Bobbie's computer/network tips

Ya better think twice about privacy at customs back home

sanjuanjohn — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:05:41 +0000

“We think people should know that they basically are leaving their right to privacy at the door when they cross the U.S. border. There is no assumption of privacy [at a port of entry].
said Gurley.

“This is by far not an epidemic of any sort,” Gurley said. “But we think people should know that they basically are leaving their right to privacy at the door when they cross the U.S. border. There is no assumption of privacy,” at a port of entry, she said. Here are five factors Gurley says travelers should know about:

1. No evidence needed to take your laptop

Border agents do not need any evidence or suspicion of illegal activity to examine a laptop or other electronic device.

Every time you cross the border, customs officials have the right to look at anything in your possession, including the content on your laptop, handheld device, cell phone, USB memory stick and digital cameras, Gurley said. They have the right to both view that information and to download or mirror it if they think it’s necessary, she said.

2. Anything can be searched

Everything on an electronic device is open to search. This includes personal photographs, personal banking, any business documents and stored or unopened e-mail, Gurley said.

3. Your PC might not be returned right away

Seized devices may be kept for an indefinite period of time. Carry only a laptop or electronic device you can afford to lose or hand over for an unspecified period of time.

best advice about computers

sanjuanjohn — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:24:10 +0000

Best advice about computers, don’t rely on “Anti-Virus” programs like Norton or NOD32. Instead modify your behavior. For use IE7 not IE6, for browsing. Firefox was great but now is insecure as compared to IE7. Don’t open emails from people you don’t recognize. Don’t click on any attachments in your emails. Don’t click on any links in the emails, copy and paste the URL. Backup your computer every week or at least monthly. Turn on Restore and monitor regularly. Update all Microsoft patches, ASAP if you are using a Microsoft OS. Use Vista if you care to upgrade to a more secure Window OS. If you have to use an internet cafe, copy and paste your login and passwords, don’t keyboard. Keyloggers are everywhere now days and hard to beat. Learn the common “Turn On” key combinations for keyloggers, ie; CTRL+AlT+Shft+ H, or CTL+ATL+F7.

Do you know anything about a new iTunes plug-in called iConcertCal? If so, please share!

sanjuanjohn — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:03:54 +0000

A:
As a matter of fact, I heard about it the other day. I don’t own an iPod of my own, so I don’t really get too much into iTunes, but I know a lot of you all out there do and I always try to stay on top of things to help out. So, when I came across a mention of this new plug-in, I had to check it out! And well, let me tell you, it seems pretty darn cool. Let’s look at it together.

The first version of iConcertCal (version 1.1) was just recently released and it is available for download right now. It’s a free plug-in, so you don’t have to worry about any fees either. Okay, so what does it do? Well, it basically monitors your iTunes music library for you. And by doing that, it creates a personalized calendar for you that will keep you up to date on the concerts that may be coming to your city or town. So, if you’re a big concert goer, you will definitely want to check this one out.

Now, you may be wondering where it gets the information from. Well, iConcertCal pretty much spends its time searching the Web to find the tour dates of the bands you have saved in your iTunes music library. It uses a variety of Web sites to generate that information, including JamBase.com, The List and Tour Filter. The creators of iConcertCal are always adding new Web sites to the mix as well.

Okay, so how does the plug-in know what city you live in? It actually gets that information (and that information only) from your IP address. Of course, this may not always work out as planned, so if iConcertCal is searching in the wrong city, you can always change it using the City and State boxes on the interface. Everything is pretty much covered!

Also, if you add new music to your library quite often, iConcertCal will be able to keep up with it. It updates your information once a week, so you will never miss out on a concert date. And just in case you were worried, iConcertCal does not use any of your music information outside of the guidelines. Your privacy is respected and none of your personal data will be shared or broadcast on the Internet.

So, if you’re thinking this sounds like a pretty good deal and you’re ready to download it, just visit this Web site and click on the green button that says “Download iConcertCal now.” (Make sure you close down your iTunes before you start the download process). Just let the download run and follow the prompts as they come up on your screen. Once it’s done, open iTunes again and go to View, Visualizer, iConcertCal. Then to see your personalized calendar, go to View, Show Visualizer.

Your calendar will probably be pretty boring at first, but once iConcertCal starts gathering your music information, it will fill up fast. Also, just for a quick extra tip: You can use Ctrl + T to go back and forth between your iTunes program and your calendar. It’s all very simple when it comes to using the iConcertCal plug-in!

iConcertCal is also available for Mac OS X and you can find installation instructions for that right here. Also, if you’re still curious about this plug-in and want to learn a little more about it, visit the FAQ page here. Everything you’re wondering and more will be answered there. There’s even some topics covered in case you happen to have any trouble with iConcertCal.

