Utah’s Award Winning Computer Magazine!

www.ucs.orgThis Month’s Meeting:Wednesday 13th at 7 pm

Volume 28, No. 1 January 2010

ISSN 1061-5725

This Month’s Presentation

Check Out the Security-

Related ReportUpdate Pt. 5

Starting on Page 4&

FreeAgent GoReview

Starting on Page 8

“Sean Wolsey will present editing

audio and perhaps video.”

Page 2 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

™

RecentTrends

By Cliff Millward, Editorcliffm@xmission.com

Finè

Go Back to Your RootsAsk.com is trying something different in order to

gain market share. It is going back to its roots. Ask.com started out as Askjeeves (remember?)

They want to answer questions instead of just processing keywords. If you type in a complicated ques-tion, most search engines will spit out garbage. They are working on a way to effectively answer these questions. (Ex. What is the best way to get from Salt Lake City to Roseville California without using Interstate roads?)

Obviously the person asking this question is looking for a scenic route and is not concerned about time.

Ask.com hopes to have this new program on the market before the summer of 2010.

Ski UtahHow much fresh powder has recently fallen at your

favorite ski resort? For many years, ski resorts and inflated their es-

timates, particularly on week ends. They have done this, of course, to attract week end crowds.

“Those days are gone forever” is the new cliché due to the Internet. You can now access skireport.com to receive up to date information on your computer or your iPhone.

Some ski buff professors at Dartmouth College compared data from ski resorts against independent weather data dating back over five years. This dem-onstrated the hype put out by the resorts.

It also showed it’s the resorts close to big cities that are the culprits.

Since this study was done in the Eastern half of the US, I don’t know how accurate it is for Utah. However, if you suspect that you are being “snowed” you now have the tools to downhill (sorry, I mean download) the facts!

“Seventh Heaven?”Windows 7 seems to be settling down. I have not

had any problems this month. It is faster than Win-dows XP which is a real plus! I, however, do not like some of the changes in explorer. Going back to the previous folder arrow is sometimes not available. I do not care for the “libraries” addition. Also, it is tough to get rid of icons. (As you can ascertain by the last sentence, I prefer lists.)

I cross my fingers whenever I in-stall an older program. I remember the CorelDraw attempt which crashed Windows 7 and I had to go to a restore point!

I honestly believe that some of the changes were installed just to make the new operating system look different. They have nothing to do with a smoother and better operation. In fact, I believe the opposite is true.

I would prefer a complete XP interface with the underpinnings of a better and faster operating system. I don’t want to sound like I am contradicting myself, but I do like the option of “pinning” programs to the task bar!

BIOS ChangesHave you ever updated your BIOS? I have and,

luckily, everything worked out fine. This has not always been the case for some computer users.

Enter UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Inter-face.) It is a software interface that operates between the operating system and the firmware. It is capable of replacing the BIOS, offers driver support and many other nice things.

So far, the motherboard manufacturers and rather cool to this program, but it is something that is defi-nitely on the horizon. If you ever have an occasion to boot from a partition larger then 2TB, you need this program.

Page 3 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Blue Chips Magazine

Magazine Staff

Editor — Cliff Millward 619-9633Review Program Liaison — James Alexander 250-2269Review Product Editor — Donna Nendell 565-9594 Review Editor/Product Recruiter — Don Nendell 565-9594 Photography — LeRoy JohnsonProof Reader — Larry Lamph, Doug Jackson

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JanuaryRenewals

Glen Guiver Frank Herriott Larry Lamph

Page 4 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Security-Related Report Update (Part 5)Number 15 in the Series

By Don Nendell (Caveat Emptor)Happy New Year!

“Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.” - Ronald Reagan

Can you believe it? It’s 2010 - Holy Cow! I’m still waiting for Armageddon (re.Y2K) to explode on us! Even back then I couldn’t fathom 2000, let alone 2010. Wow! I should live so long. You’d think we’d all learn something in the meantime, but, repeat, BUT we’re still making the same naive mistakes we’ve always made: Identity theft, Clicking on the wrong Browser button, responding to Spam e-mails... and the list goes on and on...

Q. Will it ever stop?A. The hackers are counting (their

money) on you not ever doing so, ever, and ever. Amen!

“Cyber-crime and fraud has become high profile as internet usage has increased and thieves evolve their techniques.” - An-thony Agresta, Vice President of Marketing for Centrifuge Systems, GSN, December 24, 2009

The Bad Guys Are Winning: So Now What? “With the continual release of zero-day exploits, ever-larger-scale botnets, and rampant spyware, attackers have compromised tens of millions of machines connected to the Internet. With clever attackers mixing social engineering, physical attacks, and phishing into their bag of tricks, their rate of successful penetration is both astounding and depressing.” - Ed Skoudis, Author of Prentice Hall best seller, Counter Hack: A Step-by-Step Guide to Computer Attacks and Effec-tive Defenses. His latest book is titled Malware: Fighting Malicious Code, SANS Track 4 Course Instructor: Hacker Techniques, Exploits and Incident Handling, and Co-Founder and Senior Security Consultant with InGuardians, from his Keynote Address at SANS CDI 2009, December 11, 2009.

“Whether or not an interna-tional approach is required, neces-sary or possible, the reality is that the [cyber] war is on, that con-cerned individuals, businesses, military, and government bodies need to give serious thought to it.” - Will Gragido, Casandra Security, October 22, 2009 <http://cassan-drasecurity.com/?p=510>

I’ve been going on now for over 15 years developing a Security Suite for “Prime time” to help alleviate/stop the evil transgressions of the Hack-ers/Cybercriminals, but seemingly to little avail (See also my response to my sisters’ e-mail of 12/22/09 below). No champions have yet to step forth to carry the cudgel for me, and sad to say, I’m weakening fairly rapidly with ever increasing health (said back) problems.

“We must bring change, so that nothing will in fact change.” - Burt Lancaster in Il Gattopardo (1963)

All of these BCM Security-Relat-ed Reports (S-R) have been an attempt to awaken the public (you?) to the ever present dangers all around us (you?), also to no apparent avail (See below). I grow weary and don’t know how much longer I will be able to prevail (upon you?), or see any improvement in the long run; es-pecially here in the “Scam Capi-tol of the World - Salt Lake and Utah counties. Can you imagine that a full 95% of all scams in the world are said to originate here in our very own back yard? Interestingly, and as if on cue, here’s a good, timely case in point:

(Fr.) “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” 4 - Alphonse KARR, Les Guêpes, 1849

(Headline) Consumers con-tend Utah company ripped them off: E-commerce [Utah’s] Pacific Web-Works’ online practices also draw fire from regulators, Google, by Tom Har-

