The importance of Password Security

eBay recently had a security breach that possibly allowed every eBay's user's password to be compromised. They recommend that everyone not only change their password, but that every should also change the password for all their other accounts that use the same password! That implies to me that the breach lost not only passwords but usernames and e-mail addresses as well.

 



The best policy to have is to keep separate passwords for all of your different accounts. I know this isn't easy, but have the best security never is. People should also change their passwords from time to time and just not by incrementing values or numbers like 'password1' and 'password2'. These are too easy to guess and automated password crackers use those type of algorithms.

 

There are password utilities that can store you passwords for you and these utilities use the latest encryption, but if you forget that one password, you are in trouble.

 

Now there is news that a hacker in Australia is breaking into and locking iPhones and iPads using the 'Where is my iPad' feature. When you feel your passwords or accounts have been breached, it is the best policy to change ALL of your passwords. You can never be too safe when it comes to online security.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Holiday Buying Guide

The last Tech Class at work was a Holiday buying guide. I covered tablets, mp3 players, TV Streaming devices and gaming consoles. In this post I'm going to leave out the gaming consoles because they have been covered elsewhere far better than I am going to spend the time doing here.

I want to put up the charts and let them speak for themselves. The TV streaming devices are pretty cool and I recommend anyone who is tired of paying a $100 dollars a month for satellite service give a long look at these devices.

TV Streaming devices

TV Streamers

They range in prices from $35 dollars to $100 dollars. Given this is a one time purchase cost and not a monthly fee, that makes it all the better. There are more devices on the market, but these are just some of the ones I reviewed for the holiday buying guide. I hear great things about the Roku from everyone who owns one.

Also, if you have seen advertisements for the 'rabbit' on TV, stay away. Don't take my word for it, just read the reviews.

Mp3 players are not the hot devices they once were. Phones now do most of the things that the old mp3 players would. Given that, there is still a market for mp3 players and I put today a chart of the most popular sellers according to Amazon.

mp3 players

Apple still dominates this market but there are also some choices from Sandisk, Samsung, and even Sony. Remember the Sony Walkman? Yeah, it has evolved and still exists.

The prices range from $50 dollars to $250 dollars. I don't think there is a need to spend that much, but some of these devices have the ability to work with nike+ as well as play videos. They are lightweight and have solid state drives or flash memory so you don't have to worry about the drives taking damage like the older drives.

Large Tablets

Amazon has the new Kindle Fire HDX and Apple has the iPad Air. These are great devices and no one should be disappointed in them. Not to be outdone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2014 has all the bells and whistles too, like the iPad Air, it is expensive. The Kindle Fire HDX is a bargain compared to the other two, but has a smaller screen.

I like the Apple products for their ease of use and 'it' factor, but I can't help but think they are expensive and you can have just as much if not more for less money.

Smaller Tablets

The Mini Tablets

If you want to save some money, or just don't want to lug around a large device, then you can always go with one of the smaller tablets. For the most part, they do everything the larger tablets do, but with a smaller screen size and lighter weight. Usually they come with less memory and storage, but they are usually larger than the latest phones. 

You should be able to find whatever you need between the two catagories.

This just might help you find what you're looking for this Christmas.

Technology Showcase

Here is the video from the Technology Showcase Tech Tuesdays Class.

The iPad was the hit of the class, but we also have a Nook, Fujitsu 6470, Lenovo X220 Tablet with a touch screen and the LT1421 14" monitor from Lenovo. In the Thursday class there will also be an MacBook Pro.

As always, thanks for coming to the classes, hope to see you at future Tech Tuesdays!