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In the 2008 Presidential Election I did not vote for Obama.. but in many ways I supported his candidacy. For the record I did not vote for McCain either. The icing on the cake for me was McCain in spite of his years of service to America.. he was not a computer user. Call me crazy but I think the leader of the free world should know how to use a personal computer.
In times of crisis the President can do harsh things. The absolute worst would be martial law. If anybody knows or dares to get a glimpse of what martial law would be like.. see the first part of Stephen King's TV mini-series "The Stand". Where news reporters are executed by Army Soldiers and a popular radio personality is shot to death while on the air. - Today instead of reporters it would most likely be bloggers and pirate stations being shot and executed but I digress.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSA_call_database
Gene Balmain http://www.openvegas.com/vegas/gene An important page and videos to watch: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/keith-olbermann-obama-and-wiretapping
EFFector Vol. 22, No. 10 April 10, 2009 editor@eff.org
 “Chipping” Away at Computer JargonBy Bryan Lambert - Sunday, April 5, 2009
In this Tech Tip, we’ll be specifically looking briefly at some of the jargon placed directly on a computer, computer monitor and computer speaker sets.
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Optical disc drives, you know CD-ROM type drives, are pretty much on all computers these days (except maybe 
OK, to start off, optical drives have come a long way (baby). As most of our readers know, they progressed from the read-only days of the CD-ROM, through the burner days with CD-R, the rewritable days of CD-RW and then the DVD came along. From there you had read-only DVD-ROMs, CD-RW/DVD-ROM, DVD-RW. DVD+RW, DVD±RW, DVD±RW DL, blue-ray, yada, yada, yada! 
factors, 5.25-inch desktop and 5.25” slimline (laptop and mini-desktop) sizes. Optical drives can also incorporate cool extra features such as LightScribe disc labeling technology as well. 
By far, the most common failure is that the drive can no longer read a disc. It may be intermittent (sometimes reads, sometimes doesn’t or it may read CD discs and not DVD discs (or vice-versa). If the drive does this, the first thing to do is to make sure that the drive is compatible with the disc you are trying to read (after all, a DVD drive will not read a Blu-Ray disc but again, because of backwards compatibility, a Blu-Ray player will usually read a DVD disc). Next, you can try cleaning the disc itself (from the inside out, not in circles) with a clean, soft cloth and disc cleaner. If this doesn’t correct the issue you can try to clean the drive lens (either with a cleaner disc or denatured alcohol and a cotton swab). Admittedly these are stop gap measures, because truthfully this is usually a sign of a failing drive.
in front of the drive, and if you buy a replacement drive, you’ll need one whose eject button lines up with where that door thinks the eject button should be. Desktop drives are secured either by four screws (two on either side of the drive) or drive rails. While optical drives DO NOT need any special drivers, if you are upgrading to a DVD or 
So much has been written and said about the website known as 
Started in 2001, Wikipedia now offers over 2,847,000+ articles in the English language (and many more in other languages). Wikipedia is different from other encyclopedias. Instead of an advisory body of experts and a review process, Wikipedia is a free for all. Anyone can make, add to, and edit an article – all for free and even anonymously (though you can sign up with a user name as well, and would need to if you wanted to create a new article). Since 2003, Wikipedia (and its cousins such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikinews, etc.) have been overseen by the 
You’ll also notice at the top of the page four tabs labeled article, discussion, edit this page, and history. Edit this page is self -explanatory. Here you can actually edit the article if you think something can be phrased better; if you want to add information or if you simply want to fine tune the article. If you’d like to see the current thoughts on the article, simply click “discussion” – note that this page is editable as well as allowing you to weigh in on discussing the article along with others (this page has an “edit this page” button separate from the main article). History is simply every SINGLE revision of the page from its creation to the time you are looking at the article (including the editor (IP address if anonymous) - person who did the edit) - very helpful if you’d like to see earlier versions of the article. Of course, there are numerous tools and extensive help sections if you’d like to become more than just a casual editor (found of the left hand side navigation bar). 
Of course, with its obvious strength also lies Wikipedia’s inherent weakness. Sometimes, articles by committee – especially a committee of everyone – may not necessarily produce the best possible work. Biases, personal opinion, not being scrupulous about the accuracy of the information provided, deliberate defacement, unfavorable information as well as false and misleading information can all cloud the integrity of an article as well as the website as a whole (
The car I drive is a beautiful bright yellow Mustang convertible with big bold racing stripes, while the car that my neighbor drives is a small, economical silver Toyota Prius. While the cars will get you from point A to B with no problems, they do it in different ways. The Mustang looks “cool”, it drives “cool” and it gets you to point B in “cool” while the Prius drives solid, is an engineering marvel and gets you from point A to B with quiet, fuel efficient “coolness.” Internet browsers are very much the same, they (for the most part) will get you from point A to B – but how you arrive can be totally different factors of cool.
