The Must See TV/ Video Shows on the Internet

By Julie Taylor for our content partner: Style + Tech for men

From edgy reality shows such as “Married on MySpace” to next-generation comedies like “Fred and Smosh,” the Internet seems to be offering something for everyone … except, thankfully, the audience of “The View.” So if you’re not ready to sit through another Kardashian spinoff on the tube, log on and check out these gems on your desktop.

“Food Mob!” With Chef Niall Harbison

Revision3.com/FoodMob/Episodes

This weekly interactive cooking show is made for “Iron Chef” wannabes who are looking to conquer the kitchen. Viewers are encouraged to share photos of their own culinary creations on Flickr, which chef Niall Harbison displays to the online community on his iPad. He also gives regular shout-outs to his Twitter followers (@FoodMobTV) and Facebook fans. The show encourages its viewers to share their own cooking tips and suggestions. We learned it makes us hungry!

Although Harbison once served as the youngest head chef of a fine-dining restaurant in Ireland, you won’t pick up the high art of preparing a premium Lobster Thermador on “Food Mob!” However, you will learn how to whip up comfort foods like The Perfect Burger, Deep-Fried Mars Bars, Mac & Cheese and Shepherd’s Pie. The show also serves up “Food Mob Bites,” a daily series of one-to-five-minute cooking tips -- great for learning how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew, or how to dice onions without bawling like Charlie Sheen’s publicist.

“Dorm Life”

Dorm-Life.com

This mockumentary series, which follows the zany, fictional hijinks of students in a college dorm, is like an on-campus version of “The Office.” But don’t worry: As with most college shows or movies -- or real life for that matter -- tedious academics never seem to be on the scriptwriters’ syllabus. In addition to the main episodes -- which are five to 15 minutes long -- there are webcam clips and profiles offered by each character on the website's community lounge, where cast members interact with viewers. Just try getting that comfy with a Kardashian! A Webby Award winner and Hulu's most-watched Web show, the first two seasons of “Dorm Life” are available online and on DVD.

“Fast Lane Daily” and “FL Detours”

VodCars.com

If you’re a car freak, it’s time to park yourself in front of your laptop. “Fast Lane Daily” races the latest auto industry news to car nuts. It offers test-drive videos, latest release updates, under-the-hood analysis and pricing information -- all in under five minutes. If you’re really driven by auto-programming, then check out FLD’s spinoff shows. “FL Detours” is a two-and-a-half minute weekly car review where on-camera hosts take viewers along for a spin to experience the driving dynamics of automakers’ latest models. 

The host of “Garage419,” Matt Farah, interviews key auto industry figures, travels to top auto industry events and test-drives groovy rods. Finally, there’s “VOD Red,” which pushes cars to their absolute limits, sometimes wrecking them -- not unlike what your ex-girlfriend did to you!

“The Wing Girls: Dating Advice for Guys”

YouTube.com/TheWingGirls

Sexy dating superheroes Jet and Star offer guys an insider’s perspective on the world of women. In funny episodes that run between five and 10 minutes, the ladies tell you what women want you to know -- but never seem to tell you about. You’ll get the inside scoop on episodes like “How to Kiss,” “How to Manage a Friends-With-Benefits Arrangement” and “How to Ditch a Dame.” The two tell-it-like-it-is hotties boast having “doctorates in men” and claim to clue you in on what makes you hot -- or not -- to the opposite sex. Sounds like a worthwhile academic program to us. 

“Scam School” With Brian Brushwood

Revision3.com/ScamSchool/Episodes

If you fail out of the aforementioned chick school, you might consider transferring to this worthwhile online institution. Award-winning magician Brian Brushwood offers viewers a real education in the form of 15-minute episodes covering everything you need to know about bar tricks, street cons and scams. Archives include “Scam Hot Ladies at the Bar,” “The Brain Drain Telepathy Trick,” and “Dime in Bottle Scam.” Sounds like the same syllabus our Uncle in Attica followed.

“App Judgment”

Revision3.com/AppJudgment

With hundreds of apps to choose from on your iPhone, Android, iPad or whatever other device you use, a guy needs a cyber Sherpa to download all the options. The “App Judgment” team helps viewers separate the wheat from the chaff with mobile app reviews and previews. Episodes include “Flipboard: Personalized Social Magazine for the iPad,” “Comic Books on your iPhone or iPad” and “Getting Things Done on the iPad with Taska.” New five- to 10-minute episodes are posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“$99 Music Videos”

99DollarMusicVideos.com

Like watching music videos? Well you ain’t gonna find many on MTV. They’re too busy documenting the destruction of civilization with shows like “The Jersey Shore” and “The Hills.” If you enjoy discovering new artists, then crank up your computer and catch “$99 Music Videos” -- an Internet series that debuts a new low-budget music video every week from independent bands and local filmmakers. Check out breakout artists Care Bears on Fire in an animated video performing “Barbie Eat a Sandwich,” the Wisconsin-based Laarks performing “All the Words You Can’t Say,” and “Strange Machines” by Redding Hunter of Peter and the Wolf. See, video stars aren’t dead -- they just went digital.

 Julie Taylor is a New York-based public relations professional that specializes in TV, entertainment, magazine publishing and general media. She has written about pop culture for RepMan Blog and her work has appeared in online literary magazines WordSmitten and Insolent Rudder.

How to share safely on Social Networks such as Facebook

From the Editors of our content partner: Every Day Connected

The days when social networks were just for teens are long over: Adults now take up social networking for fun and business alike. One entrepreneur, Sheilah Etheridge of Anchorage, Alaska, uses social networks to turn up business leads for her home-based accounting and consulting firm. But Etheridge is selective with what she shares and where. “Everything we post on the Web is obviously out there for all the world to see, and it’s out there for eternity,” she says.

To get the most out of your favorite social networks, it’s important to be aware of how to protect your online privacy. Here’s how to share safely:

Tip No. 1: Don’t fork over too much personal info.
You don’t always know who is viewing even tidbits of your profiles, so think twice before you post sensitive -- or potentially embarrassing -- information, videos or photos on social networks. It could fall into the hands of identity thieves, prospective employers, college recruiters or even potential mates.

