Reduce Computer Eyestrain with a Simple Program

If your day is anything like mine, you spend a lot of time looking at your computer screen, sometimes late into the night.  The glow from your monitor can make your eyes think that it is daytime, even at 10:00 at night.  This can make it more difficult to get to sleep when you do finally turn in for the night.

Fortunately, there is a program that can solve this problem. F.lux is a program that will adjust your monitor's brightness based on the current time.  After you enter your location, your monitor will gradually brighten throughout the morning, and then dim as the sun goes down in the evening.

The f.lux icon will sit in your taskbar so that it will be easy to disable it if you need to do color-sensitive work on your computer.  If you need to do photo or video editing, you can quickly disable it for one hour, or if you want to watch a movie, you can put it into movie mode, which disables it for 2 1/2 hours.  If you know you will be working on a project for a long time, you can also choose to disable it until the next day.

I can tell you from personal experience that this program works for those who use a monitor for long periods of time.  Since both of my jobs require heavy use of my eyes, I have had eyestrain problems for several years.  However, since installing f.lux, I have found that my eyestrain has decreased.

Get Free or Inexpensive eBooks

I used to say that I would never want to read an ebook:  I loved being able to hold the book in my hands and turn physical pages.  While that is still true with some books (I have my own reasons for that), I don't think I would be able to survive anymore without my smartphone's Kindle app.  This app is probably the number one reason why I can never seem to keep my phone's battery alive for more than a few hours.

If you like to read like I do, and you have an e-reader or an e-reader app on your device, then I have a great site for you:  BookBub.  Simply enter your email address, answer a few questions about the types of books you like to read and the devices you have, and then you will begin receiving a daily email with deals on ebooks for you.  Buy the ones that sound interesting and ignore the rest.  However, you may find that you don't even have to buy anything.  I have found that the free books I get from the list provide more than enough reading material.

Plus, you don't need an e-reader or smartphone to begin reading ebooks.  Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have downloadable programs that will allow you to begin reading ebooks on your computer.

Two New Google Features

If you have an Android phone that is connected to a Google account, Google has introduced two new useful features.  (There may even be more; Google only announced the first one, but someone discovered the second one.)  Both of these features require that you be signed into your Google account on your computer and that your phone is connected to the same Google account.

1) Send Directions to Your Phone - If you are headed somewhere, type "Send directions" into a Google search.  You will then have options to select the starting and ending address and the device you want directions sent to.  Then, open that device to see Google maps open with directions on your phone.

2) Note to Self - If you want to send a reminder to your phone, type "Note to self" followed by the reminder into a search window and press Enter, then select the device you want the note sent to.  Select "Send note to phone", and your note should show up as a notification on your phone.

Four Steps to Maintain Your Privacy

Everywhere you look online, it seems that there's someone trying to track you.  Whether it is the government, private corporations, or even an individual who wants to learn more about you for whatever nefarious purpose, your privacy can seem threatened each time you go online.  Here are four simple ways to maintain your privacy:

1) Use a Private Search - Many search engines track your searches and activity; however, there are some that promise to maintain your privacy.  Sites like Startpage and DuckDuckGo will allow you to search the internet without being tracked.

2) Install HTTPS Everywhere - The HTTPS protocol will encrypt your data, making it unreadable to anyone trying to snoop on it.  HTTPS Everywhere will force websites to encrypt data if they are able to encrypt it.  (Some websites do not use encryption, and many more are capable but do not use it by default or only use it on certain parts of the site.)  HTTPS Everywhere is available for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

3) Use Private Browsing Mode - All of the major browsers have a private mode.  This mode will keep any sites from appearing in your search history, but more importantly, it will block websites from installing cookies.  These cookies can monitor all your activity and transmit to other sites or use it to serve ads to you.  If you don't want to use private mode, then cleaning your browser history and cookies on a regular basis will have a similar effect.

4) Pay in Cash - Purchases made with your credit or debit card can be tracked back to you using the card number.  If the government wanted to track your purchases, they could track everything you have bought using your card numbers.  (While the government could not forcibly take a store's records without a warrant, there is nothing to prohibit collecting them from companies that voluntarily hand them over.)  If you want your purchases to stay private, pay in cash.

How to Disable Your Webcam

Webcams are wonderful tools for communication.  One of my friends has a husband who is currently in Afghanistan, and he is able to use his webcam and Skype to see his wife and kids from the other side of the world.  I have to use a webcam to verify my identity while I am taking tests for a certification I am working toward.

