Chemistry.com Free Communication Weekend

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June 11th, 2010 - Posted by Tasha

Chemistry.com is one of the largest and most popular online dating services, and this weekend you can play in their dating pool for free. From Friday June 11 to Sunday June 13, you can sign on, create a profile and starting contacting and flirting with other members at no charge. You'll enjoy all the features and have the same access as a paying member, and who knows, maybe you'll meet "someone special"!

It really is free – you don't even need to provide a credit card. So try it out and see what the Chemistry.com experience is for yourself.

AT&T iPad leak

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June 9th, 2010 - Posted by Kent

A group of activist-hackers has disclosed a security breach that revealed the email addresses and subscriber authentication sim card IDs (known as ICC-IDs) of 144,000 iPad 3G owners. Gawker is reporting that a French hacking outfit called Goatse Security made the discovery. They performed the initial hack. And while they did notify AT&T, which closed the security hole, they apparently made it available to third parties (nice one, guys). The hack was carried out via a script that the group wrote and used on AT&T's website.

Many of these 144,000 early adopters are famous and important people: celebrities, movie moguls, members of the military, and possible White House Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel. And while this all seems very dire, here are some reasons why it might be much ado about nothing:

1. Gawker Media, which has the exclusive story, has an axe to grind with Apple because they bought a lost-and-found iPhone and leaked details. Apple, in return, created problems for Gawker Media and won't invite them to press events anymore. So they want to create bluster. In fact, their headline blames Apple for the leak, even though it happened on AT&T's website.
2. Email addresses really aren't that private. And no one's really sure that the authentication IDs really have any value.
3. While the data was exposed to a third party (which is pretty bad form when you discover a leak), it's still a little hypothetical. Yes, it could have happened, but did anyone exploit it? We don't know that the data went to any nefarious individuals.

Which is not to say it's great news for those who had their email addresses uncovered. But it's also a good reminder of just how vulnerable our information can be. You can help protect your identity by investing in an identity theft protection service.

Vista Windows Update error: 646

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June 9th, 2010 - Posted by Kent

Time and again we recommend that users keep their operating systems updated with the latest security patches. In the world of Microsoft, this happens every first Tuesday of the month. Well, in the past few months it's become a pretty big headache for us. It seems that Windows Vista users are encountering errors while trying to install the latest updates. And most are probably giving up.

The scenario goes something like this. You load up Windows Update, the updates seem to download and install, but then an activity summary screen tells you that they could not be installed due to error 646. What is error 646? We don't know. And we're not sure Microsoft does either. But there is a solution.

1. Go to your Control Panel, and select Security
2. Select Security Center
3. At the bottom of the Security essentials window click the arrow by Other security settings
4. Turn off User Account Control
5. Restart your computer

As soon as your computer restarts, go to the Windows Update program and start the process of updating. With the User Account Control off, the conflict should be resolved. We recommend that once Windows is updated (which requires an additional restart) you follow the above steps to turn User Account Control back on (including the restart).  Since User Account Control helps protect your computer from running unauthorized programs, we also recommend that you not access any Internet applications until you've re-enabled the Controls.

Why Microsoft has made the User Account Controls incompatible with the crucial Windows Update is beyond us (maybe so people will just give up and buy Windows 7). But at least there's a solution. Keeping windows up to date, and having Internet security software installed are key to keeping your computer safe online.

Financial Aid Information: NextAdvisor.com Launches New Resource

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June 7th, 2010 - Posted by Tasha

Getting ready to apply for (or go to) college, but have no idea where you're going to get the money to pay for it? Never fear, NextAdvisor.com has put together a whole section on financial aid information and helpful links. This is an excellent place to start your search for cash to pay for your higher education.

Regardless of whether you're going to be attending online college or a brick-and-mortar institution, we'll guide you through the steps you'll need to take and give you some tricks and tips to remember.   We even included a bunch of links to useful financial information sites.  Check it out!

Avast! discount: Two years for the price of one

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June 7th, 2010 - Posted by Kent

Fans of Avast! have reason to celebrate. The Internet security softare provider is offering a two-year subscription for the price of one. At $59.95 for one year, that brings the cost to just about $30 per year, a really great deal for Internet security software of that caliber.

While it wasn't one of our favorite pieces of software to use, it does have quite a following of loyal users out there.

