I had a subscriber contact me last week to ask me about Office 365. Specifically, he wanted to know which was the better deal and if there were any differences between Office 365 and Office 2013. After giving him a small overview, I told him I would write a tip about it this week.
Last year, Microsoft announced two new versions of Office. Customers could purchase the traditional Office 2013 or they could purchase a new subscription-based Office 365.
Office 365 costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. It includes all the programs included in the Office 2013 Professional version, which sells at Amazon for $267.99. If you need fewer programs, you can purchase the Home and Business or Home and Student editions, costing $219.00 and $139.00, respectively. If we have to assume that Office will be released on Microsoft's usual 3-4 year schedule, then purchasing Office 2013 once seems to be the better deal.
However, Office 365 gives you the ability to install Office on up to five computers and up to five additional Windows tables or iPads. These installations can also be shared with up to four other members of your household. If you have three laptops, a desktop, and two tablets in your household, your monthly or annual subscription would allow you to install Office on all six devices. Plus, each user gets up to 1 TB of cloud storage included. You also get the latest features automatically (there is no additional upgrade cost) and you can get free technical support from Microsoft.
If you have multiple devices and usually upgrade to the latest edition as soon as it is available, then Office 365 might be a great deal for you. If you like to stick with the version you have, even after later versions are available, then Office 2013 will probably be the best deal for you, especially if you only have one device.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Secure Your Accounts with Two-Step Authentication
It seems that hardly a day goes by without word of another high-profile company being hit with a data breach. If someone gains access to your password, they can do anything that you can do inside your account. Anything you can see or do when you log in, they can see or do from their own computer.
However, there is a way that you can keep people from accessing your account, even if they have your current password. It is called two-step or two-factor authentication. This requires two forms of identification before access to your account is granted. My first introduction to two-factor authentication happened over a decade ago. My dad would connect to the network at work with not only a password, but also a random code generated by a token he carried on his keychain. Anyone who got his password would also have to steal his token in order to access the network under his name.
Of course, a token for your Gmail or Yahoo email account would be impractical. It becomes even more impractical when you consider that you would also need one for your Facebook account, your Walmart account, etc. Imagine having a token for each online account you set up: you would never be able to find the one you wanted when you need it.
However, many modern accounts can activate some form of two-factor authentication. For example, when I log into my online banking account from a computer, I am required to have an access code emailed or texted to my phone. After I successfully enter a code, a cookie is placed on the computer that notifies the site that this computer is approved, and I no longer have to enter it until I clear the cookies or log in on a different computer.
Unfortunately, two-factor authentication is rarely required or even presented as an option when signing up for an account. As mentioned earlier, my bank requires it when you log in for the first time on a particular computer, but I do not recall ever being offered two-factor authentication for my Gmail or Yahoo emails, even though Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft emails (Hotmail/Live.com) all have this as an option. Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, and Amazon are among other companies that also offer two-factor authentication.
If you are unsure if a site offers two-factor authentication, try searching the site's help pages or contacting customer support. If it is offered, I recommend that you enable it wherever you can. It is certainly not foolproof, but it is an additional step to help keep unwanted guests out of your accounts.
However, there is a way that you can keep people from accessing your account, even if they have your current password. It is called two-step or two-factor authentication. This requires two forms of identification before access to your account is granted. My first introduction to two-factor authentication happened over a decade ago. My dad would connect to the network at work with not only a password, but also a random code generated by a token he carried on his keychain. Anyone who got his password would also have to steal his token in order to access the network under his name.
Of course, a token for your Gmail or Yahoo email account would be impractical. It becomes even more impractical when you consider that you would also need one for your Facebook account, your Walmart account, etc. Imagine having a token for each online account you set up: you would never be able to find the one you wanted when you need it.
However, many modern accounts can activate some form of two-factor authentication. For example, when I log into my online banking account from a computer, I am required to have an access code emailed or texted to my phone. After I successfully enter a code, a cookie is placed on the computer that notifies the site that this computer is approved, and I no longer have to enter it until I clear the cookies or log in on a different computer.
Unfortunately, two-factor authentication is rarely required or even presented as an option when signing up for an account. As mentioned earlier, my bank requires it when you log in for the first time on a particular computer, but I do not recall ever being offered two-factor authentication for my Gmail or Yahoo emails, even though Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft emails (Hotmail/Live.com) all have this as an option. Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, and Amazon are among other companies that also offer two-factor authentication.