However, for every useful tool, someone will figure out how to use it against you.  This is certainly true of your webcam.  The FBI and NSA have both admitted that they know how to activate your computer's webcam or your phone's front-facing camera without any indicator lights.  Peeping Toms can use the same methods to see inside of your house.  In fact, software that could help someone gain access to a computer's webcam was available on the dark web last year for only $40.

Here are three ways to make sure that no one can spy on your webcam:

1) Unplug It - If you have an external webcam, no amount of software will plug it back in if you unplug it.  This is easily the best way to protect yourself with an external camera.  However, if you have a laptop with a built-in camera, this option is not available.

2) Disable It - You can disable your webcam in Windows if you are unable to unplug it.  This is a great solution if you do not plan to use it, but it can be a hassle if you regularly use your camera.  To disable your camera, search for "Device Manager" in the start menu or charms bar.  Your webcam should appear under "Imaging Devices".  Right-click on the webcam and select "Disable" if it is available.

3) Cover It - If you are unable to unplug or disable your webcam, you can always use this solution to maintain your privacy.  Cover up your webcam with a post-it note, a piece of opaque tape, or something else that will keep anyone from snooping through your camera.  I use a piece of post-it note tape to cover the webcam on my laptop, and then I remove it when I need to use the camera.  Even if someone gains access to my camera, they will be greeted by a piece of green tape instead of any picture.

Is Your Facebook Profile Secure?

Facebook is a huge part of life for many people.  When I first joined Facebook, it had space for one picture, some basic profile information, messaging, a wall for public messages, and of course, the poke button that seems to serve no purpose.  However, as Facebook grew, so did the interest in keeping the information on Facebook private.

Due to the interest in privacy, Facebook released a Privacy Basics page to help you understand how to keep your information secure.  Some of the topics are covered with videos, some are covered with slide shows, and some are even interactive, allowing you to practice adjustments to certain settings.

While I was already knew many of the privacy features available, I did learn a few new privacy tricks, so it is definitely worth checking out.

Click here to visit the Facebook Privacy Basics page.

Should You Update Your Device's Firmware?

Did you know that every gadget in your house is running software?  Even devices like your modem and router have a small amount of software stored on chips inside the device.  Even devices inside your computer, such as the hard drive, have software to control its operation.  This software, known as firmware, tells the device how to function and communicate with other devices.  Like any software, the firmware for your devices needs to be updated.  Firmware updates can be released to fix bugs that limit the device's capability or to patch security holes.

When should you update your firmware?  It is definitely necessary if a security vulnerability has been found in your device.  The Heartbleed bug discovered last year affected many routers, and firmware updates were necessary to fix the vulnerability.  It is also a good idea if a device is malfunctioning:  the problem might be a firmware issue that has already been fixed with an update.

If everything is working fine and you don't know about any security issues, then it is probably best to leave your firmware alone.  The main features of a device will have been tested extensively before the device is released, so it is likely that updates will fix bugs that only affect a small percentage of users.

If you think that a firmware update might be necessary, check the manufacturer's website for the latest firmware and instructions on how to update.  The process will be different for each type of device and even for each manufacturer.

Four Free Photo Editors

When most people think of photo editors, they immediately think of Adobe's Photoshop.  However, the expensive price tag and steep learning curve is a turn-off for most average users who only want basic image editing features.

You don't have to lighten your wallet by $100 (or more) just to do photo editing, unless you are a professional that needs many of the advanced features of Photoshop.  Here are four options that won't cost you a dime to editing your pictures:

1) GIMP - GIMP is an advanced photo editor that has most of the features of Photoshop.  Like Photoshop, it does come with a substantial learning curve, but it will allow you to obtain professional-quality results.  If you are looking to do professional image editing, this is clearly your best option.  If you are looking for something that will be easy to use, you may want to skip this one for other options.

2) Serif PhotoPlus Starter - Serif created a basic edition of its PhotoPlus editing program that is completely free.  It can resize images, remove red eye and blemishes, and crop and straighten photos.  Obviously, the goal for this free version is to entice you to buy the full version, so if you want more than just the basic features, you will need to pay.  However, if you are looking for a program that will do the basics quickly and easily, this is a great option.

