Winner’s and Losers for 2010

Hope you all survived Thanksgiving and had a good time while doing it. Tech news and views inevitably slow down during the holiday season. But, I do manage to find some interesting news and usually lots of free software you might find useful…so stay tuned.

If you like games, light-weight or serious, be sure and look at the “Best Free PC Games” article. There are a ton of games in their, including some solitaire games. Enjoy.

JRC

Tech's Biggest Winners and Losers: 2010

The year's winding down, which means it's time to take stock of the companies, technologies and product categories that had big years, and those that did not.

Avoid the security risk of shortened URLs

The compact URLs produced by services such as TinyURL, bit.ly, is.gd, and many others are convenient and save space, but they can also be used to hide the identity of malicious sites. Fortunately, there are several ways to peek behind a shortened URL to see exactly where the link will take you — before you click it!

Google launches Microsoft Office connector: Keep your legacy Office, use our cloud

The plug-in, dubbed Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, gives the user a direct link to sync and share documents—Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint—with Google Docs. The documents aren’t reformatted in Google Docs, which is used as a go-between from your legacy Office suite to Google.

Best Free PC Games

Whether you've searched everywhere trying to find the best free game in existence, or just happened to stumble here looking for something to keep your kids occupied, you've come to the right place. This is the showcase for some of the most top-notch, high quality, freeware games out there in each respective category. They really are quite a bang for the lack of a buck.

HTTPS Everywhere | Electronic Frontier Foundation

HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension produced as a collaboration between The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It encrypts your communications with a number of major websites. This extension was designed to help protect you against FireSheep incursions at public Wi_Fi locations.

Netflix Makes Some Big Changes

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

JRC

Netflix offers $8 streaming-only option

The video rental company will now offer customers a plan that includes the ability to view movies through its streaming service for $7.99 per month. It was quick to point out that its cheapest plan includes no DVD rentals.

Cybersecurity bill gives DHS power to punish tech firms

Democratic politicians are proposing a novel approach to cybersecurity: fine technology companies $100,000 a day unless they comply with directives imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. I think this is way over the top!

Best Products of 2010

Just in time for your holiday shopping, here are the 80 top products our analysts picked from hundreds of reviews done this year that rise above the rest.

Microsoft TechNet for the rest of us

Microsoft's TechNet site, dubbed "Resources for IT Professionals," is a rich repository of high-level geek talk plus tips for enterprise-class IT personnel. But don't let that reputation put you off — TechNet is also a gold mine of excellent tips and tricks for individual Windows users as well.

This Has To Be The Easiest Photo-Sharing Site Ever

Assuming you have a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or IE9), just fire up the site, drag some photos onto the empty page, and you're done. Yes, really. It takes just seconds, there's no need to sign up, and the results are superb. Some very clever Javascript code takes care of the uploading, and if you resize your browser then all the images get dynamically resized in real time too.

Tips for Holiday Shopping On-Line

I am back from my 5 day photo safari to the Moab, UT area. Got some great photos at both the Arches National Park and nearby Canyonlands National Park which will start showing up in my “Postcards” blog starting later today.

Not a lot happened in the tech world while I was gone, but here are some interesting stories. I recommend you read the article on Christmas shopping, if you plan to do any shopping on-line like me. Enjoy. 

JRC

U.S.: Beijing backs hacking on 'massive scale'

"Recent high-profile, China-based computer exploitations continue to suggest some level of state support. Indicators include the massive scale of these exploitations and the extensive intelligence and reconnaissance components," noted the report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission's (USCC).

Windows at 25

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Microsoft Windows, since the first version of the product was launched on this day in 1985. Like most people, I never used Windows 1.0, which was by all accounts nothing more than a slightly graphical shell that sat on top of MS-DOS. In fact, the original code-name for Windows--Interface Manager--says everything you need to know about Microsoft's early intentions for the product.

