As the title says “Don’t Panic!!” Instead, it is time to read up, comprehend and act to protect yourself from the latest epic security threat of 2010, titled Aurora. In the following paragraphs, we will explain (in easy to follow terms) what Aurora is, why you should care and what you should do next. Do not stop reading now! If you read even one of our articles from start to finish this year, this should be the one.
The internet has become a hostile place and it is up to you to protect yourself from the threats and attacks that WILL appear from time to time. The information and tools are there. You must simply educate yourself and be willing to invest a little time. A Threat Analyst (someone who studies these types of malicious attacks) recently posted a great comment on one of our articles that sums it up “Sorry folks, the internet isn’t very safe anymore. The moose out front should have told you.”
So, you have a question about… anything. Depending on who you are or how you operate, you are probably going to do one of two things. You are going to ask friends, family and co-workers for the answer or you are going to go directly to the internet (specifically Google). Sure, there are other options like phone books and ….. well, I don’t know. I think the vast majority of people in the world will use one of these two options. Now, thanks to Google Social Search, these two methods might begin to merge into one very useful solution.
Google Social Search is a new way to search the web. You simply Google as you always did and a new section will appear in the results, aptly titled “Results from your social circle.” These results will include more relevant, personal web content from your friends and online contacts. These links, images, blogs, etc. are taken from the social networking sites that your friends are part of, like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, etc. We could explain it further, but this video (by the amazing commoncraft) does it so well.
I’ll be honest. Today’s article is coming together as I write this. Why? Because I am completely distracted by buzz surrounding today’s big Apple Event. If you have read my articles before, you might find this a bit odd, considering the entire focus of the JumpstartMyPC.com blog and web site is PC’s. Regardless, I am excited and here are the reasons why:
Just like television viewing, surfing the internet quickly becomes a repetitive, addictive activity. You stare at a screen and before you know it, you find yourself on the same channels (sites) day-in and day-out. The only problem is, there are no on-screen guides or remote controls in the world of web browsing. Well, at least until now. Today, we take a look at yet another add-on for Firefox, called Site Launcher (Sorry all you Internet Explorer users).
Site Launcher is a “simple Firefox add-on that gives a highly convenient and clutter-free method to quickly open websites that you need often. One keyboard hotkey makes the ‘Launcher’ panel instantly appear, followed by a single key press to jump to the site you wish to open.” (quote taken from donesmart.com web site) I took a few minutes yesterday to install and test this great new FREE feature and I have to say I love it! The only trick now is remembering that it is there.
Unemployment and financial desperation have struck our country and for many, crime might be the only way to put food on the table. The local news, relatives and friends will tell you to protect yourself by keeping your doors locked, watching your wallet/purse and paying attention to your surroundings. This is all sound advice, but it is also the thinking of 15 years ago, before the internet. Today, criminals have gotten smarter and now it is time for you to do the same.
A strong password, by definition, is a password that is both complex AND secure (contains numbers, letters, and special characters that do not include personal information such as name or birth date). We should all be using these types of passwords to protect ourselves from potential hackers and thieves, but the sad truth is that most of us are still taking the easy way out. These easy passwords are about as effective as NBC’s late night talk show programming strategy.
Although we like to cover a different topic almost every day, there are some topics that are worth covering again and again. Of course, our favorite is PC maintenance, but we do have a few others up our sleeve. Today, thanks to a recent white paper released by Imperva, we find ourselves once again talking about strong passwords and why you should use them.
Spyware. Malware. Viruses. Trojans. The list goes on and on. There are as many terms for harmful threats to your computer as there are computers. It’s unfortunate that we live in a time where so many people strive to tear down our advancement and entertainment. As a result, some live in fear and limit their online lives to very simplistic activities, like checking email and playing simple games. Others brave the deep waters of the unknown and simply take a chance on their computer’s safety. The smaller, more advanced crowd spends countless hours preparing and protecting their system to create a digital Fort Knox so that they can breathe easily while surfing the web. No matter which category you fall into, you will at some point encounter one of these threats. Are you prepared for that day?
The JumpstartMyPC.com Tools page has been unchanged as of late, with the exception of updates to existing applications. Although we research a great number of programs and ideas, we rarely find the gems that are easy to use, effective and FREE. When we do find something that matches these criteria, we test it before adding it to our toolbox and make sure that we would indeed use it ourselves. Today, we have updated our Portable Applications section with the introduction of a new, portable tool called SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner.
