's wireless keyboard/mouse combo for pennies on the dollar.

I started doing my taxes myself about 4 years ago. With the advent of personal tax software, it has become fairly easy for the average Joe (or Dan) to take care of everything and submit them. With a computer and internet connection, I can fill in the blanks and electronically submit my taxes before Groundhog Day (usually also receiving a rebate check by then). Doing my taxes myself also helped me by:

A) teaching me some of the finer points of tax preparation for the next year
B) keeping me more in tune with my financial health
C) allowing my to use this knowledge to better position myself for years to come (maximizing 401k and IRA contributions, utilizing flex spending plans, planning property and stock sales, etc)

The icing on the cake is when I can get the tax software, financial planning
software (MS Money) and cool computer hardware (wireless keyboard/mouse combo) for pennies on the dollar. Today I spent $127 for all of that. It only took me an hour to fill out all of the combined rebate forms and cut the UPCs and box tops (while I sat in front of the TV watching football). Once they hit the mail tomorrow, I will be looking forward to receiving back $110 in rebate checks. That makes all that look for $17 out of my pocket a steal. Yes, I had to do all the paperwork and, yes, I will need to keep track of the rebates (via my cool spreadsheet). But if those parameters are good for you, it is a great deal.

I encourage you to take a stab at it. For $17, even if you don't use the software, you get a decent wireless mouse/keyboard combo.

Travelling internet access.....

2004-12-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: If you travel and have a laptop, go get yourself a wireless PC card even if you don't have wireless access at home.

Throughout many parts of the United States now, many places offer wireless internet access. I am currently driving across the country and have spotted it at such places at hotels, airports, coffee houses and restaurants. Even if you don't have or use wireless internet access at home, go and pick up a 802.11b wireless card that goes into your laptop's PC card slot (also known as a PCMCIA slot). The wireless PC card doesn't need to be one of the latest and greatest and shouldn't cost you more than $20 or $30 but it will be worth it when you come across one of those wireless access spots. I am currently blogging this post using a free "hot spot" at my hotel.

Complete slacker.....

2004-12-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: Please forgive me for being a complete slacker and not updating this site with tidbits. I am in the middle of moving across country. Stuff to come soon.

Alternative browsers.....

2004-11-25T20:37:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: Quit using the Microsoft browser Internet Exploder. Go to www.opera.com or www.mozilla.org and download either Opera or Firefox.

Since Microsoft long ago defeated Netscape as the people's browser of choice and integrated Internet Exploder into all Windows operating systems, Exploder has been a hot target for hackers and virus writers. And since most PC users are using Exploder, it is a big, fat target. It doesn't help that, until recently, Microsoft made it easy for the hackers and virus writers and didn't take security seriously. That being said, it seems that every other week a vulnerability is announced for the Exploder browser and patches come out only to have another hole exposed.

Enter the alternative browser philosophy. Instead of following all the sheeple (sheep people) and installing that Exploder target onto your PC, try flying below the radar in a better built browser. Opera and Firefox are both alternatives to Microsoft's Exploder. Following this alternative browser philosophy, I believe you will benefit in two ways. First is that you will not be using a browser that, by it's very nature being used by most PC users, is a large target. Just separating yourself from the masses diminishes your exposure to hackers and virus writers. Secondly, since these browsers came to the game only recently and don't integrate into the operating system, they are coded better and don't have the legacy problems Microsoft has with Exploder. You also get the benefit that these browsers tend to be more nimble and progressive. For example, both had tabbed browsing and integrated pop-up blockers before Exploder. Put all this together and you have some great reasons to jump ship to an alternative browser. Use the links in the Quick Action to download one (or both) and see for yourself.

The beauty of Admin accounts.....

2004-11-22T19:59:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: If you are using Windows XP, 2000 or Linux, you should create an "Admin" account for occasional use and an everyday account ("your name here") with limited privileges.

