Why your Facebook account got hacked and how to secure it!

You’ve Probably seen:

Help me!!! the house was broken into lastnіght, i caught the theіves stealing our stuff on our securitу cameras! Do уou happen too recognize them?  (Some link such as Tumblr)

I know it is the hardest thing to understand but when it comes to getting your Facebook account, getting into your account is the most valuable for them.   Most of the time it is used to mine data such as your personal information or so they can become you but that it’s always the case.   It is sometimes the case that a spammer wants to get those click’s from your friends and you be the one who gets in trouble with Facebook.   It isn’t always the case though.   More than anything hackers or some call the crackers want to get your account to make money somehow.  99% of the time that is the case the other 1% is someone who wants to just be a wise guy and show you he did it!

Well it happened!

You probably like the rest of the people asking how do I prevent this in the future first thing first.  You need to change your password on your Facebook account.  Once you have your account back you will then need to end all activity on your facebook account besides the device your logged into and that means you will need to update your password on all devices.   

The Easiest way to end all activity on your facebook account is:

Settings — > Account Setting —>  (Click) Recongnized Devices —> (Then) End All activity

Before you start putting the password in to all those devices maybe it is time to use a good Password manager to do just that, I recommend Lastpass because it is has everything you need to help keep hackers out of your account.   You should use a minium 20 character length and make it as random as possible.   This is what I have used to keep people from guessing my password although it is good way to help prevent Phishing attacks from sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets!

Setup a 2 Authentication factor!

In some ways this has been the hardest for people to understand and to want to use because it slows down people logging into their account but it also makes it that much harder for someone to get into your account because they have to know your validation code.   This will help you keep your privacy and security safe.  There is a great tutorial on how to do it, and I use it with the Google Authenticator myself!

Review your Timeline!

It might not be needed but you never know what the hacker posted on your timeline or your activity and you should carefully check it out from the time you thought you got compromised to now.  You never know what has been posted or said about your until you do a complete inventory of damage control.  Delete any posts that you didn’t do and remove those from your time line.   Just look for a little X on the upper right corner.

Finally Review your security Settings!

Go back through your security settings and make sure the hacker didn’t enable something that you might regret later on.   For instants your timeline being public or your phone number or something that you don’t want anyone other than friends or family to know.  There are few places where you should check and maybe change if need be and they are:

Settings —> Privacy Settings

Settings —> Account Settings —> Timeline And Tagging

Settings —> Account Settings —> (-)Blocking

You never know what the hacker did to either unblock someone or change something that you had put private.   So this is what I call damage control.   This will keep you safe and secure, but remember the only way to truly be safe is watching what you do online and keep that information private as long as possible.

4 Free alternatives to Microsoft Publisher!

The Alternatives are out there!

I was inspired by a friend of mine who asked on Facebook, She wanted something that was freeware or shareware preferably because she didn’t have the money to go by Microsoft Office 2013.  So I thought tis was high time, I tried to help some of my readers out by showing you what you could use that is just as good as Microsoft Office!

Open Office (Free Productivy and Open sourced Suite)

Open Office has been used by me in the past and you can even use it on the go with little to no major problems.   All you will need is program call Portable Apps and a USB drive preferrably 8 to 16 gb of space because of all the programs you will need to install it!

Google Docs

The Next one that is really useful is Google Docs which comes with any Google account.  I personally have used this and in fact, I created the image at the top of the page!   The pacman eating Microsoft Docs! So it can be quite useful for doing what you might need.   I have much success with the using this with my Chrome OS computer, you really can’t use much else but something that is online anyways!

Scribus (Open sourced desktop publishing)

I have never used this but I was told by a few friends that it is really good and works just like most other publishing tools.   You can try this one and see if it helps!

PagePlus Starter Edition

Another one that I have yet to use because I have had no major need to use more than the first two.   This however has been brought to my attention from several friends on my facebook page and can’t but at least mentioned it!   

 As you can see you have several you can pick from and from time to time there will always be new ones but these were a few that  I found thanks to crowsourcing the problem.   I do hope this helps you also in making an informed decision on what you will use for your project(s).  Know of one that I missed please feel free to leave a comment and tell people about it!

Bill Engvall's Guide to Social Media "Here's Your Sign"

When I started my journey into the social media, I have heard some really strange rumors and even some claims that real but aren't! For instants some of these are something like this: "Pope Benedict resigned to avoid arrest, seizure of church" Obamacare Requires RFID chip implanted in all of us Facebook Closed February 29th, 30th, 31st! Hover of my Name Hoax As you can see some of these are obviously fake or made to fool people to have people like and share these stories because they are so out rageous.

Click to read more ...

Facebook Hoaxes -- Why users should be weary!

Hover over my Name [Hoax]

The next 2 weeks I will be posting this, and please once you have done it please post done! Those of you who do not keep my information from going out to the public, I will have to DELETE YOU! I want to stay PRIVATELY connected with you. I post shots of my family that I don't want strangers to have access to!!! However, with the recent changes in Facebook, the "public" can now see activities on ANY wall. This happens when our friends click "like" or "comment"... automatically, their friends would see our posts too. Unfortunately, we cannot change this setting by ourselves because Facebook has configured it that way. PLEASE place your mouse over my name above (DO NOT CLICK), a window will appear, now move the mouse on “FRIENDS" (also without clicking), then down to "Settings", click here and a list will appear. REMOVE the CHECK on "LIFE EVENTS" and "COMMENTS & LIKES". By doing this, my activity among my friends and family will no longer become public. Now, copy and paste this on your wall. Once I see this posted on your page, I will do the same.

