How to avoid getting your information stolen via wireless connections

Yesterday, I wrote about how the FBI is warning us that personal details can be stolen (i-jacked) when using public computers. This occurs using crimeware, previously installed on a public computer, logs the keys you are stroking and sends the information (electronically) to criminals.

It can be dangerous to look at any of your online financial information on these (public access) machines.

When writing about this phenomenon, I remembered that even using your personal computer at a public place with a wireless connection can expose a person's personal and sometimes, financial details.

Just the other day, Martin Bosworth, over at Consumer Affairs, wrote an excellent piece covering this danger, where he stated:

Sending unencrypted information over any unfamiliar network can turn your computer into an open book -- with pages full of your personal information.

Many of these connections are appear to be legitimate connections because they are spoofed (camouflaged to appear as if they are a trusted connection).

Spoofing a connection, or site isn't very hard to do. They simply copy and transpose pictures and statements (words) from legitimate sites to their own. The Artists Against website has a portal, where you can see fake websites that are up and running on the Internet, here.

Martin's article contains some excellent tips on how to navigate the murky waters of public hot spots, safely.

They can be viewed, here.

Interestingly enough, wireless technology, isn't only used to compromise individuals. In the recent TJX data breach, where some are saying 200 million records were stolen since 2003, reports are saying the data was stolen, using wireless technology.

It's being reported that this was accomplished from a car with a laptop. Driving around with a laptop, using other people's wireless connections, is sometimes referred to as "war-driving," which is my new word for the day.

Joseph Pereira (Wall Street Journal) wrote about this (courtesy of the Northwest Florida Daily News), here.

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Speed Up Your PC by Magic

Every time you experience a PC problem or slowdown, don't call the technician just yet. Try a little magic, and you will see your machine revived!

What do you usually do if your car stalls? I can tell you what I do: if kicking the tires and looking under the hood doesn't really help, I give up and call for a mechanic. If you are a little more technical than I am, you might try more things, and may even succeed in getting your car running. But what if it does not run as good as it used to, or stalls more and more often? I'd bring it to the shop to get it fixed!

What do you usually do if your computer hangs? I usually try pushing some keys and, finally, kick in the 'Reset' button. But what if your PC no longer runs as smoothly as it used to, or hangs up just in the middle of an important document or an exciting game? Is it time to call for a computer guru and spend some money for getting it fixed?

Not necessarily. With a bit of magic and a little help of a handy free tool you can quickly do miracles with your PC's performance!

Try a little magic on your computer. A single 'Reset' button will never solve all your problems completely, but a little free utility called Magic Speed will revive your PC to its original, brand-new like performance in just five easy steps. It will do its magic to clean up your PC and fix problems that prevent it from running smoothly.
With a computer, you are in a better position than you are with a car. Many computer problems don't come from hardware errors; after all, modern PC hardware is thoroughly reliable these days. Instead, these problems originate from software. Did you know that any time you press that 'Reset' button, there is a chance of data corruption? It's not that something is wrong with your hard disk; it's about Windows unable to finish a write operation that causes the corruption. This is easily corrected with software; all you need is a disk checkup. This is free, and you don't need a technician to do that; just a little magic and Magic Speed!

What if your computer does not boot Windows as fast as it used to when you opened the box? If you a technician check your system, he would probably tell you about the hidden start-up programs slowing down performance, unwanted tray icons eating up precious megabytes of memory, or even spyware plaguing your system. Run Magic Speed instead of calling a technician, and it will tell you exactly what is wrong with your PC, and fix it immediately - for absolutely free!

Thanks to its built-in licensed anti-virus engine, Magic Speed will detect and automatically clean known viruses and spyware programs. It will reveal to you all the hidden startup programs and tray icons, and allow you to keep only those you are actually using. This alone can speed up your system significantly; but that is not all! Magic Speed will check for correct software locations, check and fix errors in shared programs, look up for known problems with known software, and fix errors with system components.

With Magic Speed, you do the magic to your PC! Get Magic Speed from www.smartpctools.com/magic_speed for absolutely free, and revive your PC to its brand-new performance.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com

Alexander Rodichev is a founder of Smart PC Solutions company located in Alexandria, VA. The company develops easy to use solutions for daily care to keep users PC in a good shape.

