Is Your Computer Safe? The FREE 4-Step Complete Computer Protection Plan will provide you with easy to follow step-by-step instructions on how to completely protect your computer from the over one million different types of computer viruses and threats that exist out there today…without spending a penny.

Here’s what you will learn in this FREE report:

1. The different types of computer viruses and threats that exist out there.

2. Four FREE and EASY steps you can take to scan and protect your computer.

3. Tips to keep your computer safe from viruses while you surf the web and check your email.

4. Recovering your irreplaceable files in the event of a virus attack.

In just a few minutes, you can sleep better knowing that your computer is safe.

Do I really need this report?

If any of the scenarios below apply to you, you need to download this FREE report.

1. Don’t have enough time to try out the many anti virus tools that exist out there.

2. Realize that computer viruses are out there, but don’t have enough computer knowledge to protect yourself against them.

3. Find it hard to follow highly technical and confusing computer tips found on some web sites.

4. Don’t know where to look to find honest computer help.

5. Not interested in spending money on computer tools to protect your computer against viruses.

Attachments are also a common way for viruses and other malicious computer infections to spread. Luckily, most web-based email services such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail automatically scan any attachments while you check your email. Regardless, you should never open any emails with attachments that arrive from an unknown person.

Another thing to note about attachments is that most email services put a limit on how large attachments may be. Currently Gmail and Yahoo allow up to 20 MB attachments (approximately 10 photos), while Hotmail allows up to 10 MB. If you need to send larger files, you can consider using an online service such as YouSendIt.

Technorati Tags: attachments, email attachments, computer glossary, computer help, tech tips

Backing up your computer files is just like buying insurance, it is not very exciting but extremely critical. The unfortunate reality is that all hard drives will inevitably crash one way or another (i.e. corruption, virus attack, mechanical failures, etc). It happened to me a few years ago and I lost everything, I mean everything - all my music, photos, emails, and documents.  It was a nightmare that I thought would never happen to me. Luckily, I had burned a few backup DVDs of my files over a period of a few months before the crash, but recovering them was frustrating and time consuming because I had to dig through so many DVDs to find the most recent version of each of my documents. Even then I realized that I was missing some of my more recent photos since I was not dedicated to doing backups regularly. Also, I lost all of my emails since I had never backed them up since my Outlook file was too big. To top it all off, I discovered that some of the backup DVDs themselves had gotten damaged and the data on them was lost as well.

I knew I had to do something to prevent this from happening again, so I went online and did some research. I discovered that there are so many free backup software options out there.  The one most recommended by PC World magazine is called SyncBackSE. I even learned Windows VISTA and Mac OS X Leopard both include their own built-in options to regularly backup your data to an external USB Drive. I decided to go with my Mac’s built in free backup software called Time Machine, which was a breeze to set up. I instantly felt relieved. I no longer had to worry about losing all my precious files ever again…until I talked to my brother a week later.  He asked me a simple, yet powerful question:  “What happens if your backup USB hardrive fails?”. I was silent…I realized he was right. I immediately started thinking about what would happen if there was a fire, theft, or other disaster.

I knew then that there had to be a more secure way to backup my files. This is when I discovered an online backup service called Mozy. After reading about it, it seemed all too easy, so I decided to try it out for myself for FREE. I now sleep better at night knowing that all my important files are safely backed up.

What is Mozy?

Mozy is a service that will automatically backup all your precious data over the Internet to a safe, remote location.  The favourite thing about Mozy’s online backup service is that it is extremely simple to use. It takes a minute to set up for the first time, and it takes care of the rest for you automatically. Also, it is very affordable, includes unlimited space, uses the same secure technology as online banking, is lightning fast since it only backs up files that have changed since the previous day, and automatically works quietly in the background to backup your files only when your computer is idle.

FREE Mozy account

If you are nervous about diving into the online backup world, I suggest you try it out for FREE first. Sign up for the Mozy FREE account (no credit card required, fully functional, and never expires) and you will receive 2GB of online space, which can hold around 600 photos depending on your camera type.  I recommend setting it up to backup a few files for now.  Also it would be good to test the file recovery function in order to see if you are happy with that process as well.  If you end up liking Mozy you can easily upgrade to an unlimited account.

How do I use it?

