Tip of the Week: Free but powerful image editing

Digital photography is such a big part of our digital lives these days, that having a powerful image editor is really helpful in enhancing our memories.  If you've got the money ($700) and the time to get Adobe's Photoshop, more power to ya; but this week's tip is for those that want to do it on the cheap!

Lots of free image editors are available, but many of them are so complicated to use so users never get past the learning curve.  For a free program with a much smaller learning curve,   check out Paint.net

Headwhack of the Week: Media Player won't play DVDs!

If you have a DVD player in your computer and find that Windows Media Player is giving you some gibberish about a missing CODEC, what it's trying to tell you is that it doesn't have the necessary 'decoder' to read DVDs.

Media Player doesn't come from Microsoft with the ability to decode DVDs and if you go to their website, they list a number of vendors that will sell you the codecs. 

We have a better idea...how about FREE codec pack from our friends over at SnapFiles.com!

Geek Speak of the Week: Image spam

A kind of e-mail where the message text of the spam is presented as a picture in an image file to avoid text based spam filters.

Security: Two new Mac attacks surface

Security experts have discovered two new attacks targeting Mac users, a new version of a worm and a Trojan hidden inside a porn site.

News: 10 affordable gadgets for Father's Day

It's the time of year to show appreciation for Dads of all types and nothing says "I love you" like the latest gadgets.

If your looking for some ideas on gadgets to get for dear old dad, checkout this list of 10 suggestions from ZDNet.com

News: Facebook vanity url land rush starts tonight

Tonight at 12:01 AM Eastern, 9:01 Pacific, Facebook will make it possible to create a customized link for your profile - a.k.a. a 'vanity' url   Click here to see how it's going to work.

ATTN: Business owners: If you are the holder of a registered trademark and someone grabs your trademark name on Facebook, you can file to get control of your trademark by filling out this form.

Data Doctors Video on Cnn.com: What's the best Antivirus for me?

This is one of the most common questions we get that doesn't have a simple answer.  There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer for this rather complex question, so watch last week's segment to get some considerations if you are in the process of trying to choose your protection!

Watch the video and help our rankings on CNN.com!  You can watch us live AT OUR NEW TIME every Wednesday afternoon at 2:30PM Pacific, 5:30PM Eastern or watch the archived versions of our segments whenever you want at  CNN.com/video.

Opinion: Will Microsoft's free antivirus be worth the price 

Microsoft is getting ready to offer Windows users a free antivirus product (code name Morro), something it should have built into one of its operating systems a long time ago. But, of course, Microsoft never makes things simple. So the big question is will Morro be worth the price?

Weekly Advice Column: Removing your info from 'people search'

B.A. writes: "I did a 'vanity' search on pipl.com and was appalled at how much information was available (albeit, some for a fee). There were sites offering to get your info off the web. Are they legit, and is it possible to get your personal info off the web even if it comes from public records?"

Get the scoop here!

This Week's Show: The myths & facts about ID Theft

Identity Theft has been an often reported problem that by all accounts is on the increase.

The computer and the Internet are often blamed for the increase in the number of incidents, but according to statistics, the old school methods of ID theft are still the biggest threat (stolen wallets & physical documents accounted for 43% of all identity theft, while online methods accounted for only 11%).

What can and can't you do to protect yourself from this painful experience?

Listen in as the Data Doctors talk about the current tactics that you can take both online and offline to protect yourself and invite those that have been victims to share thier stories and wisdom.

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.

Previous Show: Check out all the links from The technology of music and audio

Questions or Comments? Submit them online at datadoctors.com.