Posts Tagged: ‘Internet’

Cookie Management (2023-09)

September 3, 2023 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Here is a question and answer from the FAQ section of one of my favorite websites that I often visit:
Q: Do you put cookies on my computer?
A: Not very often.  Sometimes a section of my site will not operate without a cookie.  When I do that, I usually use chocolate chip cookies.

Since the passing of the ePrivacy Directive (commonly known as the EU Cookie Law), many websites greet you with a big pop-up window telling us how important our privacy is to them.  To continue viewing, we have to accept cookies.  Actually, we don’t have to accept cookies.  Of course, if we don’t, we might not have an optimal experience on the site.

Cookies are just small information files that are stored on your computer.  When you return to the site, the files are read and you theoretically have the same experience as your previous visit.  The problem is with cookies that are placed by third parties.  These are almost always from advertisers.  They can be read by other parties and are often used to track you across different web sites.

What can we do about cookies?  In your web browser settings, you can block all cookies.  Unfortunately, doing so might cause websites not to work as designed.  Almost all web browsers block third party cookies by default.  If not you should enable the setting.

You could also do what I do.  Add a cookie manager browser extension.  If you search in the browser add-ons store, you will find many cookie managers.  It should not be too hard to find one that works for you.

The one I use and can recommend is “Cookie Remover” uploaded by Adam.  It is a simple extension that does one thing.  When you click on the icon in your browser tool bar, all of the site cookies are instantly removed.  It is available for all browsers.  Over the years, I’ve developed the habit of clicking the icon before I close the tab.  It works for me.

That’s all for this month.  I think I’ll go have a cup of coffee and some cookies.
Thanks for reading.

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Cybersecurity Month (2022-09)

August 28, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

Are you prepared for next month?

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.  It was created in 2004 as a collaboration between government and industry to provide resources that users need to stay safer and more secure online.  Administered by the Department of Homeland Security, this is a perfect time for all of us review our online practices to avoid falling victim to the many attacks that can compromise our lives.

To coincide with the national Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) cybersecurity campaign, Governor John Bel Edwards has signed a proclamation recognizing October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Louisiana.  Here are some links that will hopefully help everyone lock down their electronics.

The city of Baton Rouge has held seminars in the past.  Although there isn’t any scheduled this year, you can view past conferences at Red Stick Ready – Cybersecurity Preparedness.  There are also several links to handouts and other helpful information.  As an added bonus, at the bottom of the page there are links to prepare for many other disasters and hazards.

Some other links that you might find helpful:
• The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency home page has links to information on everything the US Government publishes.  You can read the blog, sign up for the newsletter, view many “how-to” articles and much more.
• Identity Theft is a Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice page on how to prevent your personal information from being stolen.
• Scam Alerts is a Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice page with three sections: 1) How To Avoid a Scam; 2) What To Do if You Were Scammed; and 3) Report Fraud, Scams, and Bad Business Practices.
• The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) site with detailed instructions how how to report on-line crime.

I hope you can use the links in this article to stay safe.

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Finding Free Software (2020-06)

July 13, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

This month, I thought I’d tell you about a few web sites where you can find reviews and links for useful, free software.

Before you start downloading, don’t forget the old adage: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”  The same thing goes for free software.  The cost isn’t cash out of your pocket, but is usually information of one sort or another.  Read the licensing agreement before you hit the install button.  Often, free software comes with other downloads that you may or may not want to install.  Once again, make sure you read every installer screen and make sure what you are getting is what you want.

Enough warnings.  On to the sites.

One of my favorite software review sites is Gizmo’s Freeware.  This site is staffed by volunteers that review different categories of freeware.  On the main page are links to “Best Freeware Lists” and “Freeware Categories”.  Both links take you to lists of what the editors consider the best free software.  On the right side of the page are links to recently reviewed or updated software articles.  There are also many other areas on the site that you can explore for more information.

Freeware Geeks is a free software directory site.  As I write this article, there are 2204 programs listed in twelve categories.  Clicking on a program title, will give you a short synopsis of the program and a link to the download site.

The Source Forge is dedicated to making open source projects successful.  This site is more technically oriented.  Much of the software is still being developed.  All of the programs are open source, which means anyone can download the code.

NirSoft is a one man website.  All of the programs were written by Nir Sofer.  They are mostly utility software.  All of the programs are freeware.

