General hack prevention and password management

Click here if you are aware of the basics, and want to get right to the point…

These kind of hacks seem to happen regularly anymore, so you need to be prepared. My top advice has always been to use a unique, strong password for every account or service. This way, you minimize the damage from any particular hack (not just the Yahoo hack), as the hackers won’t be able to use that stolen password to get into other accounts you might have.

The difficulty this presents, is that it’s hard enough to remember one good strong password. (strong = minimum of 12 characters, with a mixture of numbers, upper/lower case letters, and various symbols. I’d recommend 12-15 as a minimum. If it isn’t random, go even longer.) Remembering them for a bunch of accounts is pretty much impossible. I suppose you could write them all down and lock them in your drawer, but that’s very inconvenient and still quite risky if you ever have a home/office theft.

Password Managers

The solution is to use what is called a password manager. A password manager is software which encrypts your passwords and sensitive information in an organized and searchable manner. It can insert your URL, username, and password (or other information) on command into a login screen, and typically generates strong passwords for you when you create accounts on various services.

Better password managers have a number of other features, such as cross-platform and mobile client apps, and capability to sync the information between devices. This is important, since your passwords are going to be far too complex to remember, and even hard to type. You’ll want this information with you at home, at the office, while traveling, on (or at least alongside) whatever computer or device you happen to be using.

While the method these services use varies, I recommend you consider a few things when selecting one:

You will want to control access to the encrypted file.

Even though the file is encrypted, it’s still possible for some future technology to be able to break encryption, or for some flaw to be discovered, allowing the data to be hacked into. While this is relatively unlikely, especially in the short-term, it is something you should consider when thinking about one of these apps. Where is that data file stored? Who might have access to it? Can you easily manage it? Is it only in the ‘cloud’?

Backup and archive that file!

Murphy’s Law seems to strike at worst time, but pretty much always eventually comes along. Storage devices fail, data gets corrupted, or we make mistakes. You want to have a copy AND history of this crucial file in a number of places. First, you should have a backup system that keeps incremental backups of files you use. Such a system will make a copy of the data that changes at some interval, allowing you to go back to the file in a state before you accidentally pasted your cat’s name over your bank password and absent-mindedly saved. A good example on the Mac might be your Time Machine backups. But, any good backup software will include a timed incremental backup feature.

You should also keep some kind of offsite archive, from time to time, of your data files (for your entire computer, for that matter). For this kind of file, it’s nice to keep a snapshot of it at some interval, much like the incremental backup above, except YOU manage it, not the automated backup software. The reason for this is that automated backup mechanisms sometimes fail, but they also overwrite data after a certain period of time.

The other reason is that if your home/office burns down, or is broken into, you’re likely to lose your backup. I have a story from my consulting history, where an architectural firm was nearly put out of business after a theft left them without their CAD stations, server, backup system, AND the DAT tapes stored in a drawer near the server! Luckily one of the firm partners had taken a couple of tapes home a month or so earlier to work on a large project, and they were able to recover about 70% of their server data from those tapes. Still a huge blow, but fortunately not fatal to their business. Don’t let this happen to you!

Make a todo list entry, and maybe once per month, put a copy of that file (add the date to the file-name) somewhere, like on a thumb-drive in your safe, or if you trust it, into your cloud storage. (See above about about access and trust… while I use services like Dropbox and Google Drive, there is some risk involved to keeping sensitive data there!) These files aren’t typically big, so keep each dated file going back in time. And, like I mentioned earlier, it’s not a bad idea to keep periodic snapshot (bootable if possible) of your entire computer. If you have two external hard drives, you can rotate them off-site somewhere.

Interface and operation

How does the actual app function? Does it fit into your workflow? For example, the password manager I use is able to auto-type information into pretty much whatever app I am using, whereas some can only operate within a browser. If you’re mostly using browser-based services, then this might not be a problem. But, if you’re a software developer, you might want it to be able to paste info into a terminal window, for example.

Do you need to be able to work between family members or a team of people? If so, you’ll have to think of a way to manually keep the information in sync, or use a cloud-based service (again, if so, keep my above warnings in mind).

My recommendations

PasswordWallet by Selznick

1Password by AgileBits

Stay away from ‘built-in’ methods, like Apple’s Keychain

Recently, a flaw in Apple’s iOS device backup to the computer potentially exposed all the passwords to an easy hack given physical access to the computer. While that situation might be rare, imagine if the problem affected the backups into iCloud? Apple (and many other companies) are simply a mess these days in terms of software quality. They can hardly keep the core of things together, let alone side features like this.