Creating an "Admin" account for occasional use and an everyday account -- most people use their names as the login-- will help limit your exposure to viruses and worms. The everyday account is an account with limited access and would be used for general use -- email, surfing the web, etc. The Admin account would only be used to load programs and make system changes.

Setting your system up this way limits the damage most viruses and worms can do. Your everyday account might get contaminated or compromised, but the damage will be limited to the everyday account. You could then log into the Admin account to fix the problem and eradicate the culprits.

NOTE: Do NOT set up an Admin account and then continue to use it for everyday use. Also, do not give your everyday account "Admin" access.

iPod killer.....

2004-11-19T18:58:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: Stop drooling over that iPod Mini you can't afford. Go get yourself a Creative Zen Micro. Less cost, more functionality.

Apple makes some pretty cool stuff. Lately, they have been making a splash with the iPod and iPod Minis. Cool design and tunes on the go make for a popular product. But it isn't perfect. The battery life leaves a lot to be desired, no FM tuner, a steep price and you have to send it in to have the rechargable battery replaced after it completely dies on you.

Enter the iPod killer -- the Creative Zen Micro. These are the same guys that have brought you the Muvo (the first portable USB flash MP3 player and the design that all others followed) and the Audigy sound card along with many other cool geek toys. The Creative Zen Micro is the latest cool gadget -- think iPod Mini on steroids. The iPod Mini is only an MP3 player -- the Zen Micro has an FM transmitter and voice recorder. The iPod Mini's battery life will barely get you from New York to LA on an airplane -- The Zen will get you to Europe.....and then some when you swap out the removable, rechargable battery. The Zen also acts as a small time PDA with a contact list, calendar and to do list. I could go on but you get the idea. All these features at a price lower than the iPod Mini. It's a no brainer.

Digital photography: Make your own book (follow up).....

2004-11-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: If you have someone on your Christmas list that is impossible to buy for, get 'em a custom book that you made with love from MyPublisher.com .

This posting is a follow up from this post - http://geektips4nongeek.blogspot.com/2004/11/digital-photography-make-your-own-book.html

I received the book that I created with MyPublisher.com. I am very impressed with the professional results. This is a perfect gift for that particular person that is very hard to shop for during this upcoming holiday season. Getting them a book from MyPublisher.com is not only unique, but it was created with your special touches and creativity. It is made with love.

Enough about how you can use this creative item -- let's talk about the book itself. I was half expecting a spiral bound semi-professional booklet on par with something I can create at Kinko's. What I received was a professionally bound, real hardcover book. While my book was only 17 pages and therefore not as thick as the latest Stephen King thriller, the pictures were all beautiful, the layout I chose was sharp, and text was nicely printed and arranged. If I were to stick it into my library, you would be hard pressed to identify it from all the other books I have. I will use this product in the future as a creative, unique gift or as a documentary to special family occasions (family reunions, weddings, special trips).

Thank you, MyPublisher.com.

Disclaimer: as with all the tech products I love, blather about and recommend, MyPublisher.com did not pay or give me anything for the above endorsement -- although they are free to do so and I welcome demos, freebies and samples.

Turn off your PC's file sharing.....

2004-11-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: Reduce your PCs exposure to snoops and hackers -- turn off file sharing.

I am out of state taking care of personal business. Of course, using technology I am staying current with news, emails and stuff by using the hotel's broadband network. Amazingly, I have access to a few other guests' computers. One contains computer logic from a Ford factory body assembly line. Another has a few printers connected to it that I could print test pages to just to be funny. And another from a hotel I stayed at this summer, had the entire hotel's computer system exposed. I could have told you who stayed in my room, two weeks prior, what their credit card number was and where they lived. It amazes me that in this day and age of publicized identify theft, computer hacks and technology mischief, that people continue to blindly put themselves at risk.

One way to minimize this exposure is to simply turn off all file and printer sharing on your PC. This simple step will limit prying eyes access to your hard drive and files. There are lots of other ways that I will continue to cover but, by far, this one is the simplest.

