Article: Firefox to block content based on Java, Reader, and Silverlight

Ars Technica reports: "Mozilla engineers plan to disable Java, Adobe Reader, and Microsoft Silverlight capabilities in their flagship Firefox browser in a move aimed at improving security and performance. By default, Firefox will load content based on all three plugins only after users click an icon that explicitly permits it. The feature, known as click to play, was introduced late last year. Until now, it disabled out-of-date plugins to prevent hack attacks and browser crashing. Sometime soon, it will begin blocking all plug-ins except for the most recent version of Adobe Flash." (read the rest of the article)

I have stopped running Java and Adobe Acrobat Reader a long time ago, but I still use Silverlight for Netflix.  Personally I would like to see an end to all plug-ins, I think they can be useful, but offend create more problems (e.g. memory leaks, crashes, and performance issues).  I am looking forward to the greater adoption of standards based technology like HTML 5.

Video: Surface Windows 8 Pro Overview

Learn more about Surface Windows 8 Pro.

• http://www.facebook.com/Surface
• http://twitter.com/surface/
• http://www.microsoft.com/Surface

Article: Windows 8 Pro upgrade pricing will jump from $40 to $200 on Feb. 1

VentureBeat reports: "Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system is about to become a lot more expensive. An upgrade of Windows 8 Pro will go from costing $40 in a promotional offer to a much more expensive $200 at the beginning of February.  Microsoft offered up an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $40 to try to get consumers more interested in the OS. It claims 60 million licenses of Windows 8 have been sold to date, but we don’t know how many of those copies have actually been activated." (read the rest of the article)

If you're wanting to upgrade to Windows 8 and haven't yet, don't miss out on this deal.

Article: Kingston's HyperX Predator Flash Drive Is the Easiest Way To Misplace a Terabyte Of Data

Gizmodo has an article about a one terabyte flash drive that is available from Kingston, here is excerpt from it: "Last year at CES Victorinox surprised everyone with a one terabyte flash drive that the company estimated would sell for almost $3,000. It sounded too good to be true, and given there's been no sign of it since last January, it apparently was. So can Kingston fill the void left in our hearts with its new HyperX Predator one terabyte USB 3 flash drive? Let's hope so." (read the rest of the article)

Video: Hands On With The Lenovo Helix - CES 2013

First product that I have seen from CES 2013 that looks interesting (so far). I have been a big fan of the Lenovo Yoga since CES 2012. Now it's going to be tough for me to decide which one I want more, its a toss up between the Microsoft Surface Pro or the Lenovo Helix.

Free ebook: Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals

Microsoft is offering a free book called "Introducing Windows 8: An Overview for IT Professionals (Final Edition)".  Below is excerpt from the web site describing the book: "Is this book for you? Get a headstart evaluating Window 8—guided by a Windows expert who’s worked extensively with the software since the preview releases. Based on final, release-to-manufacturing (RTM) software, this book introduces new features and capabilities, with scenario-based insights demonstrating how to plan for, implement, and maintain Windows 8 in an enterprise environment. Get the high-level information you need to begin preparing your deployment now." (read more on the website)

Video: Windows PowerShell v3 Crash Course

Video description from the site: "Windows PowerShell v3 is here, and it is delivering on Microsoft's promise to make nearly everything in Windows manageable from the command-line. Are you finally going to learn the shell, or learn to say, "would you like fries with that?" instead? Join PowerShell author, columnist, trainer, and MVP Don Jones (one of the world's most well-known PowerShell experts) in a crash course that shows you how to use the shell's key features. No scripting experience needed—you'll use the shell as it as meant to be used to accomplish real administrative tasks with just a few commands. Also, learn how the shell can teach you how to use itself, setting you up for success with the new wave of Microsoft and third-party enterprise products."

Article: Netflix Alternatives (Streaming Movie Sites)

Below is a excerpt from an article on a web site called The Jason Chronicles called "Netflix Alternatives (Streaming Movie Sites)": "Like many people, I have ditched my TV several years ago and get most of my video entertainment from sites like Hulu and Netflix. I have been a huge fan of Netflix for years, I thought they provided a great deal for what you got. Although, after their rate hikes in 2011, I have been contemplating alternatives to their service.