Like I mentioned earlier, getting started with Mozy was as easy as 1-2-3. I first signed up for an account. Then I followed their step by step instructions to download and install the Mozy software (available for PC and Mac), which took less than a minute. Finally I told the Mozy software which types of files on my hard drive I wanted to back up. That’s it! Recovering my files from Mozy was also just as simple. The video below will walk you through the process of setting up the online backup and restoring your files in the event of a hard drive crash.  If you prefer to read, you can download the Mozy User Manual here.

Sign up for your FREE Mozy account and start protecting all of your important files today

Do I have other options?

Since some files, such as photos and videos, are irreplaceable, I no longer take shortcuts when it comes to backing up my files. At the same time, I don’t trust myself to do things manually since I tend to get lazy as time goes by.  Here are a list of the more traditional backup options:

1. Do nothing and don’t worry about backup. (You will learn your lesson the hard way, like I did)

2. Burn a new CD or DVD every Sunday night and store it at your in-law’s place. (It will work for the first few weeks, but it becomes a hassle after a while)

3. Copy your files to an external USB hard drive and hope it doesn’t crash. (Or buy two of them and do the backup twice for redundancy)

4. Run a cron job of rsync, gzip and mcrypt piped over ssh to your friend’s server over his DSL line. (I found this website while I was exploring my options…I don’t even know what that means)

If you don’t like what Mozy has to offer, you can also check out these other online backup service such as Carbonite, Box, and ElephantDrive.  All of these online backup services are the leaders in their market, and are almost identical in price.  There is also a great website called backupreview.info that is dedicated to helping you choose the right backup solution.

How much will this cost me?

Can you really put a price on all your valuable files, especially those precious photos and videos? Luckily Mozy offers their professional-level online backup services for a mere $4.95 US per month.

For a limited time, enter promotional code NOVEMBER when signing up to save an additional 10%.

To save a little money, you can sign up for a one-year plan and you will receive 1 month FREE.  Sign up for a two-year plan and get 3 months FREE. On top of that, I just found a promotional code that offers an additional 10% if you sign up for one of these plans. This promotional code is only valid in the month of October. This will make your two-year plan only $3.89 US per month and your one-year plan only $4.08 US per month.

Mozy also offers refunds on multi-period plans (i.e. one or two-year plans) on a prorated basis for the unused portion of the period purchased, in whole month increments, and not including the current month.

Technorati Tags: online backup, free backup software, backup software, backup, mozy, tutorial, computer help, tech tips

To take advantage of the FREE wireless Internet service, all you need is a registered Starbucks Gift Card (Note: Registering your Starbucks Gift Cards online also protects your balance in case you lose your card).  Once you are at the Starbucks store, your laptop will automatically detect the FREE Internet service.  Simply open up your favourite web browser (have you tried the new Google web browswer yet?) and enter your Starbucks Card number and 8-digit pin, both found on the back of your card, and you are good to go! (See image below)

Not only do Starbucks gift cards give you FREE Internet access, you will also enjoy other Starbucks rewards such as FREE in-store coffee refills, FREE beverage customizations, and FREE drinks with whole bean purchase.  Starbucks continues to expand their list of rewards, so keep checking their website or ask your local Starbucks Barista for more details.

You can get your FREE Starbucks gift cards at all Starbucks locations or online. So go ahead and find your nearest Starbucks and start surfing the web while enjoying a nice cup of java.

P.S - I wrote this quick tip while drinking my coffee at my favourite Starbucks

Technorati Tags: free internet, free internet service, free wireless internet, free internet access, starbucks, starbucks gift cards, tech tips

Google Chrome captured my interest from the moment I ran it.  It was visually very clean and intuitive.  I also noticed how fast it was as soon as I navigated to my first web page.  I loved how easy it was to import all of my favourite bookmarks from Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.

After using Google Chrome for the last couple of days, I found three impressive features…

1.  Browse securely

Google Chrome is a highly secure web browser.  Anytime I visited a website that Google considered dangerous, I was warned before entering it.  This helps prevent certain web sites from acquiring sensitive information (phishing) or installing malicious software (malware) on my computer.

2.  Browse privately

Google Chrome has a special option called “Incognito mode” that allows you to surf the Internet privately without leaving a history behind on your computer.  This is useful in cases where you don’t want another member of your household to see which pages you’ve been visiting, for example, when planning a surprise birthday party, engagement ring shopping, etc.