3) PhotoScape - PhotoScape is free with one caveat:  it is part of the Open Candy network, so it will display ads within the program for other software.  (It will not infect other parts of your computer with adware, but you will see ads within the program.)  However, PhotoScape is a great option if you want one program to edit and display your photos in a slide show or animation.

4) Paint.net - Paint.net started as an alternative for Microsoft Paint, but it has developed into something much more powerful.  Even though it is not nearly as powerful as GIMP or Photoshop, it is probably the easiest to learn and it contains many useful features.  If you are looking for software with beginning and intermediate level features that you can learn quickly, Paint.net should be your first choice.

Four Sites for Private Search

Google is the leader in search, and anyone who has used a variety of search engines can understand why.  I recently experimented by running most of my searches through multiple search engines, and I found that Google did the best job at placing what I wanted at the top of the search results.  (To be honest, no other search engine came anywhere close to performing as well as Google.)

However, many people shy away from using Google because of privacy issues.  Bing and Yahoo, the other two major search engines, also track your searches (and other data) to build a profile on you.  While there are some benefits to tracking searches, many people feel that the loss of privacy outweighs the benefits.

If you want to search without compromising your privacy, you have some options.  Here are four alternative search engines that promise not to track you:

1) Startpage - If you like Google's results without the loss of privacy, Startpage is probably the option for you.  Startpage takes your request, submits it to Google, and then returns Google's results to you.  Google never sees the requests from the computer initiating the search, it only sees the requests from Startpage's servers.

Startpage's site states, "Your IP address is never recorded, your visit is not logged, and no tracking cookies are placed on your browser. When it comes to protecting your privacy, Startpage runs the tightest ship on the Internet."

2) DuckDuckGo - DuckDuckGo gives back its own search results (it doesn't get them from a site like Google), but it does not log any information about your computer.  Because of this, it cannot attempt to personalize results; a particular search term will return the same results regardless of user.  If you want to see DuckDuckGo's humorous "privacy policy in a nutshell", you can see it here.

3) Yippy - Yippy's site promises to be a 100% private, family friendly search engine.  Like DuckDuckGo, it ranks its own results instead of gathering them from somewhere else.  Yippy's site promises: "We won't track your activity on our platform, store your history in our browser, monitor or record your searches, store copies of your email, or collect any more personal information than you volunteer. We also won't sell your personal information to advertisers for profit."

4) Ask Eraser - Ask.com offers an eraser that will set a single cookie on your browser to indicate that Ask Eraser is enabled, and then delete all other Ask.com cookies.  Ask does clarify that your searches will be tracked if law enforcement asks them to log them, even if Ask Eraser is enabled.

Fix Windows Errors Easily

If your computer seems to have suddenly gone unstable or you are dealing with sudden crashes that don't seem to be tied to any specific file or program, then you could have a corrupt Windows file.  Windows uses many different files for a variety of purposes, and sometimes Windows or other programs will modify them.  In most cases, the modification process works just fine, but sometimes, an error occurs and the file becomes corrupted.  When this happens, you need something to be able to go back and replace the corrupted file.

Fortunately, Windows has a built-in solution.  The System File Checker will scan your computer's Windows files for errors and replace any corrupted files with fresh copies.  In many cases, this is enough to get your computer working properly again.

To run the System File Checker, go to the search box on the start menu (charms bar in Windows 8), and type "cmd".  Without hitting enter, right-click on the first search result (which should be "cmd"), and select "Run as Administrator".  This will open a command prompt window.  At the command prompt, type "sfc.exe /scannow" and hit enter to start the scan.  Allow it to run until it is 100% complete, and then test to see if your problem has been resolved.

If you haven't run it in a while (or you have never heard of it), it doesn't hurt to run it even when you think things are working fine.

See Sensitive Information in Your Email

Your email account probably contains plenty of things that you wouldn't want anyone else to see.  It could be a love note from your spouse or a message to a friend about an embarrassing health condition.  However, there could be other dangerous items lurking in your inbox that you don't even know are there.  You could have a password to an account or sensitive information exposed on a receipt for a purchase.  If someone gained access to your account, the damage done from these items could be more than just embarrassing.

Dashlane has created a free inbox scanner to identify these dangerous items for you.  Head over to the Dashlane Inbox Scan page, select your email account, give it the proper permissions, and allow the scan to work.  The results page will show the information in colored bubbles.  Larger bubbles represent information that could pose a greater risk, and red represents items that are dangerous.

You can start your free inbox scan by visiting this page.

