Facebook and Socialcam

We have noticed a growing number of people using the Socialcam app here on Facebook. What most people do not realize is those embarrassing and sometimes risqué videos are being posted on your timeline as you view them. Needless to say this could not only embarrass YOU but it could put you at risk with your employers, your family, etc.

Turn off Socialcam and be aware of what you share. Here’s how to turn it off, but there is a catch with mobile devices:

1. Go to Facebook and on the left hand column under apps double-click Socialcam
2. Once in the Socialcam app itself, in the upper right hand corner, choose Settings.
3. In Settings, scroll down to “Auto Sharing” and unclick both the Facebook options. Scroll down again and hit SAVE.
4. One thing that is troubling about this app is that when you turn off public sharing in Socialcam on your computer but watch a video on your mobile device, the settings revert to make all the activity public. Turning the settings back to private and testing it by watching another video on a different computer in a new browser, Socialcam again turns the settings back to public sharing. Also, it seems every time you open the settings for Socialcam, it reverts back to public.
5. WORKAROUND: Go the app section of Facebook , choose settings for Socialcam and where it asks “who can see this activity” choose “Only Me.”

The other option which we recommend is to just delete the app from your Facebook profile and go directly to their website instead so you aren’t watching any videos that will be shared and might embarrass you. We are not trying to tell you what to watch – watch whatever you want, it’s your time, your Internet and your choices, but you just might not want to be sharing every single one of those choices.

Riverbend Data Safe

Without a secure PC backup program, your personal files, family photos, and financial information may be vulnerable to viruses, theft, damage or permanent loss.
Riverbend Data Safe provides your home computer with the industry’s best protection and top-rated features including:

Secure -  We use a three-tiered encryption system which encrypts data on the user’s computer, again in transit and finally when at rest in storage.

Web Access – your data is backed up daily to the Backup Server Grid. You can access your data anywhere in the world using just a web-browser.

File Sharing – share your files with anyone with an email address. Never have a large attachment bounce again. Just share your already backed-up data with your friends and colleagues. Home users can easily share photos or videos.

iPhone and Blackberry Accessibility – access your stored digital content anywhere, anytime. Our iPhone and Blackberry client allows you to back up and access your photos, presentations, documents and music on our secure server.

Unlimited Computers – Back up as many computers as you want to one account. You can easily sync your laptop, your home computer and your work computer.

Powerful Recovery – Online Backup keeps an unlimited version history of all your files – allowing you to roll back to any version of any of your files.

Contact us today (618)433-1800 for a free quote or visit http://rbcsllc.com/datasafe for more information.

Help STOP SOPA/PIPA Bills

SOPA/PIPA

Tell Congress you OPPOSE H.R. 3261 “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) and S. 968 “Protect IP Act” (PIPA) 

Corporate supporters of HR3261 (SOPA) and S968 (PIPA) demand the ability to take down any web site that affects their profits — without due process or judicial oversight — in the name of combating “online piracy.” Hoping you won’t notice or care, quite a few of our Public Servants want to give them that right. Read More

Laptop Battery FAQ

Laptop battery wearing down? In this week’s episode of Upgrade Your Life, Yahoo! News’ Becky Worley shows us how to help batteries last longer … and what to do when they run out!

First, the basics

Most laptops use batteries that can last for 3-5 years, or about 1000 charges. (A premium laptop’s battery might last longer.) Every time you charge your battery, the total capacity of the battery is diminished. Originally it may have had a run time of 3.5 hours, but after a year it’ll run out of juice at 3 hours, even on a full charge.

If your battery capacity has diminished, there are a few things you can do about it. To find out what continue over to Upgrade Your Life.

DEX Yellow Pages

Beware of “Ransomware”

Rogueware with new Ransomware Technology™ from Panda Security on Vimeo.

“In December, the FBI issued a warning about a broader category of malicious programs called “rogueware.” These programs appear on users’ machines and claim to find viruses, then offer to clean them for $50.  Rogueware looks so realistic — complete with Windows-like dialog boxes and scary warnings — that Web users were tricked into sending $150 million to criminals last year, the FBI says.

The new ransomware is similar, but far more aggressive.  Once a computer is infected with it, the program does more than recommend a software purchase –it simply won’t let users continue to use their PC until they pay up.

Luis Corrons Granel, a researcher at Panda Security, said use of ransomware by criminals is exploding — 25 percent of all rogueware in the past quarter involved a family of intimidating products named “TotalAntivirus.” It demands that users pay $50 for two years, $79 for a lifetime license.

“The increase (in ransomware) has been really significant,” Granel said. A single family of ransomware programs called “Total Security” made up one-quarter of all rogueware programs detected during the past three months, he said.”   – Source: MSNBC