3.  Browse reliably

Google Chrome was designed with today’s web surfers in mind.  Most people open multiple tabs while surfing the web, but if you load a page that hangs for some reason the entire web browser crashes and you lose all of your open tabs.  This doesn’t happen with Google Chrome since each tab is independent…if one crashes, the other ones are not affected.

Check out this great video that shows off the top 10 features of the new Google browser, Chrome:

Odds are, your Gmail account has been hacked.  It is not uncommon for people to try to hack Gmail accounts, so don’t be alarmed if it happens to you.  In this quick tip, I am going to show you how you can quickly check if your Gmail account has been hacked, how to recover it, and a couple of simple things you can do to prevent it from happening.

Also, for complete computer protection against the over 1 million computer viruses and other computer threats out there, please don’t forget to download your FREE copy of my report called:Is Your Computer Safe? The FREE 4-Step Complete Computer Protection Plan

How to check if your Gmail account has been hacked

Last month (July 2008), Google added a great tool to help you find out if your Gmail account has been hacked.  At the bottom of your Gmail page, you will notice a status indicator showing you your last account activity.

If someone is currently logged into your Gmail account from a different machine at the same time, you will notice a message indicating that “This account is open in 1 other location at this IP”.  To see the history of how many times you (or someone else) logged into your Gmail account, you can click on the Details link.  A new window will pop up that shows you the activity on your Gmail account.

The top half of this page shows you if someone else is currently logged into you Gmail account at the same time as you.  To kick everybody off of your account, click on the Sign Out All Other Sessions button.

The bottom half of the page shows you the IP addresses of who has recently logged into your Gmail account.

What is an IP address?  Well, each computer connected to the Internet is assigned a unique number, which is known as an IP address.  No two computers on the Internet may have the same IP address at any given time.

To make a little sense of this table, let’s look at an example.  If you always check your Gmail from your favourite home computer, and you notice the Recent Activity list is showing any IP address that doesn’t belong to your computer (Note: Your computer’s IP address is located on the bottom of this page), there is a good chance that your Gmail has been hacked.

If you would like to find out more information about the IP address that you suspect has access to your Gmail account, simply go to http://whois.domaintools.com/ and enter the IP address of the machine that accessed your Gmail account.

How to recover from a Gmail hack

If you suspect someone has hacked into your Gmail account, the first thing you should do is immediately change your Gmail password.  If your Gmail account has been hacked and the person who took over your Gmail address has changed your password so you can not log in, here are a few things to try:

1. Contact Google to reset your password: https://www.google.com/accounts/ForgotPasswd.  When prompted, you will need to enter your original Gmail account email address and Google will reset and send you the temporary password to your secondary email address (Note:  When you signed up for your Gmail account, you provided a second email address where a lost password could be sent.).  Unfortunately, this may not work if the hacker changes your secondary Gmail address as well.

2. Contact Google and let them know that your account has been hacked: https://www.google.com/support/accounts/bin/request.py?contact_type=ara&ctx=accounts

Quick tips to protect yourself

1. Double check to see that you have an active secondary email address associated with your account.  This can be done here: https://www.google.com/accounts/EditSecureUserInfo.  This will come in handy in the event that the hacker gains access to your Gmail account and actually changes your password so you can’t access your own Gmail account anymore.

2. To help prevent others from hacking into your Gmail account, I strongly suggest enabling the secure browser connection option.  This is especially important if you access your Gmail account using a non-secure Internet connection, like a public wireless or non-encrypted network.  Non-secure networks make it easier for others to gain access to your Gmail account, including any sensitive data that may be found in your emails, such as bank information, online log-in credentials, etc. To force Gmail to always use a secure connection follow these 3 simple steps:

a. Sign in to your Gmail account.

b. Click on the Settings on the top right of the page.

c. At the bottom of the Settings page, you will notice a new option called Browser Connection.  Change browser connection to Always use HTTPS (”S” stands for secure) and Save Changes.

Note1: If you check your Gmail using Gmail Notifier, you will need to download a patch for this setting to work. Click here to learn more.

Note2: If you check your Gmail on a mobile phone, you may need to change some settings on your phone. Click here to learn more

As we learned in my previous easy step by step Internet tutorials, your Gmail account is a very a powerful tool.  Not only does it contain your private emails, it is also linked to your Google Calendar.  So it is important to spend a few minutes protecting your Gmail account from hackers.