If you are unsure if a site offers two-factor authentication, try searching the site's help pages or contacting customer support. If it is offered, I recommend that you enable it wherever you can. It is certainly not foolproof, but it is an additional step to help keep unwanted guests out of your accounts.
Security Alert: Chase Among Up To Five Banks Hacked
JP Morgan Chase has admitted that it was a subject of a hack earlier this month. Very few details have been released, but the FBI is investigating this incident, along with similar incidents that may have occurred at up to four other banks.
According to Chase, large amounts of sensitive data may have been stolen, including checking and savings account numbers.
At this point, changing your password, enabling two-step authentication (it is ironic that I wrote today's tip about two-step authentication last weekend and scheduled it for today), and watching your accounts carefully is your best option.
Finally, remember that scammers will be taking advantage of this situation to send out emails in an attempt to trick you into giving up your personal information. Never click a link in an email supposedly from your bank or type in personal information into a website unless you have specifically visited your bank's site.
According to Chase, large amounts of sensitive data may have been stolen, including checking and savings account numbers.
At this point, changing your password, enabling two-step authentication (it is ironic that I wrote today's tip about two-step authentication last weekend and scheduled it for today), and watching your accounts carefully is your best option.
Finally, remember that scammers will be taking advantage of this situation to send out emails in an attempt to trick you into giving up your personal information. Never click a link in an email supposedly from your bank or type in personal information into a website unless you have specifically visited your bank's site.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
See Your Public Facebook Profile
Sometimes it feels like we are in a constant battle with the large internet companies over the privacy of our data. Just when we think we have our privacy settings the way we want them, they turn around and make more changes. Do you really know what is public or private on social media? For example, a few months ago, I wanted to make one status update public, and for the next month, everything I posted on Facebook was made public. Fortunately, I did eventually realize the issue and changed the privacy settings.
On Facebook, there is one very useful feature that you can use to see what the public can see. Log into Facebook and go to your profile page (not the news feed). Then, in the bottom right corner of your cover photo, you should see a "..." box next to the "View Activity Log" button. Select "View As" on the menu, and your page will show you what everyone can see when they look at your Facebook profile.
You are even able to see what a specific friend is able to see. Perhaps you made some status updates only visible to certain friends. Choose a friend who is (or is not) on the list, and make sure your privacy settings worked properly.
On Facebook, there is one very useful feature that you can use to see what the public can see. Log into Facebook and go to your profile page (not the news feed). Then, in the bottom right corner of your cover photo, you should see a "..." box next to the "View Activity Log" button. Select "View As" on the menu, and your page will show you what everyone can see when they look at your Facebook profile.
You are even able to see what a specific friend is able to see. Perhaps you made some status updates only visible to certain friends. Choose a friend who is (or is not) on the list, and make sure your privacy settings worked properly.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Recall Alert: HP Laptop Charger Recall
HP is recalling 6 million laptop chargers because of a fire risk. These chargers were shipped with computers sold between September 2010 and June 2012. There have currently been around 30 incidents of these chargers overheating. If your charger has an "LS-15" on the part of the cable that plugs into the brick, it may be affected. (Not all cords with LS-15 are affected, but all of the recalled cables have the LS-15 marking.)
If your charger has the LS-15 marking, you can go here to see if you qualify for a replacement.
If your charger has the LS-15 marking, you can go here to see if you qualify for a replacement.
What to Look For in a New Printer
After seven or eight years of service, my parents' printer died last week. Printers have become such an inexpensive piece of equipment that it is often easy to negotiate for a free printer when you purchase a new computer. However, with advertisers always pushing the next "big" feature as a must-have, selecting the right printer for your needs can be difficult. Since my parents are currently making a decision on a new printer, I thought it would be a good time to review some factors to select the right printer. Here are a few factors to consider:
1) Stand-alone printer vs. All-in-one - Many printers today serve as a printer, fax machine, scanner, and copier. If you need all of these devices, purchasing an all-in-one printer will be cheaper than purchasing each separately. However, you will lose some of the ability to choose the features you get in each device by purchasing them all together. For home use, I would recommend an all-in-one if you need copying and scanning ability, but for businesses, I would recommend purchasing each item separately unless you need to save money.
