Tablets below P2000 March 2016

This is a list of tablets found in the Philippine market that costs below 2000  pesos only. They are arranged in alphabetical order.

Learnings from a Paypal Hacking Experience: Part Three - Preventive measures to avoid Paypal account getting hacked

In order to ensure you are protected against hackers please remember some guidelines

Quad-Core Gadgets at a budget

Cherry Mobile is a local company in the Philippines selling rebranded China phones and tablets at very affordable prices. And by affordable it mens like more than half the market price of wht well-known brands have to offer similarly.

Learnings from a Paypal Hacking Experience: Part Two - What to do after your Paypal gets hacked

In Part One you were shown what a Paypal hacker might do to your account. This part gives you advice on how to proceed after you get hacked.

Learnings from a Paypal Hacking Experience: Part One - What the hacker does to a PayPal account he hacks

   For most of us especially those who sell online like on eBay, PayPal is very important. It enables buyers to have the security of paying online and for sellers to have the opportunity to receive payments fast and across international borders. However the occasional bad hacker (yup, there are good hackers also) comes along and mess with your happy online existence.

   Our store Paypal account was the hacked recently and we've thought it best to narrate the experience here in order to help and warn other people. The article will be divided into 3 parts to explain what the hacker does to an account he has hacked (Part One), how to deal with it immediately (Part Two) and precautionary steps to avoid it from happening (Part Three).

How does a PayPal hacker use or turn the Paypal balance he hacked to real cash?

1) Trading the PayPal account balances

    The hacker will sell the PayPal money to a willing buyer. If the hacker is selling Paypal balance in dollars then it would be at a low exchange rate and / or less the service fee. Selling in dollars is less suspicious as they can just justify that it was something earned from providing services to foreign clients who pay in dollars.

Here are tips in knowing how to make a strong password

Upon learning about the pitfalls of password creation in a previous post you should next learn about how to create strong passwords.

Common pitfalls in using passwords

Passwords are needed to secure your identity. You need a good password to ensure hackers will be kept away from getting precious information that will help them steal not just your identity but also the money from your credit cards and  bank accounts.

However it is easy to succumb to some bad habits when it comes to using passwords. Here are the common pitfalls you should avoid

How to turn-off conversational or threaded view in Gmail

Conversation or threaded view in Gmail is very handy because it groups together emails with the same subject. However if you are trying to determine the order of how different emails went inside your inbox then the conversation or threaded can make it a little difficult.

Here is a list of steps to help you turn-off conversation view in Gmail.

How to Understand Computer Parts and Specifications

You have read the article "What computer to buy? Desktop vs Laptop" and have already got a shortlist of either a desktop or a laptop based on price. How would you now read the computer specifications to see which items is the best?

Here are the most common parts of a computer, their use and tips on what to get.

What computer to buy? Desktop vs Laptop

Below are common types of computer and reasons why you should be buying them

Revisiting the blog

The blog was created with all the intention of helping out my friends and family who are either new to computers and technology or want to expand their knowledge about them.

But somehow the initial burst of passion almost 3 years ago hasn't taken its full acceleration hence the site never bloomed to become what it is supposed to be.

I want it to changed; so here I am again, taking a go at this. May God guide my hands and my brain in what to write. Many thanks far for all those who have visited this site already and found it helpful.

Thanks!
Aisa

How to create a cool slide show with Windows Movie Maker

Sharing just plain pictures can be boring sometimes. Say you like to surprise your grandparents on their anniversary by compiling all their pictures together and presenting it to them. You can spice up the presentation a bit by making a slide show with Windows Movie Maker. This means you can add

How to save data on a CD or DVD using Windows Vista or XP

In a previous article I've explained about the different media you can use to backup your files. If you have chosen to save on a CD or DVD then below videos will help you a lot. The first shows how to save with Windows Vista while the second video will show how to save with Windows XP. Just a trivia, the process of saving on a CD or DVD is called burning so aside from saying 'I will save on a CD/DVD' you may say 'I will burn on a CD/DVD'. The reason behind this is because lasers will be used to burn the impression of the data unto the surface of the CD or DVD.

Burning data with Windows Vista

Burning data with Windows XP

Backing-up 101: Where should you back-up your files

Sometimes you may have files like pictures or videos you want to share with friends and families or you may have important business files like MS Word documents or MS Excel Sheets you want to backup.

You have actually four options to choose from in backing up your files.
1) usb flash drives
- These are the most portable because they can be as small as the fingernail on your toe but never bigger than your index finger. They are always plug and play and all you have to do is just drag and drop or copy paste the files to the flash drive. With it, you can also easily erase and replace files.

It is available in storage sizes of 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB. (Note: 1GB = 1024MB so nowadays never buy anything less than 1GB like 512MB)

2) usb hard drives
- These can be around 2.5" to 3.5" in length. The real portable small usb hard drives gets power only from the computer while the slightly bigger hard drives would require to be plugged in a power supply. However the larger usb hard drives can boast of lower cost and faster file transfer rates compared to the non-plugged in portable usb hard drives. Like the usb flash drives it is easy to add and replace content, just drag and drop or copy paste files.

