Tek-Min-Now: The Computer Experts

CruchPad - Computer on your Couch = Heaven?

2009-11-30T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hey,

Check out The Launch Prototype of the Crunch Pad!! It's sick!!!

More Pics
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/03/crunchpad-the-launch-prototype/

I hope MAC, ASUS, or Sony pick up on this concept and do it up!!

Before it is dead in the water --> http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/30/crunchpad-end/

Google Chrome OS Demo

2009-11-28T09:48:00.000-08:00

Hey,
Watch this great demo of the upcoming Google Chome Operating System! This is a very early Beta version of the product, scheduled to be release Novemeber 2010.

Where's MY Chevy Volt?

2009-11-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Hey,

I've been following the Chevy Volt production for quite some time now and I love the original design and look of the car, it looks like something out of a futuristic movie, check this pic:

Very nice right?

But I just watched a few videos and it looks a little different than what I thought:

Looks a little different than I thought, but sounds like it drives great, YAY!!
(I guess that video explains why it looks different, in a different shell..)

Here are a few more great videos about the Chevy Volt:

1 Month Ago:

3 Months Ago:

Building the Volt:

BitTorrent + IsoHunt = Download any Movie, TV Show, Music CDs

2009-10-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hey,

Here's a simple easy way to download any Movie, TV Show, CD, or anything.

STEP 1 - Download and Install BitTorrent, it allows you to download anything.
Download BitTorrent after you download it, Run Setup and install the basic setup.

STEP 2 - Go to IsoHunt.com this site has a database of torrents, with virtually any Movie, TV Show, CD ever made! So SEARCH for anything. Example: "Home Alone" or "Seinfeld Seasons"

STEP 3 - Click on S for Seeds, which stands for the number of people that are sharing the file for people to download. The more Seeds the Quicker the Download will go, and the more likely it is a Safe File.

WARNING: Some of these files maybe viruses, so you should only download 1 or 2 at a time, and have a virus application like AVG (link) installed to make sure it is NOT a Virus.

STEP 4 - Download the Torrent for the file you want it will download quickly as it is only a torrent file.

STEP 5 - BitTorrent should automatically open the Torrent file and ask you what Folder you want to save the movie file you want to download from the net.

STEP 6 - Let BitTorrent download the file but DO NOT SHARE the file, as that would be Illegal, it is however Legal to Download a file.

STEP 7 - Once you have downloaded the file (may take a few hours depending on the size of the file, usually movies take a few hours) Immediately Close BitTorrent, check to see if it stays open in the Lower Right Hand corner with the Green Square, Right-click it and Exit it.

STEP 8 - Then go to the Folder you downloaded the file to and double click the file to run it. If it doesn't run or play correctly with Windows Media Player you may need to Download VLC (link)

STEP 9 - VLC will allow you to watch any movie in any format that you may have downloaded from BitTorrent. So try the movie with VLC, if it does not play in VLC and it doesn't work, immediately Delete the file as it may be a Virus or other Malicious file.

And that's it...simple as 1,2,3.

If you do happen to download a Virus I would recommend having a copy of AVG running so that it will scan the file before you run the Movie File, and if you do get Infected with a Virus, then Download Anti-Malware Bytes

Rocket Dock - Turn your Windows machine into a Mac

2009-10-07T17:51:00.001-07:00

Hey,

Check out this application for Windows called Rocket Dock, it creates a simple Mac like interface for the desktop, and is 100% customizable, try it out, customize it, and enjoy!

http://rocketdock.com/

Google Chrome, Quite Possibly the Best Browser Ever

2009-10-06T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hey,

If you haven't already downloaded and installed Google Chrome, well then sir, you are not TOO LATE! It is still free! DOWNLOAD NOW

This is by far the quickest, smartest, safest, best browser on the market today. It handles multiple javascript calls perfectly, with multiple tabs, elated with music, videos, with little to no slow downs, def. a step up from Firefox.

I recommend the Beta Version, its quicker but may crash, but your helping Google make the browser better when you get it to crash, go ahead, just TRY! DOWNLOAD NOW

Great job developing this Google, you guys sees to amaze me.

If you don't believe me, read this

NoScript and CCleaner - 2 Must Have Apps for Windows

2009-04-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

NoScript and CCleaner are two must have applications if you are running a Windows pc.

NoScript can be downloaded here - http://noscript.net/ - this is an AddOn for Firefox, meaning that it can not be installed with IE, Safari, or Chrome, or whatever browser you use, only Firefox.

The NoScript actually blocks all Scripts from running automatically when you goto a Website. A Script is something that Computer Programmers make to load videos, load photos, load page content, and ads, or even can run tracking cookies on your pc, and they will report your surfing habits. They could also be used to have Scripts that Steal your Passwords, Banking Passwords, or Track your Credit Card #'s, so if you buy things online then you need NoScript, so you don't get hacked, and have your Credit Card's stolen.

Once installed and downloaded, Firefox needs to re-start, then the app is running. You can see if it is running by looking at the bottom right hand corner of the Firefox window will be an S with a white circle around it, click on that, and that is how you control what Scripts run on sites. You can either Trust this site, or Trust this Script, but NEVER Trust All Scripts! Block scripts that have "Ad" in it, so that they don't give you tracking cookies...

