Virgin Mobile gets the iPhone

This post is for all you iPhone lovers out there that are tired of paying $70+ per month on a cell phone plan.  Virgin Mobile announced a few days ago that it will start selling iPhones that will work on their network.  If you want it will cost you $549 for an iPhone 4 and $649 for an iPhone 4s.  Now don't stop reading until you see the monthly rate.  There are 3 options:

• $35 for 300 minutes and unlimited text and data(throttled after 2.5 GB), and yes I wrote $35 and it isn't a typo.  
• $45 plan with 1200 minutes along with unlimited text and data(throttled after 2.5GB) 
• $55 with unlimited minutes with unlimited text and data(throttled after 2.5 GB).  

Let's run the numbers:
If you purchase the iPhone 4 and the $35 plan that will run a total of  $1389 for 2 years.  On say Verizon, a similar plan will cost you $2259  ($99.99 for the iPhone 4 and $89.99 monthly for 450 minutes, unlimited texts, and 2 GB data).  That's a savings of $870 or $36.25/month. 

Oh and if that $549 still seems to be too high for a phone but your mouth is still watering with the savings potential you could be getting, they also have Android phones for substantially less.  I know they aren't as hip, but they work great.  My wife just switched from Verizon to Virgin Mobile and got the LG Optimus Elite, which is only $149.99. 

Virgin Mobile does use the Sprint network.  I have heard that some people have had problems with it, but mostly that depends on where you are in relation to the towers.  Check that out before jumping on board.  If you live near an Interstate then chances are you will have service.  If you get too far from an interstate however, you may not have reception.  Verizon and AT&T still have the best service coverage in the Nation.

Mac Anti-Virus

I acknowledge that I haven't posted in a few months and for a variety of reasons (not the least being laziness). I figure I might as well start up again and set the goal to post at least weekly.

This week I wanted to write about Anti-Virus for Mac Computers. There have been multiple virus outbreaks on Mac Computers in the past few months. For the past 2 decades the philosophy that has perpetuated was that Mac computers were innately secure from Malware. There are a couple reasons for this. The first is that Mac Computers had such a small market share that the indivuduals/groups that created Malware didn't find it even closely as profitable to target Mac Computers as they did Windows computers. A second reason is the marketing department of Apple worked hard to convince those who had previously been the victim of Malware that all their problems would be solved by going to a Mac (remember this commercial?).

Sophos, an Anti-Malware company, released a great video on the topic of Mac Computers being susceptible to Malaware

Here are a list of providers with Free Malware protection for Macs.
Avast
Sophos

Web Protection continued

Recently I reviewed a product called K9 Web Protection that would filter Internet traffic and block sites that you would prefer your family not visit. It works great if you only have one or two devices that you use to connect to the Internet. However it can become cumbersome to maintain if you have more than that, as you have to install and configure it on each device. A solution to that is OpenDNS.

OpenDNS is a little more technical to setup than K9 Web Protection, but they walk through the steps clearly so most non-techies can do it. Basically it works by directing all your Internet traffic through their servers so they can filter based on policies that you choose. When you get to the web site there are three options to choose from. The one on the left is called "OpenDNS Home" and a free version that gives you the option to customize what categories you want to filter. The middle one is there Premium edition which costs about $20 a year. This would give you support from the company as well as be able to pull the Statistics of your home's Internet activity. The final product is "OpenDNS FamilyShield" which is also free. This one come pre-configured so you don't need to go in and select what categories you want blocked. I am currently using the OpenDNS Home version and it has worked well.

I would recommend using OpenDNS to protect your entire home(including any guests that you might let on your wireless) and then use K9 Web Protection as a second layer of security or on devices that are more mobile such as Laptops, Tablets, or Phones(hopefully Android will be supported soon).

If you have any issues with configuring it, leave a comment and I will help out

Strong Passwords

We live in a world where much of our information is stored on the Internet. This could include information stored in Email, on Facebook, Internet Banking, or other websites. To protect this information we usually have Passwords. I have had many spam emails sent to me from email addresses that I recognized as owned by friends, co-workers, or acquaintances. Commonly this is caused by weak passwords that hackers have figured out and used to gain access to the the email account. The following are tips to create stronger passwords:

Don't use the same passwords for your Internet Banking accounts that you do for your other accounts. This will protect you from hackers gaining access to your bank accounts if those other passwords are discovered.

If possible, use a pass-phrase instead of a password. For example: "To be or not to be." (include the spaces and the period). To complicate it up a little you could substitute the number 2 for the word "to": "2 be or not 2 be." A mixed character pass-phrase is extremely difficult to break.

If you can't use a pass-phrase, use a complex password including a Capitol Letter, Lowercase Letter, a Number, and a special character (!,@,#,$, etc), also make it a minimum of 8 characters long but the longer the password the better.