Where else to start the discussion of browsers than with the defacto standard for browsers – Internet Explorer (currently with nearly 67% of the browser market share). The reason that it is the biggest (much to the European Unions consternation) is that it is bundled with Microsoft’s Windows operating system. While it’s not necessarily the first browser available, or (in many persons' opinions) the best browser available, it is still used by many, many people. Microsoft just recently launched 
When running Microsoft Windows (or really whatever operating system you have), it is good to remember that there are always alternatives to the browser that your computer shipped with. The really cool thing about internet browsers is that several can be loaded onto a computer at the same time. Though they may try to vie for being the top dog (that is, the default browser), they will peacefully coexist. This means that along side Internet Explorer you can run one or more of the alternative browsers (even at the same time as one another). Some of the major browsers that you may want to consider are: 
who also make a popular mini version of their browser that can be used on many cell phones). A really nice thing about running multiple browsers is that if a particular browser may have a problem rendering (displaying) a web page, you can always launch another browser to see if the problem is that web page or perhaps the browser. 
Explorer a little down the road. All are free to download and use, and as mentioned all can run on the same machine at the same time. If you have not had a chance to run them, I’d highly recommend downloading them all and giving them a whirl. When you install them, they will even conveniently import your favorites and other options directly from Internet Explorer – so you don’t have to waste time “rebuilding” them. 
years. With sites like Facebook, MySpace and the like, more and more people are connecting with each other and interacting online. 
One complaint about microblogging is that it can be more than just a bit narcissistic. Remember Web pages, circa 1996 or 1997? Or most personal blogs? Updates can be just as vapid. For many, except maybe someone's followers, the fact that the microblogger just got back from walking the dog and is eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich or that they're trying to read 
The undisputed king of microblogging services is arguably 
works, you can take your data and the source code and set up your own server (or move your account to another one).” 
It's supposed to be the next big thing in computing. It’s supposed to revolutionize the way we work at home and at the office. It’s supposed to slice bread, iron your clothes and make breakfast for you. Yes, its "cloud computing". OK, maybe it won't do household chores but with the way people speak about it, you'd think it would. 
Well then what exactly is cloud computing? I'm sure you've heard the phrase often enough the last couple of years and may be wondering what the hoopla is all about. What exactly is this life on a cloud? This is actually a point that the proponents can't seem to agree on. So is it renting more computing power for your business? Is it coordinating a potluck with a bunch of your friends over the Internet using 
known as Hardware as a Service – this is where IT geeks can buy more virtual computer power and online storage) or 
also describes some of the newest crops of very sophisticated, robust programs available on the Internet today. While some may be for rent (that is, you pay either a subscription fee or a use fee), many others are absolutely free for use of basic services. 
To know the computer, you need to be the computer; or at least know the jargon of the computer. If you’ve ever been looking for a computer or 
One thing that you may notice is that there seems to be no end to the stickers affixed to a computer. Whether it is a run down of features that you’ll use, or simply a statement that a computer has 
Another thing a 
You may also see a sticker listing the type of operating system the computer was “designed for” such as “Windows Vista” or “Windows XP”. Note that some systems that have been downgraded from Windows Vista to Windows XP at the factory may still have a Windows Vista sticker on it. Another sticker you can run across is on touting 
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Tech Tip - 210 Free Web-Based Tools for Creating Slides
Posted On 03/27/2009 14:55:59
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Building Your Slides Online
By Scott Nesbitt - Sunday, March 22, 2009
Over the last couple of years, I've been giving quite a few presentations. While some of those presentations have been solo efforts, I've done most of them with my business partner. And that's when a few wrinkles have crept into our grand plans.
"..these applications enable you to collaborate on your presentation slides without having to worry about whether or not you're stomping on someone else's edits"How? Well, an important (or at least useful) component of a presentation is a slide deck. Before plugging in a digital projector, you need to create your slides. It's easy enough to pass a PowerPoint, Keynote, or OpenOffice.org Impress file around. But it's just as easy to lose track of which file is the latest version. Or just lose the file.
Fortunately, some Web entrepreneurs have made strides in eliminating this problem by developing Web-based tools for creating slides. The four that this TechTip highlights have a number of things in common:
- They're free
- They're easy to use
- You can run your slide show from within the application
- They support sharing and collaborative editing
- They pack enough features to make attractive and functional slides
280Slides
On the surface, 280Slides looks like a stripped-down version of Apple's popular Keynote presentation software. Although 280Slides has a limited number of features in comparison to Keynote (or any other desktop presentation program), you'll be surprised at how quickly and easily you'll be 
able to create a solid slide deck with it.
Of all the applications that this TechTip discusses, 280Slides has the best import and export capabilities -- it can pull in PowerPoint (97 through to 2004, and PowerPoint 2007) files and OpenOffice.org Impress files. It can output those formats as well as a PDF file. The import can be a bit rough. Text can be larger than in your source file, and the positioning of elements like images might be a bit off.