Obscurity and specialization are your friend when it comes to things like this. Pick software from a company that specializes in this stuff, and don’t depend on some side-feature of a major OS or other piece of software. And don’t store it in your browser! (Like Chrome asks if you want to do.) Log out of services after you use them. That’s even a good idea on your home computer if you’re going to be away from it for a while. (In fact, I log out of services even during general computer use, as services like social media often follow you around to sites you visit for comment system use. That’s just a bunch of extra info I don’t need to share with Facebook, etc.)

Be aware of phishing, social engineering, and links.

Most of the tips so far help keep you safe from the big hacks where a bunch of account data is exposed. But, there are other kinds of threats to be aware of which are more targeted at you.

A phishing attack is when someone tries to trick you into giving your information. If you fall prey, even the best security methods will fail. Be skeptical about password dialogs, following links, phone calls, etc.

The basic advice here, is for YOU to initiate, NOT to react. If you get a dialog asking for info, are you directly on the site it belongs to (or is the dialog coming from a trusted source, if you can tell)? Is it encrypted (ie: https/SSL)?

If you can’t tell, make sure to go directly to that service and sign-in yourself; don’t trust the dialog or link. If you get a link in an email, it might be best to, again, go to the site yourself and not follow the link.

If you get a phone call from the IRS, your bank, Microsoft, etc. is it really them? How would you know? Most of these places would never call you and ask you for information. It’s likely some scam. So, look up the proper phone number or contact info, then you contact them, login directly, etc.

But, this Yahoo hack exposes a different risk!

One aspect of the news surrounding the Yahoo hack that caught my attention, was that the hackers got the ‘security’ Q&A (questions and answers) along with the data. You know, those questions like: “Where did you go to high school?” or “What is the name of your favorite pet?”

The problem with security questions!

No matter how good the physical/encryption security is, hacks are often accomplished through social engineering. I remember seeing a video of a couple of security experts having access to a reporters bank account within a matter of about 10 minutes without even touching a computer. They had researched a bit about the guy, and posed as the guy’s wife/partner and were able to gain access.

Most services you’ll sign up for, even the most secure ones with multiple-factor authentication, have some method of password recovery or account access, if all else fails. And, these methods are typically very vulnerable.

‘What high school did you attend?’ Give me a break! What is the point of having super multiple factor security and strong passwords if someone can unlock your account with just a phone call and knowing the answer to one of these questions?

It’s a crazy method, but unfortunately, it’s used by nearly everyone; possibly even your bank. So what can you do? Some services are now allowing these questions and answers to be deleted (recognizing the risk). For example, when I signed into my Yahoo account to change the passwords, there was an option to delete them (and replace them with a text to a phone number or alternate email). That’s slightly better, but still potentially problematic.

But, what if the service you use forces you to use these – so called – security questions? What if you answered the security questions at your bank with the same answers the hackers now have from this Yahoo hack? The solution is fairly easy – LIE! It’s a bit of extra work, but might keep your account safe.

Remember that password manager? You’ll need it for this. When they ask what high school you went to, answer with something like: MSWNg67yI95iwPF8m (and be sure to use different random answers for each site!)

In your password manager, keep both the security question and this strong password answer. It is a bit of a pain when they make you do three to five of these, but it will be worth it in the long run. This is a good reason to be sure your password manager supports a notes area, or custom field creation.

And, maybe, just maybe… if enough people start to do this, companies will take a step back and come up with a better authentication method.

The post Yahoo hack: Password management and the problem with security questions appeared first on cgWerks.

With the release of Mac OS X Yosemite, Minecraft stopped working for anyone who has updated (or any new Yosemite users, such as a new computer purchase). Mojang is of little help so far and seems unconcerned. (Read my update below, as Mojang finally seems to be working on a fix!) The ‘fix’ options so far are to 1) Install an old, specially modified version of Java 6 released by Apple, or 2) install the latest Java version 8 from Oracle and implement a workaround. Fortunately, the latter (a MUCH better option, IMO) is not that difficult. (The article is long due to detail… the steps are relatively easy!)

Get right to the solution.

Overview

• Step 1 – Remove old Java
• Step 2 – Install Java
• Step 3 – Configure Java
• Step 4 – Download Minecraft
• Step 5 – Play Minecraft!
• Step 6 (optional) – Make it pretty!
• Step 7 (optional) – Play with a console controller?
• Estimated time: 10-15 minutes

Background rant (or, Hello Mojang… anyone home?)

