Weekly Newsletter

 

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Tip of the Week: Keep up with TheDataDoc

In our ongoing efforts to keep our audiences up on the latest in the world of technology, we are officially announcing our adoption of Twitter as the latest means to help our readers, listeners and viewers keep up with what we are learning every day.  Many are pointing to Twitter as the next revolution in the evolution of communication (e-mail, text messaging, cell phones and now Twitter) and we want to do our part in getting all of you up to speed. 

'Following' someone on Twitter is the easiest way to go from the "I don't get it?" crowd to the "Holly cow, this is powerful stuff" and who better than us to help you understand this new medium.  Followers will get real-time information on newly discovered resources, tips, threats and just all around cool stuff that we find every day in our lives as Data Doctors.  To get started, simply sign up for a free Twitter account, then go to www.twitter.com/thedatadoc to start getting our "tweets"!

Headwhack of the Week: Data Transfer Interrupted error   

If you suddenly started getting strange errors when you attempted to go to your commonly accessed secure login sites (banking, remote access, company VPN, etc.) your first thoughts may be that something has infected your computer!  Fortunately, there is likely another possibility that won't require you to go change all your access codes.

After helping a friend out with this problem the other night, it turned out to be a setting in a very popular Internet filtering program, K9 Web Protection, which we have recommended for years.  The problem is in the "Proxy Avoidance" setting which recently started treating all secure websites as potential proxy sites (which is what the kids commonly use to try to bypass filters). 

The problem has been fixed by BlueCoat (K9's parent) and these instructions were posted at their website:

Secure Site (HTTPS) Categorization Issue

On Wednesday February 18th the mis-categorization of a URL caused older versions of K9 (3.x) to incorrectly block requests to some secure Web sites. This issue was quickly identified and corrected; however it is possible users may still have an incorrect cached result for HTTPS ratings.

To resolve the issue, you will need to reboot your system to clear the incorrect rating. Or, click on the Download K9 today link in the sidebar to get the latest version of K9.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Geek Speak of the Week: SMS

Short Message Service - the technical name for text messaging. Useful for explaining to those that can't seem to understand that text messages are supposed to be SHORT!

Security:  Mobile banking: Safe, at least for now

Mobile banking may be more secure than logging on to your bank Web site over your PC, it's probably less risky than using checks, which can be forged, and credit cards, which can be stolen or skimmed at ATM machines for clones to be made.  Get the latest here!

News: How to buy a Bluetooth Headset

Despite being one of the dorkiest looking technology devices ever invented, the Bluetooth Headset has become a mainstay in our tech engrossed society and the fact that lots of us look like dorks, is probably why "function has triumphed over form".  Since so many of us are using them, some guidance from PC Magazine on what to look for seems timely!

News: Microsoft quietly readies Windows Vista update

Microsoft has released an almost final version of Vista Service Pack 2 to its testing community.  The release candidate of Vista SP2 is not yet publicly available, but judging by past releases you may not have to wait too long before the official update ships.

Data Doctors Video on Cnn.com: Your online reputation

With the popularity of social networking on the rise for all age groups, understanding some of the unintended consequences is pretty important, so we dug up this older CNN.com segment on Your Online Reputation.

Watch the video and help our rankings on CNN.com!  You can watch us live every Saturday morning at 9:30AM Pacific, 12:30PM Eastern or watch the archived versions of our segments whenever you want at CNN.com/video.

Opinion: Facebook faces up to controversy

After much Internet uproar since the weekend over Facebook’s updated terms of service (TOS) with concerns about their use of pictures posted by users, the social networking giant stated that it would revert to its previous terms of service. In a blog post published late tonight by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder said that the TOS published prior to Feb. 4 would stay in effect until the company resolved user issues and addressed concerns.

Weekly Advice Column: Burning CDs from iTunes & stripping DRM

The various ways that you can and can't use music that you download from the iTunes Store and from CDs that you rip is the subject of this week's advice column!

This Week's Show: The amazing world of 'Crowdsourcing'

Some weeks ago, we introduced you to the term in our Geek Speak of the Week segment, but this week we take a deep dive into the concept.

Crowdsourcing is an Internet phenomenon that is growing in popularity every day. Most of us have participated in a crowdsourcing project without knowing it (referred to as involuntary crowdsourcing) when we answer simple questions or play popular games.   This leveraging of the Internet masses can benefit just about anyone, whether you are looking for work or trying to solve a complex problem.

Listen in as the Data Doctors take you on a journey that could dramatically change the way you look at the Internet and how you use it.

 Join us Saturdays from 12:00PM–2:00PM (Pacific) on News 92.3 KTAR or listen LIVE via the Internet at KTAR.com as we discuss your computer questions at: 602.277.5827 or ask your questions during (or before) the broadcast using the ask a question page.

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