Narrow Your Search Results

Have you ever stopped to look at the number of web pages a search engine finds for you?  Just for an example, I did a Google search for "computer supply stores" and had 117 million results.  How would someone find a specific result out of so many pages?

Fortunately, there are ways to narrow your search.  (For the computer store example, adding a location or a state would be a great start!)  However, if you have run out of terms to add, here are a few more ways to help you find the right page.  (All of these work on Google, but most of them will work on any search site.)

1) Quote It - If you are looking for a specific phrase, add quotation marks around it to find only sites with that phrase.  (Otherwise, a site with those words anywhere on the page is included.)  If you can't remember a word or words from the phrase, add the quotes and then put an asterisk in place of the words you don't remember.

2) Remove It - If you are finding results in the wrong category (like you want pictures of the animal jaguar and you are only finding pictures of the car), adding a "-" before a word will eliminate any pages with that word.  Searching for "jaguar -car" will return pages that have the word jaguar but not the word car.

3) Range Search - Adding two periods ("..") between two numbers will search for numbers that come in that range.  If you need a computer that is between $500 and $750, searching computer $500..$750 will return results in that price range.

4) Or - If you have multiple search terms and want all the pages that only include one of them, separate them with "OR" in capital letters.

5) Site Specific - If you know your result is on a specific site or you only want to search a specific site, add "site:" followed by the domain name of the site.  For example, "site:microsoft.com" will only return results from Microsoft's site.

6) Related Sites - If you don't necessarily need results from a specific site, but you want results from that site or other similar sites, add "related:" followed by the domain name.

Refresh, Reset, Restore, Reinstall - What Do They Mean?

With Windows 7 and all earlier versions, there were only two options to fix Windows if it started acting up:  you could restore your system back to a previous point in time or you could start fresh by reinstalling Windows.  However, Windows 8 copies off of features contained in mobile operating systems by introducing two new options:  a refresh and a reset.  Since these options are likely to live well beyond Windows 8, here is an explanation of what each of them mean.

Restore - The System Restore feature takes periodic snapshots of your Windows installation.  This allows you to restore your system to a previous state without affecting your data.  (However, always make sure your data is backed up before attempting a System Restore just in case something goes wrong.)  This is a useful feature to change system configuration issues or programs that have caused system instability.  System Restore can sometimes get rid of a malware infection.

Refresh - Before Windows 8, if a System Restore failed, your only other option was the last resort:  a complete reinstallation of Windows.  However, Windows 8 brings the ability to refresh or reset your device.  A refresh rewrites your Windows files without affecting your data.  This is similar to the reinstallation of Windows, except that it will not affect your data.  If you have malware that persists beyond cleanup methods and a system restore, a refresh is a great option.  (As with the restore, always make a backup of your data.)

Reset - If a system refresh is not getting the job done either, then the problem might be hiding out in your data folders.  In this case, you either need to find the appropriate setting or delete your data files and start fresh.  A reset is a built-in method to wipe everything on your computer and give it a fresh start.  A reset is also a good idea to help clean everything before you sell a device.

Reinstall - A reinstallation of Windows should be unnecessary in most cases on Windows 8 and later computers.  A reinstall will use a DVD or a restore partition to perform what is essentially a refresh on your system.  If your system is having trouble starting or your refresh and reset features are not working, a reinstall will clear out any problems.

Set Up System Restore

When your computer starts malfunctioning, the Windows System Restore feature is a great help.  System Restore takes snapshots of your critical Windows files and saves them to restore Windows back to a working state.  If your computer suddenly starts crashing or running slow, it can usually be reversed by restoring it back to a restore point from before the problem started.

However, you will not be able to use System Restore if your computer is not set up to keep creating restore points.  To see how often your system is set to create a restore point, you will need to visit the Task Scheduler.  Simply enter "Task Scheduler" in the search box on the start menu (charms bar in Windows 8/8.1).  In the left pane, navigate to Task Scheduler Library/Microsoft/Windows/SystemRestore.  Click on the tab "Triggers" to see how often your system is set to make a restore point.

If you have no triggers or you want to change the frequency, double-click on the "SR" line in the top pane.  Then, you can click on the "Triggers" tab in the new window and edit any existing triggers or create a new one.

