Securely Delete Your Files!

Everyone has sensitive data stored on their workstations at some point in their lives. It could be something as simple as a credit card statement or maybe a scanned copy of your drivers license. No matter what data you may have lurking on your hard drive here are some simple tips to make sure when you want it gone your data is securely deleted forever.

When I delete  files, why are they not removed forever?

Deleting a file is not as simple a process as it sound. On most computers deleted files first wind up in the trash or recycle bin. This is not even close to removing anything. The process only moves your files from a live folder to a Continue reading “Securely Delete Your Files!”

Bandwidth Wars! How much speed do I need for my home?

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The marketing department loves to put their spin on just about every product and service for sale. This is also true as it pertains to Internet Bandwidth for your home. Technology companies and  computer hardware manufactures (as well as other manufactures) seem to think that we are all stupid sheep, and rather than educate us properly on what we really need they tend to force feed product in the hopes of increased profit.

Before I begin writing about how much Internet Bandwidth you need for your house, let me first show a few examples of how the marketing machine caused misleading advertising wars of the past.

Intel vs Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Way back in the 90s Intel wanted to increase market share and increase sales. The marketing department came up with a brilliant “Intel inside” campaign and began educating consumers on processor clock speed (MHZ & GHZ) They touted that a 90Mhz PC was better than the 60Mz and  AMD did the same. Both companies basically started an arms race to achieve the highest speed processor and consumers were led to believe faster is better. Here we are over 20 years later and we now know that clock speed is NOT a good representation of how fast a processor can perform. There are so many other factors that contribute to a FAST computer but I’m not going to cover that in this article. Marketing alone may have duped thousands into prematurely upgrading to a new computer. Continue reading “Bandwidth Wars! How much speed do I need for my home?”

Update your iPhone & iPad NOW 10.3.3 – New WiFi Vulnerability

This post is just a friendly reminder to update your IOS devices. As soon as your  done reading this, grab all of your iPhones and iPads and run the 10.3.3 update.

Apple has recently discovered a vulnerability in the WiFi chip that could allow an attacker within proximity of your phone to run unsigned code and gain unauthorized access to your device.

Just think of the hacking possibilities as you order your morning coffee at Starbucks, or while you walk the boardwalk this summer enjoying the beach. This new vulnerability will be exploited in public spaces where a large pool of targets are in range of the attacker.

How to update and prevent the vulnerability?

Continue reading “Update your iPhone & iPad NOW 10.3.3 – New WiFi Vulnerability”

Securifi Almond Wifi Router, Extender, Access Point – Review

About two weeks ago Amazon had their annual Prime Day 24+ hour sale, and like many Prime members I was looking for some bargains. Recently my family had been complaining that the WiFi signal in the upstairs of my home was not strong enough. At times they would find a better data signal on the cellular network causing everyone to use a ton of extra data each month. I decided I was going to give the Securifi Almond+ a try if it was on sale during Prime Day.

If you read my blog regularly you may have noticed I wrote an article regarding Google’s mesh Wifi System. The Google system is excellent and I highly recommend it for most home users, and at $270 for 3 units the price is great too. However in my case Google Wifi was not going to cut it because I wanted to keep my primary router. (Google wants to take over the entire home network)

RELATED READING- GOOGLE WIFI ONLY FOR BASIC USERS

Introducing the Securifi Almond+

Continue reading “Securifi Almond Wifi Router, Extender, Access Point – Review”

Just how many .IO Games are there?

Over the last few years lots of game start-ups have been using the .IO domain name to launch a variety of internet games. Before I begin listing my favorite .IO games would like to give a little background regarding the domain itself.

.IO domains are administered by the Internet Computer Bureau, a domain name registry in the United Kingdom. It is assigned to the British Indian Ocean Territory, However Google treats .IO as a generic top-level domain since so many webmasters use the domain more generic than country targeted.

This fact is great for game developers!

  • No geographic targeting by Google for .IO domain names
  • Still a large pool of available domains to choose from.
  • Urls are usually shorter than a .com or .net ETC

Just how many .IO games are there?

At press time I was able to locate just over 170 .IO games through Google, and like most fads there are some games that are simple and loads of fun, while others are just bad clones of the popular ones.

Some of my favorite .io games:
#6 – Paper.io
Paper.io
Qix

This is a great twist on the classic QIX game. Loads of fun however in my opinion the game is not a true .IO game. You are playing against bots and not other players which makes the game a little predictable. After a few days of playing this game I was able to beat the bots and win! Just a little background on the original Qix game, it was released by Taitio America in 1981.

#5 – Wings.io

Wings.io

This game was loads of fun too. Fly around in a 2D land using various weapons to blow up your opponents. Every so many minutes the game changes between a general free for all, to an outer space free for all , to a destroy the carrier. My only complaint about this game is regarding the controls and a bit of lag. Controlling the aircraft is difficult to master and on occasion the lag makes the game unplayable.

#4 – Brutal.io

Brutal.io

A great concept in this game, drive around this electrified board throwing your flail at opponents to kill them and then eat their energy to make yourself bigger. This is similar to the Agar.io style games, however with a welcome twist.

#3 – Skribbl.io

Skribbl.io

Back in the 90’s TV game shows were all the rage. Two of my favorites were Win – Loose Or Draw and Pictionary. We were able to watch “B” celebrities draw goofy pictures while contestants earn valuable prizes. Skribbl.io brings the fun to an .IO game. The concept has been around, and I also remember there was an IOS game that was a similar concept. What makes this game special is that its real time – live!