Technorati Tags: easy step by step Internet tutorials, Gmail, Gmail account, Gmail password hack, google, hack Gmail, hack Gmail account, hacked, quick tip

I get asked this question a lot, especially these days with so many people owning digital cameras.  Photo slideshows with music are very popular nowadays…you see them at weddings, family gatherings, etc. The problem with photo slideshows is that they are BORING to watch after the first few photos. It gets even worse if you have 25 or even 100 photos (I hope they are serving coffee with that photo slideshow).

Photo slideshows are boring. Your photos are not.

The main reason why photo slideshows are boring is because they are ALL THE SAME.  The common recipe for a photo slideshow is to start with some photos, add a transition between them (usually a fade in/out),  and top it off with some music, which usually ends up being out of sync with the photos.  With all the special effects you see in the movies these days, you must be asking yourself how is it that we are still in the “next slide please” stone age of photo slideshows?  There must be another way to bring photos to life.  Lucky for us there is.  Welcome to the end of photo slideshows.  Welcome to Animoto.

What the heck is Animoto?

Animoto is a web application that, with the click of a button, produces videos using images and music that you select.  Using their patent-pending Artificial Intelligence developed to think like an actual editor & director, the resulting video has the emotional impact of a movie trailer and the visual energy of a music video.  Check out this 60 second video that explains what Animoto is all about:

What’s so good about Animoto?

I stumbled across Animoto a few weeks ago and fell in love with it right away! As a video editing professional (at one of my companies, HanimaL Productions) I was blown away at how easy and fast it was to create a stunning, professional-looking video from my photos and music.  They even offer you a large selection of hassle-free pre-licensed music to choose from, if you’d like.  I was able to produce my own video in 6 minutes (yes, I actually timed myself!).  I also love how easy it is to import your photos into your Animoto project, especially if you already have them on an online photo service, such as SmugMug, Flickr, Picasaweb, or even Facebook.  Once my video was created, I was impressed with the number of one-click options I had to show off my new video. For example I could easily email it to my friends, embed it on my own website, send it directly to YouTube, post it onto Facebook, download it, or even get it on DVD.

Create your own Animoto video.

This easy step by step Internet tutorial will walk you through how to create your first Animoto video:

As you saw in the video above, it is extremely simple to create an Animoto video.  Now let’s have a look at the final product.  Remember, this took 6 minutes to create!

What can I use Animoto for?

There are so many ways to use Animoto.  I like to take all my vacation, wedding, baby, and family photos and create videos to share with my loved ones. It’s more entertaining for everyone to watch a video as opposed to clicking though the photos one by one.  If you own a business or sell any type of product, you can also use Animoto to quickly create a promotional video showcasing your products and easily post it on your website.

Try it for yourself.

So go ahead, try it out for yourself. It’s FREE (no credit card is required) to sign up for an Animoto account.  The FREE account allows you to create as many short (30-second) videos as you want. To create unlimited full-length videos you will need an All-Access Pass which goes for $30 US per year ($2.50 per month).

Update - Aug 28, 2008

Today is Animoto’s 1 year anniversary!  Here are some interesting facts about Animoto:

- 4 million Animoto videos have been created

- more than 250,000 users in 200-some countries have registered with Animoto

- Animoto vids have been watched over 50 million times on Animoto.com, blogs, social networks, video sharing sites and web sites around the world! (including this site)

Looking for a fun and creative way to use an Animoto video?

Try using it as a: thank-you card, holiday/birthday card, political montage, event/party invite, summer retrospective, travel blog, concert memorabile, back-to-school greeting, presentation visual, or just an I-heart-you message to your special (maybe even secret?) someone!

Technorati Tags: animoto, photo slideshow, video, easy step by step Internet tutorial

Don’t you hate it when you click on an email address on some web sites (like this one for example: hani@eztechtips.com) and either Microsoft Outlook Express/Outlook or Apple Mail opens up?

Follow these simple steps below, courtesy of The Official Gmail Blog, to set up Gmail as your default email client (instead of Microsoft Outlook/Express or Apple Mail)

1. Download Firefox 3 (this tip requires the latest version of Firefox)

2. Go to Gmail and sign in.

3. Copy & paste the following into the Firefox address bar and hit enter:

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler('mailto','https://
mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s','Gmail')

If your email is set up with Google Apps, please use the code below instead (make sure to replace yourdomain.com with your Google Apps domain name):

javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler('mailto','https://mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s','GMail')

4. Click on the “Add Application” button on the toolbar when prompted.

5. Click here to open up the Firefox settings window and choose Gmail as your email application.  Select the “Remember my choice for mailto links” check box on the button of the window and click OK.