2) Laser vs. Inkjet - Laser printers have come down in price over the last few years, so they are now affordable for a home user. Laser printers offer a clearer print job, faster speed, and lower maintenance cost, but they remain more expensive than inkjet printers. Laser printers will also require more maintenance than an inkjet printer. For most home users, an inkjet printer will still be the best option.
3) Photo Printers - If you will be printing a lot of photos, you will want to invest in a printer designed for photo printing. These printers will cost much more, but will be optimized for printing large amounts of color onto many different types of paper at a high quality.
4) Color Ink - The ink cartridges that a printer uses are very important. Many manufacturers will combine the three colors (blue, cyan, and magenta) into one cartridge. While this makes replacing them easy, it also means you have to throw out two partially-used colors when the third runs out. I recommend sticking with a printer that has four separate color cartridges.
5) Ink Consumption - The cost of the printer itself will be extremely small in comparison to the cost of the ink you will use over its lifetime. Most manufacturers will list an average number of pages that can be printed with each cartridge. For example, when I look up my ink cartridge, the page states "Prints up to 190 pages." It would be a very good idea to do a cost-per-page comparison for each printer you are considering. The difference in cost may be enough to sway your decision.
6) Printing from the Couch - In today's multiple-device world, it is not uncommon to want to print something from your smartphone or tablet. If your printer only connects via USB cable, this will range from difficult and expensive to impossible. But many printers can now print via Wi-Fi. The exact setup may differ, but it is usually relatively easy to setup wireless printing. Once you have set up your printer, most devices can be programmed to print to it. For homes and businesses with smartphones, tablets, and laptops, wireless printing may be worth a little extra money.
1) Stand-alone printer vs. All-in-one - Many printers today serve as a printer, fax machine, scanner, and copier. If you need all of these devices, purchasing an all-in-one printer will be cheaper than purchasing each separately. However, you will lose some of the ability to choose the features you get in each device by purchasing them all together. For home use, I would recommend an all-in-one if you need copying and scanning ability, but for businesses, I would recommend purchasing each item separately unless you need to save money.
2) Laser vs. Inkjet - Laser printers have come down in price over the last few years, so they are now affordable for a home user. Laser printers offer a clearer print job, faster speed, and lower maintenance cost, but they remain more expensive than inkjet printers. Laser printers will also require more maintenance than an inkjet printer. For most home users, an inkjet printer will still be the best option.
3) Photo Printers - If you will be printing a lot of photos, you will want to invest in a printer designed for photo printing. These printers will cost much more, but will be optimized for printing large amounts of color onto many different types of paper at a high quality.
4) Color Ink - The ink cartridges that a printer uses are very important. Many manufacturers will combine the three colors (blue, cyan, and magenta) into one cartridge. While this makes replacing them easy, it also means you have to throw out two partially-used colors when the third runs out. I recommend sticking with a printer that has four separate color cartridges.
5) Ink Consumption - The cost of the printer itself will be extremely small in comparison to the cost of the ink you will use over its lifetime. Most manufacturers will list an average number of pages that can be printed with each cartridge. For example, when I look up my ink cartridge, the page states "Prints up to 190 pages." It would be a very good idea to do a cost-per-page comparison for each printer you are considering. The difference in cost may be enough to sway your decision.
6) Printing from the Couch - In today's multiple-device world, it is not uncommon to want to print something from your smartphone or tablet. If your printer only connects via USB cable, this will range from difficult and expensive to impossible. But many printers can now print via Wi-Fi. The exact setup may differ, but it is usually relatively easy to setup wireless printing. Once you have set up your printer, most devices can be programmed to print to it. For homes and businesses with smartphones, tablets, and laptops, wireless printing may be worth a little extra money.
Monday, August 25, 2014
What Is a Solid-State Drive?
Last week, I discovered that one of my hard drives had crashed. (Fortunately, I did not have any business or personal data stored on that drive, only programs.) Then, the next day, the solid-state drive that I had been wanting went on sale at Amazon. I took it as a sign that it was time to buy a solid-state drive. In honor of my drive's arrival yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to do a tip on solid-state drives.