Whenever you goto a new web-site NoScript will pop-up at the Bottom of the Screen and ask if you want to display all Scripts, or just a few from the Page, and you can click on the videos that have an F in the middle and say OK and they will play normally, but this is a GREAT PROTECTION from VIRUSES!!

Also CCleaner, which can be downloaded here - http://www.ccleaner.com/ - this is a GREAT Application and MUST GET for WINDOWS USERS, because it will CLEAN your machine. When you download Scripts and Cookies, they stay on your machine whether you are Online or not, and they will report and track the sites you goto, also many Viruses are spread from cookies from un-trustworthy web-sites, so to get rid of them, get CCleaner and do a Full Clean, and remove everything it finds.

CCleaner will clean your:

IE - cookies, history, etc.
Firefox - cookies, history, etc.
All browsers
Fix Regirstery Issues Also.

I would recommend running this program whenever Windows un-expetecdly shuts off on you, which as we all know happens from time to time. This is usually due the fact of browsing a web-site that has bad scripts running and they infect your computer. Run CCleaner and this will remove all of the infections.

Hope you find this helpful!

Any Questions?

Cell Phone Wrist Watch!

2009-03-04T05:36:00.000-08:00

This is the coolest invention I have seen in a long time!!

Dick Tracey Wrist Watch Cell Phone? Haha

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6603829&page=1

How I Fixed My Internet Connection

2009-02-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hey,

So I have been having a terrible time with my Windows XP computer, and I could not figure out why my internet was still crapping out on me.

I had:
- run AVG and scan removed all viruses
- run Spy-Bot Search and Destroy remove all spyware
- run Anti-Malware to remove all malware
- formatted my hard drive
- reinstalled Windows from scratch

and still a crappy internet connection plagued me, what to do?

I finally shelled out some cash and bought a Netgear RangeMax Wireless PCI Network Card.

After some trials and tribulations, I installed the software, then put the PCI card into my system, and got an interenet connection, yay! but it was still bad, DOH!

So after all that, what could be my problem, I started playing with the software that came with the Network Card, and it tells you every second what is your current connection speed to the internet, and I noticed something ODD.

When my computer was in it's usual position, it would get about 10 to 20 mbs and that is a really slow connection, a good connection is 48 to 56 mbs.

But when I moved my PC away from my wall and straightened out the antenna, just moving the antenna on the back of my pc around, trying to see where the connection jumps, to 56 mbs, I was able to FINALLY ESTABLISH A STRONG INTERNET CONNECTION!!

YAHOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Only took me a few months to get it right, just goes to show you, it's not ALWAYS a virus...

~ Tek-Min-Now

if you have any questions, feel free to comment, or contact me

Prototype B - Low Cost Touch Screen Tablet

2009-01-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

Was reading Yahoo! Tech news today and I came across this article about a$200 touch screen tablet pc, and I was like whoah!

So I read the article and decided to do some searching on my own and boy was I surprised to find a very cool Tablet being developed by the good people at TechCrunch.

Source:
Touch Screen Tablet Linux PC

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from Malwarebytes.org

2009-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

This program saved my machine and if you are having connection or any other slow downs with your computer this could be the application that will save your machine!!

I downloaded, updated, and did a quick scan with this product and it located a Trojan that NO OTHER anti-virus program found, Spy-Bot did NOT find it, AVG did NOT find it.

There was apparently a Trojan in my registry file, that was extremely slowing down my computer, and now well, now it is working perfectly!

THANK YOU MALWAREBYTES.ORG!!

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

Top 10 Ways to Destroy a Computer or Cell Phone

2009-01-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

Dropping it from a building
Throwing it through a window

Smashing it with your fists

Throwing it across the room
Running it over with a car
Putting it in a vice and keep turning till it pops
Beat it with a sledge hammer

Jump on it repeatedly
Punt it through a field goal
Rip it out of work, kicking and screaming, to a green field, and beating it with a bat, then stepping on it with your heals, then beating it with your fists, office space style

EEStor future battery for the Electric Cars?

2008-12-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

Thanks for dropping by. I just got this article from my dad about how EEStor is setting up its soon to be released battery for electric cars, and how it is going to revolutionize the car industry, as well as all electronic devices. They speak a little about how a vacuum could be a re-chargable device as opposed to a plug and use device.

I would recommend this to any one that is interested in learning more about how the progress of the Electric Car battery is truly coming together, and how one day we will all have cars that travel over 100 mpg and we will no longer be reliant on gas stations, and oil.

Article #1 - Beyond Permittivity - 200+ comments
Article #2 - EEstor Prototypes /permittivity

Enjoy!

Windows XP Service Pack 3 - Firewall Updates

2008-11-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

Just wanted to give a general Windows Security Update, as to my current preferences of Security, as well as what melo-drama I have been going through the past month with my internet connection, and lack there of it.

Before installing Service Pack 3 I had Zone Alarm Firewall on my computer, and then decided to upgrade to a different firewall called Sygate Personal Firewall recommended by a co-worker. I tried it out and was impressed, really gave a better set of controls for my personal firewall.

Then I installed Windows Service Pack 3 which as a slew of Security Updates, including update the Firewall, and overall making it more difficult for hackers to take over your computer, and have infectious viruses spreading across your home or work networks. Which is definitely a good thing, but some people are not all for it. Read this review - called Try It If You Dare

Either way my internet almost stopped working when i had the Sygate Personal Firewall on and after downloading and installing Service Pack 3, so my logical thinking is that perhaps these two security programs are tripping each other up, and preventing me from enjoying my internet.