After you have set up automatic system restore points, you want to make sure that they are actually being made.  To do this, hit Windows Key + Pause to bring up the System window, and select "System protection" on the left side.  Click on the "System Restore" button about half-way down, and then click on Next to reach the list of restore points.  Windows will create restore points for a variety of reason; you want to find the ones that say "Automatic restore point".  They should appear to be occurring at about the frequency you specified.

Find Free Images to Use

Copyright can make working with online images a hassle.  When you find an image you want to use, you have to locate the source (difficult), get permission to use it (more difficult), and then properly attribute the source.  If you have an image you really want, you can contact the person who created it and ask for permission to use it.  (Unless you are a non-profit, it is helpful if you express willing to pay a small amount to use it.)  You could also try to claim fair use (a copyright exception for using small amounts of a work for educational purposes), but the laws surrounding fair use are so complex that it can be difficult to ever be certain that your use would qualify if brought into question.

Instead of going to all that work just to use one image, consider using images licensed under the Creative Commons.  These are images that the user of the work has granted permission to use under specific circumstances.  Some allow for commercial or non-commercial use, and some permit modifications while others do not allow for any changes.  You will still need to credit the owner of the work, but you know that you can use them if you stay within the permissions of the license.

One great place to start is the Wikimedia Commons.  This site allows you to search for images and easily view the permissions granted by the owner.  The license will appear as something like "CC BY-ND".  If you are not familiar with the Creative Commons licenses, the types of available licenses are listed at the end of this page.  You can also do an image search on Google, Yahoo, or Bing.  All three have options to filter with results that you can reuse, but be sure to confirm the image is labelled correctly by going to the site where it was posted.

Tweak Your Facebook News Feed

Everyone can probably name the one or two friends on Facebook who are constantly filling their news feed with game notices, survey results, and other unimportant items.  Most of us have probably just learned to scroll past their posts, but if you want to take action, here are a few ways to stop them from filling your news feed:

Unfollow Them - Facebook announced the ability to "follow" people who are not your friends (you can still only see their public posts), but at the same time they also added the ability to "unfollow" people who are your friends.  This will keep you on their friends list, but you won't see any of their posts.  To unfollow someone, go to their profile page.  At the bottom of the cover photo will be a box that says "Following".  Click that box to unfollow the person.

Make Them an Acquaintance - Facebook has a built-in acquaintance list that you can use to add people who you don't want to receive updates from very often.  If you don't want to completely unfollow someone (so that you can still see their occasional important post), you can try adding that person to the acquaintance list.

Block Pages - Perhaps your problem isn't with a specific person, but with a specific page or Facebook app.  If you keep seeing the same page's posts in your feed, you can block that page.  Click on the arrow in the upper-right corner of the post, and then select "Unfollow [Page Name]".  This will stop that page's posts from appearing in your feed, no matter who decided to share it.

Tell Facebook - On the same menu where you can block pages is another option:  "I don't want to see this".  While you cannot control what appears in your newsfeed, at least you can tell Facebook the types of posts you don't want there.  Click this button enough times and Facebook will start to get an idea of what you don't want to see.

The Weakest Link In Your Online Security, Part 2

Attacking humans is the easiest form of attack. For every person whose credit card has been compromised from an online business, there are many more who have accidentally handed over their information to scammers. There is a reason why you still get the “Nigerian prince” emails: even after all these years, they still trick people!

Even many of the corporate data breaches that have hit the news in recent months have a “human attack” component. Many of these breaches either started with an employee who fell for a phishing scam or resulted from lax security measures. After the Home Depot breach, considered the largest credit card theft in history, it was revealed that security employees were warning management of issues for as many as six years prior to the attack.

As the cost of data gets cheaper, these attacks will only increase. Before personal computers and the internet, attempting a “Nigerian prince” scam would require mailing a large number of letters or placing a large number of phone calls in order to convince a few people to fall for it. The cost to attempt something like this outweighed the reward unless you were willing to invest a significant amount of time and money into the scam. As a result, these scams did exist, but they were relatively uncommon.

Now, it takes very little time and money to set up an online database, craft a nice-looking email, and then send that email to thousands of people at a time. Because of the low cost to set up these types of scams, it takes very few victims to cover the cost of conducting a scam. Regardless of how crazy you think the story sounds, there will always be a few gullible victims that will fall for almost anything.

These points lead me to the premise of this book: if you are going to stay safe online, it is up to you to know how to stay safe. Yes, having good security software helps, but it is much better to know good security practices and allow your security software to function as an additional line of defense. While security software is much better at detecting threats, there is no security software that will keep you 100% safe. Attackers are constantly adjusting their methods to evade the popular security solutions.

