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How to Stay Protected When Using the Internet for Leisure and Entertainment

May 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are risks that come along with surfing the internet for entertainment. Many websites are infected with malware and other viruses that are designed to steal your personal information or make your computer run badly. This means you need to take measures to ensure that you are protected.

One way you can make sure you are protected when surfing the internet is to have antivirus software installed. This way, if you do get a virus, your antivirus software will detect and remove the harmful files from your computer. A lot of the time, the antivirus software will prevent the programs from even being installed in the first place.

One place on the internet that can have malware and viruses is online gaming websites. This is because a lot of the time you have to download some files in order to play, and sometimes the files do not come from trustworthy sources. Make sure you are using a reputable website if you want to download games. That way you can enjoy playing poker on your computer without having to worry about your information getting stolen or computer getting infected.

Another thing you can do to stay protected when surfing the internet is to never give information to a website that does not have a secure certificate. You’ll know if the site is secure if you see the “S” in the bottom of your browser or a lock symbol.

The internet is a fun place to spend your time, but don’t make the mistake of trusting someone you shouldn’t. Get antivirus software and be on the lookout for scams.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,

Becoming a Professional Poker Player

May 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you have a love for the game of poker and are looking to start a new career, then you might be considering trying your hand at professional poker. However, there are several things that you need to consider before becoming a professional player.

One of the first things that you need to consider is that becoming a professional player is not as easy as it sounds. Playing the game professionally takes a great deal of skill and practice. Just like any other job, you will need to dedicate time and energy to your professional poker career. You will need to play poker for several hours a day in order to make up for the money you would be making if you were working a regular full-time job. It would also be wise to see if you can even make money playing poker part-time before making a full-time commitment.

You also need to consider how well you manage your bankroll. If you are unable to manage your finances, you might want to reconsider a career in gambling. Many people who start their career in professional poker think that they if they are not playing with high stakes they will not earn a lot of money. However, many professional poker players play for hours a day and will make large sums playing on low stakes. Remember that you will always win some and lose some.

Playing professional poker has many great rewards, including the potential to make a good living. However, becoming a professional will take time and practice, so make sure that you are truly dedicated to the lifestyle before making the switch.

Filed Under: General, Internet Tagged With: ,

The Predator Becomes The Prey

April 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Prey logo

Image via Wikipedia

Anti-virus software is great, but what about protecting your computer from physical theft? It happens every day, and especially if you have a laptop or smartphone, there’s no such thing as being too careful. Aside from losing your potentially very expensive (and emotionally significant) computer, you have just given your thief access to all kinds of information about you—every file you have saved on your hard drive, every piece of information you’ve ever entered into a site where your password is saved. Did you let Amazon.com remember your credit card number? Have you ever filled out a form or sent a contract that included your social security number? Your information must be protected.

Thankfully there is a new open-source software program for your computer or smartphone. It’s called Prey. When activated, prey allows you to remotely access your laptop or smartphone through the Internet or an SMS text message—even after it has been stolen. You can use GPS or the nearest wireless Internet connection to find your lost property immediately. You can even take screenshots of what your thief is doing, and use your built-in webcam or smartphone camera to catch them in the act! There is no way they will get away with stealing your computer or smartphone if you have a picture of them doing it. And you can protect your passwords and even lock your computer down remotely so no one can use it without a password, keeping your information and your computer safe.

Prey keeps you in control, even when your computer is out of your hands. Download it and you can rest easy.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: , ,

Avoiding an Addiction

April 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are a lot of things you can take away from gaming and gambling online, like fun and enjoyment, prizes, a way to spend your time and so on. Unfortunately, some people end up with an unexpected and unwanted side effect of this type of play online, which is a gambling addiction.

Understanding and Avoiding a Gambling Addiction

Nobody sets out on sports betting sites and gambling websites expecting to become addicted, but this is an unfortunate side effect for many people. What this means is that you have to monitor yourself and your internet usage, and you have to make sure that you are being safe and considering whether or not you have reached the point of “too much.”

