The Ultimate Guide to Technology Buying

Start 2011 right by upgrading your technology. But before you buy, check out our shopping advice for everything from cell phones and digital cameras to video cards and laptops. Click on PC MAG below.

Why You Should Buy Refurbished Computers

The Easy Way to Repair Your Internet Connection

Sometimes, Windows loses its connection to the internet.  This happens regardless of whether you're using an ADSL modem, an ADSL router, a cable router, a dial-up modem, or any other hardware device to connect.  And it happens regardless of whether your connection is cabled or wireless.

Complete Internet Repair is a FREE program for Windows XP and above.  You can get it from www.rizone3.com, and it's only a 0.5 MB download.

My contact list is getting spam from me, what do I do?

Hackers are gaining access to real email accounts and then simply using those email accounts to send spam. They may not even bother to change the password, but they may change a few other things to make it easier for them to hack back in. What to do?

What you should never say on Facebook

When you say the wrong thing on Facebook, nasty things can happen.

Facebook came under fire on Capitol Hill earlier this year after it rolled out new features that might make users' data more public and a series of changes to its privacy settings that could lead users to expose more information about themselves. The outcry prompted the company to switch to simplified privacy controls in June.

Apple sued over apps privacy issues; Google may be next

Two separate groups of iPhone and iPad users have sued Apple Inc alleging that certain software applications were passing personal user information to third-party advertisers without consent.
 

My Review of Roku HD Player

Originally submitted at Roku

The new HD, with built-in wireless, delivers top value in high-definition streaming.

Roku HD Player

Roku HD Player by Roku

By barkerrd from Clinton Township, MI on 12/28/2010

 

4out of 5

Pros: Reliability, Great value, Easy to use, Video selection, Compact, High quality picture, Built in Wi-Fi, Easy to set up

Cons: Need fast internet service, Inconsistent performance

Best Uses: Living room, Primary TV

Describe Yourself: Movie buff

We use this product to view movies and TV series. We love the "On Demand" feature. Not so great - the reloading. This could be a function of the Internet connection speed.

(legalese)

Amazon Plan: Let Users Return Gifts Preemptively

Amazon is working on a solution that could revolutionize digital gift buying. The online retailer has quietly patented a way for people to return gifts before they receive them.
Read more...

Image Resizer for Windows

If you’ve got a lot of photos you want to resize use a good batch tool. Batch processing allows you to automate a task like renaming files or cropping photos so you don’t have to sit there and click, type, and crop your way through the process.
 

This program allows you to right-click on one or more image files in Windows Explorer to resize them. It can be used with  Windows XP, Windows  2000, Windows Vista and Windows 7. FREE!

National Campaign Succeeds in Protecting Thousands Against Identity Theft

The recent 2010 Protect Your Identity Week (PYIW) campaign hosted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) will be one for the history books, breaking records while protecting tens of thousands of consumers against the crime of identity theft.  

A little late but still entertaining.

To Life: Vanessa's Wedding Surprise

What a wedding surprise!!! Every wedding has singing and dancing, but this is special. The bride's friends and family rehearsed this wedding surprise for a month. This is like a broadway show.

FBackup4.5 free backup software

FBackup is a free backup software for both personal and commercial use. It protects your important data by backing it up automatically to any USB/Firewire device, local or network location (eg. external hard drive). The backed up data can be either compressed (using standard zip compression) or an exact copy of the original files. Click below for more information.

Click below to download

The 10 Best Digital Cameras

The problem with buying a digital camera is not only that there are hundreds of models for sale at any given point in time, but you also need to figure out which type of camera is right for you.

Internet Explorer Leads on Malware Security: Report

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 beta Web browser beat the competition on malware protection. An NSS Labs report finds that Windows Internet Explorer 9 beta caught an “exceptional” 99 percent of the live threats,

Christmas Song Quiz

Can you name the rest of these Christmas song titles?

Microsoft releases free Security Essentials 2.0

Microsoft has launched the latest version of its free Security Essentials. Microsoft yesterday quietly released the latest version of its Security Essentials anti-malware software.
 
Security Essentials 2.0 is available as a free download with several changes over its predecessor.

Read more:

To download: click on "Microsoft"  

 

A Soldiers Silent Night

A Christmas dedication to all our men and women in uniform.

Cheap Flights, Hotels and Travel Deals!

Find and book cheap flights, airline tickets, cheap hotels, vacations and rental cars with KAYAK. Search hundreds of travel sites and find cheap travel deals.

WikiLeaks Reveals Santa's Naughty List

WikiLeaks is at it again. No playground is safe this Christmas.

Geotag Security - Family Protection Software

Did you know that when you upload photos to the Internet they can tell more about you, then you would want to disclose to a random stranger watching it? Where you live, where you spend time with your kids, when you are at home, and when you are not. 

Is there a way to protect yourself and your family from disclosing your location? Click below.

 

New scam tactic: Fake disk defraggers

We've all heard about fake antivirus programs, also known as scareware. These programs falsely claim that your computer is infected with malware and prompt you to buy a product that will do nothing for you, except put your credit card number into the hands of criminals.

