OzBargain
Ozbargain is a website where contributors (anyone at all) can add a link to a good bargain they have spotted in local shops, online or from emails they have received with 'Special Offers".OzBargain is divided into sections with special deals on a range of products. The deals can be for Computers, Electrical items, Gaming, Groceries, Education, Fashion and Apparel, a whole range of items.
You can be walking though Bunnings, spot a super deal, get a quick photo on your phone and 'post' the deal on OzBargain for others to see. There are rules and moderators who keep their eye on each item to ensure it is appropriate.
People can add their own comments to each deal if they wish. These comments can commend the product or the deal or not commend it. The comments can ask questions and answer them. Comments can also recommend or otherwise the seller as a reputable operator.
There is the OzBargain website as well as OzBargain "Apps" for your phone for you to keep up with new deals being posted all the time.
There is an RSS feed link as well so as a new item is posted, you can have a notification come up on your computer.
The "Search" function is excellent as well and can be handy to see if similar deals have been posted previously and how the current deal compares.
If you are not prepared to buy online then OzBargain may be of limited value to you.
I would also recommend purchasing only via PayPal. So don't worry about using OzBargain if you don't have a PayPal account.
OzBargain is a great spot to pick up great deals on external hard disk drives!
Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to the computer system that it infects, and demands a ransom paid to the creator(s) of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed.Some forms of ransomware encrypt files on the system's hard drive (cryptoviral extortion, a threat originally envisioned by Adam Young and Moti Yung), while some may simply lock the system and display messages intended to coax the user into paying.
While initially popular in Russia, the use of ransomware scams has grown internationally; in June 2013, security software vendor McAfee released data showing that it had collected over 250,000 unique samples of ransomware in the first quarter of 2013—more than double the number it had obtained in the first quarter of 2012. CryptoLocker, a ransomware worm that surfaced in late-2013, had procured an estimated US$3 million before it was taken down by authorities.
Being attacked with ransomware isn't fun as I can tell you from my own experience.
How To Protect Yourself From An Attack
It is easy to protect yourself from a Ransomware Attack. Programs such as Mailwasher allow you to peruse your emails online before you download them to your computer especially if you use an email program such as Thunderbird, Outlook or Windows Mail. Always delete suspicious emails.
Be super wary of any email with an attachment. An email from Auspost with the email address such as auspost@diceywebsite.com.au is probably not really from Australia Post and therefore should be immediately deleted.
Back up, Back up, Backup! Regularly (at least weekly) backup your important files to an external hard drive.
Back-Up
What should I backup? Documents, Photos and Pictures, Media , Music, Profiles, Passwords, Bookmarks, Contacts, Other? You may wish to backup other files which are important to you and are housed on your PC.
I backup my Firefox and Thunderbird (Email Program) "Profiles". These are stored in a 'hidden folder' called AppData in your main folder (My Documents).
In your hidden "AppData" folder, open the folder "Roaming", scroll down to "Mozilla" and open it. Then open Firefox, Profiles and you will find a folder with a strange name of various letters and numbers. This is your Firefox Profile folder containing all your bookmarks, remembered passwords, browsing history etc for Firefox.
If you were to copy/paste the contents of that Firefox Profile Folder into the Firefox "Profiles" folder on another computer, when you opened Firefox on that other computer it would be exactly the same as Firefox on your own personal Firefox.
There is a folder further down in "Roaming" called Thunderbird which contains your Thunderbird Profile with all your emails, all your contact information and email account settings.
I back these Profile folders up as well. I back up several times per week.
There are various back-up programs around that you can setup to backup your important files onto a separate external hard disk drive.
You can download a pdf of this presentation here.
