Andy Taylor1 Commentsoftware, TechtalkRadio, TTR Website

Free Email Programs

Had a Radio Listener Instant Message me today on Facebook wondering if I could recommend a Free Email program. She stated that she had previously used MSN but had been hacked into and got rid of the program. At the top of my mind, I recommended Gmail. The program comes from Google which offers a wide range of tools that you may or may not use from Google Voice, Talk to Picasa to email with Gmail just to name a few.

As soon as I had typed my suggestion for Gmail I received a response right back, “Can’t use that – friend had hers hacked..” I was beginning to see a pattern here. The thought came to mind about delivering a smart alec answer of “Maybe you should use the postal service” but then thought, she might come back with “somebody stole the mail out of the box!”

This of course for those of you looking for a free email program or using any type of service on the web brings the reminder to make sure your passwords are difficult to crack. Using words like password, dog, admin or pass are easily guessed and could open up your Email or any kind of program requiring a login to problems.

Another reminder is to not use the same password for multiple services. While this can be more difficult as more services require user names and passwords, this can help protect you in the case a system is compromised with personal information and associated passwords.  There are some programs and even hardware on the market to help not only create passwords that would be very difficult to crack but also store passwords for multiple sites. One of those companies is ID Vault found at http://www.idvault.com/ 

If you are looking for some ideas on how to create a viable password, a good rule of thumb is make the password more then 8 characters. There are some password cracking programs that can quickly uncover a password in less then an hour when the password is less then 5 characters. Using Lower and Upper Case along with punctuation and numbers is also a great way to make the password more difficult. Many will recommend using a favorite term or saying to help deliver a strong password. Maybe you enjoy eating at Five Guy Burgers (Plug Bell Please). How about taking the term “I Love Eating at 5 Guys Burgers!”  This could be translated to Ilea5GB! – We have upper Case, a Number and  Punctuation mark in the password.

It’s also good to remember safe computing as well. If you get email from unknown users asking you to click on something, do you really have to? Do you have to open a file from a known user that you haven’t talked with in awhile? Do you have a good anti-virus program? There are some free ones that are quite good on the market however, having the security of a program that is constantly testing and delivering solutions to its users with a paid subscription to updates will provide more protection again new viruses. Isn’t it worth the 30 or 40 bucks a year?

So please remember, in most cases – if your Email was hacked – there was probably a step here and there that was missed. Clicking a link, no protection on your system, using a public computer and not logging out or a system already infected with a keylogger or a password that can be guessed at or easily figured out. Also, don’t write your password under your keyboard or on a post it note attached to the monitor. Yes, I’ve seen that before.  For more information on Virus Protection take a look at http://www.symantec.com The Makers of the popular Norton Anti-Virus or http://www.eset.comthe makers of one of my favorites Eset Nod32.  More tips on Password Creation can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/fraud/passwords/create.aspx

Andy TaylorLeave a commentTTR Website,

Tragic Story on the Death of Brian Wood

Yahoo Buzz and other Media Outlets are reporting on the tragic story of the Death of Game Designer Brian Wood. Brian was lead game designer at Relic.

Friday September 3rd, Brian and his Pregnant Wife Erin were on the way to the home they lived at in Washington. A driver coming in the opposite direction crossed into the lane Brian and Erin were in, rather then take this crash head on, Brian steered his vehicle to the right, taking the brunt of the collision which took his life but spared that of his Wife Erin and unborn child.

According to reports, the driver of the other vehicle may have been under the influence of drugs that were found in the vehicle at the time. Two passengers in her vehicle were also killed.

A Trust fund has been set up for the family at http://www.brianwoodmemorialtrust.com. The thoughts and prayers from us here at TechtalkRadio extend to Brians family and coworkers.

Read More at http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/gamers-lend-support-to-widow-of-heroic-developer/1410899

Read More at http://www.theprovince.com/news/final+only+thing+that+would+save/3487150/story.html#ixzz0zclxxzbB

The Brian Wood Memorial Trust http://www.brianwoodmemorialtrust.com

admin4 CommentsTTR Website,

TechtalkRadio Blog Authors

I’ve had quite a few of you expressing interest in writing for the TechtalkRadio Blog, If you are Interested – drop me a note, give me your shirt size and we’ll talk!  To register for the Blog for Comments or Writing – You will find the registration in the Top Right hand corner of the Page.

We’re looking for stories of your Computing, Installations, Cool Web Sites and Observations on Software, Hardware and The Net. We hope to have Post from Former TechtalkRadio Members and Guest and Cover Every Aspect of Consumer Electronics we can.

If you think nobody wants to read about Linux, think again! We can cover Linux, Mac,  PC and will probably have some post on Remote Computing coming soon. Gamers, Consoles and Mobile Apps are all Spoken here as well!

If you are a writer, a reader or industry person, Thanks for Stopping By!

Andy Taylor1 CommentTTR Website, ,

Friend of the Show – Zach Selwyns New CD

Photo of Pluck Your Twanger CD CoverIt’s Called Pluck Yer Twanger and I know Slick is itching to get a hold of this as well. A Repeat guest on TechtalkRadio, Zach has performed music with Zachariah and the LobosRiders, even had Fergie sing with the group when she went by the name Stacy Ferguson. While we always love to talk with Zach about his G4 Tech TV Days and Attack of The Show, we really just like talking with him. He’s talented, comes from Tucson and is very funny.

The other night on Facebook Zach sent me a note saying hey and was having a “Missing Tucson Moment” and after some chats told me about the new Album. He sent one over and I listened to it this Afternoon, it is pretty darn funny. It certainly isn’t for the young set but delivers some Songs and Skits that I found myself chuckling at frequently!

I have also learned some socially redeaming lessons in life thanks to Zach and his fellow Musicians, Never party with Johnny Knoxville, Limit the amount of Liquids cause the TSA might pop a cap, stay away from Rhianna (and that guys daughter), I could have a future in Announcing Baseball, I’m not the only one who hated dating roulette, Wash all my linens and most of all, Zach’s Album is pretty damn funny!

If you don’t mind the language and themes, check it out to order on his website at http://www.zachselwyn.com

Thanks Zach!