So I decided to not have Sygate start-up automatically when my computer starts, and low and behold my internet is moving 3 times as fast as it was before! Thank God! Haha.

Lesson learned, there is such a thing as too much security!

So now I am currently running my machine using Windows Firewall, and AVG with weekly scans and updates on. That has been the optimal settings for me, what are your security settings?

Best,
Tek-Min-Now Team

PS - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Photoshop Freebies - Site of the Week

2008-11-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

I have decided to feature a new site I just found called Photoshop Freebies. I have learned an extensive amount of knowledge about Photoshop and how to use this program, and others like it to help create a truly original, 100% unique images.

http://photoshop-freebies.com/photoshop-actions/5-great-photoshop-actions.php

Check it out!

~Tek-Min-Now Team

How to install ZSNES on the Asus EEE PC 2G Surf

2008-10-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

I have successfully done it folks, I have installed ZSNES on my eee pc! Kick ASS!!

Now I can play over 100 games on my EEE that I have ROMS of that are simply different Super Nintendo Games, like Super Punch-out, Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Final Fantasy 3, and many more!

I first tried to install Wine on the EEE and that had several attempts, 1 out of 3 attempts was an actual successful installation, the others did not work. Although Wine would not run the emulators for the SNES Games, so I had to find another option, and so I did on the WIKI EEE SITE! Great site!

Lots of great information here and mainly where I learn how to use the EEE and how to completely customize and harness the true power of the EEE.

Here it is folks - just follow these instructions EXACTLY!! About 10 steps, but very simple and quick to perform. If you have any problems can always fix them by re-starting and holding F9 and starting with the Factory Default Settings. (format)

Here it is - http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:install_emulators - enjoy!

If any one has questions do not hesitate to ask!

AVG Free

2008-10-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

If you are having an issue with your AVG Free software I would recommend downloading the newest version and re-installing it.

Should work then!

Download Free Here - http://free.avg.com/download?prd=afe

Best,
Tek-Min-Now

How to make an Accordion Vertical and Horizontal Menu with Java Script:

2008-09-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

First of all I have to give credit where credit is due, I got the java script and everything from this great site at - http://www.stickmanlabs.com/

They have been able to build a very nice simple way to get accordion menus to work, so I will give you guys the jist of it. I read through the site, and followed the instructions to a tea, but it did not work on my first try. So I went back, what am I doing wrong? I tried to do it again, followed instructions word for word, but still no luck! The instructions leave 2 VERY important keys out of the instructions.

I started to grow very frustrated and did not understand WHY THE HELL IS THIS NOT WORKING!!???!!?!?!?!

But then I decided to really look into his example code and try and figure out exactly what I am missing. There are 5 key sections of the code that you NEED in order for it to work.

You will need to Download the Accordion 2.0 Setup File before we get started.

1. You need to have all 3 javascript calls to the correct files, and you NEED to have the files on your server to access them. Also you need those code that executes and makes available the code that is performing the Accordion animation.

2. Next you will need the Accodion CSS that gives the look and feel to the Accordion tags. Look in the CSS section of www.stickmanlabs.com.

3. You will need the code that you will click on to start the effect, and the container for the content that is being shown or hidden with the Accordion feature. Read stickmanlabs.com tutorial, pretty simple.

Can create as many content section as you would like, you can even make Horizontal ones, but I have not tried this as of yet...

4. You need the Accordion Section div id code that is all the way at the bottom of the page in the sample on StickMan's site. Place this code before the tag in the HTML of the body. - more code to add all the way at the bottom of the page. Hide it by removing all text in it...need it to work though.It is the Horizontal and Vertical code for working.

5. This well I am not quite sure what this does, but I put it in there any way, before the tag as well! But I put it in there and so should you!

Then you can get a site that looks something like this:
Tha Spot aka the place to be - the Google Ads can be shown or hidden with this feature

What do you guys think?

Best,
Tek-Min-Now Team

Google Chrome Web-Browser - Secret Commands

2008-09-05T23:16:00.000-07:00

Google's New Web-Browser Chrome has a very cool list of secret commands that share the users data with them selves, displaying how the browser, page, or other data currently is..

Here they are:

about:memory
about:stats
about:network
about:internets
about:histograms
about:dns
about:cache
about:plugins
about:version

you can also go to two special pages on a

per-site basis.view-cache:[URL] shows you some under-the-hood cache details, and

view-cache:[URL] shows you the page's markup.

Just found this out from lifehacker he does a great job covering this topic, with screen shots, if you are intested just type any of these commands in the URL Box of the Chrome Web-Browser and you will see some special about pages.

tek-min-now team

Top 10 Gripes with Google's Chrome Browser

2008-09-04T04:49:00.001-07:00

1. No "Super Scroll" (I am coining the term) middle button for quick scrolling on a long page.

Firefox Example:

2. Asks Stupid Questions "Are you sure you want to leave this page?"

Example:

I just deleted a web-part on my blog, this is over kill, no need to ask if I am sure I want to leave the page, and Firefox doesn't ask...

