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Scenario: You have too many passwords you have to remember for tons of web sites. Let’s face it, just about everyone uses the same password or couple of passwords because it is too hard to remember passwords for so many web sites. The problem with using the same password for multiple web sites is that some web sites are better at securing your data like your passwords than others. If "Joe Hacker" discovers your username and password at "someblog.com" he or she might try to use it at bankofamerica.com, chase.com or every other online banking institution to gain access to whatever bank account you might own.

Enter Password Maker! Best used with Firefox, Password Maker securely uses one password you pick and creates a password using your master password and the web site domain name you want the password for. This allows you to have a different password for all your online accounts without having to remember a different password. I find this tool works best as a plugin for Firefox, quite possibly the world’s best web browser because it creates a button and does all of the work for you. Basically, you click a button, enter your master password, and copy and paste the password created.

I have tested the firefox plugin in in Windows Vista, OSX 10.6, and Ubuntu 9.04 and it should work on XP and Windows 7. For more information go to: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/469 or http://passwordmaker.org/

Security Tips for using this program:

1. You Master Password should not be the same as any of your usernames for your web sites.

2. Don’t save your master password in the program. Enter your master password every time for added security.

3. Use longer passwords, the default is 7 in Password Maker but there is nothing stopping you from having a long random password that is 20 characters, accept a poorly designed web site requiring short passwords.

4. Add an additional password only you know in addition to your created password from Password Maker. This should not be the same as any usernames or your master password. For example, if the password generated for your bank account is "09rl-sle" add a word or phrase in front of behind it making your password something like "goodpassword09rl-sle."

5. Never share your usernames, passwords, or master password with anyone.

Since the cost of sending email is pretty much free, especially when bots do it for you on compromised machines, spam email will continue to be a nuisance. According to MAAWG, the Messaging Anti-Aubuse Working Group, in a study they did called "A Look at Consumers’ Awareness of Email Security and Practices or "Of Course, I Never Reply to Spam – Except Sometimes," 1 in 6 people are interested in the offers they receive from spam.

1 in 6 is more than enough people keep the spam coming. Spam is here to stay!

For the full report go here: http://www.maawg.org/about/publishedDocuments/2009_MAAWG-Consumer_Survey-Part1.pdf

Just wanted to take some time to say the HP CM1017 Multifunction Color Laser printer is a really great choice for small businesses and homes. This printer is not for someone who needs amazing photo prints and is not for someone who needs microscopic scanning but it is a really affordable workhorse for any small office. I’m not going to go into the details like print speed but rather point out a few facts that is essential for my office:

• Built in ethernet port, this machine is network ready so all computers in the office can print to it.
• Color Printing.
• Built in scanner and copier.
• Memory card reader.
• 250 sheet paper tray

One thing that is missing is a fax machine but in my case, I would rather not receive spam faxes all day. You should also know the scanning bed is only for 8.5 x 11″ scanning.

I purchased my printer on March 14, 2008 and the toner cartridges are about 75% full after going through a ream of paper. This printer is made for a small business or home, not for a big business, and not where you will be printing over 100 pages a day.

I hate messy cables everywhere when it comes to electronics or anything else that required cables to be strung about everywhere. There seems to be no solution because you take so much time and effort to put your cables in order only to have to do it over when adding more gadgets and devices.

One solution is the Signum cable management system from Ikea. The idea is to screw a shelf like device underneath your desk where you can weave your cables through. Considdering the price, this is the best cable management system I have used. I bought two because I have a large desk but all is holding up fine and my cables are out of the way.

If you are looking at a quick, easy, and cheap solution to managing your cables, Check out Ikea’s Signum cable management system. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50035115

Many people don’t realize how easy it is to block porn and other negative things from the Internet on your computer. A little service called Open DNS will do this not only for free but also with amazing functionality. I am not going to take the time to explain how to set it up because it is well documented on opendns.org but I would like people to know what you can do.

First, this system is a group system where thousands of people can vote or request certain web sites to be banned or put in a particular category. When you pay for a service that actively blocks all porn web sites, they are bound to miss a few but with a community, it makes it much harder. Porn, nudity, file sharing, movie downloading, instant messaging, and many more are all categories of sites you can automatically block by the click of a button. If you need to get to a certain web site in a category, you can enable that site instead of allowing that category of sites through or you can just block sites you want.

Second, you set it up in your router so it makes it pretty hard for your kids to figure it out. Don’t give them the password!

Third, you can look at stats and see where people try to go. This is a really nice function but you are unable to tell what computer did it. Also when you go to a site that is blocked, you get a web page that says the site is blocked and tells you why.

Finally, a really cool shortcut feature allows you to program web site shortcuts. For example, if you go to a web site with a really long URL frequently, you can make it be a name or even letter! Whatever you want. So if you go to areallylongurl.com you can make it so you type "a" in the address bar hit enter and it will take you to that site.

I really recommend Open DNS. Given the recent dns spoofing flaw, I decided to try it. I am really amazed. I would even pay for a service like this. Open DNS says they get their money by adds on searches or on the page that says you are being blocked from a restricted site. The adds are not annoying and I only notice them when testing bad web sites. Open DNS is used by many big businesses to keep their employees off of numerous types of web sites.

When I first saw Macally’s G-S350SU, I had to have one! I am certainly not a Mac lover but I will admit, Apple is amazing when it comes to hardware design, it looks and feels like an Apple product. This little enclosure is the perfect addition for anyone’s computer but especially if you have a Mac Pro or MacBook Pro. The brushed aluminum case matches a Mac Pro perfectly and even has a cool blue led power button.