Page 5 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

vey, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12/23/2009. “Mark Cassello of Bloomington, Ind., was looking at his bank account when he noticed a small charge on his debit card that he didn’t recognize. Little did he know he was about to become part of what lawsuits allege is a[nother Utah] scam that would entangle count-less consumers and even the Internet giant Google. Exactly seven days later, another charge of about $80 showed up from a Utah company called Pacific WebWorks [PWW]. Again, he had no idea why, or even what Pacific Web-Works sold. ‘I had not used my debit card for anything,’ said Cassello. ‘I had not been to the Pacific WebWorks’ Web site. I hadn’t responded to any of their subsidiary corporations or anything like that’....” [Long story, short story, as you’d imagine, Mark got the cold shoulder from PWW] ‘It’s a clear misap-propriation of our name,’ said Google spokesman Andrew Pederson. ‘It’s so brazen. It’s such a brash attempt [by yet another Utah-based company] to use Google’s good name to trick people into giving up their hard-earned money that it’s impossible to ignore anymore.’ Once consumers sign on for the ‘Google products’ for a nominal fee, according to the lawsuit, Pacific WebWorks and others use the same credit or debit cards to charge them as much as $79.99 a month for other services that often turn

out to be worthless.... Utah [Division of Consumer Affairs] director Kevin Olsen said consumer protection laws state a company cannot advertise something for ‘free’ or ‘risk free’ when other charges are involved, such as monthly fees. The so-called negative option, in which a consumer has to pay more if he or she does not take action to decline new charges, must be clearly stated up front in a purchase agreement, not buried in it or behind a button on a Web site.... [Ob-viously, such was not the case by PWW, hence the lawsuit.] A nationwide survey by credit card company Visa shows that 29 percent of American consumers have been victims of deceptive marketing that required them to cancel or opt-out of a recurring charge for additional products or services.” [Stay tuned, the cybercrimi-nals are out to get you, you and you!]Tips to online shoppers (See also graphic):

1. Research a company before the purchase. The Better Business Bureau has online records of complaints about companies, as do sites such as com-plaintsboard.com and ripoffreport.com.

2. Take time to read and understand all terms and conditions so that a free trial doesn’t turn into a costly purchase you didn’t intend to make.

3. Pay attention to any pre-checked boxes before submitting payment card information. Failing to uncheck them may bind you to unwanted terms and conditions.

4. Review card statements for any unauthorized charges, and notify the card issuer promptly of unusual activity or unauthorized charges [I did exactly that in my August 2009 Credit Union Credit Statement, the result of my ID Theft in Madrid, Spain].

5. Try to resolve disputes with the merchant. If unsuccessful, contact the card issuer immediately to contest un-warranted charges [I did... They did].

Sources: Utah Division of Con-sumer Protection, Better Business Bureau of Utah, Federal Trade Commis-sion, and Visa

Caveat Emptor my friends, it’s 2010. Learn now, or you’ll cer-tainly pay later. It’s your choice. Just remember, anything sound-ing too good to be true is probably either Utahn- or Nigerian-based. So Beware. You’ve been repeatedly warned (See also below for yet an-other “e pluribus unum” security warning), and this one, by a “once in a blue moon,” strange coinci-dence, is actually true. Read on.

Right on cue, Enter stage left

For your enlighten-ment(?), entertainment(?) and edification(?), I’m re-peating herein my reply to my “Sister’s ‘Scare’ e-Mail” of 12/22/09 for you. Do with it as you wish, and my sincere wish is that you actually do something like I’m suggesting to her, and others, in my very own e-mail contacts list of friends. Enjoy (and learn)?

Here’s My Reply to My Sister’s e-mail:

RE: Real New Virus!!No Joke!!From: Don Nendell (donn@abc.

com)Sent: Tue 12/22/09 6:52 PMTo: jamel@abc.net

Dearest Jan,(Plus all those who are receiving this

e-mail for forwarding to their con-tacts who might need the information - I know none of you probably don’t need it, or do you?) Please see the attached document for my take on this, and all the other “hoax/virus” alerts that pass my way. Sorry, can’t talk longer, I need to run, I’ve got a big job outside ahead of me - a so-called “Fast moving” front is “slowly passing through,” and I’ve al-ready got over 5-6 inches on the ground (it’s still coming down), and rising out there. Ha! That will certainly get a rise out of a few of you who are receiving

Page 6 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

this, I’m sure? For the others, keep on shoveling!

Security/Privacy Lesson over. Back to fun and games! Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings and “Love to all,” your brother, Don

P.S. Have a great, wonderful and Happy New Year.

Here’s the Original e-Mail:From: jamel@abc.net To: jamel@abc.net Subject: Fw: Fw:Real New Virus!!No Joke!! Date: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:47:53 -0700 Subject: Fw:Real New Virus!!No Joke!!

Begin forwarded message:CHECKED THIS OUT ON

SNOPES AND IT IS TRUE - PASS THIS ALONG TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK! WITH THE HOLIDAYS COMING THIS WOULD BE AN E-MAIL THAT A LOT [sic] OF PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY OPEN. SNOPES link at bottom of e-mail

The newest virus circulating is “The UPS/FedEx/DHL Delivery Failure.” You will receive an email from UPS/Fed Ex Service along with a packet number. It will say that they were unable to deliver a package sent to you on such-and-such a date. It then asks you to print out the invoice copy attached. DON’T TRY TO PRINT THIS. IT LAUNCHES THE VI-RUS! Pass this warning on to all your PC operators at work and home. This virus has caused Millions of dollars in damage in the past few days. Snopes confirms that it is real. <http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp >

This is legitimate. Please pass this along to your friends. [Sounds like “Déjà vu all over again,” doesn’t it?]

Now Here’s My Attached Document in Response to Her e-Mail:

Dear Jan,Thank you for your e-mail

of 12/19/09. That said however, “Raw, Barebones Things” like this really bother me. Sincerely, and said with love, simply because you are really “Trying So Hard” to do such a great service to every one of your contacts and doing the sensible thing, please allow me to

point out some significant, perti-nent and poignant suggestions to you. Prior to sending something out “blanket” like this, “Raw and in the clear,” do a little research on the subject first (or call me, better still, for help in getting the word out effectively, without seemingly to “panic.”). Your checklist, if you should choose to follow it, at a minimum, should be:

First. Before sending out such a blanket alert, do a Google search on the “supposed” virus/hoax (In this case: Google Results 1 - 10 of about 2,000,000 for “ups/fedex/dhl delivery failure” (took 0.25 seconds),) In this case, for once, it happens to not be a hoax; it is, how-ever, most likely a real, and quite possibly, potential virus. One that your Anti-Virus (AV) program, will most likely, catch and elimi-nate easily. If not, they will have a fix for it ASAP, if not sooner. They know about such things, it’s their business to know. You do have AV installed, don’t you? I spend an inordinate amount of time and effort to educate everyone about such topics in my Monthly Blue Chips Magazine Security-Related Reviews/Reports, all of which can be seen at <www.ucs.org>.

A couple of those Reviews are: VIPRE AV (March 2009); Ghost-Surf (January 2009); CyberDe-fender AV (December 2007); Panda Software (July 2004, June 2005 and June 2006) (WebRoot Spy Sweeper (July 2005, April 2006 and December 2006); and Sunbelt Software’s CounterSpy (July 2005). Also please take very special note (i.e., please read them, if you will) of the 14 highly specific Security-Related BCM Reports listed within the below graphic of the 99 Security-Related BCM Reviews/Reports I’ve done in the past 10 years, plus numerous others, as well (See graphic).