Some users aren't thinking these things out.   So Let's get this straight your worried about Facebook Security and yet you think this is the quickest and easiest way to prevent your information from becoming public!  So I am going to break down this little hoax and explain to you what will happen if you actually do this!

Removing the Checks!

By removing those two check or even all the checks you are going to not get any updates from the person who askes you do this and thus they will not appear on your updates and you will not know what is going on.   They will be totally invisible to you and you will have to visit their page to see any updates and or comments they make to other people.   

How can you know?

This is a question asked by everyone who has ever seen a Facebook post about something similiar! When you don't ask questions to the person and don't research those posts then you just show people you don't care. I will not follow directions blindly just because I KNOW and Trust the person.  We are all human and thus we will always make mistakes this is the nature of humanity.   

Research the post in question!

Researching a post isn't as hard as it sounds.   You basically have to just use your favorite search engine and cut and past a portion of the text to see if there is any information on the web about that post.   Most of the time you will find people talking about that post or even find out more information to better make a decision.  

Common Sense Helps though!

If you are like me, you know what will happen if you do some of these things that people have asked of you and thus you know a little about consequences.   When I look at what people say on their status updates about what I need to do, I am certain most of them don't know what it does or what the command does.   Hoaxes are used to scare you and nothing else, if they think you will follow them then they are either waiting for the chance to make money or to just laugh at you for doing something blindly.

Think it through!

If you think the process through you will most likely see the outcome of some of the commands and understand what they do or what they will not do if you do follow commands someone posts on their timeline.   So by thinking this through and researching the post you are far better off and remember not everything you see on Facebook or other social media sites are always going to be true!

Paul Sylvester

How Facebook can interfere with your life and How to Disconnect from Facebook!

Facebook is so Popular!

When Facebook started in 2005, it wasn't really a big deal.   No one knew what it would be today.  You probably didn't even know about Facebook until two or three years ago.  I would even guess that you were pressured into getting an Facebook account.   Even though you should worry about your Facebook Security Settings, this isn't going be about that.   It however is going to be talking about how to Disconnect from Facebook!

Why Would I want to do that?

There will be some of you who will probably ask this one question and I could give you several answers but there is only one real answer.   Productivity!  Disconnecting from Facebook will make you more productive in anything you do and will keep your attention on what needs to be done.

The Extreme case!

You can delete your account and be totally disconnected from Facebook but that is the worse case scenario and I will not recommend that to anyone even my friends or family.  Although I've heard this happen it isn't the best choice for some of you who like to keep in touch with family members and share photos with.

Disconnect me Please!

This is a services and a plugin that helps block Facebook and others such social sites.   It will help you speed up your browsing and keep your privacy safe so I highly recommend Disconnect.me which was also talked about on Security Now.

Remove all Facebook Apps!

If you have a smartphone and a tablet, this is something that is a must if you want to keep from being interrupted and slowing down your productivity.   By removing these apps from all your devices, you will not get the urge to go check Facebook or have those notifications coming to you.

Finally Check Facebook Once a Day!

If your like me you will undoubtedly want to keep your account and thus you will want to at least check it once a day.   I suggest either morning or night depending on your work or sleep schedule to go online through the web and see what is going on.   I would however say the less you spend on Facebook the easier it is to keep from wanting to be connected with it.   So get on check and get off.   Don't spend to long on their exploring and playing games.    Remember why you did all this and you will be far better off then when you started.

Paul Sylvester

Facebook Security and You -- Why you Should update your privacy Settings!

Facebook Privacy and You!

Privacy for Facebook!

Who needs them? Your probably asking.  I know I am not one to preach about privacy but that doesn't mean you need to worry less about your privacy on Facebook.   It just means you have to be more vigilant 

Every so often Facebook likes to update their privacy settings and not tell you.   Either to add a privacy setting or take one way, more likely than not it is to try to keep you from being private but that is where you need to constantly be checking to see if you need to do something or check something in your privacy settings!

Check List for Facebook Privacy!

• How you Connect [See Above] -- This little one is good for people who don't want to have people constantly requesting them.  So if you are over sensitive to your privacy and security you should limit who can be friend you, look you up, or Send you a Facebook Message!
• Timeline Tagging [See Above] -- Figure out what you want to allow.  I know of friend who has made the choice to approve all tags of her from going public without her intervention.  I did the same thing because of my Ex-wife, she seems to be angry with me right now so I will not approve a tag unless it's true.  
• Ads, Apps, and website [See Above] -- occasionally, you will have a lot of apps wanting to control what you do on Facebook.   I usually try to do a little Spring cleaning of Facebook apps every so often and this area is where you do it.  It also lets you personalize what gets thrown your way.
• Block People and Apps [See Above] -- You know you have those annoying people who just won't stop harassing you.  So this is where you go to block them or unblock them.  You can also block certain apps or you can choice to unblock certain app requests.  Great little tool to keep your privacy safe from stalkers and other people!

The last part of this Privacy kick is who sees your posts, is it just friends or everyone.   You can change that here also whenever you decide you want more or less people to see your posts.   It however only go into effect when you start posting again.   All old posts are either only friends or public, so make you choice wisely.   You can however change that later on by going back and editing all your posts to what you want them to be either public or Private although you do that with each and every post so it will take some time.

