Computers

Chromebook logo

Why a Chromebook May Just Make Perfect Sense

Has Chromebook logoGoogle’s Chrome OS-based Chromebooks caught your eye and now you’re considering one?

We’ll walk you through what you need to know – what’s great, the limitations and how it compares to a traditional Windows, Mac or Linux laptop.

Of course, in the end your own requirements should drive your decision, but there’s a good chance you may have room in your home for a Chromebook. …

Announcing our book on Computer Password Security!

Book cover - Computer Security PasswordWe are proud to announce that the geeks, yours truly – Doug and Khalid, have written and published their very first book. We saw a great need for a single source of compiled information and advice that the average computer user could follow to improve and secure their online accounts and passwords.

Being in the IT and information security field, this is a subject that we speak about constantly, and yet while there are thousands of articles online, there were no books that nicely encapsulated all of that knowledge.

Every week, thousands of passwords and/or identities are stolen, and those are only the breaches we know about. Don’t become a statistic – follow the easy-to-follow advice in our book to greatly reduce your exposure.

As a holiday special, we’re giving it away tomorrow, Christmas Day, 25 Dec 2014! 

We’d love to hear your thoughts. If you have a few minutes, help out other shoppers by posting a review on Amazon.

Gift Guide for Geeks

Amazon FireDo you have someone on your gifting list with particular taste in all things Geek?  If so, the Geeks have your gifting playbook depending on your level of investment (how much money do you want to spend?).  Below are some great gift ideas under $50, under $100, under $200 and over $200 but you can also check some geek-centric stores such as ThinkGeek, Hammacher Schlemmer and Sharper Image.  Enjoy!

Review: Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Speaker

Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Speaker SystemKinivo sent the Geeks a sample of the Kinivo M2 Bluetooth Speaker system which is a 2.1 speaker system designed for computers, smartphones and tablets for testing. I’ve tested the Kinivo speaker system using Bluetooth from a Mac, iPhone, iPad and Samsung S4 as well as NFC on the Samsung S4… yes, Bluetooth AND NFC. If you are looking for either a budget or nice wireless speaker system that plugs into AC, you should read on.
 

Passwords Are Not Broken, but How We Choose Them Sure Is

By Bruce Schneier, author of recent book, Carry On: Sound Advice from Schneier on Security

I’ve been reading a lot about how passwords are no longer good security. The reality is more complicated. Passwords are still secure enough for many applications, but you have to choose a good one. And that’s hard. The best way to explain how to choose a good password is to describe how they’re broken. The most serious attack is called offline password guessing. There are commercial programs that do this, sold primarily to police departments. There are also hacker tools that do the same thing.

As computers have become faster, the guessers have got better, sometimes being able to test hundreds of thousands of passwords per second. These guessers might run for months on many machines simultaneously.

Book cover - Network Security Monitoring

Book Review: The Practice of Network Security Monitoring

Book cover - Network Security MonitoringSome more geek entertainment from No Starch press! The full title of this book is: The Practice of Network Security Monitoring: Understanding Incident Detection and Response. The Practice of NSM, as it’s abbreviated in the book, was written by the CSO of Mandiant, Richard Bejtlich, who also blogs at TaoSecurity.

So what is Network Security Monitoring? First, NSM isn’t about control, i.e. blocking, preventing or filtering; it’s about awareness and visibility. You may have a dozen of the best security products in place, but what if they’re either not doing what they’re supposed to or not catching other attacks? NSM gives you insight into the state of your security regardless of what products you have in place.

Microsoft Surface tablet

Why the Microsoft Surface Will Leave iPad Users Drooling

Microsoft Surface tabletMicrosoft recently unveiled its Surface tablet, a sleek in-house design running Windows 8 and soon to be available in two models: Surface and Surface Pro. The basic model will run Windows RT, a lighter, tablet-oriented version of Microsoft’s new OS that focuses on Metro apps, while the Surface Pro will run full-fledged Windows 8.

While the company didn’t announce specific release dates or pricing, the Surface will release alongside Windows 8 — probably around October — at a price “competitive with similar tablets,” with the Surface Pro dropping shortly thereafter, likely in the Ultrabook range of $900 to $1000.

Should you start saving your pennies? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons.

Microsoft Surface tablet

Will Microsoft’s Surface tablet live up to the hype?

Microsoft Surface  tabletIt’s not everyday that you see a positive headline about Microsoft from the tech industry. But when Microsoft revealed its long rumored about tablet, the Surface, tech analysts and industry reporters were quick to praise it as device worthy of the software giant. That’s good news for consumers, because there could certainly stand to be a little variety in the tablet market beyond the iPad and the Android offerings.

There are a lot of unknowns concerning the Surface. There’s no set release date yet and Microsoft is mum on some of the Surface’s specs, and it’s not entirely clear how much the tablet will cost. But there is plenty to learn about the Surface right now, so let’s take a closer look at this new tablet.

Review: Mobee Magic Bar

Mobee Technology Magic Bar Wireless keyboards clean cords up around your workstation but tend to lose batteries at the worst times. Mobee Technologies created Magic Bar to work with Apple Wireless Keyboards and even the Apple Magic Trackpad. The Magic Bar is the World’s first inductive charger for the Apple Wireless Keyboard (and Magic Trackpad) and provides an eco-friendly alternative to maintain your Wireless Keyboard and Magic Trackpad without requiring AA batteries.

Read after the break to learn how the product tested with the Geeks.

Review: Empower Laptop Power Adapter

Small electronics manufacturer, Jacobsparts, sent us one of their very own power adapters to test out. We tried out an Empower AC Adapter Model JA-90-CD on an HP G62 laptop over a few weeks.

The Empower are nicely priced replacements for OEM power adapters and feature long cables (12 ft total between the AC and DC sides), thick 3.5mm DC cord, thermistor based thermal protection temporarily powers down the adapter in the event of overheating, a self-resetting fuse that provides over-current protection and a ferrite core on the DC side. …

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