For The Glory of God Alone
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 | Author: Jeff

Our family attended the Family Economics Conference in Castle Rock, Colorado on March 5th and 6th that was sponsored by Generations with Vision.  We were encouraged to meet so many families whose focus was  more than just the worries of today, and who share with us a vision for future generations.  Rocky Mountain National Park

The majestic beauty of God’s creation was evident to our family as we hiked through the snow covered paths of Rocky Mountain National Park.  The beautiful blue sky and snow covered peaks reminded us that His power is beyond compare and His sovereignty over all of His creation is limitless.  We are grateful for the little bit of creative ability God gives us.  Our desire for ourselves and for our children and grandchildren is to use the talents He has given us entirely for His glory – Soli Deo Gloria – For the Glory of God Alone!

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Haiti Donation Scams
Friday, February 05th, 2010 | Author: Jeff

Anytime a disaster occurs such as the earthquake in Haiti, online scams are created to capitalize on the generosity of unwary persons making donations.  Spam emails and search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning attacks are common ways that evil is propagated.  Spam may contain links to phishing sites which try to capture personal and credit card information.  Searching for key words will return search engine results that link to sites full of malware (malicious software).  Search engine optimization (SEO) is the technique of using key words on web pages in order to improve search engine ranking and get more hits on a website.  Like anything else, SEO can be used for good or evil intentions.

When making donations, be sure to verify the identity of the recipient ministry.  Know who you are supporting so that the usefulness of the gift is maximized for the glory of God.

Here is one ministry that I trust which is working in Haiti to help widows and orphans:  Vision Forum Ministries.

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Backup Those Pictures
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 | Author: Jeff

With the holidays now passed, this is a good time to be sure to make backup copies of digital pictures and videos.  Our family is frequently downloading files from our digital camera to the family computer.  We have several memory cards for the camera, but they seem to be getting filled more quickly than ever before.  The digital camera was purchased in 2007, so we now have over 2 years of pictures to protect.

Our Labra'data' Retriever

I have been burning the files to CDs for safe keeping in case something would happen to the computer hard drive.  With the reasonable price and large capacity of external hard drives, a backup of those invaluable pictures can be scheduled to run automatically on a regular basis.  Creating a backup to the external USB drive provides extra protection. Also consider making a copy onto CDs or DVDs that can be stored at a relative or neighbor’s house or using an online backup service.  A principle of good disaster recovery planning for any critical data, whether for a business or personal use, is to have a retrievable copy of that data off site in case of a disaster.  Is your most precious data retrievable?

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Patch Tuesday
Thursday, December 10th, 2009 | Author: Jeff

Several years ago, Microsoft decided to set a schedule for releasing updates to the public.  Since a lot of the updates require rebooting computers, businesses and individuals were finding it difficult to predict when updates would be available for critical systems.  Sometimes one update and reboot would be completed, then new updates would be released within a few days requiring another round of installs and reboots.  The decision then to just postpone those updates until a later date would leave systems vulnerable to the problems which the updates aimed to fix.

Microsoft decided on the second Tuesday of every month as the day to release new updates, thus the name “Patch Tuesday” came into being.  This week has the second Tuesday for December and Microsoft released a batch of security updates right on schedule. The Microsoft website at Microsoft.com/security has more details about the specifics.  Should you apply the monthly security updates?  Yes.  The neat thing is that Windows makes it fairly easy to automate the process.  For Windows XP, right-click on My Computer, select Properties, and click the Automatic Updates tab.  I like to have the updates automatically downloaded, but let me decide when to install them.Automatic Updates

When updates are ready, a notification alert shows on the taskbar near the clock which lets me know that updates are ready.

UpdateAlertClick on the update shield to see the updates and proceed to the installation.

A new window will open, and if you select Custom Install, you can see the specific updates before installing them (and have the option to choose not to install a particular update at this time).

Install_1

Install_2

One other option I like (for laptops in particular) is the ability to apply updates before shutting down the computer.  If I have not installed the updates and choose to Shut Down or Turn Off the computer, the option will be available to install updates before the powering off occurs.  This option is available if updates have already been downloaded, but not previously installed.

Keep your computer more secure by getting in the habit of applying Microsoft security updates every month.

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Safe Internet Shopping
Saturday, December 05th, 2009 | Author: Jeff

Shopping on the Internet has become a convenient way to quickly find that needed item or holiday gift.  Price comparison shopping these days is much simpler than it was before retail businesses had websites to advertise their products.  Trusting a retail website can be difficult – how do you determine if the site is legitimate and not full of dangerous links that could cause harm to your computer via malware?  I found another free tool that helps you identify safe sites from an Internet search.  AVG LinkScanner aids in identifying potential threats before clicking on a search result.  You do not need to risk clicking on a site that has already been classified as unsafe.

Regardless of the tools you use on your computer, do not forget to check your credit card statements closely every month for unauthorized purchases.  Hackers are constantly attempting to break into databases that hold credit card information so that it can be sold.  When you have the option, do not allow your credit card information to be saved on a website for future purchases.  The time it takes to re-enter the card number is minimal compared to the time it takes to dispute unauthorized purchases with your credit card company.  Another layer of protection for your credit card is to only allow the shipping address to match the billing address, or to only allow designated shipping addresses for purchases.  Check with your credit card company to set those options.  In the unfortunate event that your credit card number and billing address information were ever stolen from a hacked database, purchases with shipping to an address not on the account would not be allowed.

Be safe and secure when shopping on the Internet!

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Searching the Internet
Monday, November 30th, 2009 | Author: Jeff

When a news story of interest crosses my path, finding trustworthy information on the Internet can be a challenge.  High profile stories like the Tiger Woods accident this past weekend are prime targets for those who desire to capitalize on curiosity.  Some of the links from searches are packed with malware, a short name for malicious software.  Be careful to click only trustworthy sites, especially on searches.  A lot of computer virus and spyware problems  occur by accident, simply by clicking something that installs the malware without your knowledge.

One tool that I depend on to help in spotting bad websites before clicking on them is a website checker.  Free versions are available like McAfee SiteAdvisor and some antivirus products have the checkers built-in.  Using multiple layers of protection can help you find information on the Internet quickly and safely.

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Technology Notes with Integrity
Saturday, November 28th, 2009 | Author: Jeff

Much good information can be gained by reading the blogs of other IT professionals.  I enjoy learning, but sometimes wading through the inappropriate language or indecent photographs can cause the benefits to be outweighed by the costs.  My goal for this blog is to provide information on topics in the technology field from a source that can be trusted with language that is appropriate for any member of the family to read.  I want my own children to benefit from the tidbits of technology information without exposing them to questionable areas of the web.  The technology field has so many good things to help us as we face life’s challenges, and the effort to understand it is worth putting forth the energy to learn and apply technology properly.

I hope you share my desire and will benefit as well from future posts.

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