While we are talking about backups.....

2004-11-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: In addition to backing up your digital photos, go backup your critical data -- stuff you can't afford to lose.

The previous post dated Nov 6 on digital photo backups was one specifically outlining a practice that will ensure you do not lose your precious digital photos. However, there are other files that are just as precious as little Johnny riding his bike -- like your Quicken records....or that letter to the IRS clearing you of your overdue 2001 tax liability....or as simple as your entire email and contact list. The key action for all of these is to ensure that they are properly backed up.

There are many different ways to approach the backup process. They boil down to making a copy of the entire system (all the contents of your hard drive) or targeting important data files and only backing those up.

The first approach of backing up your entire PC is fairly simple. You copy the entire contents to a magnetic tape, CD or another hard drive. This is probably the easiest for the novice but also wastes a lot of resources. Not only are you making copies over and over again of your entire Microsoft Office installation but you are also wasting the time it takes to copy that software. And that is software that doesn't change often so having a backup is not as critical. And additionally, you have the installation CDs so it is even less important to have backup copies of your installed software. What you want is copies of the data that changes often.

My recommendation is to target key data, place that data in one place (the My Documents folder on the desktop or a separate directory in the root of the hard drive) and routinely backup only that data store. To do this, create a "One Stop Shopping" directory -- as stated, the My Documents folder will work or you can create another one. Save or move all your data to that folder. To make it easier, feel free to make subdirectories or folders for organization. Now go get an external USB hard drive for the backups. If your PC has a 40GB hard drive, get a 40GB external USB hard drive and connect it to your PC (the theory being that your PC will never have more than 40GB of data since that is as big as the PC hard drive is). Once connected, drag the "One Stop Shopping" folder onto the external USB drive letter and walk away. It will start to copy everything in that folder. When it is complete, you now have a backup. That is one step better than most PC users.

There are a few caviats to this practice above. For full backup protection, you need to make iterative copies on a routine basis. Ideally, you would make a complete backup of your entire PC -- programs and all -- and then make incremental copies of just your data on a daily, weekly or monthly basis depending on your tolerance for possible data loss. This tends to be much more than the average PC user can commit to. Therefore, I encourage the external USB hard drive method above because something is better than nothing.

If you have any comments or would like more details to good backup practices, use the comment button below.

Digital photography: Backups.....

2004-11-06T01:00:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: Stop reading this and go make backup CDs of all your digital photos. Now!

Digital photography offers many advantages over traditional film photography. Probably the most unappreciated advantage is the ability to make perfect backups.

In the past with film photography, you would have all your pictures in an album or on the fridge and all your negatives would be in a shoe box somewhere -- or maybe in that junk drawer we all have in the kitchen. That wasn't a good place for those negatives because, not only did they get scratched up, they also would perish in a fire which is the greatest threat to our photo collection.

Enter the digital age. It is much easier to make perfect digital copies of our photos rather than have them on a negative film strip.

But so many people do NOT make any copies whatsoever. They are now at a higher risk of losing their pictures than before because not only are they vulnerable to fire, as before, but their hard drive with the pictures can also fail.

The answer to this is easy. Make backups copies!

I do this one of two ways to ensure I am covered. First I make 3 identical CDs. One goes into a CD sleeve -- that is a working master (for when you want to retrieve pictures and reprint them). The second goes into a fireproof safe. If you don't have one, go to OfficeDepot/Max and pick up a small, inexpensive one. This is where your CDs can go along with pink slips, birth certs, insurance papers, etc. This CD is an onsite backup. And finally, your third CD can be stored offsite -- at work, in your vehicle, at a close relative's house. This ensures that if something tragic happens, your pics will be safe.

