Passwords & You

This day and age we have accumulated dozens of logins. You have personal ones such as Facebook, Twitter, even your banks require a login. You also have logins at your job; whether you are a work from homer or you commute to your workplace. Sometimes you wonder how can you keep track of all your logins and passwords. It's a tricky area. You don't want your logins in the wrong hands.

Back in the day, you really didn't need a login and password. The most sensitive thing you had was your Social Security Number and your bank card PIN. It was enough to memorize. Today there are way too many. If my grandmother was alive, she would probably tell you to write them down in a journal. How safe is a journal? How practical is having a journal with you everywhere you go so you can find your login? It is not. It is not very safe. You can lose the journal (major disaster there). It can burn up in a fire (safest way to lose your sensitive information). Or someone can steal it (this is just as bad as losing it). With new technology came software where you can store your logins. They are pretty handy. They also have risks too. The software is usually password protected. That's a benefit where no one can access it. However, you can forget your login to the software. That way your data is even protected from yourself. Your computer could have been hacked, received a Trojan or a virus. Hacking and Trojans are the worse of the three. There are keystroke Trojans that can get access to the software after you access it once. The same with the hacking. Virus usually just uses your computer to do its bidding, like sending out massive spam and replicating itself on other computers. Viruses requires you townie your drives clean. They also leave it vulnerable for hackers to get the information.

I have gotten so many passwords that I needed a program to help me memorize them. I do try to use the same everywhere, but each site has their own login password requirements. When I used a Windows mobile phone nearly 3 years ago(feels like 4 or more), I had this app called Password Keeper. Once I switched to my iPhone, I use this app called mSecure. I absolutely love this app. You can customize it and you can create passwords straight from the app. Password Keeper is also on iOS, but the app was poorly reviewed when I was looking. I love mSecure and I even got my mother to purchase the app. I actually shelled out $2.99 for the app. That was big for me because I never paid more than $0.99 for any app. The app now costs $9.99. I'm glad I purchased when I did.

Since I purchased, the app has been upgraded numerous times, adding new functionalities. In the beginning you could only back up app by emailing the back up. You got an email that looked like gibberish. Now you can update/sync with Dropbox. I do this because it allows me to access the same data from my iPhone and iPad. You can also Group and Tag by Type your passwords. You can customize and create your own Types. I really like this app. It's going to take me a while to get my job's passwords in it. You should see how many passwords are involved there. I just had to fight to get my password reset on a site. It took them 2 weeks to get it. If I just remembered my password or put it in mSecure, I wouldn't have been in such a bind.

Remember, your passwords are only safe as to the effort you put in it to keep it safe. Make sure whatever you use, you feel secure and it's easily accessible to you. We all wish we had the perfect photographic memory, but we don't. With the economy the way it is, crooks are getting more desperate in finding ways to access your data so they can steal your life. So please protect yourselves as much as possible.

Gallery of mSecure app pictures:

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Engadget Reader Meet Up 8-25-11

So yesterday by boyfriend, JH, and I attended the Engadget Reeder meet up. It's like a social and informative event with catered food. Tech companies and other tech sites were in attendance. It took place at a venue called Gustavio's in NYC. It's a nice place. I wonder if it's a restaurant or reception/club spot. It is really inside and out.

A little history, Engadget is a tech blog on the web that has become a leading blog in the industustry. They have on other blog on the same level, Gizmodo. They review products in advance. Tech companies invite them to test runs, send hem prototypes to review. They get ahold of stuff, legally, before it is released to the public. They have a podcast and they have a web show that is taped monthly where they interview tech company employees about their new technology. They started in 2004 and was purchased by AOL in 2005. They currently have staff over 70 worldwide. They recently in last year change editors in chief. The previous one had a bit more personality but the new one is okay. Of course with change, some people left with the previous E-I-C. The blog does have a new feel. However, I stopped reading and let JH continue. He will tell me the interesting stuff. I now read other blogs.

Engadget went all out in preparing a nice atmosphere. This is my second meet up event. This one is way nicer than the last. However, like all Engadget functions, you have to wait in line outside to get in. That part is what I don't like. I don't go to clubs because of this. However, the difference between the two is that Engadget only has the venue booked at certain times and they are still preparing until the designated time. Whereas clubs make you wait outside to make the club look cool. It's just an image thing.