3. Does not search text in text field boxes - for blogger web editing search

I was trying to find a segment of code on my blogger page and I was using the built in search functionality in Chrome, but apparently it DOES NOT search in the text field box where all of the code for the page is, so I had to copy and paste the code into Notebook and do my editing there...I(Firefox does search in the text field boxes)

4. Bookmarks Tab? Could it be any uglier!

Example:

I really love the "Other bookmarks" section, NOT! All the way on the far right? Why would they put this on the right side and not the left side? (since they pop up to the left, and since everyone in America reads left to right, not right to left..) No customization of where these lay, I wish they would add a customization that would allow to have a Bookmarks button that would be next to the back and fowrad and reload buttons, so that it wouldn't make the navigation bar at the top bigger...

5. RSS Tab? Where are all my RSS blogs?

I seem to have lost all of my RSS feeds that I was watching on Firefox. It did successfully import all of my bookmarks and saved passwords, but where are my RSS feeds?

6. Annoying Status Bar

Example:

The status bar in Google Chrome pops-up in the lower left hand corner whenever something is loading is very annoying and can be distracting to the eye. I automatically look to see what is popping up on my screen and realize it is just telling me something is loading, I think they should make it a bar across like in Firefox...this seems odd to me to just display it...

7. Stole Firefox Position on my Windows Start Menu Applications

I downloaded and installed Chrome, and loaded it up and started playing around with it. I realized alot of it seems to work the same as Firefox, if not a little bit worse. So I wanted to go back to Firefox, I goto my Windows Start Menu and it is GONE! Instead of Firefox the Google Chrome application is in it's place! I'm like whoah! This thing is trying to take over! So I added Firefox back in..(right click, pin to start menu)

8. The Web-Site Title is Cut Off

Example:

As you can see the Title is cut off because the browser window tabs are at the top of the page, where the Title of the page is displayed. So the only way to see the full title is to hover the mouse over the tab and the entire title will display as you can see in the image above.

9. No Customization of Navigation Bar Icons

One of my favorite parts of Firefox is you can drag and drop all of there icons on the start menu, with Google's Chrome, they do not offer this functionality. The only option the user has is to display the Homepage Icon or not to display the Homepage icon...annoying.

10. Does not Prevent Cross Site Scripting

Google claims this browser will prevent against Cross Site Scripting, which allows hackers to gain access to your account through opening hidden windows on a users computer, and editing the users profile on there computer, in the background with out the user's knowledge. Although when I am logged in on Gmail with one account, and login to Blogger (owned by Gmail) it automatically signs me into Blogger with the Gmail account...not good!

Summary:

Those are my Top 10 Gripes, Complaints, or just plain Issues with Google's new Web-Browser Chrome. Overall it is a great little browser, it is fast, and light. It works well with google's applications probably a second faster at loading Gmail and other Google Apps. Although these issues as well as some freezing occurs, when loading Flash Animations and goto a new page...

I have had some issues with Flash Animations freezing as well as some fun apps I use slowing down the browser to a crawl, only time it crashed it when I had 3 Chrome windows open, one loading flash, one playing music, and one on Meebo, then the one loading the Flash crashed...I guess they may still have some issues with Flash Animations...

What do you guys think?

You can download chrome here.

Google's New Web Browser, Chrome!

2008-09-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

This could be the answer to my prayers of a truly efficient, secure, quick, easy, and smart web-browser that will set new guidelines and help unite the standards of the web once and for all, so all browsers can work the same.

Read this comic book from the Inventors of Chrome

Google is stated to have made this browser quicker, easier to use, better javascript handling, and more secure! Sounds like a home run to me, up-front congratulations to Google.

Plus they have a pretty cool logo for it:

Read more specs on Wikipedia

This is releasing on Tuesday September 2nd 2008, can not wait to test it out!

Fresh take on the browser from Google's Official Blog

UPDATE:

It is now available to download the beta version.

To Fun and Safe Surfing,

~ Tek-Min-Now Team

How to Create a Flash Motion Tween

2008-08-29T04:51:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

This is a tutorial how to create a flash motion tween. This is how you would use Flash Tools to automate animation of an image. I am going to demonstrate how I was able to create a Flash Transition for my portal page, to my other sites. The final result is at www.kylekorpi.com.

There are a few ways to achieve this Flash Animation effect. I my self did a few rounds of attempts to get this working exactly the way I wanted it to work.

My first attempt I did some custom animation by creating 10 keyframes in succession of each other, and in each keyframe the image moved a little bit.

This worked, but it was not as smooth as I would have liked it to be, and I knew that there was a simpler way to create a simple flash animation like this. VIEW THE FIRST ATTEMPT HERE.

This looks sloppy and keeps repeating, but not bad for a first attempt.

My second attempt I was able to create a Flash Motion Tween that created a really simple nice animation effect, that worked beautifully. All I had to do was create the first position and the last position that I wanted to image to look like, and then create the Motion Tween that creates all of the other frame movements.

This created a much smoother transition than the previous attempt, VIEW SECOND ATTEMPT HERE.

For my third attempt I lengthened the flash transition effect so that it gives a longer view of the animation. I felt that this would give the user a stronger feel that they are actually entering the page, and actually entering the building. VIEW THIRD ATTEMPT HERE.

This one is not only slower but also links to The Teen Zone. Which is the page that it should automatically go to after it displays the flash transition.

Then the final result can be viewed here for any of the buildings with a preview, www.kylekorpi.com.