“People should assume the content they put online is going to be public,” says blogger Jeremiah Owyang, a former senior analyst for Forrester Research.

Tip No. 1: Review privacy policies before you post.
Some networks, such as LinkedIn, have adopted privacy policies that vouch they’ll never share your information with other users without your consent. Other sites, like Facebook and Twitter, offer online privacy settings that allow you to control who can view certain information and who gets notification when you add friends or Web applications.

But be mindful about the details: On Facebook, for example, your profile and photo privacy settings are separate. Just because you block non-friends from seeing your profile doesn’t bar them from seeing your photos. Make sure your review all your preferences under Account and Privacy Settings.

Tip No. 2: Don’t reveal every step you take.
It’s a freaky thought, but stalkers, jealous spouses and suspicious employers can use social networks to keep an eye on your every move. Many photos and posts are time-stamped, so the date and time you post it is recorded and shared with your network of friends or connections. This means your boss may be able to find out how much time you spend on Facebook while at work.

Facebook also allows you to “Check In” where you are, revealing your geographic location. On Twitter, you can note your location in your tweets and in your profile. If you want to keep your moves and location on the down-low, avoid checking in altogether and tweak your online privacy settings.

Tip No. 4: Be smart with apps.
Most social networking sites are for-profit companies, and advertising keeps membership free. Any time you sign up for a free app or contest on a social network, your private data might be used to target you with online advertising based on your activities.

“The purpose behind social networking sites is supposed to be to enable you to connect with friends and colleagues and do these networking activities,” says John Verdi, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) , a nonprofit privacy advocacy group in Washington, D.C. “What they don’t say is that ‘our real purpose is to mine your data and sell it to the highest bidder.’”

So even if you’ve read Facebook’s online privacy policy, you still need to read the privacy policies of application-makers who promote their apps on Facebook. “They are third-party applications,” says Verdi. “The social networks don’t vouch for any of them.”

Tip No. 5: Don’t expect to be able to delete it once you post it.
It’s happened to the best of us: being haunted by your old social network posts that never die. There is an assumption that you “own” your profiles. But that’s not the case.

In the past, Facebook users were not able to completely delete their profiles. Facebook claimed it wanted to store the information in case users wanted to revive their profile, but it has now caved in under pressure from users to allow for easier deleting. MySpace and LinkedIn allow users to delete their profiles too.

But when it comes to posts you leave on others’ profiles -- or content that friends copied off your profile or blog -- it can remain online for eternity. “There are going to be remnants or ghosts,” says Owyang. “Assume that everything you put online is forever.”

The single best thing you can do before you put yourself out there on a social network? “Speak to other users you know and trust before joining some sites,” says Etheridge. In other words, network a bit before you sign up for a network so you can learn more about how the site protects your info -- or doesn’t.

More info on Internet security, antispyware and antivirus software from our sponsor

Advice on how you can find the best deals online

Handpicked for you by our team...From the Editors of our content partner: Every Day Connected

When a birthday or the holidays roll around at the Scharer household in Athens, Ohio, 39-year-old Greg Scharer has no need to make a shopping list and check it twice. Instead, he turns to his favorite online shopping destination, Woot , for daily deals. This year, he was able to buy shock-resistant cameras for his three children at $12 apiece (approximately one-third of the price at Toys“R”Us).

“It’s incredibly convenient -- as you’re waiting at a dentist appointment or traveling, you can be on your phone looking at different things you need,” says Scharer, who uses the mobile app WootWatch. WootWatch scrolls all of Woot’s various offshoots -- like Kids Woot -- to aggregate its daily deal offerings. “Along with saving time, I find it typically saves me between 30 to 70 percent off retail prices.”

Scharer’s not alone in his shopping habits. Many busy parents are embracing the ease of online shopping in the cloud -- using websites, online services or mobile apps to bargain-hunt versus trudging to the nearest brick-and-mortar store. So how can one navigate the Web to find the best deals and steals? Here are the five best ways to discount-hunt in the cloud:

No. 1: Start your spree by comparison-shopping.

“Your first line of research should be price comparison sites, which are very powerful for getting a quick idea of what the item you want costs,” says Brad Wilson, editor in chief of Brad’s Deals . PriceGrabber is SmartMoney.com’s top pick , while NexTag and Shopzilla are other popular options.

No. 2: Snag both offline and online deals with coupon-based sites.
Whether shopping online or off, coupon codes can be a bargain hunter’s best friend. Coupon aggregators like Brad’s Deals and RetailMeNot offer both printable and online coupons, which can be redeemed for everything from free shipping to can’t-pass-up prices. “People don’t realize just how many coupons there are and how easy they are to get,” says Wilson, whose site currently shares 4,500 active coupons for 1,500 retailers.

No. 3: Use social networking.

Let other savvy shoppers do the work for you! One mom, Stephanie Moisio, has filled her Twitter feed with family shopping bloggers (like @babygoodbuys, @dealseekingmom and @freebies4mom), who post deals they find online. "It's nice to do all your deal-seeking in one convenient place," says Moisio. When shopping on her Android, she follows their tips to make smart purchases, often using the Ebates mobile app in tandem to earn cash back at participating stores.

No. 4: Get your daily deal fix delivered to your inbox or phone.
You may have heard of the popular Groupon, but there are other deals to be had. Subscribing to free daily sale sites like Woot, Zulily and Yugster gives you access to limited-time discounts available only to members. For a more local flavor and deals on meals and more, get the best of the rest with an aggregator like DealMap .

No. 5: Be smart about sharing personal information.
When shopping online, always make sure your site of choice is encrypted for safety; you can tell by whether it has “https:” in its URL. Also, use a credit card with built-in benefits like extended product warranties, identity theft protection or customer-friendly dispute options. But try not to stress too much. Says Wilson: “If you apply a dose of common sense to the process, you’ll be perfectly fine.”

How to dig out the unknown music bands

Written By Mark Yarm and brought to you by our content partner Men's Life Today -- Handpicked for you by our team.