It is worth noting that most of these services are not subscription based like Netflix, they're fee based so you pay for every movie you watch. This is great for people who only watch movies once in a while, but if you like to watch a lot of streaming movies or TV shows this can get expensive.

The service offerings of these websites change all the time by adding new features, services and prices so the list of providers below are only pointers." (read the rest of the article)

Software: Password Management Applications (Updated)

About a year ago I wrote the original article which this one is based on, but I recently decided it was and important subject and it needed to be expanded with more information.

The problems is that most of us are swimming in passwords, and we have a hard time remembering all of them.  To deal with the password overload, people will use different unsecured methods like writing them down store them in obvious places on a post-it note under a keyboards, a phone, a mouse pad, even under or in a desk drawer.  Others write them on notes and leave them on their monitors or computers.

You could created encrypted document of some type (e.g. text, Word, Excel, etc.) to store them.  There are also several password management applications available for you to download, some are free and others cost money.

KeePass
Although before you pay for anything or try other programs.  Check out a program called KeePass.  This is a multiple platform, open-source password management application.  There are also 3rd party ports of the application that work on popular mobile platforms (e.g. iPhone, Android, etc.).

KeyPass will store your private data in an encrypted file, so even if someone steals it they can't read it unless they know the master password.  Check out the web site for more information.

Note: KeyPass needs its data file to be shared with a file-based sync solution such as Dropbox to be utilized among multiple devices (e.g. PCs, Macs, iDevices, and Android Devices).

If you want something that offers more features then KeyPass, checkout some of the commercial password management solutions like:

• 1Password
• Stores your private information (e.g. passwords, credit cards, etc.) in a locally encrypted file and can automatically log you into your favorite website and fill-in web form fields.  See the site for more information.
• Note: 1Password needs its data file to be shared with a file-based sync solution such as Dropbox to be utilized among multiple devices (e.g. PCs, Macs, iDevices, and Android Devices).
• LastPass
• Like 1Password this application stores your private information (e.g. passwords, credit cards, etc.) in an encrypted web service that can automatically log you into your favorite website and fill-in web form information.  
• There is a free and premium version of the service.  The major difference between the two versions of the services is that the premium subscription includes ability access to your data from a mobile device (several different platforms are supported).  See the site for more information.
• Note: LastPass is a cloud based solution, which syncs your passwords with its servers.  If the companies servers are down, you will not have access to your passwords.  So you might want to make sure that you have an encrypted local backup of your password data file.

Special Offer: Carbonite Update and $20 Amazon Gift Card for Signing Up

I have talked about the Carbonite cloud based backup service in the past, see the excerpt below from an article that I wrote back in July.  

Recently I found out two new things about the Carbonite service, and I wanted to share it.  First, they extended their service to include protection of your Android based cellphone. They currently offer backup, location, and remote lock and wipe (if your phone is stolen) service.  Apple already offers most of these feature through their iCloud service for the iPhone.  Second, they're also offering a $20 Amazon gift card if you use this link to purchase this service (note: I am not sure how long this offer will last).

Read the pro and cons of "Local Hard Drive Backup vs Cloud Backup" options below and make your own decision that works best for you.

Article Excerpt

Below is a list of some advantages to using a cloud based backup service provider vs. using an external hard drive:

• All your backups are stored off-site automatically.

• Some backup solutions offer services that run in the background on your computer that automatically compresses your unbacked up files, encrypts them, then forward them on to the service provider you selected.

• You almost never have to worry about running out of capacity as long as you have a budget for the storage that you're using.

There are several service providers available that offer some type of cloud based backup services.  Some are free, while others cost money.  The hard part will be finding one that you like, and that has the features that you want.

There are also some disadvantages to using these services, such as: 

• Depending on how much data you have, these services can initially use a lot of bandwidth to upload all your data.  Depending on your ISP there may be a cap on the amount of data that you can utilize each month.

• If you have to recover your whole hard drive from your service provider it can be challenging and expensive depending on the solutions that they offer.

Below is a list of features and other considerations when looking for a company to host your backups:

• Has a good reputation for providing a reliable backup solution.