280Slides comes with a limited number of themes and slide layouts (nine and three, respectively). It also has basic text formatting functions -- including bullets and numbers -- along with the ability to insert images, movies, and basic shapes into slides.
On top of that, you can add presenter notes (also called speaker's notes). These are notes that are attached to a slide deck that a speaker uses as a reference. In case you're wondering, the audience can't see the notes.
On the other hand, the application can be a bit slow. That said, this situation has improved a bit over the last month or two. While you don't need an account to work with 280Slides, you'll need to register (for free) to save your files online.
Empressr
Empressr bills itself as a free online storytelling tool that allows you to create, manage, and share rich media presentations online. That's a mouthful, but it's pretty close to the truth. And Empressr is a lot easier to use than it sounds.
Slides are called empressrs, and you can start one from scratch, import a PowerPoint file, or upload multiple images to create an empressr.
The slide editor is simple, but packs a number of interesting features. Like what? The ability to create a library of background images and add those images to your slides, for one. You can attach audio files to act as a voice over or soundtrack. And you can specify transitions for slides. Some of the slides that Empressr users have made public use the latter feature to sometimes annoying effect.
In addition to that, Empressr allows you to add shapes, tables, and charts to your slides. The latter two options are missing from most online presentation tools.
There doesn't seem to be a way to export your slides. You can publish your slides on the Empressr site in Flash format. Empressr also generates code that you can use to embed the presentation in a Web site or a blog.
Preezo
Of the presentation applications that are featured in this TechTip, Preezo is probably the most bare bones of the bunch. That doesn't mean it's not usable, though. Preezo seems to be based on the 80/20 rule -- 80% of users take advantage of only 20% of an application's features.
As with any other Web or desktop presentation application, you can start a presentation from scratch or import a PowerPoint file. While writing this TechTip, I wasn't able to get the import to work. The export function, which 
generates a PowerPoint file, did work though.
As I mentioned a moment ago, Preezo's features are a tad basic. You have the choice of half a dozen slide layouts, along with some basic text formatting functions. On top of that, you can add any of a handful of transitions to your slides. Nothing spectacular, but enough to build a solid slide deck.
Remember how Empressr enables you to create a library of images? Preezo does the same, but takes the feature one step further. You can actually create a library of slides which you can reuse. How is this useful? In the slide decks that I create, I have two stock slides at the end -- one which asks if the audience has any questions, and a marketing slide. Instead of continually retyping or copying these slides, I can use the slide library to instantly insert them into a new deck.
And, like Empressr, Preezo enables you to publish your slides on the Preezo site and it generates HTML code that you can use to embed the presentation in a Web site or a blog.
Google Docs
Anyone who knows something about Web applications knows that Google Docs contains a good word processor and spreadsheet. But one component of Google Docs that some people miss is the presentation editor.
Like the other application discussed in this TechTip, Google Docs enables you to start a new slide deck from scratch or upload a PowerPoint file. That file can be a maximum of 10 MB in size. You can also clone an existing presentation, which is useful if you need to create a variation on a theme.
On top of that, there are about 87 slide templates (as of this writing) that you can use to build a slide deck. Most of the templates leave me a bit cold, 
but there's no reason why you can't modify one to suit your needs.
The options for Google Docs are simple and familiar: text formatting; adding images, video, and a handful of shapes; basic control over text (changing the size, font, and justification); and the ability to arrange objects on the slide. On top of that, you can add speaker's notes to each slide.
As you might have guessed, Google Docs supports Google Gears -- you can learn more about Gears here. With Gears, you get the best of both worlds: you can work and collaborate on the Web, but use Google Docs offline as well.
Your download options are limited to PDF, PowerPoint, or text. You can also publish the slides for viewing online.
Sharing the finished product
As I mentioned in the introduction, you can share slide decks from within each of the applications that are discussed in this TechTip. However, you'll probably wind up exporting your slide deck (when possible) to your hard drive to do some final edits and tweaks. Once you've done that, you can share the slides with the wider Web using SlideShare and Scribd.
SlideShare is an online community for sharing presentations. You get your own little corner of SlideShare, called a Slidespace, where you can add and display your slide decks. You can also make your slides private so only select people can see them.
You can upload presentations made with Microsoft Office, OpenOffice.org Impress, or Keynote; you can also upload PDF files. SlideShare then puts a Flash wrapper around the file to make it viewable on any desktop computer or laptop computer. Well, at least one with a Flash player installed. You can also use some HTML code to add your slide decks on SlideShare to a Web site or blog.
Scribd, on the other hand, has been described as YouTube for documents. The goal of the site is to let people upload original documents, and allow others to comment on them. Scribd allows you to upload a number of different kinds of files -- from Microsoft Office and OpenOffice.org files, to PDF, Postscript, and text documents. Scribd wraps your documents in iPaper, a Flash-based format for viewing documents on the Web.
As with Slideshare, you can make your slide decks (or any other document) public on the Scribd site. Or Scribd can generate HTML code for you to embed the document on a Web page or in a blog.
