Category: Communications

Shorten URLs with Bit.ly

Just a brief one tonight. Sometimes you might like to share a link with someone but have been turned off by the length of some URLs. Sites that utilise content management systems are notorious for incredibly long URLs which can also break if you attempt to send one in an e-mail or perhaps via instant …

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Check Your Firewall Security with Shields Up

Just a quick one tonight. You can never be too careful with security and your connection to the Internet. One way the bad guys can try and get into your computers or your router is when you have open ports exposed to the outside world. For those that don’t know, a computer has two sets …

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No Static IP? Use DynDNS!

Some of us aren’t blessed (or perhaps cursed depending how you look at it) with a static IP address. For me, it’s a blessing that I do have one because I can run a whole bunch of servers (for VoIP, web servers, TF2 and VPN for instance) without having to keep updating an IP address. …

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Facebook Pulling the Plug on its Gift Shop

Unless you read Facebook’s own blog you may be unaware and completely oblivious to the fact that it is going to shut down its “Gift Shop”. You may have noticed  in the past when you have gone to wish someone “Happy Birthday” that the comment box was larger and containing a space for you to …

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The Days of HDMI may be Numbered – All Hail HDBaseT!

As part of my daily browsing, I came across an interesting article regarding HDMI and a new proposed standard with the moniker of “HDBaseT”. The networking gurus amongst us would know that we already have 10BASE-T (10Mbps Ethernet over twisted pair), 100BASE-T (100Mbps Fast Ethernet) and 1000BASE-T (1Gbps Ethernet). Given those standards and naming conventions, …

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Should Broadband Become a Utility Service?

These days, everyone should have access to electricity, water and a telephone line (although I have a brother-in-law of mine that doesn’t have drinkable tap water). Back in the days of analogue and digital dialup modem technology, the telephone line was not only there for emergencies and keeping in touch with people but also opened …

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Backup Your Facebook, Twitter and Blog with Backupify

Are there some things that you have uploaded to a social medium that you don’t have stored anywhere else? Perhaps you are implicitly relying on Facebook and Twitter remaining operational so that all those funny comments, memorable photos, shared links and event calendars are not lost? If you have been following this blog for a …

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Is Facebook Trying to Replace E-mail?

Whilst I was out and about today I got thinking about how deep Facebook has its hooks in the online social interactions between many people around the world. It didn’t seem too long ago that we were quite happy with online forums, e-mail and SMS before Facebook and Twitter showed up. Outside of work, I …

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When All Else Fails, Use Malwarebytes

Today, a work colleague and friend of mine had an issue with her computer being overcome by a nasty piece of malware formally known as PolyCrypt and commonly disguised as “Security Master AV” (which looks a lot like the Windows Security Centre). The computer was still operational and remote accessible via LogMeIn (which I have …

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The Beginning of the End for Analogue TV

Whilst for many analogue television will still work for a while, analogue television services were switched off in Mildura (in regional Victoria). This will eventually see existing wireless spectrum released back to ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) as a “digital dividend” given that digital television services are already up and running. It is envisaged that this …

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