Smart Spending: When To Grab the Best Holiday Deals

Many stores, both online and brick-and-mortar, are are discounting holiday goods earlier than last year because shoppers remain cautious. Generally, retailers are going out with their best prices of the season around the Thanksgiving week on such items as flat-panel TVs, computers and laptops, and the season's hottest toys and clothing.

Computer Trouble Isn't Always What You Think It Is

When things go terribly wrong with technology, you may have to go that extra mile to find the right answers.

AeroWeather Shifts Aero's Color Scheme to Match the Weather

Windows: If you're a fan of passive information delivery, AeroWeather is a clever weather tool that gives you subtle feedback about the weather conditions via Aero's color scheme.

The Dying Days of Window XP

Are the days of XP coming to a close? Yes, if the recent programming trends by Microsoft are any indication. For instance, the latest incarnation of the Windows Live Essentials do not work in XP. Many of the Office Live features are not XP compatible. And, of course, you cannot get it anymore on new computers. I would say its days are numbered. But all is not lost for XP users, as indicated by our first article.

PS: I will not be publishing any editions for a week as I am headed up into the wilds of Southern Utah on a photo safari. But, I will be back!!  JRC

Windows XP: Looking back, looking forward

On October 22, Microsoft pulled the plug on sales of Windows XP, ending the operating system's spectacular nine-year run. With no new copies being sold, support for XP will start to decline. Fortunately, XP's long run has produced a ton of collected wisdom: everything you need to keep your copy going strong and — when ready — to help you move on.

AT&T prepares for the end to iPhone exclusivity

The end of 2010 is close and it looks like AT&T is beefing up its device portfolio and app offerings for a day when it isn't the only U.S. operator offering the Apple iPhone. U.S. Press reports indicate that Verizon Wireless will likely get a version of the iPhone as soon as the first quarter of 2011.

Firefox 4 gets much, much faster

One of the major components essential for the future of Firefox just landed in the beta build of the browser, and it gives the open-source browser the page-rendering speed boost that it had been lacking.

Why You'll Give Up Gmail for Facebook Mail

According to Techcrunch's sources, a full webmail client integrated with The One and Only Social Network will debut next Monday. This is why it may become your favorite webmail service. If I were Google, Yahoo or Hotmail, I'd be very nervous. Facebook Mail could be a killer not only because of its potential instant size, but because of its natural advantage at making mail more useful.

Windows Live Mail 2011 Gets Lassoed By The Ribbon

If you're looking for an excellent, free mail client, you'll do well to install Windows Live Mail 2011. This newest version of Microsoft's free e-mail client has been significantly upgraded over the previous version, and now includes a host of new features, including a calendar pane and Microsoft Office's Ribbon interface. It doesn't include all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Outlook, such as tasks and a full-blown calendar, but given that it's free, Windows Live Mail is well worth the download.

Dallas Cowboys Screw Up On and Off the Field

It’s a slow tech new day, but still managed to find some interesting stories.  Could not resist the story about the Dallas Cowboys forgetting to renew their domain. That whole organization has problems. Anyway, I hope you can find something to interest you in today’s top stories.

JRC

Cowboys fire coach, forget to renew Web domain

According to the Dallas Morning News, the team had forgotten to renew the domain. Which meant that DallasCowboys.com was adorned with a picture of two little boys playing soccer and a suggestion that it was for sale.

Patch Tuesday Leaves Some Vulnerabilities Unpatched

IT administrators got a lighter load from this month's Patch Tuesday, but Microsoft left some vulnerabilities unpatched, including an Internet Explorer zero-day exploit. Office was a key target of this month's Patch Tuesday, with the only critical patch in three security bulletins. Fewer bulletins may let IT administrators catch up from last month.

Business Discounts Added To Facebook Places

A new Deals service expands Facebook Places to let smartphone users find business discounts wherever they are. By tapping the Facebook Places Check In button, users will see nearby places, with yellow icons denoting available deals. An analyst said Deals on Facebook Places is just the beginning of a dynamic mobile commerce opportunity.

Firefox 4 release slips to 2011

Mozilla has pushed back the planned Firefox 4 release to 2011, a delay that's no surprise given the difficulties in releasing the first full-featured beta of the open-source browser--but that also gives breathing room for several competitors.