If you think Top 40 is not so tops and want your tunes to be more cutting-edge, you need to know where to find the best music. Read on.

Your local radio station plays the same 10 songs over and over again. MTV is too busy airing "Real World/Road Rules Challenge" marathons to actually bother showing videos anymore. Print music magazines are rapidly dying off.
So where can a music fan such as yourself find out about the newest, edgiest tunes? Here are a few expert tips for discovering music outside the realm of the Top 40:

Enter the Blogosphere
Blogs are a great place to learn about -- and, just as important, to hear -- indie and alternative rock. The challenge for beginners is finding the good ones.
“There are roughly 5,094,947 music blogs on the Internet,” jokes Ryan Dombal, a staff writer at Pitchfork, a popular indie rock Web site (technically not a blog) credited with helping break acts like the Arcade Fire and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. “Pitchfork breaks through the MP3 din, hitting on things people care about” via album reviews (the site employs an infamous 0.0 to 10.0 rating scale), artist news and interviews, and links to the latest videos and audio files.
Another good starting point is the indie rock blog Stereogum. “After you find one blog or site that corresponds with your personal taste, check out the other blogs or sites it links to,” Dombal recommends. “It’s a process of trial and error, but it's worth it when you’re eventually exposed to your favorite new band.”

Tune Into the Net
“Commercial radio is all about finding that mass-appeal audience, and if mass appeal is your bottom line, you’re going to cut out a lot of interesting music,” says Mike Taylor, program director and DJ for the Cincinnati-based Web site WOXY. A terrestrial radio station in the past, WOXY has been broadcasting exclusively online since 2004. Its DJs cater to a select audience; current station faves include the female singer-songwriter St. Vincent and Brooklyn indie rockers White Rabbits. If you like a song you hear on WOXY, you can click on the link to the Web site Lala and buy the MP3. “We act as a filter for new music,” Taylor says.
To find other online broadcasters catering to your tastes, check out station aggregator Web sites like Shoutcast or Live365. iTunes also offers free Net radio streams. Or let a computer try to figure out what you’d like: Web sites like Pandora, Last (.fm) and iLike will personalize playlists for you based on your top artists.

Get out of the House
The Internet is a wonderful tool for discovering cool new tunes. But sometimes it’s nice to talk music with an actual human being -- you know, face-to-face (like back in 1999). If you’re lucky enough to still have one or more independent record stores in your town, visit! “I think it’s easier to talk to someone working at a store than hunt down music on different blogs,” says Scott Wishart, co-owner of Lunchbox Records in Charlotte, N.C. “I can recommend something similar to what they like and play it for them on the stereo -- or they can listen to it on headphones in the back.”

Wishart advises developing a rapport with a local record store clerk so he or she can get to know your tastes and avoiding the snobs (think: Jack Black in High Fidelity), if possible. Finally, once you’ve found music you love, separate yourself from the computer as often as possible to see your new favorites live. “Show up early for shows and catch the opening bands,” advises Pitchfork’s Dombal. “That’s how I first heard about this band called The Strokes. And if the opening act sucks, you can make fun of them with your friends.”

Mark Yarm is a former senior editor at the music magazine Blender and is currently writing an oral history of grunge for Crown Publishing.

How to use Facebook properly

Written By Thomas P. Farley and brought to you by our content partner Men's Life Today -- Handpicked for you by our team.

Whether you call it a time-saver or a time-sap, Facebook is the second most popular site in the world, and in India – just after Google. has surpassed the almighty Google as the most trafficked website in the U.S. -- and the second most popular site in the world.

Whatever you happen to think of it, if you haven't been living in a cave the last few years (and maybe even if you have), you’re probably using it in some manner. Need someone’s contact info?

Check. Birthday minders? Ditto. Photos and videos to share? Done and done. Random thoughts to send into the ether? Well, you know the drill.

But as quickly as Facebook has become an integral part of the way we communicate with friends (and “friends”), it has also raised concerns. How much sharing is too much sharing? What do Facebook and its marketing partners really know about you? And what are they doing with all of that juicy data? Men’s Life

Today reached out to David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World, for tips on getting the best out of Facebook while avoiding its potential dark side.

Don’t Be Daft

For starters, says Kirkpatrick, if there’s something with the potential to embarrass, don’t post it. Despite how secure you believe your privacy settings to be, modern society is littered with Internet roadkill, like jobs lost and relationships shattered simply because a user didn’t think twice before posting. “This is a shockingly common-sense rule that many people disregard”, says Kirkpatrick. But don’t go too far in the opposite direction, he advises. “If you never post anything of interest, you’re less likely to have anything of interest come back to you”.

Friendly Fire

If your standards for accepting friends have been, shall we say, less than discerning, Kirkpatrick suggests it could be time to do some pruning. “One of the classic errors is to accept every friend request you receive”, he says. The problem with such loose standards? “You’re empowering these individuals over your information”.

It may also be time to shed people you do know, but who don’t reflect your sensibility or values (see “jobs lost”, above). “If you’re beginning to question their judgment, hide them from your news feed or unfriend them entirely”. If we were to discard all but those whom we consider true-blue buddies, says Kirkpatrick, many of us would wind up eliminating three-quarters of our so-called friends.

App Happy

Here’s a little heads-up: Third-party apps gain access to your personal information when you

install them. (And yes, “Mafia Wars” and “Farmville” fans, that includes you). So be picky.

“Something that looks cool, but which I’ve never heard of and that only a couple of my friends are using? I’m not going to adopt it”, Kirkpatrick says flatly. If you already have an app installed but haven’t used it in a while, delete it. Why? Because even if you’re not doing anything with it, chances are its developers are still doing something with your data.

Fortunately, right before you install any app, Facebook will remind you that you’re about to hand over access to your info. The choice to “allow” is up to you. Pretty simple.

Privacy Protection

Although he concedes that navigating Facebook’s privacy settings can be like trying to solve a Chinese puzzle, Kirkpatrick says an investment of 45 minutes should be enough to establish settings you’re comfortable with. For advice on how to get started, he recommends the site AllFacebook.com. (Search for “privacy settings”).

