Top Ten Tuesday: Non-Bookish Sites

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

So I tend to focus on mainly bookish things here. Even my last post, which was art related, stemmed from Harry Potter. But what kinds of sites do I read that aren't book related? Here's my top ten:

10. Pottermore

Sorta cheating here, but I do enjoy the games/activities on Pottermore. Sure, it's a site based around a book, but it's not just about reading, right?

9. Etsy

Partly business, and partly just browsing. Perusing the site for the latest and greatest handmade goodies is just so much fun! Seeing the prices on said goodies...well, not so much. When I win the lottery...

8. The Daily Show

This one I mostly go in spurts. I see a little on TV and then go watch 5 episodes (or extended interviews) straight. Jon Stewart is awesome.

7. Hellfire Commentaries

That's right - I have a video game addiction. But I'm lousy at playing games, so I settle for watching other people play them instead. It keeps me up-to-date on pop culture, while entertaining me with the commentators' witty rapport. And gotta love NTom's British accent.

6. That Guy With the Glasses

A fairly recent find, but I absolutely love watching CR, The Nostalgia Critic or Nostalgia Chick rip into my childhood favorites. Whether it be Disney, TV shows of olde or not so olde, these guys are masters of hilarity. I find myself cracking up even while they're bashing movies I absolutely loved.

5. XKCD

A comic that may not look pretty, but consistently delivers great punchlines, touching moments, or witty insights.

4. ...With Sprinkles

A web-comic/blog created by one of my college friends. I always look forward to Mondays knowing I'll get a good laugh - even if it does usually come from her misfortune. ...Does that make me a bad person?

3. TV Line

I wouldn't say I'm an American Idol addict...but I love reading/watching Michael Slezak's recaps, insights, interviews and predictions each season. And when he's not reporting, I sometimes look for the latest spoilers for my fave shows. TV spoilers = okay. Book spoilers = I kill you.

2. YouTube

I'm tempted to put this as number one, but since this is purely entertainment/distraction, I guess it gets lowered a peg. Whether it's watching a line of related videos for 3 hours more than anticipated, or checking out my favorite channels (SSoHPKC, ApprenticeA, CardGamesFTW, ItsJustSomeRandomGuy, HISHEdotcom, and TheCreatureHub to name a few), YouTube never ceases to entertain.

1. deviantART

Another site all too easy to spend unaccounted hours at, deviantART is probably where I spend the most non-bookish time. Between reposting my reviews, browsing random art, managing the SmilingMoonCreations account, browsing more art, checking in on my groups, uploading photos, and browsing the latest art my favorite artists have posted, it's a busy busy site.

Honorable Mentions:
Pandora
Library's Site
Ctrl+Alt+Del
Various Manga sites
Facebook


Yeah, a lot of my sites revolve around movies, video games, and art.
Can you tell I like distractions?
Which sites are on your list? Let me hear you howl!

There's Nothing Worse Than...

...having a problem you can't fix. That's right, this is another installment of Vicki's Technological Woes.

Remember my post about backing up things because my external hard drive died? And my plan was to purchase another external drive to back everything up on? Well, it's been forever (3 months) but I finally did it.

Or, my dad did it for me.

Tuesday I got an early birthday present: a 2TB (2 TRILLION byte) external hard drive with automatic backup software. It's black and shiny and quiet and not too big and I love it! Or...well, I would love it if I could get the darn thing to work.

I plugged it in Tuesday night into my USB hub and about 15 seconds later I get the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) and my computer restarts. I go ahead and let it boot up, wait as all my start-up programs get started...and the BSOD comes up again and restarts - all before I can see the name of the error.

Rinse and repeat two more times.

The last time, though, I FINALLY get a glance at the error name:

Bad Pool Header

Okay! Now I know what to look for! I unplug the hard drive, let everything boot up, open Firefox, pop up Google and get to searching.