Final thoughts
This TechTip only covered a few of the available online slide tools. You can find more here and here. The great thing about these applications is that they enable you to collaborate on your presentation slides without having to worry about whether or not you're stomping on someone else's edits, or if you have the right software installed on your computer.
These tools may not have all the features of your favorite desktop presentation tool, but they can get you going quickly and easily.
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Tech Tip - 209 Video Format Guide
Posted On 03/19/2009 00:37:05
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Video Format Guide
By Scott Nesbitt - Sunday, March 15, 2009
"But like anything in the realm of computer technology, the video we watch is wrapped up in a morass of jargon and of weird extensions."Video may have killed the radio star, but it's become more than just something that we watch on our televisions. Video is definitely an essential part of the desktop and Web experiences of most computer users. And more than just a few mobile phone users, to boot.
But like anything in the realm of computer technology, the video we watch is wrapped up in a morass of jargon and of weird extensions. If you don't know your .avi from your .mov or .flv, then read on.
Formats vs. container formats
When it comes to other kinds of files, we all have a pretty good idea of what a file format is. We know that a Word file is a binary that contains all of the text that we've typed into the word processor, the style information, and graphics too. But the situation is different with video.
When people talk about video formats, they're referring to something called a container format. The container format is a detailed description of what's inside a video file. It describes the structure of the file, as well as the kind of data that the file contains.
The container format also holds information about something called a codec. The codec is information about how the file was encoded, specifically what software (called a codec, not surprisingly) was used to digitally encode the file. This is important, especially for a couple of the formats that are described in this TechTip. Why? Not every media player supports the same codecs. In many cases, you'll need to install a specific codec in order to play a file using your favorite media player.
MPEG
MPEG is short for Motion Picture Experts Group. It's a standard for both a variety of video and audio formats, and for compressing those formats. In fact, the array of formats that use MPEG compression can be confusing.
There are different versions of the MPEG format (often called levels) which help contribute to this confusion. The three MPEG levels that you're likely to encounter are MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4.
What's the difference between all of them? MPEG-1 is the oldest of these. It was first used in video CDs (the precursor to the DVD), where space was at a premium. MPEG-2 tackled (and still does) the transmission of digital and high definition over digital networks, satellite TV, and (later) the Internet. In fact, MPEG-2 is so efficient that it pretty much killed off MPEG-3 -- it handles high definition video just as well as its descendant. MPEG-4 does pretty much everything MPEG-2 does, but with better quality and compression. MPEG-4 adds another twist to the mix: it supports Digital Rights Management (DRM), which enables content producers to prevent copying of their content.
Note: An upcoming TechTip will look at DRM and its implications.
If you run into any video files with the extension .mpg or .mp4 you have an MPEG file on your hands. It's a popular format because it provides a good tradeoff between file size and quality. Just about every media player supports MPEG, although some players support the format better than others. I've found that it's a rare MPEG file that won't play on the various media players that I use in Linux or on Windows.
AVI
If there's a format that doesn't get a whole lot of respect it's AVI (short for Audio Video Interleave). Originally developed for Microsoft Windows, AVI has become ubiquitous across several operating system and on the Web. While it isn't as popular as it once was, it's not rare for you to run into AVI files
AVI files, which have the extension .avi, are often disparaged from a couple of reasons. First, they use little or no compression. That means the file sizes are larger than just about any other format out there. And AVI files often use a variety of codecs to encode them. This causes trouble, because you might not have the proper codec installed for your media player and the file won't play. This is especially true on operating systems other than Windows. It's not uncommon for an AVI to not play on Windows without the proper codec. Windows Media Player can sometimes automatically download that codec, but usually you'll have to search for it yourself.
Since it's an established format with a long history, you'll find that most media players for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux can handle a number of AVI files. The one player that I've found which works best is VLC.
WMV and ASF
Windows Media Video (WMF) and Advanced System Format File (ASF) were created in part to deal with the shortcomings of AVI.
WMV is a compressed file format (at least, with better compression than AVI) with the extension .wmv. It was developed primarily for streaming video across the Web. Microsoft claims that WMV has better file quality than MPEG. That may or may not be true, but WMV files are generally larger than MPEG files. Often by a factor of two.
ASF, on the other hand, is a container format for WMV. It encapsulates not only the video and audio data for a WMV file but also Windows Media DRM data. All of this is wrapped in a file with the extension .asf.
The biggest criticisms of WMV and ASF are that they're specific to Windows, and that ASF supports very restrictive DRM. As for the first complaint, it is possible to play WMV files on other operating systems. On Mac OS, for example, you can get a player called Flip4Mac WMV which enables you to edit WMV files and convert them to QuickTime. This allows you to play WMV files on not only your Mac but also on your iPod. On Linux, the VLC and xine players can handle WMV files that don't have DRM applied to them. Well, at least most of the time.
