Archive for March, 2010
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
This article was originally posted in January of this year (here on JumpstartMyPC.com) but, as I pointed out in the article the first time, some topics need to be revisited regularly. Several recent events, including a comment from a reader and some trouble with my own credit card prompted me to post this article once more.
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.
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Tags: Imperva, Password, secure, Security, strong
Posted in Security, Tips and Tricks | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
Have you ever wished that you had high-speed internet access available to you everywhere you went? Have you ever been frustrated because your mobile device (laptop, game system, music player) seems almost handicapped by the lack of free Wi-Fi around the city? Do you have a “smart phone” that allows you to surf the internet on the go but avoid using it because it is slow, the screen is too small and/or web sites seem more difficult to navigate? This is exactly how I felt, until the introduction of WiMAX in my area.
WiMAX is a new internet service that allows users to access the internet wherever they are, wirelessly. At home, in your car, at the park, at a coffee shop…. the possibilities are limitless. Depending on your city and the coverage provided by your local distributor, WiMax covers hundreds to thousands of square miles and allows you to enjoy true high-speed internet on the go. Imagine how having high-speed internet access anywhere/anytime could change the way you surf, think and live.
This 4G (fourth generation) service is not available everywhere in the US now, but major cities and surrounding areas are being added constantly. To date, WiMAX is available in over 25 cities of the United States (covering 10 states) and overseas.
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Tags: 4G, Clear, Clearwire, Houston, internet, ISP, launch, Mobile, Speed, Texas, TX, WiMAX
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 29th, 2010
A busy week. Those words will occupy a lot of thoughts and conversations today. We pack so many activities and so much work into such little time. When it is all done, we are left with a few precious minutes for ourselves. That “leftover” time is typically reserved for sleep, but if we are really lucky it will mean a moment with our favorite gadget, book, magazine, movie, etc.
The key to maximizing our schedules is organization and (ironically) it takes time to get organized. For those of you in the “9 to 5″ crowd, you probably have access to Microsoft Outlook for managing your work hours but what about the rest of your life? What about users who don’t have access to this email/calendar program (part of a $300 Microsoft Office package)? Even if you had a wonderful program like Outlook, would you have the time/opportunity to get in front of a computer regularly throughout the day?
For anyone interested in using a calendar to keep track of events and schedules there is a solution that offers the flexibility of an electronic system and the mobility needed in our busy lives… Google Calendar and Google Sync. They are both FREE and can help you find the time for what really matters, without wasting hours in setup.
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Tags: Android, Blackberry, Calendar, Contacts, FREE, Google, iPhone, Mobile, phone, Schedule, Smart, Sync
Posted in Free Programs, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
A month ago (February 24th), we brought you the article titled Cash-for-Clunker Program to Extend to Appliances in April. The blog post, now one of our most frequented of all time, covered the first-ever appliance upgrade rebate program. The program, created using the same ideas that made the Cash for Clunkers program so popular, is meant to encourage consumers to put more money back into the economy, while removing older, less efficient appliances (dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators, air-conditioners, etc.) from the “grid.” Individual state programs were put in place to handle these rebates and many of them have begun, or are about to begin, within the next month. Since that original article, some details have solidified, some have changed and new resources have been unveiled. If you were even thinking about an upgraded appliance, you will want to research this program. Rebates range from $100 to over $1,000 dollars (amounts vary from state to state).
Thanks to an email from my state comptroller, I have updated information on the Texas Rebate Program (y’all can jump down to your section now), but I didn’t want to leave out the rest of the U.S. With the exception of Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota (whose programs have already ended), consumers can visit the Energy Savers web site (part of the U.S. Department of Energy), to navigate to the appropriate information for their state. This site was last updated on March 24th and is updated regularly as additional program details become available. Note that this web site is the ONLY official DOE-sponsored web site. We also have some valuable information for consumers (of all states) available in the Retailers section below.
UPDATE: Texas Residents, some key information, including the Reservation Period start date, has changed. See our most recent article Texas – Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program – UPDATE for additional information. – added 4/02/10
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Tags: appliance, april, cash-for-clunker, department of energy, March, rebate, stimulus, Texas, U.S., upgrade
Posted in Online Shopping, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Arriving at the desktop of a PC marks the beginning of the day or session for almost every PC user out there. This desktop, originally meant to emulate the workspace of your actual desk, has not changed much since the early days of the operating system. Users can change out the wallpaper to view exotic locations, family photos or abstract images and store shortcuts to access documents, programs, web sites, etc. Other than that, the space is really an untouched area of the computer that is ignored as we jump from task to task throughout our work day or browsing session. Why is that? Wouldn’t it be more helpful if this area provided important information to help guide us through our day. Can we please get a Functional Desktop?