Don't use any Birthdays, Anniversary dates, Addresses, or Phone Numbers as your passwords.

Web Site Protection

My previous posts have been about how to protect your device from malicious software. The web also contains content that is also inappropriate for children. We do all we can to teach our children how to avoid it and what to do when they come across it. This isn't always enough. Accidents happen and search engines sometimes return inappropriate content. To help fight this there is an impressive technology called Web Filtering.

A common Web Filter and one that works well is called K9 Web Protection. It is a free application that is easy to install and configure. There are versions for Windows, Mac, and iPhone/iPod/iPad. I have tried the Windows version and it works well. Their site says that they are working on an Android version. The install guides you through step by step. At one point it asks for a password which you make up. Remember this password because you will need it to make any configuration changes or to temporarily bypass a website if you need to. Once the program is installed you can open the configuration by going to Start->All Programs-> Blue Coat K9 Web Protection->Blue Coat K9 Web Protection Admin. This will open up in a web browser. From here you can look at the Internet activity or modify any settings by selecting SETUP. With in SETUP you can select what types of web categories to block including Nudity and Pornography. You can also set Time Restrictions on when the computer can be used to access the Internet. When a page is blocked, K9 Web Protection displays a page that says it was blocked and gives you the option to Allow this site for a specific amount of time as long as you know the password(you created it when you installed the program). There are many more options that can be configured and if you need any help setting it up, feel free to comment or message me.

As I mentioned earlier you can also view Internet activity for the computer. When you first click on the View Internet Activity link it takes you to a summary window that lists the categories that have been visited. By clicking on the category you can see what sites were visited and at what time it was visited.

This program is a computer wide program, not user specific. So if you have one account that Parents log on to and one account that Children log on to, both accounts will have the same access to the websites. The only way around this is to know the password you use to setup the program and input it to bypass the blocked web page.

If anybody has used other solutions or have any other comments on this topic, please comment.

Mobile Device Anti-Virus Software

Apple grants the same access rights to all Apps on their devices which means that each App can access the data from the other Apps.  For example your Angry Birds App could access the data from your Banking App, if the developer of the App wanted to.  This is why Apple is so protective of what can be installed on their devices and makes the Apps go through a strict vetting process.  I can only find one Anti-Virus program for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch.  It is called VirusBarrier iOS.  It costs $2.99.  I did find that it does not actively run.  You have to choose to run it prior to opening any attachment or file that you download.  I believe this is more of a limitation that Apple is enforcing than the Anti-Virus companies.

Google's Android takes a different approach at security.  It allows you the option to install an App from any source(Amazon App Store, Google App Store, or download from a website) and each App is required to request access to what it needs and you get to approve or deny it.  That application doesn't have rights to access information from another App unless you grant it permission while installing that App. I found a big issue with this methodology is that people seem to accept the permissions that the App is requesting without even reviewing it.  I recommend not allowing Apps to access the Internal Storage or the SD Card unless you trust the app.  There are also many Anti-Virus solutions for Android.  I am currently using one called Lookout which has a free edition or a paid for edition.  There is also an option called Avast Mobile Security which is free.  I have been using Avast for years on my PCs and have had a good experience with it.
To sum up:
iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch: use VirusBarrier for iOS which can be downloaded from the Apple AppStore.
Android: Many options are available in the Google Marketplace.  Some include:

• Lookout(free)
• Avast Mobile Security(free)
• AVG(Free version, paid is available)
• McAfee(Trial Versions Only)

How to avoid and try to prevent Malware

Malware consists of the commonly known words of Virus and Spyware as well as lesser known terms of Trojans and Worms.  All are dangerous programs that infect your computer and attempt to either damage your system or steal your information.  Malware affects all computing devices.  There is a common misconception that Mac computers don't have Viruses.  Mac computers are attacked, just not as often.  Mobile devices need to be protected as well.  As they are becoming more prevalent, they are getting attacked as well.  In order to lessen the risk of infection I recommend the following:

1. Install an Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware software.  There are free options out there that provide basic protection, but non-free options often provide additional protections like Online Banking protection and Online Shopping protection.  Mobile devices have Anti-Virus software as well.  Look in the AppStores.
2. Don't open emails from people or organizations you don't know.
3. Don't click on any links within emails or on websites that seem cryptic.  Perpetrators of spreading Malware commonly hijack email addresses and address books and send out emails with only a link to a web page that will download Malware.

If anybody else has any suggestions, please share.

Welcome!

I have been working in the computer industry for almost 6 years now and have had it as a hobby for over 10 years.  In that time I have addressed many computer issues and answered many of the same questions over and over.  I have decided to start a blog that will address these common questions as well as review new technology that I find interesting and useful.  I want this blog to be beneficial for everybody, so I strongly support feedback and comments on posts.