I wanted to share some way to keep your privacy safe, I've not shown you everything but some beginner steps you will have to do become more privacy conscience.  You however should check it out every so often to see if Facebook decided to give you more options or to make sure nothing has change.  I try to do it every month but it is just me!  I hope this post helped you get back some of your privacy and keep your profile from prying eyes.

Paul Sylvester

Amazon Affiliate Link

How computer viruses use word of mouth to infect systems!

Social Networks Hype Cycle (Photo credit: fredcavazza)

Social Network is Culprit!

I remember some very interesting Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites used in the past to get people to click on an infected link.  This is one of the oldest techniques.   The virus post something on your twitter account or your Facebook account about something really interesting.   Even if you trust your friend, sometimes the friend or twitter account that you know aren't really in control of what they post.   This is the first line of trust that the virus makers use to spread their viruses until other computers and systems.   You should never click any link unless you know where it is going.  Although this is becoming less and less troublesome, I am sure it isn't going away but just biding it's time to come out and strike another day.

Some tips to remember when your using social media sites are to use url expanders such as:

• LongUrl - http://www.longurl.org/


• Where Does this URL Go - http://www.wheredoesthislinkgo.com/


• Clybs URL Expander - http://www.clybs.com/urlexpander


• URL X-ray Checker - http://urlxray.com/


• Link Peeler - http://linkpeelr.appspot.com/

These are some great little url expanders that if your have a question about what the URL is then by all means use these.   I also like to use Bit.ly extensions for Chrome but it won't expand all and is only available on Chrome.   I don't know if there are other apps for Firefox like this but at least you have a starting place!

Emails are Second!

It is just like Social Networks but in this case you are getting an email to you.  A few years ago, we had some really interesting emails with either warnings or saying you have a picture on the internet to click it.  There are a dozen or so ways someone could fool you into downloading malware or viruses but these are the most common because most users will click links and they feel safe because they have built up trust.   Lately though they haven't been doing this much but it could be a very good possibly, so you must be careful!

Some things to remember when using emails, if your not expecting a link don't click it!  If your thinking it was sent to you for that purpose, it might be high time to email your friend and ask them if the y knew they sent that to you.   Sometimes the person or account involved doesn't know that they sending links that might be infectious.

If you follow these steps and consider using Malwarebytes [Affiliate Link] you are less likely to get infected but that doesn't mean that you are a 100 percent immune to computer viruses.  No Operating system is immune even Linux but that is just my opinion others  have said that you can't possibly get infected on Mac OS or Linux!

Paul Sylvester

Try Malwarebytes, the Leader in Malware Removal

Related articles

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• Where Are You Picking Up All Those PC Viruses? Facebook (businessinsider.com)


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• MyCuredComputer.com Combats the Ever-Changing Facebook Virus Koobface (prweb.com)

How Small Business can increase profit in 30 days!

Google Chrome (Photo credit: thms.nl)

Always speak the truth, think before you speak, and write it down afterwards.     Lewis Carroll

Imagine yourself  wanting a certain item or service but you really don't want to waste gas looking around.   So you pull up you Ipad or your computer to Google for that particular subject.   If you want to get the most value of the item or services that you are going to pay for, then keep reading.     Most Small businesses aren't thinking that way, they are expecting people to walk in and buy their stuff without first seeing what is available.   I've come to the realization that 9 out of 10 small businesses in my local Evansville, Indiana aren't using their business to the fullest on the internet.

It begins with Thinking outside the box!

No small or big business will ever be making their true potential by being like everyone else.   I am not saying that you have to go to the extreme but there are ways you can make it more  accessible to the clients that your looking for or who are looking for you.   It takes 7 times for anyone to actually buy something from you or your company.   If your not doing the Rules of 7 right now, you are not going to make the most out of your business.   I recently found this out because I was looking for a job online trying to find business that I might be able to work for and I had a really good brain storm.   Most of the local business here aren't following the Rules of 7 and I am here to volunteer my services to anyone who might want help converting clicks into profit.

Social Media

If you haven't hired someone to do this then you are just asking for donations sort to speak.    Not having a Twitter account, a Facebook account, a Foursquared account, and a website promoting the products or services, just makes your work that much harder.  Just like Glasses USA [Affiliate Link], if you look at their website you will see they have a Facebook, Twitter, Email newsletter, and a Youtube account.   Each of them are making Noise and make sure people see there product to click and buy.  Just because you have them, doesn't mean you should ignore them or not use them.   You might have to pay someone to blog about your product or service but if you don't then you are loosing potential from your product or even service.   The harder someone has to look to find you the less likely they will find you, this is something that I've always believed in and will always blog about.

Customer Reviews

Another thing to consider when having a business is what are people saying about you on the internet. If your not monitoring these things then you are not going to fully understand your customers and that might hurt you in the long run.  It is essential to have customers who will proclaim your product, for example Glasses USA [Affiliate Link]. On their Customer Testimonials Page [Affiliate Link], you can see that their constantly putting up the good things people are saying about their products.  Thus they are showing potential customers just how well they are doing.  It is however a good indication also when it comes to employees and if customers aren't happy with someone's performance this is also a great way to re-enforce the idea of customer loyalty.

