GeekSugar

Protect Your Info With Your Fingerprint

GeekSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:30:35 -0800

Although there are other ways to secure your passwords and data that live on your computer - like say a password manager or even (yikes) a notebook - I can't think of a cooler or more futuristic way to protect all your personal info than with your fingerprint.

This Eikon To Go digital privacy manager for your Mac or PC, keeps all your stuff under wraps from prying eyes by locking your laptop, and will only unlock when you put your unique fingerprint on the reader.

But if you aren't the computing on-the-go type, you can also pick up Eikon's desktop fingerprint scanner to lock away all your files at home as well. The best part? The mobile manager is only $50 dollars. It's the perfect gift for the business traveler that really needs some protection - of the digital kind, of course.

Password Reminder Book Kinda Makes Me Nervous

GeekSugar — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:30:45 -0700

I came across this Open Sesame Password Reminder Book on Outblush yesterday, and at first I was like, "That's kinda cute," but then after more consideration, I realized it probably isn't a good idea. Here's why: Security! Remember how I was telling you about how important it is to have complex passwords, or possibly run the risk of someone ruining your personal record, or worse, stealing your identity? All that is out the window if someone gets a hold of your password reminder book. Unless I kept it under strict lock and key, I would be a nervous wreck thinking about what would happen if I lost it.

But, of course, if I lost the key, I'd be totally screwed.Maybe it's a better idea to keep your passwords in a protected file in your computer, or better yet, a secure password storage device!

Do You Still Have a Lame Password?

GeekSugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:00:33 -0700

So remember how last year I told you about the top ten most used and abused passwords? Well, apparently some of you weren't paying attention, cause the list is just as lame (and essentially the same) this year! When I read USA Today's report, I had to chuckle. "Abc123," really? "Password," are you kidding - have you not learned a thing?

All joking aside, someone could do some major damage to your personal records if they just so happen to figure out that your password is "qwerty" (like it's hard) and you use it for everything from online banking, to your Myspace log in, email, and online credit card accounts. You don't have to tell me what it is, but admit it: you still have a lame password. Any savvy geek should have a pretty complicated password for Joe Schmo to figure out so he doesn't go on a buying rampage and take that trip to Fiji you've always dreamed of. . . on your dollar!

Source

The Most Used and Abused Passwords On The Net

GeekSugar — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 12:00:09 -0700

This list is surprising and shocking at the same time - do people honestly think these passwords are safe to use? They may be easy to remember, but in terms of being secure and difficult to crack- not so much. This list, which appeared in the May 8th edition of PC Magazine shows the 10 most commonly used online passwords, none of which surprised me. Although monkey- Am I too geeky to get this one?

password
123456
qwerty
abc123
letmein
monkey
myspace1
password1
blink182
(your first name)

If Sarah Palin Read geeksugar, She May Have Known Better

GeekSugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:00:44 -0700

I can't tell you enough how important email and online security is! I've been a little obsessed with the recent Sarah Palin email hacking scandal, but have put off saying much about it - until now. The suspected hacker - a 20-year old University of Tennessee student, and son of state representative Mike Kernell - was seen in front of the Grand Jury on Tuesday, and was let go without an indictment. Although there aren't many details as to what was or was not found, I suspect that the search for the real hacker continues.

Although hacking into anyone's personal account is a violation of the law and should be prosecuted accordingly, what really makes me uncomfortable is knowing how easy it was for the hacker to break into her account! Just by guessing a few password reset questions and some research on Wikipedia, they were in. I've talked in length about protecting your log-ins, but it's only a few security questions that separate hackers from your personal email when a password reset has been requested. Be diligent in keeping those questions and passwords hard to guess, and you won't have to worry about your emails displayed on the web, or your identity being stolen!

Source

Website of the Day: From a Birdie

GeekSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:30:17 -0700

You know the drill: you get a Facebook reminder that it's your friend's birthday, so you end up writing her an email, or you post a brief note to her Facebook wall. Rather than follow everyone else's lead by posting an impersonal b-day message on Facebook, why not create a collective album of online letters that you and your friends can send to the birthday girl on her special day? A cool new site called From a Birdie, which I found on makeuseof, is similar to the site GroupCard because it allows an entire group of people to collaborate on a personalized card or letter. But what makes this site even better is the fact that you can add photos to your messages, there aren't any size restrictions on the messages or size of photos, and the group album gets its own password-protected website. From a Birdie will email your friend on the day you choose to let them know they have a little surprise waiting for them!

Have an interesting website you want to share? To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click "New Post" under the website of the day tab at the top of the page.
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Type "Technology and Gadgets" in the Categories box
Add keyword(s) in the tag field with relevant tags (for example mine for this story was "Website of the Day").
Choose whether you want the post to be private or public.
Click "Create Post" to submit content.

Key Ring WiFi Finder: Totally Geeky or Geek Chic?

