How to Avoid a Download Disaster

The word Google has become a word that every computer uses as a verb. Everyone "googles" items they are interested in learning more about. Often we google programs that we download. That is where you can get into trouble.

Repackaging is when someone downloads a program and adds their own components to it and then makes it available for download. Those extra components can be beneficial to you or, more often than not, malevolent.

How do you know what's safe and what's not? I'll use an example that I encountered today.

VLC is a media player that is available for free. It reads practically everything. It's free and useful so this is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

Google "download VLC Media Player."

The list includes the download from the publisher VideoLAN, but it also contains the download from other sites. I trust CNET a tech site, but how do you know which of the other sites are safe? You don't really. It's best to download the item from the publisher.

Most people will just click on the top one no matter what it says. Don't do that anymore. Read to make sure you are not getting a repackaged software.

And don't ever download anything from a "filesharing" site (like filehippo). They aren't safe. Bad guys set them up. We don't like to trust bad guys, do we?

C Cleaning Time

When your C drive gets completely full, a lot of things don't happen. Automatic updates don't download, automated defrags don't happen. Sluggishness occurs. It can prevent you from opening ANY file or it can crash your hard drive completely.

Checking your C drive status is easy. Double click on Computer or My Computer to open it. Then, right click on Properties. Blue is used space and purple is free space. Never go beyond 75% blue. 

To fix it:

• Download and run CCleaner from piriform.com. Run this weekly or more often if you do a lot of recreational browsing. You would be surprised how much trash this program finds.
• Old files can fill up a C drive quickly. If they are not used regularly, burn them onto a CD or copy them to a flash drive.  You can make a secondary backup to a cloud-based storage, but I wouldn't recommend relying 100% on a cloud solution.

Get Rid of the Old Bag

Or at least clean her up a bit. She's been hanging around too long. Aren't you sick of her?

Replace HER with THIS! Isn't she a beauty? Is your bag old? Is it in need of replacement? Bargain laptop bags from 10 years ago aren't anything near what most laptop bags are today. Bags today have more padding to protect your laptop.

Other reasons to update your bag:

• Added compartments for other items that you carry often. Today's bags have compartments for today's technologies: ipods, cell phones, etc.
• Update your lifestyle: they have roll-on bags, laptop backpacks which might better serve the professional on the go. Even they have bags with personal alarm systems built in.

• Update your image. A clean, fresh bag can send the message you want to send to your clients. 
• An important factor to consider when you buy a new laptop: your screen size might be larger than your old laptop and your old bag might not fit your new multimedia system.
•  Laptop manufacturers often give deals at the time of purchase that can't be beat. When I bought my new laptop, I really didn't need one, but it was only 10$ to do so. Shortly after that my old laptop bag was damaged and I needed to use the new one. I was glad I had the spare one.

Advice for E-Filing

So this year you want to e-file for the first time. Congrats. It's faster.  It's safe if you take a couple precautions.

1. Don't e-file over a WEP connection. Even if the website itself is secure, your WEP connection is not.  If your internet provider delivered your wireless configured for WEP (and they probably did) you might have the option to reconfigure it for WPA or WPA2 which is much safer. 
2. Make a money email account. Don't use it for anything but money matters. Make sure you give it a good long password with upper case and lower case and a few numbers.
3. Don't email your tax forms. (Personally, I'd fire my CPA if he emailed mine.) CDs are cheap. If you want an archival copy burn a CD. 
4. Make sure the computer you are using is virus and malware free before you do your taxes online.
5. Use a reputable software vendor (HRBlock or Intuit TurboTax,) or go to the IRS or state website to file.

Hope you make out well this year!

Now That I'm Blacklisted, What Do I Do?

Getting blacklisted is not something you want on your bucket list. It's a pain to get off a UBL (universal block list) once you've been put on one.

First, you have to look at the reason why you were put on. Are you sending a ton of emails? If you are, then stop. People don't want to have to delete a whole bunch of emails that aren't relevant to them. Is your computer infected? If it is, chances are you're a zombie sending out tons of emails without your knowledge. It's really important to stay on top of things and stay up to date with your virus protection and scans.

Second, you have to look at how you are blacklisted. Either it's your email or IP address. The email vendor of the person you are trying to send to can tell you which has been blacklisting by looking at their logs.

Third, determine who is blacklisting you. There are many different blacklists that are maintained by many different organizations. Here's one place you can check: http://whatismyipaddress.com/blacklist-check.

Fourth, visit the website of the blacklisting organization and follow their removal steps. It usually takes time to get off a blacklist. Sometimes it can happen the same day, but that's rare. Usually it takes a couple of weeks. Sometimes it takes six months. In some cases, once you're on, you're on.

So as you can see, it's best to avoid getting on one to begin with. Email smart and you'll stay off.

Technology Blunders You Might Be Making

Good friends tell it like it is. So that's what I'm doing. Hope it helps you!

•  No password on your laptop. Laptops are stolen and lost all the time. Read the stats on stolen laptops; it's alarming. Put a password on today! 
• Announcing you are going on vacation and leaving your house empty on your social media. Burglars scour social media to look for empty houses.
• Using an AOL address. AOL is so last century. It says to your customer that you are outdated. Make a plan to transition away from it. It makes you look a bit stodgy to your young customers. It says you don't want to change and screams out of touch.
• Gushing about your spouse on your social media. Mine is the best! He's so sweet, funny and incredibly smart. I never met anyone as wonderful as him Made my point? Annoying! Use Hallmark instead if you want to tell your spouse you love them.
• Using "just saying" seems to be a popular phrase, but you might want to leave it out of all of your electronic communications. "Just saying" is always followed by something rude so folks get the wrong impression.
• Admitting you are not tech savy. It's ok with me because I can guide you and teach you stuff. Don't do it with your customers. Real estate is tech driven these days. If you are not tech savy, you might rethink advertising it. 
• Not logging out of your email on public computers. I see this a lot. Please stop. It's dangerous for you. Run ccleaner or at least delete cookies after you use a public computer.
• Talking to dead people is creepy. They don't have Facebook. Talking to God is cool because He is omniscient, but talking to anyone else deceased is not.
• Printing emails isn't green. That's not what email is intended for. It gives the wrong impression to folks who care about the planet.