Customer Loyalty

This is something you must always strive for because without that you will not make any money or profit won't increase.  Customers who are loyal to you might pay a little bit more if they feel your company is working hard for them, whether it be groceries or buying a car.   If they feel like the company is the best they will go out of the way to tell people and also keep coming back, this I think is the best model to  strive for.   Nothing sells like word of mouth advertising but that also means you have to know your customers and make an effort to show them you are one of them.   If your just trying to push your product then you are just trying to make money but if your showing them you care, then you are showing your potential customers more than just wanting to make money.   Your showing them you care about your product or service and that you believe in it!

Know when you've done wrong!

Let's face it, no company in the history of time has ever been a 100% right.   There will always be times when a company did something or said something that makes them look EVIL.   If you ignore that then you are telling your customers you don't care, but if your acknowledged it and ask for forgiveness then you are telling your customers you really do care.  Most small businesses aren't hearing what is being said about them on the internet because they are blind to the idea that it isn't something they should worry about, but I tell you this if your not worrying about it then you are risking your business to the word of mouth customers.  There will always be two sides to the coin, even if you didn't know now.  You will know sooner or later because a customer might just bring it up when they call you asking why this other customer said that.   If your not prepared what people are saying then you can't possibly have a answer  to the question and might even loose a potential customer because of it.

Some Local business to mention are:

I'm going to share with you some of the local businesses that I see that could benefit from this web post and encourage them to contact me if they are looking to make even more profit then they are now.   I am willing to discuss in detail what they are doing wrong and help them improve their customer experiences for a small fee!

• Bucks and Jakes Outfitters -- Great website and Business location just needs to improve on what they are already doing!


• Baumberger's Furniture -- One of those business that had to shrink down because they were not doing some of this already!


• Penske Truck Rentals -- I've check them out and they are good but they could do better!


• Paradiseink -- This is a new site but seems they need a lot of different things to help promote their service and products!


• Desktopdoctors -- This business has some stuff already doing that but could do even more!

These are just a few that I've been looking at the last few hours and realized that they could be doing some stuff really differently and bringing in even more customers.   I think if you have read this article you probably are asking your self how you could make your business grow.   If you follow these tips you could make even more money but it is all how you do it.  If you like what you read please consider re-tweeting this and also posting it on Facebook and other social media sites!<

Paul Sylvester

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Being more Honest with my Affiliate Links!

Google Affiliate Network Summit 035 (Photo credit: Affiliate

Testing the Waters!

A friend told me, a couple days ago that I should be telling my readers when I have affiliate links.  He said I would would get even more sales if I were to be a little more honest with which ones are actually the ones that I make money off of!   It would better help those decide if your going to be a a good blog or not.   I really didn't have much to say on the matter because I didn't know what to say. I am sure there will always be those who will not tell you.   I thought it was quite obvious when I didn't tell you but then I forgot I was hiding my affiliate links, not to be dishonest but to prevent programs and virus from taking away from all the work I have done.   I know there will always be people who will got the site directly and not give the site the credit.  I understand that, and somewhat expect that.

Honesty is the best Policy!

That being said, if you ever come to one of my posts and you see the (Affiliate links) or (Affiliate link) then it will be linked to this post.   So you can read about my honesty and understand that I am working really hard at changing.   Here is how this will work:

• Reviews -- I promise to my readers that I believe in the review of the product and that it is a recommendation from me.


• Reimbursement -- Hosting isn't cheap now a days, that is I put up my Affiliate links and also to try supplement my working income.


• If Gifted to me -- I will clearly state that in my post and my review will no be swayed by the free gift of the item.  If it sucks, you will know about it and if it is something useful then you will also know about it.  I may however have affiliate links for the item.


• Nicer URLS -- even though I have hidden the urls and you have to click the URL to go the affiliate site in question, it is because the URL aren't really neat and tidy.   If you feel offended because you can't see URL then please feel free not to click those links.  (I wouldn't want to see http://www.amazon.com/blah/blah/blah/blah/etc, anyways and I bet you don't either)


• Gift Cards -- If you are wanting me to review a certain item and it is on Amazon or some other place then I will gladly accept a gift card through email(First name @ this domain).  However if it is something else please don't hesitate to email me.


• Review UNITS -- Same as Gifted cards, if your wanting me to review an item but don't know where to send it.   Please email me and I'll discuss with you where to send it.  (First Name @ this domain)  Please bear in mind that I may not give a nice review, so I make no PROMISES and there are no expectations.

Prove to me!

I've done the unthinkable and stopped hiding all my links on this site.   So if you want me to continue to do it this way,  I will need to see a positive out come.   I was making money hiding sites links and not telling people about them being affiliate links.   Now I don't want to see a drop in sales and money by being honest.   Help support my love to blog and being able to read about the stuff that matters to you.   Just like Glasses USA (Affiliate link) matters to me because I have to wear glasses everyday and I can't afford to go buy some really expensive pairs of glasses.   They have been the one source for me, when I need to buy new glasses.  If you find a post that you really think is good, then don't be afraid to share it on Facebook or Twitter.   Those are one ways to show your support of my blog.

Nothing shows support like sharing a post!

Paul Sylvester

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Aspects of Technology in Today's Society!

Who'd of thunk it!

Having spent the last few years as technology had developed, I for one have seen where we didn't have anything small.   We now have a lot in common with our past.   I am not saying that we are exactly like our past but we have developed something of a reoccurring theme.  I don't know why I love to talk about Technology but I do think it is the way I have developed a certain love of the simplicity of it.   We've even come to the part of giving Technology as gifts, but when is technology more than technology?  That is the questions that we must ask ourselves.

 

 

We're we are at now!

Many people have probably said we can't go any further now in technology but I don't think we are going to know for sure until it has happened.   Some technology is just not being used and others is used on a daily basis.   I would say that I user my personal laptop everyday and even have a few extra ways to be on the internet.  I know technology isn't going as fast as we might think it but it is something that will forever be ingrained in our lives.  We've got people who can get the internet just on their phones and do not always need a computer.   I'm really loving how 20 years ago we couldn't do that.  I shouldn't say we couldn't but I didn't see it as a possibility.

Were are we heading?

I don't know if  I can actually tell you that.   Technology isn't always going to be in your face but we will do know it will be a change from what is going to happen. I will say only time will tell. I am quite curious as to what technology will do next but that is the future. I'd like to hear your ideas on the matter. Your more than welcomed to leave a comment and tell me what you think about technology today!

Paul Sylvester

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• Mansoor Altaf And Technology Love (hanselandpateltest.wordpress.com)


• The Technology Gap (citizeneconomists.com)


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Techniques to remove malware from your domain!

Image by Sam Howzit via Flickr

Websites and domains!

I recently had to help my favorite club remove some malware off their website.   My club, Starfleet-command Quadrant One website, was one of those sites that didn't see this coming.   As a website owner, I've seen many of things come and go but experience has taught me that it will always come back.  I will be watching for this again in the near future but hopefully it won't come back!

The back story was something that I have to at least talk about because this is how the site got infected.

One reason that this site got infected was by being hosted with the same hosting server.  They were both using the Goddady shared hosting account to display their webpages or forums on the internet.   Thus Godaddy, with their infinite wisdom tried to explain it away as that.    I don't know if I buy that reason or if there was something else that might of been the culprit but I do know this website had urls redirects and such to malware sites.  I much rather keep with Hostgator, then have Godaddy anyways.

Another Reason is that it was probably some kind of key logger, or something that was sending back the important password information to a Command and control server and thus the website owner was infected or someone in the organization that had access to the account was unintentionally allowing a hacker to gain access to the website.

Removing the Malware off your Site!

Nothing in the world is ever going to be easy, but it is necessary to get into the guts of the website.   Your probably thinking, websites don't have guts.   You'd be wrong, when I thought about having to go through each part of the code and remove the html malware redirects that is what I mean by guts.      Many people will come to understand that as a programming language but I like to think of it as a doctor who does surgery to remove an infectedc limb or something like that.

So I'm going to give you a few areas to look at if your having this problem with Malware being on your site or domain.   It won't always be the same place for the same infection but it will at least help you find it and remove it.

.htaccess -- This is one place where they will first make changes to redirect traffic to the domain that they want your visitor to. If you have had much experience with what it does.   It is a good time to learn what they do and how to use them.

index.php or index.html-- This is something that the hackers have learned to use but most often is over looked.   This is something that I haven't seen before until now.   Certain browser will display the virus or malware warnings and others will not even see it or have any problems!   See example for more information, because I couldn't do a better job then them!

Check Subdomains and subdirectories --   This is something that is also needs to be looked at.   even if they aren't showing the signs of being being infected it is always a good idea to at least make sure they stay uninfected.   Check them for the .htaccess and index code and remove what you need or change it to where it should be going to in the first place.   I found the .htaccess redirect code all in subdomains and sub directories on the one that I helped to remove the infection from.

Change ALL passwords -- This is a MUST, if you've been infected then your passwords are at risk of being the source of the infections.   Change your FTP Password, your log in information password, and anything associated with the site in question and possibility the subdomains passwords.

Limit the number of people with the new passwords -- if your like me, you don't want to many people to have the ftp password and thus you should consider only allowing a select number of people having it.   Like the organization I have, they have people left and right who use it to upload files and stuff that is needed.   It also might be required to just have a server that is used for nothing else but to upload files for publications and other things like that.

Disclaimer

Nothing in the article is a must do or will get rid of your site being blocked by Google and other such search engines but it will at least give you a place to start looking to find culprit and maybe get your site running again quicker.   I will not make any guarantees that this will fix the problem or that it will solve your problem 100% but this is to be used as a tutorial on where to look and what you should do to prevent re-infections with malware.

 Paul Sylvester

SUPERAntiSpyware

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Is your Blog half empty or half full?

Are you blogging and nothing is happening?

Let's face it, having a blog doesn't always mean you going to get the audience that you expect. I might not be the perfect example for blogging but it is what everyone is wanting to have a blog. Getting past the noise alone can be a very hard process. You never know who will read your blog or who will comment. That alone could make or break your blog writing ability. I don't mean that it would actually break your blog or anything of that nature, but I am talking about who comes to your blog and why.   This is the reason why some bloggers blog and others journal, each to its own.    Some like to just write down their thoughts and others are looking for the lifetime of knowledge.

Blogging isn't really about money!

Some bloggers want to make money and others like me want to build a community.    It's not that your blog is half empty but you should consider your blog as being half full.  Your probably trying to figure out what you need to blog about but you really should be searching for what you want to blog about and not thinking about the money.  Although I would be amiss if I didn't at least want to make money blogging.   My goal however is to do something that I love and that is to write.   I might not have a lot of writing skills but I will learn and adapt.   Adaptation is the key to a good blog at least in my case.  Knowing that is one part of a bigger picture some would say.

Finding the Time to blog!

This is another facts of life, for some it is easy to find time to blog and for others well just say they need to blog at all hours of the night.    It is actually just personal preferences when to blog, but just because you blog doesn't mean you are going to make a dent in who will come.   It however does mean that you can work hard and expect to make money.  So here are some points that I am going to work on:

• Work with other bloggers -- Having seen how this can help me, I will be collaborating with other bloggers to become a better blog.


• Work on my blog -- I'm am going to rededicate myself to making this a better blog.


• Making money --  Hey I didn't say I wouldn't want to make money but that is something that is going to be secondary to creating a better blog.


• Helping others -- If you need help creating your own blog or setting up your blog then you can contact me and hire me to help you in creating a good blog.

Paul Sylvester

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Your Chance to win a Free Pair of Glasses!

Did someone say Free??

I've been in contact with Glasses USA, and they told me they would be proud to sponsor this give away.  They have agreed to give away 3 pairs of Glasses.   They've told me:

There are no limitations. it only covers the cost of the glasses and cannot be used with a Free Shipping Coupon.  Users can get free standard shipping but will have to pay out of pocket for any upgrade to the shipping method. You will need to have your Prescription ready by the time this contest is over.   In their FAQ's they say you will need a copy of your prescription to order your Glasses.  When You when I will need to have a verified email address so as to tell them the email address you will be using to order your pair of glasses.   I will also be giving your a coupon code to use to get your free pair of glasses.  If you need a new pair of glasses and can't afford it then this is a way to get your free pair of glasses.   You can also get your free pair of sunglasses if you already have a good pair of glasses.

How do I enter?

I will be giving away three pairs and each pair will be from the following three ways:

1. Sign up to my Mailing List — By signing up to my list that is one way to verify your email address.  It must stay valid for a month in order to email you the details on how to get your instructions on getting your free pair of glasses.
2. Comment on this page — Again this will be a month long prize campaign, so you will have to put down an email address that will be valid for a least a month.   This will also be only seen by me, so you must not worry about getting spam emails.
3. Link to my homepage or this page from your site — This is my last way to enter to win your free pair of glasses.   If you have a blog and you link to me by making a blog post or through a blog roll.   You’ll be entered into my contest.   The only thing about this is the more individual Internet Protocols that come my way the more chances your entered.   every 5 unique IP’s, you’ll be entered into the drawing.   So the more you send my way the more chance you will win.   This does not include forums or tweeting about it but if you know someone who might need a new pair of glasses then by all means.

This give away will be valid from 05/13/2011 to 06/13/2011.   This is done to maximize the chances of people entering this contest.  I will be using Random.org to determine the 3 winners.   Good Luck to all!!

Paul Sylvester

*Contest is Closed*

Although you didn't have a chance to enter. Stay tuned to win something else from my site. I will be doing another contest. Winners will be announced later on today!

*Winners*

• Kendra Gillian (MaIling List)
• Emmy Coffee (one who left the comment)

Congratulations to the two winners. Since I didn't have anyone referrers from other sites I can't give out the last pair, so I am going to get my free pair to review for later on. Have a good day!!

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Something great is coming!

 

From Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Big Surprises coming!

Yes I know this is something you probably haven't heard from me for a while.   I do however have some bing plans coming in the following weeks.   I am unsure when this will happen but you can be sure it will be a great challenge for most of my readers.   I've been in talks with a company or two about something that you will love to talk about and also maybe get in the near future.

If you haven't already!

If you haven't already subscribed to my mailing list, this would be an excellent time to jump aboard.   This mailing list is going to be the launching for this Big surprise, so you will know before anyone else.    So If you haven't, you should.   It is also my newest attempt at keeping you up to date on what is going on.   Whenever I post something new to my blog you will receive an email the next day.   So you will never have to worry about missing a post.  I will also be adding special stuff in this email list from time to time so you will always find those nuggets of wisdom from my list.

How do I subscribe?

It isn't rocket science as someone once said but it does require you to verify your email address, so once you receive the verifying process you will automatically be sent updates through the email whenever something new is published or when I want to give my readers something special.

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Thats about it, I will see you on the flip side. Have a Good Day!!

Paul Sylvester

 

Will blog for money! How to make money blogging.

Image by piterart via Flickr

Everyone wants to make money Blogging

I bet everyone is looking to make money online. It isn't always easy to blog or even what you want to blog about.  If your anything like me you want to make some kind of money for your hard work.    It depends on a lot of things to go right or at least to go in your favor.   I am here to talk about some of the more stuff than having a keyword or a niche per say.   I want to talk about other ways to draw your crowds to your site and why it isn't just about the niche market but how your present it!

This is not going to be about just making money, because there are more than that to have to do to keep the revenue coming your way.   I intend to talk about what is important and why it is important.   Just because you have a blog and you can blog doesn't necessary mean you will make money but it does give you one step closer!

It's All About Presentation!

I say that because I know that just because you are blogging will not bring in money, but you have to get a high level of readers to want to help you succeed at making money.  When I talk about readers, I am talking about those who either link to your site or want to click your links to support your hard work.     These are the type of followers that can make or break your blog experience.  Just because you have followers doesn't necessarily make for a great blog.   So what are the ways to make money, you might be asking?

Connect with your readers

I know on my other blog I have discuss time and time again.  In my experience you can make some money from just blogging but it depends on more than just blogging about money.   It isn't always the easiest thing to do because more and more readers are quite picky on which blogs they will support and which ones they will not support.

