Delete Your Online Account

Hi All,

Deleting your online account isn't as easy as you think these days!  It takes more than just an email or filling out a websites' form in order for the site to delete your account.

AccountKiller solves the problem of deleting your account to many of the most popular social media websites and regular websites on the web.  Click here for a link to AccountKiller. 

To learn more about AccountKiller, click on this link which goes to AccountKiller's 'About Us' page. 

AccountKiller also has an FAQ page which discusses some of the specifics of how AccountKiller works.  Note the section on what the various colors on the site mean - white, black and grey.  

Some of the well-known sites include: Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo, Spotify, Google, WhatsApp, MySpace and MSN. 

Enjoy the site - and enjoy knowing that you can eliminate your account from some sites on the web!

Regards,
Stu

Learn Something New Every Day!

Hi All,

Answering reference questions at the library means that I get to use the internet A LOT!  I jot down the names of interesting, useful, unique websites in the hopes that I can generate a blog entry just like this one!

Introducing...interesting, useful and unique websites!

Fake Name Generator - your randomly generated identity

My Fonts.com - Have you seen a font in use and want to know what it is? Submit an image to WhatTheFont to find the closest matches in our database. Or, let cloak-draped font enthusiasts lend a hand in the WhatTheFont Forum

Camel Camel Camel - Shows you the price history of anything on Amazon and alerts you when the price drops. You can even upload your entire Amazon wish list directly.

Mailbox Locator - Tells you where the closest USPS mailbox is to wherever you are.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Gives you the history and derivation of any word.

Account Killer - Shows you exactly how to close any social media account forever, not just disable them.

Sky Scanner - Lets you search flights by date, price, and budget — even if you don’t know where you want to go.

Date Duration Calculator - Find out exactly how many days/months/years passed between two dates.

Enjoy the sites!

Regards,
Stu

More Computer Security - Why? Because It's Important!

Hi All,

I just came across an interesting New York Times article on the web titled, 'How Many Times Has Your Personal Information Been Exposed To Hackers?'

Indeed...using the interactive features on the site, readers can find out how many times your information has been exposed to hackers in categories like:

address information,
birthday,
credit/debit card,
email,
employment history,
financial history,
fingerprints,
health history,
password,
phone number,
social security number

Users are asked to answer basic questions and check off which of the various services they used - then the numbers in the various categories change based on which the user checks off.

The United States Government, AOL, Ebay, Twitter, Anthem, Kmart, Home Depot, Target and UPS are among the larger companies listed in the article as to whether or no users had any affiliation to the organization.

The article goes on to explain what readers should do now, why this keeps happening to websites and how you can protect yourself in the future....

Click on these links to learn more about how you can protect yourself online so you are less likely to become hacked, spoofed or have your identity compromised.

Online Safety - USA.gov
Tips For Online Safety
Secure Your Computer
FCC - How to Protect Yourself Online
FBI - How to Protect Your Computer
US Department of Justice - Protecting Yourself While Using the Internet

Hope the links help protect you while you are online!

Regards,
Stu

The Internet in Real Time

Hi All,

Very interesting website alert!  The Internet in Real Time.

What the heck is this you ask?!  Great question.  

Readers can click on this link to watch as various internet giants (Twitter, YouTube, Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, WhatsApp, Yelp, Foursquare, Pinterest, Pandora and more) do what they do best! 

Users can see LinkedIn (the number of user searches), YouTube (the number of videos hours watched), the number of check-ins at FourSquare or the number of the reviews posted on Yelp or the number of files saves on DropBox or the number of Likes and Posts on Facebook or the number of hours watched on Netflix or the number of hours streamed on Pandora...and much more...

Very simple, colorful and entertaining website.  Here is the link again.

Enjoy the site - don't spend too much time on it!

