Protection for your Gadgets – the Invisible Shield
Everybody got some nice new toys for Christmas, right? A new MP3 player, like an iPod Nano, or a Zune, a new phone, PDA, any number of small electronic gadgets that will need protection from scratches and scrapes. If this is not your first gadget, cell phone, or iPod, then you know how quickly you can get scratches on it. If you carry them around in your pockets with your keys, it’s not a question of if, it is a question of when it will get scratched up. So, how do you protect them? The Invisible Shield from the Shieldzone.com.
I’ll admit, this is my first shield of any kind for any of our gadgets, but I can’t imagine there could be a better one, unless, someone has one you can just spray and it dries instantly. The Invisible Shield, all of them, operate the same way. The Invisible Shield is made from a film originally created by the military to protect the leading edges of helicopter blades from wear and tear while traveling hundreds of miles per hour, so it is tough. All you have to do is watch any of the scratch test videos below to see that. People scratched the heck out of their gadgets to test the shield, and not one scratch has shown up. It is really easy to apply because it comes with a liquid you spray on the shield first, and since it starts out wet, you can move it around to hit the exact spot. You squeegee it off with the plastic squeegee they send, and that is it. I don’t remember seeing any big bubbles on mine at all, and I installed it on three devices, I do have one tiny bubble on my Sony Kitana phone, but that was because I didn’t spray enough of the liquid on it and couldn’t slide it around. So take note: Make sure you coat the film very well so it is easy to adjust.
I covered my iPaq with a shield, my Kitana phone and my iPod Nano, and all three devices work great. On the iPaq, I just installed the screen shield, I have a case I carry it in. On my Kitana, I did the front and back, the kit included shields for the sides, but I did not install those, and the Nano was covered totally, as it rides in my pockets, sometimes with my keys and needs the most protection. The phone already had some scratches, so I’m not going to include any pictures of it, but I have to say, I love the way it feels now. It feels so much better than the phone itself, and, when I lay it on my console in my truck, it doesn’t slide off anymore when I hit the brake! Bonus! I will post a pic of the iPaq and the iPod tomorrow evening, as soon as I replace my digital camera that was stolen on my last flight out of town.
I am not doing any installation videos because I found one from Mobility Today that is perfect. It shows you step by step how to install it, about a 10 or 15 minute process, and you do have to wait 24 hours for it to settle and dry. The video is here. You will notice once installed there looks like there are ridges in the Invisible Shield, but that is just some kind of reflection, and it only occurs at extreme angles, and not head on, so it does not interfere with the video at all and you cannot feel them. A video below demonstrates this so you can see it is only a minor issue.
They have Invisible Shields for about all of the electronic gadgets available, Car Electronics, Cell Phones, Digital Camera LCDs, Dive Computers, Gaming Systems, GPS, Heart Rate Monitors, iPod Accessories, iPods, Laptops, Mac Mini, MP3 Players, Multimedia Viewers, PDAs, Portable DVD Players, Satellite Radios, Smartphones, Watches and more, and you can even get custom made Shields.
Here is the best video I have found to demonstrate the scratch test on your gadget with an Invisible Shield, click here. It makes sure you can see the surface by making it glare a little, so you can see if there are any scratches or not. This truly is a great product, I am preparing to order one for my 1st generation iPod, my wife’s phone, and I might get one for my laptop, I bet it will make if “feel” a lot better. I am also going to try out their Applesauce Polish on my son’s first generation black iPod Nano, the ones that scratched when breathed on them, it is supposed to bring back the shine and remove the scratches, and if that works well, I’ll slap an Invisible Shield on it as well. Try one out for yourself today from the Invisible Shield, and I bet you buy one for every gadget you have.
Oh, I almost forgot, they have a lifetime guarantee, if it ever scratches or peels off they will replace it. If you have to send your gadget back in for service, simply peel the film off and send it back to them, and they will send you a replacement shield free of charge. Beat that! It is a piece of cake to remove, you simply grab a corner and peel it off like a sticker.