There are some sites that offer free downloads of commercial software.  Companies often use these to give a free temporary licenses in the hope that you will like their offerings and pay to renew them.  Sometimes the programs are older versions.  There are a few sites that I check frequently.  Occasionally, you can find something useful.
Giveaway of the Day offers one program each day.  You have twenty-four hours to download and install.  One feature of site I like is the user comments.  Free alternatives are often mentioned.  Giveaway Radar is an aggregator site that lists offerings from several sites.  All of the listed software must have a license of at least six months.

There are a lot of other sources for free software besides the ones I’ve listed.  Many of them are very good and can be trusted.  Others are not.  Research before you download.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Fun Things To Do on the Internet (2020-04)

July 13, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

I love going to a carnival.  I don’t go on many of the rides anymore, but I love all the fun things there are to do.  Unfortunately, carnivals can be pretty dangerous too.  There are always pickpockets who will steal everything they can.  We often hear of rides that injure people.  About the only thing that is really safe at a carnival is the healthy food you can buy.

The internet is a lot like a carnival.  Everyone knows about the dangers and we all keep our antivirus programs updated.  I know that all the Cajun Clickers club members have their router firmware updated.  Their firewalls are active to keep the bad guys away.  Since everyone is so safe, I thought that this month I’d talk about some fun things to do on the internet.  After all, many people are spending a lot more time at home trying to avoid the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).  It is keeping a lot of people at home with lots of spare time on their hands.

There are a lot of fun sites.  I know that everyone doesn’t have the same idea of what’s fun.  Maybe if I tell you about my favorite sites, you might find something entertaining.

One of the things you can find a lot of on the internet are free games to play.  If you’re looking for games to play, good place to start is Gizmo’s list of Best Free PC Games.  This site is updated often and all the games are free to play.  My personal favorite online game is Texas Hold’em Poker.  There are a lot of places to play, but you’ll usually find me at World Series Poker at AOL Games.  There are lots of online games on the site, but I haven’t played many of the others.  If you like to play hearts, I recommend you try the Microsoft Gaming Zone.  The Gaming Zone has been around for a while and they have lots of games.

I’ve never been much of a television or movie watcher, but I love to listen to the old time radio shows.  Most evenings I’m listening to The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Jack Benny, or my personal favorite, Fibber McGee & Molly.  My network drive has about 21 GB of radio program files.  You can get them and many more at the Old Time Radio Internet Archive.

In December 1995, Bill Watterson retired from cartooning.  I lost my daily dose of one of the funniest cartoons ever.  Now, thanks to the internet, I can still read Calvin & Hobbes everyday.  You can find a daily comic you’ll like at GOCOMICS, Comics Kingdom or ArcaMax Publishing.  None of the comics sites require registration.

“The Alphabet has been Updated with 15 Exciting New Letters” is only one of the funny satires you’ll find in The Onion.  This fictional, satire paper started in 1988.  They’ve been around more than twenty years, so they must be doing something right.  Their news stories seem so genuine that they have occasionally been cited as real.  I’ve got to warn you though.  There is often adult language used in the paper.  Another satire site I like is the Babylon Bee.  For a great description, check out their About Us page.

I’ll show my age a little. I don’t mind being called a “senior” because it usually includes a 10 percent discount.  If you like senior citizen humor, you also might like to check out Geezer Guff.

As you might or might not know, I’m a transplanted Northerner.  When I talk with my brother and sisters on Facebook, I usually translate into Southern for them.  Everybody gets a few laughs.  Translating into a dialect is easy when you use The Dialectizer.  As I write this you can convert into nine different dialects.  It hardly ever fails to make me laugh.

Here is a sample:
As y’all might o’ might not know, I’m a transplanted No’therner.  When ah talk wif mah brother an’ sisters on Facebook, ah usually translate into Southern fo’ them, dawgone it.  Ev’rybody gits a few laughs.  Translatin’ into a dialeck is easy when yo’ use Th’ Dialeckizer.  As ah write this hyar yo’ kin cornvaht into nine diffrunt dialecks.  It hardly evah fails t’make me laugh.

That’s just a few of the things I like to do on the internet for fun.  I hope you enjoyed them too and found a new site you’ll visit often.  Do you have a favorite place you think everyone should know about?  Let me know and it could become a topic for the new Internet SIG group I’m starting.