This meet up was solely sponsored by AT&T. Normally they are sponsored by Sprint. Me and JH, being techy, we like coming to these events. You get to see products and play with them. You also get Q&A time with Engadget writers and even Editor in Chief. These people were very accessible to all. Well if you can get thru the crowds of die hard geeks. They also introduce staff from other countries so you can get to know them. The best thing at these events where most people go them for, are the free giveaways.

You receive a raffle ticket upon entering the venue. Throughout the evening they raffles off items. With our luck, JH and I, we never win anything. But we do enjoy the food, the ability to check out the tables and get little freebie stuff from them. I managed to get a t-shirt for JH from the Joystiq game. He was handing goods away. We also obtained sunglasses, chapstick and stress balls from various tables.

The following are companies who had tables at the event:

AT&T - We got to play with some of the new phones they have coming out. We actually were able to mess with an HP Veer. That one may just be gone since HP killed WebOS. You can probably hack it and put Android on it like the TouchPad. I also got to play a little Crash Bandicoot on the PlayStation phone. The phone isn't bad but it's a little bulky. It runs Android and it's definitely a gamers phone.

Samsung - This table was very crowded. Had to stay there and bully my way to table through the geeks. When I got to table I got a chance to play with AT&T and T-Mobile phones. Couldn't even get to try out their tablet. I did get chapstick and sunglasses from them.

Mororola - The had their latest phones and their tablet, Xoom. This division was recently bought by Google. The phone quality seems done well, but they sure are big. Here we were able to get a stress ball. Of course I couldn't touch a Xoom. Damn those geeks.

Eastern mountain sports - They make solar powered backpacks and accessories. Handy for those who are outside a lot.

Blackberry - Poor Blackberry. Hardly anyone visited their table. They did have a Playbook to play with. I didn't even bother with the table to be honest. I think they do not have anything new to offer.

HTC - They had their own phones there. We only played with the ones that were on our carriers respectively: T-Mobile and AT&T.

UbreakIFix - This was the most interesting table. They fix broken phones and tablets. They fixed some readers phones who were there. There was also a contest where they pulled a guest on stage to break a brand new iPad 2. This guest will get to keep iPad after Ubreakit fixes it. Lucky her. This service seems very handy.

Joystiq - They didn't have a table, but the E-I-C was roaming the meet up. He went up on stage when he was introduced. I happen to find him when I was roamin around myself. I had lost JH at this point. I did get him a T-Shirt that the guy was giving away.

The Unofficial Apple Webblog - They are another tech blog who's primary focus is on Apple. They do review a lot of accessories and hardware that pertain to Apple. They had a table with accessories they have reviewed. I checked out an iPad case that had a keyboard. It retails around $150. It's pretty, but no thank you to that price.

Western digital - I didn't really stop at their table for too long. The had their typical external storage devices. However, they were focusing on a new external device that is digital storage of your DVDs. It can play video back better than typical streaming. We really don't know that unless you try it. We stream movies from a regular external harddrive without too many streaming issues. So it's just another piece of tech that will just serve a limited purpose.

AC Gears - This table was a bunch of cute and retro accessories. They had USB key drives in cool characters. They had the Android robot, an old school boombox and old school Beetle Van.

Sharp - They showed off a 3D tv. Not much interested in 3D tvs. So I didn't stop there.

Cadence Watch Company - This table they had a bunch of their special watches. They had a survey contest going. You must choose which of the 2 watches the guy was holding did you like better. You write your email address and which watch you liked better: A or B.

Boxee - This company I have ignored at other meetups. This time I got caught by one of the guys manning the table. He explained what it is. I didn't know what it is. He was very nice and informative. It's a free service on their hardware and on the iPad. It's pretty cool. I'm thinking of getting the app on the iPad when I get one in September. The service gathers all video on the next and organizes it so you can watch on your tv. On the iPad, it leaves a plugin where it can extract embedded video when you surf the Internet to view later. Pretty cool.

Get-A-Game - Table was for an App for iOS and Android. It's an app that allows you to look for people to do outdoor activities with, like golf, hiking etc. They do not have an app for Windows Phone 7 or Blackberry. Interesting concept.

