Category: Technology

Our increasing reliance on computers for work and daily activities can be a great convenience, but it also increases the negative impact of a computer virus. Installing anti-virus (AV) software is an essential step in protecting your computer, but even the best AV software won’t detect all viruses. You must also use your observation skills to identify the following behaviors that could indicate your computer is infected.

Abnormal Disk Activity

Unexpected disk activity should always prompt you to investigate the cause. While it may have an innocent explanation like insufficient space on your hard drive, it can also indicate the presence of a virus. For example, if you don’t think your computer should be doing anything and you see the hard drive light constantly flashing, you should determine the cause.

Bring up your task manger and sort the display of running programs in descending order of disk activity. Examine the programs at the top of the list to see if there are any programs that you don’t recognize. If you aren’t familiar with the programs that normally run on your computer, seek the help of an expert.

New Features in Your Browse

Internet access is one of the most common uses of computers today, making web browsers a primary target for hackers. Many viruses make changes to browsers that cause observable changes. For example, if your home page or wallpaper changes unexpectedly, it’s a strong indication that a virus has infected your browser. New tool bars are also a common change when a plugin is installed into your browser. In addition, you should always take notice when your browser redirects you to a different site from the one you’re trying to reach.

Sending out Spam

One of the main functions of viruses is to propagate themselves on other computers. They often accomplish this goal by sending email messages to other people on your contact list. These messages may contain an attachment with the virus, which will infect the recipient’s computer when they open the attachment. If you suspect this is happening, you should log out of all your social networking accounts immediately and change your passwords. Select strong passwords that are easy to remember but hard to guess.

Crashing Programs

Programs that crash frequently can be a sign that your computer is infected, especially if it’s software with a large user base. This can indicate the software is of poor quality, but commercial-grade software is generally more stable than this. Viruses can cause programs to crash when they compete for the same resources or change settings on your computer.

Summary

Modern AV software is highly effective at detecting specific viruses that it already knows about. It can also detect viruses that exhibit virus-like behavior, even when it doesn’t recognize that particular virus. However, you still need to remain alert to suspicious behavior from your computer.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are unique cryptographic tokens that are part of a blockchain. They can’t be replicated, so they’re often used to represent real-world items, especially artwork. Tokenizing these tangible assets initially allowed them to be traded more efficiently.

However, the viability of NFTs is coming under increasing scrutiny, despite the eagerness of many stakeholders to embrace them. OpenSea, one of the largest online NFT marketplaces, announced in February 2022 that about 80 percent of the NFTs created on its platform were fraudulent. Other sources tell a similar story, indicating there may be more to these incidents than just a few bad actors.

Overview

Labeling all NFT projects as scams would be an overgeneralization, but their relatively new framework lends itself to fraudulent activity. Josh Gilbert, financial expert for the global investment platform eToro, reports that NFT scams tend to follow the same patterns familiar in traditional financial fraud. While these scams aren’t unique to NFTs, some people will always look for a way to apply them to emerging technologies. However, this trend doesn’t necessarily jeopardize all NFT projects because they are a transformative technology that will profoundly affect the creators, brands and collectors of unique content.

Premises

The basic premise of NFT scams is usually to take advantage of inexperienced investors. It’s therefore crucial to understand a project’s validity, which can be challenging since this determination isn’t always straightforward. Furthermore, newcomers to NFT are less inclined to delve into a project’s origins, making them easier to exploit. John Hawkins, lecturer at the Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, states that many NFT marketing ventures aren’t illegal by themselves, although they do share similarities with Ponzi schemes.

For example, cryptocurrency markets require existing investors to draw new buyers into the market in order to make a profit. The belief that a profit is automatically attached to digital assets is what makes NFT ventures potentially risky. These projects are increasingly subject to speculative bubbles that don’t have any fundamental value. NFTs don’t have any intrinsic worth, but speculators often buy them purely in the hopes that their price will continue to increase.

Exploits

NFTs provide a collection of ideas that are vulnerable to exploitation for social value and financial gain. Renowned artists and self-promoters are both using innovative approaches that focus more on the economics of NFT’s than the intrinsic value of the tangible asset they represent.

For example, Damien Hirst, a master self-promoter, has created “The Currency” project, which involves him selling NFTs for 10,000 dot paintings that are nearly identical. One year after buyers purchase these NFTs, they must decide if they want the NFT or the artwork. If they choose the NFT, the artwork is destroyed.

Time for a new phone? With so many options to choose from, shopping for a phone can be a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, we’ve got some practical tips to help you select the best phone for your needs.

Set a Realistic Budget

Prices for today’s phones can vary greatly. Whether you’re looking to spend less than $100 or are prepared to shell out more than $700, there are options to suit your budget. Starting with a budget for your new phone is a great way to narrow down your options. You’ll also want to consider whether you’ll pay for your phone in-full or opt for monthly payments, which are available through some carriers.

Choose an Operating System

Team Android or Apple? Deciding between an iPhone (which runs on iOS) or a phone that runs on Android’s operating system is another important step you’ll need to take. If you have a lot of existing Apple devices or rely heavily on Apple products like iTunes, you may be better off with an iPhone. The iOS operating system is known for its excellent security and user-friendliness, although iPhones do tend to be more expensive than Android phones.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more affordable option with plenty of customization features, an Android phone can be a great choice. Plus, there are many more phones to choose from when you opt for an Android device.