A few of the sites tell me it's a problem with my Registry, which is essentially the go-to guide for how a computer runs, and that if I purchase a Registry Cleaner software, it'll fix my problem. Luckily, I already have a free program that cleans my Registry (CCleaner is awesome), so I go to it. I clean the registry, plug in the drive and...

Bad Pool Header

Okay... Well, when I ran my anti-virus diagnostics program, it said I had low memory...and sometimes when I leave my laptop on for long periods of time (remember, Windows XP), like a week, it gets the BSOD from lack of memory...

So on the next restart, I go into my laptop settings and enable the slow-start Memory Test, which pretty much slows everything down, but should ensure a safer start. I also figure I should connect the drive directly to my laptop, instead of through the hub.

IT WORKS!!!

The auto-run software installs, I get through a back-up of my laptop in about an hour, and I figure now's the time to back-up my old hard drive. I "safely remove" the new drive and plug it back into the USB hub...

Bad Pool Header

Okay...maybe it doesn't like receiving the new drive except at boot-up? The computer restarts (with the drive plugged into the hub) and crashes again. I unplug the drive, and head back to Google.

This time I find sources that say the Bad Pool Header is specifically a driver error. Drivers are the software that hardware requires to tell the computer how to use it. So, that installation CD that came with your printer? In addition to the programs it had you install, it also gave your computer its driver information, essentially telling it how to run the printer. Or any other hardware you might want to tack on (web cams, wireless components, disk drives, external hard drives).

My external hard drives are both plug-n-play—they have the driver information in an auto-play format, so as soon as they're plugged in, they install the driver info automatically. But...apparently something isn't gelling, and the computer isn't liking the hard drive's driver.

Most of the advice is to uninstall the problem driver(s) and then reinstall it, since the old version was probably corrupted. But...I've done that about 5 times now and the computer still crashes every time the new hard drive is plugged in.

Another solution I thought might work was plugging the hard drive directly into the laptop again. My USB hub is old and (probably) isn't USB 2.0 compatible, which is what the new hard drive requires. So I've booted it a few times with it hooked directly in...and still only get crashes.

By now, you're probably all thinking it's something faulty with the new hard drive. Except...it works on my sister's computer just fine. Plugged it in, denied installing the software, copied everything from my old external drive onto it (with 1.7TB freespace still available), still works great.

So now I've come down to the decision of resetting my laptop—wiping everything and starting over with the factory CDs, then re-installing all my programs and transferring all my documents over from the new hard drive. Quick and easy, right? Well, not quick, actually, since it'll take many hours and many restarts to get all the Windows Updates taken care of, then a few more to install my programs and printers and...

And what if it doesn't work? And all my documents are still stuck on my external hard drive?

This problem has haunted me every hour since Tuesday night. I seriously worked on it all day yesterday (one of the only perks about being unemployed) but with nothing to show for it. I just can't fix the problem. Sure, I can erase everything and start at the top, crossing my fingers and hoping it'll be okay, but I'll never know exactly what went wrong. I wouldn't have fixed it.

On the bright side, at least I'm getting all this frustration out before my birthday.

For Every Step Forward, Remember To Backup (at least) Twice

Okay, that title probably doesn't make much sense...unless you have a slightly geeky mind. That's right, once again I come to you with computer advice. And, of course, the best entertainment advice comes at the expense of others...mainly myself.

The Setup

• a laptop with Windows XP -- 5 years old
• 35 GB hard drive -- 4 years old
• a USB splitter (2 ports become 5) -- 5 years old
• a SimpleTech 160GB external hard drive -- 4 years old
• which holds:
• the majority of my Word Documents (including 116pg Senior Thesis)
• all my Excel, Powerpoint, and Adobe Documents
• all my Pictures
• all my Music

The Problem

Now, flash back to last Wednesday, the 19th.

There I was, listening to my music, surfing the net, goofing off, when I decide it's time to update my profile picture. I take the pic then unplug my printer to hook up my phone. I get the pic off alright, then start cropping it and resizing it. Once I finally get it how I want, I go to save...and I get an error message.