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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Owning Your Own Domain (2019-06)

July 11, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

I purchased my first internet domain name on May 10, 2001.  For several years before that, I had a personal website that I hosted on the AOL free server.  Fast forward to 2018 and I’m the owner of a dozen different domain names.  I’ll admit that most of them are unused.  Someday my grandsons might want them.

I think that everyone should get their own domain for a variety of reasons.  The biggest reason is so that you can easily control your e‑mail.  If your e‑mail address is YourName@yourisp.net, you would lose it if you ever changed your Internet Service Provider to another company.  If you had your own domain, you could have the e‑mail address of YourName@yourdomain.com or .net, or .org, etc.  You would keep that e‑mail for as long as you owned the domain.  Never again would you have to change your e‑mail address.

Another advantage is that you could have many e‑mail addresses.  Most providers let you create at least a hundred separate addresses.  I usually create a new address for different sites.  If I get a lot of spam, I know who sold my e‑mail address.

Owning your domain isn’t expensive. For instance, HostGator, one of several hosting services that I’ve used, charges $12.95 a year to register a domain name.  Hosting services are $7.16 a month.  If you sign up for three years, the rate drops to $3.96.  If you do a web search you will find many companies and many different pricing plans.  For that low fee, you can get unlimited e mail addresses, disk space and bandwidth.  There are several other hosting sites that offer similar pricing.

Once you’ve purchased the service, you can easily make a website to show off your hobbies, a family photo album, or share recipes.  Other uses for personal domains and websites are to give family members their own e mail address, host private chat rooms, backup files, etc.  You can even create your own private cloud storage space.  You could also do like me: plain old fashioned BS.

Although it is helpful, there is no real reason to know HTML coding.  There are several free programs that can have your personal website up and running in just a few hours.  Most hosting companies offer easy installation of these applications.  Web searches will find you many more.  A final place to get help with a website is the Cajun Clickers Club.  There are several members that I’m sure would be more than willing to help.

All of my websites are powered by open-sourced software.  I use several free programs: RV Web Site Builder, WordPress, phpBB, Blue Griffon, to name just a few.  My point is that if you can use a word processor, you can use website software.

I sure hope I’ll be checking out some new websites in the near future.  After all, if I can create a website, anyone can.

Keep on clicking and thanks for reading.

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Gizmo’s Is Back (2022-03)

March 16, 2022 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch

I finally found some time to do an update on one of my websites.  Like many other sites, I have a favorite links page.  I immediately noticed that I still had a link for Gizmo’s Freeware.  I knew I needed to delete it because the site closed down in 2021.  It was a sad time for everyone that likes excellent freeware programs.

In 2008, Ian “Gizmo” Richards launched the Tech Support Alert Website.  It featured reviews and links to freeware programs in several categories.  Programs were reviewed by volunteers.  There was an active forum with comments and suggestions from readers.

One of the great things about the site was that there wasn’t any advertising.  It was funded solely by donations from users.  I remember several times there were pleas for extra funds to keep the site going.  Disclaimer: I usually sent what I could afford.  In later years, donations were no longer enough to pay costs and Google ads were incorporated.  In March of 2021, Google Ad Sense canceled their advertisements.  It was announced that the web site would shut down in July.  The site shut down and a farewell page was posted.

I’m glad that I rechecked the link.  Gizmo’s is back online.  It has been renamed “Gizmo’s Best” and has a new web interface.  I’m surprised that I haven’t seen any mention of this happy fact on any of the many tech news sites that I read.

There aren’t as many reviews or programs listed as on the old site.  At first this was a little upsetting, but on further thought, I agree.  Many of the programs on the old site were outdated and no longer available.  The site still lists the ones it has in the same categories: Android, IOS, Linux, MACOS and Windows.  There is a new category for Reader’s Best.  The “Free Wallpaper of the Week” is still on the site.

If you remember how great Gizmo’s Freeware was, give the remake a try. You can find it at Gizmo’s Best (techsupportalert.com).

Thanks for reading and keep on clicking.

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WordHippo Website

January 3, 2021 Posted by Tiny

Some Lagniappe for You
by Tiny Ruisch

la·gniappe (lnyp, ln-yp)
n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi
1. A small gift presented by a store owner to a customer with the customer’s purchase.
2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot.