No coupon code is needed to take advantage of the discount; just follow any link to Avast! from NextAdvisor.com.

iBackup special: Double the storage until June 9th

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June 4th, 2010 - Posted by Kent

Until June 9th, online backup service iBackup is offering double the online storage for new customers and renewals. While iBackup ranks a bit lower in our reviews for everyday users, it does stand out for its enhanced plans which offer advanced options for businesses. Options such as  Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server and Oracle database backups, along with HIPAA and SOX compliace, make it a great choice for those who need more than consumer-level backup plans.

And of course, if you sign up before June 9th, 2010, you can get double the storage. The $14.95/mo basic plan gets you 30GB, while the $34.95/mo plan gets you 70GB. You'll get further discounts if you sign up for a yearly plan.

Checkout our review of iBackup, or go to their site to sign-up. You must follow a link from NextAdvisor.com to take advantage of this special offer.

Would it be overkill to use both Trusted ID and Identity Guard for identity theft protection and credit report monitoring?

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June 4th, 2010 - Posted by Tasha

Q:   Would it be overkill to use both Trusted ID and Identity Guard for identity theft protection and credit report monitoring?  I feel that although some of the features that the two companies offer overlap, each one seems to offer something a little different. Also, what happens to the personal information that we provide if the company we use goes out of business?

A: Good question!  This boils down to what features you need and how price sensitive you might be.  Trusted ID and Identity Guard do offer many similar features, but there are some differences between the two.  Specifically, Trusted ID offers protection of your medical records and the ability to opt out of junk mail (Identity Guard does not).   Identity Guard provides daily monitoring of your 3 credit reports and quarterly credit scores (Trusted ID does not).

In my opinion Identity Guard is the most robust overall, as you can go to Opt Out Prescreen and remove yourself from junk mail lists for free.  However, it is priced slightly higher than Trusted ID.  If price point and the ability to protect your medical records are important to you, and you're not as concerned about credit report monitoring,  Trusted ID might be the better choice for you.

Regarding how the personal information you provide to these companies is protected (even if the company goes out of business) , both Identity Guard and Trusted ID use 128 bit SSL encryption to protect any data you enter online during your signup.  They then put that data in an encrypted, PCI compliant database.  PCI compliance is the industry standard for protecting sensitive credit/debit card information – credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard are PCI compliant.  In the event of company bankruptcy, or any situation where the company goes out of business, this database would then be completely wiped clean of your personal information.

Can I use Internet fax services with my Gmail account?

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June 3rd, 2010 - Posted by Kent

The following is an actual user-submitted question:

Q: Can I use Internet fax services with my Gmail account?

A: Yes, there's no reason why you couldn't used your Gmail account to send or receive an Internet fax. Email faxes are sent just like regular emails, except you send the email to your fax provider (entering the fax number either as the recipient name before the @ sign, or in the subject line, it depends on the service). You can send faxes either to fax machines, or to other Internet fax services, all without a fax machine.

See our Internet fax reviews and comparison chart to find out which Internet fax service is right for you.

Facebook Privacy: The New Facebook Identity Theft Prevention Guide

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June 2nd, 2010 - Posted by Kent

A lot has changed since we posted our original Facebook Identity Theft Protection Guide. But one thing that hasn't changed is the potential for identity thieves, cyber stalkers, marketers, and other unsavory types to learn about you on Facebook. Now, Facebook's new privacy settings are beginning to roll out to its users. What these changes will mean to you depends a lot on how much you like to share and how carefully you've maintained your privacy settings in the past. If you already locked down your settings, you may not have much to do, but you'll have a new way to manage them.

The settings in the following guide can be best described as reasonably cautious, but not obsessively paranoid. Before we get into what information sharing you can control, here's what you have to share: name, profile picture, and gender. Other things are up to you. What should you allow? While there's probably no answer that's right for everyone, we offer this blanket piece of advice: if any piece of data can be used as a security question on a website, limit its visibility. This can include family relationships, school affiliation, pet names, date of birth, make of car, etc.

But before we go much further, let's review the number one threat to your privacy on Facebook: You. More specifically, it's the choices you make. The people you friend, the apps you install, the settings you choose, the status updates you make, and most importantly: the password you choose. All the privacy settings in the world can't stop users from choosing bad passwords, falling for a phishing attempt, or clicking on a malicious link.

