From Popular Science:

A new electronic notepad may be lifelike, cheap and energy-efficient enough to replace those wasteful paper slips we still use for memos and grocery lists. The four-ounce Boogie Board runs for years on a single watch battery and, thanks to a novel use of the material inside ordinary computer screens, even mimics the feel of putting pen to paper.

[ Read Full Story ]

I’m going to get one, for sure!

Top Ten List of Worst Passwords: Compile your own Top Ten List of the worst passwords you’ve seen or read about. I will compare that with my compiled list from authoritative sources. The person whose list matches the most entries on my list wins. If there are ties, everyone wins.

Strongest Short Easy-to-remember Password: In ten characters or fewer, come up with a strong password that is also easy to remember. Random strings are not allowed, i.e., I won’t accept Xcy4lmO3az. I will judge the strength of the passwords using my Password Meter at Ask the Geek. You must tell me what makes the password memorable to you. For example, can you write down a password hint that means nothing to me, but that tells you what the password is? If there are ties, everyone wins.

You may send an entry for either or both categories, but they must be in separate emails. Use my secure contact form to enter (http://askthegeek.kennyhart.com/index.php/ask-a-question/). Deadline is Sunday, February 28, 2010

Results will be published.

Good luck!

During a recent password audit at Bank Of Ireland it was found that Paddy O’Toole was using the following password:

MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyBerlin

When asked why he had such a long password he replied: “Oi was told it had to be at least 8 characters long and include one capital!”

Cheers!

The Geek

P.S. See the post below this one to get your Geek Toolkit!

I’ve received a few inquiries from people who missed the opportunity
to take advantage of the Holiday Giveaway for various reasons. They
wanted to know if I would still give them the gift if they donated
now, even though the deadline has passed. I would love to be able to do
it, but I promised I wouldn’t make the same offer again.

However, I am making the Geek Toolkit available to my Ask the Geek readers via secure download for $37. You won’t have to wait for the mail to arrive; you can download and begin using the toolkit immediately. As soon as I receive notice of your payment, I will send you a link to download the password protected archive. Click here to get your Geek Toolkit

The Geek Toolkit is loaded with literally hundreds of security,
system maintenance and productivity tools that have been part of my Geek arsenal for more than five years. All of them are safe, proven, and
malware-free. It would literally take you hundreds of hours to research and compile this collection on your own. Here’s just a few of the categories in the kit:

-Web Servers
-Useful Utilities
-Spyware Killers
-Security
-Disk Tools
-Disaster Recovery Info
…and 11 more.

This newly updated toolkit will save you time and money and make
your life easier and more productive in several ways. Here’s that link again: Click here to get your Geek Toolkit


Remember, you won’t have to wait for the mail to arrive. As soon as
I receive notice of your payment, I will send you a link to download the
password protected archive.

Get your Geek Toolkit today!

Cheers!

Ken “The Geek” Harthun

P.S. If you really, really want to have the Geek Toolkit on a 2GB
flash drive, click here.

P.P.S. If you’re not completely satisfied, I’ll happily refund your
money.

P.P.P.S. No affiliate links here. This is my own compilation, so you’re dealing directly with me.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your generous support of Ask the Geek in 2009 and wish you a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Cheers!
The Geek

As you know, I cover all the costs to bring you Ask the Geek. My hosting, domain names and my mailing list management services aren’t free. Your generous donations have kept me going for the better part of five years and for that I am truly thankful. So, I want to give you a special opportunity.

Everyone who makes a donation of $20 or more to Ask the Geek between now and December 31st, 2009 will receive a 2GB flash drive loaded with literally hundreds of security, system maintenance and productivity tools that have been part of my Geek arsenal for more than five years. All of them are safe, proven, and malware-free. It would literally take you hundreds of hours to research and compile this collection on your own and I won’t be making this offer again, so jump on board while you can. Just hit that “Donate” button over there to the right and follow the instructions.

And don’t forget, “14 Golden Rules of Computer Security” will be released in January and will be free to my subscribers, so be sure to sign up to my list, whether or not you decide to donate.

Again, Happy Holidays and best wishes for a Safe, Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Cheers!

Ken “The Geek” Harthun

New laws have done little to deter or eliminate spammers, largely because many of them aren’t located in the United States. Despite the few high profile cases in the news, the truth is that few spammers are ever caught. Considering studies that show some spam campaigns can produce as much as $3.5 million in a year, it’s easy to see why today the spam problem is worse than ever–some estimates place the amount of spam email at 80% to 90% of all emails sent.

These days, everyone is at risk of falling victim to cyber-crime, even those of us who know and practice computer security on a daily basis. The average person who goes to the local big box electronics store and buys a PC or laptop for use at home is often lulled into a false sense of security because their purchase is bundled with some “security suite” by some big-name company. They go home, take everything out of the box, plug it all in and usually end up getting infected with all kinds of nasty things in very short order.

I put this book together in hopes that it will make a difference, however small, in how people look at computing and the Internet. Maybe it will save someone from the hardships of financial loss caused by using a compromised PC to access their bank and credit card accounts. Maybe it will save someone from having to pay a big bill to a technician to clean up a severely infected computer. Maybe, just maybe, it will help take some of the profit out of spam and malware. One can always hope.

At the very least, I hope that you, Dear Reader, find this information useful and that it helps make your computing experience more enjoyable.

Ken Harthun

Note: Any discussion of security, cyber- or otherwise, must be based on the concept of a security baseline—the bare security essentials without which all else is futile. The articles that follow assume that a good baseline already exists, whether the computer is just out of the box, or has been running for awhile What’s a good PC security baseline? I propose these four bare security essentials: “…a NAT router; a good antivirus program; a good anti-malware program; and, a good software firewall.” These days antivirus, antimalware and a software firewall are usually combined into a single suite. I choose to align with Windows Secrets’ Security Baseline page: “…a hardware firewall that’s built into your [NAT] router, security software that guards against all types of malware threats, a software-update service to ensure that your applications are patched against the latest exploits, and a secure browser.”–KH

I tested Panda Cloud Antivirus extensively on my systems while it was in beta and only recently switched to Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) for evaluation. Today, I’ll switch back to Panda on my older, slower system to compare performance of each one. I have noticed a slight performance degradation with MSE that was all but non-existent with Panda. Now that Panda Cloud Antivirus is out of beta, I can make a fair comparison which I will report on later. Check out the full report in this Security Corner post.

“The vendors are generously offering a full 12 month licence for Bullguard Internet Security free for all Gizmo’s Freeware visitors for two days only commencing at 00.01 PST on Thursday 5th November and closing at 23.59 PST on Friday 6th November 2009. This offer comes with full support from Bullguard.”

Click here to get it: http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/get-top-rated-bullguard-internet-security-suite-free.htm

Cheers!

The Geek