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The last few weeks I have been out fighting fires, living in a tent, and sleeping on the ground. Today I am hanging out in a Howarrd Johnson in Arcata, California… I have had a lot of time to think while on the mountain and I can’t wait to get back to my office and wrap up my web projects. It’s been hard to work on anything when I only get to check my e-mail once or twice a week for 1/2 hour at a time.

So, now that I am at the Hotel I hope to finish up some projects.

Before I left, I ordered a guitar and I have not played guitar in weeks. I miss it terribly. So, I will leave you all with a helpful link to an online guitar tuner. Here you can learn how to tune a guitar and use their free tuner any time you need.

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/

Happy computing!

-Dreamerkid

I found that my site had an error. A big one. I couldn’t log in. Grrr.

So for you wordpress webheads here is what I did… this may not be what caused your particular errors. But here is what I did to fix it in my situation.

I installed a theme that wasn’t compatible with the new version of wordpress, and I couldn’t log into my admin panel. What do you do in a situation like that? Bad or incompatible themes can cause this.

The forums all suggested wiping out Wordpress and starting fresh… No thanks. This might not work for you but if it does it only takes a minute to try it.

You will need ftp access to your Wordpress folders to fix this.
On your web server, (the place your web host stores your files)

Browse to your Wordpress themes folder:

/www/wp-content/themes/

Say your working theme was:/www/wp-content/themes/badtheme

- Create a backup of that theme folder in case its not really a bad theme problem.

Copy the contents of a theme you knew worked well into the current theme folder. (for me I had a favorite theme I knew the name of)

And then try to refresh your browser and then try your login. For me. That fixed it, and hence I am writing this post.

Here is a recap in case that wasn’t clear.

1. go to your wordpress themes folder

2. backup the current theme and empt the directory of the current theme.

3. Copy a theme you know works into that directory.

4. Try to log in.

Good luck!!!

I spent 4 hours on the telephone yesterday. 4 HOURS!!!

Not because I wanted to. Because my identity was used to make fraudulent purchases.

I know that I am not alone in this, did you know that…

30.2 Million Americans - 13.5 Percent of U.S. Adults - Fell Victim to Fraud… in one year.

To me that means, I am not alone, perhaps you have been duped by online, credit card, or another type of fraud.

Here is what you can do to get back on track.

Step 1. Don’t point fingers at yourself or the family member who was conned, or was duped. You didn’t go out and ask to be duped. Start focusing your energy on solutions and future fraud prevention.

Step 2. Expect it will take time, and be a lingering problem that requires your focus. But know that if you are careful you can safeguard against future attacks and have a procedure in place. Don’t give up. And don’t take your frustration out on the people helping you. (credit card representatives… trust me I had to be careful of that because to many of them they make $10 an hour and if they solve your problem or not, they still get their paycheck)

Step 3. For future protection be aware of the common frauds. And use the internet to research customer dealings with companies.

The top 10 frauds listed in the FTC report include:
* Fraudulent Weight-Loss Products (4.8 million victims)
* Foreign Lottery Scams (3.2 million victims)
* Unauthorized Billing - Buyers Clubs (3.2 million victims)
* Prize Promotions (2.7 million victims)
* Work-at-Home Programs (2.4 million victims)
* Credit Card Insurance (2.1 million victims)
* Unauthorized Billing - Internet Services (1.8 million victims)
* Advance-Fee Loans (1.7 million victims)
* Credit Repair Scams (1.2 million victims)
* Business Opportunities (.8 million victims)

And when it comes to your business dealings, watch these types of things very closely. It’s safer to go to and through a local establishment that has proven reputability, rather than ordering from some random e-mail.

Use the checklist below to secure yourself after and before a hack or fraud takes place.

Checklist to protect yourself if you have been hacked or scammed.

Stop communication with the scammers (In some cases, you might not be in touch with them)

Clean your PC!!! Spyware and viruses make you vulnerable. [ Click Here for Free Cleaning apps ]

Use a firewall when surfing the web. - Hides your online activity from hackers/fraud artists.