It is important to monitor how much you are gambling, and whether you still consider it to be fun and enjoyable, or whether your online gambling has become problematic in some way. If you are spending more money than you should be, or if you are gambling online when you should be attending to other obligations. For example, if you place an important sports bet and decide not to go to work because your bet is more important than your employment, then you may have a serious problem, or the beginnings of one.

Technology is changing and evolving, and so there are new ways to look at online gaming and the potential for a gambling addiction. Just because you are not in an actual casino for days on end, it does not mean that you do not also have a problem with gambling, so keep this in mind and monitor your use closely.

Filed Under: General, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Caution with Downloads

March 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Do you download many videos from the internet? Do you pick and choose what you do and don’t download from the internet? Whether you have good anti virus software installed or not it is still up to you to continuously question everything that you choose to put on your computer.

Many anti virus protection software programs will check the file before you download it. Is this full proof, no. Your web browser may also check the file you are downloading. Is this full proof, again, the answer is no. It is possible that a new malware program is out there and this won’t be recognized by the protective software that is on your computer.

So it is up to you. At each site you visit and choose to download information you have to ask yourself what the likelihood of a problem. malware can be embedded in all kinds of software including images, documents and videos. Look carefully at a web address every time you download. A site may look like a site you trust but there are look alike sites out there. Malware for those that don’t know can include viruses or other malicious software like spyware. Not only can you be downloading a virus but you could also download a program that will steal personal information from your computer while you are on the internet.

Emails are also important to question. Although protection is better than ever it is still possible to get hit this way. If you don’t know the sender, even if the email looks official don’t open or preview it. It is your job to protect yourself.

Filed Under: Anti-Virus, Internet Tagged With: , , ,

Online Payday Loans

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What Is an Online Payday Loan?

An online payday loan is a short-term loan that you can apply for on the Internet. The reason it’s called a “payday loan” is that the lenders will give you a loan and you will pay it back on your next payday, usually through your credit card. Online payday loans are quite convenient and useful, especially when you need extra cash. There is no credit check and the money is deposited in your bank account shortly after you apply.

Benefits of Payday Loans

Along with the convenience of applying for a payday loan at any time of day and no credit check, there are many other benefits of online payday loans as well. Companies such as Payday One have extremely high acceptance rates. There is no form of security such as your car or house involved, so you don’t have to worry about losing them if you lose your job. With payday loans, you can remain confident and secure.

Taking Precautions

You may be worried about trusting online loan services because you never actually talk to a representative face to face, but if you go through a chain lending company you can be sure that other people have used their services and that they are a safe and reliable company to use. When researching companies, look for companies that don’t require you to fax anything because then you won’t have to worry about any of your personal information getting lost or stolen.

Taking out any loan isn’t something you should have to do every month. Payday loans are great when you need emergency money, such as for car repairs, dental work, medical problems, and many more situations where you just need a little financial help to make it to your next payday. It’s generally not recommended to impulsively use loans for every little expense, so make sure you really need the money.

Filed Under: General, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Making Your Web Browser Work For You

March 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

New or a long time user of the internet, you can probably find ways to improve your time you spend online. Improving your time includes more efficiently finding what you are looking for and being able to find what you want again if you need to in the future. The web browser you use should be able to do this for you and if doesn’t you may try a different browser or set up the browser differently to work for you better.

The user should get comfortable using both search tools and bookmarks to get what they want. Most of the most popular search engines can add a toolbar to your browser for easy access. The browsers also offer a search tool in the Navigation toolbar. One must decide if he or she wants to devote the screen area to such a tool bar. You can also set up a toolbar to access your most important bookmarks.

Bookmarks are for sites that you visit so often that you keep them in a list so that you don’t need to search for them again. Any website can have a bookmark or several bookmarks for different pages within the same website. To make a bookmark use the Bookmarks menu from the Menu Bar. Be careful with your bookmarks on web-pages deep in the directory of a website. In the end if the website changes the organization of it’s web-pages the bookmark will not link with anything. A new search will probably be required.

