GeekSugar

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Back Up Your Facebook Data

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:21:51 PDT

Aah, Facebook. The place where all of our photos, comments, monumental moments, and information are shared online. Ever stop to think about what would happen if Facebook went down - or worse, got hacked? Your Facebook profile most likely holds tons of your most precious photos and videos, and like your computer, you should back up all of that data just in case. Here, I'll tell you how to download all of your Facebook content, from wall posts to photo galleries.

You can download a copy of all of your Facebook data right on the social network. Just head to Account > Account Settings > Download a Copy of Your Facebook Data (this link will be in the bottom left-hand corner of the Account Settings window). Included in the download is your contact info, photos, videos, notes, and wall posts as well as chat conversations, friend lists, events, and comments made on your wall posts. If you do choose to back up your Facebook data (it's recommended!), then be sure to keep it in a safe place, like a password-protected file on an external hard drive.

5 Facts About Americans and Tech Maintenance

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:11:48 PDT

National Backup Day was just last week, but how many of you actually backed up your computer data? How many of you perform routine maintenance (like software updates) on your computers on a regular basis? According to a new study performed by Zogby International and Staples, not many! Get the details on how Americans feel about their tech IQ, and how to overcome your fears in this slideshow.

Ask a Geek Girl: What's With Carbonite and Should I Sign Up?

GeekSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:05:32 PDT

Dear GeekSugar,
My mom called me the other day freaking out about a Carbonite commercial, saying I should back up my photos before disaster strikes. I've actually seen the commercials late at night (I have to admit, I find them pretty funny), but can't really wrap my mind around why the service is. I have thousands of photos stored on my laptop and do worry it will quit on me one day and I will be left without copies. Should I use this service? Thanks for your help.
- A Fellow Geeky Gal

Dear Fellow Geeky Gal,
I pleased to hear I'm not the only person who is endlessly entertained by late-night cable commercials! You ask a great question because I've been seeing the company name everywhere. Carbonite is a web service that claims to "automatically and securely back up the irreplaceable contents of your computer" for the yearly cost of about $55. It works for PC and Mac users, but has slightly different set up depending on your system. To find out if I think you - and other readers like you - need it,

Before you sign up, I'd suggest perusing the Carbonite website and looking at the demos to see if it fits your lifestyle. Everyone's backup needs are unique. I like to be selective about which files I backup (I only save the most important stuff like pictures, a small number of documents, and music I can't live without), so I don't need the "automatic" program to do it for me. Given you seem most concerned with backing up your photos, I think you should investigate a photo-hosting service before you back up your entire computer and then come up with a plan for backing up your important files. I adore Flickr ($25 a year) for its networking, geotagging, and general photo fun, but also use Picasa for its free simplicity. If you want to back up more documents, check out my guide to backing up data for a peek at a few devices that may be more cost effective for you. You might also check out MobileMe, a service that allows you to sync all your photos, email, calendar, contacts from your Mac (iCal, iDisk, Address Book, and Mail) or PC (Microsoft Outlook) to your iPhone over the air (it costs about $100 a year).

Cheers to planning to back up your data, not matter which route you pick! Anyone who has ever lost their hard drive or even a few files can tell you it's a devastating experience.

Even the geekiest of us have technical breakdowns. There's no question too easy or too techie, so join our Ask a Geek Girl Group and share your concerns and quandaries. Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

How Many Flash Drives Do You Own?

GeekSugar — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:05:26 PDT

I'm all "keyed up" over this keyring flash drive. Get it? Keyed? Anyway, I have a thing for flash drives, but my problem (which I'm sure most of you can relate to), is that the things are so small that I end up misplacing them. And let's face it - if I've backed up some important docs on there, that's really not a good situation to be in.

But if I had this LaCie Iamkey 4GB flash drive, then I could back up that important content from my laptop and I'd always know where it is. Well, unless I lost my keys that is.

I know I've got a whole drawer full of flash drives just waiting to be used, so it had me wondering - how many flash drives do you own?

One of the Best Geeky Scenes From Sex and the City

GeekSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:02:05 PST

Did you know that Tuesday was "National Clean Out Your Computer Day"? The day devoted to deleting old emails, cleaning up your desktop and backing-up old files to make room for new ones?! Considering backing-up my data made my New Year's Resolutions list this year, maybe it's time I put my new eGo Portable Hard Drive to the test and "back-up!"