Finally, no matter how much effort you invest to keep yourself safe, you must also trust others to also keep your information safe. Although we cannot control the fact that Home Depot’s management was careless about online security, we can control the information that is exposed when such a breach does occur. By implementing good habits, we can limit the amount of damage an attacker can do.

Human tendency makes each of us the weakest link in our own security. We cannot install a security program and expect to stay safe anymore, but education about good browsing habits and security practices can strengthen our safety online.

The Weakest Link In Your Online Security, Part 1

It can be scary to be online these days. We are afraid to swipe a credit or debit card out of fear it might be compromised. We are concerned that our passwords or photos might be stolen and shown to the world. We hear of companies losing all their data to hackers, and we hear that one company shipped its computers with malware already installed on it. There are many threats to our online security: hackers from Russia and China, poor security practices by companies we frequent, and card skimmers installed on an ATM or gas pump are just a few of the threats we face. Plus, those methods do not even begin to mention the low-tech methods that have been around for years, such as a waiter jotting down your credit card number while he processes the payment for your dinner.

However, the biggest threat to our online security does not come from other people, other companies, or even other nations. This threat has unlimited and complete access to every piece of data on each device you own. It can be on your network at all times of the day or night. It knows all your secret passwords, security questions, and PIN numbers. The biggest threat to your online security is you!

Most security issues on your computer or network will occur with at least some permission by someone in your family. You will choose to install the game or program that secretly comes with a keylogger that steals your personal information. You will click on the link in an email to “update your information” and hand over your online banking password to criminals. You will fail to completely secure your computer or router and leave a way for someone to access your network. You will choose to visit the website that contains instructions that will harm your computer. While you may not give explicit instructions for an attacker to steal your information or access your computer, your actions are often the driving force behind someone’s access to your personal information.

I have come close to falling for some of these tricks, myself. If someone can almost fall for one of these tricks at the same time he is writing a book on how to stay safe online, I know that others will be even more likely to fall for many of these scams. I am not trying to criticize anyone who has ever fallen for an online scam; instead, I want to make you aware of your role in these types of attacks.

Check the Extension

Over the weekend, I received an email "reminding me" about my court appearance that is supposed to take place on April 10th.  It stated:

Notice to Appear,

This is to inform you to appear in the Court on the April 10 for your case hearing.
Please, prepare all the documents relating to the case and bring them to Court on the specified date.
Note: The case will be heard by the judge in your absence if you do not come.

You can find the Court Notice is in the attachment.

Regards,
Cody Howard,
Court Secretary.

First, courts will not use email to contact you.  Email is an extremely insecure mechanism for transmitting court appearance information.  However, even if this email convinced me that I had a court appearance I did not remember, there was one more clue that this email was fake.  The file name of the attached "court notice" did not end with any common document format; it ended with ".exe".

The file extension (the portion of a file name that comes after the period) is an important part of the file.  It is the file extension that tells Windows what to do with the file when you try to open it.  When you open a Word document, Windows sees the extension (.doc or .docx), looks it up in a table it keeps, and determines that it needs to open it using Word.  Your file wouldn't make much sense if Windows tried to open it up in iTunes or Flash.

Knowing the common file formats can help you determine if an attachment makes sense.  Even if you are expecting an attachment from someone, if the file extension does not make sense with what you expect to receive, you have reason to be concerned whether or not this is the file you were expecting.

Here are some file extensions that can be very dangerous.  Do not open these types of files until you have verified the source:

.exe - This is the most dangerous file extension.  This is the file format used by programs and installers.  If you get a .exe file in an email, do not open it unless you know that the sender wanted to send it to you.  Opening a .exe file could install malware on your computer.

.url - This is a file that redirects you to a particular website address.  However, unless you look at the file's settings, you are blindly opening this file and seeing where it takes you.  It could be a legitimate link, but it could also take you to a malicious site.

.reg - This is a Windows registry file.  Opening it will make modifications to your registry, something that should only be done by advanced users.  If you receive a ".reg" file, it is almost certainly something that you don't want on your system.

The following file formats have many legitimate purposes for sharing but can also be used for malicious purposes:

.doc, .xls, or .ppt - These are Microsoft Office document files from Office 2003 or earlier.  Earlier versions of Office did not distinguish documents that contain macros.  Macros can contain malicious code that could harm your computer.