E:/ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

E:/ is my external hard drive, where I keep all my larger files--pictures included.

Now, as I have music playing, I'm thinking there must be a mistake. Maybe one of the USB ports has finally broken down. I close iTunes, unplug my hard drive from the splitter, as well as my phone cord, and try switching ports.

I think I should also take this time to interject that you should always select the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the bottom bar when disconnecting important hardware. I usually ignore it in regards to my printer, but it's always a good idea to use the tools available to you.

Once plugged in, the computer acknowledges that something is there, but when I go to access the drive, I once again get that pesky message:

E:/ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

Now I'm getting worried.

I rush back to my browser and start Googling my error message. I get some advice about reestablishing drivers, checking for driver updates, etc. I try it out...

E:/ is not accessible.

The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.

Okay... Let's try "free file recovery"? I get a lot of links. Phew.

I download one and, lo and behold, it can read my E:/ drive! I tell it to start recovering my files...and it starts copying them onto my C:/ drive. Well...that's all well and good, I suppose, except for a couple things...

1. I have right around 100GB of files on E:/ and only 11GB open on C:/...
2. The free/demo version only copies files under 64KB in size... which doesn't include my aforementioned 116 page Senior Thesis

The full version costs $40. Well, that was a bust. To the recycle bin with you.

I think I downloaded 10 other programs that day:

• 4 were "Recover DELETED Files" only (mine aren't deleted, just inaccessible)
• 3 were "Demo" versions which let you see the files you wanted to save, but required you to purchase the product in order to save/copy them
• 2 were "Free Download" then "Purchase the Product Code" before you even got to use the product (usually around $40 or $50)
• 1 actually did what I wanted AND was free.

Luckily, that's all it takes! Well, for me, at least.

The Solution

TestDisk, Data Recovery is an Opensource software - which means that it gets all its coding from volunteer programmers, and all the coding is viewable. If you're a DIY-tech person, always look for Opensource programs.

Anyway, I'm not a tech-person, I just play one on TV my blog. If you're really interested in the specifics of the program, click that link up there and it'll take you through all the partition tables and Master Boot Records and that gobbledegook. If you're wanting my (possibly incorrect) spin on things, read on!

What TestDisk allowed me to do was go in through DOS mode and access the E:/ drive. There I was able to try repairing the Master File Table...but I don't think it worked. See, how I understand things is...

The hard drive works sorta like a tree.* There's a single point of origin, and then all the folders and files and such flow out from there. When the computer tries to access a specific file, it has to first check with the point of origin, in order to figure out what is there and how to get to it. Like a city map, or a library filing system.

Now, this One Point is known as the Master File Table. If something goes wrong with this MFT, if it somehow gets corrupted or deleted...well, then the computer can't access that drive anymore. All the information is still there, all the files and folders, the tree just isn't there to tell you where the roots are. Or the map got ink spilled all over it. Or the library system is down for extended maintenance.

*This may or may not only apply to NTFS file system. That's what I have, and that's what I know.

Now, if we're done with all these analogies, I'll get back to what I was able to do.

Though the 'repairing' of the MFT hasn't seemed to work, I was able to recover all my Adobe, Excel, Powerpoint, and Word Documents (including my Senior Thesis!!!) and save them on my C:/ drive. I also managed to fit all My Pictures in there (though, I really should start deleting some that are no longer relevant).

The Plan

Now, as for my 99GB of music sitting on there... There's nothing I can do at the moment. I don't have enough space to transfer everything onto my C:/ drive (I only have 10 GB still open). Even my sister's desktop only has 65GB open (Yeah...I definitely need to delete some of my music).

So, next step is to purchase another hard drive.

Okay, I know what you're thinking - WHAT? Pay out $65+ for ANOTHER hard drive that'll fail on you too?!

I'll answer that in the next section. In the meantime, can I please continue with my plan?