With the availability of inexpensive USB hard drives, I have also made a practice to store my entire collection on a 200GB USB drive as well as following the CD backup practice above. It just provides me one more layer of protection and piece of mind. Also, it puts all my pics in one place and it is easier to work with. In essence, the USB hard drive becomes my working master copy.

Digital photography: Make your own book.....

2004-11-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

Quick Action: Take those cool dig photos and make your own book with 'em at http://www.mypublisher.com

You have lots of digital photos just clogging up your hard drive. Do something useful with them. At www.mypublisher.com you can download their software and make your own book. The software allows you to choose photos, touch them up, organize them, arrange them into a layout of your choosing, add captions and send the whole package to mypublisher.com for printing and binding. It will show up a few days later on your doorstop for you to put on your coffee table.

With the holiday season coming, this is the perfect gift for those who have everything or for those close to you that are hard to buy for.

Digital photography: Gotta have gadget.....

2004-10-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: If you travel with your digital camera or fill up lots of media cards taking pictures, go to the I/O Magic website (http://www.iomagic.com/Products/show_all_results.asp?ProdID=I6N1USB20GB) and pick up their "Digital Photo Library".

The I/O Magic "Digital Photo Library" is one of the coolest devices for digital cameras buffs who travel or tend to fill up their media cards. In essence, it is a 20GB laptop hard drive with it's own rechargable battery source coupled with a 6-in-1 media card reader.

Are you headed for a three week trip across the US? Bring this along and offload your pix to it.

Do you only have one media card? Bring this gadget with you instead of purchasing loads of media cards.

Originally, I purchased my Digital Photo Library for a 3 week trip to Scandinavia. But I have been using it more and more because it is so handy and user friendly. Simply pop the media card out of your camera, power on the device, slide the media card into it's respective slot (Compact Flash, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, MultiMedia Card, or IBM MicroDrive) and hit the copy button. Lights will flash as the files are transferred. When it's done, the lights stop flashing and it will time itself off. Pretty damn cool if you ask me. With the 20GB drive, you can do this many, many times before you need to offload the pix to your PC.

When you get home, use the USB cable to connect the Digital Photo Library to your PC and download all the pictures -- each transfer you did from the media card will show up as a seperate folder.

This device is indispensible and with cameras providing higher resolution images as well as video your media cards will only get filled up faster. Add this device to your inventory and you will have no storage worries.

Home PCs plagued with problems.....

2004-10-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: go check out this Wired article on home internet security -- http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65466,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_4

I've covered a few topics that will keep you safe. Keep reading and I'll cover more. If you have specific questions, drop me a line at dangersonatgmaildotcom replacing the "at" with @ and the "dot" with.....well, you get the picture.

Urban legend email.....

2004-10-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: Before you forward on one of those urban legend type emails, check www.snopes.com to confirm it's validity.

A form of spam that you wouldn't think about comes from those you know best -- your well-intentioned friends, co-workers, spouse, etc. They forward what appears to be legitimate emails about missing kids, corporation antics or unbelievable tales. While a few of these are true (the wonderful picture of President Bush consoling the daughter of a 9/11 victim -- http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/faulkner.asp), most of the forwarded emails are not true.

To prevent looking foolish and gullible, check it out at www.snopes.com before you forward emails on. Type in the search criteria and you can get all sorts of info as well as the background to most of these antics.

It is also an interesting site to just go to and surf. Type in your favorite interesting word -- famous people, companies, places -- and learn some things. For example, my favorite drink, Dr. Pepper, is NOT made of prune juice however those people out there would like to believe.

Digital photography: photo paper.....

2004-10-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: From my experience in printing your own pictures, the biggest variable in getting the best results come with name brand photo paper.

I have been filmless now for about 2 1/2 years and in that time have always printed my own pictures. I like the freedom of cropping my own picture, arranging the layout, touching up the imperfections and printing out however many I need at whatever size I want (within the limitations of the printer). I have pictures that I have taken, touched up, cropped and printed throughout my house, on the fridge, in my wallet and in the mail to people all over the globe as Christmas cards.