Over the last few days, we have shared information on “skinning” your background to provide entertainment (see links to previous articles below). Today, we show you how to make that space functional as well. The Functional Desktop is available to PC users, yet it has never been very mainstream. There are numerous programs available and each has a very different take on how you, the user, should organize your desktop for efficiency. These programs also range from basic, easy-to-install applications to fully customizable, “you might as well be an engineer” programs that allow you to completely change the way you use your desktop and your PC. We’re going to provide you with a few options, covering this range, that you can begin using today.
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Tags: Calendars, Clocks, customize, desktop, Efficient, functional, Gadgets, Organized, Outlook, Samurize, wallpaper, Widgets
Posted in Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Yesterday, we began our week-long series on desktops and the different ways you can “skin” your background to provide both entertainment and functionality. Our first article, titled Desktop Departures – Escape With a Wallpaper Change, focused on suggestions for PC users with multiple displays. Today, we take things in a new direction, with a fresh idea for users of any number of monitors and just about every version of Windows that is still used today…. Wallpaper Slideshows.
Introduced in Windows 7 as a standard feature (for all versions except Windows 7 Starter), the wallpaper slideshow provides users with a utility that automatically changes the background picture at regular intervals, using a select group of images. Users are no longer forced to stare at the same image for hours, days or even years. With this application, the desktop can change every 30 minutes, giving you a fresh desktop. As with many features found in newer operating systems, this type of feature has been recreated (under other names) for use in Windows XP and Vista as well.
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Tags: alternating, change, Changer, Slideshow, themes, Vista, wallpaper, Windows, Windows 7, XP
Posted in Free Programs, Tips and Tricks, Windows 7 | No Comments »
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
One of the most difficult things about returning to work on a Monday is the realization that you are going to be staring at that monitor for the next 5 days. You had a relaxing weekend with friends, family and fun and now here you are… trapped at a desk for a full week. Or maybe you are just in a bit of a rut and need something to spice up your daily routine. One of the easiest, and most entertaining ways, to provide yourself with a little “escape” is to change up that old desktop with some fresh new wallpaper.
Back in December, we brought you the article Decorating is Not Over – Time to Spruce Up That Desktop, where we highlighted 5 of the best wallpaper sites on the web. While the sites listed have some wonderful new images, we thought it was time to return to the art of desktop decorating and bring you some new ways of thinking about your wallpaper. Over the next few days, we will shed some light on the different ways that you can “skin” your desktop to provide both entertainment and functionality.
Part I: Multiple Displays
Monitor prices have dropped steadily over the last couple of years and many offices are upgrading their workstations to larger monitors or, if you are one the lucky ones, dual monitors. If you manage to convince your employer to pony-up the funding for that second monitor, don’t let the space go to waste. You can increase your productivity and take advantage of the added space by finding a dual-monitor wallpaper. These specially formatted desktop images span the two monitors (or more if you are really, really lucky) to form one, seamless image.
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Tags: background, desktop, DeviantArt.com, display, dual-monitor, FREE, functional, multiple, span, VladStudio, wallpaper
Posted in Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
March Madness kicks into high gear today, March 18th, 2010, with the first games taking place at 12:20 PM EST. From now until the end of March, millions of fans will tune in to watch as the field of 65 teams quickly dwindles down to the famous Final Four. During this ten day stretch, many of the games will take place during traditional “work hours,” forcing a majority of the fans to turn to the internet for schedules, updates, scores and even FREE live streaming of the games. Unfortunately, criminals and hackers are aware of this increased interest and have turned their malware all the way to 11 to take advantage of unsuspecting basketball fans.
As with any other spike in a particular search topic/interest, the criminally minded will attempt to capitalize on the frenzy surrounding this event by bullying their way into your search results and (with any luck) your computer. Many fans will be rushing to news sites and unfamiliar web sites to find out how their favorite team is doing and, in this rush, users might not be focused on the security of their computer. A great article, titled Don’t Let Malware Score This March, was posted by Lockergnome yesterday afternoon. The blog post points out the potential dangers facing fans and offers up a solution for the problem (WinPatrol Plus). While this software might be a great solution, I am unfamiliar with it and I see that it will run you $29.95. So, I thought I would bring you some of my own suggestions on preventing Malware Madness this March.
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Tags: Final Four, Firewall, Madness, Malware, March, McAfee, Scans, TrustedSource, Updates, web of trust, Windows, WOT
Posted in Free Programs, Security, Tips and Tricks | 5 Comments »