.docm, .xlsm, or .pptm - These are Microsoft Office document files from Office 2007 or later.  Beginning with Office 2007, Office distinguishes files that contain macros from files that do not contain them.  The "m" at the end designates that these files contain macros.  Similar file extensions that end with an "x" (such as ".docx") indicate that there are no macros.  While these may not be completely safe, they are much safer than files that contain macros.

.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, or .tif - These are all picture formats.  While the majority of these pictures are safe from malware, there are occasionally vulnerabilities in these formats that can be exploited to harm your computer.

There are too many other types of file formats to list here.  Most are usually harmless, but problems in how your computer sees certain types of files can result in vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.  As a general rule, if you receive an attachment you are not expecting (even if it comes from someone you know), check with the sender to make sure it is safe before you open it.

Check Before You Give

There's probably not too many things worse than giving to an organization and then later finding out that it was fake or that it did not use the money like you thought it would.  Due to the number of scams and fake charities out there, I rarely give money to charities that I have not personally worked with or observed in action.

Fortunately, if you want a high-level overview of how a charity is doing, you can check with the Better Business Bureau.  While the Better Business Bureau is known for working with businesses, it also runs the Wise Giving Alliance.  The WGA allows you to evaluate a charity's work based on 20 standards.  Charities can also apply for accreditation through the WGA.

Standards for charities include proper oversight (reasonable number of board members and a policy for measuring and reporting effectiveness), handling of finances (spending a certain percentage of donations towards the organizations goals and reporting expenses appropriately), and truthfulness in fundraising.

There are plenty of other factors you should consider when deciding whether or not to give to a particular charity, but if you are unsure, the BBB's site is a great place to start.

Click here to visit Give.org, the home page for the Wise Giving Alliance.

Use Safe Mode to Troubleshoot Problems

It is very frustrating when your computer won't start correctly or when the process of starting it seems to take forever.  It is even more frustrating when you have ransomware or some other malicious program that loads with it and stops you from being able to fix the problem.  Fortunately, there is a way to start Windows with only the minimum files needed to run, called Safe Mode.  This can assist you with identifying and troubleshooting problems.

With Windows XP, Vista, and 7, press F8 while the computer is loading.  (You will probably have to hit it several times to make sure that you press it at the correct time.)  This will bring up a menu of options.  Search for "Safe Mode" or "Safe Mode with Networking" (this allows you to access other computers and the internet).  There is also a mode to start with the "Last Known Good Configuration."  This boots your computer in the same way it did the last time you successfully started it.

In Windows 8, Microsoft made it a little more difficult to access Safe Mode.  Because of the way Windows 8 boots, you can no longer press F8.  You can only access Safe Mode from within Windows.  (This doesn't help you if the computer won't boot, but Windows 8 is much better at recognizing boot problems and taking steps to help you.)  If you can get into Windows, hold down the Shift key while you click restart.  When the computer boots, you will be presented with a series of menus to click through to access Safe Mode.  Select "Troubleshoot", then "Advanced Options", then "Startup Settings".  Click on the Restart button, and you will finally be presented with the option to boot to Safe Mode.

If the computer loads fine in Safe Mode, then you know the problem is not with Windows itself, but with something that is starting alongside Windows.  If you want to troubleshoot, start by pressing Windows Key + R and typing "msconfig".  You can see all the programs that load at startup on the Startup tab, and you can begin shutting them off individually in order to find out what is causing the problem.

The Best of April Fools Day 2015

April Fools Day 2015 is almost over, so I thought I would round up some of the best jokes that tech companies came out with today.


Tesla's Model W:  Tesla took a jab at Apple by announcing its "Model W".

Google Fiber's Dial-Up Mode:  Load the dishwasher while you wait for your next cat video with Google Fiber's dial-up mode.

Microsoft's MS-DOS Mobile:  Microsoft announced a mobile version of MS-DOS.

Google Actual Cloud:  Google announces a cloud that is stored in actual clouds.

Office for Cats:  Let your cats use the latest Office suite:  PowerPounce, OneNap, and Meow.

#ChromeSelfie:  Why write a response when you can snap a selfie response instead?

Jimmy John's Gets Faster:  Jimmy John's announces drone delivery of sandwiches.

iFixit's Apple Watch Teardown:  iFixit tears down a fake Apple Watch.