Apple officially released OSX Yosemite a month ago on October 16th, 2014. While a month is quite a while to wait for such a crucial update from a major software vendor, Mojang at least had access to Yosemite since the PUBLIC beta offering on July 24th, 2014. And, one might expect that they started testing Minecraft on Yosemite, along with other software developers, back on June 2nd, 2014. Apparently not (or insert other excuse here…. Microsoft acquisition?)

Actually, there are a few other possible theories. If you’re interested, read on. Otherwise, skip to the next section below to get on with the fix.

I waited about a week before installing Yosemite. I usually find it best to wait for the dust to settle after a major software release. I had not been reading about any crucial problems so I decided to upgrade my mid-2013 MacBook Air, as I primarily use my desktop for business work. Everything seemed great until I tried to launch Minecraft.

I did a bunch of reading and was bit shocked Mojang hadn’t addressed the issue yet. So, I contacted @MojangSupport. They responded as if they were unaware of the issue and recommended I report the bug. I started looking at the bug reporting system and noted several tickets addressing or related to the issue. They seemed to be largely ignored. After some more exchanges with @MojangSupport, they basically said they were billing and account support. For other support, submit a bug report (to an ignored bug reporting system? Anyone see a problem here?). Apparently they have no actual customer support for this kind of problem. ⁽¹⁾As an aside, I think this has been a long-term problem. Mojang seems more structured more like an open-source project. If you’re not enough of a geek to figure out setting up an account and installing Minecraft, you are left searching for assistance. I’ve talked to parents, for example, who have been interested in Minecraft for their kids, but felt intimidated over how to get it going. It isn’t that hard, and it’s well worth the effort, but most people are used to simple installers.

One theory is, of course, speculation about the effects of being purchased by Microsoft. Maybe they just aren’t in any hurry to fix problems on non-Microsoft platforms? Maybe Steve Ballmer was sent over on a last contract project to teach proper support etiquette? jk

Another is that maybe Apple has a new version of tweaked Java in the works. Yet another, is that there is a problem with Java 7/8 on dedicated GPUs, causing everyone to hold off.

Whatever the reason, Mojang is being quite unprofessional. At the very least, let us know what is going on! And please, don’t pretend there is no problem.

So, I decided to try and implement some of the various ‘fixes’ to see what might be the best way to get Minecraft working with the latest Java release on OS X Yosemite.

Update: Saturday, November 22, 2014

One of my friends feels I’ve maybe been a bit too hard on Mojang. After all, people can ⁽²⁾While I didn’t test it, there were mixed reports when I was first dealing with this problem click the ‘more info,’ go to Apple’s support page, download and install Apple’s modified Java 6, and get Minecraft working again. As noted, I don’t feel that is a good solution, and certainly is a pretty lame thing to just leave the way it is by Mojang. But, maybe the ‘crucial’ language I’ve used could be deemed a bit over the top.

Also, some in the Minecraft support community have been telling me this has been around since Mavericks was introduced, as that is when Apple stopped installing Java by default. I seriously don’t remember installing Java when I bought my Mavericks based laptop or when I upgraded my desktop to Mavericks. Maybe that’s old age creeping in on my memory. But I, and the above friend, are almost positive the process wasn’t the same.

Update: Friday, December 12, 2014

Good news! It appears Mojang is actually working on a fix. And, what is even better is that this should be a pretty comprehensive fix, with rebuilt launcher and bundled Java (to try to get everyone on 64-bit, the latest version, and kept up to date). I guess a large percentage of their user-base is still on old versions and/or 32-bit java, even on new machines. Aside from taking WAY too long and not communicating well, kudos Mojang! The bad news, it’s going to be a while yet (sometime early next year). So, if you’re hankering for some Minecraft over the holidays, it might be worth trying our tutorial.

Update: Saturday, September 12, 2015

Mojang releases the fix! Actually, it is much better than a fix. Mojang finally did this right and bundled everything needed into one package/app. This way, everything should always be running the latest and greatest, and the install is as simple as any other Mac app. You just drag the .app file to your Applications folder!

Here is the announcement of the new Mac Minecraft installer for anyone interested.

Of course, you can get this by visiting Minecraft.net downloads area.

YAY!

The ‘fix’

A real fix needs to come from Mojang, in terms of a new launcher that properly recognizes other Java versions (or the latest version), as well as install instructions for Java as needed. Until then, here is a ‘fix’ you can implement yourself.

