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  • What You Need to Secure Your Computer

    What You Need to Secure Your Computer

    I have written many posts regarding securing a computer in the past. Many of the posts have gone into detail about using specific software and hardware to secure your computer.

    In this post I will provide a more quick overview of the main components that you should have if you want to secure your computer.

    Hardware Firewall

    A good hardware firewall should be your first line of defense. This piece of hardware is connected directly between your modem and computer, so any data that is sent from the Internet to your computer passes through the firewall. This allows it to protect your computer from malicious traffic.

    I have both a wired and wireless router/firewall connected to my modem. My wired router/firewall is the Linksys 10/100 Mbps Router. My wireless router/firewall is the Linksys WRT54G Wireless-G Router.

    Software Firewall

    This piece of software performs a similar function to it’s hardware sibling. The biggest difference is that it is installed on your computer and runs once your operating system loads.

    You should use this in conjunction with the hardware version since it provides additional protection from bad traffic. Not only does a software firewall monitor traffic that is sent to your computer from the Internet, but it also monitors traffic from your computer to the Internet.

    Why should you monitor traffic sent from your computer? If you have spyware or a virus installed on your computer that is sending information to a server on the Internet, the software firewall will alert you. When you receive the alert you can block that software from sending information and then lookup how to remove it.

    ZoneAlarm is the most popular free software firewall to use. I have tried other free firewalls, but found ZoneAlarm to be the easiest to use.

    Virus Scanner

    Everyone who uses a computer has probably heard about viruses and the trouble they can cause. There are many software packages on the market that can easily help clean your computer from many of these viruses. It is important that you install this type of software to help keep your computer clean and secure from viruses.

    For a good free virus scanner, check out AVG. This is the one I currently use for my computers.

    Anti-Spyware

    Similar to virus scanners, these tools are used to remove malicious software it finds on your computer. Spyware is meant to “watch” you as you surf the Internet, or even record your keystrokes. Installing anti-spyware software will help keep your computer free from spyware.

    Two free and easy-to-use spyware applications are Ad-Aware and Spybot-S&D. I currently use both products on my computers.

    Common Sense

    This is probably the most effective “tool” you can use to keep your computer safe. Don’t open e-mails from recipients you don’t know, or visit questionable Web sites. You may also want to backup your data to keep it safe from computer crashes.

    Summary

    This post provided a quick overview of the tools you will need to keep your computer safe. Besides the hardware firewalls, there are good free alternatives of the tools that you will need.

    In the end, however, the best tool you can use is good ol’ common sense.

  • Review: Palanthir

    There are many blogs for various niches online. Some blogs are focused specifically on a single niche, while others may focus on several niches. Those that do focus on several niches will hopefully focus on niches that complement each other, such as discussing PC games and video cards.

    This week’s blog is really difficult to determine the niche. The author has chosen to discuss a variety of topics, which unfortunately doesn’t provide a nice flow for the visitors.

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  • How To Open Microsoft Office 2007 Documents in Earlier Versions

    I recently ran into an issue with an e-mail attachment. The extension of the attachment was .xlsx, which made me believe that it was a Microsoft Excel document. I saved the document to the local hard drive and attempted to open it, but was dismayed to find that no application was associated with it.

    After looking online to find the application associated with the extension I found out that it was indeed an Excel file for Microsoft Office 2007. I had Office 2000 installed, which explains why I couldn’t open it. After some more research I found out that there is a tool you can download and install that will allow older versions of the Office tools to open files from newer versions.
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  • Review: My Ideas 4 You

    I have reviewed several personal blogs in the past, and compared to more niche oriented blogs I find them the most difficult to review. Personal blogs aren’t written with one specific topic in mind, but rather, can span a whole range of topics.

    The one aspect of personal blogs that is different compared to some niche blogs is the frequency in which they are updated. Many are updated on a daily basis. This week I review a personal blog that is updated several times a day.

    My Ideas 4 You

    Web Site: My Ideas 4 You

    Description: It’s a blog about my personal life as well as gadgets and tools which I have seen or used before. I will also publish my own point of views and reviews of movies, computing software and hardware.