25 handy Google search tips and tricks

The good thing about Google is that generally, you don't have to be too precise or bend over backwards to find things. When you want something specific, though, or just can't find it the old-fashioned way, these tips will bring it right to your fingertips.

One of My Favorite Add-On’s Will Not Die Afterall

Firefox extension detects FireSheep snoop software

Dubbed BlackSheep, the Firefox extension alerts users when computers on a local area network are using FireSheep to steal unencrypted cookies the websites use to grant users access to their account pages. When BlackSheep detects the snoop software in a hotspot or other open Wi-Fi network, it displays a message that reads “Somebody is using FireSheep on this network.” It then displays the LAN IP address of the offending party.

Cable Subscribers Flee, But Is Internet To Blame?

If "cord-cutting" in favor of Internet video is taking hold, there are wide-ranging implications. Consumers who use the web to get movies and TV bypass not just cable firms, but the networks that produce the content. This could have the same disruptive effect on the TV and movie industries as digital downloads have already had on music.

Xmarks Lives On, Finds Buyer

In September one of my favorite productivity tools, XMarks, was taken off the market when the company that made it closed up shop. XMarks syncs your passwords and bookmarks across browsers, so you can share one set of bookmarks. Since I spend my time shuffling among multiple PCs, at work and at home, the free software has been a godsend. This week the CEO announced that Xmarks would live on thanks to a new buyer.

The lie about so-called 4G gets worse

T-Mobile is now claiming that its 3G network is a 4G one. It's a bald-faced lie -- whatever happened to truth in advertising?

Windows 7 Taskbar Items Pinner Freeware

Although Windows7 already provides a `Pin to Taskbar` option, it only works with .EXE files and certain other shortcuts. The Windows 7 Taskbar Items Pinner allows you to tweak your taskbar by adding shortcuts to common system folders as well as any other folder or file.

More on the Dangers Open Wi-Fi and FireSheep

In our last edition, we talked about how programs like FireSheep open you up to hijacking and snooping when using public un-encrypted Wi-Fi. If you have not read it, please do. It is critical! Currently, over 1/2 million people have downloaded FireSheep. That spells danger for all of us who use public Wi-Fi. 

Also we have talked about CCleaner software here on a few occasions. It has a new, serious upgrade that you should probably download. Have a terrific weekend.

Jim

Cloak your connection to foil Firesheep snoopers

If you're serious about protecting your surfing from prying eyes while on an unencrypted public Wi-Fi connection, the onus is on you to lock down your connections. Using virtual private networking (VPN) is one of the best ways I know to do that. Firesheep has raised the awareness — and hackles — of Wi-Fi users all over the world. It exploits an old, well-known problem called sidejacking. Eric Butler, the author of Firesheep, describes the situation succinctly in his Firesheep post:

Patch Tuesday heads-up: Critical MS Office security holes

After last month’s record-breaking security patch release, Microsoft is offering a November respite. The November Patch Tuesday will feature just three bulletins with fixes for a total of 11 documented vulnerabilities. One of the bulletins will be rated “critical,” Microsoft’s highest severity rating.

Business Discounts Added To Facebook Places

A new Deals service expands Facebook Places to let smartphone users find business discounts wherever they are. By tapping the Facebook Places Check In button, users will see nearby places, with yellow icons denoting available deals. An analyst said Deals on Facebook Places is just the beginning of a dynamic mobile commerce opportunity.

CCleaner 3 delivers nuanced drive wiper

CCleaner hasn't seen many major revisions since Piriform launched it in 2004, but debuting today, CCleaner 3 includes some extremely useful new features that make it worth the upgrade.

Best Free Photo Editing Software

Overexposure, underexposure, random blemishes, red-eye problems, white balance issues, and other visual mishaps will occur, so it's incredibly handy to have a good photo editing application on your PC to make corrections. Fortunately, there are plenty of photo editing applications that can get the job done—for free!