Selfie360:  Why take one selfie when you can take a 360 selfie around your head?

Self-Browsing Chromebook:  A new extension will let your Chromebook browse the internet by itself.

The Return of Clippy:  Calendar app Sunrise adds a feature from its new parent company: Clippy.

Dominoes goes Driverless:  Have your pizza delivered by a DomiNo driverless vehicle.

Groupon's Grøüber:  Get personalized feline transportation so you can redeem your Groupon.

Samsung's Blade:  Samsung announces the Galaxy Blade Edge, the world's first smartknife.

Bing PalmSearch:  Don't bother typing your search terms in.  Just let Bing read your palm to determine what you want to search for.

DocSend Dachshund Delivery:  Have your document delivered by a dachshund.  Added services even include "shred after reading".

The Hands-Free Keyboard:  Google Japan announces a hands-free keyboard.

UberLIONS:  Have a lion come visit you in Manhattan.

Indiegogo Heat:  Indiegogo creates a special place just for crowdfunding hot sauce.

Newegg's Eggcoin:  Newegg creates a new cryptocurrency, eggcoin.

Never Get a Parking Ticket:  Tesla's Model S now has a "ticket avoidance mode".

Presurance:  Esurance will give you advance alerts for your next fender bender.

Reddit's Test:  Reddit created a button to test how long you can go without pushing it.

Honda's New Car:  Honda introduces the HR-V Selfie Edition, with ten built-in selfie cameras.

Alien Invasion:  The Israeli Air Force claimed it thwarted an alien invasion.

LinkedIn's Magic Mirror:  Magic Mirror helps you find your next career move.

HTC's Resok:  HTC announces the world's first smart sock.

IKEA's Cat-Proof Sofa:  IKEA's new sofa is made of corrugated cardboard so you can let your cat scratch it up.

Google Gets Flipped:  Google launches com.google, where everything seems backwards.

Motorola's Premier Selfie Sticks:  Get a selfie stick made of wood or leather.

Miz Mooz's Selfie Shoes:  Get rid of the selfie stick and plug your phone into your shoes for your next selfie.

Netflix:  Netflix releases 13 PSAs warning about the dangers of binge watching TV shows.

Dog/Cat Selfie Sticks:  Petco announces selfie sticks for your furry friends.

Google Panda:  Google Panda will perform your searches for you.

Twitter's Twelfie Stick:  Why waste time tweeting your selfies when the Twelfie Stick will tweet them for you automatically.

Monster Truck Rental:  Alamo announces its new Monster Truck Rental program.

PlayStation Flow:  PlayStation's new wearable allows you to play underwater.

Google's Smartbox:  Google reinvents postal mail with the Smartbox.

Create Good-Looking Presentations

I remember going to church as a young boy and seeing missionaries come with their large collection of slides to show.  While there were other forms of presentation available, slides were still the cheapest way to show a church pictures of what had been accomplished.  Now, missionaries usually come with a professional DVD presentation, and that DVD is probably much easier to produce than slides were just 15-20 years ago.

The idea of a "presentation" has gone through many changes over the last few years.  Microsoft's PowerPoint used to be the clear leader in presentation software.  However, it has fallen behind to more modern-looking options.  The majority of the presentations I see now completely avoid PowerPoint's slide concept in favor of much smoother transitions and development.

Fortunately, Microsoft has recognized this change and is adapting.   While it has not made any comment regarding its plans for PowerPoint, Microsoft has published a preview version of a new presentation tool called Sway.  Instead of slides, Sway uses cards that you will transition through as you build your presentation.  Like PowerPoint, Sway uses a very linear format, but the transitions between your information is much smoother.  The Sway preview is free, but at some point, it may be rolled into Microsoft's current online offerings (such as Office 365).

If you are looking for something different, I like Prezi.  With Prezi, you are given a canvas on which you can zoom in to various levels of information.  Your data can be sorted in a linear format, or you can jump around.  Some may follow a line or design that winds across the canvas, but others may simply zoom out and then zoom in on the next subject.  Prezi has a free level and two subscription levels.  With the free version, your presentations are public and you have 100 MB of storage.  If you pay $10/month or $59/year for the Enjoy package, you can make your presentations private and upgrade to 4 GB of storage.  For $20/month or $159/year, the Pro package gives you unlimited storage and the ability to create and edit your presentations when not connected to the internet.


Links:

Sway

Prezi