When shopping for a new computer, knowing what the different processors are best at will help you make an informed choice. Here is a quick breakdown of Intel’s consumer CPUs and what they are generally best used for. A good rule of thumb is to buy as much computer as your budget can afford. The Atom is the least powerful (and usually least expensive) , up to the i7 which is the most powerful (and most expensive).

What does it mean when a site gets hacked?

Websites you work with on the Internet store your information, such as your name, e-mail address, telephone number, etc. in a database. When a site is hacked, it means someone has discovered a way to break through their security and get to the information in that database.

Why do they do it?

The data is very valuable to people who wish to send you spam and/or get to your credit card or other financial information.

A site I go to frequently was hacked just the other day. They made me change my password, so I’m safe now, right?

Not necessarily, because most people use the same password on multiple sites. Although most sites protect passwords with a “hash”, they can still find your password and try it on other sites.

Hash?!? What’s a Hash?

A hash is an algorithm that converts a bit of text (such as a password) into a unique string of characters. For example, applying a common hash to the word “happy” will convert it to “56ab24c15b72a457069c5ea42fcfc640”. If you change the text even slightly, the hash will change too, so capitalizing the “H” will result in a different hash: “ef97b40b2245d3690c745cd6e8c663db”. Hashes are one-way, so once you apply a hash, there is no way to “un-hash” it.

Ok, I get that, but if you can’t “un-hash” it, then my password is safe, right?

No. Once a hacker has your hashed password, they use powerful computers to try to guess it. A common way is to try massive numbers of passwords and apply the same hash to each, then comparing the result to your hashed password. For example, let’s say you used “happy123” as your password. The hash for it would be “648605c11bdb955e16e7febc8db54103”. The hacker has no way of knowing what your password might be, so they will have their computer try all the words in the dictionary, then those same words preceded or followed by numbers, etc. In our example, their computer will get to “happy”, and they may try “1happy” then “2happy” and so on. Then they may try “happy1” then “happy2” and so on until they get to “happy123”. With each password guess, they will compare the hash they get to the one they stole from the website, and once the hashes match, they know your password. Once they know your password, they will try it on other common websites such as Facebook, Twitter, your bank, etc. Again, it is very important to use a different password on each site you go to.

I would never use “happy123” as a password, so why should I worry?

You should worry because not every site applies a hash to passwords, and some hashing processes are more complex (and therefore require more effort to discover) than others. Some sites are lazy with security and store passwords in what is known as plain text, meaning that your password is not only instantly available to the hacker, but will likely be shared with other hackers to make future hacks simpler.

So what can I do?

Use strong passwords. A Strong password is one that is long and random. That is, there is no discernible pattern in it. Also, be sure to mix in uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Do not use dictionary words, your name, your house or apartment number or your phone number in your password. Most importantly, use a different password on each site you go to.

Here is a great example.

Let’s start with the password “happy”. In general, it would only take about a fraction of a second to find it. It is a dictionary word, which makes it very easy for a modern computer to guess. Take a look at the table below, and notice how each change to the password makes finding it harder.

But I can’t remember where I left my car keys! How am I supposed to remember a password like that?

There are utilities you can use such as 1Password, KeePass and LastPass that will help organize and store all your passwords, or you can do the old-fashioned thing: keep a typed list of passwords somewhere safe. Of course this makes things not as convenient, but the possibility of identity theft demands that you maintain separate passwords for each site you visit and change those passwords regularly.

One more thing – If you need help creating unique, random passwords, This site is a great resource.

I say surprised because these days, most people just assume WordPress because they have heard so many good things about it. Some of the biggest sites on the web are based on WordPress, so it must be good, right? Certainly WordPress is a powerful platform on which to base your website, but there are things to think about before diving in.

First, some real thought needs to be given to how much you see your website changing over time. Most small business websites are built, published and remain pretty much the same from that point on. Sites like these are best done in HTML. Unless you are selling an ever-changing array of products, your pages will remain rather static, and that is a good thing, especially for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). HTML also gives you complete control over every aspect of your website.

On the other hand, if you think your website pages will change frequently or if you expect to have a very active blog as part of your website then WordPress may be the better choice. You can still have very good SEO with WordPress, but (and there’s always a but) your maintenance needs will be significantly greater.

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) based on the programming language PHP. That basically means that it keeps everything organized in a database and serves your pages on demand. When someone goes to your website, WordPress will take the request and put together the page they will see in real time, taking each piece it needs from the database. The end result looks no different than a standard HTML website because it is an HTML website, just built when requested instead of already being put together. Think of it as going to McDonald’s and ordering a burger without pickles and onions. They will have to build your burger at that moment instead of grabbing one that was ready to go when you walked in.

The great thing about WordPress is all the extra functionality you can get by installing plugins. There is a plugin for just about anything you can imagine, but (here we go again) there is a downside. Install too many plugins and your website will become slow. If you install a plugin that has not been tested properly or is poorly written you can actually “break” your WordPress installation and end up stuck with no pages showing at all.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that with WordPress, you can just set it and forget it. Quite the opposite is true. Because WordPress is based on PHP and stores its information in a database, it needs to be kept up to date. Just as WordPress is a popular website platform, it is also a popular target for malware. If your database is corrupted with malicious code, then every page of your site can serve and possibly infect users with malware without you ever knowing. For that reason, it is extremely important to keep WordPress updated and to keep your plugins updated as well. Be sure to use strong passwords for your WordPress admin and editor accounts.

In summary, if your site will be basically informational in nature and will not change much, standard HTML is the way to go. There is less maintenance and easy portability if you need to change web hosts or domains. However if you want an easy to maintain blog or have a more dynamic site, then WordPress is for you. Just be sure you are prepared for the extra work involved in keeping WordPress updated.