I used these resources to learn how to do this in flash:
Basics of Flash Animation

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

~ Tek-Min-Now

How to Fix 800 Width Browsing Issue on the EEE PC 700

2008-08-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

I was stumbling upon sites, and I came across this great blog called Tweak3d I started reading through some of there articles, and then I came across this EEE PC article. I own and use a EEE PC so I was naturally curious as to what they had to say about my little laptop. (I have the 700, lowest version)

The article read - How to Efficiently use an 800x480 eee pc, like the one I own. They recommend using Opera for web-browsing since Opera has a Fit to Screen option, that will allow web-sites bigger than 800 pixels to fit to the screen, eliminating the need to scroll left and right!

I was astounded by this so first I am like ok I have the linux eee pc, how do I install Opera on it?

Install Directions Here

I am working on getting it to work now...I will tell you all what happens..

UPDATE:
I got it to work!! It is awesome because you can not only fit to screen, you can also set it so that it is viewing the page at 90% or 80% of the total screen, so it will actually shrink to fit, and you won't have those scroll bars any more!!

This is how I installed Opera on my Linux EEE PC 700:

1. Download from Opera.com - Download Here - Select the "Debian" then "Debian 4.0 (Etch)" and download this one to your EEE PC

2. Figure out where it is saved on your system, probably in cd /home/user/My Documents

3. Open a command prompt (press CTRL + ALT + T) and navigate to the folder with the file

Here are some simple command line commands:

dir - list all files in the folder I am currently looking in
cd - change what folder I am currently in
cd home - go to the home folder
cd home/user/My Documents - go to the home/user/My Documents folder
sudo dpkg -i [filename] - installs the file on your system

4. Once you are in the folder with the Opera file in it, by typing dir and you see the file in the folder. Type in "sudo dpkg -i opera_your_version" which is probably going to be this:
"sudo dpkg -i opera_9.51.2061.gcc4.qt3_i386.deb"

5. Once it installs type in "Opera" in a command line, you will get a disclaimer pop-up, press Enter to accept it, and Opera will launch!

Any questions?

~ Tek-Min-Now Team

iPhone Dropping Calls on 3G Network

2008-08-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

As many of you know the iPhone recently released a new phone on the faster 3G Network, while this is great, for downloads, web-browsing, email, and other web features, this seems to have had a negative effect on the most important part of having a cell phone, actually making phone calls!

Read the story

What do you guys think? iPhone sucks right?

Hackers Steal 40 Million Credit Cards

2008-08-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

A network of hackers have been able to successfully deploy a number of keyboard catching sniffers that automatically tell them what credit card numbers are being scanned into the computers. These hackers have stolen credit cards from many of the largest public retail stores in the United States!

Including:
TJX Companies of;

Marshall's
T. J. Maxx
BJ's Wholesale Club
OfficeMax
Barnes and Noble
Sports Authority
and others!

From the CNN Article:
"Under the indictments, three Miami, Florida, men -- Albert "Segvec" Gonzalez, Christopher Scott and Damon Patrick Toey -- are accused of hacking into the wireless computer networks of retailers including TJX Companies, whose stores include Marshall's and T.J. Maxx, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Barnes and Noble and Sports Authority, among others.

The three men installed "sniffer" programs designed to capture credit card numbers, passwords and account information as they moved through the retailers' card processing networks, said Michael Sullivan, the U.S. attorney in Boston."

Hackers Steal 40 Million Credit Cards

This is why all routers NEED to have a SECURE network! Especially if you are a retail store, these guys drive around and find open un-secure networks, that can almost automatically be connected to from nearly any laptop, or cell phone, then the software can easily be installed on the router once they are in. It is very easy for ANY store or ANY router to get hacked, make sure to turn on a WEP Password on your router to ensure it is not being hacked.

Tek-Min-Now Team

Prepare for World War III - Internet Attacks and Hacks

2008-08-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

As some of you may or may not know that we are under constant attack, even today, millions of US web-sites are being attacked and taken down by Chinese and Russian forces that have a slightly more sophisticated cutting edge attacks on our web-sites.

Chinese and Russian hackers have successfully stolen hundreds of Credit Card, Social Security, Debit Card, and PIN numbers. "On his arrest Biltse was reportedly found with $800,000 in cash at his home, so the final total may be much higher. Early documents filed by the FBI suggest that the heist was managed by a leader in Russia, who supplied the information and took 70 per cent of the proceeds." Read the Article

They have the knowledge and know how, and now the Russian are using there superior hacking skills in Real World War fare by hacking the Georgian Internet grid and taking down there defense systems. Read the Article

Who is next for the Russians to Attack? Western Europe? Are they trying to take over the world again? Another Cold War, but it is now the Internet War? Who is next Germany? Italy? Turkey? America? We can not even compare with the technology these Russians are using, we need to up ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS, even HOME SYSTEMS, YOUR SYSTEM! Read the Article

Russian hackers can use your system to not only steal your information, but hack other sites via your computer! So NEVER leave your computer on!