Disclaimer: I’m no expert on Minecraft code or Java. Minecraft is my ONLY Java based concern here, so I did no testing to see if this fix impacts other Java dependencies. Also, all my Macs previously had Apple’s Java 6 installed. I don’t have a ‘clean’ Yosemite install to try this on, but my guess is that it would work. (If you try it, I’d LOVE to hear in the comments below! I’m going to try and do some testing soon.) In other words, try this at your own risk.

Important: As noted above, there seems to be an unresolved Java issue where version 7 and 8 automatically use a dedicated GPU if available (vs integrated GPU). This might impact battery performance negatively until resolved (integrated GPUs typically use far less energy and might be quite capable of running Minecraft). I’m running a mid-2013 MacBook Air with integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000, so this is not an issue for me.

Check out our YouTube video instructions:

After upgrading to Yosemite (or on a new Yosemite based machine/install), you’ll get a dialog similar to this one when you try to launch Minecraft. ‘To open “Minecraft.app” you need to install the legacy Java SE 6 runtime. Click “More info…” to visit the legacy Java SE 6 download website.’

Step 1 – Remove old Java

Let’s try a basic attempt to get rid of old versions of Java. (Note: I realize some of the guts of Apple’s Java 6 install go deeper, but this gets rid of the obvious stuff, and should render it non-functional as far as I can tell.) Caution: If you need Java for other reasons, you might not want to do this without a bit more research and/or testing.

Note: I don’t think you’ll see anything JavaScript related in any of these, but if so, you can ignore that, as JavaScript is a different than Java.

Directly inside your hard drive, you’ll see a Library folder. First look in Internet Plug-ins and get rid of anything Java related (probably just a Java applet plugin).

Hard Drive/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ (look for Java related items)

Also under the Library folder, there might be a Java folder. Toss that if it exists.

Hard Drive/Library/ (look for Java)

Do the same under the ‘home’ (Hard Drive/Users/username/) Library folder, which Apple has hidden, making it a bit more tricky to access. When you are at Finder (ie: click on your Desktop to make it the ‘active’ app), drop-down the ‘Go’ menu and notice a ‘Library’ folder appears if you hold the ‘option’ key down (and disappears if you release it). Select that Library folder and it should open.

Same as above, check your Internet Plug-ins folder (for Java-related items) and look for a Java folder.

~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ (look for Java related items)
~/Library/ (look for Java)

Empty your trash (if you’re sure there isn’t anything else in there you need. I say this as I used to have a client who stored stuff in there they didn’t think they might need again, but never emptied it… eeek!)

Update: Tuesday, November 18, 2014

My desktop iMac has an additional Java install location with an alias into the above folders. It is located at:

Hard Drive/System/Library/Java/

I haven’t upgraded this system to Yosemite yet, but am planning to do so in the next few days. It is my production machine, and is the result of at least a couple of years of OS X upgrades (last clean install was probably Snow Leopard). I’m going to test also trashing this Java folder, but if this is your case, you might want to wait until I’ve reported back.

Step 2 – Install Java

Install Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

Open Safari, go to Oracle.com and look for the Downloads menu. To the left side, you should see “Java for your computer.” This will take you to the following page:

Download Free Java Software

You should just be able to hit the red “Free Java Download” button, but you could also go to the “All Java Downloads” link on the left and pick the appropriate version for Mac OS X.

You’ll get a file currently called: jre-8u25-macosx-x64.dmg

Install this. There isn’t anything tricky, but it will need your admin password. On completion, it asks you to test it with your browser. You don’t need to do that or worry about the results (FYI: mine indicated Java wasn’t working).

Step 3 – Configure Java

It is a really good idea to change the default configuration of Java for safety purposes.

Under your system Preferences, there should be a new Java control panel. Open it. We’re going to go to the Security tab and uncheck “Enable Java content in the browser (Only disabled for this user).”

This is an important step, as most of the Java insecurities you’ve probably read so much about over the last year or two were vulnerabilities accessed via web-sites being visited. In other words, they were browser related. You should almost never need Java via the browser (or if you did for some reason, only enable it for that one trusted purpose, then disable it again).

Note: pay attention to the warning that this only applies to the current logged in user if you have multiple users on your computer. If so, remember to disable it for other users as well!

Another Note: Part of the good aspect of Apple’s special version of Java 6 is that they had removed the ability for it to function via browsers. So, we’re effectively trying to replicate that security advantage via these settings. If you are unsure, check individual browser settings to be sure Java (not JavaScript) is disabled.