To be on the safe side, a good across-the-board option is “friends only”. If you have a burning desire to make your life an open book for exes, frenemies and strangers, go ahead and use “everyone”. If you’re particularly guarded about your information, there’s a custom setting called “only me” -- though if you choose this option, you might just want to delete your Facebook account altogether and go back to calling your friends on a landline. Tedious, yes, but no privacy worries!

Target: You

And what about those ads in the margin that seem to know a little too much about you? They don’t concern Kirkpatrick terribly. If Facebook is doing its job and serving adverts that jibe with your interests, you might welcome seeing some of them. And if you don’t, “they’re easy to disregard”, Kirkpatrick points out, explaining that one of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s core tenets is that advertising should not disrupt the user experience.

Despite articles like this one, Kirkpatrick knows that many of you will continue to throw caution to the wind. “Facebook is loosening inhibitions about self-display”, he acknowledges, “and we’re becoming a more transparent people”. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, he adds, but if you’re going to share, just be sure you do it wisely -- or be ready for your mom, crazy ex, nosy co-worker and the rest of the world to know your business.

Thomas P. Farley is a regular writer for Men’s Life Today. A manners and lifestyle expert, he is also the creator of the blog WhatMannersMost.com, and the host of the web television show “New York Insider TV.” Follow him on Twitter at mistermanners and newyorkinsider.

Make money online (internet) selling photos

What a wonderful world the Internet has evolved into. Among all the scams and spams there are still numerous ways one with creative skills and positivity can make money as long as you can stamp your uniqueness into it. Last time I talked about how to make money by taking surveys on legitimate sites. Today, let us look at how to turn your creative photography skills into the most valuable piece of paper in the world..currency or money!

There are numerous sites online (Internet) where you can put your photos for sale and earn a royalty (money) every time it is downloaded by a client. istock photography is the most prominent in this field and they are the icons in this area. As far as my understanding goes they pay you 20% to 40% royalty fees. One thing to be noted is that some photos can be downloaded by more than one client. This means that one good photo could earn you royalties from multiple clients.

Let us take a look at some of the sites which you can cash on:

www.istockphoto.com : As mentioned they are the leaders in this area. They pay you a royalty on every photo of yours downloaded by their client/clients. As some photos can be downloaded by multiple clients, it means that you could earn multiple royalties for one photo depending on its quality. They pay 20% as royalty for normal pictures and for pictures they consider as exclusive (based on the quality and uniqueness) they pay 40%. istock now has provisions for uploading not just photos but you can upload audios and videos as well. Just browse through the audio and video area of the site and it will give you an idea about what is hot and thus create your own files taking a cue from that.
If you want to read more then click on the "sell stock" option which you can see towards the bottom part of their website and it will give you an idea about how you can join and upload your stocks such as photos, videos and audios.

www.shuttershock.com : Shutterstock will pay you 25 cents every time one of your images is downloaded. Once you reach $500 in earnings, your commission goes up to 30 cents per download. To read more about submitting your files you can go to: http://submit.shutterstock.com/

www.bigstockphoto.com : This site offers money to photographers, web designers, print designers etc. For photographers they offer 50 cents to $3.00 per image download - or much more on Special License downloads. Also you can make up to $60 per download with Special Licensing sales.
If you are a photographer for more details visit:
http://www.bigstockphoto.com/forphotographer.html

www.dreamstime.com : As of now there is around 65,859 photographers registered on this site. But you have to look at the fact that there are 1,340,343 users, which means there is still an opportunity there. Here you sell your stock images and get 50-80% from each sale you make.

www.stockxpert.com : They claim that there commission rate is the best and they offer 50% for each download you generate. They pay you by check or through other online payment options such as paypal, moneybookers and Ikobo.

Other similar sites : The best way to do a research is by using Google and you can check out the other related websites and do a research. For that all you have to do is type or copy and paste the following into the Google search box: related:www.istockphoto.com/index.php?view=full

It does not matter which place you are at as there is always a need for different kind of pictures such as sceneries, humans, animals, landmarks etc. So wherever you are just take out your camera and click some unique pictures and upload the photos. After all there is nothing to lose. Just give it a try.

How to make money online (Internet) through surveys- No scam

There are millions of people looking for ways to make easy money on the Internet especially to earn some additional income. One of the legitimate ways to make money online on the Internet is by taking part in surveys. But make sure that these are reputable research companies. There are a lot of scams going around and one must be cautious about not treading into those territories. Let us have a look at some of the reputed websites that help you make money by spending a few minutes of your time.
www.surveys.com : This site gives you vouchers which you can redeem against a range of items. The membership is free and also gives you multiple chances to earn cash prizes by taking surveys. This is an online community operated by GfK. GfK is a top-ten market research company, uniting some of the most renowned US and European research firms into a single global organization.
www.yougov.co.uk : You can join a community here by selecting the country you belong to and they pay you hard cash which they send by cheque (check). The surveys are really enjoyable and it gives you a place to voice your opinions and influence products.
www.ciao.co.uk : This site offers paid surveys and you can get paid for your opinions. You will receive £1-5 or the equivalent in US$ per completed survey.Your cash rewards will be paid into your Ciao account. You can request a payout once a treshold of £5 has been reached. Also for every new member you recruit for the Ciao Expert Panel, they will pay you 50 pence!
OTHER SITES :
All three of the survey sites listed above are legitimate sites and there are many other sites out there. But one must make sure that these sites are not scams and one of the ways you can check this is by going to http://directory.esomar.org/ There you can choose a country and go through the list of sites. They have listed all the legitimate sites and along with checking for the reputation of a site you can also bring up a list of survey sites where you can make money online.
So spare a few minutes , voice your opinion and make money. Good luck!

Security vulnerability in Google Chrome browser

Hours after Google's very own browser Chrome was launched news is rife in the Internet world about its security vulnerability termed as carpet-bombing flaw.

The issue that this new arrival in the browser world faces is the Carpet bombing flaw: This is a combination of two vulnerabilities: one found in the Apple Safari (webkit) which Chrome uses and another a Java bug. This causes the users into launching executable files direct from the browser without any notification. This could lead to malicious hacker attacks.