Decide on Must-Have Features

Next, consider which features are most important to you in a new phone. It can be helpful to think about the things you’ll use your phone for the most. If you take a lot of photos, for example, then a phone with a great camera will be a must. If you’re loyal to specific apps, you’ll want to make sure that the phone you select will support those apps. Likewise, if you like to watch videos or play games on your phone, then you may want to prioritize a model with great battery life and a larger screen.

Try It In-Person (If Possible)

These days, you can buy just about anything online and have it delivered to your doorstep within a matter of days (or less). With new tech, however, it’s generally a good idea to try devices out in-person whenever possible. If you have an electronics store or cell phone carrier nearby, consider dropping in to check out some phones for yourself. This can give you a much better feel for whether a phone will be a good fit for your lifestyle. You’ll also have access to knowledgeable associates who can answer common questions about popular devices. 

Plus, if you decide to buy a phone on-the-spot, these locations also carry accessories like screen protectors and cases for your convenience.

The Bottom Line on Choosing a Phone

Choosing a new phone is a task that will take some careful thought and consideration. By keeping these tips in mind, however, you’ll be well on your way to choosing your next phone with confidence.

When you are looking for a new laptop computer, you want to evaluate your personal needs and goals. By understanding your needs when buying a laptop, you can avoid undue complications with the buying process. It helps you find a laptop that has the power, speed, and versatility to address your specific goals.

Set Your Budget

Clarify your budget before you look at any computers. If you have a strict budget for a laptop, then you will not waste time on computers that exceed your budget. It allows you to avoid over-spending on a laptop and ensures that you focus on comparing the right computers.

You do not want to look at laptops that cost more than you can spend. As a general rule, laptops get more costly as you increase the speed, size, and function. By setting a budget, you compare options that are affordable.

Consider Size Requirements

A laptop comes in different measurements and sizes. For example, you can select a 12 inch screen for a small size that fits easily in most bags. If you need more space for your fingers due to heavy typing, then consider a 15 or 16 inch screen size. The size of the screen gives you an idea of the size of the computer. Generally, the keyboard is the same basic size as the screen, so larger screen sizes will have more space for your fingers.

Keep in mind that the weight of the laptop increases with the size of the laptop. In general, most laptops with a larger screen size will also weigh more than smaller options.

Consider Operating Systems

The operating system on a laptop falls into four main categories: Windows, Mac OS, Chrome OS, and Linux. If you need to use Office tools, then opt for either Windows or a Mac OS. Chrome and Linux do not always allow you to use Office for word processing, Excel spreadsheets, or similar tools. 

For web browsing, you may consider Chrome OS. It is optimized for the web, but is not ideal for other uses due to lower power and limited access to useful programs. Linux may require a learning curve due to differences in the software programs used by laptops. Windows is the traditional operating system on most computers and is found on many budget-friendly and mid-range computers.

Compare RAM and Gigs

The RAM on your laptop refers to the speed of the computer. A higher RAM means the computer is able to keep up with multi-tasking or streaming. Keep in mind that some computers may have two numbers. One is the RAM that comes on the computer and the second number is the amount of RAM the computer can support.

Gigs, or gigabytes, refer to the space on your computer. Some computers may offer terabytes, which is 1000 gigabytes of space. The more gigs you have on your computer, the more space you have to save images, videos, or work.

Finding the right laptop starts with clarifying your needs. By setting a budget and then comparing the speed, space, and operating systems of the laptops, you can find an option that helps with your goals or needs.

Programmers often look at the code they’ve written and wonder if they could have made it better. Quality code should do what you expect it to and provide evidence of that success. You should also be able to understand what it’s trying to do. In addition, good code should have minimal bugs and follow the standards for the language it’s written in. The following five tips will show you how to write more effective code.

Legibility

It’s essential that programmers unfamiliar with the code be able to determine what it’s trying to do, even if they don’t immediately understand how accomplishing its goal. Writing legible code includes the proper selection of names for classes, functions and variables. These names should be long enough to indicate what the entity is used for, but not overly cumbersome. Each language has its own naming conventions that can provide you with additional guidance in this area. For example, Python uses title case for classes, and snake case for functions and variables.

Linters

A code linter reads code and notifies the programmer when the code fails to comply with the standards of that language. These warnings often seem individually insignificant, but they can result in cumulative errors. You should use a linter regularly by including it as part of a continuous integration (CI) pipeline for your software development. Linting should be the first step in this process to ensure the code passes this test before it’s built, tested or released.

Comments

Comments are another area of programming where it’s important to strike the right balance between two extremes. While failing to comment code at all leaves a future developer unclear about what the code does, too many comments make it harder to read. Developers can include comments in many locations within the code, including the top of the file, at the class and function level, and inside the code itself. All files should have comments at the beginning, but inline comments should be quite rare.

Testing

Testing a program must be sufficient to show an outside developer that it works as intended, including expected cases, edge cases and failure cases. Test-driven development ensures that you think about test cases before writing code, giving you a better idea of the inputs and outputs the code will require. It also forces you to write the test cases first, preventing you from opting out of this task later.

Reviews

A review of your code by someone else is the ultimate measure of how easy it will be to maintain. Development teams often perform the first code review after they write a significant amount, but well before the software’s release is imminent. You should also build time in the schedule to make changes based on the review. Even if you’re writing the code by yourself, you should still find a colleague to review it.