WHAT'S YOUR MOTHER'S MAIDEN NAME?

Passwords are crucial to accessing your personal accounts and information. The problem is: We all have so many accounts that we worry more about remembering our passwords than we do about making sure they actually protect our data from hackers. So we end up using passwords like our mother's maiden name or child's first name. But even if you add a few numbers to the end, those types of passwords are easy to break. And that means your data isn't safe.

The tips below can help you avoid the most common password pitfalls and even implement a few new ideas that will make your passwords easy to remember...and hard to break!

Strength Training

A well-protected password is not only unique, but also hard to guess. How do you do that? It's pretty simple really. Just follow this advice:

Use a random string of characters. That means no sequential letters or numbers. None.

Make it looooong. The longer the better--even up to as many as 10 to 14 characters.

Switch things up. Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, along with a few numbers mixed in the middle or end.

Don't use substitutes. Using "@" for "a" or "1" for "I" may look good to you, but most hackers are smart enough to break those substitutes rather quickly.

Avoid easy targets like words straight out of the dictionary or things like family names and birthdays.

Multiplication Facts

Most of us cheat when it comes to passwords. We have trouble remembering our passwords, so we come up with two or three that we can remember and use them everywhere. But you should avoid the temptation. The fact is, once a password is compromised, all of your accounts are vulnerable. There's no way around it, you need to a way to create and remember multiple passwords--a different one for each account!

Sure-Fire Technique for Memorable, Unique Passwords

For all the advice above, good passwords come down to two things: they're easy for you to remember, and they're hard to break. Implementing the tips above can make your passwords hard to break, but what about remembering them--especially if you have a unique password for every account? Here's a sure-fire tip to help!

1. Think up a phrase. Instead of a common word or family member name, think up a unique phrase that only you know. For example, you may think up something off the wall such as "I Like Short Hair Too."

2. Make it an acronym. In our example, "I Like Short Hair Too" would become ILSHT.

3. Add Complexity. Remember those substitutes you're not supposed to use with dictionary words? Well, you CAN use them with your acronym. For example, "I Like Short Hair Too" can become "1 Like $hort Hair 2" which makes: 1L$H2. You can also use upper and lower letters to make it 1L$h2. The point is to be creative, but in a way that you can easily remember it.

4. Make it unique. A password is only really unique if you use it for one account and one account only. So you can't just use 1L$h2 for every account. And, in reality it's still too short. Here's the key to the whole process: Mix in additional letters and numbers that are unique to each account. For example, if you're logging into a "gmail account" you can use the "gm" and "@cct" (for acct) to make: 1L$h2gM@cct. Then, for a Netflix account, you may use: 1L$h2Nf@cct.

Of course, these are just examples. You'll want to be creative and think up your own acronym and ways to add unique characters for each account. And then keep that little secret to yourself so no one will be able to guess your account passwords.

Follow these simple steps and you'll have passwords that are tough to break, unique to every account, and easy to remember!
http://www.tombrewerjr.com

Over 12 years of experience in the Real Estate and Mortgage industry with an MBA from Georgia State University. I have 2 teen age children and enjoy a good game of golf.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Brewer

Recycling Gadgets - The Best Things You Can Do With Your Old PC

Don't you just hate it when things of sentimental value get thrown away like they were nothing? Some people may have old coats that no matter how many times it's been splatted with dirt or no matter how moth eaten they are, are so hard to let go of. Others have favorite watches, key chains or fridge magnets that they will absolutely never dispose of no matter how old, ugly or smelly they get.

I have a certain item like that, but it's neither portable nor small like the other things I've mentioned. My favorite thing in the whole world was my old Pentium II computer that used to run on my favorite Windows 95. We enjoyed a lot of great times, from writing down my college thesis to my free time playing Warcraft I: Orcs and Humans on it. Those were the best of times and I wouldn't really trade them for anything (or perhaps any other PC).

But times change and I finally found myself getting left behind so much technologically that it was just getting too impractical to handle. While other people were zooming towards better things I found myself stuck with my old computer because of my personal feelings. Something had to give and boy it wouldn't be technology or society. So I watched as a new computer was bought and my old friend was left for dismantling. But did I become sad? Not after what I did!