This is how they are attacking us, this blog goes through all of the most common attack types:
How they hack your website overview of common techniques

Top 10 Ways Internet Users Get a Virus Or Get Hacked

2008-08-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Ways Internet Users Get a Virus Or Get Hacked:

DO NOT TYPE IN DIRECT SITE URLS IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THEM. (fandego.com instead of Fandango)Use a SEARCH ENGINE (Google.com) to find sites, and then bookmark safe sites to view them again.
DO NOT DOWNLOAD ANYTHING FROM A NON-TRUSTED SITE, Example: Trying to watch a movie from not a trusted site (YouTube is trusted) and the site asks to download something to view the movie. IF ASKED TO DOWNLOAD SOMETHING TO VIEW A MOVIE, IT IS 100% A VIRUS! .
DO NOT DOWNLOAD A TOOLBARS FROM UN-TRUSTED SITES. This will install ad aware that will monitor your site traffic, and report it to someone, who will sell it to advertising companies, and they will spam you.
IF NOT SURE ABOUT A SITE CHECK WITH GOOGLE PAGERANK, and download the Google Toolbar for Firefox and turn on the Google PageRank feature, this is Google's very own ranking system of EVERY site that exists, it is based on 1 to 10, 10 being the best, 1 being a new or not highly recommended site. Most sites with viruses do not even have a page rank, they will show up with 0 or not ranked. DO NOT USE THESE SITES, they have VIRUSES. (Yes Google will monitor your behavior with this tool bar on, but it is worth it, because Google is a huge multimillion dollar company, that is not going to abuse your information, or they would get sued)
ALWAYS TURN ON WINDOWS FIREWALL. Windows users need a Firewall because there are hundreds of publicly known back doors into the system, that you need to make sure you have all of the ports to your computer being monitored, or else some one could be stealing your passwords and other sensitive information. I recommend downloading the Zone Alarm Free Firewall, and keep it up to date, every day.
DOWNLOAD A GOOD ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM. For any computer you need to have an Anti-Virus program up and running at all times, if you are browsing the web, or checking email you have a very HIGH chance of coming across a virus, with out you even being told. I recommend downloading AVG Free, and keep it up to day, every day, and do full scans of all hard drives everyday. Also keep on auto-scan to have all files you are opening currently are automatically scanned for viruses before they are opened.
DO NOT OPEN EMAILS from UN-KNOWN sources. Email is the most common #1 spread of viruses on the Internet. These viruses will infect your computer, and then automatically email every one in your address book the virus, and it spreads from there. Make sure to never open emails from people you do not know, and make sure to never automatically view pictures in emails. Pictures in emails is usually how a virus is automatically downloaded and installed to your computer, via the picture.
DO NOT SAVE PASSWORDS ON PUBLIC OR WORK COMPUTERS. These computers are not only monitored by a system admin, but also can be used by other users in the future, these other users could not only access your account, but change your password, locking you out. Or even worse they could delete your account.
DO NOT USE THE SAME PASSWORD FOR MORE THAN ONE SITE. If a hacker finds out one of your passwords, and sees that you have other accounts on other service sites, then they have access to those sites as well. For example having an email account user name PaulK password PaulK123, and then have a Youtube, or Facebook, or Myspace account with that same user name and password, then you are at risk. Change all your passwords to be unique for each site.
ALWAYS LOG OUT OF THE SITE ONCE YOU ARE DONE USING IT. If you sign in to your email and do not sign out of it, then anyone that goes on that computer can go to your email site and not need to log in, since you never logged out. This could occur either by some one physically goes on the computer, or if someone finds a backdoor way to access your computer via the Internet, they could open the web-browser and have full access to your private emails, or any account that you forgot to log out, or sign out of.

Other Top 10 Ways to Get Avoid Getting Viruses:
Top 10 Tips for Avoiding Viruses
Top 10 Tips Keep Computer Virus Free
10 Smart Ways to Protect Your Computer against Viruses

Trolls (hackers) Among Us = Scum of the Internet

2008-08-03T00:40:00.000-07:00

These are the people the ruin the internet, fill it with spam, make it un-safe to watch videos, find defects with web-browsers, flash, and exploit it for there own gains:

These are the people that have access to ALL of our Social Security Numbers!
These are the people that STEAL our IDENTITY, and get away with it!
These are the people that can ruin a persons financial life!
These are the people that destroy people's lifes!
These are the people that poke fun at a dead fish!
These are the people that make people want to kill them selves!
These are the sick twisted individuals that harass people for the pure enjoyment of seeing them get upset!
These are the people that run the under ground internet world of illegal downloads, and extremelly personal information, Socials, Credit Card Numbers, Addresses, Cell Phone Numbers, anything and everything!
These are the people that post blogs about people that kill them selves.
These are the people that steal your money!
These are the people that create bad fake web-sites!
These are the people that spam your mail box!
These are the people that RUIN the WEB!

These people are sick and twisted individuals!

Read more about them -
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html

Great COVER STORY from New York Times!

These are the people are considered to be extremely dangerous and are ruining the internet.

Future Cars, Wind Power, World Adapts to Gas Prices

2008-07-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

As the continual increase in Gas Prices soars through the roof, the average American is hit pretty hard when it comes to the pumps.
Filling up on average of 2 times a week at $60 a fill up, that is $120 a week! This is completely un-acceptable to most people, considering that this is about how much people make in a week!

The future of cars is in electric power, so far there have been some concept cars that have been built with this now idea of electric cars, the Chevy Volt (wiki link), or the Tesla Roadster (wiki link). Now what makes these two vehicles a million times better than any hybrid we see today, is that they all have over 100 mpg. This is accomplished in the Volt for example, by running the car off an electric Lithium Iron battery, that is commonly used in Cellphones, and Laptops, but a much bigger version, big enough to run an engine.