I have posted some more video examples in the video section, here is a link to all of them, Invisible Shield review videos. A couple videos after the jump.
Read more…
Categories: Gadgets, Reviews Tags: Invisible Shield, MP3 player, scratch protection, Shieldzone.com, Smartphones
HP Pavilion dv9628nr Notebook and HP dx2250 Desktop PC Deals
HP Pavilion Notebook PC AMD64 X2 Dual-Core 1.9GHz Wireless 2GB DDR2 240GB HDD DL DVD RW 17″ WXGA+ Webcam WinVista Home Premium $739.99 (US) For those who want really fast access to their digital entertainment without the burdensome desktop, and great performance, the HP Pavilion dv9628nr Refurbished Notebook PC provides the solution for all your needs. Ahead of the rest, the HP Pavilion dv9628nr Refurbished Notebook PC introduces HP Imprint finish – a high-gloss finish with an inlaid design – and touch-sensitive media controls. This 7.7 lb notebook delivers desktop comparable performance with its 17.0″ High-Definition BrightView widescreen display supporting AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core mobile technology and nVIDIA graphics solutions.
HP dx2250 Desktop PC AMD64 3800+ 2.4GHz WinXP Professional, MicroTower $299.99 (US) This Desktop combines high performanceand helps you have great productivity! Meet the new HP dx2250 Microtower Desktop PC. This HP desktop computer is powered by an AMD 64 3800+ 2.4GHz CPU with Hypertransport, it is dressed in a good looking case offering a world of expandability and upgrade options, and this fast, powerful dx2250 MT dances through the most complex applications with dazzling efficiency. Boasting 512MB of super-quick DDR2 RAM and an ample 80GB SATA hard drive, this machine delivers outstanding versatility and exceptional multimedia capability for business or high-functioning home use. Featuring a superb DVD-ROM optical drive that’s great for multimedia entertainment, wonderful Realtek ALC861 audio and integrated ATI X300 graphics, integreated 10/100 LAN, along with HP’s stellar contingent of stunning technologies, the HP dx2250 MT desktop computer makes all-around computing a low-cost pleasure. Running on the award-winning Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition operating system for maximum stability, it’s also Windows Vista capable, the HP/Compaq dx2250 MT represents one of our best configurations at this remarkably low price.
Categories: Computer Deals, HP Tags:
Computer Deals and Accessories
Here are some great deals from J&R.com.
Targus PAUM01U Ultra Mini Optical Mouse – $14.99
Sandisk SDCZ62048A1 2GB Cruzer Micro with U3 Technology – $19.99
Microsoft B2L-00002 Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 – $14.99
Rite Lite LPL780D Wireless LED Wall Sconce ( Matte Silver Finish ) – $14.99
Trendnet TK-207K 2-Port USB KVM Switch – $19.99
Iogear WiFi Finder Wireless Hot-Spot Finder GWF001 – $216.99
Western Digital WDG1C5000N My Book Premium 500GB FireWire USB External Hard-drive – $129.99
Aliph JawBone Bluetooth Headset Cellular Phone Edition – Red, Silver, or Black – $74.99
Braun KWF2 – 2-Pack of Replacement Water Filters – $9.99
Sony CFD-ZW755 Portable Stereo Boombox – $99.99
Apple iPod touch – 32GB – $475.00 and FREE Shipping
Olympus Stylus 1200 12-Megapixel Digital Camera – Black – $179.99
Casio EX-Z75SR Exilim Zoom 7 Megapixel Digital Camera – Silver – $119.99
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mmf/2.8G ED Lens – $1699.99 and FREE Shipping
Pure Digital FV60MINB 60-Minute Flip Video Camcorder – Black – $116.88
Here’s a great coupon from Toshiba.
Here are some great deals from TigerDirect.com.