Change every password you have online and offline. [ Make a master list to keep in a safe place]

Clean your cookies and temp files with a program like Ccleaner Slim a free junk file cleaner.

If you do online bidding and auction, attempt close the accounts and start new ones. Many companies will allow you to do this to prevent further access to your bank and other accounts.

Alert your bank, or other institution of the scam so they can help you. Call the number on the back of your credit card, or bank statement and ask to speak with fraud department, and find out what your options are to get things fixed. Usually they are helpful but BE PREPARED TO BE ON THE PHONE FOR AWHILW. And don’t stress over this. Just look at it as future protection.

Online and offline - PAY SUPER CLOSE ATTENTION TO YOUR SPENDING. And check your accounts weekly so that you can spot any further fishy activity.

NEVER give your password out via e-mail, or phone solicitations. (Unless you contact that organization) from an official statement or resource.

IF YOU NOTICE YOUR MONEY IS MISSING, or EXTRA MONEY ADDED to your account, contact your bank IMMEDIATELY! This will allow most banks and companies to reverse the fraudulent charges quickly. But if you wait 3 months then deal with it, it will be more complex! Extra money could mean your account is being used for money laundering! You could be liable for it if you do nothing!

This next step is critical. NEVER give copies of your Passport, National Identity Card, Driver’s License/Permit, Social Security Card (fraud-flag), Student ID, Employer ID Or any other kind of ID gov. issued to companies besides established and known Banks and Government agencies.

[ If you have been scammed like this ... follow these steps.]
File a report with local law enforcement immediately so there is a record that your information may be used in fraudulent activity. This might be difficult, but worth it so that you can defend yourself in possible future scams.

Visit these sites for help:
Scam Help

Governments ID theft site.

IF they send you any checks or money notify authorities and DO NOT cash them!

Monitor your credit. Use a service like www.freecreditreport.com to monitor your credit and make sure fraud does not appear on your credit.

THE BIGGEST WEAPON IN ANTI-FRAUD is PREVENTION! Follow these steps and pay close attention, and you should be able to fight fraud and not be overwhelmed by the severity of it. Good luck, follow your dreams, I am cheering for you! You can do it!

-Dreamerkid.

Writing these blogs takes a lot of coffee power, you could buy me a coffee if you found this helpful… please use the link below and donate whatever you feel this article is worth.

Recently Google has created and released a new system called Google Lively.

Google Lively is a 3d world interface that people can chat with others from all over the world in a 3d environment. Users can play and interact over the web. It appears to be free and allows users to sign up in minutes.

To get started: [View images of this whole process below]

Download the installer from http://www.lively.com/

Run or double click the installer.

You will see the google installing screen as it downloads components it needs. At this point your firewall (if you have one) might ask for your permission for google lively to access the web. Please allow it.

Once you see the Lively installed screen [shown in images] then you click on the windows start menu and select Google Lively.

You will be asked to log in. You must use a google account. (I use gmail so I already had a google account so I logged in with my gmail account and password, you can set one up by going HERE.)

Once I selected a username and password, the next step is to choose a room. If you want to select a room from your browser you can go to http://www.lively.com/popular

Be warned there are often innapropriate rooms much like in chat, but there are also clean and normal rooms.

When you click on a room it may ask you to login, use your google account (link to get one above) and then wait for the room to load. Once the room loads you can begin to chat and have fun in a 3d world.

THE CONTROLS

Not everyone is familiar with 3d environments, or chat rooms for that matter. In the next section of this entry I will show you how to navigate.

Moving around.

The arrow keys on the right side of most keyboards will let you navigate the room.

To move forward press the down arrow Key.
To move backwards press the up arrow Key.
To move right press the left arrow Key.
To move left press the right arrow Key.

This style of control is called inverted control. It’s popular with many video games.
Feel Free to explore, the world you are in, and when you get brave, the next step we will do is create your own avatar.

What is an Avatar?

An avatar is a computer representation of you. Google Lively allows you to customize this so that it looks how you want. How fun is that?