And that's the main point of contention with the second complaint. DRM-protected WMV and ASF files generally won't play on other operating systems, or with anything other than Windows Media Player on Windows. An interesting aside is that Microsoft's Zune player doesn't support Microsoft's DRM scheme so you can't play WMVs with DRM applied to them. Ironic, isn't it?
Flash Video
Once upon a time, Flash was used almost exclusively to create demos, tutorials, and annoying splash pages for Web sites. Now, thanks to the popularity of video sharing sites like YouTube, Flash has become an almost ubiquitous video format.
Most Flash video files have the extension .flv or .swf, although you might see the files with the extension .f4p (protected Flash video). Flash is usually used for streaming video across the Internet, and is able to do this quite efficiently because files can be compressed to make them smaller.
The compression can be a bit of a problem, though. The main codec used to encode Flash files is based on bitmap images -- each element and frame in the video is a set of pixels. When pixels are compressed, they become fuzzy and lose varying amounts of color depth. You've probably seen badly compressed Flash videos on YouTube. They're blurry and look washed out.
Flash is more or less a cross-platform format. Adobe Systems, which owns and develops the software that enables people to create and view Flash video, has Flash players for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. On top of that, a number of media players (such as RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, VLC, xine, Gnash, and QuickTime Player) support Flash. Some of these players only support older versions of the Flash format, though.
QuickTime
Whereas Windows has AVI (and now WMV and ASF), Mac OS has QuickTime. You can tell that you have a QuickTime file if you see the extension .mov or .qt.
QuickTime is a compressed format, using a compression scheme developed (and closely guarded) by Apple. This compression scheme is very efficient, and can noticeably shrink the size of a file but without losing much of the quality. In fact, QuickTime files arguably offer some of the best quality video available.
One interesting characteristic of the QuickTime format is that it contains multiple tracks. Each track contains different types of data. For example, one track will contain audio, the second video, and the third subtitles. This separation of content makes a QuickTime file easy to edit.
QuickTime files are usually best played using Apple's own QuickTime Player, which is only available for Mac OS and Windows. You can also download add-ons for Windows Media Player to enable it to play back QuickTime files. On Linux, the MPlayer and xine media players can handle QuickTime although you might need to install additional codecs.
3GPP Multimedia
People don't just watch videos on their televisions and computers anymore. More and more, they're watching them on their smartphones as well. Whether it's an iPhone, a BlackBerry, or one of the many phones from companies like Nokia you can get and watch high-quality video on a device that literally fits in the palm of your hand.
One format that makes it possible is 3GPP multimedia. 3GPP (which has the extension .3gp) is one of those container formats that I mentioned at the beginning of this TechTip. It was created to move audio and video to mobile phones -- either from phone to phone via email or MMS, or over the Internet.
Most modern smartphones, especially ones with built-in video capture and playback, will play and record 3GPP files. Like other formats, the quality of 3GPP files varies depending on the resolution of the camera used to capture the video and the compression options that were used when saving the file. Obviously, the higher the compression rate, the lower the quality of the video. I've received video taken with a smartphone that was fuzzy, and video that's been as clear as the best MPEG files I've seen.
While just about any smartphone will play 3GPP files, on the desktop only a handful of media players can handle these files. The best-known ones include VLC, RealPlayer, MPlayer, and Apple QuickTime Player.
Conclusion
This TechTip only describes the video formats that you will routinely run into. There are literally dozens more out there. You can find some basic information about various formats here, or by visiting Wikipedia.
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Tech Tip - 207 Fraud and Scams on Craigslist (Part 2) - Avoiding Them
Posted On 03/01/2009 20:24:23
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Does Craigslist Need Better Regulation?
By Bryan Lambert - Sunday, March 1, 2009
Fraud and Scams on Craigslist (Part 2) – Avoiding Them
In our first part on scams and fraud that are commonly run in Craigslist, we looked at how to identify them. In Part Two, we will be looking at ways to avoid them. While some of the measures may seem like common sense, it is amazing how many people still may not take them. Many times this can be either because the fraudster puts pressure, either subtle or overt, on the intended victim (as part of the scheme) or maybe they just don’t know what they don’t know.
Use Your Head and Feet
When first conceived, Craigslist was a place meant where local people could place and look for ads. Craigslist takes great strides to ensure, that even though their website is international in nature, that it is local in scope. Keeping this in mind, one of the greatest deterrents to avoiding fraud and scams on Craigslist would be to KEEP IT LOCAL! Craigslist does have FAQs on how to avoid scams that may be perpetrated on their site and the number one thing 
that they recommend is, surprisingly: “DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON.” They go on to explain that by doing this you can avoid 99% of the scam attempts that are run on their site. Remember, this is not eBay – these are supposed to be local folks advertising to local folks. Insist that the transaction must be local and must be in cash. Above all else this would be the first and foremost thing to keep in mind on ANY Craigslist transaction (as a side note, Craigslist also does offer some personal safety tips on their site as well that are worth a read.