Special Edition–If You Use Public Wi-Fi, You May Be in Serious Trouble

Some new information has come out of a recent hacker’s convention that may change the way we use the public Wi-Fi spots forever. There is a new Firefox Extension now available called “FireSheep” that, when installed on anyone’s computer, will allow you to see who is logged into a public Wi-Fi network, what sites they are logged into, and with a simple click of the mouse, take over their identity on the Net.

Yes you read that correctly. With FireSheep, anyone can see what you are doing on-line and easily steal your on-line identity. They can make changes to your Facebook account, change your e-mail password, and much much worse. Are there ways to prevent this? Yes there is. And I will get to that.

Currently, almost 1/2 million people have downloaded FireSheep into their Firefox browsers. Some folks only want to see if and how it works. Others may have less than honorable intentions. You need to protect yourself and perhaps suggest to your favorite coffee shop or other Wi-Fi connected businesses that they do a simple change to their Wi-Fi routers to protect their customers.

The creators of FireSheep did this to show the world how easy it is to steal your identity and to force a change in the way public Wi-Fi is used. And it is so easy to change!

The easiest fix this is for the Wi-Fi provider to turn on WPA or WPA2 encryption on their routers. Then, just hang a sign on the wall for the password to access the router. For instance, Starbucks could easily put up a large sign saying the password in “Starbucks.” Then no one on line could see anyone else.  Each computer would encrypted differently, even with the same password. I think all public Wi-Fi providers should do this now!!

The second solution would be for you, the user, to use VPN encryption to scramble all your signals to and from your laptop. This is what I have been doing for some time now.  There are both free and paid VPN programs.

For more information on these topics, here are some sources for further reading. Also check out the links in the article for more information:

 

Firesheep Simplifies Stealing Logins

Well, thanks to a new Firefox extension called Firesheep, anyone can easily view other people on their network and, with a click of a button, assume another person's identity and login credentials from any non-secure site that the unwitting person is logged into.

The unvarnished truth about unsecured Wi-Fi

Many of you may have heard this before, but many still seem to not be doing anything about it. You should. Here's why. With a $50 wireless antenna and the right software a criminal hacker located outside your building as far as a mile away can capture passwords, e-mail messages, and any other data being transmitted over your network.

How to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi Networks

Just because most wireless routers have a firewall to protect you from the internet doesn't mean you're protected from others connected to the same network. Lots of wireless hotspots these days are completely unencrypted, usually so they're easier to connect to (baristas don't need to be giving out the internet password to everyone that walks in). However, this leaves you unprotected against malicious users in the same coffee shop, so there are a few settings you should always make sure to tweak when you're connected to a public network.

proXPN - Create a FREE VPN Account

This free program will allow you to use a private VPN network in public Wi-Fi locations so that no one can see what you are doing, even with FireSheep.

Yahoo Mail Steps Up and Other Reviews

Yahoo speeds up Mail, adds more Twitter

The company on Wednesday is releasing an overhauled version of its Yahoo Mail Beta client that it says is twice as fast as the previous version, while managing to tack on new features like an integrated Twitter client, rich media previews, and a more full-featured IM client.

Logitech Revue (Google TV) Review

The Logitech Revue with Google TV is loaded with potentially game-changing functionality, but its high price, numerous caveats, and current assortment of bugs make it best-suited to early adopters--at least until promised firmware fixes become available.

Evernote's Windows overhaul adds speed, finesse

Evernote is set to release a new version of its note-taking and Web-clipping Windows software this morning that improves speed, looks, and functionality. In short, it leapfrogs the old version, and then some.

Windows Phone 7 will be a serious game-changer

Love it or hate it, the new Windows Phone 7 mobile OS has success written all over it

Dropbox: File synching and sharing made easy

There's no shortage of services offering file sharing, synching, and collaboration through the Internet. But one service stands out from the rest. Dropbox is one of those simple applications that, once installed, quickly become an indispensable part of your computing process. (Editor's note: This is an in-depth review of Dropbox, which I think is a must-have for everyone).