To customize your avatar. Sign into to Google Lively and then select MY ROOMS on the left.

Once you begin creating a new room, you can customize your avatar. There is an image of this in the how to images, as well as the video below shows a video how to of customization(video coming soon).

[Show as slideshow]

Have fun and be safe!

Want to visit My Secret Lab in Lively?

Writing these blogs take a lot of coffee power, you could buy me a coffee if you found this helpful… please use the link below and donate whatever you feel this article is worth.

It’s been awhile but I wanted to write a review on my webhost. Blue host has the best features for auto-install of software and support I have seen in a long time. I highly recommend them because of a few things:

1. They have excellent stuff to get a website up and rolling fast. They offer content management, client management, all sorts of tools I am only scratching the surface on. A low monthly fee, ($6.95) and a ton of other goodies.

2. They have decent tech support. I have always gotten support the day I needed it. I have tried other hosts and found myself a bit discouraged with their support. But Bluehost seems to always have someone ready to answer my questions (although I have had to wait a few minutes 10-20 min. has been my experience)

3. They don’t charge you through the teeth.

4. Unlimited domain hosting. Need I say more?

5. I have had a great experience with them. To me thats better than something someone serves up in a review. I like their support, and their service. I thought I would share what I have found.

You can visit them by using the link I have placed below.

If you use wordpress, you should try the CformsII wordpress plugin to help you reach your customers.
This form processor lets you interact with your users.

It processes forms that are easy to insert, and easy to make using the cforms page in your dashboard. It simply rocks.

Here is the default form created when installing cformsII. I give it 5 stars. ***** [ CFORMSII Can be downloaded here ]

Send me a message and test it out.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Writing these blogs takes a lot of coffee power, you could buy me a coffee if you found this helpful… please use the link below and donate whatever you feel this article is worth.

I want to recommend this Maran Illustrated series for anyone who is intimidated with the whole “Learning computers” thing. It’s easy, fun, even so much that a young person can read it and be entertained while learning, or if you are afraid of computers, it might even help you get beyond those fears.

Here is the first of 3 sections. I will be posting a follow up later. Take a peak, don’t be afraid to learn, it’s free.

If you like this series, go to their website and get a copy for yourself. I know a lot of people use these books and find them easy and friendly to learn from. You can keep it next to your pc so that when you need help you can always have an answer close at hand. [ Here is a link to their website ]

This article is free, if you feel it is valuable please donate to further this and other free products.

So you are tired of getting junk mail, but you want to sign up for a newsletter or a test account without filling your inbox with spam?

No problem.

I have been using mailinator. It’s easy. You make up an e-mail address like elkhunter29 or whatever username you want and then add

@mailinator.com to the address and use it in signing up for non sensative information.

So when you sign up for free newsletters or accounts and don’t want to use your real e-mail address you simply use your fake e-mail address: elkhunter29@mailinator.com and then check it by going to:

www.mailinator.com and enter your made up name elkhunter29 to see if you have any e-mail.

And presto instant sign up with no hassle.

I advise not to use this for any sensative info. It’s essentially an e-mail address with no password to protect it.

ENJOY!

I use Windows XP at home and after I ran the latest service pack 3 update, it has become unstable. Even now I don’t know if it will restart itself at random.

You have to love an upgrade that resets your registrations and all of your graphic settings (customizations) and all of your specifications. (note the sarcasm)

COMPUTER TIP: [ If you have an AMD processor you should check and see if you need an pre-install update that your manufacturer can provide for you before installing service pack 3]

Now my system has become unstable. I believe it was not compatible with my antivirus. I use the free version of Avast. I am not sure, but it had to restart my PC about 5 times then after I booted into safe mode and backed up all of my data, (thinking it to be about to die) I have rebooted and it seems stable.

But these are the woes of computing. I don’t like how Microsoft unleashes “fixes” on computers that actually cause grief. If you have experienced similar things and would like help, please use our Dreamerkid community forums and I will try to help you get your troubles fixed.

Thanks!