Common Sense
Another common sense rule is that if anyone that you contact or that contacts you wants you to wire money to them (be it for a rental or for a purchase - especially after they “accidently” send you too much money for an item) know that you’d get more out of your money by burning it (at least you get the warmth from the fire it creates). If you wire money to anyone met through Craigslist, you lose. You kissed that money goodbye. Anyone who is asking you to do this is trying to scam YOU out of YOUR money, pure and simple. So, DO NOT, EVER, NEVER, EVER send money to anyone this way… Period! Again, Craigslist, bless their little hearts, states in their avoid scams FAQs: “NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service,” and then they go on to say: “anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.”
Please do NOT give out financial information about yourself. Identity thieves will have a field day on your dime if you give out your social security number, bank account number, Paypal or eBay 
account info (legit, LOCAL rental applications being the exception). Craigslist does list some other tips under their scammer FAQs as well. Keeping in line with some of the advice offered there, please be aware that fake cashiers checks and money orders are very common – and you’re the one left hold the bag (unlike credit card fraud, where there is a limit to how much you’re liable, there is no such limit for check fraud.). Also know that Craigslist doesn’t get involved in any type of transactions carried out on their site. They do not offer guarantees, escrow services, handle payments, buyer protection or seller certification. If you get involved in any transaction where a person says that they do, this is an immediate red flag.
In line with keeping it local, AVOID like the plague any deals involving shipping or escrow services – there simply is no way to guarantee such a transaction. The Craigslist scam FAQs goes as far as to actually state: “ONLY A SCAMMER WILL "GUARANTEE" YOUR TRANSACTION.” Keep this especially in mind if you see a car that is being offered out of the area. As a matter of fact, Craigslist actually puts in big bold letters across any page where items are offered for sale: “OFFERS TO SHIP CARS ARE 100% FRAUDULENT.” This goes in line with the advice to keep the transactions local.
Remembering the adage to keep it local that we previously mentioned, if you are considering renting, when you meet personally with the potential landlord, they usually will (as part of the rental process) ask you to fill out a rental application form. Because this (of necessity) will have some of your personal information on it, please be sure to ask potential landlords to see their ID and then record the information found on it. This step will usually weed out scammers having no legit claim to the property. Heads up if they don’t show you the ID or if they just flash it for a second without letting you record the information on it. Another bid red flag goes 
up if they DON’T want you to fill out a rental application of any kind or ask to check your credit. You may want to also look up the potential rentals property or the landlord's name on the internet and see what comes up (look for the name being connected with the word “scam” or “fraud” and look to see if the property if offered for varying amounts on different sites). It may even be prudent to look up for yourself (in the city or county public records) who exactly is listed as owner for a property and to get a statement (in writing) from the landlord that they are not behind in payments nor is the property in foreclosure. If the person tries to sell you “foreclosure lists” when you are calling about a rental, just hang up, all they want is your money and nothing more. (see: kgw.com and Fraudguides.com)
If you are a potential landlord, again, keep it local. Be wary of persons contacting you via e-mail that are out of the area and interesting in renting the property. Extra red flags go up if the grammar is poor, if they ask you information that is already contained in the ad, if they give an elaborate back story, or if they try to involve third parties. DO NOT EVER let a tenant pay you more than you asked for and then demand a refund – anyone doing this is a scam artist. Be sure to follow up on references and credit checks on your potential renter, and if you rent the property frequently, change the locks between renters.
(see:fraudguides.com/tips, http://www.fraudguides.com/tips2 and http://www.scamalicious.com/)
Final Thoughts
Yes, there are frauds and scams being run on Craigslist, but knowledge is power. Being forewarned is being forearmed. If you keep these Tech Tips in mind, you’re sure to cut down dramatically on your chances of being a victim of a scam or fraud on Craigslist.
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Tech Tip - 206 Does Craigslist Need Better Regulation?
Posted On 02/24/2009 16:24:36
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Does Craigslist Need Better Regulation?
By Bryan Lambert - Sunday, February 22, 2009
(Part 1) - Fraud and Scams on Craigslist -
What Do These Look Like?
You’re looking for new digs – and know just where to find the perfect place; you want to buy another car, and know just where to search for one. Perhaps you have a place you want to rent or a car 
you want to sell and you know just the place for advertising them – Craigslist! With their goal of keeping online classifieds local, simple and (for the most part) free, there’s no question about it; Craigslist has become quite an online phenomenon. Constantly one of the top 50 websites sites visited, this website, for one offering local ads, has attracted literally a worldwide following. However, along with this following Craigslist has attracted a very unsavory element of scammers as well.
In this Tech Tip, we’ll be looking specifically at some specific areas of fraud that seem to be hitting Craigslist these days in regards to rentals and items offered for sale
While scams and fraud do occur on many websites where buying and selling occur, they seem to be almost epidemic on Craigslist these days. Though some of these scams may seem obvious, criminals still use them again and again (often accompanied with poor grammar) for the simple fact that they continue to work. Without further ado, here are some of the common scams that are appearing on Craigslist.
