Recycling

In honor of Earth Day (yesterday, yes, I forgot), I found an article about recycling your old tech stuff. It starts with properly removing all data so it's not recoverable (doesn't matter if everything is "deleted" if it can still be rebuilt), and it goes through all of the different ways you can recycle it. If you're like me (cough, or my family, cough), then you've probably accumulated a lot of junk. Like old mp3 players, old monitors, old desktops, and many other tech products like that. These are things you'll want to wipe properly and you probably don't want cluttering your house anymore. I recommend taking the time some weekend to do it, maybe as part of your spring/summer cleaning?? There are some helpful tips and steps listed in the article if you get a little lost or need some guidance. Happy (Belated) Earth Day!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2035435/recycle-your-old-tech-gear.html

Post-World Backup Day: Hardware

World Backup Day was last Sunday (March 31)! So it's been about a week. I found a handy article about backup drives (although it didn't include information about backup software). It recommends getting a backup drive that is at least double your hard drive size. So if you have a 500GB hard drive, then get a 1TB backup drive. The article also goes through some options of the hardware of backup drives. Maybe my next post will be about software? Now, speaking of World Backup Day... I think it's time for me to go and backup all my data. My laptop is a little aged, so it's always good to be prepared!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2032508/in-honor-of-world-backup-day-how-to-protect-your-data.html

Note Taking Apps: 3 Big Options

I got on PCWorld to start reading through some articles, when in the top left corner there was a highlighted article that mentioned Evernote and OneNote. Both are products that I love to use. Then it mentioned something about “Google Keep”. Judging from the title of the article, I could guess what the purpose of it is pretty easily. The note-taking, notebook market is pretty much dominated by Evernote and Microsoft OneNote. Google has decided to enter the market, though, with their own app. This article compares all three products to each other to try and determine which ones are the best fits, and it even puts all the information in a handy table at the end of the article.

As it is, I feel like Google Keep is very young. It has yet to form the powers and functions that put Evernote and OneNote at the top of their game. Google Keep needs some more time to realize how users will take advantage of a note-taking program. I love OneNote, but it’s very limited to the way I live my life: I mainly use my iPhone for all my note-taking needs, I don’t always have my laptop, and I don’t have Office 365 (I don’t know if I ever will). OneNote has the best text editor (think about who created Word… yeah, it’s good), but, as it is, it’s limited to my laptop. Google Keep isn’t quite as flexible yet, and it’s only available for Android, not Windows Phones or iOS. Evernote, on the other hand, has a web service, a program you can download on your laptop/desktop, a dedicated app for all devices, and an entire “ecosystem” of apps, such as Skitch, Evernote Food, Evernote Hello, Penultimate, etc. They all sync to your Evernote account, which can make it an indispensable tool in your life. I feel like Evernote is still the best option. Unless you’re a die-hard Google or Microsoft fan and will take anything they create over another product, Evernote allows the most flexibility while still providing a high-quality service. They have options for both personal and business organizational needs, and they provide a great managing system. Evernote has created a niche for themselves, and I feel like their software and apps will be used for a longer time than some of the “fad” apps.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2031818/google-keep-vs-onenote-vs-evernote-we-name-the-note-app-winner.html

Twitter Chat

Twitter is used for connecting. It is used for socializing, sharing, and speaking to the world around you. Hashtags such as #CloudChat used by IBM to discuss cloud computing, is an example of a Twitter Chat. It's easy to get a lot of input using it, and it's easy to share with the world your ideas. However, it's based on Twitter and all of those limitations that it implies. Twitter has 140 character limits, and it can be difficult to ask a complex question within that space, let alone answer it. It's easy to find ways around those limits, but it's not always ideal. I absolutely adore Twitter, though, so I think that Twitter Chat is a great tool for those of us who spend probably way too much time on it.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2032657/listen-for-the-next-big-thing-on-twitter-twitterchats.html

