Whether we want to admit it or not, the times are a changing. We are addicted to instant information. We think that we need to be connected, or “in the know” everywhere we go. Thanks to emerging technology, this can now be accomplished quite easily. Everything from cell phones to our cars is now made with technology that allows us to “connect” virtually anywhere we happen to wander. Since it is now almost passé, I figured it is time to make sure everyone knows what this technology is and how it is being used.

The amazing technology of Bluetooth presents a great way of exchanging data between two wireless devices. Unlike telephones, there are no wires or messy leads to worry about. You can enjoy wireless communications with short distances of up to thirty feet.

Local Businesses Can and Should Market Themselves On The Internet

With the holidays knocking at our door it gets harder and harder to sqeeze in time to get my writing done. This week’s article comes from a press release that was sent to me a while ago. Since this is the time of year when businesses are the busiest, I thought it would be more then appropriate to share this with local business owners now. Don’t put off joining the internet crowd when it comes to advertising. It is the wave of the future and with local online advertising, the future is now!

Local businesses need to be creative and smart to compete in the fast-moving digital economy. Today, consumers turn to the Internet first, rather than the Yellow Pages, to find everything from a good restaurant to a local hardware store. This makes it essential for local businesses to advertise on the Web, and in doing so, they directly reach a wider audience of potential local customers at a fraction of the cost of print advertising.

“Gone Phishing” for Your Identity

It seems that more and more people are getting scammed on the internet. Even with all of the publicity given to identity theft, the problem keeps getting bigger and bigger. Sure we run our virus programs and “try” to keep them updated with the latest virus definitions. We run our anti-spyware programs and delete all of the critical objects. Hopefully we even keep our operating systems up to date with all of the latest security patches, but what if that still isn’t enough. Now criminals are going “phishing”, and I am not talking about the kind of fishing Bill Dance does on his TV show.
                                         

How many spyware items are infecting your computer?
Have you ever had a plug-in called Intelligent Explorer attach to your browser? Well I did and what a nightmare!  I have another article on this topic, but this infection brings home a very important point.  Spyware or adware items are continually infecting computers across the world. Most computers have no protection from these malicious programs. From the InfosecWriters web site, “According to a 2004 survey by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance, 91% of users questioned were familiar with the term spyware. Only 53% believed their computers were infected, but a scan found that 80% of their PCs had some type of spyware installed on them.”  It goes on to say,  “…The average number of spyware components per computer was 93 with one computer having well over a thousand.” And just imagine, this was way back in 2004. They have had over 2 years to come up with more sophisticated spyware and adware since then.
What is Spyware?
Butte College offers this definition:
“The term ‘spyware’ is broadly defined as any program that gets into your computer without permission and hides in the background while it makes unwanted changes to your user experience.