Please Note 1. See the actual Security-Related Reports/Re-views in the Blue Chips Magazine Archives at <www.ucs.org>. FYI Always choose the .pdf format for its beauty; and, 2. If you read these Reviews/Reports from directly off of an Internet search, you will be seeing it/them in HTML for-mat. Yuk! There are No graphics that way! To see all the beautiful graphics in any Review/Report - the ones that I’ve worked so hard to entertain everyone with – you/they will need to follow the pro-cedures outlined in Note 1 above (i.e., .pdf format only); and finally, 3. I’m merely awaiting the “an-nounced” official release date of CyberDefender 2010 to complete my Review of it, as well (I do be-lieve it is available, however, and you can call them at: 213.689.8631, if you desire?). I like their AV pro-gram particularly because you can

Page 7 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

have an optional one-on-one, real live “Help” person available to you 24x7 in repairing any, repeat, ANY PC problem you might be saddled with THROUGHOUT THE LIFE OF THE REGISTERED PRODUCT. Enjoy!

Second. For those who aren’t as sophisticated as maybe your-self, “try” to present them a real “solution” to the problem in your e-mail, for instance, David Em-ery’s Urban Legends Blog, which instructs you to: “Simply delete it. Do not open it. The file could contain a virus.” (See also below)

Third. Case Closed; next “hoax!”

FYI Some good examples (out of the myriad “Examples” of what I found in the Google search, in addition to the e-mail admonition of going to the Snopes.com URL), are:

1. From David Emery’s Ur-ban Legends Blog by David Em-ery, About.com Guide to Urban Leg-ends <http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2008/07/15/ups-virus-warning.htm>, UPS Virus Warning (UPS/Fed Ex Delivery Failure), Tuesday July 15, 2008. “June 2009 Update: Newer alerts about the same security threat described below are circulating under the header “UPS/FedEx/DHL Virus.” These warnings are mostly ac-curate and should be taken seriously. If you receive messages from any of these parcel delivery companies [or any other, for that matter] directing you to open an attached ‘invoice,’ …simply delete it. Do not open it. The file could contain a virus.”

2. From Healy IT Works <http://healyitworks.com/?p=38> Virus - UPS/FedEx/DHL Delivery Failure, June 18. “Viruses and Spyware are an unfortu-nate fact of life. Firewalls along with

updated and properly installed Antivirus software are an absolute must these days. But you can still do some malicious code blocking yourself.

I received the second email message today with the header “UPS Delivery Problem.” The message has an attach-ment with a very complicated filename (UPS_FILEMN2348234.zip). The key is “.zip.” Once you open this[,] it contains a file that is executable and that installs a virus on your computer. So you must participate to infect your PC with this virus [My emphasis here]. This virus has been circulating for over a year. But it seems to be gaining some ground currently. You can go to <http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/ups.asp> to read more about it; what it does and how to clean it off. But the easiest cure for this one is to delete it [My em-phasis here]. And remember, unless you know someone is purposely sending an attachment that ends with “.zip” or “.exe,” delete any messages containing attachments with these filename exten-sions. Together we’ll make ‘IT’ work!”

And Finally, with all that, you now have my permission to pass this along to all your contacts down the line with the total confi-dence that you have done your very best for everyone concerned, and everyone most certainly should be concerned; this “stuff” is for real, the hackers are for real, the cybercriminals are for real, they want your “Money!” And, they’ll most likely get it, if we all, repeat, ALL aren’t on constant alert. [See the 15 Security-Related Reports listed in the graphic above for more information on this topic.] Keep up the good work, Jan. Take care. Love always,

Your Brother, Don

And FinallyGood Luck in 2010 to everyone,

everywhere. May this be your “Year” for

Prosperity, Health, Peace (We can only wish), and Good Cheer! Don and Donna

And now, for all the above reasons, and then some, we continue with this month’s S-R Review of Seagate’s Free-Agent Go. Please turn to page XX and continue reading another highly recom-mended solution to some of the security problems we face today, and every day...

Footnotes1 See the actual Reports/Re-

views in the Blue Chips Magazine Archives at <www.ucs.org>. Note. Always choose the .pdf format for its beauty.

2 If you are reading this Review from directly off of an Internet search, you are seeing it in HTML format. Yuk! There’s No graphics there! To see all the beautiful graphics in this Review - the ones that I’ve worked so hard to entertain you with - you will need to follow the procedures outlined in Footnote 1 above. Enjoy!

3 Feature(s) precisely identi-fied as reason(s) for designating this Review/Report as “Security-Related.”

4 ( T r a n s l a -tion) “The more things change, the more they s t a y t h e same.”

Page 8 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

by Don Nendell

Seagate Technology920 Disc DriveScotts Valley, CA 95066T o l l F r e e : 1 . 8 0 0 . S E A G A T E

(1.800.732.4283)Web Site: <www.seagate.com>Corporate Overview:Storage today isn’t just about keeping your

valuable data secure, it’s also about making your information and media accessible wherever you are. Seagate storage solutions make your photos, music, movies, games, and documents more acces-sible, more enjoyable, and more secure. 3

Sales and Technical Support: Go to their web site, click on Product Families, click on Site index, click on Support, select your individual product, and click on “Contact Us,” and then follow their directions, or simply go to: <www.seagate.com/www/en-us/about/contact_us/>.

Technical Support. Seagate offers free self-service web support, email, and user-to-user forums support on your product. You may also call technical support using the instructions from their web site at: <www.seagate.com/www/en-us/about/contact_us/>

The Technical Support Staff is avail-able from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday - Sunday (CT)

Services available are: Knowledge Base, Warranty Assistance (Note. You can check the warranty status of your product using their Warranty Checker tool), E-mail, Support Forums, 1-on-1 Live Chat, and Calling Tech-nical Support at Toll Free: 1.800.SEAGATE (1.800.732.4283)

Note. 30/90 days of complimentary Tech-nical Phone Support is provided with the initial registration of your Seagate (or Maxtor product). Seagate provides an affordable incident based extension for Technical Phone Support (which can be found on their web site and is only available to U.S. residents)

Pre-sales Support: 1-on-1 Live Chat or Call Support at Toll Free: 1.800.SEAGATE (1.800.732.4283)

The Pre-sales Support Staff is avail-able from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday - Sunday (CT)

Technical Hard Drive Specifications:Encryption: 256-bit AES software

Encryption Hard Drive Capacities: 250GB, 320GB,

500GB, 640GB, 750GB, 880GB, and 1TB

Pricing: The last time I checked Best Buy’s web site (a few days before publica-tion of this Review), the 500GB version was listed at $104.99, However, their Sunday Ad was for $99.99 (after $30 savings). Also be advised that the Office Depot was advertis-ing the same price, but they included the FreeAgent Go Docking Station with the purchase of the 500GB FreeAgent Go. Or, you can always go to the Seagate web site for their latest pricing and incentives.