For people placing an ad for a rental, some common fraudulent activities are:
- A person contacts you from out of the area (usually overseas) and really wants to rent your listing. They send you a check or money order over the total amount due rent and then have you send the amount of overage back to them (usually by Western Union or some other wire service); this is a scam pure and simple. You will be out the amount you send back once the check (or money order) is found to be a fake (it is interesting that they send you a check or money order, but want the money "refunded" to them to be wired).
- A person takes the information from the property you’re listing and relists it as their own. These people are also usually from out of the area. This leads to all sorts of issues as the same property can be “rented” several times – by you (legitimately) and by the scammers.
- A person actually rents your place then turns around and by representing themselves as the owner, re-rent it to several people before skipping town.
For people looking for a home or apartment to rent:
- You contact the person from the ad (usually via e-mail) and they explain that they are out of the area, but the place it still for rent. They may ask for key deposits so you can “look” at the place and
then will often try and create a sense of urgency so they can elicit the bigger ticket items such as security deposits and first and last month’s rent. Really, anything else they can think of and have it wired to them. Usually these ads are ones copied from legit ads either on Craigslist or other rental sites – but at lower (but still believable) rental rates. Like all scams, money leaves your pocket never to return.
You click on an ad for a very good looking and well priced rental only to be directed to call an 800 number. Usually, these end up being scammers that have no intention of renting the property at the price they listed, but want you to buy “foreclosure lists” instead. Extra bonus for the scammers if they get a good credit card number with a large limit.
- Classic bait and switch, even if you literally watched the ad be placed, when you call the property is not available, but this other one is….
- The person renting the house may be local, but they do not actually own the house. They either just rented it themselves or, worse yet, are advertising a vacant home that someone is trying to sell or that is bank owned. Some may claim that they are renting it on “behalf of the owner” as well. The person “renting” the property collects several deposits, several first and last rents and leaves town. In addition to the money, the scammers now have several key pieces of personal information on the persons scammed.
For people selling or buying an item on Craigslist:
- Sellers: A person contacts you (usually out of the area) and really wants to buy your item. They offer to pay more than it is worth (works great for small, pricey items that are easy to mail) or “accidently” pay you over the amount and look for you to send the difference back to them (sound familiar? Look at item 1 for personal placing ads for rentals above). Even for large items (such as furniture), they’ll ask to pay with check and arrange to have it shipped to them; again, the check will be “accidently” over the amount asked for, and you’re asked for a refund. It may seem strange for you to be sending someone else money when you were the one selling and that’s because IT IS STRANGE!
- Buyers: The item is not just a bargain, but it is a BARGAIN (think of a car that is well below the current Kelly Blue Book price or a
laptop computer at a price too good to be true). This bargain is usually out of the area and would need to be shipped to you. An escrow service is perhaps offered to
help facilitate the purchase (many are also sent up fraudulently just to facilitate such a scam)
Bottom Line, you send money-you get nothing.
Some scams and fraud and very easy to detect, but others can be difficult as criminals get more and more sophisticated. This list is by no means complete, but can give you a general outline of some common scams that are still used. Knowledge is power, so it is good to be aware of some of these tactics used by scammers before you put down your hard earned money.
Now that you know what to look for, in next week’s Tech Tip, we’ll look at some ways to avoid scams and fraud on Craigslist.
Who should I notify about fraud or scam attempts?
- FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
- FTC online complaint form (http://www.ftc.gov)
- Canadian PhoneBusters hotline: 888-495-8501
- Internet Fraud Complaint Center (http://www.ic3.gov)
- Non-emergency number for your local police department.
If you suspect that an item posted for sale on craigslist may be part of a scam, please email the details to "abuse@craigslist.org". Be sure to include the URL (or eight-digit post ID number) in your message.
* http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
Tags: Geeks Fraud Regulation
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New Calendar Additions Features
Posted On 02/21/2009 15:52:40
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New features added to the OpenVegas calendar:
1. printable version for events
2. Zoom and directions features were added for google maps
3. "Place/Venu:" field was added at the "ADD NEW EVENT" page.
4. Search by date option was added to the "BROWSE EVENTS" blog on the main events page.
5. Miniature calendar was added - it is displayed on the main events page. Today's date has a different
background and days that have events are bold.
6. "Duplicate event" feature. Using this feature admin and event owner can create a complete
duplicate of an event (Both past and future) with ability to edit any of the event information (this
way it will not be needed to reenter the same event information several times). The old event will
not be overwritten.
7. "Featured events" block was added to the main events page. Only admin can make events
featured. It will not be possible to make private events featureed.