This was an automatic download vulnerability found in Apple's Safari 3.1 and was already fixed by Apple in its next version,Safari v3.1.2. But Google, it seems, is using the WebKit 525.13 (Safari 3.1), which is an outdated/vulnerable version of the Safari browser.

It is said that Chrome could have more security issues in store. According to the researcher Aviv Raff who brought to light this vulnerability "I really wonder why Google have taken several features from other browsers and mixed them all together. Security wise, it’s very problematic.They’ll have to track all security vulnerabilities in those features, and fix them in Chrome too. This will probably be only after those vulnerabilities were fixed by the other vendors or were publicly reported. It will put Chrome users at risk for a long time."

So let us wait and watch what is in store for Chrome on the security front. In other areas such as speed and stability Chrome has already gained huge appreciation and has proved to be much better than other existing browsers.

Google's very own browser: Chrome

Google is launching its very own browser Chrome in 100 countries today. From what we have gathered through the articles spread across the Internet world it looks pretty promising and a leap ahead of other browsers with its JavaScript Virtual Machine called V8. Coming from Google we all expect them to be a league ahead of others. So far from the news that is going around it is definitely going in that direction.

Let us look at some of the features we came across; features which are only specific to Chrome apart from other usual features such as open source etc.-

• Special Tabs:

Each tab will run in its own process. These processes will be completely isolated from each other, will be killable from the operating system's process manager, and will be sand boxed to prevent them from accessing information on the user's computer. This means a tab crashing won't crash all the other tabs and also improves the security of the browser.

It is also mentioned that the Chrome puts the tab buttons on the upper side of the window, not below the address bar. I don't know what benefits this brings to the user.

• JavaScript Virtual Machine called V8 and speed:

According to the Internet sources "It is built from scratch by a team in Denmark, and open-sourced as well so other browsers could include it. One aim of V8 was to speed up JavaScript performance in the browser, as it’s such an important component on the web today." This means that this can also work with future generation web applications. The possibilities are simply mind boggling.

A multi-process design is used which could eat up a bit more memory up front but over time this could also mean less memory bloat and when web pages or plug-ins use a lot of memory the user will be able to spot it and pin point it to the respective item in the Chrome's task manager.

• Privacy:

A feature called the “incognito” window is available in this windows and according to Google “nothing that occurs in that window is ever logged on your computer.” The latest version of Internet Explorer features a similar feature which is called "InPrivate."

• Internet Security:

Google is already known for keeping a list of harmful sites and it is no wonder that for this browser to fight malware and phishing attempts, Chrome will constantly download lists of harmful sites.

Also the sandbox feature for whatever runs in the browser tabs makes sure that whatever runs on the tab won’t affect your machine and can be safely closed and is blocked from accessing other processes on the computer. But Plug-ins the user installed may escape this security model.

Apart from these there will be loads of other features. You can keep yourself posted on this by reading Google's Chrome related blog here.

Google's Chrome based comic

Hackers targetting legitimate websites to compromise user security

In the past it was through websites that were riddled with malwares an attacker compromised the Internet user security. Those websites were specifically created for this purpose. By exercising proper caution or by not visiting suspicious or unfamiliar sites an user was able to avoid such malwares.

Now, the focus has shifted. There is a new trend among the hackers/attackers. And it is compromising the security loop holes of legitimate websites.

Today the greatest risk to the user comes from the exposure to such malicious code from legitimate websites. The risk of getting exposed to these codes is huge since it is natural to unsuspectingly visit a legit and reputed website. And that is exactly what has made the hacker shift focus to these kind of websites.

The figures are scary. Scansafe reported that the increase in compromise of legitimate websites is a scary 407 percent and that 68 percent of the all the web based malwares the Scansafe security software blocked came from legitimate websites.

Talking about malicious websites, the Chinese territory of Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China are home to the largest fraction of malicious Web sites, according to a report published by McAfee antivirus company.Reports reveal that the top-level domains with the largest proportion of malicious sites belonged to Hong Kong (. Hk) and China (. Cn) with the Philippines (. Ph) and Romania ( . ro). The company surveyed nearly 10 million heavily-trafficked. A detailed study found out that 19.2 percent of all Web sites ending in the .hk posed a danger to visitors.

But those are websites which can be avoided by a user who excercises caution. The problem is that when it comes to legitimate websites it is difficult to suspect. Since the attacks are not directly carried out by these websites but by the attacker exploiting the security vulnerabilities and compromising the site, even the site owner might be unaware of these. Because of this it might take some time before the security vulnerabilties are fixed.

Some of the legitimate websites that have been reported to have been compromised are Nature.com, Foofighterslive.com, Thecareercompany.co.uk, Acer.co.th, Webster.edu and Photopass.com.

Let us have a look at how these websites are compromised:

1.Use of malicious scripts and iframes designed to silently deliver password stealers and backdoors to visitors' computers.

2.The fastest growing category of threats is backdoor and password-stealing malware. According to the ScanSafe report this increased 855 percent from May 2007 to May 2008, putting sensitive corporate data at serious risk of theft.

3. Use of Web-based malware-viruses, Trojans, password stealers and other malicious code.

4.SQL injection attacks that began in late October 2007 affecting hundreds of thousands of websites.

5. Through the use of stolen credentials FTP.

6.By inserting iframe redirection code or compromise a site to host malicious software.

7. A number of attacks on vulnerabilities in Web-site databases and administration tools has allowed attackers to litter legitimate sites with malicious code .

8.Random JS infection toolkit: It was reported by the security firm Finjan that hackers had bypassed security on at least 10000 legitimate domains to install the this toolkit.

Measures taken by Web browser developers to combact this:

Both Microsoft and Mozilla have through their browsers viz:- Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 8 will block sites that attempt to infect visitors' computers with malicious code. Opera's new browser Opera 9.5 also has the anti-malware features.

These features will prevent users from downloading programs from Web pages that purposefully or inadvertently attempt to visitors infected with malicious code.