Step 4 – Download Minecraft

To make this ‘fix’ work, you’ll need the Linux version of Minecraft (.jar file) from Minecraft.net.

Go to Minecraft.net and look on the right side under the ‘Get Minecraft” button for the “Already bought the game?” and click the “Download it here” link.

That should take you to this page:

Minecraft download page

Click on “Show all platforms” and download the Minecraft.jar under “Minecraft for Linux/Other”

This file is going to be your new ‘launcher’ or ‘application’ for Minecraft (instead of the Minecraft.app file you already have).

You can put this file in your Applications, or maybe on your Desktop (or an alias to it on your Desktop).

Step 5 – Play Minecraft!

Test it out!

Double-click Minecraft.jar (you might have to ‘right-click’ (or ctrl-click) the icon, and then select ‘Open’ the first time so it becomes trusted by OSX) and you should get the normal Minecraft Launcher you’re used to seeing. Click Play if you’re logged in and you should soon be playing Minecraft!

If want to be sure you’re running on Java 8, you can bring up the ‘debug’ information you’d use to get your coordinates, etc. (Typically F3, so hold down the Function key and press F3, ie: fn + F3).

You should see, in the upper right, “Java: 1.8.0_25 54bit” similar to the following screenshot:

Of course, if Oracle updates Java this will vary and you SHOULD be able to update Java via the control panel or by downloading and installing future updates. You’ll want to keep an eye on this, as new releases often include security patches (and you won’t get them via Apple updates).

Note: The big reason I went with Java 8 vs Apple’s Java 6 is that there have been a bunch of security holes patched since Apple released it. I’m also pretty sure I’m seeing decreased CPU load on Java 8 as well (which I’d also expect). As mentioned above, my MacBook Air doesn’t have a dedicated GPU, so if you’re a MacBook Pro user, you might want to use Apple Java 6 or limit your mobile (on battery) Minecraft time.

So, just launch that new Minecraft.jar to launch Minecraft, just like you used to launch using Minecraft.app.

Enjoy! Please leave a comment below letting me know if it worked (or not). Thanks!

Step 6 (optional) – Make it pretty!

Of course, it bugs me that my old Minecraft.app has a pretty Minecraft grass block icon, while my new Minecraft.jar is just a generic Java app icon. We need to fix that!

Do ‘get info’ (Apple + i) on both the Minecraft.app and Minecraft.jar files. Select the little icon in the upper left of the info window (it will highlight) of Minecraft.app and go to Edit -> Copy. Then select the JAR icon in the other info window and do Edit -> Paste.

You’re Minecraft.jar icon should now be nice and pretty like your old Minecraft app.

Step 7 (optional) – Play with a console controller?

Controllers – I love this little app so much, I just had to mention it. If you’d rather play Minecraft with a console controller rather than your keyboard, there is an excellent way to do so on the Mac. It even supports PS3 controllers via Bluetooth with the native Mac hardware Bluetooth (OSX Lion and above). (If you’ve ever tried to make a console controller work with Windows, you’ll quickly recognize the value of this app.)

Please buy the app and send the author a note asking to support ‘toggle’ type key settings. You’ll know what I mean if you’re used to crouch in Minecraft on the PS3. Currently you’ll have to map crouch to a button that is easy to keep pressed down while you’re working the other controls. A ‘toggle’ would allow a button to change the state until pressed again. That would be a really nice addition to an already awesome app.

Special thanks to BoaConstructor for the helpful article. While I read a bunch of articles on the topic, this one ended up being the closest to what I found to work best (though, I found I didn’t need the Java JDK step, and wanted to refine it a bit more).

Oh, and if you need a website or know someone who does, please check out our Website design services!

The post How to make Minecraft work on Mac OSX Yosemite with latest Java 8 appeared first on cgWerks.

No matter how legitimate these attempts may seem, you are putting yourself in danger. I’ve always told people that if they feel it was legitimate, to go directly to that trusted source, on their own, and check. So, don’t follow a link to a site you need to log into; enter the URL (or use a bookmark you created) to get there, and log in. If this message was legitimate, it should be available for you. Likewise, call your bank directly at the public phone number you find on their marketing material and inquire about the problem. ⁽²⁾And if that was actually a legitimate call you received, and they asked for account information, talk to the highest level person you can and COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!

