If you have a LinkedIn account, you may want to change your password…immediately! They’ve been hacked. According to this c-net article, millions of LinkedIn user passwords were leaked online. Users of both the website and the smartphone apps are at risk. The article also gives instructions on how to change your password. Even if you don’t think your password is at risk from this attack, it is good practice to change your passwords regularly.
Fight for the Future, one of the driving forces behind yesterday’s internet strike against the SOPA and PIPA bills, reported in an email that the protest succeeded in getting the attention of lawmakers. Before the protest, only 5 senators spoke out against the bills. Now, the count is 35! For more details about how the strike went, see the SOPA Strike website.
The fight is not yet over. It will take 41 solid “No” votes to permanently stall PIPA (and SOPA) in the senate. Please continue to contact your legislators (easy email form!) to let them know you value your freedom online.
You may or may not have heard of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) or PIPA (Protect – IP Act), but if either of these becomes law, the Internet will cease to be a free exchange of creativity and ideas. [Insert personal opinion disclaimer here. ;-)] While I will agree that piracy is an issue and it robs creators of deserved remuneration, the vague language used in these bills could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands.
I found this quote in an informational vide0 (below) particularly disturbing:
“…the government and corporations could block any site, foreign or domestic, just for one [copyright] infringing link. Sites like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook would have to censor their users or get shut down since they become liable for everything users post.”
PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.
If you feel so moved, please let your representatives know what you think of these bills.
Have you ever used a computer that was running suspiciously slow? This is a notoriously difficult problem to diagnose. If you’ve been keeping up with your regular maintenance, then it’s probably not just a matter of a cluttered browser or hard drive. Chances are, there is a program running behind the scenes that is consuming your resources. It could be an anti-virus scan, or it could be something more sinister. How can you tell for sure?
1. Windows Task Manager: If you are on a Windows PC, hit control-alt-delete (three keys at the same time). On the resulting screen, select Task Manager. The Process tab is the most telling. If you click CPU (top of the column), it should put the process using the most memory at the top. If not, click it again. DO NOT stop a process without knowing what it does. This can cause major damage if the process is necessary for normal computer operation. Instead, look up the process name on a reliable site like ProcessLibrary.com. The site will give you an idea which program is associated with the process, what it does, and whether it can be shut down safely.
2. If the Task Manager doesn’t tell you what you need to know, try What’s My Computer Doing. It’s free software that gets more in-depth than Task Manager. The paid version will dig even deeper.
Happy hunting!
We are all familiar with the nightmare scenario – a Blue Screen of Death or some other indication that your computer irrevocably damaged. While many people have precious documents, pictures, videos, etc. saved on their home computers, few have committed to a backup plan.
The good news is, backing up doesn’t have to be a huge chore. This is especially true if you have Windows 7. There are tools built in to Microsoft’s newest operating system that can allow even a novice user to create reliable backups. For a fantastic, step-by-step article on how to back up a Windows 7 machine, head to the Windows Secrets article, “Build a complete Windows 7 Safety Net.”
Windows Vista also has some built-in backup capabilities. Again, someone else has already written a great article, so I won’t reinvent the wheel here.
Backing up data on Windows XP can be trickier, since the native tools aren’t as comprehensive. One of these tools is System Restore. When enabled, this tool creates “restore points” by essentially taking note of your settings and installed software at a particular point in time. If data becomes corrupted, sometimes System Restore can help. However, System Restore can also create a hideout for viruses to reassert themselves after you think you have uninstalled them. There is a backup utility included in Windows XP, but automated system recovery is not supported.
When dealing with XP, there are some very good third-party backup tools. For instance, if you plan to backup your data to an external hard drive, many brands pre-load software precisely for this purpose. I have use the Seagate software at home, and have enjoyed years of successful backups.
If you are willing to pay for reliable backup software, Acronis True Image is one product about which I often read stellar reviews. It allows for full backups, incremental backups (shorter sessions that only note changes since the last backup), and disk imaging. Disk imaging not only saves all of your folders and files, it takes a full snapshot of your computer, including the operating system, programs, and settings. Restoring from an image can save lots of time and headaches.
No matter how you go about it, backing up your data is a crucial element of smooth computing. Bizarre, unexpected things could happen to your computer at any time. Wouldn’t you feel better knowing that your precious photos and videos were residing safely elsewhere, should your computer take a turn for the worse? In fact, I would suggest keeping backups in multiple locations. External storage has really come down in price, and it could be worth the investment to keep one external drive for regular backups at home and another in a safe deposit box that gets backed up less often. This way, your data is protected even if you encounter a situation more catastrophic than computer failure.
That reminds me, I think it’s time to backup my work files…
Happy Computing!