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Amazing new Mac app

Say Hello to the brand new Sticky Windows 2.0

Sticky Windows is an application for Mac OS X Tiger which extends the tab browsing experience to the Desktop. Sticky Windows shrinks your windows into tabs when you drag a window towards the edge of your screen. Providing you with a completely clutter-free workspace. By clicking on the tab the user can show and hide the window.

The tab can be created by dragging a window on any side of the screen (more than one screen configuration is supported too). When the mouse reaches the margin of the screen a tab will appear.


To remove a tab, simply drag it away from the screen edge. If the window is not currently visible when the tab is dismissed, the original window is re-displayed on the screen.

What's new in version 2.0 (released on April 6th 2007) ?

- Tabs Types: "Manual" or "Automatic" - Tabs support drag & drop of files

- Completely new style and new visual effects to provide better use experience

- Completely new code base, more reliable and faster than version 1.x

- Universal App: works with Intel & PPC Macs

How does it work?

Sticky Windows keeps track of all the windows which are visualized on the Desktop, as soon as the user drag a window, and the mouse reaches the edge of the screen, Sticky Windows shows a tab corresponding to that window. Afterwards Sticky Windows "takes care" of the window and communicates to the Windows Server to show and hide it.

Is Sticky Windows CPU heavy application?
Sticky Windows has been designed to be light in CPU usage. You will seldom see it using more than 1% of your CPU. This is particular important for Powerbook/MacBook users that will be able to use it without worrying that it will drain their batteries.

http://www.donelleschi.com/stickywindows/

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Computer Satellite TV ? Review of Satellite TV for PC 2006 Elite Edition

Technorati Profile
The Satellite TV for PC 2006 Elite addition was just released. I have purchased the elite edition to compare it to the TV for PC 2006 Pro edition. I have found this edition to be more improved then the pro edition with additional channels and faster transmit time I have found that it is well worth the extra ten dollars. The pro edition was selling at $39.95 and the elite addition can be sold at an low priced of $49.95. It usually retails for as much as $400. I have found one site that is selling it for that very low price.

Satellite TV defiantly has come a long way. I have tried many software packages for my pc and have found one they stays far a top of the rest. Satellite TV for PC 2006 is one of the best packages I have found. This site is offered at the best price and quality that I have seen. With over 2000 channels at a one time only fee of $39.95, is the cheapest for the best quality that I have yet to see for computer satellite TV.

The price was not a problem for me. I paid with a smile hoping that this would be better than the Computer Satellite TV pro 2006. The computer satellite TV Elite edition is defiantly the way to go. I used it over the weekend and could never make up my mind what to watch.

Before I started to review the Computer Satellite TV 2006 Elite edition. I was checking into another software package. Its price is a one time fee of $150 I am still reviewing and will make a post when I am through. The offer states there are more sports channels along with football. I will wait a bit before I post a review in this product.

For now I would highly recommend the Computer Satellite TV for 2006 Elite Edition. I defiantly give this one a very high rating. There are a variety of channels from around the world including, sports, movies, weather, news, music, and regular broadcast channels. I will now be using satellite TV for pc 2006 elite edition instead of the pro edition. If you would like a link to the site that is offering it for $49.95 you can find the link by visiting my web site.

Feel free to come and visit this site as I will be updating it with new reviews and tips.

Please visit some of my sites PC Satellite TV and Computer Satellite TV

For more information please visit my website at Computer Satellite TV

This article is free for republishingSource: http://www.articlealley.com

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New updates in program improve PC viruses

A few weeks ago, my anti-virus program expired, and I didn't really think twice about it. I had a couple of other adware and spam blockers, so I assumed I was safe.

Then last Tuesday, my computer completely crashed. There were 8 viruses on it that ultimately lead to me not even being able to load Windows.

I had to do a complete reformatting, and it literally took hours just to get my PC up and running again. Add to that, hours of reinstalling my software, and it was a good day or two working on it.

I'm a student at the moment, so I scoured the Internet looking for a reasonable anti-virus program. I read a lot of differnet reviews, from CNet to Pcmagazine.com, and they all pointed to Ad Patrol.


I decided to check it out and download it. It's incredibly fast and easy to install, and it seemed to be working in full effect within minutes.

