1. Remove Instant Personalization [link]

Instant personalization gives your information to 3rd party websites such as Docs.com, Pandora, and Yelp. Uncheck this box to prevent these sites from accessing your information.

2. Remove Unused (and sketchy) Applications [link]

Chances are you’ve added some application at some point, and although you deleted it off your profile, it probably still has access to your profile. Remove any unwanted applications by going to the link above and deleting those apps which shouldn’t be there. You might be surprised how many pages can see your information!

3. Remove Your Public Profile [link]

Data mining will largely rely on your public profile as a starting point for gathering your information. Remove that ability by going to the link above. Change your Facebook Search Results to Friends and Networks, and then Uncheck the option to have a public profile.

4. Lock Down Your Contact Information [link]

On this page, you can find all of the contact methods that are available to you. Unless you really want anybody to contact you, it is best to set almost all of these to “Friends” and nothing else. The only exceptions are the option to add you as a friend, and to send you messages. Both are worthwhile to leave open to everybody unless you happen to get spam from them.

5. Lock Down Your Profile Information [link]

Finally, there’s your actual profile information that should be locked down. Setting all of these to “Only Friends” is the best course of action.

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If you haven’t done so, lock down your information soon. I can guarantee that the automated data mining services are working full-tilt in case Facebook reverts its privacy settings. It’s time to take control of your profile settings.

1. Buy a new car

With the potential of a great new job headed my way (possibly more on that later), I should have some disposable income in the near future. To celebrate this, I think it’s time to get a new car; my current car, although it holds 5 people, is hardly what you consider sporty, is developing a bad case of rust, guzzles gas like nobody’s business, and isn’t fun to drive at all. I plan on buying a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon with a 5-speed manual transmission. They come in around $9000 before taxes, so on a financing plan I’ll be able to buy that no problem.

2. Build a customized car trunk sound system enclosure

I’d love to put my DIY skills to the test and create a proper molded sound system enclosure for my new car. It’s a lot of work, but it’ll be a lot of fun. This will also be very useful to work on some woodworking skills and some custom fabrication work.

3. Start my development website

For about two years, I ran a security-based site, but eventually shut it down because my interests simply did not coincide with my interests and life aspirations. As such, I’ve decided to start a development-based website. I can do the security-aspect within the programming and development, but I can also get into graphics design. It fits into my interests much more at this point in time, and I think it will be more beneficial to the internet as well.

4. Develop Thimbleberry

I have a new site in the works with a friend. That’s about all I’ll tell you for now. Either way, should be a fun time.

5. Start actively contributing to the open source community

The open source community is amazing. Those of you that have heard of a little operating system called Linux may know that it’s open source. That’s right: it’s free to use, free to modify, and free to redistribute. There are tons of open source projects available online, and I’d like to start contributing to one or start a new one that people will actually use. I’ve been using open source software for a long time, and it’s about time that I gave back to the community that has helped me out in so many ways.

Well, it may be feeble, but it’s a start at getting back in the writing groove. Soon I’ll start doing a bit more technology writing again, and will hopefully do some stuff on interface design. Thanks for sticking with me through my creative drought, and we will hopefully see you Monday.

For those of you using Internet Explorer (IE), I pity you. IE, still being the #1 most commonly-used browser in the world, is the target of the most attacks by far out of all the major browsers. If you’re smart enough to use another, better browser, then you’re already one step towards protecting yourself. I’m going to assume, though, that you’re using Firefox or one of it’s derivatives such as Flock, since the plug-in libraries are huge.

1. Use the Web of Trust

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3456
My Web of Trust (MyWOT) is a plugin for Firefox that warns you about potentially risky sites. It can alert you to known scam sites, spam sites, and pages that are known for hosting malware. It’s great for getting an idea of how trustworthy the site you are visiting is, and is a great extra level of protection against attacks against your computer.