SAVE $60 – GeForce 8800 GT Super+1GB Video Card 1GB DDR3 PCI-E 2.0 $189.99* (US) Price after MIR
Netgear FS605 5-Port 10/100 Network Switch (Recertified) $9.99 (US)
D-Link DSS-5+ 5-Port 10/100 NWay Switch (Recertified) $7.99 (US)
D-Link DES-1105 5-Port Unmanaged 10/100 Network Switch (Recertified) $7.99 (US)
Linksys CIT200 Cordless Internet Telephony Kit (Recertified) $29.99 (US)
Linksys PSUS4 USB Print Server w/Built-in 4-Port Network Switch (Recertified) $24.99 (US)
Linksys BEFSR41 Cable/DSL Router 10/100 Mbps 4-Port (Recertified) $19.99 (US)
Sandisk Sansa e260 4GB MP3/MP4 Player – Refurbished $59.99 (US)
D-Link DUB-H7 7 Port USB 2.0 Hub $9.99* (US) Price after $10 MIR, rebate expires 03/31/08
Jabra S5010 Klipsch Speaker for Phones and MP3 Players $39.99 (US)
DXG MPEG-4 Digital Video Camera 3.0 Megapixels $49.99 (US)
Olevia 747i 47″ LCD HDTV 1920x1080p Native 1,600:1 Contrast Ratio HDMI $1199.99 (US)
HP dx2250 Desktop PC AMD64 3800+ 2.4GHz WinXP Professional, MicroTower $299.99 (US)
Categories: Computer Deals, Hardware Tags:
Hp Computer Deals
Here are some great coupons and computer deals from HP computers.
Tiger Direct always has some good deals on HP computers and accessories. Click here to see all of the HP computers, new and refurbished, that TigerDirect sells, and click here for all of the notebooks.
Categories: Computer Deals, HP Tags:
Fujitsu Computer Deals
Here are some great coupons and computer deals from Fujitsu computers.
$100 off
$50 off units priced under $1000 Use Coupon Code: FCSC50DISC $50 off – Valid 03/17/08 to 03/28/08 – Combinable with Free Shipping and Free 4GB Flashdrive.
FREE EDGE DiskGo USB 4GB Flashdrive and Free Shipping with a new LifeBook Notebook or Tablet PC, or Stylistic Tablet PC Purchase Limit 1 FREE EDGE DiskGo USB 4GB Flashdrive per order – Offer good only at www.shopfujitsu.com – Does not apply to refurbished or discontinued products – Offer valid until 05/31/08 or until supplies last.
Free Flash Drive with a new
Be sure to look at the Fujitsu Rebates & Specials Here are some of the recent rebates and specials from Fujitsu.
Product Rebate Amount End Date
Fujitsu LifeBook A6110 Notebook ( FPCM32378, FPCM32377) $ 50 04/01/08
Fujitsu LifeBook A3210 Notebook (FPCM32771) $ 150 03/31/08
Fujitsu LifeBook A3210 Notebook (FPCM32772) $ 100 03/31/08
Fujitsu LifeBook A6120 Notebook (FPCM32702) $ 50 04/16/08
Categories: Computer Deals Tags:
Weekend Computer Deals from J&R, Toshiba, Tiger and more
Here are some great computer deals and home electronics price cuts for this coming weekend, Friday thru Sunday.
