Tech Talk

Myth!   So you don’t have major financial institution spreadsheets on your hard drive or a database of Beverly Hills socialites’ social security numbers. You probably do have an email password, access to at least one social networking site and a resumé in your documents folder, which are all someone needs to steal your identity.   Think about it – all your juicy lifespan details are listed: your alma mater, work timeline, etc. See, you do have something valuable on your computer – and it’s worth protecting.

Online tax season is rife with phishing scams as cybercriminals try to fool us into giving away our private information. Make sure you stick to the following 5 tips, before you file, to outsmart their antics:   1. Outsmart email scams Imposters might solicit information from you through email. Scam messages typically contain dire warnings or outrageously large promises for a refund.   The messages often are presented as if they originate from the IRS, HMRC, or the Social Security Administration but contain links leading to phishing Web pages (where your banking, credit card, and personal details are stolen), or malicious attached files instead.   It’s important to know that the IRS does not discuss tax information via email, nor do they ever send warnings, advice, links to their website, or ask for information through email.   Tip: If you receive such a message, don’t reply to the sender, don’t open

Here are 4 simple ways to backup your music (and prevent headaches down the road):   1. Use External hard drives This portable storage device gives you the freedom to back up more than one computer. It’s user-friendly and you can get 1 Terabyte (about 250,000 or more songs) for way less than you paid for your 8-track collection. However, external hard drives, like the hard drive on your computer, can crash; you may also lose the device as it’s quite sleek and inconspicuous these days.   2. Use CDs/DVDs This is another convenient and popular backup option for digital files. If you have the time, you can burn your entire collection to discs and keep them in a safe place. The challenge with this method is that they can get scratched easily, and it’s kind of like taking a