Next I'll purchase another hard drive, giving me the 35GB in my laptop, the 160GB that is having some issues, and a new one (probably 500GB, though I could go for 1000GB (1TB) for $10 more...but really, that's getting a bit ridiculous--I mean, why would I ever need that much space?! My video card isn't good enough for video games. Maybe some movies...nah.).


I'll use TestDisk to copy everything (music and all) to the new hard drive. Then, sure that everything is safe in two places, I'll reformat my current one, then copy everything back over to it, giving me 3 copies of all my important documents and 2 copies of my less important ones...

The Moral

BACKUP YOUR FILES!!!

Yes, the title finally makes sense! For every great document you create, be sure to make at least one, possibly two (or three or four) backups!

Whether this means having 2 or 3 hard drives handy, saving your documents in e-mail attachments, or paying for an online backup service, don't take technology for granted. I've been told multiple times that it's a miracle my computer is still running. Okay, not a miracle, per say, but it's certainly impressive. That my external hard drive ran into some problems is not a surprise. When you're dealing with tiny computer chips and information that relies on 011010101 being in the right place...well, a lot can go wrong.

I thought my little portable guy was my backup, but really I just used him as my main pack mule. And when that pack mule decided to get lost (lose his map), I thought I was bum outta luck. Thankfully, my problem isn't as serious. The mule got a sprained ankle, but after I unload him and give him some time to reboot (reformat), he'll be up and going again.

But, backing out of the metaphors again, what if I had dropped it down the toilet? Or dropped a bowling ball on it? Or had it stolen out of my bag at the airport? Those documents would be lost forever.

With two hard drives (well, 3 really), I'm reducing the chances of things being lost forever. I mean, unless you're dealing with Apollo 13, having a quadruple failure is less likely than, say, having a single failure (on that note, maybe it's best to stick with 12 instead of 13 backups? Or chip in that extra effort and go to 14).

So, again, if you have important documents, pictures, music, anything that is irreplaceable, send it to yourself in an e-mail. Save it to a few dozen zip drives. Copy it to a CD or two. Look in to getting a couple external hard drives. Cause you just don't know what could happen.

Security Breach!

ALERT! ALERT! ALL CREW MEMBERS TO BATTLE STATIONS! WE HAVE A UNIFORM PAPA CHARLIE! I REPEAT, AN UN-AUTHORIZED PASSWORD CHANGE HAS OCCURRED! REPORT TO BATTLE STATIONS FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!

...Or, at least, that's what was happening in my head two days ago.

Honestly, I don't know what happened. I don't know if I was hacked. I don't know if two sites decided to simultaneously glitch. I don't know the logic or specifics of what went down. All I know is what I saw, and what I did to fix it.

I guess you could say this all started 3 (or-so) months ago, when Facebook first decided to be glitchy. Okay, I guess they were just being diligent, but it still ticked me off. I was trying to share a link to a page on my profile, and apparently Facebook had had reports from some(body/people) that the site was annoying and/or malicious, so it kicked me out and sent me an e-mail to reset my password:

Hey Vicki,

We have detected suspicious activity on your Facebook account and have reset your password as a security precaution. It is possible that malicious software was downloaded to your computer or that your password was stolen by a phishing website designed to look like Facebook. Please carefully follow the steps provided:

1. Run Anti-Virus Software: If your computer has been infected with a virus or with malware, you will need to run anti-virus software to remove these harmful programs and keep your information secure. [insert support links for Microsoft & Apple]

2. Reset Password: Be sure that you use a complex string of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks that is at least six characters in length.
To reset your password, follow the link below:
[insert link here]

3. Never Click Suspicious Links: It is possible that your friends could unwillingly send spam, viruses, or malware through Facebook if their accounts are infected. Do not click this material and do not run any .exe files on your computer without knowing what they are. Also, be sure to use the most current version of your browser as they contain important security warnings and protection features.