2. Block Javascript and Popups

AdBlock Plus: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865
NoScript: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722
The most common form of browser-based attack is cross-site scripting, or XSS. XSS uses Javascript (a scripting language that websites use) in order to force your browser to do something. Typically, Javascript usage is legitimate; when you post something on somebody’s wall on Facebook, Javascript is used there to push the new message to their wall without refreshing the page, and to create that cool sliding effect as the old posts move down the page. You can also use it for malicious use, though. Stealing login credentials is a common one, but I’ve seen Javascript sophisticated enough to hijack your browser, forcing you to visit sites without you having any input or even downloading and running malware and viruses against your will. NoScript will block all Javascript, and then you can tell it what you want to enable. It takes a while to configure properly, but after a week or so of setting it up, you’ll be a lot more secure. XSS sometimes propagates through ads, so AdBlock is nice to have as well.

3. Use Different Passwords

This always seemed like a no-brainer to me, but I know many other people who won’t do this. Using the same password for multiple sites is just stupid. If somebody manages to steal your password from one site, what’s stopping them from going to the other site (and no, having a different user name isn’t going to prevent anything). Instead of using the same password, use different ones, minimum 8 characters, and random characters. If you can’t remember all of those, take two 4-character random strings, and take the domain name, and put each random string on either side of the domain; there’s your password. For example: “4n$sFACEBOOKn4%l”. Swap “e” for “3″, “s” for “$” or “l” for “1″ – think L33T!

4. Clear Those Tracking Cookies

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623
Although you may not realize it, tracking cookies are used to track your movement around the internet. Although you may visit very different web pages, the company that displays ads on the sites may be the same. Beat these cookies with BetterPrivacy, which removes tracking cookies and LSOs from your browser cache.

5. If You Didn’t Expect To Get It, Don’t Click It

I hate to have to reiterate common sense, but sometimes it escapes us. If you didn’t expect to get a link from somebody, or they sent you a file that you weren’t planning on getting, don’t open it. I don’t care if it came from their MSN account; if you didn’t follow rule #3, there’s no reason why their account couldn’t have been hacked. If someone sends you a link, do yourself a favour and just ASK the person what it is before you click it; if you get a reply that is something that your friend would say, then you’re probably okay.

1. QDB.us
http://qdb.us

We’ve all come to realize that IRC chat rooms are the source of a lot of junk online. It also tends to act as a cesspool of stupidity, amusing stories and typos that end up embarrassing somebody and also providing entertainment for quite a while. QDB is a collection of submitted quotes from IRC. Many are obscene, some are geeky, and most will probably cause you to at least giggle a little. (For more, check out http://bash.org).

2. Lifehacker
http://lifehacker.com

Lifehacker, although one could waste plenty of time on it, will hopefully help you streamline your life. The site provides a number of tips to improve productivity or perform certain tasks by a cheaper alternative means. It’s kept in my daily reading because of some of the ingenious things that they come up with.

3. TED
http://www.ted.com

TED’s slogan is “Ideas Worth Spreading”, and that is certainly what they do. The site is filled with over five hundred talks about science, technology, art, psychology, and many other topics. Some of the most amazing ideas have come from TED talks. I guarantee that if you like to be amazed, this site will chew through your bandwidth like a teething puppy.

4. StumbleUpon
http://www.stumbleupon.com

Create an account, tell it what you’re interested, and click Stumble. StumbleUpon finds a page which matches your interests. That’s what StumbleUpon is all about. For each page you visit, you can tell it if you liked it or not, and it will further refine your Stumbles. I highly recommend the Photography topic.

5. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org

I shouldn’t need to tell you what Wikipedia is. If I do, you need to educate yourself. Wikipedia is the one big free encyclopedia online. It’s accessible, it’s full of information, and covers every topic imaginable. The best part: it has a Random Page link. Click the link, go to a random page, and repeat.