This month, instead of a free program, I’m going to tell you about a website that I use nearly every day.  I do a lot of writing.  LibreOffice and Scribus are the two main programs I use to edit the written material.  The WordHippo is the site I use for tools to (hopefully) help me do a better job with my content.

WordHippo was originally launched in 2008 as a site to find rhyming words.  It has evolved to include a thesaurus, dictionary, antonyms, word finder and many other word tools.  There are many sites on the internet that do these things.  This is the only one I have found where everything is on one easy to navigate page.

A complete list of word actions include:
• Synonyms – the thesaurus is the default home page.
• Antonyms – gives an extensive list of opposite words.
• Definitions – a pretty much standard dictionary.
• Rhymes – I would have never found a rhyme for lagniappe without this section.
• Sentences – gives several examples of word usage.
• Translations – only translates from English to other languages.
• Find Words – you can select the number of letters and find words for Words With Friends, Scrabble and Crosswords.  You can specify starting or ending letters.  There are many more finding functions.
• Word Forms – finds plurals, past tense, present tense and more.
• Pronunciations – reads words and sentences aloud.

For the most part, the website is easy to use.  It utilizes a tabbed layout.  Entering a word in one section carries over to the other functions.  I turned off my ad blocker for the site.  There was only one small unobtrusive advertisement on the right side of my monitor.  There are apps for both iOS and Android.  I haven’t tested them.

Give WordHippo a try.  Everything is free and there are no up‑sells for a paid version.

If you like the website, just tell everyone that you’ve got a SWLAPCUG extra, a bonus perk, a small gift, a present from the club: a little lagniappe.

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Changing My Website Host

November 8, 2020 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

A couple of months ago, I gave a presentation on why I thought everyone should have their own domain, even if they didn’t have a website.  One of the things I stressed was taking care in choosing a web site hosting company.  I told them how hard it was to change to a new web host.  It was a pleasant surprise to find out that I was wrong.

I’ve been using the same web host and domain registrar for twenty years.  I’m not going to name which one because I’ve obviously been satisfied with the service, up‑time stats, support, speed, accessibility, etc.  I currently have three active web plans and about a dozen parked domains.

About a month ago, the hosting contract for tinys-bs.com expired.  For the past year or so, I had been toying with the idea of changing to HostGator.  Both of my computer clubs use the company without any problems.  Why am I changing?  There isn’t any specific reason, but instead a bunch of little ones.  Of course, cost is always a factor.  I’m not going to save a lot, but every nickel counts.  HostGator also makes it much easier to use Let’s Encrypt.  The internet has evolved to the point where SSL is almost mandatory.

I made the change with only one minor glitch.  Before changing hosting services, I transferred my domain names.  This did not go easily.  I believe it was because I tried to transfer both tinys-bs.com and tinysbs.com at the same time.  One change was successful and the second failed.  It took about a week to get it corrected.  In the future, when I move other domain names, I will only do one at a time.

I was dreading having to upload all my web site files and data.  There are almost 38,000 files and more than 2GB of data.  This turned out to be extremely easy.  HostGator has what they call the “Migrations Department”.  This assistance is used to transfer data to your new site.  It is normally a paid service but was free as part of my new customer package.

I decided to give it a try and it worked easily and perfectly.  It was a simple, three step operation.  All I had to do was complete an on‑line form.
1. Select the Destination Hosting Package.  This information was pre‑inserted into the proper areas after I selected my hosting package in a drop down box.
2. Enter Your Old Hosting Information.  There were several items I had to input:
• Account Domain Name
• IP/Hostname
• Control Panel URL
• Previous Hosting Company
• Control Panel Used
• Is there an SSL Certificate?
• Account Username
• Account Password
3. Submit the Transfer Request.  They said it could take up to a week to complete.  I got an e‑mail three days later with a link to check that all my files had completed successfully.

After I checked everything and deleted a few things I no longer used,  I was ready to shift to my new hosting service.  I did this by simply logging in to my hosting panel and changing the DNS Servers to point to my new location.

I wish everything on the internet was so easy to do.
Thanks for reading.

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Coronovirus Thoughts – Originally Published April 2020

April 18, 2020 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

The recent Coronovirus (COVID-19) outbreak has got me to thinking about September 11, 2001.  More specifically, I’ve been recalling the weeks after the awful events that happened.  At that time, I was working at a convenience store in a small town.  It didn’t take long for rumors to start that there would be a nationwide shortage of gasoline.  That weekend, cars were lined up for blocks waiting to fill their tanks.  Stations ran out of fuel, until the tanker trunks arrived with more.

