Did you Backup Today??

Make sure you always have a BACKUP!  Did you BACKUP today???!! If not do it NOW!!! Do you really want to lose ALL you family photos?? Your important documents and software. Here is a great guide on products and services.

Square with Geo fencing is now at US based Starbucks

Source - venturebeat.com

Earlier today, buzzy mobile payments start-up Square, Inc. announced a partnership with Starbucks to process credit card transactions at 7,000 Starbucks shops across the U.S., and to make Square’s mobile phone app an option for payment, as well.

Customers will be able to use the free Pay with Square smartphone app, too, which usually enables a user to walk into a Starbucks store, activate a tab on the app that virtually announces their arrival at that location, and pay for a coffee just by walking up to the register and saying their name. With Starbucks, it will involve showing a 2-D bar code. Dorsey said today that he hopes to see more use of the “geo-fencing,” hands-free technology in the future. For more on how this works look here .

For now, Square will only work at U.S.-based Starbucks locations. But Square hasn’t hidden its intent to expand overseas, and partnering with Starbucks is certainly a step in that direction. “We’re pushing hard to bring Square outside of the United States, and you can expect to hear more on that,” Dorsey said. Square-Starbucks payments are for iOS and Android smartphone users only.

How secure is Square at Starbucks? Dorsey said that Square isn’t adding additional layers of security for the Starbucks transactions, and that Square continually verifies the protections it has put into place for transactions. He did say, however, that Square would be pushing harder for people to use a legitimate photo of themselves — not a random avatar — in the Pay with Square app, for verification purposes; and that users have the option to set a PIN code on the app to prevent a fraudster from using it. A representative from Square added that the company will be working to integrate “chip and PIN” technology as that standard for payments makes its way here to the U.S., and as Square makes its way abroad.


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The Internet Archive is now offering over 1,000,000 torrents of FREE Legit Public Domain Material.

BitTorrent Inc and The Internet Archive is now setup over 1,000,000 Torrents of Downloadable Books, Music, and Movies. To upload files to the Internet Archive, please use http://archive.org/upload or http://archive.org/create. But if you want to download them you'll need a BitTorrent client,
for Mac get Transmission and for Windows users you can download uTorrent. You can visit The Internet Archive Torrent site here. This will give you all the links and how to get started.

Amazon Fixes BIG Account Security Issues Quick And Quietly

Previously, Amazon allowed people to call in and change the email address associated with an Amazon account or add a credit card number to an Amazon account as long as the caller could identify him or herself by name, email address and mailing address — three bits of personal information that are easily found online.

The security gap was used by hackers, one of whom identified himself as a 19-year-old going by the name “Phobia,” to gain access to Honan’s Amazon account on Friday. Once Phobia and another hacker gained access to Honan’s Amazon account, they were able to view the last four digits of a credit card linked to the account.
The hackers then used those four digits to trick Apple customer service into thinking it was dealing with Honan. Apple customer service then gave the hackers a temporary password into Honan’s Apple ID, which the hackers used to wipe his iPhone, iPad and MacBook, and gain access to a number of email accounts as well as his Twitter account. More on that article here.


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Dropbox attacked again

Several weeks ago, Dropbox announced it was investigating some suspicious incidents on its network. The online storage company, which has been a phenomenal success among consumers and small businesses, said it had “brought in a team of outside experts” to investigate the incidents.
And today the other shoe dropped. In a post on the Dropbox blog, VP of Engineering Aditya Agarwal acknowledged that the worst-case scenario had occurred:

Our investigation found that usernames and passwords recently stolen from other websites were used to sign in to a small number of Dropbox accounts. We’ve contacted these users and have helped them protect their accounts.
A stolen password was also used to access an employee Dropbox account containing a project document with user email addresses. We believe this improper access is what led to the spam. We’re sorry about this, and have put additional controls in place to help make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Keeping Dropbox secure is at the heart of what we do, and we’re taking steps to improve the safety of your Dropbox even if your password is stolen…

Those are reassuring words. They would inspire more confidence if they didn’t echo Dropbox’s equally confident reassurances the last time the company suffered a potential security breach.

So if you must countine to use Dropbox, only if you really have to create very lost and secure passwords with Lastpass , if you havent already and get BoxCryptor that will Encrypt your files on the fly to and from Dropbox


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Amazon instant video comes to ipad

Amazon has just launched its Amazon Instant Video app for the iPad, allowing users to stream TV show episodes and movies that they purchased from Amazon.com. And if you don't like the streaming idea because you're constantly at places without WiFi, then you're still covered. The app lets users download their videos directly to the device for offline viewing as well.

Star WarsThe Old Republic Goes FREE To Play This November

Source - swtor.com

All eight character storylines up to level 50 will be accessible with restricted access to new content and advanced features. Some of these restrictions can be removed by "purchasing" access with Cartel Coins, the new virtual currency to be introduced in the fall. Unlimited access including higher-level content and new features will be available through subscription options.

Beginning in the fall, players will have free-to-play and subscription options. Players can purchase on going subscriptions or play advanced content by redeeming Game Time Cards. Subscribers will receive monthly allowances of Cartel Coins, which can be used to purchase in-game items, gear, and convenience features.

BioWare will increase the frequency of content updates until the game goes free to play. Current subscribers can look forward to a new update in August as well as Cartel Coin grants and access to special in-game items. A full list of content available for free and with subscription is available at the game's official website.

In preparation for the move, Star Wars: The Old Republic will go on sale in August for $14.99 and will include a one-month free subscription.

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