Holiday Security Tips.

Figure now would be a good time to help you keep your computer safe so you can shop online without the scare of being hacked this Christmas season.

1. Please, use common sense.
   I know, I know – this should be something everybody knows, right? Wrong. You’d be surprised as to how many people still don’t have any anti-virus, malware, or spyware programs installed on their computers. Many people that do often don’t even do even 1 scan a month. When, you visit sites, turn on your pop-up blocker, don’t click the ads, and try not to click suspicious links. If it asks you to download something, CLICK CANCEL!
2. Surf with IE7 w/ IE7Pro
   It’s important to have a safe, up-to-date browser while you go about the ‘nets. Internet Explorer didn’t always be my browser of choice, but version 7 sure has improved a whole ton. Along with those extra tabs and new look, IE7 has a cleaner, better, and easier to use “security system.” Clearing files (online + offline), cookies, and history is important in case you’ve manage to get your browser directed towards a malicious website. IE7Pro is also a great add-on for IE7. It provides extra private history options, a flash blocker, pop-up blocker, and ad blocker. Best part is, everything is free.
   [IE7]
   [IE7Pro]
3. Free Anti-Spyware tool.
   Is your mouse starting to move by itself? Seeing files you didn’t make? I reccomend HijackThis by Trend Micro. It’s a free anti-spyware scanner and remover that works like a charm. It can help delete files once your computer gets up and running, and destroy start-up processes too.
   [Download here.]
4. Process Explorer
   Get that eerie feeling that what you just installed had a little more attached to it? Many times people hide hidden viruses, keyloggers, etc. inside .EXE files that run themselves behind that scenes. There are few ways you can catch them, and Process Explorer helps you find them in depth, easy, and fast. You’ll quickly be able to see what processes are running and from where, how many DLLs are up, and where the programs are (if they are) connecting to.
   [Download here]

The Fresh Prince of Starcraft

It’s a rough draft
and for those who haven’t heard the Original, just Live Search the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and play the theme song.

Cyber Monday… Done?

When Thanksgiving comes around, everybody is usually pretty happy. School’s out, you get to eat all you want and not get in trouble, the game’s usually going, and of course family is over for the weekend. Well, maybe you’re not happy about that.

After Thanksgiving, though, are two major days. First is Black Friday, which this year didn’t do amazingly well, but good enough to appease both consumers and sellers. Then, after two days, is Cyber Monday. Only question is, is online shopping going to be a big hit again?

“Cyber Monday” was a term coined by Shop.org in 2004, but it only became popular around 2005. Online shopping companies had reported up to 77% increases in sales on that day alone. In 2006, it was still a hit, but numbers had slowly dwindled down. So the question is: What about this year?

The number of people that are online nowadays has greatly increased as well as those that roam on sites like Shop.org and eBay.com. Online shopping and selling these days has become almost like second-hand when buying items. Many people just hit up Amazon when they want to buy a great book they couldn’t find at Barns N’ Nobles.

Of course, prices will most likely be dropped on Monday, and people will be giving and expecting great deals, but this looks like a dieing tradition.