1. Choose Your Privacy Settings

Facebook has greatly simplified the privacy controls with three basic user categories: "Everyone," "Friends of Friends," and "Friends Only." Additionally there's a Facebook-recommended setting and, if you've tinkered with your privacy settings, you'll see that setting too. These categories are the core of Facebook privacy. "Everyone" means pretty much everyone, including, sometimes, other sites.

This is what Facebook recommends, but it may be too open for some (including us):

Facebook's Recommended Settings

Personally we like the more conservative "Friends Only" setting. Although this setting has a check mark that allows friends of your friends to see photos you've uploaded if your friend is tagged in it (i.e., if you took a picture of George at the Tasty-Freeze and tagged it as such then George's friend Gena would be able to see your photo, even if you're not friends with Gena). It's more private without this item checked, so to keep photos from folks you may not know, uncheck this box.

Facebook Friends Only Privacy Setting

2. Basic Directory Information

Now it's time to dig deeper. Facebook's page that explains the new privacy settings mentions that by default other information including hometown and interests, is visible by default to help friends and other people you have things in common with connect with you (a.k.a, networks). This is not controlled on the Privacy Settings page, but on a separate screen you access by clicking View settings at the top of the Choose Your Privacy Settings screen.

Set these limits to what you're comfortable with. You could set everything to "Friends only" but you'd cut down on the chances of old friends and co-workers finding you. Instead, set them based on how private you think that information is, or should be. Tip: never make your high school visible to "Everyone" if you've used "what's your high school mascot?" as a security question on another website. We do recommend setting stricter visibility limits on "See my friend list." Such information could help identity thieves to engage in a little social engineering or get information such as your mother's maiden name (if, you know, your mom is your friend).

Likewise with See my current city or hometown and See my interests and other pages. Do you really want everyone to know where you live? Publicly viewable information can help phishers and other social hackers target attacks specifically towards you.

Further Facebook Privacy Settings

This page has one other incredibly useful feature and you'll find it at the top right. Preview my profile will show you what your profile looks like to Everyone on Facebook. We recommend everyone do this. In fact, we think Facebook should make this the first thing you see when looking at your privacy settings.

Facebook Profile Preview

3. Applications, Games and Websites

Next you'll want to go back to the main privacy page and Edit your settings for using applications, games and websites. This link is on the bottom left. You'll then be brought to the page below:

You'll find one of the most useful tools at the top. What you're using allows you to turn off all applications or remove unwanted or "spammy applications," as Facebook puts it. You'll probably be surprised just how many applications you've said yes to. If you find ones that look suspicious or you simply don't want anymore, check them. Then click Remove Selected.

Facebook Application Control

But perhaps most important to your privacy, the thing that has a lot of people up-in-arms, is how your information is used by other sites and in Facebook apps. This is now controlled via the Info accessible through your friends link. It will bring up a pop-up window that you can use to control which of your information is available to applications, games and websites when your friends use them. If that sounds creepy to you, uncheck these items (or check away if you think this sounds like a good idea) and save your changes.

Facebook: Control your information on other sites

If you're not wild about the websites you visit knowing a lot about you, click the Instant personalization link and uncheck the box at the bottom. This prevents Facebook's select partner sites from accessing the information that you've set as visible to Everyone. According to Facebook, this personalization only currently works on Docs, Pandora, and Yelp. More sites will probably follow.

Facebook Instant Personalization

Lastly, you may want to disable Public search. This setting controls whether things you've specifically chosen to share with everyone (will) show up in searches on and off Facebook. If you haven't made much info made visible to Everyone, then you don't have a lot to worry about. Still, if someone Googles you, do you want your Facebook profile to show up? If it's a childhood friend, perhaps. If it's an identity thief, you might think otherwise. Our advice is to disable it, though really old friends or new thieves will find their way to Facebook to search for you anyway. There's a preview option here too, so you can see how your page would look to someone arriving at your profile from a search engine.

Choosing if your Facebook profile publically searchable

These are our best suggestions for using Facebook's new privacy settings. The promise from CEO Mark Zuckerburg is that these are stable, and any future Facebook changes will respect the settings you've chosen. He's also promised that Facebook users can expect privacy from Facebook's advertisers. While marketing is targeted, Facebook doesn't sell personal data to its advertisers.

Still, with all the data floating around out there, and the potential for identity thieves to socially engineer themselves into our lives, consider an identity theft protection service.