Throughout this entire time, one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that it really matters what the picture is printed on. I only use name brand photo paper -- Kodak, HP or Epson. I have used different manufacturer's printers, various programs to print the pictures and even different digital cameras. None have had as much an impact on photo quality as the paper.

I know what you are thinking -- "But that jumbo pack of generic photo paper at Fry's was a great bargain. I can just reprint the photo when I want."

While that is true, you will not be doing yourself any favors. If you want the picture to last more than a few months, get the name brand stock. Even better, do what I do. Wait until one of the "Office Stores" (i.e. - Office Depot/Max or Staples) has one of their buy one, get one free (B1G1) deals, throw on a coupon and stock up. Using this strategy, I have been able to get $0.50-$1.00 a sheet paper down to around 15 or 20 cents. This will allow you to print to your heart's delight and also indulge in some of the creative aspects of home digital photo printing. Experiment. You will be surprised at some of the masterpieces you will create. It is truly one of the great benefits of digital photography.

Free anti-virus software.....

2004-10-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: Go to http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ , download the free AV software and install it onto your PC.

If you have followed my advice below (see posting Fri, 10/8 - http://geektips4nongeek.blogspot.com/2004/10/new-spybot-version.html) and installed SpyBot - a good, free anti-virus program to go along with it is AVG Anti-Virus. You can get it FREE at http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/. Once installed, you can set it up to automagically scan your PC at an interval you set, as well as download periodical updates.

While it might not have the time sensitve virus definition updates as a "professional" anti-virus software like Symantec, updates from AVG are timely and the free anti-virus is a great option for those of you not running any anti-virus software at all. Partnered with SpyBot, these two free programs will take care of most annoyances on your PC ("personal" computer).

Disclaimer: if you use your PC for business or are part of a major corporation, you need stronger anti-virus and spyware protection.

FYI - The main AVG Grisoft website (http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php) has a lot of other virus information available. Surf around the site and educate yourself on some of the threats out there.

Digital photo organization.....

2004-10-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: If you have a digital camera, go to www.picasa.com and download the free software to manage and manipulate your pictures.

If you have a digital camera, you may have started accumulating picture files much like the old photos and negatives you have in a shoebox. Fortunately for you, organizing this mess is easier on the computer than it is using a shoebox.

One of the best programs out there for managing and manipulating your digital photos is Picasa. Now while it ain't Photoshop, it can do what most people need to do with their digital photos -- crop, rotate, remove red eye, balance and improve the picture. All this along with organizing by photo album or timeline. Throw in slide shows and you have a very complete package for most digital Ansel Adams. It also ain't Photoshop on the price. Can you say FREE?! Get it at www.picasa.com

Recently Google bought Picasa. But it was cool before they got to 'em.

If you have any comments or tips regarding Picasa, pipe in.

Preview: Digital imaging tips and tricks.....

2004-10-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: Stay tuned and keep reading.

This next week I will be covering some cool digital imaging tips and tricks. From free software to gotta-have gadgets, I will give you links that will improve your digital imaging life.

Privacy practices (part 3 - combo).....

2004-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: Create an internet "alias" that you can use in combination with your alternative address (PO box) and alternative, throwaway email account.

Another way of creating a layer for privacy is releasing "misinformation" or creating an alias to use just for the internet. This practice, when combined with your alternative addresses -- both physical and email -- will allow you to sign up for electronic newletters, free online sign ups and mailing lists without revealing your "real" information. I use this tactic when the requester needs some type of contact information but will not verify the info.

My internet alias for a local newspaper's website that requires a signup for a free login might look something like this:

Ricky Poon

PO Box 876

Your town, Your state, ZIP

rickypoon@yahoo.com

Privacy practices (part 2 - privacy layer).....

2004-10-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: To add an extra layer of privacy, get a PO Box to send all non-personal mail to.

