Tech Tips, Tricks and Advice

Brillian Idea

2008-09-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

I have had this trouble and after a ton of googling finally found this solution. Source

Favorite

LINK

2008-09-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

Check out squealingrat's piece about emergency notifier!

14 of the Best Free Apps That Should Be on Your PC

2008-06-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

If you use a computer then you should definitely have these applications on it. (In no particular order)

1. Mozilla Firefox- Arguably the best Internet browser and the most widely used(we like to argue), Firefox is an all around great tool with plenty of add-ons for the regular Internet user.

2. iTunes- Bagillions of people use iTunes for buying songs at 1 dollar. iTunes is not only great for buying music, but helps organize your music library, allows you to buy and rent TV shows and movies and listen to podcasts. iTunes is also a must if you own an iPod or iPhone.

3. Picasa- Google's photo organizing service is a wonderful tool for turning the jumbles of your photo collection into a presentable bunch. Picasa also includes some small photo editing features that can help tweak pictures.

4. Paint.NET- If Picasa can't handle all of your photo editing needs.

5. GIMP- The Photoshop of free, this app is only a necessity if you plan on being a rigorous image editor.

6. OpenOffice- In the end, this was the best free editor I came up with. (Secretly, I bought Word and use it) Try using Google Docs, a web app if you are desperate.

7. Mozy- Not really an application as much as a quick, easy way to backup 2 gigs of your computer.

8. Google Desktop- A great indexing tool that includes a fast search and a slick design.

9. Spybot Search and Destroy- This is a good tool for protecting your computer.

10. Ad-Aware- Using this tool with Spybot, your computer should be well taken care of malicious viruses.

11. AVG- This is one of the best free virus scanners. It doesn't slow down your computer and it takes care of most viruses.

12. Mozilla Thunderbird- This is a great mail application that keeps speed and cleanliness under its belt.

13. Mozilla Sunbird- A calender application that pairs with Thunderbird as a great productivity suite.

14. Foxit Reader- A stand-in for the bogged-down Adobe Reader, this application is a great tool for the home computer.

Trick: Quick iPod Restore

2008-06-19T14:47:00.001-07:00

I know people whose iPod is completely screwed up, not responding or just plain on the fritz. They take it in to an Apple Store to a technician that knows nothing and can't fix it. They come to me, I fix it in 11 seconds. I am not bragging, I am showing you how to do the exact same thing.

1. Place the iPod in your hand.

2. Place two fingers on the menu and middle buttons

3. Push and hold until the Apple logo comes up(about ten seconds)

David Pogue's advice on SMS spam

2008-06-12T14:06:00.001-07:00

" If I told you that today’s e-column would change your life, would you mind that it’s sort of short?

The story goes like this. A few weeks ago, in my blog, I wrote this:

“OK, now I’m really, REALLY annoyed. Within a week, my wife and I have both started getting spam text messages on our Verizon cellphones. I know that this is nothing new, but it’s new for us, and it’s apparently getting worse.

“According to Wikipedia, this sleazy practice is described as ‘mobile spamming, SMS spam or SpaSMS, but is most frequently referred to as m-spam.’

“It’s actually far worse than regular e-mail spam, for three reasons. First, you generally can’t delete it without opening it first.

“Second, you have to pay for it. (And, of course, the senders pay nothing, since they can send text messages from a computer’s e-mail program for nothing.)

“Third, there’s no way to stop it. You can’t install an anti-SMS spam program on your cellphone.

“If you’re not feeling helpless and livid already, if you’re not already storming your carrier and Congress, I can think of only one reason: you haven’t been m-spammed yet. But your time will come.”

Shortly thereafter, I heard from an AT&T representative who revealed the presence of an astonishing little-known cellular feature: you can block cellular spam.

“Our customers can get onto our Web site,” he wrote, “and set their handset so that it receives no messages from the Internet, the origin of the vast majority of wireless spam.”

He also said:

“Text messages sent from the Internet are addressed as follows: [Your 10-digit wireless number]@txt.att.net.

“What spammers try to do, of course, is attempt to guess your number, largely by trial and error. This brings me to the second capability we offer our customers. Let’s say you want to block spam, but still want to receive messages originating from the Net that you would actually find useful (airline schedules, hotel reservations, etc.). For this purpose, we let you replace your wireless number with an alias. It could be some quirky name, or whatever you like. [You share this address only with people you know.] This could disrupt the guessing game spammers play to try to discern your number and sent you their junk.