Recently, it seems all this hard work in training people not to become identity theft victims has been derailed by single sign-on systems like Facebook’s popular Facebook Connect. (Others as well, like Twitter, WordPress, Yahoo, etc.) This has been around for some time, but recently (the last month or two), it is appearing just about everywhere. News sites and blogs I’ve been following (and commenting on) for years suddenly are asking for my Facebook credentials. Worse yet, many have replaced other methods of logging in with one or more of these systems as the ONLY login method.

For the naive (or lazy) user, this seems like bliss. All you now have to do is remember your Facebook user name and password and you are good to go all over the Net. The IT tech (who has often had to worry about security) – as well as amateur social engineer – in me screams, “Danger! Danger!” ⁽³⁾The conspiracy theorist in me is also quite concerned about Facebook having all this additional information about everywhere I comment on things around the Internet! Is it really a good idea to be training people to enter their Facebook credentials into dialog boxes that popup on sites that aren’t Facebook? Doesn’t this play right into the hands of the phishers? I certainly think so.

Oh sure, there are some ways to be reasonably sure ⁽⁴⁾But not necessarily certain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing#Link_manipulation it is actually Facebook you are giving this data to if you are a bit tech savvy and paying close attention. However, even for the tech savvy, the paying close attention part is often neglected, especially as we become more socially trained in this manner. The public, it seems, is already quite confused about how these systems work. The dangers are also more than just phishing if you use public or shared computers.

What can you do to protect yourself? First, I’d say to avoid these single sign-on services when possible. It’s actually a good thing to have a unique account and (strong) password for different sites and purposes. Use a good password manager (I like PasswordWallet). Second, check the URL of any kind of popup or login window you are using. Be careful of misspelled URLs or tricky attempts ex: www.facebook.fake.com (notice in this example, facebook is just a sub-site of FAKE.com). Third, at least with Facebook’s system, if you are already logged into Facebook to begin with, you should only get an ‘authorize’ message, and not have to login separately. ⁽⁵⁾Ultimately, I don’t really like this ‘authorizing’ access to Facebook either.

I don’t want to place the blame solely on Facebook. As I mentioned above, there are many others involved in promoting this type of login. WordPress, for example, has a fairly horrible system in this regard which doesn’t seem to allow you to log directly in without AGAIN logging into another site to comment. This means you either submit to possible abuse or don’t comment. That said, I think Facebook is going to be the largest popularizer of this trend – and given their history of playing fast and loose with user’s privacy (and arguably security) – they are likely to be the most dangerous player in the game.

Update: Saturday, September 3, 2016

Aside from the above advice to login directly to whatever social network you need to use to leave a comment on a 3rd party site (i.e.: login to Facebook, then load or refresh the page, and you should be already authenticated), a comment system that has become quite popular is Disqus (pronounced like the word discuss).

The advantage of Disqus is that you can leave comments across many types of blog and news systems with one universal account. But, it is an account with the sole purpose of leaving a comment. This means that if someone does happen to break into your account through a phishing attempt, they won’t be able to hijack one of your social media accounts. (And, it’s quite good at remembering your login, so you don’t have a browser window open and logged into Disqus to be recognized by other blogs you visit.)

Once you’ve logged in, you should be able to just leave a comment at any blog supporting it. And, best of all, it has a great notification system when you get a reply, which puts you right back to the proper spot to continue the conversation (this is something almost no other system does well).

Typically, I’ve preferred to setup an account on each individual news site (it’s a bit more of a pain with individual blogs), but seeing that WordPress has a pretty poor commenting system, I’d certainly recommend Disqus to any blog owner, and really enjoy using it to keep in the conversation loop. In fact, we’ll be switching this blog to Disqus soon.

Image credit: phishing by Richzendy

The post School of Phish: Why Facebook Connect is a bad lesson. appeared first on cgWerks.

A couple weeks back, I received an e-mail that Gizmo5 services were being shut-down, and that I would have to transition my account to Google Voice, or get a refund on any remaining credit. I was expecting this to happen eventually after Gizmo5 was bought-out by Google, but was a bit surprised at the quick time-frame once announced (about a month). I’m pretty busy right now finishing up my graduate degree, so I really didn’t want this on my plate as well. However, I really had no choice, or we would have lost our phone numbers and been out of business on our phone service.

