Fox Page: May 2005

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Thursday, May 19, 2005

Online Music

Online music really has revolutionized how we listen to our favorite songs. We hope this week's segment can get you on your way or help you further down the road for obtaining mp3's legally on the internet.

There are several online music stores that use their music player programs as a way to purchase mp3's. The most noted ones are : I-Tunes, Music Match / Yahoo Music, MSN Music (Microsoft), Rhapsody Music, Wal-Mart and Napster. Now these stores offer two ways to receive the music they offer.

The first way is via a $5 - 8.00 monthly subscription which gives you unlimited downloads. Wow! that sounds great, right? Well, before you think of signing up, downloading all the songs you want in the first month, and then canceling your subscription, you must first know that once your subscription lapses the songs you've downloaded become disabled. But the other way to download the songs you like gives you ownership of each mp3.

You can actually purchase each song and they become yours. You do not have to subscribe to the music store to purchase this way, but some offer discounted prices per song if you are a monthly subscriber. Without a subscription, you'll pay from $0.88 - $0.99 / per song. It's really not a bad deal at all. Now, you might be saying, "My friend gets tons of mp3s for free. How can I get in on that?"

Well, most of the ways people are receiving free music on the internet is illegally through what is called File Sharing Programs. The music industry (RIAA) is sueing people left and right (Twenty people in Alabama already have already been sued). But they are now even bypassing the judicial process and turning people over to debt collection agencies. If you or someone you know is downloading music illegally be warned they can track you down. However, there are also a couple of ways to get songs legally from the internet.

Go to the artists website. Every band makes at least a few songs available for download from their website. Also, Shoutcast is a program that provides online radio in multiple genres.

Be safe, be legal and have fun!

posted by The Knowles Family @ 7:27 PM 0 comments

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Welcome Fox6 viewers - this week's topic: Wi-Fi!

Thanks for joining us for this week's Tech Check Blog - We'd love to hear your questions and comments - Click Here to go to our contact page

This week's entry will be shorter than the last two weeks, but we do have some interesting links for you to check out. I also want to remind you to join us tomorrow at Vulcan park for the unveiling of what is being hailed as the largest free wireless park in Alabama. We'll be there at 11:30 - hope you are too! Before we get into the important links to check out, I'd like to let you know that Sam and Chase do a weekly radio show and a weekly online video cast that is watched by thousands of people per week, for some strange reason. The video cast is completely free, of course, lasts about 2 or so minutes, and covers a computer topic. This week's video cast #5 is presented below - all you have to do is click on the picture, and the video should load. (You can also right click, select "save target as" and then save the video file to your desktop) We're asking the visitors of our website to give us some ideas for future videos, so please watch, and then let us know what you think, or what you'd like us to cover!

This week's video cast 5 - it will be very funny to some, kind of silly to others, but it's a small download, and has some good 80's music clips within.

We also do weekly radio show, and you can download this week's version free below:
TechTalk May 7, 2005 :

(6.1 MB) / Feed:

Here are some interesting Wi-Fi related links to check out:

Birmingham's Wi-Fi hotspots - where to go for free wireless internet! Provided by Jeremy Flint, and the fine folks from IPSA - the Internet Professional Society of Alabama.

All about Wi-Fi - Click this link to find out more than you need to know about Wi-Fi

Most importantly, here are some links that will teach you all about Wireless security:

PcMag.com's overview of Wi-Fi security

Microsoft: How to secure your Wi-Fi network with Windows XP

Pcmag.com - 10 steps to wireless security (this is an older article, but most of the info is still useful, and it's very user friendly.

Broadbandreports.com Wi-Fi security FAQ - This is probably the most comprehensive link here on setting up your wireless network securely.

Allow me to thank you for logging on to chaseandsam.com, and encourage you to check back with us often, as we are constantly adding new downloads, websites, videos and writings to this site.

If you need computer help, web design, or just want to leave us some feedback - CLICK HERE for our contact page. Until next week.....

posted by Chase Thompson @ 5:51 PM 1 comments

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Tech Check number 2: Preventing Spyware (and saving money!)

A hearty welcome, Fox6 viewers, to this weeks Tech Check notes. Tonight we talked about preventing spyware from getting on your computer. Below you'll find links to the free programs we mentioned on air as well as some tips that will not only keep your computer secure but almost certainly save you money and headaches in the future.