That was my run down for this meetup. I enjoyed it greatly. I wish I won a cool gadget but I left happy. Hopefully, he next meetup will be just as nice or better.

Smartphones... Are They Worth It?

Note: All dates and time lines are approximations.

I remember when cell phones were nonexistent. All we had were landlines. If you needed to get in touch with someone, you actually had to leave a message and wait for a phone call back. If they didn't have a message machine, you'd have to call constantly.

We developed cell phones. Not many people got them when they first came out to market. Only the people with dire need had them; doctors is one example. Then it finally picked up by the mass. The phones were huge at first. They eventually went smaller.

In the early 80s, 2 companies decided to create a new type of cell phone. A company named Palm came out with a digital personal management system called Palm Pilots. They eventually produced the phone integration into the hardware. And Microsoft created a mobile operating system called Windows Mobile. These phones are 2 distinct phones but with the same goal; personal management.

As phones were getting smaller, becoming flip tops and had some color graphics, MS and Palm phones stayed a bit big. This device you could store your address book, calendar and many different applications to make your life a bit easier. These 2 companies started the smartphone growth. Then came the Blackberry by a company called Research In Motion. RIM made their debut as a smartphone for the enterprise. They only provided for companies and their employees. The phone was able to sync with companies exchange server. They really brought email to the forefront of smartphones. Eventually RIM just catered to the masses. MS and Palm stepped up their game too.
In the marketplace you had people claiming allegiance to different smartphones. Some people were die hard Palm people and, even to this day, there die hard BB people. BB had the controlling share of smartphones. Whereas, MS were the lowest of all 3.

Jump ahead to the mid 2000s, a little company with support from T-Mobile launched a phone called the G1. It ran an OS called Android 1. The phone did moderately well. Not enough to make much of an impact. A year or so later, Apple decided to join the ranks. They came out with the iPhone with exclusivity to AT&T. The phone made all the other smartphone companies take notice. It sold extremely well. It surpassed MS phones, came around even with Palm but could not touch RIM.

Every company went back to the drawing boards to come out with something new, more innovative and much more functional. More versions of all the phones come out. When Apple hit the market with the iPhone 3, they blew everyone out of the market except for RIM. Shortly before that launch, Google acquired he little company that produced Android. They released a phone to developers and people who can afford an unsubsidized phone called the Nexus. You would have to purchase it directly from Google. The phone was well received.

Right after the iPhone 3 launch, Verizon launched the Droid. All the commercials called it an iPhone killer. This Droid had a better developed Android OS. Let the smartphone war begin!!!! This is where all the companies are fighting for marketshare. What happened to the regular cell phones? They are still around. There's still a need for them.

Now a lot of manufacturers are putting out affordable Android devices. Apple came out with 2 new versions; iPhone 3GS then the 4. RIM puts out different but the same devices. MS was late in the game for putting out a new or updated platform until a bit too late in the war. Palm was acquires by HP and now they are trying to bring in a new phone and updated OS. So far the marketshare is as follows (by OS):
#1 Android
#2 iOS
#3 BB
#4 Windows
#5 webOS

Personally, I moved from A Windows Mobile Phone to an iPhone 3GS. I am very happy with my choice. It is practically attached to me. I do so much with it, like writing and then posting this post online. I have not tried an Android phone yet, but I will soon. I am interested in how different the 2 systems compare.

As technology advances, I expect to see much more phones that will make life so much easier. That in itself is another post. Let the battle continue.....

Google+ - I'm Invited

So we've all heard of Google+. It's supposed to be the "Facebook" killer. It's just another social media site. But this new site ties to your Google account. Currently, Google+ is in the beta phase, just like the email back in the day. You must be invited in order to access it.

A friend of mine was offering invites on Facebook. So I volunteered for one so I can test this baby out. To my surprise, with the invitation, I was not able join. So I gave up on being a tester. It's such an exclusive club for which I'm not invited.

Two weeks later, I noticed my boyfriend got in. What was so special about him that he could join and I was left out? Two days later he invited me. This time I was able to join. Yay me!!