Caveat. For your own well being, be sure to check out the most current Sunday Ads before you buy this beauty - it may save you in the long run. (For examples see the Sunday Ad Graphics herein)

Power Supply: 100% Bus Powered Drive Connectivity: Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Cache Buffer size: 8MB Rotation RPM: 5400 Data Transfer Rate to/from Interface:

Up to 480 Mbps USB 2.0Security: Software 3

Dimensions & Weight:Size: 3.15 inches (Horizontal) x 5.12

inches (Vertical) x 0.49 inches (Depth)Weight: 0.35 lbs (0.16 kg) Warranty: 5 year limitedSystem Requirements:Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium,

Ultimate, or Business Service Pack 1Windows XP Home, Professional, Media

Center Edition Service pack 2Windows 7 Operating System (32-bit &

64-bit)Note. Compatibility may vary depending

on user’s hardware configuration and operating system

Requires USB port on PC being accessedBox Contents: FreeAgent Go Drive, Free-

Agent software pre-loaded on drive (Windows only), Quickstart Guide, Flexible USB travel cable - 18 inches long.

Note. The Optional FreeAgent Dock (or FreeAgent Dock+) and Travel Case are sold sepa-rately. However, as mentioned above, before you buy, always look through the Sunday Newspaper ads and look for the one that features a “Free Dock”

FreeAgent Go & FreeAgent Dock +USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive and Docking Station

Hardware Review

Page 9 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

giveaway with the FreeAgent Go purchase - for example the Office Depot Sunday ad of 12/20/09 (See graphic above) - Hey, you know, “Stuff hap-pens!” (a license plate once told me so, and I still believe it?) Plus, there is always an outside chance that you just might be able to “cajole” the store clerk/manager out of one through price match-ing, who’s to say? All they can do is say, No!

FYI The Seagate Manager software, included with your FreeAgent Go drive, adds a powerful set of tools to your drive. For example:

1. Backup and restore features to enable you to protect your data. The backup features allow you to:

* Back up valuable files to your FreeAgent drive. Each file you choose to back up from your computer is copied to your drive. If you ever lose one of the original files on your computer, you can easily restore it from the backup version.

Note. For increased data security, 3 you can back up your files to an encrypted folder on your drive. Folder encryption uses AES 256-bit encryp-tion to ensure your private files can’t be accessed without your encryption password.

* Sync, to synchronize one or more folders between two or more computers.

Note.You can automatically encrypt 3 synchronized files to keep them secure as you synchronize them between computers. Your Sync Encryption password is the same as your Encryption password since all encrypted folders are stored in the same folder, called “Encryption Folder.”

* Security features 3, including encryption of multiple files and folders in one location, as well as backup and sync encryption.

Note. Not available in all regions or with all products. If you select Sync Encryption, all users must have your encryption password in order to access synchronized folders on their computers.

* Settings to control power management, software updates, drive lights and more.

2. The Seagate Manager features also allows you to:

* Schedule the backup of selected folders* Edit backup settings* Launch an immediate file backup* Use the same backup plan for multiple

drives* Restore backed-up files* Back up your files to an encrypted folder3. After the initial backup, Seagate Manager

backs up changed files in designated folders ac-cording to a schedule you set, or when you click Back Up Now in the Backup window.

Note. The Seagate Manager backup feature does not back up locked files.

4. With Drive Rotation, you can use one backup plan with multiple drives.

Note. This is useful if you have files that are so important that you want to give yourself the added security of backing them up to more than one drive.

Seagate Company InformationAs digital content, such as music, video,

photos and games, becomes more integrated into everyday life, the idea of static data storage is becoming obsolete. In today’s on-demand world, you want to access, share and secure your digital content using dynamic storage solutions that give you the freedom to do business, create and interact - anytime, anywhere. From protecting treasured family photos and personal music collections to developing next-generation consumer electronics devices and large enterprise networks, Seagate delivers advanced digital storage solutions to meet the needs of today’s consumers and tomorrow’s applications. When the first hard drives began shipping in 1956, only big corporations could af-ford the cost and space required for these one-ton behemoths. Today, digital storage is all around us. Whether you realize it or not, you are prob-ably interacting with digital storage devices on a daily basis. The digital storage market continues to grow at a rapid pace - fueled by the explosion in content being created and consumed, as well as new legislation (See below) requiring businesses to store specific records and information. Storage solutions today aren’t just about keeping your valuable data safe and secure but also helping your information and media be as accessible and flexible as you need it to be. Now you can access and take your content wherever you go. Seagate has been at the heart of the consumer electronics revolution since its beginning. With more than a quarter century of industry expertise, Seagate continues to be the driver of innovative solutions for the storage industry.

PreludeDiscounting my $2600 gold chain

gift for Xmas from Donna this year (You know, “Every ‘Kiss’ Begins with Kay”), the very next best gift undeniably had to be the FreeAgent Go and FreeAgent GoDock + from the leader in storage, Seagate, which incidently, UPS deliv-ered at 5 A.M. just 2 days before Xmas. Hoorah!

Which means, yes indeed, this month I’ve got another exceptional “encryption-related storage device” 3 to evaluate and report on for you herein. BTW I strongly feel that it never hurts to have all the information on any given subject, on-call and/or right at your finger tips when you need it; especially today, because the subject of “secure” storage is one that is heating up more and more all the time. There’s even a Storage (i.e., “Visions”) Conference that is conducted yearly that coincides with CES Las Vegas. I especially love to attend this particular one just for such “knowledge-gaining” purposes. You know, it’s always great to be able to share the latest and greatest with you here in BCM. ;-}

Having let the cat out of the bag in the intro above, as I mentioned, this month we have the Seagate Free-Agent Go Portable Hard Drive and FreeAgent GoDock + with us, with its claim to fame, in my estimation, be-ing the ability to encrypt a single file(s)

Page 10 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

using software, not hardware. 3 Let me explain that one a bit. Depending on one’s needs, it’s always great to have full disk encryption (FDE), if for no other reason than if the HD is lost or stolen, you’re covered. I do believe the apropos acronym for that is, “CYA?” Right? Right! That is, only if you’ve password protected the HD with a strong enough, hard to guess PWD, and the HD will “self-destruct,” ala Tom Cruise’s MI, MI2, and MI3 style, after a given num-ber of failed attempts to “brute-force” it open. So, ultimately you have some choices to make: 1. FDE or single file(s)/folder(s) encryption? 2. Can you secure-ly exchange the encrypted file(s), or not - if so, how is this actually accomplished (see more below)? 3. What are the costs/storage capacities of your encryption program/HD/UFD choices? and, 4. Is it even worth all the effort of encryp-tion? (Please see also: My Encryption What? Report (in the July 2008 BCM 1 & 2 & 3); My Encryption Why? Report (in the July 2008 BCM 1 & 2 &

3); and My Encryption How? Report (in the August 2008 BCM 1 & 2 & 3)).

Note. This second choice (Encryp-tion Why? Report) is one we will discuss in more detail later on, plus even more in future BCM’s. FYI most people are so naive on the encryption subject, they either don’t care, or it’s simply to much trouble for them to consider, yet. That’s the operative term here, “yet.”