From J&R.com:
$139.99 – Canon PowerShot SD40 7 Megapixel Digital Camera – Noble Blue
$14.99 – Kensington 62905 Contour Cargo Notebook Messenger Backpack
$2749.88 – Canon EOS-5D 12.8 Megapixel Digital Camera SLR Kit with 24-105mm Lens
$149.99 – PALM Tungsten E2 Handheld Color Connected Organizer PDA
$299.99 and FREE Shipping – Harman Kardon 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System HKTS14
$109.99 – Audio Technica ATPL120 Pro DJ Turntable – REFURBISHED
$89.99 – Brother HL2170W Laser Printer
$5.99 – Dane-Elec 1 GB Micro SD Card
$14.99 – Sandisk 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo Digital Memory Card SDMSPD1024A
$14.99 – Pelican Accessories PL-970 HD System Selector
From TigerDirect:
SAVE $40 – Motorola V3 Razr Unlocked GSM Cell Phone $99.99 (US)
Patriot Xporter 2GB USB Flash Drive $9.99 (US)
Transcend JetFlash 4GB USB flash drive $19.99 (US)
Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive Black $29.99 (US)
Motorola HT820 Stereo Bluetooth Headset $39.99 (US)
Plenio VXA-3000 7″ Touchscreen GPS Navigation System Divx/MP3 Player $199.99 (US)
Acer AL2223WD 22″ Widescreen LCD Monitor Silver·Black DVI-D/VGA $229.99 (US)
HP w2207 22″ Widescreen Monitor w/BrightView Panel $249.99 (US)
HP dx2250 PC AMD64 3800+ WinXP Professional $299.99 (US)
From Overstock.com:
From Toshiba:
Save $50 instantly on your Satellite P205D-S8806 purchase. Hurry, Offer valid 3.18.08 to 3.24.08.
Categories: Computer Deals, Hardware Tags:
Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop with Windows Vista Only $499
One Day Only! Inspiron 530 desktop loaded with Windows Vista only $499 (before tax, fees, shipping & handling) after $310 instant savings
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium – English
No Monitor
3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz – 4 DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
Categories: Computer Deals, Dell Tags:
Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop with Windows XP Only $499
One Day Sale! Inspiron 530 desktop loaded with Windows XP only $499 (before tax, fees, shipping & handling) after $310 instant savings
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Genuine Windows XP Home Edition – English
No Monitor
3GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz – 4 DIMMs
500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
16x DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
Categories: Computer Deals, Dell Tags:
Dell Inspiron 1525 Laptop Only $699
One Day Sale! Inspiron 1525 laptop $699 (before tax, fees, shipping & handling) after $395 instant savings
Jet Black
Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 (1.66GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280×800)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
Intel Next -Gen Wireless -N Mini-card
Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam
56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
High Definition Audio 2.0
Categories: Computer Deals, Dell Tags:
How to Stay Out of Botnets
Just finished reading this article on USAToday, Botnet scams are exploding, about how much botnets have increased and how they estimate that on a typical day, 40% of the 800 million computers on the internet are in a botnet. That is just ridiculous, but, probably true. Why? People don’t want to have to do anything to make something work, they just want it to work, and while you can buy a car and jump in it and take off, the same cannot be said for computers. With a new computer, you are already in the whole because you need to make sure your anti virus is up to date, make sure your machine has all of the latest patches and get some kind of spyware scanner. But, who wants to do all of that? Most people just jump online and take off, which is a bad, bad thing, unless you have been on the internet for awhile and actually know not to open emails from people you don’t know, etc. While this article on USAToday is good in informing the public about botnets, it does nothing to let you know how to keep them off of your computer.
Two days after actor Heath Ledger died, e-mails began moving across the Internet purportedly carrying a link to a detailed police report divulging “the real reason” behind the actor’s death. Ledger had been summarily drafted into the service of a botnet.
Bots are compromised computers controlled by profit-minded crooks. Those e-mails were spread by a network of thousands of bots, called a botnet. Anyone who clicked on the link got instantly absorbed into the fast-spreading Mega-D botnet, says security firm Marshal. Mega-D enriches its operators, mainly by distributing spam for male-enhancement pills.
Largely unnoticed by the public, botnets have come to inundate the Internet. On a typical day, 40% of the 800 million computers connected to the Internet are bots engaged in distributing e-mail spam, stealing sensitive data typed at banking and shopping websites, bombarding websites as part of extortionist denial-of-service attacks, and spreading fresh infections, says Rick Wesson, CEO of Support Intelligence, a San Francisco-based company that tracks and sells threat data.
The whole article is worth a read for sure, as you get some background info on how botnets work and what some of the current botnet “herders” are doing and how they evade the scanning systems, etc, of the gate keepers, such as your ISP. So, if you are buying a new computer, here is how to get started safely on the internet. I will post an article later and link to it from here for the ones who are already infected or think they might be.
