Best Articles of 2021 Part 1

Preview:
A short description of the best and most important articles from the first half of 2021.

What makes a best article? I factored in three variables,

How important I thought the article was for your safety
How much feedback I got about its usefulness from readers
How much I liked the article

So, although velcro wraps for labeling your cables isn't a safety measure, it generated a lot of feedback from clients who purchased them and appreciated the tip. So, it made the list.

I'm only covering the first half of the year. There were so many excellent articles I'm breaking this year's best of into two parts. July-December will be next month.

January Layered security for 2021: Protecting yourself and your office or home from Internet miscreants requires a multi-level approach. There is no simple silver bullet. There are layers of risk management that need to be addressed.
February Sending files securely. Email is insecure, so sending private information via email is dangerous. Additionally, many email providers have maximum size limits for sending and receiving. Tresorit gives you a simple way to encrypt the files on your computer. Send them encrypted, and then have the person who downloads them decrypt on their computer.
March Malicious ads in search results! Malicious ads sometimes appear in search results mimicking legitimate sites. They even appear to point to the correct sites. Here's how to avoid getting trapped.
April The Best Password Managers What types of password managers are there and which are best? Local versus online managers and the pros and cons of each. My recommendations are described: Keepass for a local password manager, Keepass2Android for an Android manager that works with Keepass files. Strongbox for an open source Keepass compatible Mac and iOS manager. Bitwarden for an online manager that is fully cross-platform and open source.
April Fleksy mobile device keyboard for both Android and iOS. Fleksy is the best keyboard I've found for typing on my tablet. I type much better and quicker with it than any of the other 8 or so keyboards I've tried. It is a free download for Android and iOS. It is also privacy oriented and isn't sending your typing out or tracking you.
May Email Options. A look at various email options and some recommendations for better services that respect your privacy. Escaping email providers that make you the merchandise they are selling by selling your information and forcing ads on you. Some ad free privacy respecting email providers.
May What is a VPN good for? What VPNs do and do not do, with two recommendations.
June A novice leaves Godaddy and Gmail My brother, an older non-technical computer user, describes how he moved his domain and email from Godaddy and Gmail to Runbox. What he did and what the experience was like.
June How to copy your Gmail A step-by-step guide to downloading a copy of your Gmail Emails from Google to your local computer. Also, how to view, search and print emails from your new local archive.

Date: January 2022

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Keeping clients' computers safe and profitable for over 30 years

Home Forms About Current Newsletter subscribe Search All Articles Browse by Category Security Internet Mobile Business Hardware Fun		Best Articles of 2021 Part 1 Preview: A short description of the best and most important articles from the first half of 2021. What makes a best article? I factored in three variables, How important I thought the article was for your safety How much feedback I got about its usefulness from readers How much I liked the article So, although velcro wraps for labeling your cables isn't a safety measure, it generated a lot of feedback from clients who purchased them and appreciated the tip. So, it made the list. I'm only covering the first half of the year. There were so many excellent articles I'm breaking this year's best of into two parts. July-December will be next month. January Layered security for 2021: Protecting yourself and your office or home from Internet miscreants requires a multi-level approach. There is no simple silver bullet. There are layers of risk management that need to be addressed. February Sending files securely. Email is insecure, so sending private information via email is dangerous. Additionally, many email providers have maximum size limits for sending and receiving. Tresorit gives you a simple way to encrypt the files on your computer. Send them encrypted, and then have the person who downloads them decrypt on their computer. March Malicious ads in search results! Malicious ads sometimes appear in search results mimicking legitimate sites. They even appear to point to the correct sites. Here's how to avoid getting trapped. April The Best Password Managers What types of password managers are there and which are best? Local versus online managers and the pros and cons of each. My recommendations are described: Keepass for a local password manager, Keepass2Android for an Android manager that works with Keepass files. Strongbox for an open source Keepass compatible Mac and iOS manager. Bitwarden for an online manager that is fully cross-platform and open source. April Fleksy mobile device keyboard for both Android and iOS. Fleksy is the best keyboard I've found for typing on my tablet. I type much better and quicker with it than any of the other 8 or so keyboards I've tried. It is a free download for Android and iOS. It is also privacy oriented and isn't sending your typing out or tracking you. May Email Options. A look at various email options and some recommendations for better services that respect your privacy. Escaping email providers that make you the merchandise they are selling by selling your information and forcing ads on you. Some ad free privacy respecting email providers. May What is a VPN good for? What VPNs do and do not do, with two recommendations. June A novice leaves Godaddy and Gmail My brother, an older non-technical computer user, describes how he moved his domain and email from Godaddy and Gmail to Runbox. What he did and what the experience was like. June How to copy your Gmail A step-by-step guide to downloading a copy of your Gmail Emails from Google to your local computer. Also, how to view, search and print emails from your new local archive. Date: January 2022 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
		I attempt to provide reliable information, but make no warranty as to the accuracy or safety of these articles. I disclaim all legal responsibility for what following these instructions may do. Follow my advice at your own risk