Using these web browsers along with good anti-malwares (updated regularly) and constantly patching up OS security vulnerabilities can help the user in restricting these kind of attacks to a great degree. But there will always be some room for these attackers as they keep on shifting their focus to unexplored terrirtories. So it is always a catch up game. This means that apart from the proper usage of anti-malware softwares and patch ups, the user should constantly keep in touch with the latest threats and security vulnerabilties.


References:
Securityfocus
ScanSafe

Prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and browser security vulnerabilities

The famous and highly useful NoScript add on has been around for a while. This open source add on has been evolving so much and now it is compatible with Firefox 3.1a1pre (Minefield) along with other features such as Faster Base64 injection checks in Anti-XSS filters, Improved IP based shorthands and Enhanced cross-site POST blocking as an anti-CSRF mitigation.

For those who are not yet aware of what Noscript is:

It is no secret that Firefox is the top dowloaded browser in the world and one of the main reasons for this can be attributed to the add ons feature it provides. There are plenty of them out their to suit the various needs of the users right from file sharing to video downlods.

Apart from this it is also the most safest web browser. But can it be more safer?
Well, as most of you know the best way to visit any site that you are unfamiliar with is to turn off the javascripts, flash plugins, cookies etc etc. So obviously a safe browser can even be more safer with these things turned off. And that is where the NoScript add on comes in.

The NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and others mozilla-based browsers: this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java, Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice.

One of the major feature of this add on is that it provides protection to the infamous Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities. This sort of vulnerability is highly used by the hackers to steal passwords of the users.

Already there have been many incidents where this vulnerability was used to steal Myspace passwords and online banking passwords. As a person who has written and read a lot about how many browsers were compromised to steal the identity and user authentication using this vulnerability am glad that NoScript has put special attention to this.

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities are usually programming errors made by web developers, which allow an attacker to inject his own malicious code from a certain site into a different site. This usually happens when you have a website open in your browser and open another page which executes the vulnerability. Many famous browsers such as even Firefox had this issue before they came up with ant-phishing techniques. But still even the white listed sites are prone to this attacks and NoScript has taken special care to tackle this with its Anti-XSS counter-measures.

One of the best features of NoScript is that it has an unique whitelist based pre-emptive script blocking technique which prevents exploitation of known and unknown vulnerabilities.

When I checked today the No Script website is at 4 among the movers and shakers section list. It is clearly a hit among users especially the ones who are into online transactions.

Related links:
Some people have problems with setting up this add on to its full potential. If you are one of those go here

About Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and the Anti-XSS feature.

NoScript home page

Some popular and very useful Firefox Add ons

Below is a collection of Firefox add ons/ extensions and they are listed here because of its popularity and the value of the comments from its users. All the add ons listed below are very popular and has racked in some very valuable comments from its users. Hence am sharing it here. Any add ons which have a huge weekly download and is popular , yet have negative feedbacks from its users are not listed here. So enjoy!

DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD RELATED

Rapidshare HappyChecker
As everyone knows a non premium Rapidshare user has to go through the time wait and then has to fill in the Rapidshare captcha. But rapidshare for its non premium users has come up with the happy hours to give the Rapidshare non premium user some relief. This is a very popular Rapidshare happy hours notifier which notifies the user when Rapidshare Happy Hours are active.

DownThemAll! 1.0.1
DownThemAll is a very useful and popular download manager. It claims to have an advanced accelerator that increases speed up to 400% and it allows you to pause and resume downloads at any time. Users say it is fast, reliable and easy-to-use! It lets you download all the links or images contained in a webpage and much more. Also you can refine your downloads by fully customizable criteria to get only what you really want.

Firefox Universal Uploader
This firefox extension allows you to upload/download files from any website using a friendly interface. Upload files/photos/videos to Flickr, Picasa, Youtube, Box.net(1GB of free space), Facebook, Webshots and OmniDrive in this version. Next versions would support other websites like Google Videos etc. You can add multiple files to the queue at a time. Extension will take care of uploading them for you.

TORRENT RELATED

FoxTorrent 1.13
This is a BitTorrent client integrated into Firefox. Allows you to stream videos as they download and supports Windows, Mac, and Linux. This popular add on has 8,887 weekly downloads.

Torrent Finder Toolbar
Torrent Finder Toolbar is a torrent search toolbar for Firefox, which enables users to search over 180 top torrent sites and trackers from their Firefox browser. This is a great torrent finder and no longer one has to go to individual sites to search for the torrent files.

MUSIC AND VIDEO RELATED

FoxyTunes 2.9.5
FoxyTunes lets you control almost any media player and find lyrics, covers, videos, bios and much more with a click right from your browse Not compatible with Firefox 3. But this is very popular and has earned some great reviews by its users.

Video DownloadHelper 3.0.4
DownloadHelper is a tool for web content extraction. Its purpose is to capture not only videos but image files from many sites directly on your file system. It also works with MySpace, Google videos, DailyMotion, Porkolt, iFilm, DreamHost and others. This is very popular and has earned some great reviews.

There are some other video download add ons at the Firefox Add on website but the other very popular ones I had a look at had some bad reviews including one of them being detected as spyware by Avira Anti-Virus

Note: You can just use the free VideoLAN player to view .flv videos.

BLOG RELATED

BlogRovr 1.1.779
RovR fetches posts from your favorite blogs about anything you're browsing, and shows you summaries you can open read posts without leaving the web page you were on. Has got some great reviews.

Sage-Too 0.9.1 RSS Feeds etc.
Sage-Too is a lightweight RSS and Atom feed aggregator extension for Mozilla Firefox. Features include: Reads RSS (2.0, 1.0, 0.9x) and Atom feeds, Feed Discovery, Integrates with Firefox's bookmark storage and Live Bookmarks, Imports and exports OPML feed lists, Newspaper feed rendering customizable via style sheets, Technorati and RSS search engine integration, Support for the following locales: Argentine Spanish, Catalan, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, and Swedish This is highly popular with very positive reviews.

DashBlog 1.5
DashBlog lets you quickly collect videos, images, text/quotes, songs and screen-captures from any web page and publish them to your blog (word press, blogger/blogspot, tumblr) and/or twitter.It’s the fastest and easiest way for you post video, text, quotes, images and songs to your blog, tumblr and twitter (all at the same time). This is very popular among bloggers and has a high reputation among its users.