I started getting asked certain security provision requests using the program, and contacted the help desk. They were especially prompt in getting back to me and very thurough in their answers.

If you're like me, and don't have a lot to spend, I'd suggest you check out Ad Patrol. Certainly gives me all the protection and security I could expect from an anti-virus program.

Check out the link below to be directed to their site.

Ad Patrol Home

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How About a Free Anti Virus Program - 3 Reasons Why You May Be at Risk

Should I use a free antivirus program or a paid version? In todays world on the internet, we are always looking for a product or service that is free. However, when it comes to a virus protection, free is not always free.

Think about it for a minute. Why would anyone sit down on the computer and spend hours and hours of time to develop and maintain a software program and do it for free. There has got to be someone wanting to make money off of you some how or they could not continue with their activities.


In addition, many of the so called free programs do not have technical support. How would they be able to support technical help if they could not pay them. When you have a problem, you are going to want someone to help you.

Spyware – Many software programs that are free, have some type of spyware attached. If the maker or developer of the program is not charging you, then how are they going to make money. Spyware is attached to the program and your system may be tracked for advertisement purposes.

In some cases your system may be scanned for e-mail address or other information that you may not want to give out. Please be very careful with any free program you install on your computer.

Better yet, make sure you have a firewall, anti virus program and anti spyware program installed on your computer for all of your internet security protection.

Top 5 Virus Protection Software Programs

Norton Anti Virus
Trend Micro PC-cillin Anti Virus
BitDefender Anti Virus
Shield Pro 2007
Mcafee AntiVirus

If you would like to get more information on the Top 5 Virus Protection programs, you can go to http://www.filterguide.com/antivirus.ratings.htm

You can find the top rated Internet Security software programs along with discounts that range from 10% to 25% Off at Internet Security Software

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Principal Guilty in Microsoft Piracy Case

A court Monday found the principal of a village school guilty of using bootleg Microsoft software and ordered him to pay a fine of about $195 in a case that was cast by Russian media as a battle between a humble educator and an international corporation.

The trial of Alexander Ponosov, who was charged with violating intellectual property rights by using classroom computers with pirated versions of the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software installed, has attracted wide attention.

Russian officials frequently allege that foreign governments, including the U.S., are meddling in Russia's internal affairs, and Russian media reports have portrayed the case as that of a Western corporation bringing its power to bear on one man -- in this case, a principal who also teaches history and earns $360 a month.

Microsoft, however, has said repeatedly it has nothing to do with the charges, which were brought by Russian prosecutors in the Ural Mountains region where Ponosov's school is located.

The case "was initiated by Russian authorities under Russian law," the company said in an e-mailed statement after the verdict. "Microsoft neither initiated nor has any plans to bring any action against Mr. Ponosov."

Prosecutor Natalya Kurdoyakova said in televised remarks that Ponosov knew he was violating the law "and illegally used these programs in computer classes."

Ponosov has maintained his innocence, saying that the computers at the school came with the software already installed.

"I had no idea it wasn't licensed," Ponosov told The Associated Press by telephone. He said that he planned to file an appeal.

"Prosecutors made a lot of mistakes starting from the moment they checked the computers," he said.

Ponosov was found guilty of causing $10,000 in damage to the company, RIA-Novosti quoted judge Valentina Tiunova as saying.

In February, the court in the Vereshchaginsky district of the Perm region threw out the case, saying Ponosov's actions were "insignificant" and presented no danger to society. Both Ponosov and prosecutors vowed to appeal in hopes of forcing a clear decision, with Ponosov saying he wanted a full acquittal.

In March, the regional court ordered Ponosov to stand trial a second time.

Despite government pledges to crack down on Russia's rampant piracy, the country remains the No. 2 producer of bootlegged software, movies and music after China.

In April, the Bush administration put Russia, China and 10 other nations on a "priority watch list," which will subject them to extra scrutiny and could eventually lead to economic sanctions if the administration decides to bring trade cases before the World Trade Organization.

The designation was made in an annual report the administration is required to provide to Congress each year that highlights the problems U.S. companies are facing around the world with copyright piracy. The report said that the United States will be closely watching to see how Russia fulfills the commitments it made to upgrading copyright protection as part of a U.S.-Russia accord reached last year which was seen as a key milestone in Russian efforts to join the WTO.

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