First of all, if you don't know who we are, Sam and Chase have co-hosted Tech Talk on 101.1 FM and 1260AM for the last 3 years. Tech Talk airs every Saturday at 1:00pm and focuses on computer help, interesting gadgets, and software/hardware reviews. Please join us, and feel free to call in! (You can listen to back episodes of Tech Talk online (and completely free) by checking out our Podcast page - they are available in .mp3 form, and via Podcast, Click here to visit our Podcast page. If you need computer help or web design services, and you live in the Birmingham area, we can help you there too - we run a computer repair/web design/internet lounge called Elevation located in the heart of Birmingham's Five Points South district - a map and directions are available by clicking here. (If you live in the Huntsville or Anniston/Oxford area we can help you also!)

Click here or on our picture to contact us.

Finally, on to the show notes:

Preventing an infection on your computer has become a chore requiring much more vigilance than most computer users would like. Did you know you can get a malware infection by simply being on the internet? Yes, that's right - you don't have to click on an attachment, or download a program, or share music files, or visit a bad website - your system can become compromised by simply logging onto the internet - we've seen it happen! Pretty scary, right? Well, here's three easy steps to prevent your system from being compromised from 99 percent of the malware floating around on the internet. The information below applies to P.C.s running Windows software only (roughly 93 percent of the personal computer market) If you're running Apple or Linux, you are safe for the most part - but don't gloat too much....pride goes before downfall :)

The steps: (They may be in different order than we mentioned on tv, as I'm in Orlando right now on vacation, and don't remember ;)

Step one: System updates: Microsoft Windows is an operating system with quite a bit of security holes in it out of the box - the good news is that they release security patches every week or so. (That's also the bad news, but oh well. ) To keep your computer safe, you need to make semi-regular visits to Windows Update. If you are running Windows XP and are a home user, you may as well turn on Automatic Updates when you visit - corporate users should check with their system administrator first. This will ensure that most of the known security holes in your version of windows are patched, and believe it or not, this step is almost as important (if not more so) than running a good anti-virus program.

Step two: There are two free applications available that are very good at preventing most types of spyware from getting onto your system. These programs are Spyware Blaster, and Microsoft's new anti-spyware tool. It is not necessary to install both programs - you should probably pick one, and both are good choices. Simply click below to download the programs, then install - being sure to download any updates and allow the programs to auto-update themselves. Please note that we didn't write these programs, and cannot provide support for them - you can post a message in our free online forums, or contact the respective software maker for help if you encounter a problem. (Most problems with these and other anti-spyware tools come from the spyware on your system trying to disable the products)

Spyware Blaster Download here (Click here for Spywareblaster support)

Microsoft AntiSpyware Download - (Click here for Support)

Step three: Smart online habits. The easiest way to avoid spyware and malware is to follow a few simple rules when you are online. For example, don't participate in file sharing or music downloading, and don't let your kids do so either. Kazaa, and other file sharing programs may not cost any money, but they are filled to the gills with spyware and adware. Another tip: don't click on pop up ads - most of the time they direct you to harmless sites, but some will install spyware on your system. Simply click the x in the uppermost right hand side to close them. You might also check up on any free software you install on - much of it is legit, but some of it "pays" for itself by installing nasty things on your system. Three good places to get free software online are our downloads of the week section (click here), Download.com, which recently decided to forego software that comes bundled with adware/spyware and Sourceforge, an excellent repository of Open Source programs. Finally - note that even pictures can be infected with malware code (!), and often times sites with pornographic or illegal content will feature such pictures. If you are a computer novice, it's best to stick with mainstream websites to avoid trouble. Note that we are mainly talking here about avoiding spyware/adware, something that many antivirus programs don't do a good job of preventing and removing. Avoiding viruses, trojan horses and worms is a topic for another day, but the above will certainly help.

A quick word on terms: malware is a broad term and refers to any malicious software, including: spyware, adware, viruses, worms, trojan horses, root kits, etc. Spyware is often used as a generic word much like malware (and we are guilty of doing so) but technically spyware is software that somehow gathers information about you or your computing habits, and sends it to another computer to be analyzed. Adware is software that serves up ads to your computer either through annoying pop-ups, or in more subtle ways. Most adware is annoying and to be avoided, but some legit products (like the Opera browser) are adware supported, and do so by the inclusion of small, non system compromising, text ads. More on Worms, Viruses and Trojan Horses in next weeks Tech Check notes. Next week's topic online music - and how to get free and legal music!

LET IT BE KNOWN!
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posted by Chase Thompson @ 2:27 PM 0 comments

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