With the passage of the recent Patriot Act, increasing incidences of Identity theft, plus starting Jan. 1, Utah drivers renewing their license will have to physically line up at a motor vehicle

office to show proof of identity and U.S. citizenship or residency (a federal law called the Real ID Act (a possible precursor to a national ID Card? Think about it?) is behind the changes), et al., you might just want to reconsider that former line of reasoning, and then some? To those ends, I’ve been writing a great deal about Privacy, Identity theft, et al.; heavens, I’ve even been a recent victim of Identity Theft myself (back in July 2009). It’s just a matter of time before you all will be hit somewhere, somehow, as well (See all my S-R’s in previous BCM’s 1 & 2 & 3 including the current Security-Related Report #15 in this month’s issue which begins on page 4, plus see also the S-R graphic in that Report). Decisions, Decisions, Decisions?

Repeating what I wrote in last month’s BCM Review of Aegis Pad-lock External HD 1 & 2 & 3, and equally as applicable herein, “Anything this good is said to be either illegal, im-

moral and/or fattening.” That said, the Seagate FreeAgent Go Portable Hard Drive” with up to 1TB, that’s one (1) terabyte folks - one thousand (1,000) MG’s - of secure “software-based encryption” storage potential, is truly in a class all by itself. (See more below)

Here’s the “real” deal. Everyone, I mean everyone, nowadays it seems, is getting into full disk encryption, fi-nally. They even have an industry acro-nym established just for the technology - FDE. In reality, there are times when you don’t actually need FDE, but maybe you only need to protect a smaller group of files/folders, or possibly even a single file, where the remaining files/folders really aren’t that sensitive, so they can “safely” remain unencrypted. Obviously, if the whole HD is that sensitive, well then, you have no other recourse but to go with FDE. Duh!

Page 11 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Note. Naturally, it goes without saying that Seagate can handle that FDE problem beautifully, as well - always has and always will. Plus please see also my December 2009 BCM Aegis Padlock Review 1, 2

& 3 and my October 2008 BCM Max-tor (now Seagate) Black Armor Review 1 & 2 & 3 for additional infor-mation on the subject of FDE, plus you can “always” go to Seagate’s web site for the latest on FDE.

That is where Seagate’s FreeAgent Go (FG) technology enters into the security picture so perfectly. 3 What we have in the FG is the ability to encrypt a single file(s) and store it (them) securely on an external (portable) hard drive that can really get the job done, big time, and I mean BIG TIME (See more below.)

Here’s what I mean. The storage capacities 4 and price per GB on all these babies is nothing short of phenomenal (see the actual specifics in the Intro above), plus when you look at their ac-tual sizes, i.e., exactly how “tiny” (and “gorgeous”) they truly are now-a-days (they can actually fit in a pocket now) - it’s absolutely mind blowing (at least it is for me, that’s for sure). 5 Then add to all that, the ability to: 1. Encrypt a single file(s) using software, not hardware, and 2. “Operate remotely” without the need for power cables, and on all versions of Windows that have an available USB port - and yet is just a tiny bit taller than a coke can - (See graphic)

and violá, you have today’s “Must-have Penultimate ‘On-the-Go’ Security Stor-age Device,” the Seagate FreeAgent Go “Portable Hard Drive,” one that everybody can now easily afford (See the Sunday Ad graphics above.) Such a country!

As I wrote last month, “you all know by now, that I absolutely love every single one of my storage devices, be

they, External or Internal Hard Drives, but most especially USB Flash Drives (UFD’s). So much so that, for instance, I haven’t even taken the cellophane pro-tective covering off of my 320GB USB Maxtor Black Armor Drive’s shiny metal case - reason being, I absolutely don’t want any finger prints on it, it’s exceptionally beautiful (please see also my October 2008 BCM Max-tor (now Seagate) Black Armor Review 1 & 2 & 3 ).

I stupidly made that mistake with my shiny US Modular Monstor 8GB USB Drive - now I’ve perpetually got to shine it up every time I use it - shucks (please see also my October 2006 Monstor BCM Review 1 & 2 & 3 )!” Now we can add to that list of beautiful external storage devices, the Seagate FreeAgent Go “Portable Hard Drive.” Color me crazy, but I couldn’t even bring myself to cut open the sturdy, gorgeous packaging on either one, until

3 days after Xmas was over, which FYI, is a beautiful metallic silver. Oh! Did I forget to mention that “I really do love these fabulous cute ‘things’?” (See graphic of my treasure trove)

You know, this is a first. I’ve not reviewed (there are others out there, of course) a portable HD of this magnitude, one that has single file(s)/folder(s) soft-ware-based encryption, until now. “Yes, you, too, have come a long way baby!” Times are changing. Hoorah!

Don’t really believe me? Well, for all those doubting Thomas’ out there, this is my 99th Security-Related Review/Report (S-R) published in BCM in the past 10 years. Including my two (2) subject(s) covered in this issue of BCM, you will find: Secure Hard Drives (External/Encrypted) (5) [05/08; 10/08; 11/09(*); 12/09; 01/10]; Secure Hard Drives/In-ternal (1) [10/05]; and USB Flash Drives (UFD’s) (18) [12/02; 02/03; 03/03; (2) 01/04; 02/04; 02/05; (3) 12/05; 01/07; 03/07; 04/07; 10/07; 02/09(*); 09/09; 11/09(*)] 1 & 2 & 3.

Check them, plus all the oth-ers, out for yourself. 1 & 2 & 3 ;-}

Page 12 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Specifics About the Seagate Free-Agent Go “Portable Hard Drive”

Seagate states that the FG is “The ultimate portable storage solution for your photos, music, videos, and more. Easily take your photos, music, videos, and documents everywhere with the Seagate FreeAgent Go portable storage solution. The Free-Agent Go drive offers choices of 250GB to up to 1 TB of storage capacity, so you can comfortably store all your files, anytime, anywhere. It includes easy-to-use software that lets you automatically back up your data, synchronize files, and encrypt important files and folders. Plus, it’s the world’s first portable hard drive with a convenient desktop dock accessory. Simply pop your drive into a FreeAgent dock whenever you want to access your files - no more fumbling for cables!”

FreeAgent G0 Highlights * Pocket and carry your data with

ease thanks to an incredibly thin form factor.

* Choose from a variety of colors (10 to be exact. They are: Titanium Silver, Tuxedo Black, Ruby Red, Royal Blue, Sky Blue, Solar Orange, Think Pink,

Champagne Gold, Spring Green, For-est Green, but ultimately only six (6) of these are available with the 500GB FG, see graphic) to complement your style and help you differentiate between multiple drives.

* Access your files with unparalleled convenience by simply popping your drive into the FreeAgent Go Dock (or FreeAgent Go Dock +) accessory. You’ll never fumble for cables again!

* Take all your photos, music, videos and documents with you everywhere thanks to large storage capacities of 250 GB, 320 GB, 500 GB, 640 GB, 750 GB, 880GB, and 1 TB.

* With Seagate Manager you can: 1. Easily protect your data with automatic backup software; 2. Keep your most important files and folders private with software encryption technology 3; and 3. Sync your content so you’ll always have your most current versions.