    Design 4.5 stars

    The design of the blog and the colours chosen by the author is pretty unique to this blog. The author has chosen to go with a black background with orange and yellow highlighting. Since the background is so dark, and the orange and yellow is so bright, it provides a nice contrast between the colours.

    The actual text used is a gray colour, which may be difficult to read as it isn’t nearly as bright as white would be in that situation.

    The layout itself is really simple, with the content on the left and a navigation sidebar on the right. At the top is a bar that includes a menu and several options, such as font size and administration options. The adjustable font size is a nice feature to have. This allows a visitor to increase or decrease the size of the font to their liking.

    Below the top menubar is a few links, a calendar, the subscription information, and a hitcounter. The calendar highlights the days containing posts, which you can click on to display the posts.

    The navigation sidebar is nicely organized with the main navigational links at the top to make them easy to find. One nice touch to the categories is the grouping of certain topics, such as a Technology topic with several related topics below that.

    The blog layout overall is really well done, not too crowded and easy to navigate.

    Focus 3 stars

    From what I can get out of My Ideas 4 You, it appears to be a personal blog about whatever the author feels about talking about. This can lead to a lack of focus as is evident when you read the blog. The author has chosen to discuss many topics so there is no real focus to the blog.

    A solution to this problem is to simply create multiple blogs, one for each topic, which would help keep the blog in focus.

    Content 3.5 stars

    The content is updated several times on a daily basis. This is great for those that like to read personal blogs regularily as there will always be a post on this blog.

    The posts themselves are not long and can contain only one or two paragraphs. If the posts were longer, the author may not write as many. Of course the other downside to so many posts is the lack of images. Only a few posts each week contain an image, which reduces the amount of colour on the blog.

    If you enjoy reading blogs with short content, few images, and updated on a regular basis, then you may want to check out My Ideas 4 you.

    Spelling and Grammar 3 stars

    The spelling and grammar is the weakest part of the blog. Although, My Ideas 4 You isn’t dominated by bad spelling and grammar, it can make it difficult to read a few posts. I had to reread a few sentences because of either a word missing, or a long run-on sentence. Using a spellchecker and reading the posts before they are published would definitely help this blog.

    As I read the free review e-mail that the author sent me, I noticed that he did make mention about his grammar, and is aware of it.

    Overall 3.5 stars

    My Ideas 4 You has some nice features that aren’t common in other blogs, such as the font size modifiers and the calendar control at the top. The blog’s layout is by far its strongest part, with the spelling and grammar being the weakest.

    The blog is updated several times on a daily basis, which is great for those that like to read the blog. A few more images in the posts would add some much needed colour to the blog, especially considering it uses a black background.

    Making a few changes, such as the images and correcting the spelling and grammar would greatly improve My Ideas 4 You.

  • Interested in Guest Posting?

    I usually publish blog posts on Mondays (review), Wednesdays and Fridays. I came to thinking about also publishing posts on Tuesdays and Thursdays to fill out the week. The problem is finding the time to publish on all five of the days.

    This is where guest posting comes in. I have decided to allows those interested to provide posts that I will publish on Tuesday or Thursday of each week. If you are interested read the details below.

    Post Requirements

    There are several requirements that need to be met when submitting a post:

    1. The post must be about technology, whether it is informational or instructional.
    2. Must be your own unique post, which means it can’t be a copy of an article written by you or someone else.
    3. The spelling and grammar must be good, although it doesn’t have to be perfect.
    4. No foul language will be accepted.

    How to Submit

    To submit an article for posting, simply send an e-mail to psalmon12@gmail.com with the following:

    1. Your orginal written post.
    2. Any images you want to include in the post. You can indicate where they are to be placed in the post.
    3. A one paragraph signature, to be placed at the bottom of the post, that you would like to include. You can include one link to your Web site only in the signature.

    If there are any changes that I think should be made, I will send you an e-mail with the article and changes for your approval. When the final post has been created, I will publish it on the next available date (Tuesday or Thursday). I will then send you an e-mail indicating the date the post will be published.