I’ve been using VoIP phone service since around 2005 when Gizmo Project first got going. We’ve been pretty happy with it in general. It has been flexible for us, as well as saving us money. For example, we’ve been able to keep the same phone numbers for several years, even across several moves. When we got to the ‘new place,’ we only needed Internet service, and everything was up and running again. It allowed us to capture voice-mail as audio files and e-mail them to members of the family. We’ve been getting our calls for around $0.019 per minute or less (sometimes free). About the only down-side is either no-911 service or e911 service, but we always have a cell phone or two around for emergency anyway.

I was a little sad to see Gizmo5 go after all these years. Their support was OK. It took a bunch of monkeying around to get it going initially. We have used an ATA hardware device, which allowed normal phones to be plugged in and used. Once setup and configured properly, though, it has been little different than using a traditional phone. We’ve even been able to have a US and Canada phone number that ring the same phone, which is handy since we now live in Canada but have lots of friends and relatives in the US.

Moving to Google Voice is a WHOLE different story! First, Google seems to have just shut down Gizmo5 support. This is kind of inconsiderate, given that people might need some help with the transition or porting numbers to other services. To make matters worse, it seems Google Voice support is also nearly non-existent. I’m guessing you can get a kind of ‘self-help’ support through their forums, if you can get to them.

First, I had trouble even figuring out what the heck Google Voice is. I have a friend who has used it and told me a bit about it, or I’d certainly be lost by looking at Google’s web site. It just seems to be this Internet calling thingy that may or may not be connected to calling phone numbers, etc. They use a lot of terms for the ‘features’ that make it sound impressive, but I haven’t really figured out anything it can do that most VoIP providers do not.

Second, since I’m in Canada, I couldn’t even get into the Google Voice forums or create an account to see what the heck was going on. I decided to get a refund on my credits, and attempt a port of one of my numbers, but it was a blind move. No support, and no way I could see to get support. I spent an hour one day just trying to see if I could get into their support (I’ve got several ‘Google Accounts’ now, but all failed). I think they must be blocking by IP. In other words, if you’re not in the US, you can’t get anywhere in their support system!

As an aside, if Google support is this horrible (and I’m not the only one who has complained about it… Google doesn’t seem to be known for their customer service), how well does this bode for Android users? Maybe ponder that a bit before you make your decision against getting an iPad or iPhone!

Enter Callcentric! Luckily, I had been experimenting a bit with Callcentric previously on my iPod Touch. I had purchased a Canadian dial-in number for it and was making calls from school and such with it. My experience with them was excellent. Their support was extremely responsive (within minutes sometimes)! Their documentation was very good for setup. Their on-line system for settings, call routing, phone books, reporting, etc. was all excellent! About my only complaint about them, is that their voice-mail system seems a bit outdated, however, it still allows me to route my voice-mail messages to e-mail and deliver them as MP3 files. I’m happy!

So, I was able to port my Gizmo5 number (Canadian) to Callcentric, and decided it wasn’t worth my time or money to try and get our US number out. Callcentric was also running a special on US dial-in numbers, so I just picked one of those up. The experience has been very good, other than maybe wasting about 1/2 to 1 day messing with Google Voice and porting the numbers. It only took me a few hours to get everything going and setup on Callcentric. Interestingly, even Callcentric tech support had to come to my rescue on porting the number, as Gizmo5 didn’t provide me with the docs I needed to authorize the port. Since Callcentric had helped other Gizmo5 people, they were able to point me in the right places to get the info I needed.

So, many thanks to Gizmo5 for getting me into VoIP and years of service. Shame on you Google for doing such a horrible job on the transition and for such cruddy support. And, many thanks to Callcentric for being so supportive in the transition.

Also, if you are wondering why I didn’t mention Skype, it is because Skype doesn’t offer numbers in Canada. Also, Skype is a proprietary VoIP service which isn’t based on the SIP standard. You really want to be SIP based if you want to work with regular software VoIP clients, or standard VoIP hardware. I have nothing against Skype, and use it quite a bit, but IMO, it is a different kind of thing. One thing Skype is really good at, is punching its way out of networks to get a call through. I use both SIP clients and Skype on my iPod Touch when mobile. If I can’t get a call out with the SIP software, I usually can with Skype.

Image credit: gizmo5 by Nano Taboada

The post Farewell Gizmo5, No Thanks Google Voice, Hello Callcentric! appeared first on cgWerks.

Photo: Colorful Old Oil Barrels by L.C.Nøttaasen.