Chevy Volt

Tesla Roadster

This battery will last for 40 miles with out any charging required, no gas either. Once the car hits over 40 miles, then a small gas generator turns on that generates the battery, so the battery will never die as long as it has some gas in the generator, then the car is expected to go approximately 200 miles per a gallon! That is four times the amount of miles even the best hybrid gets today, about 50 miles per a gallon.

The Chevy Volt is scheduled to be in production in 2010, with models out

in 2011, costing any where from $30,000 to $40,000 new. I believe this vehicle is going to change the face of the planet, from over heating to a safe, secure, renewable energy source for transportation.

Some of you may be wondering, well won't that just increase the cost of my electric bill, I already pay a lot on that, it is just exchanging one source for another. NOT TRUE! This is a SAFE, RENEWABLE, source of energy, electricity. Electricity can easily be generated by wind power, from huge wind powered generators. America simply needs to build X number of these wind generators until we are completely power sufficient, and simply rely most of our electrical energy on wind power. This is going to greatly change the face of the oil tycoon game, and allow of other players to come into power.

Wind Turbines: (wiki link)

The new world in 5 to 10 years will be a green planet, filled with cities, countries that are all energy sufficient, the new modernization of the world is going green! The new cars will be charged from cheap electricity that can be generated by building massic wind turbines, these turbines will generate more than enough energy to run our cars. Or we can all have solar panels installed on our houses, cars, fields, etc, to generate even more power. If we have a surplus of power being generated then we can even sell the excess of power being generated to other countries for a pure clean, green, profit!

This is the future of the world, I can not wait for 5 years from now!

DNS Internet Flaw Found - Supposedly Resolved

2008-07-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

UPDATED:
Security Risk to Patch the Web

By JOHN MARKOFF

Published: July 30, 2008

Hey All,

I am sure that some of you have heard about the DNS Internet Flaw that all everyone in the IT world has been discussing, it can potentially allow hackers to take complete control of your system, and watch your every move with out you knowing about it.

Here are a few news stories about it:
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-9998906-83.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1009_3-0-10
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/cmp/20080724/tc_cmp/209401195
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/24/news.internet?gusrc=rss&feed=technologyfull

It is scary, because it is available to hackers:
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/cnet/20080724/tc_cnet/830110093999840683_1
- http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/07/securitymatters_0723

Test to see if you are vulnerable to this hack:
http://www.doxpara.com/?p=1176

How to fix if you are vulnerable:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-9998625-83.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1009_3-0-10

- provides details how to go about fixing this.

I would recommend just updating EVERYTHING, Windows, IE, Firefox, they have all released patches to fix this issue, so if you are up to date with all of your software you should be fine now. But a few months ago we were ALL susceptible to this type of attack...

EEE PC 2G Surf - Full Review

2008-07-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

My first reaction of this machine is wow, this is finally exactly what I have been looking for; a simple interface (Linux OS), small size (7 inch screen), and a great price (starting at $300), an un-beatable combo. Although I did happen to stumble upon a few issues when attempting to setup this machine. I will tell you exactly what happened.

I bought the EEE PC 2G Surf and I loved it. I was able to install the advanced desktop, so now I have a start menu and a background, and essentially the same simple usable interface that all Windows Operating Systems have.

Advanced Desktop:

As you can see here I have modified the background, as well as have he ability to have a nice start menu, with multiple desktops, the 1 and 2 on the bottom, are actually two different desktops that have different wallpapers and have the ability to run different applications on each desktop, almost allowing for the eee pc to have twice the room to work on. Great Linux Feature! Not on Windows...

After installing this I wanted to install my favorite game Continuum, and I tried to install it on the EEE PC using the instructions provided at http://wine.getcontinuum.com/ but to my surprise they did not have instructions specifically for the EEE PC. So I tried to install it following the instructions provided on the page.

I installed WINE using the synaptic installer and repositories; installation can be found here:
http://wiki.eeeuser.com/howto:wine

Now after I installed this I downloaded continum.exe and used WINE in the command line to extract the continuum setup file. I installed it and brought it to the correct directory, and attempted to run continuum but I kept getting a kernel32.dll.so error, and I tried to install a few different versions.

I was up till 3 am trying to get this to work, I tried three different kernels only to have my computer solid state drive become filled up from trying to install multiple versions of wine and continuum. So I uninstalled WINE and to my surprise system functionality stopped working, I started to become distressed and so I figured maybe a re-start would do the trick, well it certainly did, and the eee pc would not go back into the OS. It would not start up as it would normally...I had broken the eee pc, only after 24 hours of usage...what do I do now?

Well I went to bed, pissed off, and a little upset that I had broken my new treasured toy. I thought what am I going to do now? Return it? Fix it? I had no clue what I was going to do, and I finally fell alseep.

Next morning I thought what there must be a way to re-start the system, there must be a way to start off clean from scratch. I searched through the eeeuser.com site and found how to do it. Ureka the answer - http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=1845

The answer is in the F9 key, upon booting up the system hit the F9 key 3-4 times on the first boot screen, this will prompt a re-install of the Xanados OS and is very easy to do. I simply said yes, and it re-installed the entire OS in less than 5 minutes. I was in complete shock and dis-believe that this would so simply fix my problem, but to my happy surprise it did work!

Thank god! So I broke the EEE PC and fixed it in 24 hours of purchasing it.