Traditional hard drives have a large aluminum or ceramic platter on which the data is stored. A small motor spins the platters at anywhere from 5,000-15,000 times per second while an arm flies all over the drive reading the data your computer is requesting. This type of drive is cheap to manufacture, but if only one of those moving parts fail, the drive is gone.
Solid-state drives (SSDs) solve the problem of moving parts. They contain flash-based memory instead of the traditional moving parts. This memory is faster and more reliable than the memory contained in your USB flash drives. It is also faster, more reliable, and less shock-resistant than the traditional hard drives that have populated our computers for decades.
SSDs are more expensive than a comparable size traditional hard drive. SSDs of over 250 GB are rare, but available. By contrast, we are quickly getting to the point where traditional hard drives are measured in Terabytes (1000 GB). SSDs can reach 1 TB capacity, but they are not common because of the cost.
Which drive is right for you depends on how you plan to use it. If you like to store or edit videos and photos, you will probably want the cheaper traditional hard drives. Traditional hard drives are also the best choice for those looking for cheaper computers. Solid-state drives are good for those looking for speed over storage capacity, and the high durability makes them beneficial for those who use computers while on the road. Solid-state drives are also good places like recording studios where noise must be kept to a minimum.
About 10 years ago, manufacturers realized they could improve performance by combining the high storage capacity of traditional drives with the speed of a solid state drive. These drives use a small amount of SSD storage to serve as a cache for a larger traditional hard drive. While the drives do improve performance, the gains are minimal compared to the additional cost.
Finally, if you have multiple drive bays (more likely on a desktop than a laptop), you can do what I am doing: install multiple drives. In my case, I will have two 400 GB traditional drives along with my 250 GB solid-state drive. This will allow for ample storage space while still giving me the quick boot and program performance of a solid-state drive.
If you are looking for my recommendation, I recommend sticking with a traditional hard drive unless you are seeking one of the benefits of a solid-state drive. As technology develops and more people become interested in solid-state drives, the price is likely to come down to a more affordable range. Unless you have a reason to buy one, it makes little sense to invest in a solid-state drive now only to see the price come down in the next year.
Traditional hard drives have a large aluminum or ceramic platter on which the data is stored. A small motor spins the platters at anywhere from 5,000-15,000 times per second while an arm flies all over the drive reading the data your computer is requesting. This type of drive is cheap to manufacture, but if only one of those moving parts fail, the drive is gone.
Solid-state drives (SSDs) solve the problem of moving parts. They contain flash-based memory instead of the traditional moving parts. This memory is faster and more reliable than the memory contained in your USB flash drives. It is also faster, more reliable, and less shock-resistant than the traditional hard drives that have populated our computers for decades.
SSDs are more expensive than a comparable size traditional hard drive. SSDs of over 250 GB are rare, but available. By contrast, we are quickly getting to the point where traditional hard drives are measured in Terabytes (1000 GB). SSDs can reach 1 TB capacity, but they are not common because of the cost.
Which drive is right for you depends on how you plan to use it. If you like to store or edit videos and photos, you will probably want the cheaper traditional hard drives. Traditional hard drives are also the best choice for those looking for cheaper computers. Solid-state drives are good for those looking for speed over storage capacity, and the high durability makes them beneficial for those who use computers while on the road. Solid-state drives are also good places like recording studios where noise must be kept to a minimum.
About 10 years ago, manufacturers realized they could improve performance by combining the high storage capacity of traditional drives with the speed of a solid state drive. These drives use a small amount of SSD storage to serve as a cache for a larger traditional hard drive. While the drives do improve performance, the gains are minimal compared to the additional cost.
Finally, if you have multiple drive bays (more likely on a desktop than a laptop), you can do what I am doing: install multiple drives. In my case, I will have two 400 GB traditional drives along with my 250 GB solid-state drive. This will allow for ample storage space while still giving me the quick boot and program performance of a solid-state drive.
If you are looking for my recommendation, I recommend sticking with a traditional hard drive unless you are seeking one of the benefits of a solid-state drive. As technology develops and more people become interested in solid-state drives, the price is likely to come down to a more affordable range. Unless you have a reason to buy one, it makes little sense to invest in a solid-state drive now only to see the price come down in the next year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)