I have yet to get used to thinking in Liters/100km for gas mileage here in Canada. Miles per Gallon (MPG) is simply engrained in my head. Part of the problem is just the difference in units of liters and gallons. But, there is also the issue of one measuring distance on 1 gallon, while the other is measuring the quantity of fuel over a distance. To top it off, they run inverse of each other. (ex: a car that gets MORE MPG is better, but a car that uses LESS liters/100km is better.) Anyway, it threw my brain for a loop while I was car shopping several months back, so I looked around the Internet for a conversion calculator or chart. I could only find one for UK gallons (which I didn’t catch for a while, which REALLY confused me for a bit). Calculators weren’t very convenient while car shopping, so I decided to make a nice chart to take along.

If you are also struggling with this one way or the other, enjoy!

Liters/100km to MPG (US) Conversion Chart

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Photo: Light Graffiti – PS3 Controller by artwork_rebel.

A friend of mine has been using a Plantronics .Audio 770 headset with his Playstation3 and has been quite pleased with it. I was not only unable to find one locally, but the cost on what I did find was more than I wanted to spend. My friend and I schemed a bit and came up with the following solution (cost ~$29):

Plantronics .Audio 370

These seem to range from $10 to $40ish. I picked mine up from FutureShop here in Canada for $19 on a Boxing Day special… but many retailers seem to have them for about that amount as their regular price. ⁽¹⁾These might be hard to find now, but weren’t when I wrote the article. Hopefully other inexpensive solutions are available. If you know of one, please let us know in the comments.

The only problem with these are that they are an analog only headset (basically missing the USB adapter of the more expensive Plantronics models). However, we found the following which works very well:

Syba SD-CM-UAUD USB Stereo Audio Adapter (Link to an example of this adapter on Newegg…) I picked one up locally at NCIX for like $10, but Newegg has them for $9. You might  find them at a local store to save the shipping, but I couldn’t believe the price. It works great with the PS3.

Headset Wiring

As you can see in the first photo (see: Headset Wiring), I have plugged the Syba adapter into a USB extension cable, and the pink plug of the Plantronics into the pink plug on the adapter.

I have plugged the other plug of the Plantronics into a simple audio extension cable. (The cord on the Plantronics headset is, IMO, a bit short).

Stereo PS3 Connection

Next (see: Stereo PS3 Connection), I plugged the USB into my PS3, and the audio cable into the headset jack on my stereo system. You might do the same or hook it to the headset jack on your TV, for example. This will give you all the audio output (voice and game sounds) through the earphones of the headset, and the USB provides the Mic input to the PS3.

PS3 Audio Settings

Now, just set the PS3 settings properly (see: PS3 Audio Settings). I put the mic level at 4 or 5. Set the input device to the Syba adapter (C-Media USB Audio Device). Set the Output device to the ‘System Default Device’. This runs the voice you’d normally get back through a headset to the same place as game sounds… which all end up coming into your Plantronics headphones.

The .Audio 370 headset sounds pretty good and works incredibly well in games, IMO. You should be able to use any PC headset with this adapter… of course sound quality and mic quality will vary.

So, I basically have $29 invested in this setup. Not bad at all for the high quality level. ⁽²⁾This is an article I posted on the PS3 forums on 10-20-2009 (I modified it a bit to update things). It is kind of buried there, and I have friends with new PS3s thinking about setting this up. Enjoy!

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Photo: Snow Leopard by BenedictFrancis.

Just a quick post to point out an update to Devon Technologies’ WordService. WordService has just been updated to version 2.8 if you are already using it. Download from Devon Technologies products page.

If you are not already using this, I really recommend that you check it out. It adds a whole number of quite useful utilities to your Services menu on Mac OSX. From their website:

“WordService provides 37 functions to convert, format or speak the currently selected text, to insert data or to show statistics of the selection within all Cocoa applications (e.g. Textedit, Pages, Mail, Stickies, Safari or Xcode) and Carbon applications supporting services.”

My favorite and most used is ‘Reformat’ which does stuff like strip extra spaces, line feeds and other junk out of text. When I copy something from the web or pretty much anywhere, I typically paste it into a blank TextEdit document set to plain-text. I then do a ‘select all’ and then ‘Reformat’. It cleans the text up really nice! I also use the insert time/date functions quite a bit. The others are really useful as well, but I don’t have keys mapped to many others.

To map a keyboard shortcut go to your Services preferences under System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts -> Services. By the way, the Services settings are a bit tricky until you figure it out. When it says to double-click on the shortcut and then push the key combination to set it, it actually means to double click in the area to the right of the service you want to set the keys for. If you scroll up and down, you should see some, and if you double-click there, you’ll see how it selects and gets highlighted.

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