CompuClever Blog

Hack, Hack

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Yes it is cold and flu season. But we are referring here to another kind of viral risk – online hacking. It has again crept into the news and hit some of us right in the pocketbook. We explore two recent hacks that have had an impact on the financial security of millions of users. While not much information is released as to how these attacks occur – perhaps so as to not promote further offenses – we can focus on the effects of these attacks and what can be done to protect ourselves. A counter measure to these breaches is the onset of new technological security advances. It can be a challenge for us to keep up with it all but we endeavour to understand it and explore the options.

There have been two recent hack attacks: one that compromised Yahoo mail users and another that targeted Target credit and debit card information. We will begin by looking at the Yahoo attack and provide some password recommendations.

Yahoo Hack

On Jan 30th Yahoo, the second largest email provider with 273 million accounts, confirmed an attack and announced that malicious computer software was able to access a list of Yahoo Mail accounts’ usernames and passwords. Continue reading...

Looking back and moving forward

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During the year 2013 we covered a wide range of topics and moving forward we think there are many suggestions and recommendations that can be used in dealing with PC issues you may be facing right now.  So, we embark on a two-part adventure: to review the best of our articles and to highlight what PC tips and tricks you can take advantage of immediately.  What better way to step up to the plate when asked: What is your New Year’s resolution?  We hope it’s to take charge of your computing needs so that your PC works for you! This summary of our top PC stories for us is a celebration of a year’s correspondences to you our readership.

The following topics include our top stories that we find will give you an upper edge on PC good practices and regular use:

Security & Privacy

Digital security – updates and trends
Edward Snowden hit the news this past year and opened up a whole can of worms in relation to surveillance and the reams of digital information that is readily available.  Our information article broached the subject of the digital universe and our level of exposure to surveillance.  We have become participants and are increasingly more involved in the creation of digital information that can be accessed from online means.  Continue reading...

Sitting Down with a Good eBook

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The holidays are upon us.  At this time of the year we tend to find ourselves overdoing it when it comes to consumption and the ever-growing amount of items we have.  When it comes to books, some of us are running out of room on our bookshelves and boxing up the extras.  Then there’s the amount of trees used to create books.  One way of being more space conscious and eco-friendly is to go electronic.  You may be surprised to know that there are vast amounts of digitized books available.  We’re going to examine the popularity of eBooks, describe in brief just what they are and what you need to know, and we are going to introduce CompuClever’s Ultra eBook Reader.  Finally we will provide a list of free resources to whet your appetite for eBook reading if you haven’t already taken up this convenient and easy pastime.

Popularity:  Just how popular are eBooks?  Amazon announced[1] that it sells more eBooks than traditional printed hardcover or paperbacks.  In some cases authors are able to have their written work published in an eBook when they are unable to have it published to hard copy.  There are even websites that are dedicated to cataloging and making eBooks available to the general public. Continue reading...

Can’t open an important file?

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Synopsis:  This month’s article addresses a commonly experienced occurrence – not being able to open a file.  We will begin with some basic questions that need to be answered in order to prevent opening the wrong type of file.  It’s unfortunate that in today’s cyber world there are so many pitfalls to maintaining a healthy and secure PC but caution is a must when downloading, installing, or opening files on your computer.  After that we will look at how to deal with the problem of opening files using PC TuneUp Maestro.  There are tools that can help you in several instances including being able to recommend a free program, when one is available, that can open and view the file.

So let’s begin by first examining the particulars.

The first question to ask is: Where is the file located? It could be that you are trying to open a file from one of the following:

  • A website
  • An email attachment
  • Your PC

Website:  If you are attempting to open a file that is on a website, it is possible that the site itself could be potentially dangerous as determined by the Windows security zone.  To see more about this go to the Microsoft website. Continue reading...

SyncToy – A free tool for PC backup

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Synopsis:  In some of our previous articles we have advised our readers to perform a backup of files for a variety of good reasons including to avoid loss or destruction of data file and to better organize files so as to reduce clutter and free hard drive space.  We have also recommended Microsoft’s Sync Toy and have encouraged users to run this free tool when doing backup procedures.  In this article we are going to go in to some depth on how to use this technology.  While we do not benefit from others using this program, we do feel its merits are to be shared.  There are some terms and actions that require explanation and instruction.  Once you get familiar with this program you can be backing up files on a regular basis and you’ll be impressed by just how fast and easy it is.

What to Backup:

When thinking about backing up your PC we suggest you visualize types of computer files in three categories: system files, application files, and other files (including your personal data).  System files are those items that are critical to your PC for it to run and operate as you expect it to.  These files are part of the operating system and they are typically hidden and are not meant to be modified, moved, deleted, or tampered with. Continue reading...