How secure are the passwords you are using?

If you are using your name, your birthday, or anything that is a word, your password is not secure. Real words are easily hacked.

A password should use a random set of letters, numbers, and a special character or two.

Create a phrase

Think up a silly sentence that you can easily remember.

For example:

That dog is always eating my 3 peppers! Is it yours?

Now take the first letter of each word and the punctuation to make this password:

Tdiaem3p!Iiy?

Now you have a password that is easy to remember and includes special characters, but is much more secure than Bob1970.

Find additional advice about password security in the article “Fourteen Hints To Keep Your Password Safe”

Organize with a RSS reader

High tech moms and dads use RSS readers to organize and manage tips from the wonderful assortment of blogs and websites available today.

Not high-tech yet? Well I’m about to change that. Then you can brag to your kids about how technically savvy you are.

New to RSS?

Give it a try for a week and you will be hooked. You may be saying, “Now, Melinda, that stuff is way too technical for me.” I promise it is very easy to use and no tech-wiz ability is required.

You can subscribe to many sites by email, but using the RSS reader option will keep your subscriptions neatly organized in one place without clogging up your email’s inbox.

Setting up Google Reader

If you don’t already have a Google account, you will need to make one. See the “sign in” at the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Sign in and go to Google Reader to see what the reader looks like.

I have a more detailed description of how RSS works here at my tech blog.

Google Reader will feel very familiar since it resembles an email program. The subscriptions are listed on the left. Click on a subscription and browse the topics to see if anything interests you. Nothing interesting? Mark them as “all read” and continue to the next subscription.

RSS saves you time

Now you can keep up with websites in a more efficient way because the information comes to you. A great time-saver!

Add Subscriptions

Simply go to a site you enjoy and look for the RSS symbol. Click to subscribe and select the Google Reader option. You will need to be logged into your Google account. It will send you to your reader and you will see the subscription added to the left of the screen in the list. Occasionally it will require you to confirm the subscription by clicking a button at the top right side of your screen.

Finding blogs on subjects you like

There are blogs on every subject you can imagine. Like to sew? Search for some sewing blogs full of great ideas. Go to blog directories and search the subjects are you interested in. A few include: Blog Catalog, AllTop.com, and Blog-Search.com.

Some sites I love to get you started

Organization sites:

Don’t forget to subscribe to mine here.

Lifehacker.com – Search any term. One of my favorite sites!! Good stuff!
OrganizeWithSandy.com
OrganizeYourStuffNow.com
Unclutterer.com
GetSimplifized.com
HealingOrganization.com
ClutterDietBlog.com
MonicaRicci.typepad.com
MeckMom.com
OpenSpacesFengShui.com/blog
ProductiveAndOrganized.net
ElaineShannon.com
PenelopeLovesLists.com
Blog.Rubbermaid.com
Lifehack.org

Mommy/Daddy/Family blogs:

Mommy/Daddy blogs are all the rage these days and have been featured on countless TV shows. Find some great parenting tips and share your own in the comments. You may discover a great community of other parents that you can relate to.

MyDeliciousAmbiguity
5MinutesForMom.com
YummyMummyClub.ca
BalancingMotherhood.com
MommyMaria.wordpress.com
Busymom.net
LoveLifeFamilyAndThenSome.com
MomMadeThat.com
MomSpark.net/

Money Saving tips:

MoneySavingMom.com
CentsationalGirl.com
CouponMom.com
Coupons.Smartsource.com
CouponCabin.com
CoolSavings.com
Valpak.com
MyCoupons.com

Going Green

GreenMoms.com
MamaGoesGreen.com
OrganicKidz.ca
Green.blogs.nytimes.com
GreenLivingIdeas.com
Treehugger.com
FullCircleHome.com

Recipes

Collect some new recipes and make your own cookbook.

SmoothiesRecipe.com – I’m a smoothie fanatic, so I was excited to find this site!
SeriousEats.com
Great list of food blogs at Delish.com

If you have others to recommend, leave them in the comments section.
Write one? Add it, too!

Happy RSS reading!

After spending a couple of days reformatting my computer, I thought it was worth mentioning that computers do require some “spring cleaning” each year. You don’t have to go so far as reformatting, but there are a few things that even a non-technical user can do to keep a computer running well.

Has your computer been running slow lately?

One possible culprit could be that you are filling up your hard drive.  Check to see how much space is available on your “C:” drive. Not much? Maybe it’s time to clear up some.

Do you transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer for storage? 

Pictures and movies can be very large files and can quickly eat up your hard drive space. Burn them onto a disk occasionally to reduce what you are storing on your computer.  Double check that the storage disk burned correctly and your photos are on it before deleting the pictures off your computer. If I have issues with my computer running slowly, hard drive space availability is always what I check first. My photos and digital camera movies are usually to blame.

Review your computer files once or twice a year and identify the files you don’t need anymore. Just in case you need it one day, archive the files by burning them to a disk before deleting them.

Surf the web on a regular basis?

Temporary files and internet clutter can bog down your computer. A washing program such as Window Washer is great to run occasionally (once a week or more) to clean the unnecessary junk files off your computer.

Use anti-virus software to avoid virus issues.

Got any other tips to share?