JumpstartMyPC.com was created to help PC users get the most out of their computer and there are few products that have demonstrated this concept as much as avast! Free Antivirus. Since the first day the company was drawn out on a bar napkin (isn’t that how they all start) we envisioned a Tools page with avast! positioned firmly at the top. Today, that top spot just got a little brighter, as avast! has served up a shiny, fresh-off-the-production-line model, with version 5.0 of their amazing, FREE software.
Normally, I would prepare an article like this and hold on to it for a few days before posting it to our blog, but my faith in the makers of the avast! product (which they have earned without compensating me in any way) tells me that I can safely cover and promote this update. Why, because I have used the avast! product on countless computers, for myself and others, and have never had a complaint. The software has always been easy to install, easy to use and VERY effective. Of course, all of this could be said about other antivirus softwares, but those other applications are not FREE! How can you beat FREE and functional?
Personal computers have been around since the 80’s and most of us have been using them for at least 10 to 15 years. You would think that, by now, operating systems and hardware would have evolved to the point where they were self-sufficient. Unfortunately we are not there yet. That’s just around the corner, along with flying cars that run on water. Until then, we must administer our own regular maintenance, which is something that we have written about many times here at JumpstartMyPC.com. One of the tools that we recommend for this regular maintenance is CCleaner (available on our Tools page).
“CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! ” - taken from the CCleaner website.
What is a blog? A year or two ago, most people had no idea what a blog was or why they would ever want to read one. Now, blogging is part of everyday life and most of us are familiar with the concept and even follow a blog or two. As we near our 100th blog post (today we hit 86), I thought it would be fitting to take some time to explain blogs and the programs available for readers and would-be bloggers.
A blog (web log) is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject while others function as more personal online diaries. (definition taken from wikipedia.com) Although the term “weblog” was coined in 1997, it has only been over the past few years that the majority of us have become familiar with the concept.
As the title says “Don’t Panic!!” Instead, it is time to read up, comprehend and act to protect yourself from the latest epic security threat of 2010, titled Aurora. In the following paragraphs, we will explain (in easy to follow terms) what Aurora is, why you should care and what you should do next. Do not stop reading now! If you read even one of our articles from start to finish this year, this should be the one.
Just like television viewing, surfing the internet quickly becomes a repetitive, addictive activity. You stare at a screen and before you know it, you find yourself on the same channels (sites) day-in and day-out. The only problem is, there are no on-screen guides or remote controls in the world of web browsing. Well, at least until now. Today, we take a look at yet another add-on for Firefox, called Site Launcher (Sorry all you Internet Explorer users).
Unemployment and financial desperation have struck our country and for many, crime might be the only way to put food on the table. The local news, relatives and friends will tell you to protect yourself by keeping your doors locked, watching your wallet/purse and paying attention to your surroundings. This is all sound advice, but it is also the thinking of 15 years ago, before the internet. Today, criminals have gotten smarter and now it is time for you to do the same.
A strong password, by definition, is a password that is both complex AND secure (contains numbers, letters, and special characters that do not include personal information such as name or birth date). We should all be using these types of passwords to protect ourselves from potential hackers and thieves, but the sad truth is that most of us are still taking the easy way out. These easy passwords are about as effective as NBC’s late night talk show programming strategy.
Spyware. Malware. Viruses. Trojans. The list goes on and on. There are as many terms for harmful threats to your computer as there are computers. It’s unfortunate that we live in a time where so many people strive to tear down our advancement and entertainment. As a result, some live in fear and limit their online lives to very simplistic activities, like checking email and playing simple games. Others brave the deep waters of the unknown and simply take a chance on their computer’s safety. The smaller, more advanced crowd spends countless hours preparing and protecting their system to create a digital Fort Knox so that they can breathe easily while surfing the web. No matter which category you fall into, you will at some point encounter one of these threats. Are you prepared for that day?
Personal computers have been around since the 80’s and most of us have been using them for at least 10 to 15 years. You would think that, by now, operating systems and hardware would have evolved to the point where they were self-sufficient. Unfortunately we are not there yet. That’s just around the corner, along with flying cars that run on water. Until then, we must administer our own regular maintenance, which is something that we have written about many times here at 
” - taken from the 
What is a blog? A year or two ago, most people had no idea what a blog was or why they would ever want to read one. Now, blogging is part of everyday life and most of us are familiar with the concept and even follow a blog or two. As we near our 100th blog post (today we hit 86), I thought it would be fitting to take some time to explain blogs and the programs available for readers and would-be bloggers.