* Experience fast data transfer with a USB 2.0 interface.

* Get started quickly with pre-loaded software. No CDs!

* Save energy with an environmen-tally smart utility that can power down your drive when it’s not in use.

* Enjoy peace of mind with a 5-year limited warranty from the world leader in storage solutions.

* 30-days of Free Technical Service with Product Registration.

End of Review. Not!

What Other Reviewers of the FreeAgent Go Are Saying

The FreeAgent Go Portable Hard Drive has received a number of favorable Reviews in the media (See below), and I’ll definitely not break that mold here today. With that said: 1. FG is an “Excellent” External Portable HD; 2. Adding encryption to the mix makes it an “Outstanding” External Portable HD; 3. Adding Single File(s)/Folder(s) encryption makes it an “Exceptional” External Portable HD; and 4. “If,” and

it’s a big “IF,” Seagate were to incor-porate my DYCRAV(tm) (Dynamic Challenge Response Authentication and Verification, U.S. patented) IT into the FG security mix, it would make it an “Absolutely Superior,” one-of-a-kind, paradigm shifting: a. 2-factors of “dynamic” access authentication secure External Portable Hard Drive; b. The only External Portable Hard Drive in the world that could not only encrypt and store a file(s), but could securely exchange those same “Drag and Drop Encrypted File(s)” without ever knowing what the throw-away, one-time pad-like “Secret Keys” being used for encryption are (and the user could care less, too, folks); and c. “And then some!”

Note. I’ll be seeing Seagate at 2010 CES Las Vegas about this very same sub-ject, you can be sure, and will keep you posted, stay tuned. See below, and to better understand where I’m com-ing from on this, please see also my October 2006 VIP AutoEnc(tm) (Automated Encryption) BCM Re-view, starting on page 8 therein. 1

& 2 & 3 ) ;-}

You can read some of the other posi-tive reviews of FG (there’s not quite a “mile” of them ;-} only approximately 5020 of them) simply by searching Google for “2009 FreeAgent Go Re-view” (without the parenthesis). One example, Consumersearch love what you buy <http://www.consumersearch.com/external-hard-drives/seagate-freeagent-go>, may be representative of those reviews I have searched. They say: “The Seagate FreeAgent Go has been on the market for a few years, and many review sources pick it as a top product. However, most of those sources tested the FreeAgent Go a couple of years ago [, and a number of changes to FG have come about since then.] Experts at Tom-sHardware.com and ConsumerReports.org test the most current model of the FreeAgent Go, and we found plenty of recent owner reviews at Amazon.com. There are fewer reviews at Newegg.com, but the pattern of satisfaction is similar [, i.e., ‘FG is a top product.’]” To which I might add my voice: “I agree whole-heartedly, the Seagate FreeAgent Go is definitely ‘A Top Product’.”

Page 13 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

So, What’s This One (FG?) Really All About Alphie?

Finally, here it is, that Nendell “personal touch” you’ve all been wait-ing so patiently for, and again I thank you, very much. You know, according to my Google search for this Review, it’s absolutely astounding to see just exactly how many: 1. “AES encrypted Flash Drives ” there are out there today; about 157,000 (which is about 12,000 more than I found last month); 2. “AES en-crypted HD’s” are out there today; only about 272,000; and 3. However, only 190 (AES encrypted HD’s), and 1,189 (AES encrypted UFD’s), respectively, that showed up in the advanced search category of “$90-$150 price range” (See graphics.)

As I said last month, this is “As-tounding because this phenomena [as well as, the “Percentage of U.S. households with selected devices” (See Forrester Research graphic in Footnote 8 below)] has [actually] exploded in little over a decade, 4 & 5 really, [back] about the same time my partner, David

Hunter, and I invented and patented our DYCRAV(tm) paradigm shifting, encryption IT for hard drives (internal and/or external) and/or [“any”] USB flash drives (UFD’s) [“Weird” 6, or not]....Today, our IT can be embedded [said “Hidden”] on any of those [plus including iPOD’s, BlackBerry Smart Phones, et al., and literally anything else out there that can act as a USB 2.0 storage device].” Yes, Virginia, “You certainly have come a long way, baby!”

FreeAgent Go is the real deal, folks. It’s like “déjà vu all over again”

for me personally. FG is amazingly, as mentioned above, similar to my own Security Suite, AutoEncTM. FG with its software-based single file(s) encryption is just what the Doctor has ordered in today’s security industry, in my opinion, so FreeAgent Go fills a badly needed niche, finally. It’s kind of like what I’d imagine Billy Batson’s 7 feelings were like the first time he uttered, “Shazam!” You know when Captain Marvel first

appeared with his cape billowing in the wind, ready to do battle with all those “Bad Guys” out there. Electrifying... Like Wow!

As a relatively recent, albeit “sur-prisingly belated to me,” entry into today’s red-hot “Encrypted External Portable ‘Hard’ Drive” ball game, FG (which BTW works equally as good with my IT Security Suite embedded, as well as any other USB storage device(s) out there - in actuality, anywhere, anytime, see above), I must truly say, “I really have fallen in love with it the more I see what it can do, and as I continue to play with it (See more in the CBC2 graphics on pages 14 through 17 herein) That said, I would like to spend the rest of my allotted time with you here talking about my “real interest, my real love,” as if you couldn’t guess by now, “encryption and security of per-sonal data.”

A recent InformationWeek Cover (November 23, 2009) very poignantly emphasized a worldwide deficiency: “So Much Data, So Little Encryption.” I point this out, once again, because Seagate actually does give us choic-es to solve this perplexing, vexing, and “frustrating” (particularly for yours truly) supposed problem. (You know, I really do need to bor-row one of Bobby Bowden’s over 3500 +/- uttered famous football “Dawgoneit” sayings for this one subject alone.)

Page 14 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Page 15 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

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Page 17 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Page 18 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

My “Experiments” With Free-Agent and Its Fabulous FreeAgent Dock +

1. It is very important, nay it’s critical, that you “please,” repeat, “Pretty Please,” refer to the CBC2 graphics 1 & 2 & 3 on pages 14 through 17 to follow me through my experi-ments, the ones I made in complet-ing this Review (A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. In this case, it’s four (4) pictures.)

“I try to believe like I believed when I was five... When your heart tells you everything you need to know.” - Lucy Liu

2.The first CBC2 graphic 1 & 2 & 3 covers the Install sheets that come with the units, i.e., FreeAgent Go (on top) and FreeAgent Go Dock + (on the bottom). They are graphi-cally very simple and easy to fol-low.

Note. The 3X USB Ports on the FG Dock + makes the system an “absolutely superior” product. What’s not to love about 3 extra USB 2.0 “powered” ports?

“A rose is a rose, is a rose.” - Gertrude Stein

3. The second CBC2 graphic 1

& 2 & 3 in the series illustrates the Seagate Manager capabilities: My Drives, Back Up, Sync, and En-cryption.

“Ya gotta believe, this one’s a real keeper, and it’s green light all the way to better security.”

