The internet has a TON of places to listen to music online for free – some are legal, some are not.  I wanted to find a place online where I can stream audio from the internet and discover new music.  I was browsing the internet for that very thing, and that’s when I ran into Pandora Radio (www.pandora.com)

With Pandora, you can type an artist’s name or song title, and it will start playing music based on your search.  I like bands like Coldplay and Mute Math a lot, so I did a search for only “Mute Math.”  Pandora automatically searched its database, created a “Radio Station” based on my search, and begand to play a song by Mute Math, then, believe it or not, once the song ended it started playing Coldplay!  After that, it began to play more music by artists I did not know, and I begand to discover new music that I enjoy.

Pandora is free.  You don’t need an account to use it, but you do need an account for it to remember your taste.  You may sign up to Pandora for free.  The way it works is you give your name, e-mail, age, etc., do a search, and listen.  When listening to a song, you can choose whether you like the song or not by clicking a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’ icon.  You can also get more information on the music you are hearing with one click; it is really that simple.

There are other places like Last.FM, AccuRadio, and Clear Channel Music, and even MySpace where you can find music as well, but I really like Pandora Radio because of it’s simplicity of use and effectiveness in finding new music that’s similar to my taste.

What website do you use to listen to music or find new music and why?  How do you discover new music?  I want to know your favorite websites to discover and listen to music!  Post your thoughts below or send me an e-mail at david@funkytower.com!  I would love to hear from you!

Take it easy,
David

Today, using your last name followed by your favorite year just doesn’t always cut it.  So how does one stay safe?

Firstly, don’t use words out of the dictionary to form a password.  Rather, make your password seem like a bunch of gibberish.  Create an acronym instead, or write out complete gibberish as a password (of course, make sure you wrote down this gibberish BEFORE you attempt typing it.  THEN, take that piece of paper you wrote your new password on and HIDE IT!) If you create a password with words, it’ll be easier for any hacker or hacking program to figure out your password.

If the above is too difficult, then try making your password complex.  Use upper AND lower case letters, numbers, and if applicable, use symbols like !, #, $, or %.  The longer and more random the password, the better.

Do not use your first, middle, and/or last name as your password.  If a hacker knows your name, it’d be no sweat to get to your account.

If the website you are subscribing/signing up to requires a security question just in case you forget your password and need to “reset” it, don’t use answers and questions that everyone might know.  Also, I find that if your answers are longer, your password will be that much harder to be obtained by a hacker.

Try changing your password from time to time.  I’m not saying to do it every day, but maybe every few months or so.  I try to change my passwords every 4 to 6 months.

Don’t use the “AutoComplete” features.  When you do this, your password is stored on your computer and will leave you more vulnerable to having your information stolen.

Lastly, do NOT use the same password for every single thing.  Using the same password for everything is an easy habit to get into.  Yes, it is a lot easier to remember, but it’s much more dangerous.  If a hacker gained your password from one website, what would stop them from using the same information on another?

“I think I get it, but how can I tell my password is safe?”

If you followed the suggestions above, you should be fine – but if you would like a second opinion, check out http://www.passwordmeter.com/ aka “Password Strength Checker.”  This website offers a simple, free service that allows one to check the strength of his password.

Just visit the website, type your password in, and the webpage automatically checks the strength of your password.  Your password is never stored or saved, so not only is it a FREE service, more importantly, it is a SAFE service.

So, be sure and check out http://www.passwordmeter.com/

Stay safe!

What Do You Think?

How do you stay safe on the internet?  What methods do you use to make your password strong and safe?  Whatever you have to say, I want to hear about it!  Leave your thoughts below in the “Comments” section, or send me an e-mail at david@funkytower.com

Take it easy,
David

Internet Explorer 7 is fast. Especially on the Vista machine as it was made to match and work with Vista.  Each and every feature, at least with my experience, has responded very quickly.  So its performance has been great.

Internet Explorer 7 is safe. By safe, I mean it does indeed help prevent you from spyware, adware, and phishing websites.  Built in to IE7 is a pop-up blocker and phishing filter.