Windows 8

This was definitely an interesting article to read. For one, I am not rushing to get a computer with Windows 8. Once it's been more fine-tuned and worn-in, then maybe, but I'm not itching for it. This article was discussing the "hidden" security features built in with Windows 8, and that if you are thinking of getting it then you should purchase a new computer with updated hardware rather than just updating your OS. I understand where they're coming from, but it also felt like they were trying to "sell" the reader on upgrading their computer and spending more money (when we all know that this will be outdated quickly). I've had my laptop since the beginning of college, and my goal is to make it until graduation (whether from grad school or just with my undergrad is a different matter...). I've succeeded so far in my goal, but it's also 'cause I'm trying to take care of it and I won't be sucked in to buying a brand new laptop that'll be outdated immediately. Technology is growing at a rapid rate, and unless you have your heart set on one particular computer and have had it set on it for months, you have to be willing to bide your time before upgrading. Kind of like with cell phones... I really want a Galaxy SIII or SIV, but I also realize that by the time I need a new phone, there will be plenty of even greater options out there and it's not worth my money right now.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2027593/windows-8-put-its-hidden-security-features-to-work-.html

Evernote was Hacked!

Oh no! Evernote is my favorite ever! They are requiring every single user to go in and change their password, which is a smart move on their part. It seems that it was a coordinated attack and that Evernote blocked the attacked when it noticed the suspicious activity. According to their blog, none of the data was accessed, changed, or lost, and none of the payment information was accessed either. Evernote posted in their blog some basic steps that you can take to protect yourself, for those who don't have any experience with security, and they've made it so you have to login and change your password before you can access your data and sync it up again. For more information about this exploit, you just need to check out their blog and any articles that may be about it!

http://evernote.com/corp/news/password_reset.php
http://www.techhive.com/article/2029974/evernote-reports-hack-attack-tells-users-to-reset-passwords.html

I Love Twitter

So this article about Twitter implementing a standard to fight phishing is good news for me. I appreciate it (and applaud it) when companies implement strategies and software so that their consumers can have a better experience. I use twitter a lot, and I would prefer to not receive emails that could potentially hack my account. DMARC - the technology being used by Twitter now - is also being used by Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Facebook, Paypal, and Amazon. I was excited to see this news, which is why I am sharing it with you all. Going along with my security focus in this blog, be sure to always check thoroughly who is sending you an email, especially if they're asking you to re-login on a site. If you ever have any doubts about the email, contact the company directly and get verification. It's not worth losing access to your accounts and the data that you may have shared with any of them!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028993/twitter-implements-dmarc-standard-to-fight-phishing.html

A Geeky Valentine's Day

Because it's Valentine's Day, I felt like it would be nice to share some fun articles I found for geeky/techy Valentines. I chose them because, well, I am a geek. Mashable's article is focused more on decorating/personalizing your gadgets, which is always fun. For example, I've had this phone case I bought last summer that holds my three most important cards: my driver's license, my debit card, and my room key. It's the coolest. Anyway, there's some cool cases and what-not on Mashable, so if you want ideas for gifts in general, it's a good place to start. PCWorld also did an article with 15 products they love. I love them, too. There's some really cool products there that I didn't know existed, like Up and Livescribe Sky, which I am now lusting after. They also pointed out the Steam platform (that I, of course, have) as one of the cool products. There's speakers, keyboards, software, and all sorts of fun stuff packed into their article. Go have fun with it!

Security of IS and What It Means to Me...

I needed to start a journal for my Security of Business Information Systems class, so I decided a blog would be appropriate for me. Now that I've attended class, here's some clips of what I thought about the subject during the first day, near the beginning, during, and after it finished (bottom to top):

Then I got my textbook, I read through the chapters, and I absolutely love it. I even took a picture of my "textbook" (it doesn't feel like a textbook to me) the day that I started reading it:

I love this subject, and I'm so excited to learn more. It's taken me a little bit to get this journal/blog up and going, but I'm aiming to post on Tuesdays and Thursdays about security and news articles and any of my thoughts regarding it. I loved learning about the different types of attacks (malware and everything else) that can happen to a computer, and I am looking forward to learning how to protect it better. I haven't felt this excited about a subject in a long time... and I think that this may be the start of something really good. Maybe the start of what I want to focus on, even, during my career. We'll see how the semester goes, but - as it is - I am so excited/passionate about this class, and I want to learn as much as I can during it. So until my next awesome post... have a great day!