Two Providers of Secure E-Mail Shut Down

This is very interesting: "Taken together, the closures signal that e-mails, even if they are encrypted, can be accessed by government authorities and that the only way to prevent turning over the data is to obliterate the servers that the data sits on."

See more of this NYT Technology article here

iPhone sinks as Android seizes market share

From the Wall Street Journal:

"Google's Android software continues to steamroll the competition in smartphones, posing bigger problems for companies like Apple and BlackBerry.

New data Wednesday from research firm IDC found that Apple's share of the global market slid to 13.2 percent in the second quarter from 16.6 percent in the year-earlier period. Handsets running Android, meanwhile, jumped to 79.3 percent from 69.1 percent.

The signs are particularly ominous for one-time market leader BlackBerry, despite some high-profile product announcements recently. Devices running its software accounted for just 2.9 percent of global smartphone shipments in the three months ended in June, compared with 4.9 percent for the same period in 2012.

Android is given away free to handset makers by Google, whose strategy is to make money on advertising associated with mobile devices. It has long powered smartphones offered by industry giant Samsung, but has lately also benefited by Chinese companies such as Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE. that are grabbing a bigger chunk of the smartphone market.

"You are seeing tremendous growth in the developing world," said Steve Mollenkopf, president and operating chief of mobile chip giant Qualcomm Inc. Companies selling there are "picking up Android and driving that.""

You can keep your PC clean, tuned, and problem free.

I am posting this for new visitors and regulars who might need a refresher. I continue to use this suite of programs and aids and have no problems on any of our 3 systems, two running Windows 7 and one running Windows XP. One of my objectives is to continue running Windows XP long after the end of Microsoft support in April of 2014.

From time to time I refer to my security baseline. My security baseline is merely a list of programs I use (all free) and recommend for anyone to use to keep their systems secure. This applies to YOU if you use Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7. The only difference in Windows 8 is that Windows 8 comes with its own Anti-virus program. It is called Windows Defender. It too is free.

Remember, all of these products are FREE, but will do as good a job as any fee products you may use. I make that statement and stand by it based on 45 years of experience with computers.
 
1. Microsoft Security Essentials. This is a very impressive anti-virus program and can replace any you have now. There is no need to pay a fee for an anti-virus program. DOWNLOAD HERE

2. Windows Firewall (Standard part of your operating system. Check the Security Center to be sure it is on.)

3. MVPS HOSTS File - download the current month's version and update monthly DOWNLOAD HERE

4. CCleaner - check for newer version than you may already have. Run weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE by clicking on Download Latest Version in the upper right hand corner of the page.

5. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - run bi-weekly. DOWNLOAD HERE

6. SuperAntiSpyware Free Edition - run bi-weekly in the off week after #5. DOWNLOAD HERE

7. Spybot Search & Destroy - run monthly just before downloading new HOSTS file.  I recommend, for now, downloading Version 1.6.2 under "old versions". DOWNLOAD HERE

I will be happy to assist you with any or all of the above installations. This can be done remotely.

Questions?  Comment below or write me, pcdoc@brpcdoc.com