Internet Explorer 7 now has tabbed browsing. I LOVE tabbed browsing – in fact, I love IE7′s tabbed browsing feature more than Firefox’s.  IE7′s “New Tab” button is already on the toolbar, while with Firefox (at least when I got it) you had to browse the menu’s or use a keyboard shortcut to create a new tab.  Now with Firefox, there IS a button you can add, but you have to do the work in finding it and adding it yourself.  Having the button there automatically, like IE7, is just common sense.

Internet Explorer 7 is stylish. If you want a taste of the way Windows Vista looks and feels, Internet Explorer 7 is a good start.  The design of this browser is beautiful and elegant.  The great thing is that the beautiful looks of IE7 does not inhibit IE7′s performance and speed.

Internet Explorer 7 is free….enough said about that.

So which is it?  IE7 or Firefox?

And the winner is……FIREFOX!  Firefox is safe, fast, customizable in appearance and functionality, and its security measures are NOT annoying!  Sorry, IE7 just doesn’t cut it for me anymore.  Getting IE7 to test websites with Flash documents was a difficult process.  It usually gives me some warning that the web page I’m trying to access is attempting to use some sort of ActiveX control that could harm my computer….IT’S JUST AN SWF FLASH DOCUMENT!  Anyways, besides that annoyance, the pop-up blocker can also be annoying – Firefox’s utilities are just much more functional and tolerable.

I love almost more than anything that you can literally change Firefox’s interface.  You can make it look like anything by downloading themes from Firefox’s website.

Firefox is undoubtabley the best web browser I use, and I MUST reccomend it to you.  If you’re afraid that it’s going to be too different than the Internet Explorer you’re used to – don’t worry about it.  Firefox is SUPER simple and has a similar layout to Internet Explorer.

So do yourself a favor and download Firefox.

What Do you Think?
What is your favorite web browser?  Send in all your thoughts to david@funkytower.com OR leave a comment below!

Take it easy,
David Crandall

Firstly, Firefox is simple.  Many ISP (internet service providers) like AT&T/SBC, Comcast, and others love to give you a new browser that is full of complicated tools, toolbars, and features that crowd up the screen and ultimately make your web browsing experience cluttered, slow, and enjoyable.  Firefox is sleek and simple and has all that you need to browse the internet.  It’s simplicity calls for a faster, more enjoyable experience online which could cause anyone to make it their default browser.

Secondly, Firefox is safe.  Firefox has a built-in pop-up blocker and security tools which, much unlike IExplorer 7, are easy to customize and even disable.  It lets you know when you may be entering a malicious site that could infect your PC with viruses, spyware, and/or adware.  IE7 tends to block WANTED popup windows that you click on, which is an annoyance if you need to access that webpage – Firefox simply adds a new tab with it’s built in tab-browsing for links that lead to a needed/wanted popup.  This will save space on your taskbar.

Thirdly, Forefox has useful features.  Alongside tabbed browsing, Firefox reads websites the way they should be read.  This is great for web developers who need cross-browser testing utilities.  It has a “safe-mode” that removes any and all add-ons, and has a “No Page Style” option that removes all CSS and some other scripts.  This is great for security purposes.

If this isn’t enough, Firefox is customizable.  I love customizing the way things look on my computer, and knowing that Firefox has this feature makes it a winner in my opinion.  You can download themes at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:2 to have a totally custom webrowser.  On top of changing the look, there are other “add-ons” that you can download at https://addons.mozilla.org/  There are add ons that are useful for anyone and everyone.  Just go there and see what they have to offer!

Another great thing is that Firefox is Free…enough said.

Now there is alot more to Firefox that I just don’t have all the time to write about.  If you want to read about all that Firefox has to offer, go here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/

What Do You Think?
Do you use Firefox?  What do you like/dislike about Firefox?  What is your favorite web browser?  Let me know what you think.  Send me an e-mail at david@funkytower.com, or discuss it with the public by leaving a comment!  I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

Take it easy
David Crandall