  • Review: Internet Business Guide for First Class Progress

    I have reviewed a few money making blogs in the past, and I can honestly say that I am not a fan of that niche. It seems there are more blogs in that niche than in any other niche, and they all contain the same information.

    Needless to say, as I read the title for this blog I immediately thought about the money making blogs. When I read the blog I realized there was much more to this blog than just making money, in fact this blog is missing some of the elements that are commonly found in the “make money online” blogs.

    Internet Business Guide For First Class Progress

    Web Site: Internet Business Guide For First Class Progress

    Description: This Internet Business Guide For First Class Progress provides you with step-by-step tutorials, marketing strategies, and techniques to shorten your learning curve and boost your online success so you, too, make money online.

    Design 4.5 stars

    The blog has a simple design to it – the content on the left and the navigational links on the right. This keeps the blog clean and makes reading the posts and finding links easy. The background of the blog contains an image, however, the image is simple and doesn’t distract from the content in any way. The background is a nice light colour, and with the dark font provides a nice contrast for easy reading.

    The header is nice and simple with the title of the blog, an easy to locate search bar, and two clearly labelled links. The subscription information is located in the top-left, which is one of the first things you will notice.

    The content section contains nice large fonts for the title and includes a line separating the posts. The font face and size chosen makes reading the blog very easy for those that have trouble reading smaller text.

    The right navigation sidebar that contains the links is well done and very nicely grouped. The links included in the sidebar are minimal but contain the important links such as categories and archives. The only advertising I noticed is under the “Products” section in the sidebar. The lack of advertising is what separates this blog from the ordinary “make money online” blogs, and that makes this blog better.

    Secondary, not important, links are located out of the way in the footer. If you choose to use these links the author has provided them below the main content.

    Overall I like the simplicity and spacious layout of Internet Business Guide for First Class Progress.

    Focus 4.5 stars

    The focus is mainly on helping you increase your online presence for those looking to make money online. As I said before this is much different that those “make money online” blogs. The posts in the blog definitely fit the niche very well, and clearly stay on focus.

    A few posts here and there may stray from the focus, but those posts are rare and still provided great information for anyone looking to better their online success.

    Content 5 stars

    The content is one of the best parts about the blog. The content is really well written and the author makes it very easy to understand what he is trying to say.

    Many of the posts also include an image that is appropriate for the topic of the post. Although many of the images appear on the home page, the author has taken the time to resize the images so they are small in both size and bytes. This will allow those with slower connections load the pages quickly.

    On Sundays the author has included inspirational videos. These videos provide you with even more information about succeeding online. The author, however, hasn’t posted the latest video as of this post.

    I enjoyed the content provided on this blog and read many of the posts offered.

    Spelling and Grammar 5 stars

    It is rare to find blogs that have almost perfect spelling and grammar, but this blog comes close, very close. It is apparent that the author takes the time to read and check for spelling and grammar errors in each post. This makes the blog much easier to read as you don’t need to reread a sentence twice.

    Overall 4.5 stars

    This is a great blog for those that are looking to help succeed online. The posts are well written and provide great information for success. The simplicity of the layout, and the colour chosen definitely are a nice change from those blogs that include many pictures and small fonts.

    If you are just starting out online, or have been online for many years, you definitely want to check out Internet Business Guide for First Class Progress.

  • Find the Right Artist for the Right Logo Design

    Find the Right Artist for the Right Logo Design

    An image, an icon, a symbol, and a statement, your logo is your corporate identity in pictorial form, and choosing the right artist for your logo design is very important. As you commission an artist to develop your logo, you must be fluent in artist-speak and proficient in describing your business, its mission, objectives, and distinction. You cannot afford to settle for anything less than perfect; and, although you probably will recognize perfection when you see it, it cannot hurt to know these basic terms and principles.

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  • Review: The Orange Paper

    While most blogs regarding money are about making it online, some are focused on more saving and investing. These types of blogs usually provide tips on playing the markets and how to invest for the greatest return. As always, however, it is still better to consult with a financial advisor.

    The blog I am reviewing this week is about saving and investing money. The catch, though, is that the blog is more focused on investing in India than any other country. This makes the blog more unique than other blogs I have reviewed.

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