Article suggested by: Tammy Revere

PC Magazine Online recently posted an article about ways to keep your children safe online. Here are some of their suggestions.

For Toddlers:
Hoopah Kidview Computer Explorer 6 - automatically adjusts Internet controls as a child grows older.
Peanut Butter PC 3.0 - You can use this program to limit your child's access to those you approve.
KidZui 5.0 - A social media site for youngsters, KidZui lets youngsters surf the Web, play games and view videos.

For Older Children:
K9 Web Protection 4.0and OnlineFamily.Norton
Both of these products protect kids from inappropriate websites and also limit the amount of time they can spend on a computer.
Net Nanny 6.5 is the PCMag's Editors' Choice for parental control. It includes social networking and game managment tools.

If You Already Have a Problem:
Spector Pro 2009 and PC Pandora 6.0 - these two programs report every action on a computer to a supervisor (Mom or Dad!) to enforce good behavior.

For more information about these and other programs to keep your kids safe online, Click Here.

These days everyone seems to be looking for hi-tech solutions to handling everyday chores, and America’s industries are responding to their customer’s demands. On February 18th, Chesapeake Bank, a community bank in our region, will begin offering a new product designed to help customers with easy money management. MoneyTracker, a personal finance tool integrated with online banking, will allow customers to be better stewards of their money using things like:

1) Dashboard: You’ll be able to display information you need – last 10 checking transactions, account balances and quarterly spending by category, to name a few – on a page completely personalized.
2) Google-like search: You’ll have the capability to search your account history for specific information. For example: Want to know how frequently you’ve eaten at McDonald’s in the last several months? You can simply type in “McDonalds over $5” to pull up any matching transaction.
3) Reporting: Visual charts and graphs will let you see how you’re spending, comparing those figures to budget goals.
MoneyTracker will be integrated with a banking Web site that customers are visiting anyway for online bill paying, etc. They’ll be able to pull in information from other banks and credit cards to help make “one-stop” financial management possible.)

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by Neil J. Rubenking, PCMag.com

Editor's Note: Mr. Rubenking posted this article on PC Magazine's website February 4th, 2010. It is a review of eight antivirus software apps. Although he did not cover all of them (for instance, one product left off of this list was Kaspersky Internet Security software, which I use) this article does provide many options and a good look at each plus links to a more comprehensive look at each product. Here are his thoughts about the following:

This isn't a comprehensive list of standalone antivirus tools. As more such reviews become available I'll expand this ongoing roundup to be more inclusive. In the meanwhile, tell us in the comments section about your standalone AV app, whether it's covered here or not. (note: ratings are out of 5 stars)

avast! Free Antivirus 5.0 : Scan Results avast! Free Antivirus 5.0 (4 stars)
Free
The new user interface of avast! free antivirus makes it easier to use, and its new technology eliminates more malware. This tool offers more control over settings and more detail in reporting than some of its free competitors.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0 : Advanced Settings AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 9.0 (3.5 stars)
Free
AVG believes everyone deserves free basic protection against Internet threats. The company's free antivirus offers that protection, and it's better than Microsoft's free product. Of course, the best for-pay anti-malware tools are even better, but not everyone can afford to pay.

Double Anti-Spy Professional 1.4 : Active Defense Double Anti-Spy Professional (4.5 stars)
$29.95 (direct)
This product's two antivirus engines double its detecting power, but it doesn't clean up as well as it detects. It's as big and slow as using two separate products would be. On the plus side, the two engines don't conflict, and you only have to pay for one product.

IObit Security 360: Main Window IObit Security 360 (1.5 stars)
Free
IObit Security 360 installs and scans quickly. The problem is, it just doesn't do the job of removing malware or preventing malware installation.

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Will all the snow around here, we probably don't want or need any reminders about the amazing fact that each snowflake is unique. However, along with all the mess comes great beauty, and I found a treasure when I discovered “Snowflake” Bentley.

When Wilson Bentley began examining snowflakes, he discovered that “Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.” (Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, 1925)


By adapting a microscope to a bellows camera, Wilson, after years of trial and error, became the very first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. Before his death in 1931, Wilson captured over 5,000 of these tiny ice crystals. Because of his work, he became known as “Snowflake” Bentley.

For more information, please visit SnowflakeBentley.com.

Photo Credit: A photograph of Wilson Bentley, courtesy of www.snowflakebentley.com

Photo, Courtesy of PCWorld

Project Natal is a new controller for the Xbox 360 - watch out, Wii! This controller will track your movements with 3-D motion tracking, facial and voice recognitions. Scheduled for later this year. For more information, visit PCWorld.com

Motorola Backflip,a new phone from Motorola, the Backflip features a full QWERTY keyboard which flips out so that both the keyboard and the touchscreen face the user. It also has a “backtrack,” or mousepadlike touchpad on the back of the touchscreen to control the cursor on the screen. Aimed at the Facebook and messaging crowd, the phone uses the Google Android system, and features MOTOBLUR, which lets you stream your emails and social networks into one feed. Motorola.com

Sezmi, is a service based on a set-top box that will stream video from the Web and from your PC and also snag over-the-air local broadcast and cable TV via a supplied in-home antenna. For more information, visit PCWorld.com