Mute Math
Mute Math – 2006

Mute Math is difficult to fit into any one genre. While they have an electronica base, they also exhibit both rock and pop stylings. Their music goes from fast-paced trace to smooth downtempo, and is guaranteed to get your head bobbing to the beat. Although this is their first main release, they have also released an EP back in 2004 entitled Reset which is a phenomenal addition to their repertoire. If good music alone doesn’t do it for you, they also have a phenomenal stage presence as demonstrated by their both their live performances and their music videos.

Queens Of The Stone Age
Era Vulgaris – 2007

Queens of the Stone Age have never fit into the mold, and their quirky music certainly shows this. Their odd style of music stands out from the crowd, but not so much that their music doesn’t go mainstream. Their guitar styling is great to listen to, even if it sometimes isn’t the most pleasing to the ears. Their rock styling with lyrics a-la-”Red Hot Chili Peppers” make this a unique band that shouldn’t be passed up.

Cake
Comfort Eagle – 2001

Cake’s music has always been something to chuckle at, and Comfort Eagle is no exception. Cake is an indie-style band with a sense of a humor and a way with words, and they enjoy using different instruments and effects in their songs. If you’re looking for some music to put on while friends are over to hang out, consider this album (and their others) for some background listening. Other notable songs on other albums include the remake of the Muppets song Mahna, Mahna, and the Frank Sinatra song Strangers in the Night.

Royal Crown Revue
Passport to Australia – 2000

Royal Crown Revue is a rockabilly swing group with a knack for getting your feet tapping. Normally I steer clear of live albums because of all the screaming in them. This album is different; there is very little applauding and cheering in it, but is instead graced with the music that you paid for. The band is one of my favorite contemporary jazz groups for their unique sound and groove, and their live album Passport To Australia reaffirms my choice. If you pick up one rockabilly album, make it this one.

Pronobozo
Zero = One = Everything – 2007

Pronobozo is a phenomenal artist; his unique style redefines breakbeat music. After getting exposure on the internet podcast Hak5 by providing much of the music used on the show, he released his album to the masses under the Creative Commons license. The pressed version of his album is a limited quantity version, and is definitely worth picking up for a listen. This is currently my preferred album to listen to while I program; it has the perfect mix of downtempo stylings, breakbeat, and that instrumental “smoove” feel to keep you in the programming groove. What are you waiting for? Go buy this album. Now.

1. Everyday Decay

http://everydaydecay.com

Everyday Decay takes place in a post-apocalyptic zombie survival scenario, updating Mondays and Fridays. The art is quite impressive, with an interesting story line including drama, comedy, and “a healthy dose of WTF”. If you like zombies (and who doesn’t?), this is definitely one to check out.

2. Cyanide & Happiness

http://explosm.net

If you’re looking for a daily giggle involving plays on words, take a look over here. The art isn’t amazing, but it’s always worth reading for the comic relief, and there’s no story line so you can pick up at any point without feeling that you’re missing some key point brought up a year and a half ago.

3. Optipess

http://optipess.com

This is currently one of my favorites that I never miss. Kristian Nygård from Norway does a great job with each comic he makes. The name, Optipess, comes from the combination of two opposite words, optimism and pessimism. And, as Kristian puts it, “the comic is devoid of continuity, character development, story arcs, logic and wit”. Despite that he thinks that his art isn’t great, I disagree. Optipess updates every Monday and Friday.

4. Least I Could Do

http://leasticoulddo.com

LICD is not for the prudish. Its quirky story lines and abundant sexual humor are great for an open mind. The stories are great, the art is fantastic, and it updates every day. Seriously. Check it out.

5. Return on Insanity

http://returnoninsanity.com

Return on Insanity is a comic starting out by my good friend Tyler. It’s had its ups and downs trying to get itself started, but it’s doing great now. There’s a committed artist helping out, and I help with the web design. The story lines have departed nicely from reality, and center around Tyler getting started with his first business endeavor. The art and story has improved ten-fold over the past year as you can see from the archives, and this is one comic not worth passing up.