Blogcritics Author: Brian Schneider

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Controlling iTunes From Your Toolbar

Brian Schneider — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:55:02 EDT

This week's edition of Tech Tip Tuesday focuses on iTunes functionality. Wouldn't it be nice to control iTunes while multi-tasking in other applications? Do you find it annoying to constantly switch back and forth from applications you currently have open such as Microsoft Word to simply change the song currently playing? If so, this tip is for you. I personally use this functionality and love it (in fact, I'm actually using it as I write this article.And now for this edition of Tech Tip Tuesday: Open iTunesRight-click the taskbar at the bottom and choose Toolbars -> iTunesClick the Minimize Icon in the upper right corner of iTunesYou can now control iTunes while running other applications!To show iTunes again, click the Maximize iTunes button on the toolbarTROUBLESHOOTING: If the toolbar does not appear after minimizing iTunes, please follow these steps:While iTunes is open, choose Edit -> Preferences from the menuClick the Advanced tab as shown in the image below:Ensure the Minimize iTunes window to system tray is unchecked as shown in the image below:Click OKThat's it! You should now be able to minimize iTunes to the system tray If you are experiencing any other issues with this, feel free to leave a Comment and I will be happy to help. Enjoy!

My goal is to inform the "common folk" or everyday Internet user about news, deals, tips, or other random thoughts that these users may not have otherwise found on their own. Feel free to visit http://www.forthecommonfolk.com for up-to-date information.

My latest addition to the "For the Folk" network is For the Firefox Folk and can be found at http://www.forthefirefoxfolk.com. This site contains firefox theme and extension reviews in addition to other useful Firefox information. Enjoy!

Tech Tip Tuesday: Secure Your Wireless Router (Part 3)

Brian Schneider — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 15:51:44 EDT

This series provides tips ranging from the very basic to just slightly less basic and will be broken down into the following: Part 1: Password protect your wireless router Part 2: Hide your router from the Available Wireless Networks menu Part 3: Encrypt your wireless signal Let's get on with the final part in our three part chapter. Question: How can I secure my wireless signal to ensure no one can snoop or listen in on my digital information? Answer: Follow these simple steps and you'll be another step closer to locking down your router. Open your router's configuration web page. The URL for this varies across router vendors, so if the first one doesn't work, try the others or look up this information in your router's manual (if none of these work, feel free to post a comment and I will try to help as best I can).http://192.168.1.1http://192.168.0.1http://192.168.2.1Enter your router's username and password in the login screen as seen below. Again, the username and password varies by router, so either look this up in your router manual or try one of the options below:Usernames: admin, root, or leave blankPasswords: admin or leave blankAfter you're logged in to your router's configuration web page, it's time to turn on encryption.Navigate to the Wireless sectionNavigate to the Wireless Security sub-sectionChoose WPA Personal (or WPA Pre-shared key) in the Security Mode dropdown Choose AES in the WPA Algorithms dropdownIn the Shared Key box, enter a password that you can easily remember.Click Save ChangesTo ensure you can still connect to your network, go to your wireless network settings on your PC, click Connect, and enter the same password you entered on the router setup screen.That's it. Hopefully this helps you in your quest to secure your router. DISCLAIMER: The author in no way takes responsibility for damage done to your router. If for some reason your router ceases to stop working, find the Reset button on the router and push it in with a pin for 10 seconds. That should reset your router to its factory settings.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Secure Your Wireless Router (Part 2)