I figured that I needed a way to remember my first computer in such a way that would bring a smile to my face. I first took that old mouse and with some double sided tape I made it into my very own pen holder. Not satisfied with this, I took the processor (symbolically the heart of my PC) and after gluing a rod onto it made a back-scratcher to immortalize the memory forever.
Want to know what the best things to do are for your old PC? Just visit: http://lifehackery.com/2008/07/16/gadgetry-2/ - Have fun!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vince_Baroni

Troubleshooting Computer Problems - 8 Questions to Ask Yourself

Computer problems can be frustrating, especially when you don't know the reason. Sometimes there is a simple solution, other times fixing your computer requires more effort. In this article, we will take a look at how to troubleshoot common computer problems.

Question #1: Is it Just You or Your Entire Network?

One of the most common reasons for sudden problems such as the inability to access the web or print documents is related to your network. If all of the computers on your home or office network are experiencing the same problems, then you know that the trouble lies in the network not your PC.

Question #2: Are all Cords Firmly Connected?

"My computer won't start", have you checked to make sure it's all plugged in? Cords can come loose and cause your computer to fail to power up. Sometimes, this is also the case when a specific device (such as a mouse or keyboard) fail to function.

If everything is plugged in and your device still won't work, try another jack if possible. I have personally had several computers where the USB ports die for no apparent reason, causing my devices to not work. Plugging them in to another port clears it right up.

Question #3: Have You Installed Anything New Lately?

New software can introduce a variety of problems. If you started having problems after installing something new, try uninstalling or reinstalling the program. If the failed installation has caused errors in your windows registry (as often happens), you will need to run a registry cleaner to restore your registry to proper condition.

Question #4: Is It Hanging on Startup?

If you can't get past the Windows startup, you can attempt to hit the "F8" key on your keyboard and select the option to start up in safe mode. While in safe mode, you can uninstall problematic software or just attempt a reboot from there to see if the problem clears up. While in safe mode, it would be a good idea to back up all of your critical data as failure to boot can be a sign of serious problems with the hard disk.

Question #5: Is It Making Strange Noises?

Years ago, I booted up my office computer one morning only to be greeted by a screeching sound coming from my hard disk. Not knowing what else to do, I quickly shut it down. Still, I was not fast enough to save the data from permanent loss. What had happened was the needle in my hard disk had come loose and the sound I heard was it scraping my hard disk and wiping all of my data away with it.

Needless to say, if you hear a loud scraping noise immediately shut down the computer. Your data may still be able to be recovered, but you will need a new hard drive before you can use the computer again. The moral of the story is that loud noises can signal big problems for your PC and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Question #6: Are You Experiencing Problems with Specific Software?

If a particular program is giving you trouble, it can be the result of a corrupt document or a Windows registry problem. In order to find out, try closing your current document and opening a new one. If the behavior clears up, then it is likely just a corrupt file. If the problem persists, you could have errors in your registry.

If this is the case, a good registry cleaner can repair those for you automatically. In fact, cleaning the registry is a great way to put an end to many problems and end up with a faster computer as well. I left a link for you at the bottom of this article for a free download of my favorite registry cleaner.

Question #7: Is Your Computer Giving Error Messages?

Error messages are not usually much help unless you take the time to research them. If you type the exact error in to Google, you can find information on the specific cause of the problem. Often, error messages are the result of registry problems. As in the last step, installing and using a registry cleaner can help a lot with errors.

Question #8: Have You Run Your Virus Scanner Lately?

Lastly, it's an unfortunate truth that viruses are out there and your computer could catch one if you are not keeping up to date with your virus definitions. Be sure to update your anti-virus software on a regular basis to make sure that it has the information it needs to fight current threats. If you don't yet use an anti-virus software what are you waiting for? Download and run one right away to find out if your computer problems are the result of a rogue virus.

Hopefully these tips will get you started troubleshooting your computer problems. Oftentimes, computer troubles are something simple that you can fix yourself. Other times, you will need to take the computer to a technician for repairs.
Many problems can be solved in just minutes after a good cleaning of your Windows registry. For a free download of RegCure, my favorite registry cleaner Click Here Now.

For more information on registry repair, see my registry repair review site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Couler

I Receive Email But Cannot Send it Out - Why?

Ask any network administrator what is the most frequent customer question, and the likely answer is email.

The most popular email method uses two different services that work together, called POP and SMTP. POP (Post Office Protocol) receives email, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) sends email. Most people don't have trouble receiving email, and when they do it's usually because someone sent them a huge file, but problems with sending email are far more common.