4. Log in at Facebook.com: Make sure that when you access the site, you always log in from a legitimate Facebook page with the facebook.com domain. If something looks or feels suspicious, go directly to www.facebook.com to log in.

5. Report Suspicious Activity: Please visit the following pages for further information about Facebook security and information on reporting material:
[more links]

Once you have performed all these steps, your account should once again be secure. Please be sure to visit the Facebook Help Center for further information regarding these security issues and let us know if you need assistance.

Thanks,
Facebook Security Team

Now, all those steps are good advice (which is why I copied the e-mail), but I was peeved nonetheless since it was ME trying to use my account and NOT someone else. Still, I went ahead, made a new password and gave up on sharing the link (it couldn't have been that important, since I don't remember what it was anyway).

Flash forward to April 21st (or 22nd - the panicking kinda warped my memory of precise time passage) 2010.

I'm on Firefox, with multiple tabs open, flitting back and forth between them. I click on Facebook's tab and find one of their in-screen pop-ups saying, "You must be logged in to see this page" (it was my profile page). I cock my head to the side quizzically, but do as I'm prompted and go to sign in again. I know that they've been doing some more updates recently, so don't think too much about some hiccup causing me to log out.

On the log-in screen I type in my password, no problem, and click submit. The page goes blank a moment, the loading symbol is in on the tab, but then the same page returns with a message in a pink box. Why pink? Was red too scary for them? Too gloom and doom for Facebook? Anyway, the message reads:

Please re-enter your password
The password you entered is incorrect. Please try again (make sure your caps lock is off).
Forgot your password? Request a new one. [<-link]

I try again, slower this time, making sure I hold the shift key for the correct letters and release it for the others.

And I try again.

And again.

And again.

By now I've started to grit my teeth because I know I JUST reset my password (a little while ago) and I don't feel like doing it again. But, with no other choice, finally I give in and click the Request A New One link.

It's fairly simple to request a new password, actually. Facebook simply sends you an e-mail (to the address[es] registered with your account) with an activation code, which you then copy and paste into the space provided. Then you type in your new password twice and are on your way. I click the confirmation button and then go to my e-mail tab.

Normally, I have it up and running, but my mom had just checked hers earlier, so I had yet to log in again.

So I go to the AOL/Netscape log-in screen and type in my username, at which point my Saved Password fills in, and then I click the Sign In button.

A small bit of red text appears above the sign-in: Invalid Username or Password. Please try again.

Now, I KNOW my password is correct, but I go ahead and type my username again, then manually enter my password.

The red message doesn't go away.

I try it again and again and again...again, but nothing changes.

I'm really starting to freak out now. Why would BOTH accounts suddenly seize up at the same time? That can't be coincidence, can it? I mean, this account is the only one registered with my Facebook (my school account closed 6 months after I graduated), so what better way to reset my password than to also hack this e-mail?

Wait...hack? Have I been hacked?!

I quickly follow the "Forgot your Password?" link for my e-mail, which takes me through AOL's steps for password resetting. Trickier than Facebook's (since they obviously don't want you to need to have multiple e-mails) their questions are actually personal. They ask for your birthday, your zip code, and then the answer to a security question which you picked (and answered) upon signing up. I went through everything quickly and easily and changed my password.

Then I went in and finished the process for changing my Facebook password. As an extra precaution, I also went through all my other e-mails (I have 4) and changed their passwords. All was well.

Or so I thought...

I come back the next day and find an e-mail in my inbox... "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation Code". And I'm kinda...O_o I didn't request another reset.

Lo and behold, I was logged out of Facebook again and my password didn't work. I went through the steps again and reset it (getting another confirmation code in my e-mail).

A few minutes...or an hour (again, my idea of time was not constant during this period) later, I was logged out of both Facebook AND E-mail.