SECURITY/ ANONYMITY RELATED

Netcraft Toolbar 1.2
Blocks phishing sites, helping to protect users from online fraud. This toolbar is only for Firefox 2.0 or later. For earlier versions of Firefox, please download the toolbar direct from http://toolbar.netcraft.com/install

ProxySel 1.3.08a import export proxies
The Proxy selection and processing utility is a Mozilla extension that let you select a proxy from a drop down menu. You may import proxy lists in different formats. This has a Menu to add proxy manually and a Auto Tor, Privoxy detection feature. But some users are facing problems with TOR in the latest version of this.

Tor-Proxy.NET Toolbar 0.3
With this toolbar you can access TOR-Proxy.NET directly.This Addon creates a new toolbar, where you can enter the address you want to take a look at. You also can choose between different anonymization-networks. There are not much reviews on this even if it is popular. So it would be advisable to wait for some more reviews.

Torbutton 1.0.4.01
Torbutton provides a button to easily enable or disable the browser's use of Tor. This has earned some great reviews.

SwitchProxy Tool 1.4.1
SwitchProxy lets you manage and switch between multiple proxy configurations quickly and easily. You can also use it as an anonymizer. BUt this does not work with Firefox 3.

FoxyProxy 2.7.4
FoxyProxy is an advanced proxy management tool that completely replaces Firefox's limited proxying capabilities. It offers more features than SwitchProxy, ProxyButton, QuickProxy, xyzproxy, ProxyTex, TorButton, etc.

OTHERS
CustomizeGoogle 0.72
CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhance Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam). All features are optional and easily configured.

Yapta 1.3.0.9 for Ticket Fares
An user review sums up this add on very well: "For the frequent traveler, this add-on by Yapta is essential. Every time you're looking at flights it just shows up and allows you to tag/watch those specific flights, thus avoiding (a) a separate trip to the Yapta site to utilize their very unique service, (b) having to go back again and again to the flight listings and check it. They notify you. You know how some add-ons are kind of complicated and you're not really sure how to use them? Nothing overdone on this add-on. It's simple, it works, and it saves you time. Plus it's not intrusive to your browsing experience. I did find a couple small issues, but no show-stoppers and the folks at Yapta have been responsive. Probably already fixed." But..even if this is very popular with 6,077 weekly downloads, it has only two reviews so far.

Shareaholic 1.4
Shareaholic allows you to share, bookmark, and e-mail web pages quickly via a wide array of web 2.0 social websites without cluttering up your browser. This add on is hugely popular and is even recommended by Mozilla/ Firefox.

Note: I have listed the add ons here which I felt are fine to use, after reading the reviews. Like I mentioned above all the add ons listed below are very popular and has racked in some very valuable comments from its users. Hence am sharing it here. Any add ons which have a huge weekly download and is popular but yet has very feedbacks from its users are not listed here. But it does not necessarily mean that I am right. Its just my belief and it does not mean that readers have to cater to that. All the extensions/ add ons listed above are submitted to the Firefox Addons website by individual developers and it does not necessarily mean that all of them are safe to use or not safe to use. So it is always advisable to read reviews about them before using them and its entirely upto the readers' discretion as to whether to use them or not after reading the reviews carefully. Its always great to use your logic and analytical skills before using them. Each individual add on has a longer description at the Firefox site and user reviews along with the developers' remarks. So choose wisely.

Printer that receives Emails without computer or Internet

This amazing technology is brought to you by the Presto Printing Mail Box. With this you don't even need a computer or Internet to receive not just emails but attachments too, such as pictures etc., from your friends or dear ones. And this printer will print them out automatically so that you can read them or view the pictures in the good old fashion on a piece of paper and even file it up without even having the fear of a hard drive crash or Virus.

All you have to do is plug in the AC plug and a telephone line. No new telephone service is needed. No internet service is required. This comes at a price of 150 dollars and you need to go for an annual subscription for setting up an account by calling up Presto for the meager amount of 99 dollars/annum.

The best thing is that it will have no spam mails since you set up the account by setting up the account by choosing what e-mail addresses can send mail to the mailbox. Presto will give the receiver an email address and the sender can use this to send pictures or letters to the printer.

But yes, unfortunately there is no way you can send a video attachment or one can reply using this machine. But oh well does this is a printer which is not just any other printer one can just marvel at all the positives this can bring. And this is only the beginning of what is in store, technology wise.

Kudos to those who mold the technology to suit and enhance the life of common men.

My Tech related News Picks for Today

Steve Jobs of Apple Tops the list of Highest paid CEOs -- Despite a $1 yearly salary, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs still managed to top Forbes' list of highest paid CEOs for 2006, raking in more than $646 million through stock-based compensation -- more than twice that of the next highest paid boss. Read more here.

World's fastest Jet propelled Toilet-- Now this is something unique. With a top speed in excess of 7o mph this one definitely rocks but the $10,ooo price tag would make one constipated. The article at gizmodo.com has some great pics of this unique toilet and a video too. The toilet has been fitted with wheels and it farts fire..literally.

Top 7 things administrators forget to do-- According to this article the 7 things administrators forget to do are 1. Forgetting to Delete a Former User's Account 2. Forgetting to Regularly Search for Rootkits 3. Forgetting to Use a Trouble Ticket Tracking System 4. Forgetting to Set Up Technical Documentation and Creating a Knowledge Base 5. Forgetting the Risks of Flash Memory Drives 6. Forgetting to Manage Partial Root Access 7. Forgetting Courtesy.
This article is an interesting read and a very informative one for anyone irrespective of whether they hold a network administrator privelege or not.

Fighting the spammers-- This article at BBC's clickonline talks in simple terms how one can fight the spammers. Spam is a very big problem. "There are billions of e-mails sent every day and 80 - 90% of them are junk." And ofcourse there is no denying of this fact. This needs to be eradicated. But still the spammers stay one step ahead and before we even ready to send out our emails to our friends the spammers would have already sent one to our email address! That is how they operate. The article talks about how to keep away from spam in the lay man's language.