Brian Schneider — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:24:29 EDT

This weekly three-part series will provide tips ranging from the very basic to just slightly less basic. This series will be broken down into the following: Part 1: Password protect your wireless router Part 2: Hide your router from the Available Wireless Networks menuPart 3: Encrypt your wireless signal Let’s get on with the part 2 of 3. Question: How can I remove my router from the Available Wireless Networks list to ensure my neighbors aren’t stealing my Internet connection? Answer: Follow these simple steps and you’ll be another step closer to locking down your router. Open your router’s configuration web page. The URL for this varies across router vendors, so if the first one doesn’t work, try the others or look up this information in your router’s manual (if none of these work, feel free to post a comment and I will try to help as best I can).http://192.168.1.1http://192.168.0.1http://192.168.2.1Enter your router’s username and password in the login screen as seen below. Again, the username and password varies by router, so either look this up in your router manual or try one of the options below:Usernames: admin, root, or leave blankPasswords: admin or leave blankAfter you’re logged in to your router’s configuration web page, it’s time to make your router invisible.Navigate to the Wireless area.Select the Disable SSID Broadcast button shown below:Click Save Changes.That’s it!To ensure you can still connect to your network, go to your wireless network settings on your PC, and ensure you router’s SSID appears in the list of networks. If not, simply add it and you’re on your way. DISCLAIMER: The author in no way takes responsibility for damage done to your router. If for some reason your router ceases to stop working, find the Reset button on the router and push it in with a pin for 10 seconds. That should reset your router to its factory settings.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Secure Your Wireless Router

Brian Schneider — Tue, 8 Aug 2006 13:19:47 EDT

In general these days, many articles written about wireless routers or technologies are negative due to the security risks involved with using an insecure router. In reality, as long as your neighbor is not Kevin Mitnick, it requires deep expertise to trace one's traffic and online transactions.With that said, it is still a good idea to do as much as you can to secure your router just in case. Securing your wireless router ranges from the seemingly impossible requiring knowledge of bits and bytes to the very simple for use by the common folk.This weekly three-part series will provide tips ranging from the very basic to just slightly less basic. This series will be broken down into the following:Part 1: Password protect your wireless routerPart 2: Hide your router from the Available Wireless Networks menuPart 3: Encrypt your wireless signal Let's get on with the first part.Question: How can I password protect my wireless router to ensure my neighbors can't mess with my router's settings?Answer: Follow these simple steps and you'll be one-step closer to locking down your router.Open your router's configuration web page. The URL for this varies across router vendors, so if the first one doesn't work, try the others or look up this information in your router's manual (if none of these work, feel free to post a comment and I will try to help as best I can).http://192.168.1.1http://192.168.0.1http://192.168.2.1Enter your router's username and password in the login screen as seen below. Again, the username and password varies by router, so either look this up in your router manual or try one of the options below:Usernames: admin, root, or leave blankPasswords: admin or leave blankAfter you're logged in to your router's configuration web page, it's time change the password to prevent the average Joe from typing in admin or root to access your router.Navigate to the Administration areaLook for a section related to router password as shown below:Type your new password in the router password field (be sure to write it down or remember it!)Click Save ChangesThat's it for Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 next week.DISCLAIMER: The author in no way takes responsibility for damage done to your router. If for some reason your router ceases to stop working, find the Reset button on the router and push it in with a pin for 10 seconds. That should reset your router to its factory settings.

Tech Tip: Google Toolbar Autolinking

Brian Schneider — Mon, 7 Aug 2006 13:27:04 EDT

For those of you who don’t know what this is, Tech Tip Tuesday will be a recurring feature that will attempt to uncover, explain, and make technology enhance and simplify your everyday lives. (Wow, is that bold… did I just write that?) For you smart ones out there, these posts will happen on Tuesdays.And now for the common folks' first Tech Tip Tuesday: Google toolbar autolinking.An enormous number of Internet users use Google’s toolbar for either Internet Explorer or Firefox, but many users have yet to unleash its full potential. Yes, the toolbar blocks pop ups, but it also does so much more. One feature I’d like to highlight and explain is AutoLink.After clicking the AutoLink button, the Google toolbar will scan the web page currently open for certain kinds of text such as an address or an ISBN # for books or aFedex or UPS tracking #. If AutoLink finds some special text, it will highlight the text and turn it into a hyperlink that you can click.Rather than copy/pasting text like this into Amazon.com or Google Maps, simply click the newly highlighted link and off you go. Simple!Now for an example.If you don’t have the toolbar already, download the Google toolbar here.After the toolbar is installed, go to a webpage that has an address or an ISBN # or a Fedex or UPS tracking #.Once on that site, click the AutoLink button.If Google finds the special text, it will highlight it like this: To open the address, for example, simply click the highlighted link and Google Maps will open.That’s it! Please leave me comments if any of this is unclear and I would be happy to clarify.