“Though not perfect, our efforts have helped keep spam in the category of minor, though annoying, phenomenon. Thanks for listening.”

The beauty of this feature, of course, is that it blocks ONLY text messages from the Internet. Your friends, using cellphones, can still text you.

As it turns out, Verizon Wireless offers these features, too. Sprint and T-Mobile don’t go quite as far, but they do offer some text-spam filtering options. Here’s how you find the controls for each company:

* AT&T: Log in at mymessages.wireless.att.com. Under Preferences, you’ll see the text-blocking and alias options. Here’s also where you can block messages from specific e-mail addresses or Web sites.

* Verizon Wireless: Log in at vtext.com. Under Text Messaging, click Preferences. Click Text Blocking. You’re offered choices to block text messages from e-mail or from the Web. Here again, you can block specific addresses or Web sites. (Here’s where you set up your aliases, too.)

* Sprint: No auto-blocking is available at all, but you can block specific phone numbers and addresses. To get started, log in at www.sprint.com. On the top navigation bar, click My Online Tools. Under Communication Tools, click Text Messaging. On the Compose a Text Message page, under Text Messaging Options, click Settings & Preferences. In the text box, you can enter a phone number, email address or domain (such as Comcast.net) that you want to block.

* T-Mobile: T-Mobile doesn’t yet offer a “block text messages from the Internet” option. You can block all messages sent by e-mail, though, or permit only messages sent to your phone’s e-mail address or alias, or create filters that block text messages containing certain phrases. It’s all waiting when you log into www.t-mobile.com and click Communication Tools.

As soon as I heard about all this, I went to the Verizon Wireless page for my own account and turned on the “block” options.

And you know what? We haven’t had a single piece of cellphone spam since.

You’re welcome."

Advice: Email

2008-06-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we posted on fake phone numbers. Today we will focus of fake emails. The same problem explained below is the problem we are dealing with again. Do you give out your real email and potentially get spammed? The answer? No. So what can you do?

If you use Gmail, you're in luck. Gmail has features that allow you to give out different versions of your address.
From the Official Gmail Blog:

Append a plus ("+") sign and any combination of words or numbers after your email address. For example, if your name was hikingfan@gmail.com, you could send mail to hikingfan+friends@gmail.com or hikingfan+mailinglists@gmail.com.

Insert one or several dots (".") anywhere in your email address. Gmail doesn't recognize periods as characters in addresses -- we just ignore them. For example, you could tell people your address was hikingfan@gmail.com, hiking.fan@gmail.com or hi.kin.g.fan@gmail.com. (We understand that there has been some confusion about this in the past, but to settle it once and for all, you can indeed receive mail at all the variations with dots.)

And from Life Hacker:

The Digital Inspiration blog points out a Gmail trick that's been just under the surface all along (not that our commenters haven't noticed). Everyone who has an "name@gmail.com" address can also receive mail sent to "name@googlemail.com." What's the big deal? Well, knowing this gives you a stronger hand when you fight against spam, bacn, and all that other not-so-important but distracting email. Try giving out one or the other addresses to important, close contacts, while using the other for all the other stuff. What uses can you think of (or have used already) for this trick? Offer up the goods in the comments.

Cool! But what if you don't use Gmail? Well you should.

.Mac mail has the capability to use aliases. And numerous websites provide emails that you can trash after a week. Rack 'em!

http://mailexpire.com/index.php
http://www.spamgourmet.com/
http://www.zoemail.com/index.php
http://www.dodgeit.com/
http://www.sneakemail.com/
http://www.tempemail.net/
http://www.mailinator.com/
http://temporaryinbox.com/
http://www.mytrashmail.com/
http://www.shieldedmail.com/

Thanks!

Advice: Phone Numbers

2008-06-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

If you have ever filled out a form online, you will know what a drag it is to give out your personal information. You can use fake information, but then if you win something, you will never get it. Today's tip is about phone numbers. You still want to get the call but not spammed. Grand Central, a Google service solves that problem. The service is not especially designed for this purpose but works well. You get a number that you can forward to multiple phones. Grand Central has a little announcement when you pick up the phone, letting you know who is calling and if you want to answer. Another service called numbr.com is simpler, giving you a number that has an extension and that expires in a week. Those are the services I have tried, but here is one more. Jaxtr.com