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Top Net Threats Right Now

Evan Shamoon — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:12:00 EST

Filed under: Computers, Advice, Editor's Picks, Windows Software, Webware, Mobile Software, Mac Software, Notebooks, desktops, Downloads

While it may not feel quite like the Wild West anymore, the Internet is still full of people looking to rip you off -- the anonymity and secretive nature of online dealings makes them much more prone to fraud than in the real world. We've compiled a list of the top threats to your security lurking around the Internet -- and what you can do to avoid them.

The threat: The upcoming presidential election

The problem: All of the presidential candidates accept donation contributions online -- but be careful. Extremist supporters have been using "typo-domains" that mimic the Web site of a political rival; when the contributions come in, they're either pocketed or contributed to someone else's campaign. GOP Presidential nominee Ron Paul's campaign received funds from five hundred stolen credit cards, which were stolen from Frost bank; investigators discovered overseas thieves used Paul's site to test the stolen cards with $5 contributions.

How to protect yourself: Don't reply to the email -- and don't click the links inside it, either. Want to make an online donation? Google the name of your candidate of choice, go to his or her official site, and donate away ...

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PicLens Is Like iTunes Cover Flow, But For Pictures

Thomas Houston — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:19:00 EST

Filed under: Cameras, Computers, Editor's Picks, Windows Software, Webware, Mac Software, Reviews, Downloads

Step aside, Cover Flow. Firefox plug-ins rarely get us excited, but PicLens is one of the most impressive we've ever seen. The plug-in creates a 3D stream of photos from a range of sources on the Web, including flickr, Google Image Search, Facebook, and more.

The full-screen experience of zipping through your photos is instantly responsive and seamless because PicLens does some fancy image loading in the background. You can zoom in and out with scroll-wheel movement, and clicking and dragging zips the screen along towards hundreds of new photos.

CoolIris offers PicLens for free and it runs on both Windows and Mac OS X.

Get it free at the Switched/CNET Download Center.

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Free Tools Help You Fulfill Your New Year's Resolutions

Terrence O'Brien — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:17:00 EST

Filed under: Cell Phones, Computers, Google, Webware, Downloads

Now that the hang over from New Year's Eve has worn off, it's time to get down to the business of tackling those New Year's resolutions you foolishly made. Of course, the biggest problem with resolutions is finding the motivation and organizational system to make you stick to your guns. Thankfully there are Web sites such as Lifehacker looking out for you. The productivity-focused site has some advice and a healthy helping of (primarily Web-based) ways to track your progress.

The first piece of advice is to utilize management expert Peter Drucker's S.M.A.R.T. system. S.M.A.R.T is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely, which really doesn't need any further explanation.

When it comes to tracking your progress and keeping yourself motivated, you'll find a wealth of options, including two highly flexible Web apps suggested at the beginning of 2007: Backpack (a Wiki-like note-taking tool, to-do list and calendar app) and Joe's Goals (a daily checklist of objectives).

There are also two new weight-loss-specific sites added this year: Traineo, which tracks your diet and exercise with a bit of social-networking thrown in to keep you motivated, and Daily Plate, which lets you look up and track not just your caloric intake, but also your fat and carbohydrate consumption.

For those with resolutions that are more fiscal in nature, Lifehacker suggests taking Mint for a spin. Mint will let you set budgets and track your spending. These tasks are made all the more easy since Mint can automatically pull in financial data from your bank accounts and credit cards.

We'd also like to suggest Remember The Milk (RTM) (pictured above), a very flexible and full-featured task management site. RTM even has a newly released Firefox extension that integrates your to-do list with Gmail, making your daily goals unavoidable every time you check your e-mail.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

From Lifehacker

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Adobe Flash Update May Bring HD to YouTube

Terrence O'Brien — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:15:00 EST

Filed under: Audio/Video, Computers, YouTube, Windows Software, Webware, Mac Software

Adobe Flash Player just got a bit of an upgrade the other day, one affectionately known as 'Moviestar.' The third update to Flash 9 adds a couple of features that may not immediately mean that much to the average user -- support for the H.264 codec, AAC audio support, and hardware graphics acceleration.

So what does that mean for you, the web-video-obsessed public? It means a much greater quality video experience is on the way. Supporting H.264 (the same codec used by Quicktime) means that HD video in your browser is just around the corner. Imagine watching that great video of the skateboarding dog in 1080 lines of resolution. The hardware acceleration in the update also means that better quality video rendering and scaling to full screen will finally make it possible to watch YouTube videos not only in high-def, but also in full-screen high def. These features are even available in the Linux version, which is the first time Adobe has kept the Linux version of Flash current with the Windows and Mac versions.

The only problem is the current version of Flash CS3, the application used for building Flash based applications, players and sites, doesn't support the new features, and no time table for an update has been set by Adobe.

From BetaNews

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