Top 100 Most Influential People in IT, Part 4 -- This is a great slide show at eweek.com with the pics and related info about the most influential people in IT.At no. 12 it is no surprise to find Blake Ross of FireFox. After all FireFox is on fire. And at no. 1 is..yes you guessed it..it is the duo from Google--Serge Bin and Larry Page.

What if an YouTube video sucks?

All right what if? Okay, the answer lies with Vidavee Graffiti. They call it the "artful vandalism". Yes with the tool you find at that site you can "graffitize" any video you want to and the pass it around.

There is an instruction video that starts playing as soon as you land at the site. The only problem I find with the video is the hair cut of the girl who gives out the instruction. It just seems that someone has already vandalized her hair. The cool thing is that you can work on that instruction video itself to get a glimpse of what all you can do.

Ok, now the really fuming ones can go mess up some videos or the creative ones can use some creative ideas to add their personal style to the videos with some artful touch.

New Blogger related tips and links.

Here are some tips and useful links I gathered from the web which would be helpful to the bloggers who have started using the new Blogger.

1. Christine's Blogger template: This webpage is maintained by Christine. Check this page if you want to have a customizable Blogger template for the new Blogger. Each of the template costs $15.


2.How to upload a banner into the New Blogger: This article will help you to upload a banner into the new Blogger. The method used here is to remove the Header widget by going to Layouts and clicking on "Edit" and then "Remove this page element". But the problem is that many of the users does not have a "Remove this page element" button on the Header's Edit options. But there is way around to get the "Remove this page element" option on your Header's Edit options. To get that what you have to do is:

Go to 'Edit HTML' and look up for this line of text: (between <> brackets)

b:widget id='Header1' locked='true' title='Your Title (Header)' type='Header'/

Then change 'true' to 'false'. Save the template and go to 'Page Elements', now the button 'Remove Page Element' in Header should appear.

The credit for this idea goes to Pinzón Azul.

3.How to remove the Blogger nav. bar from your blog: This post I came across at Betabloggerfordummies will help you to get rid of the Blogger nav. bar from the new Blogger. Please do read about the legal issues before you do it. You can also find a link on that page which lets the bloggers using the old Blogger to get rid of the nav.bar. There are also many other Blogger related articles on this page like:

How to add picture to beta blog header.
How to customize your header.
How to insert banner link to your blog.
How to add banner link in footer.
How to add widget to provide button link to your blog.

I hope these links provided here helps the bloggers to have a cherishable blogging experience.

Related reading:
14 things to be avoided for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Adsense inside the article/post in new blogger(beta).

Tools to optimize Google Reader.

As most of you are aware Google Reader is an excellent tool to subscribe to news feeds. And along with a new and popular tool one can always expect third party add ons. And that is beauty of the Internet. Just when you start to fall in love with a tool these adds can make you fall head over heels in love with an amazing tool. And as it was inevitable several add ons have popped up that will make your experience with Google Reader a more rewarding one.


So without further adieu here are some of the Google Reader add ons that add more spice:

Google Reader Notifier (For Mac OS X Tiger users): Google Reader Notifier is a private open source project utilizing the unofficial Google Reader API, and is not related to Google. This tool displays the unread items of your Google Reader account right from the menubar of Mac OS X Tiger. This keeps track of new items within your entire reading list or just for a particular tag.

Godita: This tool is a Google Reader Del.icio.us Tagging bookmarklet. This tool lets you copy Reader items that interest you to del.icio.us, along with all the other items you've bookmarked over the Web.

Google Reader Optimized: This is a tool that optimizes the Reader taking away all the unnecessary UI elements. It's a skin that can be applied using either the Stylish user styles Firefox Add-On, or the Greasemonkey Add-On. This set of user styles maximizes the reading area.

Using your cell phone to Control Google Reader (Mac users): Romeo is a tool that is available for free which allows the user to control their MAC remotely using a blue tooth and a compatible mobile device. It lets you control your iTunes and DVD Player, as well as presentation applications. Now Ben Wong has come up with a Google Reader Romeo Script that lets you control your Google Reader using a blue tooth enabled mobile device.

Google Reader button for Internet Explorer 7: This a button that integrates with the Google Tool bar for Internet Explorer 7 and notifies the user about new items through an icon that offers a color change (green) to notify a user of new content.

And finally, for those who are not yet aware of the Google Reader keyboard short cuts, take a look here.

Reference:
The Official Google Reader blog.

Full movies/Tv shows for free--Simplistic's Movie Links.

Yes, there is a website that puts full length videos and Tv shows from sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, Guba etc:- The site is called Simplistic's Video Links and is updated daily. They get all the movies that are uploaded in parts on sites like YouTube, Dailymotion etc: and join them together and put it on this site. Most of the movies at this site are split into 10 parts. There are over 325 movies available at this site right now and it is updated daily.

According to the site it is legal since the contents are not hosted at the site but is provided through the video hosting sites.

How long each movie will stay at this site remains to be seen since whenever the movies are taken off from the original sites like YouTube because of copyright violations the movies will disappear at this site too.

10 ways to use LinkedIn (by Guy Kawasaki)

LinkedIn is a site as most of know is network of professionals. So it certainly is a good platform to advertise your Job expertise and look for jobs and also a site which allows you to connect with professionals and people who are looking for experts and professionals for various aspects thus it is not just about getting jobs but forming partnerships or making sales etc: All 500 of the fortune 500 companies are represented at Linkedin.

However many of the people who join the site is not fully aware of how to make the most use of it and according to Guy Kawasaki it is a tool that is under-utilized. In his blog Guy Kawasaki has posted a top-ten list of ways to increase the value of LinkedIn. And here are the 10 things he has covered:

1.Increasing your visibility.
2.Improving your connectability.
3.Improving your Google PageRank.
4.Enhancing your search engine results.
5.Performing blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.
6.Increasing the relevancy of your job search.
7.Making your interview go smoother.
8.Gauging the health of a company.
9.Gauging the health of an industry.
10.Tracking startups.

For those who are interested in reading the complete advice go to Guy Kawasaki's blog.