Kevin’s Stories and Columns

In the past couple of weeks, Facebook released their new Terms of Service, which many users and websites protested it, because of the way it reads. It appeared to say anything you post to Facebook becomes their property, forever. Within days, Facebook reverted to its old terms, instead opting to invite users to have a say in a revised Terms of Service.

Hate it or love it, Windows Vista is here to stay.

From the day it hit the shelves, Windows Vista has had a bad reputation, and for good reason. For the longest time, it didn’t work with a lot of hardware and software. I switched back to XP when some of my hardware wouldn’t work with Vista. Its release proved what consumers are willing to put up with in terms of software.

With the introduction of the Blu-Ray format a couple of years ago, consumers have been given the choice of whether they want to continue to watch regular DVDs, or pay the extra money for the better picture and sound that Blu-Ray offers.

Have you backed up your files lately? If not, you risk losing them forever.

No one should rely on any one storage device for their data. Always keep your files in multiple locations, including usb thumbdrives, CD or DVD, external hard drives, and other mediums.

We have been using Microsoft Office over 15 years, some of us even longer. Very few of us question why, even though it slows down our computers and the majority of us only use about 10 per cent of the available features, even though we pay for them all. Maybe it’s time we take a look at what else is out there.

The truth is, you can have all the security software in the world, but if you don’t follow safe computing practices, your computer will be at risk regardless of what software you use to secure it.

You may receive a new credit card in the mail to replace the one you have. It will require an extra layer of authentication, and it will be more secure and help prevent fraud, thanks to the technology built into them.

The same technology has been in use in Europe, specifically France, for nearly two decades, further encouraging Canada to follow suit.

So, your Facebook account just received a message insisting you visit a website from someone you may or may not know to a website you’ve never visited before that is enticing you to do something. It may seem like common sense to simply delete the message or report is as junk, but the fact is that many people unwittingly click such links, and that alone may have just infected their computer.

First, let me explain what BitDefender Free Edition does. Simply put, it’s a free anti-virus solution that I’ve heard great things about. I know of a couple of computer geek friends of mine that swear by it. It’s a straight-forward, easy to navigate program that detects and removes viruses and other malware.

Some students and staff members may have noticed that Lethbridge College has upgraded their Adobe software from Creative Suite 3 (CS3) to CS4, and also may have wondered why the college decided to upgrade so quickly, and what the real benefits of CS4 are.