With that said, I still have good and bad to point out about the features of this drive enclosure! Not only does this drive plug in to your computer via USB, it also has an eSATA plug which will give you speeds as fast as having an internal hard drive. Seriously, if you have a computer with eSATA and transfer a lot of files, use it because the data transfer is much faster than USB. Ok now the bad… I would like a little internal fan. This drive enclosure gets a "+" because there are air holes for air flow, but a "-" because there is no fan to cool down the drive. Given the fact that most external hard drive enclosures are sealed with no air holes and no fan, this drive enclosure is still better than most. Heat is the number one reason for hard drive failure. By the way, if the eSATA part did not give it away, this drive enclosure is for SATA drives only. Overall, I feel this external hard drive enclosure is superior to most, in fact, I liked it so much I bought two. The base price for this guy is $50 but amazon.com lists it here under 3.5" Sata Case for $35 with free shipping.

Because fraud is so rampant on ebay, many ebay sellers are requiring their buyers to confirm their address so that they will be covered by ebay and Paypal’s Seller Protection Policy. But what does this mean? This is ebay and Paypal’s way of verifying your identity. The system they have built covers the seller in the event of fraud and they buyer gets some other benefits too.

So how as an ebay buyer do you do this? Generally, you add your bank account to Paypal, Paypal sends you two small deposits, and you then report back the deposits. It is not full proof but it must have good enough success for ebay to support it.

As an ebay Seller, I have had Paypal tell me that someone fraudulently stole one of my buyer’s account to buy something from me. When this happens, I am liable and Paypal will always reverse the transaction taking the money out of my account but since I shipped it to the address given in Paypal and they had a confirmed address, they covered it and did not take the funds from me.

Had I not followed ebay and Paypal’s rules and the buyer’s address was not confirmed, they would have taken the money from me end of story. Im pretty sure if you add your bank account to Paypal as a buyer, you get coverage in the even that the seller is fraudulent.

As a buyer or seller, you will run across someone who will try to rip you off. If you are going to sell or buy on ebay, please read ebay’s policies before buying or selling anything. Many people jump right in and get ripped off right away. Others who are more cautious, get through without ever getting ripped off because of ebay’s policy.

Of coarse be sure to read the date when you read this because all 500GB hard drives might be this price by then but $69.99 for a 500 GB Seagate is phenomenal. This is the cheapest price for a hard drive I have ever seen. Go to ZipZoomFly.com As usual, Seagate helps us out by driving the base cost of gigs per dollar down in hard drives.

It is not your fault and it is easy to do, but getting you identity stolen via a fake email is a serious issue. Unfortunately, we live in a world where their people are evil and prey upon the good and unsuspecting. Most people may know by now but if you have not heard, you can get fake or spoofed emails from a spammer that leads to a fake financial institution or some other scheme in an attempt to steal your personal information or gain access to your bank account. To help prevent yourself from getting your identity stolen, I have compiled a simple list of rules to follow.

• Assume all from anyone you don’t know is bogus and fake
• Assume all email from any financial institution is fake
• Do not click any links in email

On another note, you should turn off the html preview in email so you don’t get a virus but that is a story for another day.

If you receive an email from you bank or financial institution, it could be real but there is a good chance it is fake. Usually, they will say your account is about to be canceled and to click a link to fix or update your information. The email will look just like it was from you bank and the link will take you to a site that looks just like you bank but it is not. when you log in, they phishing is done. You just gave your username and password to your bank and now they are free to drain your account. Some really bad and obvious links will ask you to update your information while asking for your name, address, drivers license number, birthday, and social. Sadly, do not trust anything of this nature from your email. If there is a problem with your bank, go directly to their web site by typing the web address in your browser. Obviously, if there is a problem, your financial institution will tell you.

If you think you are a victim of identity theft, here are some steps as they are found on the ftc.gov website.

• Try to document and make a record of as much as you can regarding the theft.
• Place a fraud alert on your credit report. Get the info below.
• Notify the companies who own the accounts that have been compromised. If your American Express info was stolen, call American Express immediately
• Close the accounts that have been compromised
• File a complain with the Federal Trade Commission. Use the online complaint form or call 877-ID-THEFT
• File a report with your local police department (in the place that the theft took place)

Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Experian: 1-888-EXPERIAN (397-3742); www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Again the steps and more details are from the ftc.gov web site found here

I have to start by saying I would not recommend doing this for various reasons, but this is really cool. It seems someone fed up with the lack of connections with his MacBook Air and a knack for soldering figured out how to imbed a USB Verizon wirless card in the Air. First of all, a $5 USB extension cable would allow for connectivity or second, you could create a personal hotspot with the cradlepoint router which will be less stressful and you wont ruin your expensive computer by accident. I should also warn you that these USB hi-speed EV-DO modems don’t seem to last long if you use it much. If your card burns out, you have to do this all over again!

With that said, I admire this persons creativity and think it is worth mentioning on my blog. It seems that even though there is only one USB port on the MacBook Air, there are connectors for more USB ports inside the computer. The modder simply broke down the USB modem to be as small as it could, get some other parts he needed, found a small bit of room in the computer, and you have a MacBook Air with build in EVDO. Check out the steps with this link: http://www.getlistedlocally.com/Business_Resources.html