If you were to put your thoughts out on a blog… what would you tell the world? Would you encourage your family & friends with interesting anecdotes or share insights learned from challenging life-experiences? Would you educate others based on a spiritual gift you’ve been blessed with & or encourage others to develop their abilities? What would your blog look like?

Just for fun!

DialupPC

proclaimed the “voice chat-ready PC with a retro twist”

http://www.envador.com/cases/Dialup/

Can Free Anti-virus software be trusted?  This question, posed by one of the articles I’ve linked recently, is an important one to ask for both positive and negative reasons.  Many who ask me for referrals for anti-virus software specifically ask about what I think is the best free anti-virus software out there; while I may have my own personal preference, I stress the importance of the individual to decide first if a free anti-virus program is what they truly want, and then ultimately which software package they wish to use.  To do this one would want to research different packages out there and compare the free and paid versions… Thankfully some of this research has been done for us: Top Internet Security Suites in 2009 / Free Anti-Virus Comparison.  In many cases, I think it can be argued that since security features vary in even the paid versions, sometimes installing a Free Anti-virus system can be a reasonable choice.

Can you trust free antivirus software? ~ Erik Larkin [Computer World]

What do you think?  What anti-virus package do you use and why?  Please post back to the blog so all can see your responses!

In light of a most recent article I read concerning this topic… the question comes to mind…. “How secure is your Wireless Security?” I would imagine unless you’re on a wired only network or you simply do not care so much about wireless security, you would like to make sure your wireless network is protected with the strongest security measures possible to prevent unauthorized users from accessing your connection.  Depending on your access point or other wireless devices, you may be limited in the number of choices available to you.  One of my friends has a fairly new wireless router with plenty of choices but due to the limitations of his laptop’s wireless card, he is limited to WEP in order to be able to connect.

How Significant is wireless security, even in a home environment?  Consider the following: Do you have File or Printer shares for any computer on your network?  Do you have sensitive material on any computer on your network — any file you would even simply prefer others not have access to? Are you at all concerned about the potentially maliciousness actions of those you do not know who might make attempts while connected to your network?  If you said ‘yes’ to any of these, you may wish to answer “Very Significant” to the opening question.

What method should you use to enable wireless security on your wireless network?  My suggestion is to consult my most recent weblink concerning this matter and decide for yourself which security method is strongest while ensuring that all of your devices can access it.  The article below recommends WPA – AES.

New Attack Cracks Common Wi-Fi Encryption in a Minute

What do you think?  Wish to comment?  Let us all know what and why you use the settings you have implemented!

Which do you prefer? Do you prefer a physical hardware firewall/router or perhaps a software service installable on any number of physical servers? I have been debating this one for my own purposes for quite some time. I first thought the best option would be a hardware router, covered by a biz-class lifetime warranty… however, with the frequent need to power cycle that device, it is becoming all the more clear to me that it is not as dependable as I had once hoped. Lets just say I’m thinking I may just go with an open-source software installation on one of my servers to provide a more reliable environment.

Can there really be joy found in serving others?  I would definitely say yes, there is… Even just with my personal experiences, I find great joy in being able to help care for the needs of others and I pray that I will be a resource for many who seek quality products and services and want that personal touch that lets them know that they are important, not just a number or an income generator…

just as we have been told by the good teacher:

34 You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. 35 In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts 20:34-35)

I now have a Digsby Widget on my blog! What is that you ask? It’s a very quick way to chat with me. Interested in finding out what I’m talking about? look to the left side of my blog, you may need to scroll down a ways, and send IM’s to me!

Did you know you can password protect your blog posts?  I find it interesting that if you’ve posted something of a more personal nature or you simply wish your post to only be seen by just a few people… you can password protect it!

Have you ever wanted your own customizable Blog?  To be honest… I didn’t really think about it!  Now that I have one, I see the advantages of being able to journal my thoughts and allow others to comment.  What do you think?  Do you think you would like the ability to have an ad-free blog that you could customize with plugins that can help you better connect with friends and family?  What if, in addition to that blog, you could also have a sharp feel by having your own .com?  You could even have matching e-mail addresses &/or forwarding e-mails that pass those e-mails to the e-mail address(es) you already use!

"Caffeine Machine"

I could not resist — this was just soo funny!

The advantages of paid hosting services as opposed to a free blog are diverse; not only can one make and maintain a blogging page to journal their thoughts, they can also have a more professional look with everything all under one roof: website, blog, e-mail addresses, forwarding e-mails, mailing lists, etc.  You could create static pages for data that does not change or need to be part of a blog… you could create and customize a blog (Wordpress for example) with plug ins that expand the features of that installation.  You can even create mailing lists that people can subscribe to that provides timely information to a large audience.

Other open-source (free) tools are also available, everything from Blogs, classifieds, auctions, calendars, online education (Moodle), content management systems, discussion boards, e-commerce, billing as well as customer relationship tools that provide ticketing and communications portals.