Tag Archives: internet

Skype over 3G with iPhone brings free calls – for now

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Skype has recently introduced a new update for Skype on iPhone which introduces brand new calls over 3G. Previously, all calls had to be made over wi-fi.

The new update means that, for the time being, iPhone users can make free (or very cheap) calls to other Skype users as long as they have sufficient data allowances.

However, the use of the new feature is only available at no charge until the end of 2010. After New Year, Skype have said that they will introduce a small charge for the service, but the specific cost has not yet been confirmed.

In the mean time, if you have an iPhone, go make some calls over Skype. It could save you a lot of minutes on your contract.

Why are people petrified of the internet?

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It doesn’t bite – why is everyone panicking?

Last night I watched a programme on BBC Two called “The Virtual Revolution”, which was based on the “cost” of free facilities on the internet. It can be watched here (in the UK) on BBC iPlayer until next Saturday.

Basically it was talking about how we pay for free facilities on the internet (such as Google, YouTube, Facebook etc) with our identity rather than our hard earned cash. The programme was explaining to us how companies make vast amounts of money by providing services on the internet for free.

I believe that the main point that the programme was trying to put through was that the internet follows us and that it makes money from whatever information we feed into it. However, in some respects, I fail to see their argument.

With advertising, for example – they were talking about web sites using “cookies” to track what our interests are and to use them to follow all the details of our lives and stalk our personalities. However, that just isn’t true. None of the information collected by these sites is personally identifiable – websites aren’t allowed to collect data that might be identifiable to us without our permission. All the “cookies” do is make sure that what gets advertised to us is more of what we like. Besides, if you don’t like the idea of websites storing data about our interests – well then just turn “cookies” off. You can do that in all browsers and it will stop any data being collected.

I do, on the other hand, understand what they mean about this data problem in terms of social networking. People don’t understand what information they are putting on the internet – their photos, their interests, their friends. By posting this data on the internet, it is being archived for life – and possibly any longer. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, can keep personal data on their servers for as long as they want (I’m pretty sure, anyway) – unless people such as the Police or any other respectable authority deems otherwise. However, I totally agree with what Stephen Fry said – that we try to control the risks and use the free facilities to our advantages.

Nevertheless, I do think that people are overreacting to the internet. Internet advertising is something that has to be done for people to make money and using “cookies” to make advertising that little more pleasant is not a crime.

And the argument about “personal recommendations” just makes me laugh! I often walk into a shop and think, “wow, I wish this shop was a bit more suited to my taste”. With the internet, that can be done for me. I can log onto Amazon and have the website how I want it to be – with my stuff that I buy. Not the bestsellers or the hits – I just want the shop my way. I don’t care what everyone else buys.

So in summary, I think people should calm down a bit and realise how useful the internet is. Yes – there are a few risks with it – but as long as we understand the risks then there isn’t any problem. It’s like saying “I won’t drive my car because there’s a risk I might crash” – but you still drive it.

How to: Protect your computer from malware in 4 simple steps

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Well, since I’ve got the day off school today thanks to the vast amounts of snow across the country, I’ve decided it might be a good idea to post up a simple guide on how to protect your computer from malware and dangerous software in a few simple steps. This guide should be useful to even the most novice of computer users and will help you get started even if you don’t know your anti-virus from your firewall.

Before I start, everybody who uses a computer needs to be aware of the importance of making sure your computer is protected from malware. If you don’t keep it protected you are at risk from software that may damage your operating system or steal much of your personal details.

The biggest threat to your personal details are probably key loggers. Software is maliciously installed onto your computer via programs running in the background and then it monitors what you type with your keyboard. It then saves this data and sends it back to whoever requested it. You have to remember that this isn’t just forum passwords and computer logons – it could be your online banking details or your credit card details.

So anyway – here’s the top 4 ways to make sure your computer is safe:

  1. Make sure that you have anti-virus and firewall installed. There is plenty of free anti-virus software available – there’s no need to be spending money. I’d personally recommend Comodo Internet Security as it not only includes anti-virus and firewall in one package, but it works very well and doesn’t slow down your PC. However, other free standalone anti-virus packages include Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG Free, Avast! and more. Windows XP, Vista and 7 all comes with firewall by default, but the more security conscious should download something a bit more advanced. Comodo Internet Security comes with firewall as I said earlier, but you could also try ZoneAlarm or Outpost. When you’ve downloaded the relevant software and installed it, you’ll need to make sure that its configured correctly – it should do this automatically. If it’s set to monitor “on access” (which means it monitors traffic as it is downloaded or uploaded) and is set to occasionally do a full scan (about once a week or so) you should be fine.
  2. Make sure your chosen software is up to date. This is vital as new threats crop up daily – so you need to make sure your software isn’t going to be missing threats that came out yesterday. Your security software will probably warn you if you’re software is out of date. If it does, make sure you’re connected to the internet and tell it to update. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes but it is key to a secure key.
  3. Don’t download software you aren’t sure about. There are plenty of pop-ups and weird advertisements across the internet that may encourage you to download software you might not trust – some claim your computer is “unprotected” or “unsafe”. Totally ignore them – they are trying to encourage you to download software that could be harmful to your computer – such as key loggers. Before downloading software, try to do a quick web search to verify the safety of the software. It may be totally fine, but it’s better safe than sorry.
  4. Check the security of websites you are using. Especially consider this when you are logging onto sites that involve money. Make sure there is a padlock logo in the address bar, and make sure that the web address familiar. For example, if you are logging into PayPal, make sure the web address shows “paypal.com” and the “https://” beginning. The HTTPS means that the page is encrypted and secure. If your web browser warns you about anything to do with an “invalid” or “unsecure” certificate, tread carefully. I would suggest you try again later. If the warning persists, contact the customer support for the site you are trying to log onto, and ask them to look into the issue.

There you go – 4 simple steps that will make sure you and your computer is safe on the internet. Stick to those and you should never have a problem!

Skype launching Skype Access

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Skype has recently made Skype Access available in its new Skype beta 4.2. With the new beta there are a few bugfixes (apparently), a new call transfer mode (which was apparently in previous versions of Skype but non existent since 4.0), and a new feature called Skype Access.

Skype Access allows anyone with Skype credit to be able to pay for public wi-fi access via Skype. You simply connect to a hotspot that is supported by Skype and then use Skype Access to pay, per minute, for the service. As far as I know, the service currently costs about 15p per minute.

There’s no contract or anything like that, and it is available whenever you need it as long as you are connected to a supported hotspot.

I think this is a really good idea – very handy if you’re in somewhere like an airport and you need to quickly check your email or your Facebook page. I’m guessing people with netbooks are more likely to use the service since netbooks are much easier to carry around.

Skype reports that the service can now be used at over 100,000 wi-fi hotspots (in the UK, I think).

For me I will enjoy it most when it becomes available on devices such as the iPhone or iPod Touch – which I’m sure it will do eventually – as that means I will be able to instantly get wi-fi in a number of public places.

Ah well, nice work Skype. This might actually pay off.

The UK’s broadband REALLY needs to speed up!

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It amazes me – how does the government of this country get away with having such poor internet technology in this country? We are a very rich country (even in the economic downturn), yet the government still think 8MB broadband is good for most people.

OK, well I was reading Speedtest.net‘s world average speeds. The UK is currently (at the time of writing) 40th in the world for download with an average 4.99MB/s across the country. 40th? Yes I was a bit shocked to when I read this. And then you read what is ahead of us – Germany, Latvia, Sweden and Bulgaria are just a few of them.

Our average upload speed is even worse – we are 56th place! Our average is 0.68MB/s which, when considering countries like Latvia and Romania are miles ahead of us, is pretty poor.

Come on Britain – we are supposed to be up to date with technology – not on ancient copper cabling.