Stream video around your home for free!

     With all of the awesome technology and content available on the internet, it only makes sense that one would want to have that content available throughout their entire home.  I have been playing with two very nice programs which are used for streaming media.  I personally love Ubuntu linux and run it daily on one of my laptops.  There is a great program called Media Tomb that works with linux to allow you access to all of your content on your linux machine. You can access your media from a Windows machine via internal or external IP address. By default, Media Tomb uses port 49152 so unless you have UPnP enabled on your router, you will need to open this port.

     Now, for Windows, I have found a really nice free program called TVersity and this one works with the iPhone, PSP, PS3, XBOX 360, Blackberry Curve and the Wii. There are some limitations with the free version, but it works great. By default TVersity uses port 41952 so unless you have UPnP enabled on your router, you will need to open this port on your router. Also, when you type the URL and port number to access your media, you will need to add /flashlib after the port number for the nice GUI interface.

Got a question? email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

Facebook cautions

     With all of the controversy over Facebook's privacy issues and the recent news of the two men being arrest for breaking in the homes of people who they knew were not home thanks to Facebook status updates.  You might be asking yourself, how can I reap the benefits of Facebook and still remain safe on the internet.

     There are a few basic steps. First, make sure that all of your updates are only being seen by your friends and not all of the general public. For this to work, you can't be one of those people who just accepts a friend request from anyone just to make yourself look more popular. When posting an update on Facebook, you should look for a small lock symbol

      If you see the lock, that means that your posts are set to private. Next, don't put anything on Facebook that you consider to be private, such as your phone number and date of birth.  Your good friends and family should already know your phone number and birthday.  We all see the great photos and status updates from our friends and family when they are on vacation and visiting places far from home, but keep in mind that this is only advertising to people that you are not home and that your house is likely empty.  Even broadcasting an evening out with your spouse could potentially let people know that your kids may be home alone.

     One of the latest dangers on Facebook are the many viruses being spread through links to supposed videos from your friends. These links will often be a shortened URL of some sort. Do yourself a favor when you see a video link from a friend and wait a while, often times you will see posts from the person from whom the link came from telling everyone not to click the link because they did not send it.

     And lastly, keep in mind that anything and everything that you put into social media sites can and often times will be seen by a current or future employer.  Be smart and think before posting questionable photos and comments.

Have a question? email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

Better way to access Windows SkyDrive

     As many of you may know, Windows provides you with  25GB of free storage if you have a Hotmail or MSN account, it's called SkyDrive.  You must be logged into your Microsoft account in order to access this drive which has several folders for you to store documents and photos for free.

     There is however a way to access this SkyDrive without going through all of the trouble of logging in.  There is a program called SDExplorer which allows you to access your SkyDrive from the desktop and even lets you map the drive.  They have a free account and a pro account with a fee of $13 for a lifetime license. This is a great little program and you can also access your friends and co-workers SkyDrive with permission for collaboration and sharing of files.

Got a question? email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

Access your files from anywhere even a cell phone

   There are lots of ways to login to your home pc remotely and find a file or search for a document. But, most of these ways involve logging into a remote desktop program and typing in a password, which may not be safe on a public/friends computer. There is a program that allows you to simply type in an IP address and port number and all of your files will be displayed in a simple file tree.

  This great and simple program is called HFS which stands for HTTP File Server  There is no install required, just download the .exe file and run it. You can set it to always start when windows boots and it can be secured with a password. The one security issue is that it requires that you type your IP address and the open port in order to access the files. This can easily be overcome by getting a DynDns account and masking the IP for free. HFS also allows you to upload files quickly. When setting things up, you can just allow it to setup using UPnP if it is enabled on your router. If you would rather not enable UPnP on your router you can simply use port forwarding to choose the port that you would like to use to access your files. If you are unfamiliar with port forwarding, checkout portforward.com I use portforwarding for HFS, as well as my IP security cams. Here is a screenshot of HFS

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

Kick Norton to the curb!

     Ok, you have a computer that came pre-installed with Norton anti-virus, but the subscription has run out. So you try and install a free anti-virus program and all of the sudden your computer is telling you that you already have an anti-virus program installed.

      Don't get me wrong, Norton is a great product. But, it seems that it is a very big HOG when it comes to how it uses your system resources. It can also be a big pain when attempting to use remote desktop support software such as Go To Assist. There are some people that are die hard Norton fans and prefer to just use it and nothing else. However, if you are interested in another anti-virus program and want to kick Norton to the curb, I will tell you how.

     Norton is notorious for embedding itself deep in your system, therefore making removal a little more difficult. There is a tool however that will make removing Norton a snap. It's called, as one would expect, the "Norton Removal Tool". You can find it here. This will ensure that all traces of Norton are removed from the system.

     Once complete, now you are ready for your favorite anti-virus to be installed. My favorite free choice is Microsoft Security Essentials it's free and it works.

Got a question? email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

Fake Anti-Virus Software

     More and more, people are becoming infected with fake antivirus software.Some of them even go so far as to have a nice little shield that resembles the Microsoft logo.  There is one popular fake anti-virus out called "CoreGuard Antivirus" that actually tricks you into uninstalling your real anti-virus. Once the dialogue box opens, it's too late, even clicking the "X" to close the window will execute the un-installation of your real anti-virus.

      The best way to prevent serious viruses like this one is to stay out of those dark corners of the internet, don't download pirated music or movies, don't click on links that you are unsure of and don't open email attachments unless you are positive that they are secure. Today's viruses are becoming more and more complex, embedding themselves deep in your system. Often times, a system will need to be completely restored to remove the virus, so be sure to backup all of your photos and documents on a weekly basis. Most people find that Sunday afternoons are a great time to do your weekly backup. Not sure how to get started with a regular backup schedule try Carbonite or Mozy.

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

30 Forecast: High for Windows exploits!

 Microsoft recently patched 35 vulnerabilities in Windows and expects that 32 of those vulnerabilities will likely be exploited within the next 30 days.  This occurs because hackers watch for newly released patches for vulnerabilities in Windows. They then determine what hole the patch fixed, then they write exploits to utilize that hole knowing that the majority people do not update there Windows software as they should.

This is why it is extremely important to keep your computer updated, and be sure to backup your important files in the event that your are infected by such an exploit.  If you are not sure of your update settings go to Control Panel>Security Center and make sure that your Automatic Updates are "ON"

Got a question? email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com

 

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek

Audit your PC

     You might be wondering exactly what I mean when I say, audit your PC.  I mean find out exactly what is in your PC, this means hardware and software.  There are a few programs that will allow you to do this in just a matter of minutes.  The first, which has been around for at least 6 years is Belarc Advisor.  This program will quickly scan your PC and display a web page with all of the make and model numbers of your hardware, as well as all of your software that is installed on your PC.  It is a good idea to run this and print a copy for your records.

     Another great program called Speccy gives you all of the info needed except software, but it does also monitor your hard drive temp. It's a good way to take a peek under the hood, or determine if your computer can be upgraded or not based on it's specs.

Got a question? email me at thecommongeek@gmx.com

Brought to you by Dennis Keefe, The Common Geek