This is because the majority of large Internet service providers have set up safeguards in an effort to limit the amount of unsolicited email on their networks. Unfortunately, these safeguards often cause problems for legitimate users. For example, Cablevision's Optimum Online service, will only allow outgoing email using its own SMTP server, mail.optonline.com, which works on the default SMTP server setting,TCP port 25.

So if you tried to send out email from your company laptop on an Optimum Online without using the Optonline SMTP server, your email would be stuck in the outgoing mailbox and you will probably get error messages referring to the SMTP server.

Changing the SMTP address in your email program is a straightforward process. If you are using Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, locate "Tools" from the top menu and then select "E-Mail Accounts" or "Accounts" depending on the version you are using. Then select the email account you want to access. Next hit the "Change" button and you will see the text area where you can change the SMTP address. (Note that all versions of Outlook and Outlook Express have different layouts, but the SMTP settings is always found in the "Tools > Accounts" menu.)

In the case of Optimum Online, we will need to the change the SMTP address to "mail.optonline.net". We also had to click on the "More Settings" button, which opened up a tabbed menu, from which we selected the "Outgoing Server". We then selected thecheck box next to "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" and below it choose the radio button for "Use the same settings as my incoming mail server."

Almost every major ISP, including Verizon, Time Warner, Earthlink, requires a similar configuration. You can usually find out how to configure Outlook by looking in the support section of the ISP's website. (To no surprise, the sections covering email are usually very extensive and include screenshots.) or by calling the ISP's support department.

A problem with using the ISP's email settings is they will only work when you are on that network. If you decide to bring your laptop to Starbucks or the office, you will need to change the SMTP configuration again.

But there is a way to work around the SMTP issue. Google allows Outlook users to send and receive email using POP and SMTP with its Gmail service. Gmail avoids the default SMTP port 25 used by all the bigISPs and instead uses TCP port 465 for SMTP. For incoming email using POP, Gmail uses TCP port 995 rather than the standard TCP port 110.

Gmail accounts are free and also have excellent spam filtering. If you need a second personal email account of if you want to switch your primary email to another provider and not have worry about whether you can send and receive email on a certain network, Gmail is an excellent choice.

So the next time, you plug your laptop into a new network and start getting email errors, the first place to look is the SMTP settings.

This is a list of SMTP settings for a few of the larger ISPs.

Time Warner (Roadrunner) smtp-server.nyc.rr.com
AT&T imailhost.worldnet.att.net (DSL) mailhost.att.net (Dial-up)
Comcast smtp.comcast.net
EarthLink smtpauth.earthlink.net
MSN secure.smtp.email.msn.com
Mindspring mail.mindspring.com
Netzero smtp.netzero.net
Optimum Online (CableVision) mail.optonline.net
Verizon outgoing.verizon.net or smtpout.verizon.net
Stephen Brittons writes about computing and technology on his blog, http://www.sbritton.com He also operates a website to help consumers with their computer problems, http://www.YourTechPerson.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Britton

Protecting Your Computer From Computer Viruses

Protecting your computer from computer viruses has become more important today than ever and this has resulted from the increase in the amount virus that are present on the web. When it comes to protecting your computer from computer viruses you should not waste much time searching the web for information but rather immediately download a free virus removal application. These PC security software programs are conveniently available for download form the internet today and are the only way you can completely and safely eliminate unwanted virus related infections. Most people don't realize what these infections are capable of doing so lets discuss this.

A virus is usually bundled into a free web application and will infect an operating system once it has been opened and installed. Once it has been installed it will reside in memory and target specific files, folders and hard drive components which it will either corrupt, delete or modify in such a way that it will cause mass instability. They can also manipulate system configurations related to security in which your computer system could then become more vulnerable to receiving further infections. Apart from viruses, free virus removal tools are also equipped to safely remove infections related to adware and spyware form a system as they have special signature databases which allow them to detect other hard to find infections.

Although these infections are not easily noticeable common symptoms which you might encounter include great system instability with regard to running programs and executing tasks, internet browser crashing, continuous advertisement pop ups and removed applications or associated files.

When it comes to protecting your computer from computer viruses I can highly recommend Xoftspyse which has continued to maintain its position as the number one virus and spyware removal tool today. If you want to try out the latest version you can download it directly at the link below.
Download Xoftspyse Here

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Sparks

Rundll.exe Virus - The History of Lightning Speed Invasion - How Can Ordinary User Resist?