If that doesn’t work, click on the Tools->Options in Firefox. Go to the Applications button and scroll down to select “Content Type: mailto:” and choose “Action: Use Gmail”. See screenshot below:

Technorati Tags: default email client, gmail as your default email client, gmail, email, easy step by step internet tutorials, firefox, email client, Apple Mail, Outlook

Now you may be asking yourself…why would anyone need so many email addresses?  Well, one way to use this feature to help you and your email stay organized is to dedicate one of your unlimited gmail addresses to be used only when signing up or subscribing to all of your favourite websites or newsletters (by the way, have you signed up for the FREE EZ Tech Tips Newsletter yet?).  This way you don’t have to provide your primary email address and also can setup an automatic filter so that all of your subscribed emails get labelled and go straight to your archive (i.e they skip your inbox).  This helps keep your inbox clutter-free and you can read the subscribed emails whenever it is convenient for you.  Let’s see this feature in action:

The example above is one use for the unlimited Gmail addresses.  You can use this trick for many other purposes and as many times as you need.

Google continues to expand their Gmail options to allow more flexibility and value to their users.  Google also offers many other FREE online tools, such as Calendar, Docs (documents, spreadsheets, and presentations that may be shared with friends), iGoogle (personalized search page that allows you to view information such as weather, stocks, emails, Facebook, movie listings, etc from a single page), and much much more currently being developed in their Google Labs.

To learn more about Google Calendar, please see one of my step by step Internet tutorials called Get Things Done with Google Calendar.

Technorati Tags: mail, unlimited, gmail, email, addresses, how to use the Internet, google, step by step internet tutorials, calendar, tutorial

Easy to Use

It is extremely easy to use Google Calendar. To add an event, you simply click on the desired time and date on the Calendar and type in the event name. Alternatively, you can click on Google Calendar’s Quick Add button and type the event name and time (e.g Dinner with Parents 7pm tomorrow). You also have the option to enter more event details such as the location, which will automatically be mapped using Google Maps, or making an event repeat on any interval, which is handy for remembering birthdays, setting a monthly reminder to pay the bills, etc.

Hint: I highly recommend that you use your Calendar as a daily to-do list. This is the best way to ensure that you get things done on time, whether it is for business or pleasure.

Share your Calendar

One of the best features of Google Calendar is how simple it is to share your calendar with friends and family. You have the option of letting the person you are sharing with view all your event details or just allow them to view the dates and times that you are free/busy.

Hint: For couples, I highly recommend that each of you set up a Google Calendar and share it with each other. It will help reduce conflict and stress in your relationship since each of you will be aware of any commitments the other person may have made.

Multiple Calendars:

Google Calendar allows you to have multiple calendars on a single view, each colour-coded and labelled uniquely. This is great if you want to keep track of all business events on one calendar and all personal events on another. Google Calendar also allows you to easily hide specific calendars with a single mouse click. Besides your personal calendar(s), Google offers access to many free public calendars such as a daily weather calendar, holiday calendar, favourite tv show calendar, etc.

Multiple Views:

Google Calendar allows you to view your calendar in several different ways including a daily, weekly, monthly, 4 day week, or agenda/to-do list view.

Take Action:

If you already have a Gmail email address, you can start using Google Calendar right away.

For those of you who don’t have a Gmail email address (I guess the tutorial on how to stay organized with Gmail didn’t convince you) you can still take advantage of all the features described in this tutorial by creating your FREE Google Account, using your existing non-gmail email address.

Which ever way you choose, the important thing is that you take action and setup your Google Calendar today and start getting things done.

Google also offers many other FREE online tools, such as Gmail (Google Mail), Docs (documents, spreadsheets, and presentations that may be shared with friends), iGoogle (personalized search page that allows you to view information such as weather, stocks, emails, Facebook, movie listings, etc from a single page), and much much more currently being developed in their Google Labs. You will instantly have access to these FREE tools once you sign up for your FREE Google Account.

To learn more about Gmail’s features and how to use them to stay organized, please see my step by step Internet tutorial called Stay Organized with Gmail.

Technorati Tags: Calendar, google, mail, gmail, how to use the internet, Google Calendar, organized, internet, tutorial