They are available is incredibly higher storage size denominations compared to usb flash drives. If you want you can already have 2 Terabyte (TB) but of course it will be pricier than a usb flash drive. (Note: 1TB = 1024GB)

3) CD/DVD
- Prices of CD/DVDs are significantly cheaper compared to a usb flash drive or usb storage drive. But long run cost of storage depends on your use. If you are targeting to distribute content then this is easy if it is okay for you to giveaway CD/DVDs. If you want to share but don't want to pay anything then online storage or distribution would be better.

CDs can only hold around 700MB worth of data while a DVD is around 4.37GB. You might have heard of CD-RW or DVD-RW. RW means that the CD/DVD is special because you can continuously reuse it - erase and add files - much like a usb storage device. DVDs also have other types, if you are interested you can pursue reading from here.

4) Online
- You can actually use your Gmail account to store your data. At the moment they provide around 7GB of storage and they are continuously increasing it. Just compose a draft email and attach all the files you want to back-up here. The good thing about putting your files online is you can immediately access it anywhere on any computer with internet connection. No need to bring any usb storage or cd/dvd with you. Of course this is bad if you think about it in terms of security. So I will not suggest you use this option on company or business files which may contain sensitive information. Even if Google is a big and secure gaint in the IT world, it is still best to be vigilant about security.

If you want to distribute or show your pictures and videos then social networking websites such as Facebook will come in very handy as well. But if your contacts don't have an account there, no need to require them to join. You can always email with Gmail.

How to create a new user and add user password

In a household there might be only one computer and many users. If this is the case it makes sense to create an account for each user so they can have more flexibility in organizing their folders and customizing the look of their desktop. It would also be best to add a password to these accounts to increase privacy for each user.

The steps to create a new account and add a password is simple. The steps below would work for both XP and Vista computers. There is also a video tutorial to provide you with a visual guide.

1. Go to start
2. Go to control panel
3. Go to user accounts
4. (depends) go to user accounts again
5. Select the user you want to add a password
6. Click create a new password
7. Type the new password in (twice - once in the first box and once in the second)
8. (If you want) Add a password hint (DO NOT put the password itself!)
   
9. Click create password

How to open your computer without a password

Sometimes you might forget the password you've set for your computer. Like when you have just have come back from a refreshing two-week long vacation. If this does happen, then don't worry just yet. Try this simple trick below to open your computer again without a password.

1. when you are at the logon screen click CTRL+ALT+DEL twice
2. type username Adminsitrator and then click enter

Voila! You should now be inside your computer. All you have to do next is just edit the password of your previous account which is demonstrated in this post. If you are concerned with having an Administrator account without a password then just add a password to this account as well to secure it.

How to detect invisible contacts in Yahoo Messenger

Yahoo has a neat feature of being able to log in invisible mode. This is beneficial if you want to still be online in YM but do not want to be disturbed because it can't be helped to have friends who don't pay much attention to the busy status you put. And you don't want to ignore them for that may hurt their feelings.

Pictures below show the places where invisible mode can be activated.

However if you are the one who wants to talk to someone 'hidden' (or the avid admirer spying on their crush's online habits) then the functionality becomes a liability. It becomes a necessity during these instances to find a way to confirm if that person is indeed offline or in invisible mode. Luckily, there's a website that can help check the status of your contacts.

The website's name is statusdetect. Check out the video demonstration of how to use it.

How to use Yahoo Messenger 9.0

In one of my previous post, you learned how to install Yahoo Messenger. If you don't have the YM program yet please take a look here first.

At the moment, the latest version of Yahoo Messenger is 9.0 and it has the following features divided in three categories. Communication, Productivity and Fun & Personalization. Picture below provide in detail the different YM features when used on different media (Windows, Mac, Iphone, Web)

However let's focus on using the YM program you have installed on your computer. The video below discusses how YM 9.0 can be used for the following:

• simplified list
• chat / call
• video conferencing
• quick friend search
• send files
• share pictures
• inline media players (view videos and pictures directly on chat window)
• change skin
• forward to mobile phone
  

How to install Free AVG Antivirus

An antivirus is a program that will help keep your computer safe and clean from malwares. If you don't know what a malware is check out my article, Malware 101.

There are commercialized programs like Norton and Kapersky but there are also free ones like AVG Free and Avira. Free versions are for personal use only and may contain some ads on the vendor's products. The support for free versions are minimal as well. If you have the money get the commercialized antiviruses as they have the added benefit of a 24/7 support staff from the vendor.

Now if you don't have the money or want to save then you may settle with using a free antivirus. Below are two videos that will show you (1) How to download AVG Free from the internet (2) and the step by step process of installing AVG Free