Technically Easy

Blog

  • Mozy 2.0: My Experiences So Far

    Mozy 2.0: My Experiences So Far

    I am an ardent supporter of developing a good backup workflow, and have written several posts on the topic over the last few years. Most people probably don’t realize the risk to their data if they don’t develope a good backup strategy. Part of my backup plan includes using Mozy to backup my data online.

    Recently, a new version of Mozy’s application was released, and while it touts performance improvements, it also includes a new feature that allows for backing up data locally as well as online. After using the new version for a few weeks I have found this new feature very useful, as you can read below.

    (more…)

  • My VueScan Photo Scanning Workflow

    My VueScan Photo Scanning Workflow

    It has been a while since I have talked about scanning photos to create a digital archive of those photos. As I mentioned in previous posts, I recently purchased a new desktop computer, and have been busy setting it up. I have also installed both the scanner and VueScan on my new desktop, and have enjoyed the increase in performance when archiving my photos.

    One thing I have begun to finalize is my workflow for scanning and archiving the photos. After doing some reading online on using VueScan, I have come up with my own workflow. While you can follow my workflow, and change it as you see fit, it is important to remember that a workflow must work for you. The one I outline below works for me.

    (more…)

  • Correcting ThickBox Path in WordPress

    Correcting ThickBox Path in WordPress

    For some of my larger images, I usually show a thumbnail in the post, and then allow the visitor to enlarge the image by clicking on the thumbnail. While there are many ways of doing this, I simply used WordPress’ built in ThickBox code to display a larger popup image of the thumbnail. After using ThickBox, I quickly ran into a slight problem – the path to the files wasn’t correct so some of the images weren’t be displayed.

    In order to correct the problem, I manually edited the ThickBox Javascript file to point to the correct location, however, each time I updated WordPress to a newer version, the file would be overwritten. This caused me to once again go into the Javascript file and edit the file. I managed to find a better solution on the WordPress forums, which I explain below.

    (more…)

  • WordPress Cache Plugin – W3 Total Cache

    WordPress Cache Plugin – W3 Total Cache

    A few months ago I updated the WP Super Cache plugin on Technically Easy and ran into a major issue. After updating, I didn’t check my blog to ensure that it was still up and running. The next day I logged into Technically Easy, and then attempted to view the blog. Sure enough, the blog wasn’t up – all I got was a blank screen. It had been down all night. Not realizing the problem at first, I began to think about what changes I had made.

    The only thing I could think of was the update to the WP Super Cache plugin. I immediately disabled that plugin and recheck my blog. It appeared in my web browser instantly. The update to the plugin had prevent my blog from loading. From that point until a few weeks ago I hadn’t been using a cache plugin. I decided to once again look at plugins to cache my blog, but I wanted to see what other cache plugins existed before retrying WP Super Cache. I managed to find another plugin, and am currently using it on Technically Easy.

    (more…)

  • Keep Your Passwords Secure with LockNote

    Keep Your Passwords Secure with LockNote

    I recently wrote a post about why long passwords are more secure and received a comment about the “human factor”. The commenter made a very true statement with regards to longer passwords may force people to write them down, making them less secure.

    I have a hard time remembering any of my long passwords – especially those that are over 30 characters. Many security experts that create long passwords may have a system that works for them, but I have yet to develop one for myself. This is why I use a simple, secure, but small application to keep my passwords safe.

    (more…)

  • How to Create Pages in Blogger

    How to Create Pages in Blogger

    A few months ago Blogger implement one of the most requested changes – the addition of static pages. While there is a limit of 10 pages per blog, allowing the inclusion of pages means that template-hacks are no longer necessary.

    Implementing static pages in Blogger is easy to do, and in case you are unfamiliar with static pages, I will outline how to add pages to your blog in this post.

    (more…)

  • Size Does Matter…at Least for Passwords

    Size Does Matter…at Least for Passwords

    I have been thinking and talking more about security in recent weeks. For my regular readers you would have noticed that I have been concentrating on securing Windows 7, but one topic I didn’t discuss was that of passwords.

    It seems everything we do with computers, you will usually need to enter a password at some point. Just think about how many places you need to input a password, such as logging into your computer, a web site, or software that is installed on your computer. With many of these places containing extremely private information, it is important that you use a strong, safe, password to prevent unwanted individuals from accessing your information. Let’s look at what is a strong password to protect your data.

    (more…)

  • How to Secure Your Windows 7 System – Part 4

    How to Secure Your Windows 7 System – Part 4

    So far in my Windows security series, I have looked at securing your system using a hardware firewall to keep your Internet connection secure. I then talked about creating a Windows standard user account, and disabling certain services. In my last post I talked about more methods you can use to secure your Internet connection from within Windows using software and a DNS service.

    In this post I will close by talking about applications that can help keep your computer clean of malware – those nasty programs you hear about in the news that can do harm to your computer or data. Let’s take a look at what you can do to help keep your computer clean.

    (more…)