Filed Under: Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,

The Open Source Community

February 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You have heard the term before, open source, but what is it and why should it matter to you? It is important that everyone understands that there are options out there. These options are available to everyone.

Open source is a term that refers to software programs that are available to anyone for free. Yes the programs are free and vary from games and office suites, to an operating system called Linux. It is very hard for many people to believe that something is free and that if it is it must not be as good as something you have to pay for with real money. In this case there is a real possibility for these programs to compete with the software programs that cost you money.

The reason that these software programs can compete is because of the community. There is a large population of people out there that believe that software should be available for free, but not only this. The software should be free and able to be added to and fixed by th public. This means that the software is upgraded and updated by individuals based on what they want the software to do.

A program such as OpenOffice is a stand alone program that allows you to do many of the tasks you want Microsoft Office to do. Not only is it capable of doing the same tasks it can open files and save files in the format of the other program. A program like OpenOffice can be downloaded and installed on your computer for free. All you need to do is visit the website and complete the simple installation techniques. There are many other programs available and a whole community of people ready to engage you in what you are looking for in a software program.

Filed Under: Hardware, Internet Tagged With: , , ,

Printers, All the Choices

February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Narrowing down to get the best printer for you can seem difficult. So many choices and so many seemingly very different models. You need a way to decrease the option if you are going to have the time to investigate which printer company has the best choice for you. So lets take a look at how we narrow the field.

Your first and possibly hardest choice is what type of printer to buy. There are many types and each type really is meant for a different purpose. Here is a list of printer types:

  1. Ink-jet printer: These printers are what many people buy for their personal printing needs. The printers will do many different functions including printing out documents, as well as doing images in color like photographic prints. These are often the cheaper printers but be cautious as the low end models can cost you more in ink and time waiting, so consider one of the higher price ranged models
  2. Portable: These printers also ink-jet printers, but these are usually very small and can go where you go.
  3. All in One: These printers are nice for the small home office  because they contain a printer, copier, fax machine and scanner all in one device. They may not be fast or huge like the industrial office printers but for a home office that gets light use and may have issues with space these may be what you need.
  4. Laser printer: If printing text documents is what you need, and you need to do it often then a laser printer should be your choice. If you print longer text documents the laser printer will do it more quickly and should do it with less cost in ink.
  5. Photo printer: If printing photos is your thing then consider getting a printer specific for the purpose.

These are five of the main types of printers on the market.

Filed Under: General, Hardware, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Staying Secure When Online Gambling

January 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are literally thousands of online casino sites live on the Internet. With such great choices, how can you tell which site is the best or most secure?

Most reputable sites will allow you to deposit money in many ways. This includes credit and debit cards, to PayPal and MoneyBookers. Be wary of places that only accept checks and wires as this can indicate trouble, especially as you are handing out your banking details. Using a third party service, like PayPal, means you have more control over the amount of sites being given your banking details. Also, if the site happens to be a scam, you can easily set up a dispute.

Although a little time consuming, doing your research before signing up can work greatly in your favor. By using a search engine you will be able to find genuine reviews and comments from past and present members of the online casino sites. It doesn’t take long to spot the favorites, and of course, the scams. There are hundreds of message boards and forums dedicated to reporting both positive and negative experiences. After a bit of time spent doing this, you will have a better understanding on the more reputable places to gamble online.

Aside from the monetary issues involved, there is also the game-play. A site might be perfectly secure and safe, but be riddled with glitches. This too can be easily researched by creating an internet search of the casino’s name, followed by phrases like “glitches”, “game play” and “errors.” This should show you the less reliable sites and also verify which are the best.

As you’re paying money to play, it is important to get the best service possible. There are many online casino sites that offer a massive range of games with amazing graphics, for the same price as perhaps a more average site. So a little research will go a long way.

Filed Under: Internet, Software Tagged With: , ,
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