Last week we talked about how to create a good password (or p1a2s3s4weobrady) and I mentioned that there are some programs out there that can help you manage all of your passwords.

For those of you who took my advice and are using Firefox (available on Windows, OSX and Linux) you may have noticed that there is a built-in password manager. It is even able to lock people out of your passwords if they don’t have the master password, but I’ve run into some glitches with it and it doesn’t help if you have to use InternetExplorer or Opera or the new browser that Google recently released.

KeePass

My suggestion, and the program that I use to manage all of my passwords is a program called KeePass. KeePass is available for just about anything you’re running – Windows, OSX, Linux, BlackBerry & PalmOS; you’re also able to put it on a USB thumb drive and take it with you to make sure you don’t run into a situation where you’re away from your computer and don’t have your bank password.

The creators describe the program this way:

KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known…

I’ll describe it this way – it can make passwords, it can keep passwords, it can fill in password forms for you, it can let you take your passwords with you and it makes them easy and secure to copy and paste from the program itself. Also, the program doesn’t get all grabby, it lets you export all of your passwords and usernames to a file if you want to use a different program instead and it will import them from Firefox.

There are a full list of features here.

Using It

After you download and install it using your normal processes, you can get right to it. Let’s start with setting up your database and then we’ll talk through the options and more powerful uses.

First click the New Database button, or go to File -> New (or hit Ctrl-N for you shortcut fiends).

You’ll get this awesome little box up, you start by creating your password for the database. You can use a relatively simple one, but remember this database will have all of your passwords in it. I’d suggest using the techniques we talked about last week.

As you start typing it in, you will notice that it blocks it out (so people can’t read your password over your sholder. You can click the button on the right and see your password characters.

Also, the colored bar indicates the quality of your password and how complex it is (and how hard it will be to hack/guess it).

Good. Great. Secure.

Crap. Garbage. Poo.

Also, you have the option of tying it to a second file on your system. The added security feature is based on the fact that you hide this file in a random spot so that someone can’t just easily steal  your database and make off with your “life”. I would reccomend using this if you use this portably. I don’t use this feature, but I can see why you would. You can also use by placing the Key file on a portable drive so that it only works when you have that specific drive connected to the computer.

This is what the side of your main screen will look like now. As you see they expect that the KeePass application will be useful in a number of settings and for different reasons. Currently, I only use it for my internet passwords, but I am starting to input passwords for FTP servers and my home b anking program.

Now to create your first password file, hit this button (or Ctrl-Y).

You’ll get this window:

You’ll get an image like this. I have inserted the information for the example Johnny.Crusade@gmail.com account. Click on it to see what the data will look like. Make sure you read the Help file for more info on how to do this! (Hit F1.)

When you get your info entered, your database will show some of the filled in info like this image above.

Also, it provides security so that when you are walking away from your computer you can lock your database at the press of a button. (Or two Ctrl-L.)

As you set up things more, make sure you look at the options (Tools-> Options or Ctrl-M).

You don’t need to change much of anything if you don’t have specific preferences for what you want your user experience to look like. The only one that I would say that you NEED to change is the “Security” tab, make sure you check the one that says “Lock workspace when locking Windows, switching user or sleeping.” The other security feature of locking it after a few seconds is nice too.

I would suggest you look at this image and check the highlighted boxes (leave the dull ones alone):

Let me just say before I sign off, keeping your passwords secure is essential for your safety and security online – get to know this program and make sure you (and no one else) knows your password.

I’d also suggest taking the advice I shared in April about how to learn any program – and by that I mean: read the tutorials in the help menu – you can get to it by hitting F1.

Now, remember stay secure and don’t just let anyone near your passwords.

This past week I got an email from a staff friend that contained a forward warning about a “new” computer virus. While it is a real virus and really can do significant damage to your system and stored information, there was a bit of panic-inducing misinformation:

>>This is the worst virus announced by CNN. It has been
>> classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever.
> This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is
>> no repair yet for this kind of virus…

While this virus is not “the worst” or “most destructive” virus, all viruses can be a pain in the neck and it is important to have an antivirus in place to guart your computer and your information against these destructive little programs that (sometimes) really are able to erase whole hard drives.

For antivirus options you can go a number of different ways, from proprietary (and costly) programs like McAfee and Norton to free (and effective) ones such as Avast! or AVG.

I have installed Avast! on all of my machines and on a number of ones for family and friends and have had and heard nothing but good things from it.

To install the free Avast!4 Home Edition all you have to do is download it and register it for free every 18 months. You it will be updated as often as new virus defenitions come out and you won’t have to worry about viruses any longer.

Also, it seems that Avast! has an inexpensive Mac version (less than $40) for 3 years of virus protection and coverage.

I am not sure whether or not I would suggest getting rid of a proprietary antivirus software, but I have never had any virus get to any machine that I’ve put Avast! on (keep in mind, I probably browse websites and download programs more often than most users).

Beyond reccomending an specific antivirus, I must stress this, make sure you have some sort of antivirus software! You never know when you’re going visit a reputable site that has been hacked, like CNN.com was just this spring.

