Increase your password security with Dashlane

Posted by jdh5153 on June 6, 2013
Posted in: Apps, Technology. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

This morning while reading the New York Times I came across David Pogue’s article, “Remember All Those Passwords? No Need“. In the article Pogue speaks about the benefits of  using a password manager and specifically the benefits of using Dashlane. I had never heard of Dashlane until I came across this article, but I had heard of and considered using 1Password.

Pogue’s article on Dashlane sold me, however. Not only did it convince me I should use a password manager, it also convinced me that Dashlane was the one for me. One of the big draws? It’s free! (though I chose to subscribe via the $20/yr option). It was incredibly easy to set up and once you have a secure “master password” you’re practically good to go.

Dashlane will automatically gather your saved passwords from your web browsers and analyze them for you, making you aware of passwords you should change.

Capture

Capture2

 

 

I initially found that I had a TON of reused passwords and at first I was unwilling to change them, but Dashlane made it a breeze. It’ll take you right to the change password screen on most websites, automatically fill in your old password and generate a random, strong password for use on the website. It’ll automatically save this new password for you and use it to log you into your account the next time you visit the site.

The Dashlane mobile app is free and after you login with your master password (and PIN if you choose to use one on the mobile app) you can view all of your passwords. This makes it great if you need a password on another computer where you can’t install the plugin. It will only reveal your passwords after you login using the master password and PIN so you don’t have to worry about someone gaining access to all of your passwords if they get ahold of your phone. You just want to make sure your master password is as strong and secure as it can be.

Dashlane can also store your ID information (ex: Driver’s License) and Credit Card information making your web browsing experience as convenient and secure as possible.

If you want to learn more about Dashlane and how it (or any password manager) can benefit you, I suggest you read Pogue’s article, it’s filled with a lot of good advice.

Dashlane is available for Windows, Mac, and iOS and is completely free. The subscription option gets you a few more bells and whistles, listed below. Try it out today: 
https://www.dashlane.com/

3

 

This blog post is not an endorsement or advertisement, I simply love the product and wanted to share!

About these ads

Get your DOTA 2 Steam Key

Posted by jdh5153 on June 6, 2013
Posted in: Video Games. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

images

So by now I think just about everyone with a Steam account has received DOTA 2 early access for free (it sells for $29.99 in the Steam store), but if you haven’t you can find a Steam Key quite easily. Valve often sends Steam users bundles of DOTA 2 keys to send to friends so that more people can play the game, and I recently received 10 keys to give away (now 8 keys as of this posting).

If you’d like one simply add me on Steam (Darth Gumballs) and drop me a message and I’ll be sure to hook you up with a DOTA 2 key.

A NES Birthday Surprise!

Posted by jdh5153 on June 1, 2013
Posted in: Video Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

So yesterday for my birthday I received a case of my favorite beer from back home (not available anywhere but the East Coast) and to my surprise, a restored and completely functioning NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I haven’t touched an actual NES since mine stopped working sometime in the early 90′s. I, like many, have relived old NES games via emulators, but there’s just something special about putting a cartridge into a NES and seeing it in all its 8-bit glory on your TV. Surprisingly it manages to look pretty good on an HDTV when hooked up via A/V cables (though it’s slightly distorted since the TV I tried it on last night scaled it to widescreen. Using the coax hookup keeps the 4:3 ratio but gets fuzzy here and there).

I picked up a handful of games last night at a mom and pop video game store, and they were surprisingly cheap (Zelda being the most expensive of the bunch at $15). I’m going to check out the other store in town today to see if I can add anything more to my new collection.

 

IMG_1893

IMG_1894

IMG_1896

IMG_1897

IMG_1898

IMG_1899

 

 

Also, I thought I’d share two anomalies from last night:

At P.F. Changs I mixed up our fortune cookies before opening them….It turns out we got the exact same fortune…Creepy!

IMG_1895

 

and then this:

IMG_1900

Xbox 360 250gb Spring Bundle Unboxing

Posted by jdh5153 on May 30, 2013
Posted in: Video Games. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

I’ve never recorded any sort of unboxing or video like these so please excuse the very amateur nature of them. It feels pretty awkward having a one way conversation with a camera / phone. Videos were shot with the iPhone 5 using YouTube Capture, which means as soon as the videos were done they were uploaded (in other words, it’s raw, unedited footage).