Download all of the latest patches from Windows Update and install them. Make sure to set your computer to download the latest patches and to notify you when they are received. This is how computers end up in botnets, unpatched computers. If their is a hole in your operating system somebody will, or already is, exploiting it somewhere, a patched and up to date computer is your best friend. If you are surfing with an unpatched computer you are just asking for trouble eventually, mark my words.
In Internet Explorer, click on tools, then click on Windows Update. Or, you can go to www.windowsupdate.com, it should redirect you to the latest version. If you have other Microsoft products installed, like Microsoft Office, go ahead and click on the Upgrade to Microsoft Update link on the right, and you can get the latest patches automatically for those programs as well. Select and install all of the patches that it brings up and have a seat as this could take awhile.
Next, update the antivirus software you have installed, or install the one you are going to use and then update it, most will have a button that says check for updates when you go into the program. In the screenshot, using Network Associates Virusscan, you can click on Auto Update and the click the green arrow to go at the top. Once that is done, double click auto update and then click on schedule to set it to automatically get the updates everyday. I would set it to check at least once daily, maybe twice, if you leave it on all day. Note: Each program is different, the steps to do this will be in the manual or are probably easily found on their website.
Download a spyware/malware scanner, my advice is to get more than one as all of these programs are not the same. Some will catch infections that others will not. If I have missed one that you like or recommend, drop a comment and let me know so I can try it. I will be adding others as I go, this list will probably never be comprehensive, as I am only adding the ones that I have used.
Recommended Programs: Spybot, Search and Destroy This program is free and is highly recommended by about everyone I know. Once you have it installed and setup, make sure you go to the immunize tab and let it run. This will stop many spyware or malware programs from even running.
Adaware – They have a pay version, but they have a free version as well here.
AVG Anti Spyware – This one is free for a month, then you will need to pay for it. It is worth paying for and they probably have a lot more customers because of me. I have caught malware on several machines that most free one’s do not find.
Prevx – They also sell this program, but they have a free pc check here. This is another program that has caught several malware programs for me that the others did not.
Microsoft Oncecare – Microsoft has really done a pretty good job with this program, if you look at the Prevx site listed above, you can see by the graph on the front page that it caught more stuff than a lot of the other programs. This is a pay program as well, but they have a 90 day free trial.
X-Cleaner – Another program you have to pay for, this one is also excellent and frequently updated. The makers of this program have a free online scan here.
Panda Antivirus – This is a 30 day free trial.
Once your spyware scanner is installed, your computer is patched and your anti virus is updated, you should be covered from most things, but there are always ways to get you. Spam is the botnets biggest weapon as they can spam out interesting things to get you to click on them, once clicked, you will be redirected to or through their site, their botnet program is installed, and it may likely forward you to a proper site, and you may not even have noticed what just happened. So, in your email program, set it to read email in plain text format to keep them from being able to do anything to your computer without you even opening an email, or, if you prefer the graphical format, you should get rid of the preview pane so it does not automatically run any programs or display any pictures.
Another suggestion is to use an alternate browser, such as Firefox, that are widely considered as being more secure.
Anyway, that is my little take and something they should’ve added to the article, or published in another article to actually help keep people out of spammers botnets.
Keep your computer clean and it will run better, faster and last a lot longer, guaranteed.
Note: Now all you techies out there are going to say, you can do this, you need to run that, use this operating system, etc. I’m not saying that this is comprehensive at all, but, the absolute minimum you should do is on this page. But I would also recommend not running under and administrator account, turning on your firewall, turning off your computers or your internet access when it is not being used, not opening emails from strangers, not opening strange emails from people you know without asking them what it is, and always pay attention to the websites you are going to online. When you click on a link, if you hold it down, it will show you where you are going, you can slide your mouse off without releasing the button to keep from going there or just letting go of the button to go ahead and visit that website. This article will change as necessary.
Categories: Botnets, Security, Windows Update Tags:
