Archive for the ‘Tips & Tricks’ Category
This is where we put articles about technology that’s pissed us off by not working (or not working as expected), and what we did to resolve the problem. Hopefully, you’ll spend a little less time smashing your face against the monitor than we have.
Detecting Fraud in Facebook Contests
Posted on January 23, 2012 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks, Web Development
Whatever your feelings on Facebook, it’s pretty clear that it’s here to stay. If your company or organization has considered running a promotional Facebook contest, this is crash course in detecting fraud because if your prize is worth anything to anyone, you will encounter fraud, without exception.
Know Your Social Media Scams & Rogue Apps
Posted on March 3, 2011 by snipe in Featured, Life Tools, Tips & Tricks
As the number of scams and malware threats increase on Facebook and Twitter, it can be hard to keep track of what’s legitimate and what’s not anymore in a way that is in plain-English for non-techies, who are arguably the ones who need this information the most.
Security Keynote Download
Posted on January 13, 2011 by snipe in Freebies, Tips & Tricks
I recently gave a low-tech security and social engineering talk at my company to help raise awareness of better password practices and scenarios to be on the lookout for. The deck is 36 slides, and you can download it in PDF, .key or as images.
Use Your Own Domain for OpenID Logins
Posted on February 21, 2010 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks
I’m a big fan of OpenID, and the concept of a unified login system, but the implemention of OpenID on many of the websites that use it is often miserable. This article can simplify your OpenID login experience.
Unclutter Your Facebook Feed: Set FB Lite As Your Default
Posted on January 7, 2010 by snipe in Featured, Life Tools, Tips & Tricks
Whether you’re on Facebook for fun or for work, chances are your newsfeed is crammed full of inane application notifications that make it hard to actually find the real content you actually want to see from your friends.
Practical Mod_Rewrite for Web Developers
Posted on February 17, 2009 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks, Web Development
On *nix-based servers, mod_rewrite can be a powerful tool in any web monkey’s arsenal, however it still voodoo to many, while others may not even be aware that it can help them at all.
Tilt-Shift Photos (and How to Fake Them)
Posted on January 10, 2009 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks
Tilt-shift photography (also known in the industry as “swing and tilt”) is a method by which photographers can take an aerial shot of a real-life place that makes it look as though it’s a miniature model. It’s a fascinating effect, and I have always found it interesting how the lens can fool the eye into [...]
Airport in OSX Dropping Wifi Connection
Posted on December 23, 2008 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks
Ever since buying a new 17″ Macbook Pro, I have been having consistent problems with keeping a wifi connection in my house. I know this is an Apple issue, not a router issue, as I can sit in the exact same spot in the house with Dell and get a strong signal that never drops [...]
Facebook and MySpace Users, Beware!
Posted on November 7, 2008 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks
I have received two virus emails from two unrelated friends, indicating their accounts have been compromised. The messages are being sent through Facebook and both have had a spammy sounding subject line and a link to a geocities website. This was suspicious enough, but the fact that one message came from a friend I haven’t [...]
Photo Retouching – How to Salvage a Dark Digital Photo
Posted on November 6, 2008 by snipe in Featured, Graphics, Tips & Tricks
I prefer not to shoot with flash when I can help it – I don’t like the way it washes colors out. Unfortunately, sometimes if you don’t leave the exposure open long enough, or don’t have time to adjust your exposure in the first place (candid shots are my favorite but can be a bitch [...]
Is IMAP/POP3 Gmail or Gtalk periodically rejecting your password?
Posted on October 6, 2008 by snipe in Featured, Tips & Tricks
I have run into this many times: my Gtalk password is stored in my email program (Thunderbird as an IMAP account) and my Gtalk password is stored in Adium, and every now and then, when I start my computer, Google tells me my password is wrong.
