I am taking a much needed break from studying for the NPTE, so here is a time waster!

source | http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org/sitting-kills/

It seems like everything nowadays is online. We shop online, bank online and we cant forget facebook! But all of those online identities need a password and most people unsurprisingly use the same one for everything. It only takes one of those sites you belong to, to get hacked and then boom! Now the hackers not only have your login info for that site, but now any other site you belong to. Scary!

Length and complexity are the keys to a passwords strength. An ideal password is long and has letters, punctuation, symbols, and numbers. The greater the variety of characters in your password, the better.

The website skattertech.com brings up a good point about the downside to creating such complex passwords: remembering them. They offer a few good solutions.

For website passwords, most modern web browsers offer great password management tools. Mozilla Firefox even offers the option to set a master password so others using your machine can not make their way into your accounts.

If you are even more paranoid, KeePass is a great open source cross-platform password manager. It even offers two-factor authentication by requiring users to use a flash drive, which works as a key to unlock the database, in addition to a regular password. Steve Gibson’s secure online password generator is also great for creating a random key from any browser.

I personally use LastPass for my passwords, it’s very similar to KeePass. For me it is just a personal preference.

source|skattertech.com

Ever thought to yourself, “Man, I wonder where this dollar has been and who’s dirty hands have touched this thing?” Well I can’t tell you who has touched it, but I can show you this nifty infographic that shows the lifespan of a dollar and all the fun little facts that come with its glorious journey. Enjoy!

My love of info-graphics has gotten the best of me yet again. I present you with one from computerschool.org. It’s a good time waster so enjoy!

I always thought loan sharks were bad, but good golly miss molly Sallie Mae could possibly be the worst one in the bunch!I had known Sallie Mae has me by the balls, what I didn’t know is that she has them in a vice grip and won’t let go!

While on my usual perusing of the interwebs to find useless I mean useful stuff for you all to read I found this little gem (the info-graphic below) thanks to one of my favorite sites on the web EduDatum.

Also, I decided to google search “sallie mae sucks” just for funsies and found this delightful blog:

JIM’S RANTINGS THAT NO ONE EVER READS OR GIVES A RATS ASS ABOUT

Well Jim, I read your rantings and I do give a rats ass about it! Here is Jim’s rant about Sallie Mae.

Let this be a warning to parents and students alike. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT GO TO SALLIE MAE FOR YOUR COLLEGE LOAN. They will manipulate you, change paperwork and do whatever they can to get you into their web of deceit.

Their interest rates are incredibly high. Their collection practices border on strong arm and their business ethics is non-existent. Just to give you an idea of how hated this organization is, check out a few of the following websites that have opinions about Sallie Mae.

Below this sentence is just a few of the websites devoted to letting you know what a scam Sallie Mae is. Please check them out before considering going to Sallie Mae for any type of loan.

Consumer Complaints about Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae Complaints – Scams, scams and more scams

Sallie Mae Beef

Sallie Mae @ Pissed Consumer

Woman of the Law: Sallie Mae is a nightmare

Sallie Mae called out once again – The Boston Globe

Ripoff Report: Sallie Mae

The Dangers of Sallie Mae

My3cents.com – Sallie Mae Complaints

The Dangers of Sallie Mae: BBB Complaint copy

Sallie Mae Sells Out Students’ Safety and American Jobs

Fight Back Against Sallie Mae! | Facebook

Sallie Mae Loans and Telemarketing Complaints

Sallie Mae Class Action Lawsuit – Lawyers.com Community

Sallie Mae’s Incompetence » Blog Archive

Evil = SallieMae « Define Your World

Americans for Fairness in Lending – Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae Misrepresenting Status of Student Loans

Stop Sallie Mae

Below is the info-graphic I mentioned before Jim’s lovely rant.

If you are bored its actually a pretty interesting read. Credit to the people I first found this from over at Edudatum & credit to the source of the actual file at thedailygreen.com

I am a huge tech junkie, I love anything and everything technology and it is no secret to my friends that I love google. I am all about the google and the cloud. I have and use daily gmail ,  google voice, wave, the moto DROID, just to name a few. BUT BUT BUT, there are plenty of other companies and products that rival google and I do use some as well.

The other day I was bored and was surfin the web when I stumbled across this infographic highlighting some of the best free online services for students.

source [flickr]