8. RSS support was added for the module. RSS link was added:
9. On the main calendar, events, that a member either posted or is attending, are displayed in italics
for the member. When pointing the cursor over an italicized event, the member will see whether
she/he is attending the event or he is also ehe event owner or both:
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Tech Tip - 205 Faster, Safer Surfing with OpenDNS
Posted On 02/17/2009 18:27:45
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Faster, Safer Surfing with OpenDNS
By Scott Nesbitt - Sunday, February 15, 2009
Even with a high-speed Internet connection, you might find that getting to certain Web sites takes a lot longer than you want it to. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one of the bottlenecks is the DNS server that your Internet service provider runs.
You can get around this bottleneck, though, by using a Web-based service called OpenDNS.
DNS: A little background
DNS is short for Domain Name System. Among other functions (which you can read about here), DNS converts the names of domains from a string of numbers – for example, an IP address like 68.177.52.6 – to something a human can read, like www.geeks.com.
Internet service providers run DNS servers (also called name servers, which assigns a human-readable domain name to the string of numbers that represents an address on the Internet. When you 
type the URL of a Web site into your browser, an inquiry is sent to the DNS server and based on the information that's stored on that server, you're directed to the site in question.
While using your Internet service provider's DNS server is fine, you have to remember that everyone else who subscribes to that provider will be hitting the same server (or set of servers). That slows your surfing down.
Enter OpenDNS
OpenDNS maintains a network of DNS servers, which are distributed in various locations, including New York, Chicago, Seattle, and London. Your request to the OpenDNS servers are routed to the server nearest you. That generally means you don't have to wait as long as you would with your Internet server provider's often busy DNS server.
On top of that, OpenDNS has options for different kinds of networks – home, school, small or medium business, or larger companies. The basic features – like phishing protection and content filters – are the same, but there are also features specific to each kind of network. Like what? For example, a school using OpenDNS has the option to counter anonymizers, while a small business can take advantage of a reliable network that supposedly has no network downtime.
Setting up
Setting up OpenDNS is fairly simple. If you're a home user (which this TechTip is going to focus on), you can set OpenDNS for a desktop computer or a laptop computer, or a router.
The process involves three step:
- Changing the DNS settings on your computer or on your router
- Create an account with OpenDNS (this step is free)
- Tweak your settings at the OpenDNS Web site
How you change the DNS settings on your computer varies by the operating system that you're using. You can get the instructions for the operating system that OpenDNS supports here. And, as you probably guessed, the instructions also vary by the brand of router that you're using. If your router isn't in the list, there are generic instructions that you can try.
Other useful features
Once you've changed the DNS settings for your computer or router, you can take advantage of some of the useful features that OpenDNS offers by logging into your OpenDNS account and clicking Settings.
What settings are you likely to tweak? The one that you'll probably use most is content filtering. This enables you to block access to over 50 different types of content – ranging from adult Web sites to phishing and adware sites to ones that promote hate and discrimination. OpenDNS offers four preset filtering levels, ranging from high (blocks access to all seamy sites) to minimal (only protects against phishing attacks). You can also opt to pick and choose the filtering options that you want.
You can also block or allow access to specific Web sites which may not fall into any of the content filtering categories.
On the Settings page, you can click Advanced Settings to take advantage of some of the more interesting features of OpenDNS. 
Two that I've found useful are enabling network shortcuts and typo correction.
Network shortcuts enables you to assign a short name to a Web site. For example, you can configure the shortcut gc to take you to www.geeks.com. Once you set up the shortcut, all you have to do is type the shortcut in your Web browser's address bar.
Typo correction fixes any URLs that you may incorrectly type. For example, if you type geeks.cmo or geeks.ocm OpenDNS will automatically change the URL to geeks.com. However, sometimes this doesn't work and can be a bit of an annoyance as I'll discuss in a moment.
Drawbacks of OpenDNS
There are a few. Most of those drawbacks are minor, and here are the main ones.
As with any Web-based application, you're at the mercy of the application itself. While OpenDNS has impressive uptime, there's always a chance that the service could go down for an extended period of time.
Remember when I talked about the typo correction? Let's say you really butcher a URL – say, www.geeeks. instead of www.geeks.com. OpenDNS does something that many Internet service providers do. It redirects you to a search page, which may or may not have relevant results. On top of that, there are ads on the search page which not everyone appreciates.
After using OpenDNS for a while, you might find that some or all of the sites that you frequent don't load as fast as they did when you started using the service. This is because your computer saves DNS information in a cache. It uses the cached information whenever you try to hit one of those sites. The easy way around this is to clear your computer's DNS cache. How?
To do that, open a command prompt. In Windows, type the command ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter. In MacOS 10.5, type dscacheutil -flushcache and press Enter. In Linux, /etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart (you may have to do this as root).
Conclusion
OpenDNS is an interesting and potentially very useful service, especially if you want faster, smoother access to your favorite Web sites. You might not always get a huge increase in speed, but in many cases you'll notice a difference.
Best of all, it's easy to set up, well documented (the knowledgebase at the OpenDNS site is quite good), and it's free. Your best bet is to give OpenDNS a try. You'll probably find that it makes your surfing a lot faster and safer.
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