4. The third CBC2 graphic 1 & 2 &

3 shows my three (3), count them, Seagate/Maxtor Hard Drives (FG, OneTouch III and OneTouch II), each one containing the identi-cal file that was encrypted by FG and deposited in their respective “Encryption folders.” (Study the graphic carefully, it’s a beauty, folks.)

“What a triumvirate of secu-rity... All kneel at the altar of en-cryption...” Amen!

5. The fourth CBC2 graphic 1 & 2

& 3 is a composite of all the encryp-tion activity conducted by FG in this experiment (study it carefully, as well.):

a. The top portion of the graph-ic 1 & 2 & 3 shows the actual clear text message (i.e., file) that was encrypted by FG;

b. The middle portion of the graphic 1 & 2 & 3 shows the location of the Maxtor OneTouch II FG Play-pen folder open and the OneTouch III folder closed (neither of these are FDE capable, but are housing FG’s encrypted file, none-the-less; and,

c. The lower portion of the graphic 1 & 2 & 3 shows the FG En-cryption Folder file names of both the clear text and encrypted mes-sage (i.e., files) (LH), and the cor-responding encrypted text in an “Opened in” WordPad (RH).

6. To say that I had fun with this little exercise (experiment?), is akin to what the commercial message the ESPN Bowl series ad-vertiser is trying to get across: “Is Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones too tall?” “Does Elmer Fudd have trouble with his R’s?”, et al. Well, You may get the point? Or, maybe I had better spell it out for you? I spell it, F-U-N. (That’s said period.)

7. Case Closed.Caveat. You might be getting

the idea, by now, that all these footnotes 1 & 2 & 3 are pretty im-portant in the overall scheme of things? They are there for a spe-cific purpose; to wit, not to annoy you , but to help you to enjoy the very hard word I’ve accomplished herein; which logically enough, is displayed at its graphical “very best” when you follow their direc-tions. Thank you! Enjoy! ;-}

In a nutshell, I don’t really think FG is any better than, nor any worse than, any of the other “standard external hard drives” on the market today, it’s simply an excellent competitor (see “What Other Reviewers of the FG Are Saying” above.) It seemingly does everything exactly like it is sup-posed to do, and maybe even, “Then Some.” One can’t really ask any more of a product than that, now can we?

What it really does better than all the rest, however, in my humble ;-} opinion, is that single file(s)/folder(s) encryption, versus FDE capability (which is displayed in the CBC2 graphics 1 & 2 & 3 alluded to above.) Note. As I mentioned earlier, now if you really do need FDE, then Seagate’s got that area

covered perfectly, too (See my October 2008 BCM Maxtor (now Seagate) Black Armor External Portable (FDE) Hard Drive Re-view 1 & 2 & 3, and see also my May 2007 BCM Maxtor (now Seagate) OneTouch III External Hard Drive Review 1 & 2 & 3.)

End of Review. Not!

Some Additional Thoughts On This Encryption Subject

Important Note. I consider this information important enough, I truly feel, to repeat this month ;-}

1. I thought you just might like to know this little tidbit of infor-mation. Rohos Mini Drive (it’s Free) creates a “hidden and encrypted partition” in an USB flash drive’s memory (it’ll work beautifully on FG, equally as well. Funny that! Not!). You can work with your files in the “hidden” partition “without opening a special program.” Those who have megabytes of sensitive files on their USB drive (and on an FG, if desired) and are “very seriously concerned with data security,” cannot imagine their USB drive (and an FG, if desired) without the “hidden” volume that is created using this tool. It’s absolutely great. And, it doesn’t require Administrator Privileges to open the password protect-ed USB drive partition either! (please see also my November 2009 BCM Rohos Logon Review 1 & 2 & 3 ).

2. Here’s another “scary” rea-son to encrypt any storage device, albeit an UFD, or hard drive (in-ternal or portable external). Lyn Robinson, a researcher, author and Research Director at Burton Group, Salt Lake City, in an article in the Salt

Page 19 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

Lake Tribune (December 1, 2009, Hard drives are Achilles’ heel by Tom Harvey) stated that a business throw-ing away (I’ll add losing, having stolen (keylogged-/hacked-/social engineered-access), salvaged by Nigerians, et al., as well) a computer hard drive containing personal information could cost up to $100,000.00 by Utah law (i.e., The Protection of Personal Information Act enacted in 2006). Add to that regula-tions by HIPPA, SOX, et al., and you should easily get the picture. ;-}

3. One final thought. All personal and/or sensitive e-mails/transmitted or stored data should be encrypted. That’s said period. As a consequence, “prying eyes” would be forced to look elsewhere, wouldn’t they? I think this is called “pri-vacy and security,” if I’m not mistaken? FG (as well as, my IT embedded on the FG) can help provide that cushion. So, here’s a word to the wise: “Encryp-tion doesn’t cost, it could actually end up saving your fanny (CYA?) in the final accounting!”

So, ask yourself. Why do you think I keep on doing these types of Security-Related Reviews? For my health? Not! Go ahead! Keep on thinking? You’ll get it one way, or the another - hopefully sooner and safely, rather than later? Seagate’s Free-

Agent Go is there ready, willing and able to help you, and I sin-cerely hope that this Review has made a “game-saving difference” for “Everyone, everywhere.” GOD Bless!

SummaryIt’s been my absolute pleasure, as

I’ve definitely had a barrel of fun, play-ing with my FreeAgent Go and Free-Agent Dock + in the course of doing this Review. It is another in a long line of USB products that are exactly what the Doctor ordered for me personally in providing the best possible secrecy, stealthiness and sanctuary for portable implementation and execution of my patented Security Suite. I was not at all surprised, actually more like overjoyed, at being able to successfully encrypt and decrypt all of my test docu-ments, et al., perfectly, easily, speedily and comfortably - from deep within the bowels of the FG - with every single at-tempt I made. No footprint was ever left on any host PC and/or Laptop, as well. The FG worked perfectly for me, and I’d bet that it definitely will work for you equally as well.

Bottom line. As a marriage most definitely made in heaven for me personally and my Security Suite, I feel privi-leged to highly recommend this worthwhile se-curity product to one and all, based purely and sim-ply upon the re-sults of all of my

successful experiments, all the while incorporating my own prized IT. I kind of think that the tire tread graphic (See graphic) correctly illustrates what the rest of the security industry is going to see as they watch in stunned amazement from their position under the path/swath/tread left in the wake of FG’s relentless travels down this critical road called, “Security!” Go get’m Tiger!

“Yes, you have indeed come a long way baby!” See you in my dreams! Meanwhile, speaking of dreams...

Now that you’ve finished reading the Review, and you’re about to go out in the cold and shovel that snow - again - don’t you secretly wish for the life as shown in the graphic? (See graphic) Don’t we all? One last word of advice, and I’m gone: “Don’t eat the yellow snow!”

“Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Page 20 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

that knowledge mass is actually dou-bling every 6 months today. Whew!]” - Signs of Christ’s Presence: Increase of Knowledge

6 “Weird UFD’s,” which can also be seen in the CBC2 graphic, “Weirdest UFDs Pt 3,” on pages 18-19 in my De-cember 2009 BCM Aegis Padlock Review 1, 2 & 3 .