My PO Box at the post office where I live receives all my non-personal mail -- magazine subscriptions, catalogs, freebie stuff, warranties, etc. The only things I get at home are utility bills and personal letters. I still get a bit of residual junk mail at home, but most stuff, including the growing amounts of junk mail we all get, now goes to the PO Box. At about $6 a month, it's a great tool.

Hint: Don't get a PO Box at an all-in-one service center like Mail Boxes Etc. Their rates are significantly higher than your local post office.

Privacy practices (part 1 - beating spam).....

2004-10-11T19:37:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: Set up an alternative email address to use for non-personal net use (sign up forms, net postings, contact info for businesses, rebates, etc).

Regarding privacy issues, I have found a few approaches to be very effective. The one I will cover in this post is the use of alternative email address (such as Yahoo, Hotmail or Gmail) for internet use instead of using your real "home" email address. These alternative email addresses can have your real name or an alias that you make up. I have several -- one is a "junk" Yahoo acct that I use when I fill out stuff that might possibly send me spam (credit card companies, online web orders). I can check it if I need to, but most of the 50-100 emails I receive a day are thrown away with one click. I also have another email with Google's Gmail that I use for legitimate computer purposes, such as communicating with people reading this blog. And finally, I have another where I can guarantee when I use it that it will end up on some spammer's list -- like when I fill out a rebate form or online freebie.

Basically, you should have three different email accounts. One is ONLY for family and friends (and maybe the volunteer organization you know won't give out your email address -- soccer, Boy Scouts, Cancer Society). Another is for organizations you do business with -- your credit card company, online web purchases, etc. And finally, the last is a throwaway acct that you can use for stuff that needs an email address but you know will get compromised by spammers. This category would be rebates, contests, warranties, online freebies, etc. Following this strategy will slowly reduce the visibility of your "real" email account thereby reducing spam and ultimately saving you time.

Online email address resources:

www.yahoo.com

www.hotmail.com

www.gmail.com

Google's new Gmail service is pretty cool. Not only does it allow you 1GB (gigabyte) of storage, but they have quite a few integrated tools to allow you some nice flexibility. I have had a Gmail acct now for a few months and they are still in beta testing but so far it seems to be one of the better online email services. This would be good for your mid-level email account -- one that you use for businesses and online purchases. The downside to Gmail right now is that you have to be "invited" to join during the beta period.

To help out my readers, I have 5 Gmail invitations available for the first 5 people who contact me at dangersonatgmaildotcom. NOTE: check out how I write my gmail address. It makes it hard, if not impossible for spam robots to harvest my email address from this web page. And believe me, that stuff happens.

Phishing and Fishing.....

2004-10-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: NEVER, EVER, respond to a financial institution's communications with your personal information (Citibank, Wells Fargo, PayPal, eBay, etc).

There is a new trend in scamming that involves making you think you are dealing with a business entity you may or may not have a relationship with. It all starts with an email that......well.....let me give you a recent example instead of trying to describe it.

*******************************************************************************************

Date:	Sat, 09 Oct 2004 13:30:46 +0000
From:	"Citibank" <Cristie-Wilenius_virify_u@citibank.org>
To:	xxxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com
Subject:	Citibank email verifica tion - xxxxxxxxx@yahoo.com

DearCitibank Member,

This email was sent by the Citibank server to verify your e-mail address. You must complete this process by clicking on the link below and entering in the small window your Citibank ATM/Debit Card number and PIN that you use on ATM.

This is done for your protection - because some of our members no longer have access to their email addresses and we must verify it.