Regards,
Stu

Top 500 Global Websites

Hi All,

Alexa is a website that is owned by Amazon.com. Alexa is - as described on their 'About Us' part on their website - a company that focuses exclusively on delivering the richest and most meaningful analytics tools for our customers...the blurb goes on, which you can visit by clicking on this link.

The important part of Alexa.com that I found was this link to the Top 500 Sites on the Web.  Sure, the top 10 are populated by the sites you would expect:
1. Google.com
2. Facebook.com
3. Youtube.com
4. Yahoo.com
5. Baidu.com
6. Wikipedia.com
7. Amazon.com
8. Twitter.com
9. Taobao.com
10. Qq.com

But if you scroll down the list you'll see some very interesting changes to the web.  For instance, notice how many Chinese companies are in the top 100 of the list! There are 18 Chinese companies in the top 100!

5. Baidu.com
9. Taobao.com
10. Qq.com
14. Sina.com.cn
15. Weibo.com
23. Hao123.com
29. Sohu.com
43. Alibaba.com
49. Fc2.com
56. 163.com
67. Gmw.cn
75. Xinhuanet.com
82. Alipay.com
83. Soso.com
89. Jd.com
90. Cntv.cn
94. Youku.com
98. Chinadaily.com.cn

That all said, of the top 100 sites the following might be worthwhile for the reader to visit....

39. Microsoft.com - if you have any Windows questions, you might want to start your search here.
47. Imdb.com - features plot summaries, reviews, cast lists, and theatre schedules.
69. Diply.com - an entertainment website
116. Booking.com - worldwide accommodation reservations
130. Yelp.com - members share their favorite recommendations - everything from latest restaurants to shops and more.
139. Cnet.com - Reviews, news, and prices on all tech products - as well as free downloads and newsletters
161. Indeed.com - search engine for jobs - with a radically different approach to job search.
196. Zillow.com - Empowers users to learn about real estate.  
237. NIH.gov - US government department that is in charge of medical research.
276. Goodreads.com - let's users track and rate books and network with other readers.
278. Groupon.com - features a daily deal for most major metropolitan areas in the United States
292. Avg.com - Antivirus and security software products for home and business users. Free trials.
311. Hulu.com - Ad-supported streaming television shows and movies, including some in HD.
317. Accuweather.com - Features radar and satellite images and 5 day forecasts for US locations.

So there you have it!  A whole passel of interesting websites - entertainment, computer, technology, shopping, travel, weather and health are included in the list - all in one place!  And they are well-known, popular and, for the most part, free...

Enjoy the popular links.

Stu

Brief History of the Internet

Hi All,

So you like to use the internet to: send email, exchange pictures, post to Facebook, send birthday cards, download games, do online banking, check in with your favorite quilting site, buy books on Amazon.com, send Tweets on Twitter, search for movies on the Internet Movie Database, use Google to find out about gardening, stream movies via Netflix, check sports scores or write a blog entry?  I guess that means that you are a bona fide internet user!  Congratulations.

And now...that you use the internet, wouldn't it be at least a bit interesting to learn about how it came into being? Indeed it would be - its an interesting story filled with lots of technology, history, big names in computing, government sponsorship and much more!

Click on this link from the Internet Society for a very comprehensive (they call it 'brief') History of the Internet.  The article includes a timeline, has sections on internet concepts, proving the ideas, documentation and a very extensive list of footnotes.

Regular readers will not be surprised to see this next link from Wikipedia.  This Wikipedia entry goes to an article titled, 'History of the Internet'.  Similar but different than the prior article. One interesting link from the Wikipedia article goes to 'External Links'....

Another interesting article come from the Computer History Museum - and includes a very interesting (and extensive) timeline of the internet.  Cool stuff - and easy to digest and read.

Finally, click on this link from History.com for an article titled, 'Invention of the Internet' - while fairly brief, it introduces readers to some of the major players and the basics of the invention of the internet.

Enjoy the links - and of course - enjoy the web and the internet.

Regards,
Stu