I want to Connect with my readers again!

You've heard me right, I wanting to make that essential connection with my readers.    It isn't going to be easy because of this being a new domain.   Some of my old readers have probably forgotten me or don't even know that I have a new blog up and running.   Although it can't be for me not trying to tell them.    That is why I am asking my current readers to tell your friends and family and let the ones that might of found me before through you.   So they can come back and comment about posts and become a regular visitor on my blog.   If you want this blog to become better, that is one way to do that.   Invite people, and tell family and friends about this blog.   You never know what will happen.   I also made it easier to book mark posts or recommend them to friends and family.   There is a new book marking tool at the top and bottom of each post, so you can recommend my site through email, and Facebook and other ways.   I do ask that you find a good post and click the Facebook like button.   This will also help people find my site and as always thank you for being a regular guest on my blog posts.

Paul Sylvester

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Security and Privacy go hand in hand! Or does it?

Image by sfpanda_pix via Flickr

Privacy Really?

I've been commenting on Gail Garners Blog about how Google mail is putting ads in the emails.  Now I have done at least one post about Privacy and you not having it.  If you haven't read my  post then I will give a outline of that post.

It basically boils down to some main points that I will discuss on this post:

• No-one is Immune on the Net -- Anyone and everyone has some information floating out on the internet and even celebrity information that they don't want you find can be found if you look hard enough.


• Know the Information before anyone else -- Seriously if you want to keep track of what is being put out on the net about you.   Have Google email you when either name or some other information that you are looking for gets put out on the net.


• Be Ready for Anything -- There isn't much you can do to actually be ready for Anything but it is more of a statement to yourself that "Nothing will surprise you.".   Sometimes just taking a long hard look at your life and remembering some of this can be quite concerning, so you should be ready for someone to find out and have an answer for them.


• Our life are infinitesimal compared to the scheme of things --  Everyday, I am constantly thinking what can I do to make someone's else happy.   I find blogging makes me happy but I always want to make others just as happy as I am sometimes.   I sometimes like to wake up in the morning and just thank God for each day I can bring something new to my readers!

How Security is involved in Privacy

If you read the title and was a little curious why security is crucial to privacy.   It does not take a rocket scholar to figure this out.  If your are one to worry about your privacy then you should be also worrying about what information is leaking out on the internet from sources that you have no control over.   This means you have to figure out just how far you willing to go.

• Friends --  Sometimes your privacy is left to who you decide who your friends are.   They might accidentally mention your name or some other random tidbit about you.   It all depends on who your really trust and tell them not to share your information.


• Family -- Almost the exact same people as friends but since they are your family, there may or may not be trust so you will have to deal with them in your own way.   This is why I grouped them separately!


• Services -- If your ever signed up for Facebook or other social websites than you have not truely read the Terms of Service.   Most of them, if not all, require to the user to have personal information on there server.   In turn, someone could get on there server illegally and copy all those names and information.

As with my previous post about epsilon having been hacked.   If you have a computer or the internet then your information is slowly being leaked and there is nothing you can do about it.   You can minimize it but that is about all.

I want to hear from you.   Do you think you can still be invisible on the internet?  Leave a comment or ask a question.   I'd love to hear what you have to say!

Paul Sylvester

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I'm back with a vengeance!

Image via Wikipedia

Hello Again!

I am not an new blogger but actually an old blogger coming back to blog some more.    Over the past few months my old blog, Tech-linkblog.com has been slow or not even something that I wanted to continue doing.   I must say that it wasn't because I didn't want to but I was busy with my new job.

I must say It has been nothing if not busy for me.   I created two new domains to and got them up and running thanks in part to Hover.com.  This domain and unlockedcellphonesblog.com were recently bought because I wanted to expand my domains and have more resources when I needed it.

So what about my Old Domain?

I'll probably keep it up and running because it will still make money for me and draw people to this domain and others.   It would be unwise to discontinue that domain just because I am going to start writing for this one now.   I have actually missed just sitting down and typing out what my thoughts are and sharing them with my readers.   Although there will be no major readers just yet, I do believe when I start discussing some good stuff like the Amazon Cloudplayer that people will want to come and find me to learn more about it.   I've not had any time to play with it but I am quite curious as to what people think of how Amazon has taken the lead in MP3 market?

So what is next?

I'm not sure but I will be updating at least once a week with stuff that I find interesting and maybe even twice a week.   I don't know when these posts will be coming out but I am going to work on getting back to writing the way I used to just like when I was on my Tech-linkblog and blogging.   The only main reason to switch over to this new domain is because I felt it was more of a fit for me and it was an easier domain to have my reader remember and not forget it easier.    That is one of those tips that you need to remember when purchasing domains.   Find something that people can easily remember and come back to so they don't have to try to remember a long URL.

Is there anything you want me to Talk about?

I know I kept saying this from my old blog but I thought I would continue to ask and see you would like to talk about and engage my readers some more.   The more I learn from my readers so the blog post can be more interesting to you and others.   I am sure I can come up with some topics of my own and I probably will continue to blog about what interest after all, this is the reason for this domain.   I do hope you join me for this journey and make yourself at home!

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Get your Free Superantispyware Lifetime License — Cybersecurity Awareness Month

I am going to give out 5 License for anyone who might want one. These license are good for a lifetime.

How do you Enter Contest?

This is going to be a very simple.   There are going to be 3 ways to enter and I will pick winners on October 16, 2010:

• You must follow me and have this in you tweet: (One License will be given away)

Just entered the SUPERAntiSpyware Pro License giveaway. You can win by following @laforge129 and retweet http://bit.ly/cR95ge.

• Leave a Comment and tell me why you need it.   I will use Sign up for my Newsletter and confirm your subscription. I will never sell your information or spam you. This newsletter is to get to know my readers and give you even more exclusive content that you wouldn’t  get on my blog (2 Licenses will be given away using Random.org).

You can tweet that once a day and increase your chances of winning. The more ways you enter the better chance of getting one of those lifetime licenses from Superantispyware. You can read my review of Superantispyware and decide if you want to enter. I will tell you I have been using this for quite some time and am thoroughly pleased with it!!  Do you have enough security on your system?  If not you really should enter to make your system is more secure!!  Thanks to Mike Duncan for the 5 Licenses.

Good Luck, And you will find out the Winners October 16, 2010

The Free Giveaway is ended and the I will be posting Monday 10/18/10 on who the winners are!!   Thank you everyone who entered!!

I get my glasses from GlassesUSA. They have a Satisfaction Guarantee and evenPrescription Sunglasess for when your out doors. Give them a try, and I know you'll like them!

Facebook starts the long spiral downward!

 As you can tell we are seeing how more and more people aren’t using Facebook.   I am one of them, I haven’t used Facebook for over 3 weeks.   Why might you ask? I have several reasons and i would like to talk about them.

Security Issues

Yes, that is definitely one of them.   I have seen how they have dealt with it and I am not that comfortable with them.   So I haven’t felt compelled to be on Facebook because of this.  I am not the only who has quit Facebook, check out my Poll.  Here is the current Standings in my Poll:

Are you Going to quit Facebook?

• 24% Voted Yes


• 45% Voted No


• 14% Voted Maybe


• 17% Voted (Boycott June 6, 2010)

As you can see it means half the votes are staying and other half are leaving or possibly leaving.  Which doesn’t do well with me being that people are leaving it.

The Games on Facebook

I was mainly using Facebook as a way to play games on it. For One of my Favorite games on it is Zynga games.  Although I am unhappy how Facebooks gets to keep that game on there, I do know why though.   This was a last attempt effort to keep on Facebook.   I am sure of it.   So since I won’t be on Facebook, I have no need to play games.   I am hoping Zynga creates there own way to play the game without being on Facebook, if they do that I might return.

Facebook has becoming uninteresting

This is the final reason why I haven’t been on Facebook for over 3 weeks, I am uninterested with Facebook and have no desires to go back. I haven’t however deleted my account but merely haven’t been on Facebook. I see no reason to even go there to delete or put suspend my account. That would merely make it harder to go leave it, because I would want to read messages and other such things. I have decided just to keep away from it for the time being. If Facebook does make a come back, then Maybe but for right now. I have better things to take up my time.

Have a Good Friday, See you Monday

I get my glasses from GlassesUSA. They have a Satisfaction Guarantee and evenPrescription Sunglasess for when your out doors. Give them a try, and I know you'll like them!

Computer Security : important caveat not all websites are safe

Everyday we've seen people get infections on there systems and most don't understand that they've been duped and have installed the software themselves.

In this article we will talk about how most people will willingly install these Trojans and virus themselves for several different reasons.

ineluctable truth about Human Nature

These malware authors know all about how people think.    It usually happens when people think they are seeing something provocative and something you can watch in your private homes.   There are several different ways to do this:

• News stories --  Alas this is always being used to spread malware.   For example Erin Andrews Peephole malware.


• Fake photos files -- This is also a very common ploy, to make people think it is a Photo but in reality it is an Executable.  Example : MichealJackson.JPG.EXE


• Fake Codecs -- You visit what you think is a popular movie and it says you need to install a codec.  This is another way for people to get infected with a Trojan, or a Virus.   For example : [intlink id="3739" type="post"]Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince malware[/intlink].


• Fake PDF's --  There have been known exploits in the Adobe Reader and Adobe where a malware author can take control over the pc and install whatever they want into the system.  Example : Attackers Target New Adobe Flash/Reader Flaw

As you can see these are just a few but have been used in the past so it doesn't mean they won't be used in the future.   The Malware authors will also use Social sites to infect your pc, Here are a few common ones:

• You get a message that states "[intlink id="3662" type="post"]Look at this[/intlink]" Most of the twitter users were very curious and had not seen alot of malware on twitter and was very trusting, so they would willingly go to these sites not expecting to get a trojan or virus.


• You get a message in face book "You look just awesome in this video."  You try to go to the URL and it says You have to update your flash player.   This is another common way to get the user to install a trojan or virus and think it is a legitimate update.


• Twitter Spambots --  You get a message about a Registry cleaner but it is a rogue Antivurs.  You down load this software and without thinking run it and your infected.   Twitter and facebook users are to relax to see just how dangerous links can be.

Most or all can be used as email also so you don't have to be on any site to recieved an attached file with something similar to that you see up there.   You must never download anything you know nothing about and if in doubt scan it with several virus scanners by uploading it to Virustotal that is a good site to see if some well known vendors consider this program or file to be a virus. These were just a few, I am sure I have missed several and will probably hear about this from the users. I encourage people to discuss this and talk about other ways this can happen.

I recommend:
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