Now, this is partly my own fault. I had assumed that the second time my password on Facebook had simply glitched out, and that I needed to reset it to what it used to be. DO NOT USED AN OLD PASSWORD OR A PREVIOUSLY HACKED/BROKEN PASSWORD ON ANY ACCOUNT. Seriously, even if you think it's a glitch, it's better safe than sorry.

It was around this time that I really started panicking. I filed a report to Facebook:

Security: Hacked account

My account has been compromised, but it has not been phished nor affected by the money scam.

My account has been hacked.

If you believe your account has been hacked and you can still access your login email address, you can secure your own account by resetting the password from this page: [link] , or by selecting the "Forgot your password?" link that appears above the on the login page. An email will be sent to you with steps for completing the process.

If your account has been hacked and the login email on your account has also been compromised or has been changed by the hacker, please send us information about the account so we can look into it further and hopefully restore access. Please click here [link] to submit your report.

OR

Login and Password: I can't log in to Facebook or access my account

I reset my password but it will not work the next time I log in.
If you are prompted to reset your password every time you log in, your problem may be related to your internet browser. Please follow these steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Follow these instructions [link] to clear your browser’s cache and cookies.
2. If you continue to experience problems, reset your password [link] and log in.
3. If you logout and confirm that you cannot log back in, please contact us [link].

Because my account hadn't been sending out spam, or participating in other malicious activity, I decided to follow the instructions for the second problem. I cleared my cache and cookies (even though I was 99% certain Firefox wasn't the problem) and tried again. Still no dice. So I contacted them and they replied quickly.

Well, I should say I contacted them, then went to reclaim my e-mail again. First I spent a little time Googling things like "what to do if e-mail is hacked" (fyi, apparently I'm the only one who still calls it e-mail instead of email) and "how to tell if account is hacked", only to get dreary news. Most sites gave condolences for having lost my account, 'but here's how to gain access for enough time to save your crucial e-mails.' Others (like Yahoo Answers) actually had people commenting about how they were experienced hackers (and then had replies asking for their services). *shudder*

With the help of a couple more cheery sites (My Email Account Was Hacked! How I Regained Control of It & Password Recovery Speeds [Chart]) I made a new password (1337-speak) AND changed my security question & answer.

Anyway, the Facebook e-mail was there, nice and succinct:

Hi,

Please reply to this email to verify that you are the owner of the account that you referenced in your Facebook support inquiry. This security step must be completed before Facebook can respond to your inquiry. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If this email address is not associated with your account, please reply to this email from an email address that is associated with your Facebook account, ensuring that this email is in your response (this may require you to copy and paste this text if your email client removes this email from your reply).

Please also note that if you have created an account, and you're having trouble logging in, please do not create another account using a different email address. Doing so may also increase the time needed to resolve the issue.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

I replied with two short sentences:

I am the owner, though I'm also having issues with my e-mail at the moment. If you could please CC my other e-mail [link] I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

Oh, pardon me, three short sentences.

I decided to give Facebook one last try, and sent for the confirmation code once more, changing my password to something not even remotely similar to anything I've used before...

And haven't had a problem since.

I must say, after reading the horror story the first site described, my e-mail and Facebook intrusions were pretty tame. No sent messages, no deleting information, no adding contacts (or e-mails)... The only problem (or clue) I had was my passwords not working. And, even luckier for me, I don't keep other crucial information in my account, so other than links to websites I receive mail from, (that I know of) they didn't get anything from me.

I'm still on edge. Every time I mistype my new passwords, I bite my lip that my next attempt will work (and it does). I ran a (37 hour-long) virus-scan on my computer, which turned up nothing - always a good sign. I just hope this good fortune will last.

If anyone has any advice of things to look for, or how better to secure accounts, please leave a comment below.


...In lighter news, (if you hadn't noticed up at the top) I FINALLY finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! Most likely, I will give a review of the first 5 books together, then have a separate review of the most recent 6th installment by Eoin Colfer. Be on the lookout for that ;)

Hope you all stay safe until we next meet,

~Vicki