It’s nothing special, I just recorded these videos for fun as I’d like to get more into vlogging. Enjoy! Or Don’t!! :-)

The unboxing:

The Xbox 360 data transfer process:

The $99 subsidized Xbox 360 confusion

Posted by jdh5153 on May 30, 2013
Posted in: Video Games. Tagged: , , , , . 1 comment

Capture

So I’ve had a 360 Elite for 3 years and have been looking to replace it (and give it to my girlfriend so she could use it as a streaming player for Netflix and play games on it every now and then). The $99 subsidized Xbox sounded appealing. If you’re unfamiliar it’s a promotion by Microsoft and GameStop where you can get either a 250gb Xbox 360 or a 4gb Xbox 360 w/ Kinect for $99 if you agree to a 2 year Xbox Live agreement for $14.99/mo.

Now I know $14.99/mo sounds steep especially when at its highest price a year of Xbox Live is $60 (sometimes as low as $40 through Amazon), but this deal offers a low level of entry and the ability to pay for the Xbox over two years while enjoying Xbox Live Gold.

Also you might wonder why anyone would do this when the Xbox One is coming out, but Phil Harrison has confirmed that all current Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will carry over to the Xbox One, therefore you’re paying for something you can still use on the Xbox One and 360.

So here’s where it gets tricky. The deal specifies it’s only available for the specific models shown, which are the plain 250gb Xbox 360 and 4gb with Kinect. The 250gb console is no longer available at any GameStop within 100 miles of me (I checked other cities as well and none have it in stock) and it is no longer for sale online. Why? Because it was replaced by the 250gb Xbox 360 Spring Bundle, which includes 1 month of Xbox Live, Darksiders II and Batman Arkham City all for $299.

This $299 is the same price as the formerly offered 250gb console, and yet this isn’t the model specified in the offer. I contacted Xbox Support via Twitter and they were very helpful addressing my concerns (@XboxSupport is THE best customer support on Twitter, always quick to respond) but in the end they were unsure whether the Spring Bundle would qualify for the deal.

2

I walked into my local GameStop this morning and asked them about it and they told me that for awhile they were selling the Spring Bundle with the coupon for $99, but they received a notice from corporate that their POS (point of sale) would no longer accept the coupon for the Spring Bundle. I asked if they could try anyway so I wouldn’t have to cancel my contract, and they were nice enough to try.

Upon scanning my coupon and the Xbox 360 Spring Bundle it turned out that the POS DID in fact accept the coupon and they let me purchase the bundle for $99! I also renewed my PowerUp Rewards card since they were so helpful and worked with me.

943343_10104497470340274_1970619026_n

In the end I wish GameStop and Microsoft would be more clear on this matter. Apparently GameStop is not supposed to accept this coupon for the Spring Bundle, and yet they no longer receive regular 250gb consoles. The Spring Bundle replaced those at the $299 price point. It would seem they should indeed accept the coupon for those consoles since they one specified in the offer advertised no longer exists.

Game deals: GRID and Sleeping Dogs

Posted by jdh5153 on May 30, 2013
Posted in: Video Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Race-Driver-GRID260px-Sleeping_Dogs_-_Square_Enix_video_game_cover

Yesterday I picked up GRID for $3.74 via GreenManGaming and Amazon’s Sleeping Dogs Bundle for $12.99, both great pick  ups. So far GRID is alright, it certainly looks nice, but coming from a huge Forza fan it just feels silly. The cars control horribly and there’s no feel to the cars at all. The damage effects in GRID are pretty cool, though at one point my windshield shattered and my doors fell off and my spotter told me my car was barely scratched. o.O

Sleeping Dogs is great fun and looks wonderful. There’s a free high res texture pack available through Steam to make the game look even better, but I’m not entirely sure my MacBook would like that :) I’m running it on a sort of medium-high mix and average 20fps which doesn’t bother me.

Buy prepaid Xbox Live subscription and get 800MS points free!

Posted by jdh5153 on May 29, 2013
Posted in: Video Games. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Capture

Amazon is currently running a promotion where if you buy a prepaid Xbox Live subscription card you’ll get a code e-mailed to you worth 800 Microsoft Points! It’s pretty sweet, and a 3-month subscription is just over $22 right now on Amazon (compared to the $25 you’d pay through Microsoft) and you basically get $10 back in MS points. I picked up 3 months for my account and 3 months for my girlfriend’s (it took a day to receive the first code, I’m waiting to see if I’ll be sent another code for 800 more points).

Capture2