To verify your e-mail address and access your bank account, click on the link below:

www.citibank.com/?fYYZ5ckiLluNlbcKlKv8l5f6tvxw21g2xBxrMbsSX2e7tEkLV3o

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Now, if you aren't a Citibank customer, this is an easy scam to spot. However, if you are a Citibank customer and you click on the alleged Citibank link, it will look exactly like a Citibank page. It will ask you to confirm some personal info including a PIN, SS number or account number. What is not apparent to you, is that this is NOT a Citibank page. It, most likely, is a page designed to look exactly like Citibank's (or other financial institution's) page long enough to fool you into "confirming" your personal data. Once you do this, the scammers now have enough of your info to hit your account with fraudulent charges or drain it.

The tactic, calling "phishing" (fishing) because the scammers are tossing baited email lines out hoping for bites, is usually committed by an organized scammer network, often overseas. The most effective protection for this type of attack is to educate yourself (and your loved ones) and delete the email.

Another caution: I just recently received a privacy notice in the mail from a credit card company. The privacy opt-out return page with pre-addressed envelope had blank fields for name, account number, SS number and signature. I truly believe it came from the credit card company, but not wanting to risk an information breech, I printed my name and address, signed the form and then put "On File" in both the account number and SS number fields. This should be ok for the credit card company since a system lookup of my name and address will provide them with my account and SS numbers. I just found this interesting because it would actually be a lot easier for a scammer to set up this type of "manual", non-Internet scam than an email / web page scam. Although with postage fees, the email / web page scam is cheaper.

Quick Action.....defined

2004-10-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: the Quick Action feature at the beginning of each post is a summary.

One way I hope to make this newsletter blog useful is by quickly summarizing important information right up front. That way, if you don't have enough time to read the entire post, you at least walk away with some useful information you can act on. Think of it as Dan's geek version of Cliff's Notes.

I am also hoping on doing a few series in the upcoming weeks where I focus posts on a particular topic during the week. Some series ideas I have are: digital imaging and privacy steps. If you have an idea for a post or series, drop me a note at dangersonatgmaildotcom (see "Welcome" post for email explanation if you need it).

New SpyBot version

2004-10-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Quick Action: update your version of SpyBot S&D - download here http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download.asp?fid=22262&fileidx=1

There is a new version of SpyBot S&D out. SpyBot S&D version 1.3 (the S&D is for “search and destroy”) is a great tool for identifying and removing any spyware or spyware vulnerabilities. Installed onto your PC, you should run the program to detect problems, click the ones you want removed (which would probably be ALL of them) and click to fix the problems. That’s about all you need to be rid of spyware which is the computer equivalent to letting someone install a video camera in your house. Check out the program at http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22262,00.asp You can also download it from download.com.

FYI - for those of you running SpyBot S&D version 1.2 and using the update feature, you will need to download version 1.3 and install it. The update feature of 1.2 will not update you to 1.3 - at least that was my experience at home and in the test lab.

If you are not running any type of Spyware scanner, you should. This is one of the best ones from my experience.....and it's free!

Welcome!

2004-10-08T07:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first installation of the “Geek Tips for the Non-Geek” newsletter blog. With this tool, I hope to provide regular, helpful communication to those who have an interest in bettering their use of technology. Topics will range from security to cool stuff you can buy to technology in the news and how it might affect you. It will be written in my style which, I hope, mixes learning with humor and down to earth words – no technospeak here*.

It will also be an ongoing improvement process. Style might change, looks might change, content might change. All this is an effort to bring you relevant information without being hung up on style and looks. While looks are nice, I don’t want the package to outweigh the content. The bottom line is I want to get useful information to you without it being held up or bottlenecked by it not being perfect. A cobbled together newsletter blog with good, relevent, updated information is better than a beautifully laid out newsletter blog never delivered.

Feel free to forward this blog address to others who might find this information useful. This newsletter blog is geared towards the non-geek. If that is you, then we're on the right track. If you have any topics or questions, you can reach me at dangersonatgmaildotcom. The "at" is the @ sign and "dot" is a period (.). This prevents any slimeball spammer bots from harvesting my email address to send me Viagra and refinancing spam.

* - if I do use technospeak, I will attempt to convey it's meaning in real world language.