If you’d like to check out other free antivirus software options (AVG, Nod32, Avira and Kapersky antivirus programs) I’d suggest the list on this post at LifeHacker.com.

I already shared a few weeks ago a short list of shortcuts that are useful in getting the most out of Windows. Before I share more, let me list some of the reasons I am a proponent of keyboard shortcuts:

1. It’s quicker.

That’s all.

Quite simply, you can work quicker as you learn and remember more and more keyboard shortcuts and as you work to make them a part of how you work. Think about this, how long would it take you to minimize every window you had open right now? I have 7 windows open right now, for me to go and hit the “minimize” bar on the top of each window would take about 6 seconds total, for me to hit the Windows key and the letter D together (Win+D) takes about 1/2 a second – tops. (I know that Macs have a Mouse Shortcut for this, which works very well indeed.)

Most people already know some keyboard shortcuts and they don’t even realize it, for example Ctrl+C for Copy, Ctrl+V for Paste, Ctrl+X for Cut, Ctrl+P for Print and Ctrl+S for Save. I’ve even mentioned F1 for the Help menu a couple of times.

Take a few minutes and peruse your menus in the programs that you have open. For example, under the File menu you’ll find options that look like the image to the left. Here you can see that Ctrl+T opens a new tab while Ctrl+W closes a tab.

One shortcut that is common to just about every Windows program is Alt+F4 which closes the program down. It works the same as hitting the button at the top right of the window.

Also, to switch programs you can hold down Alt and hit Tab (Alt+Tab) to file through the windows you have open rather than clicking the items on your taskbar. Ctrl+Tab works within a single program – say to switch between documents you have open in Word or tabs in Firefox.

I’ve found a number of lists of shortcuts that I want to list here. Check some of them out and take advantage as you gain more of your time to work (and a better control over your computer use).

• Common Windows Shortcuts
• Mac OS X Shortcuts
• 230+ Keyboard Shortcuts for Top Web Services
• Gmail Shortcuts – there is an option in Gmail to turn these on and off.
• Microsoft Word Shortcuts
• Microsoft Excel Shortcuts
• Microsoft Powerpoint Shortcuts

Links via [Lifehacker & Mashable]

Backward/Forward Compatibility

For anyone who uses Microsoft Office regularly to share information with other staff or students (both on PCs and Macs) you may have started to notice difficulties since Office 2007 came out. With the new Office release comes new standard file formats that are not backwards-compatible with older versions.

In Word .doc has become .docx, in Excel .xls has become .xlsx, etc., and this has caused quite a few difficulties. In reality these changes are a step forward for Microsoft as these document formats are becoming the standard for these types of documents and are readable by more programs that are not specific to Microsoft.

Fellow staff Kendall passed on a message from Todd Johnson to make me aware of a patch that is available for those of you who have older versions of Office so that you can open, read and edit these newer formats. I poked around on the Microsoft site a bit and came across it here (unfortunately the problem is for both Macs and PCs, but the solution is Windows only):

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466

Follow the instructions on the page to get it for yourself, make sure you read the system requirements (basically if you have an older version of MS Office or even just PowerPoint viewer it will work).

Note to Mac Users: I did look for a similar update for the Mac versions of MS Office, I couldn’t find anything. If any of you know where this would be comment below and I will make sure I update you all on it.

Saving as a PDF from Office 2007

If you’re one of the up-to-date few that already have Office 2007 running on your machine there is now another (and better) option for getting your files into PDF format. Dave commented on the last PDF post and shared the link there. It is also an update from Microsoft itself:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4d951911-3e7e-4ae6-b059-a2e79ed87041

This update is only for Microsoft Office 2007, it will not work with older versions or with other programs. If you still want to be able to “print to PDF” from other programs besides MS Office (or if you are running and older version) head back to the post on PDF-ing your documents and download CutePDF from there.

We’re all familiar with PDFs, those documents that you get that you can always read but you can never edit. They have been pretty standard for a number of years now (they’ve existed since 1993), but they’re on the brink of becoming the standard for documents on the internet (there are actual standards for content on the Web).

They are convenient because you don’t have to worry about whether or not your friend has Word, Publisher or whatever other program you’ve created your document in – they can still read it. It’s also great for sending out prayer letters by email so that you’re sure that all of your supporters can read it – I mean the program to read them is even free!

For a long time I was confused about how many people seemed to be able to create PDFs yet I was completely not able to make them… then I found out how.

Now, from what I understand, the ability to save a document to a PDF is native to OS X so those of you who are Mac users have this pretty easy. We’re going to walk through how to install a PDF Converter as a printer on your system. The program that I use is CutePDF.

CutePDF allows you to create a PDF document in any program that you can print from. When I need to print off a Bible study to send to a student – “print” it as a PDF and email it. When I have a receipt online that I want to save – “print” it as PDF and save it on my hard drive. When I want to save a webpage complete with all of the content as a single file – “print” it as a PDF and I can open it quickly whenever I want.