Now I have bought a 4 GB flash memory card, and use that to store all of my files, and play games. I have only added videos, pictures, and music so far, but I am planning on installing some games, eventually.

- Tek-Min-Now Team

ASUS's EEE PC

2008-06-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

I am writing my first blog from my brand spanking new EEE PC from ASUS

I got the 2G Surf the cheapest one they have on the market for a measly $300 at Target. That is actually the exact one that I purchased today, I actually wanted to get the 4G Surf which is actually $400 with comparably better features, but they didn't have it so I figured whatever get this one, and it is really cool! My first laptop, as far as performance, boot up was really smooth, probably 2-3 seconds, power is working well currently have 75% left and I have been on it for about 40 minutes. So far performance is great, able to run 3 to 4 applications at the same time with out too much slow down. With only 512 mb ram and 800mhz processor what can be really expected. I have to give a hand to Intel and ASUS for coming together to bring us a great new toy! Go Linux too!

~ Tek-Min-Now

PS - Here's a picture of the desktop currently.

Open Source Windows

2008-06-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

Whoever said that Windows doesn't have its fair share of Free Applications?

Well here they are all download-able for FREE!

http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

Tell me what you think, if you have any issues, just post a question.

Tek-Min-Now Team

Firefox 3 - The Best Browser Ever?

2008-05-31T14:04:00.000-07:00

I had heard good things about Firefox 3, even in the beta version, people said it ran pages faster, more secure, and has some cool new ease of use features as well that were added on to this version. I was a little skeptical at first and usually do not like to download beta versions of software, because they can potentially ruin a computer in great condition, to a slow condition, which no one wants. Computers should run fast and secure, and I am happy to report that Firefox 3 has truly out done themselves with this great addition to the Firefox product line.

I downloaded Firefox 3 here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-beta.html

That is where you can download the beta version, the official release is coming out some time this month and once I find out when I will post it up here. I would recommend downloading this version since it is twice if not three times as fast at running regular pages, as well as web applications like gmail, and others. Also has made updates to allow for optimal secure settings automatically configured on the browser.

Last note, I recommend downloading this today, and then once the official version is released I am sure they will automatically update users that have this version with the new one.

Happy Computing,

The Tek-Min-Now Team

4 Free Security Applications for Windows Users

2008-05-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

We here at Tek-Min-Now recommend a few MUST HAVE Essential Security Programs that are all FREE of charge. If you use Windows XP and have noticed your computer not working as fast as when it was brand new then you need these applications. These ensure that you are sufficiently protected from hackers, viruses, spyware, trojans, password theft, key-loggers, over all security recommendations that will ensure you are not having anyone watching your every move while you are surfing the web, writing e-mails, or just chatting with friends.

First security software is AVG Anti-Virus Software -
http://www.download.com/AVG-Anti-Virus-Free-Edition/

Updated - I downloaded the new version of AVG 8.0 and was absolutely blown away, this is truly a great free solution, to complete internet security. I downloaded this application, did a complete update, and did a full security scan and I was happily surprised to see it found hundred of third-party cookies, that none of my other security software found. The only one that is up to par is the Google Spyware Doctor tool, that finds the same issues as this tool did. It looks at all of the cookies, and finds any third-party tracking or trojan cookies, and will remove them and store them in a vault for safety. Download this today!

Download this program and before doing the first Full Computer Scan, you should Update to the most recent virus definitions, and the most recent version of AVG to ensure that all new trojans, and virus definitions are available while doing a complete scan.

Once you have the newest version of AVG do a perform a Full Computer Scan. Also should setup automatic updates, and daily full computer scans, to ensure protection, as well as allowing for automatic protection to be on 24/7.

Second free security program is Zone Alarm - http://www.zonealarm.com/ - Free Firewall

Zone Alarm is the best Free Firewall on the market today. Download and install this application and you have complete control over what applications are connecting to the internet at any time. Make sure that you have the program start when windows starts, and is always turned on to ensure 24/7 protection. When on if any program wants to connect a pop-up will appear asking you if you are sure that you want to allow this program to connect to the internet. You are free to deny access to any program. Great must have free firewall.

Third free security program is Spybot Search and Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.org

Spybot Search & Destroy is a great application to find Spyware that could be monitoring your every move, and reporting the web-sites you go to silently in the background of your computer, which can be sold for marketing purposes to companies. Download and install this program, do a full update, perform the system immunization, and then do a full computer scan. Once the scan is complete remove all of the problems found by this software. Keep your self safe from spyware. I would not recommend having this application running in the background as it can slow down your PC significantly, I would recommend performing weekly scans of your PC, but not to keep it on for 24/7 protection.

Fourth free security program is Google's Spyware Doctor - http://pack.google.com/

This is a GREAT utility, but can limit accessibility for some applications. This scans and cleans out any cookies that are automatically downloaded from web-browsing, and can potentially track your every move and send all the sites you visit to a third party companies to be sold. This program will scan and fix/remove all of these issues, plus it is FREE! The downside is when I have this program installed and have it on 24/7 (icon in the lower right corner) then one game I play called Continuum doesn't work, so I had to turn off 24/7 scanning, and restarted, then it worked.

If you have any questions feel free to comment here.

Visit http://100-downloads.com/ they have a bunch of free software, games, security suites, every type of application a Windows user can use.

~ Tek-Min-Now Team