Monthly Archives: September 2009

Computers and Internet, Facebook

Facebook Prototypes

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Ever wanted to know about the new features on Facebook and try them out before anyone else? Well now you can, with Facebook Prototypes. To activate a feature in the making, open your Applications menu and click the “Browse More Applications” link at the bottom of the list. Once that page loads, select “Prototypes” from the left hand sidebar. It’s the last one on the list. Once you click on it, you’ll see a few new prototypes that you can activate. Select one from the list. When the page loads, click on the “Activate Prototype” button underneath the profile picture on that page. You will see that feature working when you browse the site.

Computers and Internet

MSN Security

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MSN (now known as Windows Live) is a popular instant messaging program these days. However, there are some things everyone needs to be aware of when using instant messaging programs like Windows Live.

Recently, if you’ve received e-mails or instant messages from a friend advertising a link about how to find out who has blocked you, or something else, it is probably because they have given their login information away to another website. DON’T CLICK IT!
If you’ve click on a link, you know what happens. The website asks you for your username and password for your Windows Live account. The website then logs into your account. What your probably not aware of is that it sends spam to everyone on your contact list. Once you login to this site with your username and password, it saves the information and continually sends spam through email and instant messaging to all of your friends. These block checkers are only intended to steal your password. Sites like these can also contain malware, which are programs that download and hide on your computer, recording keystrokes and possibly destroying your computer files.
If you’ve ever clicked on a link like this, you should probably run an anti-virus scan. Another important thing to do is to change your Windows Live password. This way, the information saved by the website will no longer work, and your friends will stop receiving spam sent from your account.
IMPORTANT:
Always check the address bar. Never give your login info for one website to another website. 
Computers and Internet

Facebook Security

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So, you logged into your account this morning, only to discover that your account had posted several spam comments advertising a video or weight loss site to all of your friends. This is because you logged into a site that looked like Facebook.com, but it wasn’t. It was a site designed to look and act like Facebook, but was only intended to steal your password. This is known as "phishing," By now, Facebook has blocked the links, so you can’t visit them, or post these links on the site. But if you clicked on the link before, and entered your password, there are some things you need to do:

– Run an anti-virus scan.
You should run an anti-virus scan to make sure nothing was downloaded to your computer that can track information you type in, such as your Facebook email and password, so your account will not be hacked in the future.
– Change your password
Changing your password is important because it voids the old password, and therefore the password you gave to the fake website will not work with your account anymore.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
– Always check the address bar.
Whenever you are logging into a site that requires a username and password, always check the address bar. For Facebook, it should always say facebook.com or www.facebook.com. If the address bar says something different, like facebook.somethingelse.com, then it isn’t the real site. A site like this could steal your password and spam all your friends. 
For more information: 
Facebook’s Secuirty page: http://www.facebook.com/security
If you’ve been hacked or "phished:" http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=797
School

School Time Again

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Well it’s been a long time since I wrote in this blog. I think I will start to write in here again.

Over the summer, I went and volunteered as a S.E.E.D. at Camp Sagitawa. I was there for a total of six weeks and had a great time. 
Something more recently that happened was an intense lightning storm one night in early September. It was constantly flashing outside. Some of it looked like sheet lightning, while other lightning touched the ground. One strike hit very close, probably within a block from the house. That was cool. My family stayed up past midnight watching the storm. It was also raining quite hard. What was surprising was that, all through this, the power never went out. It stayed on the whole time. A few days earlier, the power had gone out during the day. The reported cause of this was a motor vehicle accident.
Tomorrow is the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! YAY! I can’t wait to go back and see all my friends… but kind of disappointed that some of them won’t be there because they have already graduated and gone off to college. Wow! It’s already my last year of high school. It has come so quickly. 
That’s all for now,
Matt