GeekSugar — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:56:47 -0700

You know I've got my iPhone loaded up with a few WiFi finding apps so that I can hop online wherever and whenever, but what if I'm without my trusty smartphone? Hopefully (knock on wood), that will never happen. But if it does, then this little gadget could come in quite handy in a pinch.

Called the WiFi Seeker and Light, this keyring attachment is always there when you need to find a signal. With a push of one button, it shines a small LED light so you can find your way in the dark, and the other tells you the strength of any surrounding wireless signals. I tested it, and it does actually know when there's a wireless signal. Now if it would just tell you the security password so you can actually use them, I'd call it a miracle! I couldn't find the exact one online if you wanted to get one for yourself, but there are a few choices on Amazon.

Website of the Day: Wufoo

GeekSugar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:40:02 -0700

Do you ever need to whip up an online form, survey, or invite, but you don't have the patience to deal with Word's old templates or Google Docs templates?

With Wufoo you can do all that and more, and you don't need to waste a minute trying to wrestle with a form. All of the data entered into Wufoo is said to be safe and secure, and it can be collected and exported to Excel or CSV if you want to print it up for later. You create the doc with Wufoo's form wizardry, and then decide if you want to share it or password-protect it.

Wufoo has five different accounts you can sign up for (four cost money), but the account that offers three forms, three reports, 10 fields, and 100 entries per month is totally free! So unless you're a crazy form creator, this site won't cost you a penny.

To learn how to post your favorite websites to our Website of the Day group, read more.

I know that this long list looks scary, but trust me, once you get the hang of it, it'll be a snap the second time around.

First of all, join the Website of the Day group.
Click the pink "Share" menu on the top left side of the page.
Choose "Blog" and "Regular Post."
Give your story a "Title."
Fill in the "Body" with a link to your favorite website and the reasons why you love it.
Click "Next."
Choose the audience for your story to "Website of the Day" in the dropdown menu.
Add keyword(s) (for example mine for this photo was "Website of the Day").
Change channel to "Technology and Gadgets."
Fill in tag field with relevant tags.
Click "I’m done" to submit content.

So join the Website of the Day group and share information about all your favorite sites! Yours just might end up on the geeksugar homepage!

A Whole New World: My Fave Things About the iPhone 3.0 OS

GeekSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:56:05 -0700

Since downloading the iPhone's new 3.0 OS, I've had a chance to try out pretty much everything and decide what I love and what I like (so far, nothing to hate).

I will say this: the copious changes are like having a whole new iPhone - I definitely felt like I had a new device, the experience is so different. What do I like the most? To see my favorites, just read more.

Spotlight: I have to say, Spotlight is definitely my favorite thing to have on the iPhone, as simple as it is. It's probably because I keep swiping my main screen to the right and accidentally going into the search, so that does take some getting used to. I'm still impressed, though, that Spotlight searches everything: apps, contacts, songs, and video. I like it best for apps since I've downloaded so many and they're not organized in any fashion at all.
Email Search: Sense a trend? I'm a simple girl. Having gotten used to Google and Gmail, I simply need to be able to search efficiently and get extremely frustrated when I can't. But the new search changes all that - before, if you wanted to use Gmail's great search function, you had to sign in to your account from Safari, which was such a hassle, I just wouldn't use search unless it was an emergency. Now that the mail app has search, I can finally hunt for stuff in my mail without going anywhere. But beware: this is not Gmail search. You can't search your chat records like you can in Gmail, but you do have access to your entire inbox. And it's pretty freakin' fast.
Find My iPhone: The one feature I hope I never have to use! Since I have MobileMe, I get to use Find My iPhone and tested out pushing a message on my phone. Take that, would-be thieves!
MMS: Not having the multimedia messaging functionality was the one thing that drove me nuts. It wasn't even that I loved being able to receive MMS, but getting a message saying I had one and could check it only online with some crazy username and password just meant that I never ever saw those videos or photos. I'm still looking forward to it though - soon, please, AT&T?
Copy/Paste: Sure, I'm psyched to get copy/paste, but it's not an everyday feature that I need like search. But still, knowing I can cut, copy, and paste is certainly comforting.

Of course, there are a ton more new features - an improved camera, Voice Memos, a landscape keyboard, but the above features have already made a big difference for me. What's your favorite thing about OS 3.0?

Use MyCleenr to Cleanse Your Twitter Account

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:32:18 -0800

I haven't even been on Twitter for a whole year, and my account has already taken on a life of its own. I don't think I've become as obsessive about keeping my Twitter page as organized as my email inbox, but its disarray somewhat scares me.

Thankfully I found this site on Techie Buzz which will actually help you clean out your Twitter account. You know all of those inactive accounts you follow? MyCleenr will whip up a list of the unused ones so you can instantly stop following them. They swear they won't store your Twitter username and password, so it should be fine. My advice with security issues like this is to have a unique Twitter password, so you aren't entering something that is also your online banking login info, email password, etc.