First, go ahead and download it from here (Windows required), you’ll also need to download a converter called Ghostscript that is also linked on the page (you can get it here). On the CutePDF page they’ll look like this image to the left.

Now all you have to do is run the CuteWriter.exe and converter.exe files that you’ve just downloaded and you’ll have CutePDF installed in your options whenever you want to print something. When you “print” with it, it will give you an opportunity to save it as a PDF where ever you want.

Now you can create PDFs!

I love keyboard shortcuts. The more you can do without having to move your hands from keyboard to mouse the better – and the quicker!

Today I want to share a list of what you can do with the Windows key. Honestly, do you know all the stuff that you can do with it? For the purposes of this post, we’ll use the letter W as the Windows key.

W: Opens Start Menu

W+ E: Opens up Windows Explorer

W+ R: Opens the Run command.

W+ U: Opens Utility Manager

W+ L: Log Off

W+ F: Search files on your computer

W+ D: Show Desktop [will switch back and forth from all minimized and back again]

W+ F1: Windows Help Menu

W+ Pause/Break: System Properties

W+ Tab: (Vista) Cycles through open programs in the cool-looking Aero slideshow.

W+ Tab: (Other Windows) Cycles Through Buttons in Taskbar

W+ M: Minimize all open windows. (Similar to W+D, but with less power.)

W+ Shift+M: Maximize the windows you had open before minimizing

W+B: Set focus to the first System Tray Icon [which is the arrow if you enable the Hide Inactive Icons option]

CTRL+W +F: Search for computers

Do any of you have shortcuts that you use often? Are there any similar shortcuts for Macs?

From [MojoStix]

Let’s be honest, we all have biases. For those of us who have had a part in ministry that includes active evangelism, it’s a part of every day life; people look at and interact with the world differently.

There is a similar truth in technology. People have differing uses and preferences when it comes to how they want their technology to look, work and approach the tasks they have to do. As I have looked at the list of people who have subscribed to these posts I notice that there are some people who will not always find my posts interesting because they’re using programs, platforms or operating systems that I don’t use and therefore know very little about.

CruTech is an outgrowth of a mentality of getting the most out of your technology without having artificial limits placed on you; this leads me personally to advocate for a number of technologies and systems that may or may not catch you in stride. While I don’t have the time (or much interest) in getting to know these systems, I do want CruTech to serve you as well as possible; if you are (or know someone on staff who is) better versed in things that I don’t know about or use I would love to have you (or them) become a the second author of content here. Feel free to contact me by leaving a comment below.

As a semi-pro wrestler I once heard about once said, “Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.”

Stuff I am a fan of:
• Open Source software
• the Windows operating systems
• Google products and services
• being able to tell my computer what to do rather than having artificial limits placed upon me
• web-based technologies

Tech stuff I know little about or don’t particularly like:
• Macs
• Internet Explorer or Opera
• Microsoft itself
• proprietary software
• overpriced technology that is available for free or cheap

Yes, I said I don’t really like Macs, I do understand that they can be very useful for those of you who are doing visual design, audio or video editing. They are not really any more useful or easy to use than Windows machines and are far more susceptible to viruses and other attacks than they were in previous generations. On the other hand, I would love to have someone writing for CruTech that knows Macs well and can help those of you who read to use them more powerfully as well.

I just wanted to make sure you all knew where I was coming from. I will focus a lot on web-based technologies which are open to use on Windows, Macs or Linux machines so don’t click that unsubscribe link just yet!

I need to begin by noting something that I wasn’t aware of when I wrote last week’s Beginning with Firefox post; the Preferences window (called Options in the Windows’ version of FF) is not in the Tools menu, but the Edit menu in non-Windows’ versions. That is where we’ll spend a lot of our time this week.

Before we do that let’s look at the (I believe) universal Tools menu.

Web Search – This simply puts your cursor in the (customizable) search box at the top right of the screen. While we’re looking at it click on the small arrow to the left of the search box now, you’ll see the standard search engines that come pre-installed with Firefox – you can ad more which is something that we’ll cover in the future.

Downloads – Here is the window that pops up when you download a file. It’s a way to keep track of them and even monitor where you’re downloading them to on your machine.

Add-ons – This is one of the beautiful features of Firefox (and really just about any open source program). Add-ons are mini-programs that you can install into your Firefox that can make it capable of performing tasks that in can’t “out of the box”. The Firefox installation that I’m using right now has 25 add-ons running that do everything from notify me when I have a new message in my inbox to blocking ads to spell-checking things that I put in text-boxes online… and more.

If you bring up the box it will have a few options that will allow you to change the Theme (just the look of your FF browser window), and add on items that will allow you to play Flash videos (think YouTube), or other media (think CNN or games). If you click the “Get Extensions” or “Get Themes” it will take you to the page on Firefox where these are available.

Java Console, Error Console, Page Info – Probably not something you want or need to dive into if you’re not designing a website.

Clear Private Data – This will enable you to clear your cookies, browser history, and other data that your browser keeps about your habits. It does it relatively thoroughly, be careful that you don’t delete passwords that you want to keep saved!

Now on to the options…

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