Category: Internet

The World Beyond Google

May 27, 2025July 31, 2025 Andrew Comeau

There’s a popular list of alternative search engines being circulated on Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites. The posts usually start with the words “Google is so powerful that it ‘hides’ other search systems from us …”. I was trying to find it the other day for a friend and it’s obviously so widespread that Google’s…

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Internet, Resources

Leaving Facebook

April 6, 2022March 29, 2024 Andrew Comeau

I decided to pause my use of Facebook for the month of April and see what happens. This is a little background on my decision.

Commentary, Internet

A Couple of Notes on Cloud Computing

May 11, 2016November 9, 2022 Andrew Comeau

Years ago, when I was making do with the limited computer equipment that I could afford, I never dreamed that I would one day be able to login to a website, plug in a few specs about the machine I wanted and then, a few minutes later, log into that machine remotely and run whatever programs I needed to. Yet, that’s exactly what today’s cloud computing resources enable me to do.

Hardware, Internet, Resources

Why I’m Still On Facebook

November 26, 2014March 29, 2024 Andrew Comeau

Yesterday, I received an e-mail notice of yet another change to Facebook’s privacy policy and finally decided to pull the trigger on something I’d been itching to do for a little while. Around mid-day, I posted the following status update… Once again, I’m reducing my presence on Facebook and trimming the Friends List. If you find…

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Commentary, Internet

8 Questions to Ask When Starting Your Meetup Group

October 29, 2014June 16, 2025 Andrew Comeau

Updated July 29, 2019

Introduction

Unlike much of social media, sites such as Meetup.com and EventBrite actually focus on bringing people together in person and helping them find other like-minded people they might never have met otherwise. These sites provide a set of tools that make it easy for you to bring a group of people together and continuously promote that group. For people moving to another area or developing new interests, it’s easier to find new friends by looking up local meetups they might like to join.

My Background

Several months after joining Meetup.com, I checked out a new programmer’s meetup group in Gainesville, Florida, Frontend Awesome. Ocala had no active computer clubs at the time and I’d been thinking of ways to put together an organization of some kind for local I.T. experts, independent programmers and others in the field. That’s when I made the connection and decided to do it through Meetup.com. In February 2014, I started the Ocala I.T. Professionals, a meetup dedicated to providing a forum for local I.T. enthusiasts.

Articles, Internet

Finally! Stop Facebook Videos from Playing Automatically …

October 21, 2014January 4, 2015 Andrew Comeau

A few months ago, Facebook introduced that “cool” new feature where videos your friends posted would automatically start playing as soon as you scrolled to them on your newsfeed. I don’t know why they thought this was a good idea or if it was part of their philosophy that people are incapable of choosing what…

How-to, Internet

Learning a New Language Online

July 11, 2014April 29, 2024 Andrew Comeau

Learning a new language has always been a challenging task whether you’re satisfying a class requirement in school, moving to a new country or adding a new language for work or recreation. The fact is that we take years to become proficient with our first languages from the time we’re learning to recognize language as infants through the time when we’re able to string sentences together as we reach school age. The expectations are much higher with a second or third language as most people would not want to take three or four years to be able to speak basic sentences and longer to communicate effectively in writing.

Articles, Education, Internet, Resources

Covert Redirect bug (OAuth / OpenID) – What you need to know …

May 2, 2014November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

“… it’s not easy to fix, and any effective remedies would negatively impact the user experience. Just another example that Web security is fundamentally broken and the powers that be have little incentive to address the inherent flaws.”
– Jeremiah Grossman, founder and interim CEO at WhiteHat Security

List of site affected. — CNET / Wang Jin

If you visit a lot of different websites, you’ve probably seen some that allow you to login using your Facebook or Google accounts. This is meant to make it easier for everyone; you don’t have to create a new account and remember a separate password and the site owners don’t have to maintain their own membership system.

Unfortunately, there’s a security flaw in the software that enables websites to accept your login information from other sites. Just like with the Heartbleed bug, this is in open-source software used by a number of popular websites. This time, it’s the OAuth and OpenID software and the bug enables “phishing” sites, websites that are specifically designed to get people’s personal information usually by mimicking reputable sites, to grab the Facebook / Google / etc. login information that you enter and then redirect you to a malicious website. This could enable the hackers to get a fair amount of your information or even take over your accounts on the legitimate sites.

Internet

The Heartbleed Bug – What You Need to Know Now

April 14, 2014November 8, 2022 Andrew Comeau

One week ago, it was announced that a new security threat had been discovered on the Internet, one that has affected many of the most commonly used sites such as Facebook and Instagram. This threat, known as the Heartbleed bug, was discovered by a member of Google’s security team and researchers from a company called Codenomicon which subsequently named and publicized the bug in order to prompt affected sites to apply the needed fixes.

Not surprisingly, there was a lot of immediate confusion, hysteria and misinformation making the rounds. Now that the dust has settled a little, here is what you as an Internet user still need to know in order to keep your information safe.

Internet