Now, go on and enjoy your new iTunes plug-in and be sure to have fun at the concerts!

Do you know anything about a new iTunes plug-in called iConcertCal? If so, please share!

sanjuanjohn — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:57:25 +0000

Now, go on and enjoy your new iTunes plug-in and be sure to have fun at the concerts!

Do you know anything about a new iTunes plug-in called iConcertCal? If so, please share!

sanjuanjohn — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:52:58 +0000

Now, go on and enjoy your new iTunes plug-in and be sure to have fun at the concerts!

Is your computer password protected?

sanjuanjohn — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:41:31 +0000

Have you ever wanted to lockdown your desktop with a password that only you or your family members know, just in case? Well, here’s a short guide to help you do so.

In Windows XP, go to Start, Control Panel and click on User Accounts. Next, you’re going to click on Change an Account, because you’re modifying the account you have already created. Choose the account you want to change and then click on Change my password. The next screen that comes up will have you choose a password and retype it as well. It has you retype it as a security protector so your PC knows, for sure, that’s the password you want. The next line has you put in some sort of a reminder as to what your password is. Keep in mind that your password hint is visible to anyone who uses your computer.

That’s all you have to do! So, if you ever feel like changing that password in the future, you can follow these directions again to do that. You might notice that while you’re creating your password, you can also do stuff like change the name your PC is under, change your icon picture or even remove the password, if you ever decide to do that.

For all other users, go to Start, Control Panel and search for the password settings where you will be able to change your Windows password as well.

sanjuanjohn — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:18:58 +0000

Amazon.com Widgets

corrections

sanjuanjohn — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:10:22 +0000

A Quick Tip Correction!
The Quick Tip:
I ran two weeks ago dealt with how to use the ALT key plus a number combination to get fractions or the cent sign. It’s a fun little tip, however we need to clarify that you have to use the number keypad (usually located on the right hand side of your keyboard) in order for this tip to work. Also, we had the info reversed for the ½ and ¼ symbols. Thanks to the many (many) sjdsnow readers who emailed me to let us know of the error and to the readers who added a few to the list

Here is an expanded list:

ALT + 155 = ¢
ALT + 171 = ½
ALT + 172 = ¼
ALT + 0190 = ¾
ALT + 0176 = °
ALT + 0216 = Ø
ALT + 133 = à
ALT + 134 = å
ALT + 0174 = ®
ALT + 0169 = ©

DVD-R what is this?

sanjuanjohn — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:36:51 +0000

As DVD recording comes of age and the prices come down, more of us will likely be adding DVD writers to our computers. But what gives with these dueling formats?Anyone who was around twenty years ago might remember the battle between the two video tape formats: VHS (Victor Home System) and Betamax (Sony). Fast forward to the twenty-first century and we have a similar battle of the formats with DVD.

The disks are pretty much the same, but the writing process is different. DVD+R is a bit more advanced, but the disks often cost more than the older DVD-R format.

Another thing to consider is what format your DVD recording software works best in. I had a friend that couldn’t get his software to work and it turned out he needed to use DVD-R. Now he’s a regular DVD pirate—Arrgh, just kiddin’ matey!

My suggestion? Pay the extra bucks for a writer that supports both formats or wait until the dust settles.

write it down, file and figure

sanjuanjohn — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:52:21 +0000

Have you ever run into a problem with your computer that happened to bring up an error message? I’m sure you have. You’re really lucky if you’ve never had to deal with that. Well, when that happens, wouldn’t it be nice if you could just capture that error message and send it to someone else so they could help you figure out what’s wrong? It sure would save me quite a few times! Well, lucky for us all, there’s a way. Here’s how!

Find the Print Screen and Alt buttons on your keyboard and you’ll be all set. The PrtScr button is located on the right hand side of your keyboard right next to the Scroll Lock key. (It’s also right beside the F12 key on most keyboards). If you hit the Alt and PrtScr keys at the same time, your computer will take a “snapshot” of the active window (which would be the error message). Now, if you want to get a shot of the whole screen, push the Shift key along with the PrtScr key and you’ll have it.

Once you have that image captured, you can go and paste it in another program and then send it to your “computer expert” for advice. You can put it in MS Word, Notepad, Wordpad or even in an e-mail. It’s up to you. Once you have the program you want to put it in open, just hit Ctrl + V to paste the screenshot (or go to Edit, Paste). Along with the image, you can type out a description of what you were doing when the problem occurred. That will especially help if you’re sending it to someone else to look at. With both the screenshot and the description, they should be able to lead you in the right direction to get things fixed. Having all of that information documented helps if you have to call on some professional tech support as well. You gotta love that!