Tech News Archives - Page 107 of 134

Will your medical records be safe from hackers once they’re made available online?

Posted on February 9, 2015

doctor As you probably know, many hospitals, doctors offices and other health care facilities have either already digitized their patients’ medical records or are making plans to do so in the near future.

And if some in the federal government have their way, everyone’s medical records will eventually be accessible to medical personnel via the Internet.

While having your medical history available online would certainly make it easy for a doctor in a far away town to quickly access your records in an emergency, it would also make them vulnerable to hackers and anyone else who would like to get their hands on your sensitive private info for nefarious purposes. [Read more…]

You’ll soon be able to use your current phone when you switch to a different carrier

Posted on February 9, 2015

iphone Would you like to switch cell carriers but are hesitant to do so because switching would require you to buy a new phone?

Well, starting on Wednesday, February 11 you’ll be able to switch to a new carrier and keep right on using the phone you already own.

One of the most irritating things about owning a mobile phone has always been the way most of them are “locked” to prevent them from working with any carrier except the one they were originally intended to work with. But thankfully that’s about to change. [Read more…]

Scam Alert: Beware the “Update Flash Player” virus scam on Facebook

Posted on February 3, 2015

Well, there’s yet another extremely dangerous scam making the rounds on Facebook, and it’s an easy one to fall for. It goes something like this…

You’re scrolling through your Facebook news feed when an interesting video catches your attention. You click on it to watch it, but instead of the video you’re presented with a warning that your computer’s Flash Player is out of date and needs to be updated. Well, it doesn’t. [Read more…]

Pick up an Acer Chromebook C720 and get free shipping!

Posted on January 23, 2015

acer-c720-chromebook In an effort to bring Chromebooks (laptops running the Google Chrome operating system) to the masses, Acer has decided to sell the Chromebook C720 for a great price, and the shipping is free!

This is a great deal on a very capable laptop for those who use their PCs primarily for Internet use, checking emails, Facebooking, etc.

As one might expect, the Chromebook C720 isn’t the fastest or most capacious laptop on the market (after all, it does cost about $200), but it does what it was intended to do very well – the uses mentioned above.

Here’s what you’ll get: [Read more…]

Important: Update Java (or remove it) now to keep your computer safe from hackers

Posted on January 22, 2015

It’s no secret that Java is one of the most insecure pieces of software that you can have on your computer. That’s why the Department of Homeland Security recommended that everyone simply remove Java from their computers a couple of years ago.

If you need to keep Java installed on your computer because you still visit websites that use it (thankfully, those sites are quite rare these days), you need to update the Java software on your computer immediately because Oracle has just released an update that patches no less than 19 new security holes!

For what it’s worth, I don’t have Java installed on ANY of my computers since I don’t visit any websites that use it. That being said, perhaps you do. If so, I recommend that you click here to update Java from the official Java website.