Here we are in 2020 with another national crisis.  Instead of gasoline, people are panic purchasing toilet paper and hand sanitizer.  At least we have plenty of gasoline.  There is one more thing we have an excess of: misinformation on the internet.

I don’t use Facebook a lot, about twenty minutes a day.  According to what I read in my timeline, the Democratic Party released the virus so the President would look ineffective and not be reelected.  Wait!  I’m wrong.  I read another report that said it was the Republican Party was at fault.  They released it so that big companies would make more money selling things.

Isn’t it interesting that both Joe Biden’s son and Donald Trump’s son­‑in‑law own controlling interests in a company that will make the anti‑vaccine medicine?  I will admit that it is nice to read some different exaggerations and lies.  I was getting tired of President Obama being a foreign borne Muslim terrorist.

For me, real life COVID-19 problems have been worse than the Facebook ones.  CYPHACON was canceled.  I’ve been having problems getting a refund for my hotel room that I prepaid for almost a year ago.  Like all other events, computer club activities have all been suspended.  I don’t even get my daily grandson visits as there is no school for me to pick him up from.

On the plus side, I have plenty of time to work on my projects that I never seem to finish.  After I finished the SWLAPCUG club website redesign, I started to work on doing the same for one of my personal sites.  Hopefully, I’ll get that done in the next month or so.

I’ve yet to complete my massive photo sorting, labeling and personal cloud storage project.  I’ve been working on it for several months now.  It is taking longer that when I scanned and uploaded more than thirty years of club newsletters.  Eventually I’ll get it done.

Another thing I want to do is redesign the club newsletter.  I’m planning some new sections and hope to set up an easier to use template.  I will admit that this is one undertaking that has a pretty low priority.

One thing I know for sure is that if I’m going to accomplish anything, I had better spend less time on the internet, especially Facebook.

That’s all for this month.  Thanks for reading.

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I Want To Believe – Originally Published March 2020

March 4, 2020 Posted by Tiny

A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch

I’ve been re‑watching the X‑Files, which has always been one of my favorite television programs.  I often think of this show whenever I read another article about people falling for a phishing scam.  Almost every day, there are more companies and people that get compromised.  I often wonder how many don’t ever get reported.

Why does the X‑Files remind me of scams?  Fox Mulder had a poster in his office that said, “I Want To Believe”.  I think that is why phishing scams work so well.  People want to believe that there is really a Nigerian prince that wants to give them money.

These con games have been around long before there was an internet.  Older people will remember getting chain letters.  Just send five dollars to the top name(s) on the list and add people you don’t want to keep as friends to the bottom.  Send the letter on to them and soon your mail box will be packed with envelopes containing money.  I wonder how many readers won the Irish Sweepstakes without even buying a lottery ticket?  No, you didn’t really win an all expenses paid vacation that requires a small processing fee.

When governments, companies, school districts, etc. get ransomware installed, it is often because an employee clicked on a link in an e‑mail.  They wanted to believe that their boss wanted them to do something, that their schedule had been updated or that there is another important event happening.

I’m knocking on the wood of my computer desk as I tell you that I have never had a virus or malware on any of my many computers.  This is despite the fact that I sometimes visit some “shady” web sites.  On those rare occasions, you can bet that I’ve opened my browser in a sandbox.

So how do I avoid all the evils? I just follow a few simple rules.

• I almost never click on a link received in an e‑mail.  This includes messages that I’m fairly sure are safe.  Even my bank doesn’t like me that much.
• When I visit those “risky” web sites I mentioned earlier, I definitely don’t click any links.  If anything interests me, I usually open a new tab and do a search.
• I only download programs from the creators website.  The same goes for software updates.  Only from the program and not a popup on my computer.
• Whenever I install new programs or updates, I carefully check every screen before clicking next.  That includes EULAs.
• I never download or install a browser extension, a program or a plug‑in that I didn’t look for.  If a website tells me I need to do something special, I do something special.  I leave the site.
• I disable auto‑run on all my drives.
• I use a password manager.
• I never, ever click links on social media sites (especially Facebook).

Stay safe on the internet.  Use common sense.  Try not to believe.  Trust no one.
That’s all for this month.  Thanks for reading.

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