#2 – Slither.io

Tape Worm Atari 2600

A great new take on the classic snake game. Such a simple concept yet so much fun to compete against other players. Does anyone remember when the first Snake game was released? According to Wikipedia, looks like it was some time in the mid 1970’s. My first Snake experience was on the Atari 2600 with a game called Tape Worm.

#1 – Agar.io

You might be saying this game is tired and played out, but it was my first experience playing an .IO game. I actually was pretty good at it and wasted many an hour at home and working gobbling up blobs. I don’t play as much any more, but it was great for keeping me occupied.  On occasion I did experience lag at times, and wish there were “lives” so you didn’t die instantly but I guess that’s what made the game a challenge.

What does the future hold?

Maybe we can build the .IO game library into a portable device. Games could have an online and off line mode for playing on the go. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to achieve with a Raspberry Pi. I am such a huge fan of the Raspberry Pi, such a useful device.

Great Pi Starter Kit At Amazon – $69.99

Related Reading – Build Your Own Google Home Assistant With Raspberry Pi!

Thank you for reading my blog.
-Joe

 

Nintendo Retro Does It Again – SNES Classic Coming Soon!

The retro hits just keep on coming! Nintendo has been banking on our love for nostalgia lately reviving tons of classic games and consoles. Late last year they released a limited production run of the NES classic that had about 30 installed classic NES games and included 1 retro controller. They were next to impossible to purchase selling out almost instantly everywhere and even bringing Amazon’s servers to a crawl. I guess the next console in the progression of things is the SNES Classic!

RELATED READING: Love retro gaming? This NES console can play every game!

SNES Classic launching later this year:

Looks like we will be able to purchase this closer to the end of the year, sometime  late September. This time around however the unit will include two controllers and will have an $80 price point.

Games will include:

Continue reading “Nintendo Retro Does It Again – SNES Classic Coming Soon!”

Google WiFi – Only for BASIC home users!

In early June I wrote a post that recommended a few different home Wifi extenders. One of the devices mentioned was the Google WiFi Mesh Network. Recently, I had the pleasure of trying one of these devices out for myself.

RELATED READING:
Poor WiFi Signal At Home? A WiFi Extender Can Help!

 

MeshI had recommend this device to one of my friends and a coworker and both have giving the units rave reviews. They said that setup was simple. Install an app on your smart phone, then scan a QR code on the bottom of the device. The rest was  point and click. The entire Google Wifi mesh network was up and running in a matter of minutes.

The network immediately begins reporting signal strength data, device information and a slue of other important information you would want to have regarding your home network. The system can even distribute bandwidth to devices the require it most. (Smart TV’s, Kodi box, ETC) Continue reading “Google WiFi – Only for BASIC home users!”

Summer Time Project – MyRinkFinder.com

Sorry, It’s been about two weeks since I released a post. I have been working on another project that has occupied most of my free time, yet another website. Details to follow!

As some of you know I am heavily involved in youth hockey since both my children are on multiple teams. As manager of the teams each week I am responsible for sending out information regarding our upcoming games to the players and parents to insure they arrive to the rinks on time. In my emails I include all the pertinent information, game time, rink address & location, driving directions and info regarding the rink conditions. Some details you normally wouldn’t find on the internet.

Is the rink old? How cold is it inside? Is it an outdoor rink? Hows the snack bar? You get the idea. Continue reading “Summer Time Project – MyRinkFinder.com”

Which Hard Drive Should I Choose?

Yesterday I spoke about the different “i” series processors offered by Intel and compared them to various model cars from economy to performance. Today I want to talk about the different types of SATA hard drives you might come across when purchasing a new PC or portable backup drive. I don’t want to talk about brand specifics, but rather what kind of performance you can expect out of the different types of disks. I’m a bit of a Western Digital fan boy so I am going to focus on their hardware, however the information in this post would hold true for just about all hard drive manufactures.

RELATED READING:  Choosing the best Intel processor!

The Mechanical Hard Drive

Since its inception in 1956 hard drives have been mostly mechanical devices. Only until recently have SSD (solid state drives) become more main stream and I will talk more about that later. A mechanical hard drive consists of a spinning platter driven by a motor and a magnetic read / write head that can change a microscopic spec on the platter from a positive to negative charge and vice versa. The spinning disk in your computer right now is filled with 0’s and 1’s and when read back from the disk is converted to loldata. Our pictures, videos and word documents are just a sequence + or – magnetic fields. Amazing!

Depending on the type of drive and its specification will determine how fast it can read and write our files. Mechanical spinning disks are rated at rotation speed, how fast the drive can spin the platter. Faster rotation speeds can equate faster data transfer.

5400 RPM SATA

Continue reading “Which Hard Drive Should I Choose?”

Intel i3, i5, i7, i9. Choosing the best Intel Processor!

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It would seem that Intel is now the dominant force in computers when it comes to processors.  AMD fought hard to keep up throughout the years but the marketing machine that is employed by Intel has secured their future. Intel is not only great at making quality processors, but also great at convincing the world that their product is the best.

What is a processor and why should I care?

A processor also know as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) is basically the brains of your computer.  Most modern CPUs are considered microprocessors, meaning they contain all the circuitry to do the job on a single chip.  I’m not going to touch too much on processor theory or history but just understand that all processors are designed to Fetch, Decode, and Execute instructions based on the demands of the programs you are using. How fast and efficiently they complete their tasks all depends on the design and speed of the particular processor.

I like computers and cars – Let’s compare!

Continue reading “Intel i3, i5, i7, i9. Choosing the best Intel Processor!”