• Offers easy to use software that automatically backs up your files and uses strong encryption.

• Offers affordable pricing for storage and recovery services.

• Offers storage capacity options that meets your needs and budget

Check out a site called Carbonite, they provide affordable Internet backup solutions for privately owned personal computers and small businesses.  Check out the site to see a current list of features and prices. 

Hardware: Introduction to RAID Arrays

Did you know if you have multiple drives on your computer, and your hard drive controller supports RAID you can make them appear as one drive? RAID is an acronym for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. Some motherboard and hard drive controllers support the ability to create a RAID array out of two or more disks.

You might wonder what are some of the advantages to RAID arrays? The first thing you need to know about this technology, there are several different types of RAID, each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. The second thing you need to know, all versions of RAID make multiple hard drives look like one drive to the operating system.

Some types of RAID arrays offer fault protection, for example if a hard drives in the array fails. Other types of RAID arrays offer speed advantages, for example your computer can read and write data to multiple drive at the same time (this is called striping).

Below is a list that explains the different types of RAID arrays that are available:

• RAID 0 (Stripping): Data is striped across two (or more) drives, this maximizes read and write performance. There is no redundancy in this configuration, if one hard drive fails in the array you will lose all your data.
• Note: This array configuration requires at least two drives.
• RAID 1 (Mirroring): When data is written to one drive, it's also written to an identical drive. This process is known as disk mirroring. If one drive fails, the backup drive takes over. When the failed drive has been replaced, the data will be mirrored to the new drive.
• Note: In this array configuration, you can experience slower writes, and even though you have two drives you only get the storage capacity of one of the drives (the second drive is being used to backup the main drive).
• RAID 5 (Parity): In this configuration, data is striped across all the drives (like RAID 0), with some additional parity data. The parity data is used to rebuild the data on a new drive that has been replaced after the old one failed. A RAID 5 array can only survive one drive failing at a time, at least until the replacement drive has been rebuilt (note: this process can take several hours depending on the size of the drives).
• Notes:
• In this array configuration, you need at least three drives at a minimum. This RAID configuration has read and write performance faster than RAID 1, but can be little slower than RAID 0.
• In this array configuration, you're going to lose about 25% of your drive space to parity information. For example, if you had four 250GB drives in theory you should be able to make them look like one 1TB (Terabyte = 1000 Gigabytes) drive. Although, after you RAID them you might only have about 750GB storage from all the drives.
• RAID 10 or RAID 0+1 (Stripping + Mirror): Uses a combination of RAID 0 and 1, it gives you increased performance by striping the volumes, but it also mirrors the volumes. This configuration requires a minimum of four drives.
• Notes: In this array configuration, you would yield about 500GB of capacity from four 250GB hard drives. This is because two disk are used for stripping and two disks are used for mirroring.

Note: In the RAID 1, 5, 10 array configurations you're only protected against one hard drive failing. These array configurations don't protect you against file damage or lose caused by a virus, user error, or other types failure. So make sure you backup your data on a regular basis.

Article: If Windows 8 baffles you, here's some free training

 CNET Reviews reports: "People new to Windows 8 can get a helping hand via a special course from the online training site Lynda.com. Dubbed Windows 8 Essential Training, the four-hour course is available for free to the public until November 23." (read the rest of the article)

Bringing 'Minority Report' touchless gestures to Windows 8

CNET News reports: "Elliptic Labs wants to bring the touchless gesture controls seen in the science-fiction film "Minority Report" to everyday consumer electronic devices, starting with Windows 8." (read the rest of the article)

Windows 8: Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts

With every new version of it operating system, Microsoft updates the keyboard shortcuts.  Sometimes it changes the functionality of older shortcuts, and it also adds new shortcuts as appropriate.

