Secure that Password

You don't have to answer this on the blog, but ask yourself this...do you have the following passwords on any of your accounts? Password, 12345, your birthday? You might want to rethink that.

A couple of pointers on password security.

Test the strength of your passwords at: http://www.securitystats.com/tools/password.php

Do not use the same password for all your accounts. If somebody discovers it, they've got you!

Do write your passwords down. NOT on a sticky note on your monitor or even under your keyboard. Pretend that it is a $1,000 bill...how would you secure that?

Many passwords now accept symbols, numbers and are case sensitive so be creative. If your son's name is brad and he got his first car in 2006 you might try: 20Br@d06.What are your tips for password security?

See You At NCCET

I'm looking forward to my first NCCET convention in just under two weeks (October 4-7). Thought you would like to know which Ohioans are presenting:

Sunday 4:15 pm - The Moses Chronicles: Tina Trombley (Washington State), Bill Beisel (Lakeland), Chuck the Aceware guy
Monday 11:15 am - eLearning: Tom Wylie & Tami Norris (Northwest State)
Monday 2:00 pm - Developing Partnerships: Tina Trombley (Washington State), Tami Norris (Northwest State), Chuck the Aceware guy
Monday 3:30 - Great Lakes region meeting
Tuesday 11:15 - Kids College: Russ O'Neill (Stark State)
Tuesday 2:00 - IT a Statewide Initiative: Tina Trombley (Washington State), Tami Norris (Northwest State)
Tuesday 3:15 - Improving Employee Selection Through Testing: Amy Mast (Akron Wayne)

Click here for a full conference program or visit the NCCET website (www.nccet.org).

Clean up That Trash

Read about a couple of applications that can help you monitor what goes on with your computer and possibly help identify why it is running slow:

Process Explorer - "Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded."

AutoRuns - "shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them."

In the "handle with care" category you might also want to look at CCleaner "CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner." It can remove a lot of extra junk from your computer, but unfortunately it can also remove things you need so be very cautious with this application.

What do you use to monitor and clean your PC?

Cut, Copy and Paste

It is so each click and drag, right click, copy, go to a new document, choose paste and you are done. Problem...is it copyright infringement or not? For some good insights on copyright visit
www.plagiarismtoday.com. I heard about this website on a technology list I subscribe to. There is information on licensing content, news links, plagiarism, issues surrounding blogs, pictures and more. Check it out, lots of interesting reading!

Are You LinkedIn Yet???

If you haven't been to LinkedIn for awhile they have made a few improvements. One of the updates is the addition of discussions in the "Groups" area. This allows for a discussion thread visible to the members of a group. Remember that we have a group for EON members. Email me if you are on LinkedIn and would like to be added.

Today's question: have you had any success connecting with current or new customers via an online social networking site? Which ones are worth your time and which ones should be avoided?

Donor Beware

Just saw this in Kim Kommando's newsletter and wanted to pass it on:

"Nearly 100 domains related to Hurricane Gustav have been recently registered. Experts warn scammers may use some. Be especially careful of those claiming to be charities." For the full article visit: http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/09/02/Online_scammers_prep_for_Gustav_1.html

As always common sense and a little background research is always prudent.