This is my very 1st reaction after sign on: "This looks like a cleaner version of Facebook!" The home screen is the same except for the content. There are couple of differences in managing your friends list. Plus uses this thing called "Circles." I believe they do this so you can post different updates for each different circle. I'm a believer in, if you going to say something, then everyone who's on your friends list can see it. That amounts to lying by omission. If you are too ashamed that certain people can see some inappropriate post, then don't post it.

I have not figured out privacy settings as of yet. Don't want my profile to be viewable to the public. I don't want to be very searchable. There's more to explore.

What I don't like so far is that you can put people in circles without confirmation of invitation acceptance. So really don't get a true confirmation of who's on Plus and who isn't. I could be misunderstanding the section.

As I post this, there isn't an app for iPhone, but there is one for Android. Many sites so far do not have the +1; equivalent to Facebook's likes and shares on sites. Group App programs like Hootsuite do not have Plus account links. So posting on the site is a bit tedious. I await when Plus is fully integrated. When it does, Plus will probably be a mirror to my Facebook page.

I can see how Plus can be a FB killer. People have more email accounts with Google than there are FB pages. What Plus lacks is support from the web and developers. If and when they do get them all, FB will be in trouble. Having to log into one site alone that connects all of your stuff will always prove better than logging into multiple sites.

As for now, I don't think I will be leaving FB at all. Don't know what future may bring, but I'm content with both. I may post more on Plus when I play with it more.

Apple A Day Will Keep Geek Squad Away

Around the web, you hear smatterings about how great Apple is and how much Geek Squad sucks. I am only going to reference Geek Squad and not Best Buy as a whole, since Best Buy offers other goods besides computers. Which is better? My opinion, Apple.

Apple machines vs PCs has been at war for dominance in the market for a while. But the main difference between Apple and PCs in the service area is that you only have to deal with one company. You don't have to run around the different companies for PCs. PCs have multiple manufacturers. If you want to escape havin to deal wih the manufacturers, there is Geek Squad. The rest of this post is based solely on customer service and not which computers have flaws.

Let's discuss courtesy first. Have you ever walked into a Best Buy in search of the Squad? When you found them, were you blown away with their courtesy? Or were you rather disappointed? I find the people in the Squad in 2 states to be real jerks. You are treated more like a nuisance and as you are an idiot. A simple "hello, how are you doing" would be nice. Instead you get a "what do you need?" When you walk into Apple, you get a friendly greeting, "hello welcome Apple store, how can we help you?" Then you are directed to where you need to go. Even at the genius bar, you greeted with a "hello, how can we help you." Simple common courtesy goes a long way when you are already bothered by whatever has befallen your equipment.

Now let's get to the assessing what is wrong with your machine. At the genius bar, they first ask you to explain what is going with your machine, then ask you for your particulars next. They listen before they make any judgements. When they look up your particulars and they find that you are not under warranty or apple care, they will inform you of it then discuss arrangements on how to fix your issue. Geek Squad first asks "did you buy our protection plan?" This question, depending how you answer, will cause 2 reactions:
- If you did have plan, can't do anything here, will have to send it out. You will fill out some paperwork.
- If you didn't, it's going to cost you so and so amount of money. Fill out paperwork and pay for service. You can't pay upon receipt of fixed goods.
After all that, you still receive a scowl from the Squad. The attitude is more like you are wasting their time.

Lastly is knowledge. The people you encounter at the Squad seem like they don't have any IT support knowledge or computer knowledge. They have no idea what your issue is or how to fix it. At the Genius Bar at Apple, they are better versed on issues with the product. They also try to explain the issues. You are part of the loop with what's going on and you are being taught at the same time.

The Geek Squad should be called Weak Squad because their customer service sucks. I am not a customer service rep for my profession, but most positions in the world has to do a little bit of it. You attract more bees with honey. Apple has presented themselves as a caring, courteous and knowledgeable. That is why Apple is steadily creeping up in the marketshare of PCs. Courtesy goes a long way. So does first impression. Geek Squad does not present itself well. They leave you with an impression of frustration and desolation. If you want to feel bad about seeking help head onto Geek Squad. If not, for PCs I suggest that you find a better service provider or just deal with the manufacturer. Apple keep doing what you're doing.