The other day Yum reminded me of this hilarious clip from Sex and the City and it brought me back to the good (or not so good) days of laptops crashing and zip drives. The best quote would have to be at the end of the scene with Carrie saying, "After all, computers crash, people die, relationships fall apart. The best we can do is breathe and reboot. And when that fails a little gizmo called a zip drive can provide a surprising amount of comfort." Ain't that the truth?!

And so, I must ask, when was the last time you backed-up?

Use Microsoft SyncToy to Backup Your Data

GeekSugar — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:08:34 PST

Just picture it... You are up in the middle of the night finishing off a project, which of course is due tomorrow. All of a sudden, your screen goes blank. You ctrl+alt+del a hundred times, restart your laptop and there it is... the infamous blue screen. Remember when Carrie's laptop crashed on Sex and the City? Heart wrenching! With so many sources feeding your laptop with data (your digital camera, e-mail, cell phone, portable media player, camcorder, PDA) it is essential to use a program such as the SyncToy for Windows XP, which can help you copy, move, and synchronize different directories.

Download the SyncToy PowerToy from the Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP website.

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Sync Your Smartphone

Kristy Korcz — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 11:36:15 PDT

When was the last time you synced your smartphone in order to backup your data, photos, music, and videos? Whether you have an iPhone, Android, or Windows phone, syncing and backing up your information and files will save you grief if by chance you lose your device, douse it in water, or drop it face down on the pavement, sending shards flying. Back up your phone's contents weekly, or more often if you take a lot of photos and video.

Keep up with all of our Spring cleaning tech tips here or at our 31 Days of Spring Cleaning Pinterest board!

10 Great Things You’re Already Doing With Your Money

LearnVest — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:15:17 PDT

You know you rock at managing your money. LearnVest tells you what you're doing right.

We know, we know - at LearnVest, we tell you a lot of things you should do, like:

Save for retirement
Pay off any debt you have
Reevaluate your budget (because you already have a budget, right?)
Stress out about all the aforementioned to-dos

We tell you because they’re all good for you, financially speaking (well, all but that last one).

But sometimes, with all the worrying we do, it’s easy to forget to take a time-out and give ourselves a pat on the back. And we bet there are already a lot of things you’re doing exactly right with your money.

Read on to find out how many of these 10 excellent financial habits you’ve already adopted, then sit back, and feel superproud of yourself.

You Always Shop on Sale

According to industry research, 62 percent of US consumers say they rarely pay full price for clothing. So it sounds like you already know the art of scoring the best deal possible. (Just don’t let yourself get suckered in by the secret ways stores seduce us into buying.) Keep up the good work!

Read on for more.

3 Ways to Protect Your Mobile Phone During Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:39:30 PST

Mobile shopping is on the rise. In fact, nearly 60 million users will shop on their mobile phone for Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales this year. Just because you might be using your smartphone to shop for gifts this year doesn't mean you aren't at risk for hacking, viruses, malware, or identity theft (especially if you're an Android owner, just sayin').

Since we increasingly put more personal information on our phones, including photos, emails, current location, and finances, you might want to consider downloading these services to protect your cell phone from malicious hackers. It's better to be safe than sorry!

McAfee VirusScan Mobile - Protects against viruses, worms, spyware Trojan horses, and battery-exhausting malware. In addition, it offers security for email, instant message, and Internet downloads.
Lookout - An award-winning mobile security service for Android, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry to scan and detect viruses, malware, and spyware. Lookout also acts as a backup system to restore data.
Norton Mobile Security - Offers protection against cell phone loss, theft, and malware for Android.
In addition to these, AT&T is working with Juniper Networks to release an antivirus and antimalware app for mobile phones, especially for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows phones. The scheduled release is for 2012.

While iPhones tend to be safer than Android phones, iPhone users aren't out of the clear. As people start to use their phones as a wallet and way to manage their money, iPhone hackers will start to creep up. Do you plan on investing in mobile protection, or do you think that it's unlikely that your phone will be hacked into?

How to Keep Your iPhone and iPad Location Data Private

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 14:27:45 PDT

We heard earlier that iPhones and iPads are silently and consistently tracking our locations, and logging the info when we perform syncs or backups. While this fact may be kind of scary on its own, the worst part is that the data is totally unencrypted and available to anyone who gets their hands on your devices or backup folders on your laptop. As of now, there's no way to stop your iOS 4-running devices from logging this data, but you can keep it on lockdown with a simple click.

Want to know how to keep this data private? Just keep reading.