 

THE DIGITAL STORY OF THE NATIVITY

How social media, web and mobile tell the story of the Nativity.
Christmas story told through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon...

Times change, the feeling remains the same.

Amy Walker - 21 Accents

Amy Walker is an actress/singer/songwriter since the highchair, she has played key roles in more than 70 theatrical shows and films in both global hemispheres, honing her linguistic skills with over 21 accents at the ready.

10 Great Downloads

Abine TACO - opt out of targeted advertising.

SlimComputer - remove pre-installed software from a new PC.

Security Essentials - antivirus program.

Identity Finder - find passwords and credit card numbers stored on your computer.

Hulu Desktop - clips, full-length shows and feature films.

Microsoft Fix It Center - automatically fix problems

AVG Rescue CD  - antivirus and anti-spyware tools.

Duplicate Cleaner – clean out duplicate files

Speccy - manufacturers, model numbers and speed ratings of components in your computer.

Secunia -  tells you which programs need  updates.

Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Kills Viruses Dead

Microsoft’s Security Essentials is free, unobtrusive, and it doesn’t slow your PC down, but now it’s even better with the new 2.0 release, which adds network filtering, heuristic protection, and more.

The How-to Geek absolutely recommends Microsoft Security Essentials as your anti-malware / anti-virus utility over any other option. It’s totally free!

Top 10 Privacy Tips of 2010

There were plenty of new threats to your privacy and security in 2010. Kim Komando has compiled the top 10 most-read Privacy tips from this past year. Make sure you don't miss them!

South Park Cartoon - Kwame

Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit, and his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, pose for portrait. Carlita stands by Kwame, a Kilpatrick spokesman says.

“She loves and supports her husband 100% and puts all the legal allegations in God's hands,” a family spokesman said after Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted Wednesday on racketeering and extortion charges.

Kwame Video - South Park

Factory Balls – Christmas Edition

The object of the game is to correctly decorate/paint each Christmas ornament exactly as shown in the “sample image” provided for each level. What starts off as simple will quickly have you working to figure out the correct combination or sequence to complete each ornament. Are you ready?

Play Factory Balls – Christmas Edition

Here is a link to detailed instructions for the game:  

Friday Fun: Factory Balls – Christmas Edition

How to Fix a Slow Internet Connection: Optimizing Internet Connection

Fixing a slow Internet connection is done by checking for viruses with system scan and removing unneeded computer programs. Improve Web browsing performance on a computer by doing a disk cleanup with tips from an experienced computer specialist in the free video on Internet connections.

How to Fix a Slow Internet Connection: Optimizing Internet Connection

Abine: The Online Privacy Company

Abine's “Privacy Suite” is a browser add-on that combines disparate privacy tools into a comprehensive privacy system.
By putting all the controls in one place, the Abine plug-in makes it easier to control the amount of personal information being collected and stored about you online.

Some features:

    * Stopping tracking by hundreds of advertising networks and websites
    * Manage all cookies (regular & Flash) and trackers in one place.
    * Easily create distinct online accounts for different uses
    * Pre-fill registration forms with limited subsets of information
    * Shield your real info with disposable emails and phone numbers

Addicted to Costco

About Me & My Love of Costco

"My love affair with Costco began several years ago in Tucson, Arizona. It was a beautiful, sunny day the first time I walked through that warehouse door that would forever hold a special place in my heart. At first, it was just a casual flirtation but over the years my love has only grown".

This blogger does not work for Costco, receive free goods, services, or payment from Costco. 

Kim Komando Video - The latest online job scam

In times like these, people are desperate for work. And scammers are only too happy to take advantage of job hunters. Learn about an online job scam that can cost you a lot of money—and land you in prison. You can't afford to miss this video!

Lightbox 2.0 Free version

LightBox Image Editor is an excellent little utility that has an attractive user interface that is simple and straight forward, and offers intuitive slide-bar adjustments for your images. It also has split screen views to help you compare your images before and after the corrections have been made. It includes simple tools to correct red-eye, sharpen, crop, re-size, add borders, and print.

This is by far the best, easiest FREE photo editing program I have ever used.

10 Worst Christmas Gift Ideas

No one should be receiving these gifts this holiday season…not even those you dislike.

The Early Warning System for Internet Shoppers!

BidFraud.com is The Early Warning System for Internet Shoppers! More specifically, the public can read and write reports about suspected fraudulent internet activity as it is happening (e.g., live auction) or once the transaction has completed & the buyer/seller has reported a fraudulent claim. Bidfraud is free to use and offers free advertising. 

Milo Local Shopping

Milo is a comparison-shopping search site. It gets the prices from stores near you. Just enter your address and the product name.

In seconds, you'll see which store has the best price. It will even give you directions. You can access Milo from your cell phone and you can check prices from anywhere.

 

LEGO isn't just for kids - click here to go to the Lego website

The name 'LEGO' is an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well".

The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. The Company has passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder.

It has come a long way over the past almost 80 years - from a small carpenter’s workshop to a modern, global enterprise that is now, in terms of sales, the world’s fifth-largest manufacturer of toys. Here is a video which shows some amazing creations.