The Windows Key (WinKey) keyboard shortcuts below are for Windows 8

Key Strokes	Description
WinKey	Displays the Start screen.
WinKey + Pause/Break	Displays System Properties page.
WinKey + D	Displays the Desktop from the Start screen.
WinKey + E	Displays Windows Explorer.
WinKey + F	Displays Search for files and folder.
WinKey + F1	Displays Help and Support Center.
WinKey + L	Lock the workstation.
WinKey + M	Minimizes all of the windows on the desktop*.
WinKey + R	Displays Run dialog box.
WinKey + Tab	Lists the currently running applications.
WinKey+ PrtScrn	Takes a screenshot and saves it in the Screenshots folder under the Pictures folder. Note: On a Windows 8 tablet to take a screenshot, press the Windows button and the volume-down button simultaneously on the tablet chassis.
WinKey + Q	Displays the Global Search menu.
WinKey + W	Displays the System Settings menu.
WinKey + , (comma)	Makes all windows transparent.
WinKey + . (period)	Toggles the current window to the right or left side.
WinKey + X	Displays the Quick Access menu. Note: Similar to right-clicking on the bottom right corner of the screen to view the Quick Access Menu.
WinKey + I	Displays the Settings menu.
WinKey + O	Locks the orientation for devices with an accelerometer.

To find more application shortcut keys for Windows, Internet Explorer, Remote Desktop and several more, check out my Application Keyboard Shortcuts page.

Windows 8

Most people already know that Windows 8 has been released, and those that installed it on they're systems are experiencing Microsoft's new "Modern UI".  Personally I like the new OS, it modernizes the Windows user interface which really has not changed since 1995 with the introduction of Windows 95.

The Windows Modern UI incorporates some new user interface metaphors that were designed to allow the OS to be controlled by a touch screen.  Although, the OS still  supports being controlled with a traditional keyboard and mouse gestures, but may take sometime before they become totally natural (or comfortable).

Another new feature of the Windows Modern UI that you will notice right away is the use of "Live Tiles".  These are basically large application icons that can be updated with real-time information by the associated application.

Windows 8 Versions
There are a lot of things that I think Microsoft really did well when they released this OS.  First there are not six different versions of the OS (like Windows 7), now there is only two.  The Windows 8 version for home users and the Windows 8 Professional version for business users.

Note: there are technically two other versions, Windows 8 Enterprise (which is intended for large organizations).  There is also Windows 8 RT which only available pre-installed on tablets and laptop from the manufacture.

Over the next few weeks I plan on covering some basic tips and tricks that will help you to fully utilize the new features of the operating system.

Tip: Using Windows 8 Charms
One of the first things I believe you need to know about Windows 8 is how to use the "Charms" sidebar interface (which includes the Search, Share, Start, Devices and Setting menus).  This is a set of five icons that will pop-up on the right side of the screen from the Start screen or from within any application.

To bring up the Charms sidebar, hover your mouse over the upper or lower right-hand corner of the screen, or press the Windows + C keys on your keyboard, or on a  touchscreens by swiping your finger down from the right edge of the screen toward the center.

Video: The Live Tile Experiment
Below is a video called the "The Live Tile Experiment" by Microsoft.  One of my favorite features of Windows Modern UI are the "Live Tiles".

In the video (which takes place in Germany) they created a real life "live tile" and put it on the street.  When the tile is clicked the wall falls down and something wonderful happens.

Security: PwnedList: Find Out If Your Accounts Could Have Been Comprimised

There is a site called PwnedList that can check if your email address is contained in public data that has been taken from computers and web sites that have been compromised by hackers.  The site started out as a research project to find out how many compromised accounts could be harvested programatically in just a couple of hours.

To use the site all you have to do is put in your email address and it will check it against its database.  If it finds a match in the database it will let you know.

First I need to say I am not a legal expert, so you will have make your own decisions on what is best for you. If I found there are any results returned from this site, here is some basic few things that I would do to protect myself.

The first thing you should do is change the passwords on the compromised accounts.  The next thing you should is consider your options depending on what information was stolen.  If this was site that could have impact an on you (financial, personal, etc.), contact the company and let them know you found your account was compromised, and ask them if they have any advice.  If the site could have contain any financial or personal data make sure to check and monitor your credit report.

Now for an important question is how do you know that this site is legitimate.  If you're not asking that question, then you should.  Generally before I ever even try a site like this, I will do a search to see what others say about it.  For example, here is a general search, and here is a news search.

YouTube: Video Discovery Services

YouTube offers two video discovery services that can help you find new music and other types of videos.  The Disco service is for finding, mixing, and watching music.  The Leanback service is for finding new videos that you might enjoy.

