In the June 2009 issue of Consumer Reports, they compared the best software for protection against viruses, malware, and spam. Interestingly, in addition to comparing commercial suites, they also looked at freely available software and came up with a “suite” of programs that could protect you as well as most of the commercial products.
The three [...]
Archive for the ‘Security’ Category
Free Security Software As Good As Commercial
Posted in Money, Security, Software on August 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Phishing Quiz
Posted in Security on June 23, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Want to see how good you are in spotting phishing schemes? SonicWall created a quiz to test your knowledge — the SonicWall Phishing and Spam IQ Quiz. Good news? Test-takers are better able to spot a phishing scam now (86%) versus 2004 (69%).
I got 8 of 10 correct; how’d you do?
[from CNET News]
Basic Computer Skills for Library Staff
Posted in Hardware, Internet, Security, Software on March 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The October 2008 issue of Computers in Libraries has a great article by Rachel Singer Gordon and Jessamyn West on the basic computer skills needed by every library staff member. Although you may add others, this is a great place to start:
Rebooting
Troubleshoot rebooting problems
Copy/paste
Save/move/copy files
Ask for help
Basic printer troubleshooting
Basic printer options
Printing frames
Basic word processing
Checking electrical [...]
Internet Access Via Light Bulbs
Posted in Research, Security, Wireless Communications on November 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Boston University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and the University of New Mexico are researching the feasibility of using light and light bulbs as access points for Internet/network access using a 5-year grant from the National Science Foundation. The idea would be to use LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) to both create light and be the basis for optical [...]
E-Rate Schools Now Require Education
Posted in Internet, Legal Issues, Money, Security, Telecommunications on November 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The House and Senate have passed S. 1492, which has 2 titles:
Title I – Broadband Data Improvement Act
Title II – Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act
When I first heard about this bill, I only knew about the first part, which deals with determining broadband speeds across the nation and promoting affordable broadband for everyone. [...]
Internet Users Not Updating Their Browsers
Posted in Browsers, Security on November 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One easily remedied security issue on the Internet is the upgrading of its software — browsers, in particular. A study, Understanding the Web browser threat: Examination of vulnerable online Web browser populations and the “insecurity iceberg,” provides us detailed information on our users and their dated web browsers.
At the time, approximately 637 million people had installed a [...]
Are You Too Old to Drive? Soon, Your Car May Tell You
Posted in Accessibility, Research, Security, Trends on November 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It’s true! MIT’s AgeLab is working on just such a car. It will tell you whether you’re too sleepy, hungry, or just too old to drive. But don’t worry — it won’t be ready for at least another 20 years — just in time to catch the baby boomers!
Although I’m spinning this negatively just for [...]
Stolen Mac Helps Find Burglars
Posted in Fun, Hardware, Internet, Legal Issues, Money, Security on November 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A Macintosh laptop, as well as other electronics, was stolen from an Apple employee. The Leopard operating system on the Mac has a function called “Back to My Mac,” which allows the owner of a Mac to find it if it shows up on the Internet and also to control or work on it.
Apparently, the [...]
Jack Stows Earbud Cords
Posted in Fun, Handhelds, Security on November 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Tired of having to untangle your earbud cords? Here’s an effective and cute way to deal with them — with earbud Jack! According to a review in the hiptechblog, it’s not only cute, but very easy to use and cheap — only $9.
[from walking paper]