It seemed that you did nothing wrong with your computer previously, but nevertheless Run32dll.exe error appears at Windows startup. The most interesting thing of Rundll.exe error is that most users think it comes from their Windows, when in fact it is not. Sometimes Run32dll.exe message appears when you simply open some Windows folder or drive. Usually, there are no manifestations of Rundll infection other than error message. In most cases Rundll.exe errors are caused by Rundll.exe virus.

Rundll.exe malware infection can come to your computer in form of email attachment from unknown sender. In some circumstances you may even do not see its famous error messages, but Rundll.exe trojan still presents in your system memory. Do not mix Rundll with the legal Windows file called Rundll32.exe which is always located in your Windows\System32 folder. Another important notice is that malicious Run32dll.exe file doesn't contain Microsoft signature and version info tab in its Properties. Remember that there is no legal file in Windows connected with Rundl.

The main task when you see error messages connected with Rundll is to terminate its process. Great help in finding Rundll.exe infection will provide system program called msconfig.exe which shows you all autorun entries. If you see not executables but DLL files with names similar to what Rundll.exe source has, leave them alone, they can't be malicious. The common synonym for Rundl.exe infection is Run32dll.exe file, which is the same virus in fact. No country and no company avoided epidemic of Rundll.exe problem.

While Rundll infection can't destroy your computer (as a rule), it can cause serious financial losses in deleted documents. The number of support requests to solve Rundll.exe problem is so high that several companies created special custom solutions for this problem. One of the must-have solutions is called Rundll Fix Wizard. Search in the Internet for it. Other good advice is to run your favorite anti virus. In both cases, don't remember that programs can do many good things, but they fail when really difficult problem arises. Search for help of human expert in this case.
Security Stronghold developed Rundll Fix Wizard to help you get rid of Rundll.exe error. Just make sure you tried our exclusive solution for Rundll problem before trying anything else. Our Ironclad Guarantee means that if our Fix Wizard doesn't help you in solving your Rundll Fix Wizard problem, you'll receive a complete refund. Our solution for Rundll error is accomplished by our free online support. In difficult cases our assistant will help you determine the exact way for solving your particular instance of Run32dll message.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Konstantin_Artemev

Help Fix My Computer - It Keeps Freezing Up

Are you experiencing a slow computer and tired of it continuing to freeze. Are you noticing mysterious error messages on your screen. If you have ever asked someone "help me fix my computer" because it keeps freezing up; then you have come to the right place. This article is going to discuss why your computer may be experiencing these problems.

Well maybe your computer it attempting to tell you something; the only time that you would ever experience this with your laptop or personal computer is because it is time for the registry to be cleaned.

The registry is the back bone to your PC. It is the main file that holds all the files and software that you have ever loaded onto your computer. As the computer becomes older and we upload new applications and software onto your computer; the registry is forced to expand and that is what causes it to become slow.

Most people fail to realize that the registry needs to be cleaned out every so often. Unfortunately it requires maintenance just like your automobile does; otherwise you will notice a difference in the way your computer runs.

One of the best things you can do if you have ever wondered what can I do to help fix my computer is run a free PC scan to ensure that your computer does not have any viruses. You can easily find some free PC scans on the internet pretty much anywhere you look; as a matter of fact when you visit the site below you can easily begin your scan.

Once you complete the scan on your PC the system will let you know whether the registry needs to be cleaned or not. However one thing you want to remember is that you never want to disregard what your computer is trying to tell you. If you take the time to perform proper maintenance on it; then you will notice that your computer will run faster and better.

Your investment that you make on your computer is an important one; and you should attempt to take care of it as often as best as possible. You will notice that if you run these scans on your PC when required and just take the time to remove any applications that you no longer use; then you will be able to get better use out of your PC. So next time your computer is trying to tell you something by freezing up; just take three minutes and scan it once. You will notice a huge improvement in the way that it performs the next time you use it.

If you found this article on "help fix my computer - it keeps freezing up" helpful; visit our site below. You can easily find out whether your registry requires a cleaning or not. The step by step system will walk you through the entire process; so even if you are not sure what to do, you will be able to safely clean out the registry.
Help Fix My Computer! Free Computer Scan To Check For Invalid Files; Make Your PC Run Faster!

Prevent Your Computer From Experiencing PC Errors, Constant Crashes And General System Slowdowns!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Willie_Stanford