• Disco Service (Music Discovery)
• Leanback Service (Video Discovery)

Privacyfix - Locking down your privacy settings (Facebook, Google, and More)

Information that you share publicly on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. can sometimes be used against you (such as embarrassing photos, what you think of someone, etc.).  The general rule of thumb is "if its too personal don't post it", but its also good to make sure that only the people you want to see your posts can.

Social networking sites in the past have made it difficult to make your information private, but over the last few years they have gotten better about allowing you to lock down your data.  Although, the problem is that these settings are not always that easy to understand what they do.

There is a new extension that I heard about recently called "Privacyfix", its supposed to help you lock down your privacy setting on Social networking sites like Facebook, Google, and others. So far I have used it to lock down my settings on Facebook, Google, but I have not used it on other sites except to block cookies.

The company claims, "We don't collect any data from your use of Privacyfix, unless you choose to send it to us. We don't store IP addresses and we cannot and do not see or save your web browsing."

EULAlyzer

End User License Agreements (also known as EULAs) are the bane of most computer users. These EULAs can be several pages long filled with legalese that seems next to impossible to understand unless you're a lawyer, and to make matters worse they put it all into a small window that requires a lot of scrolling.

Most user might skim through them at best, then press will press the accept button to install the application.  Without reading these documents you could possibility signing away certain privacy rights (such as tracking you, how they use your data and more) or something even worse (e.g. such as bundled components that may put advertising on your desktop).

EULAlyzer works by analyzing the text of the EULA, and highlights a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases that you should read.

Protecting Your Digital Presence

Every day we are putting more of our data and connecting our computers and devices to the "cloud" because it offers conveniences and features that are not available by other means. For example, you can have your data automatically backed up to a remote service provider, or access your home or office computer from any location with an internet connection. Although by doing this, we are also making it easier for criminals and hackers to steal our data remotely in ways that were not possible in the past.

For example a tech reporter name Mat Honan had his "digital presence" deleted by a criminal using social engineering. The attacker took over several of Mat's accounts (including Gmail, Amazon and Twitter), and even convinced Apple's iCloud customer support to reset his Apple ID password. Then proceeded to remotely wipe all his devices (e.g. iPhone, iPad, and MacBook). The attacker even used Mat's twitter account to post racist comments.

The summary only offers a very high level overview of what happened, but it does demonstrate some of the dangers of using "cloud" services and what could happen. This article is not intended to warn you against using cloud services, but to offer advice on how you can protect your "digital presence" .

To read the full account of what happened to Mat Honan you can read the following Wired article entitled "How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking".

• Be careful not to share too much personal information online that can be used against you like your mother's maiden name, your physical or mailing address, personal email address, etc. 
• Be careful about which online accounts are link together.
•  For example, if an attacker obtained a person's Facebook account password, they would have access to any site that used that account for authentication. 
• Use two a factor authentication when offered by different sites, such as: eBay, PayPal, Google, Facebook, etc. Also call your financial institutions to find out what extra security measures they offer to help protect your accounts. 
• For more information about Google's 2-Step Verification
• Create a secret (e.g. unknown to others) backup email and voice account and use it for resetting your passwords across your different online profiles. 
• Strengthen the answers for your "security questions" which are used to reset your password to your online profiles to use information that is not known about you by others or posted on the internet. 
• Don't share your passwords with anyone; use strong and unique passwords for every site; and use a password manager to track everything. 
• For more information about Password Managers.
• Keep an up-to-date local and cloud backup of your data, just in case one the backup fails there's an alternative. 
• For more information about Internet Backup Solutions
• Portable devices that support a remote wiping service need to have an up-to-date backup of the data. If an attacker can access the user profile that associated with that feature they can remotely wipe that device. 
• Make sure to set your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, and smartphone to auto-lock with a PIN or password when they're inactive. Even if they're in your home, and you're the only one using them. What happens when you have company, or if a criminal broke into your home.

More resources:

• Security Tips for Staying Safe Online
• Protecting Your Computer
• Protecting Your Privacy
• Book: Avoiding Information Insecurity: Fighting Modern Day Cyber-Threats (2011 Edition)