7 Company: Fawcett Comics, now DC. Real name: Billy Batson. Year introduced: 1940. Biography: When grade-school aged boy Billy Batson ut-ters the word “Shazam!” he is magically transformed into an adult superhero with a slew of abilities. Having super-strength, stamina, intelligence, speed, courage, and wisdom, he is almost identical to Superman.

8

Seasons Greetings to one and all from Donna and I. May GOD bless and keep you all safe, healthy, prosperous and happy throughout the new year! Eh gads, how time flies when you’re enjoy-ing yourself! End of Review. Yes!

Footnotes1 See the actual Reports/Re-

views in the Blue Chips Magazine Archives at <www.ucs.org>. Note. Always choose the .pdf format for

its beauty.2 If you are reading this Review

from directly off of an Internet search, you are seeing it in HTML format. Yuk! There’s No graphics there! To see all the beautiful graphics in this Review - the ones that I’ve worked so hard to entertain you with - you will need to follow the procedures outlined in Footnote 1 above. Enjoy!

3 Feature(s) precisely identi-fied as reason(s) for designating this Review/Report as “Security-Related.”

4 Which is paralleling Moore’s Law which is that, “Data density has doubled approximately every 18 months, and this is the current definition of Moore’s Law, which Moore himself has blessed. Most experts, including Moore himself, expect Moore’s Law to hold for at least another two decades.” - Webopedia definition

5 “The accumulated knowledge of mankind since his first appearance on the earth up to 1750 had doubled by 1900, redoubled again by 1950, 1960, and 1968. Since then it has accelerated even more rapidly.... More information has been produced in the last 20 years than the previous 5,000. If the increase of knowledge from the dawn of history to the 1800’s is given a value of one, then knowledge has doubled 16 times within the last 10 years. Today the amount of information and knowledge in the world is doubling every 18 months.[That’s equal to Moore’s law in memory, and is actually accelerating every day. Now, True or false: I’ve heard somewhere

Ciao!

Page 21 Blue Chips Magazine — January 2010

By Linda McNeil, MAC @ PACS

The easy steps to selling an item on

eBay were made relevant by my goal of placing my collectible light blue, hook-lid teapot (created by the notorious pottery maker, Hall), in the popular online auc-tion.

It is important to read the instruc-tions on the eBay site ( www.eBay.com), to become a Seller (or a Buyer).

First, I found that I needed to Reg-ister to become a seller and to then set up a seller’s account by providing valid credit/debit card and bank account in-formation. If I preferred to not provide this information, there was a choice to become Verified instead.

Next, an option for registering for eBay Payments is offered. This enables a seller to use eBay’s easy way to accept buyers’ credit card and electronic check payments online. Doing so before list-ing your first item for sale was recom-mended.

An Audio Tour of Selling is available to assist the new eBay Seller with the pro-cess of listing an item. EBay also provides Tips for the various sections that a seller will need to consider.

The Sell Your Item Form is where I would need to create my eBay listing. Several sections were available for me to complete:

-- Choose a Selling Format (e.g. eBay’s standard online auction format, setting a fixed price, using one’s own eBay Store, or listing an ad in the Real Estate category).

-- Select a Category -- to choose the best place to list your item. It is wise to familiarize yourself with categories ahead of time and to try searching for similar items to see where they are listed.

-- Writing a Title to describe your item is the next step and an important one. You want to include the words that buyers would search for when looking for an item. eBay provides Tips on Titles.

-- Item Specifics is a field that is only available for select categories. If it appears, fill in the details to help your item sell fast.

-- Item Description – Describe and promote your item here. Include mea-surements, material composition, age,

condition of item (including specifics about flaws), whether the item is signed, numbered, dated, or marked with the manufacturer’s name or symbol, etc. You may also be creative in listing uses for it or in telling the history of the item if it is known.

-- Add Pictures – Show off your item with vivid pictures. Using appropriate backgrounds with good lighting helps a lot. You can use eBay Picture Services, which lets you add pictures straight from the selling form – and offers some atten-tion-grabbing options. Or, you can click Web Hosting to use your own hosting service. In addition to showing the good features of the item, displaying a picture of flaws is one way to avoid complaints from buyers later.

-- Pricing and Duration -- You must decide how long you want your listing to run, how many items you are selling, and what your starting price will be. If you want to use a reserve price or offer a “Buy It Now” option, this is the place to make those decisions.

-- Item Location – It is as simple as saying where you are located. Where you are located may affect shipping costs in some instances.

-- Increase Your Item’s Visibility – Explore the many listing upgrades that can help your item stand out from the others. Choose the options that are right for you.

-- Enter Payment and Shipping Information – How will you accept pay-ment from your buyer when your listing ends? Where will you be willing to ship your item and who will pay for that cost? Will you offer insurance as an option or a requirement? Do you ship internation-ally? The more you fill out here, the easier the transaction will be.

-- Review and Submit your Listing. – Now you will see a preview and a sum-mary of its details. Look this over care-fully. If you are satisfied and finished, submit your listing. Behold, your listing actually begins!

Now I get to watch the bidding and eagerly waits for the final vultures who will competitively bid zillions of dollars at the last minute for myr museum-quality (?) teapot, formerly owned by the Queen herself (???), and passed on to me in tribute to my dedicated services to Macs

at Pacs. Dream on! Then again, maybe I really do have a rare treasure – a “must have” for some collector. It’s a good idea to put some effort into learning about an item beforehand. However, if the item is a “dud” and no one bids on it, I can relist it and try again – maybe the person who “must have it” will be searching eBay at another time.

Okay, so I sell the teapot, and when the auction ends, I must now communi-cate with the Buyer. I may have selected eBay’s Checkout service, so after the buyer has completed Checkout, eBay will notify me by email. If I hadn’t specified shipping and payment details, the buyer can use Checkout to request this info. I could also use Checkout to send the buyer an invoice. If I preferred not to use Checkout, I could contact the buyer directly using e-mail. Buyer and Seller are supposed to communicate within three days of the end of auction.

Receiving payment – If the buyer paid with eBay payments, I will receive an e-mail confirming this. I may have preferred to receive a check, allowed it to clear, and to then prepare the item for shipping.

Ship the Item to the Buyer – Meticu-lous as I am, I packed the teapot with great care (maybe even double box it). It should survive a drop from an F-16. (I may also include some herbal tea and will paint a peaceful scene of a country cottage on the package).

Leave the Buyer Feedback – e-Bay’s feedback system helps create a trustwor-thy community for everyone. Feedback about the buyer is important information for other sellers. Since I did such a good job as a Seller, the Buyer should leave excellent feedback for me as well.

I will now methodically hunt down things in her attic and basement to sell, will become addicted to garage and estate sales, and so will you when you start sell-ing on eBay.

Again, take advantage of the excel-lent guidelines that eBay provides so that you can become an educated Seller (or Buyer).

Special thanks to George Hattersley for his help in putting together this ar-ticle and for the excellent presentation, which was enjoyed by MACS @ PACS members.

Beginners Guide to Selling on eBay

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Blue Chips — Utah’s Computer Guide in the 21st Century

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