It’s also important to remember that by default, Facebook wants to make you a very social person and wants you to share share share. If you aren’t comfortable with that, it’s time to get into your privacy settings and get busy. Look at the top right-hand corner of your Timeline for the upside down triangle, click it, select Privacy Settings, and let’s go.

How You Connect. This is where you decide who is able to look you up on your Timeline by your name or your contact information, as well as who can send you friend requests, Facebook messages, and post on your Timeline. Decide between Everyone/Friends of Friends/Friends.

How Tags Work. You have the power to determine what happens when someone wants to tag you in a photo, post, or Check-In. Allow it anytime, or get notified on a per tag basis if you want to decide before manually allowing or denying the tagging. Handy if you don’t want pictures a friend took of you dancing drunkenly on a bar finding their way to your Timeline, or if you don’t want people knowing exactly where you are or where you were.

Apps and Websites. This is where you decide how to edit your settings for what is shared on applications and websites. By default Facebook wants you be social and share a lot here, so if you aren’t comfortable, it may be best to stay away from most of these. Under this header, you’ll want to decide whether or not you want to enable the Public Search function. This controls if people can see a preview of your Timeline from search engines.

Limit the Audience for Past Posts. If you overshared in the past and want to try to clean the slate a bit, go here. Any content you shared with Friends of Friends or Public will change to Friends only. I’m not sure how effective this is, because once a post is out there it’s out there, but it can’t hurt if you are seriously cleaning house.

Blocked People or Apps. Go here if you want to keep certain people far, far away from you and your Timeline, or if you want to make sure you are never bothered with another application request.

Clean Up Your Timeline. When you make the big switch from the old profile page to the Timeline, Facebook gives you a couple weeks to clean house. Do it. Facebook takes it upon itself to post various pictures and posts from recent years – many of which you may not want to see making a reoccurrence. All you need to do is go through and if you want something gone, click in the upper right-hand corner and either hide it from your Timeline or delete it entirely.

Miscellaneous Tips. You decide how much you want to share with each and every post too – just hover and click in the upper right-hand corner and select. You can click in the upper right-hand corner of other people’s posts as well to decide if you want to see all updates from that person, most of them, or only the important ones. You can also unsubscribe completely from someone’s status updates – which I am sure will come in handy during this election year with any friends you have that are highly opinionated and don’t share your views.

Have you made the switch to the new Timeline yet?

A recent example of bad behavior came in the form of a YouTube video that went viral. The father, Tommy Jordan, was updating his daughter’s laptop when he came across some highly negative items on his daughter’s Facebook page about himself and the girl’s mother. While I in no way condone her behavior online, it’s what he did in response that I find completely disturbing and unacceptable. He takes the time to sit down — cigarette in hand — to make a video reading the post from his daughter, addressing each point. Then, after he finishes doling out her punishment, he proceeds to take his gun and shoot her laptop ten times.

Comments from people who have viewed the video ranged from total support given to the dad – many of these people are dealing with raising teenagers themselves and cheered him on. Many expressed the desire to do the very same thing to their own disrespectful offspring. Others – myself included – could not have been more disgusted at the immature and childish video response to the Facebook posting.

Of course the daughter was not being respectful posting her rant about her parents. She didn’t want him to see it, he was snooping. She didn’t take responsibility for her behavior and she should have realized that posting something means you can’t take it back. But her father’s reaction – demanding she respect him and her mother, couldn’t have been more off the mark. The way he responded lets me know that he doesn’t respect his daughter either. If he respected her and had always treated her as such, she would have grown up with respect for him and her mother as well, and it would have showed in her actions – no matter how much teen angst she was going through at the time. Demanding respect just because you are the parent doesn’t work.

Ironically, Jordan agrees with the “what you put out there stays out there forever” sentiment, although that didn’t stop him from his own bad behavior. Here’s what he had to say: “We’ve always told her that what you put online can affect you forever,” he said. “She’s seen first-hand through this video the worst possible scenario that can happen. One post, made by her Dad, will probably follow him the rest of his life; just like those mean things she said on Facebook will stick with the people her words hurt for a long time to come. Once you put it out there, you can’t take it back, so think carefully before you use the Internet to broadcast your thoughts and feelings.”

It’s the parent’s responsibility to set an example in everything for their children – online behavior included. Applauding this man’s bad example doesn’t do anything positive. His video certainly won’t help his relationship with his daughter. Playing out your issues with your child over the Internet is  terrible judgment — too bad he didn’t take his own advice.

Have you seen the video yet? Check it out here and tell us what you think.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This little trick can get you through any number of jams. I can often be found using it for my printer, computer, tablet, phone, wireless router, Blu-Ray player, you name it — I reboot it.

Almost every little quirky problem is solved by simply rebooting the device. Why does this work just about every single time? When you open and close programs or apps sometimes they may not close all the way. It could even leave some files in a temp directory that it meant to close as it exited.

Sometimes, the device is just tired. It’s like when you go to sleep at night — your entire body shuts down for the night and (hopefully) you wake up refreshed and ready to attack the day. It is the process of just turning everything off and turning it back on again that can give something new energy and life.

So the next time you are struggling with an error message, or something just isn’t working quite right…. REBOOT!

These days it’s not only people hacking into your accounts that we need to think about — just think of how easily computers can do the job. Now think of all the things you do online every day. Between your work and personal life — you are probably online constantly. Online banking, social media, and shopping sites all require secure logins and passwords. It’s not safe to use the same password for each site — if that password is compromised your world can quickly crash down around you. Yet the only secure password is probably one you’ll never, ever be able to remember — much less remember several for all of your accounts. And no, please don’t write them down on multiple sticky-notes — that isn’t safe either.

The best way to deal with the password dilemma is to download a password manager. Chica Password Manager does all the heavy lifting for you — the password generator automatically creates long and strong, hard-to-crack passwords. No more sitting around trying to think of something to use beside your cat’s name. Not only that — it stores all your logins, passwords and personal information in a secure, encrypted database. All you need to remember is one Master Password. Your password-protected sites are remembered and you’ll be automatically logged in. Easy-peasy on your part — yet your passwords and personal information are fully safe, secure and protected.

Download a free 30 day trial of Chica Password Manager and check out the nifty features for yourself. I’m pretty sure this holiday still warrants going out for drinks after work though.

You guessed it – there’s an app to find your Girl Scout Cookie connection! The Official Girl Scouts of the USA Cookie Finder (sounds impressive, doesn’t it?) It uses GPS to show you cookie sales going on near you, so you can easily track down a Scout to purchase cookies from. You can sort findings by date, radius, or view them on a map – deciding how far you’re willing to travel for those cookies.

You can’t feel too guilty in indulging: this only happens once a year. Buying Girl Scout Cookies also supports Girl Scouts – “To Help Girls Do Great Things”.  How else are you going to get your fix for Thin Mints…Tagalongs…Samoas? Think of this app as GPS for cookies. And of course, it’s social too – you can share you cookie location findings with others by e-mail,  posting to Facebook or Tweeting.

The app also has all sorts of information about sales around the country, start and end dates of local cookie seasons, and other nifty stuff – like voting for your favorite variety. But let’s face it: just tell us where the cookies are!

Official Girl Scouts of the USA Cookie Finder Application – Free for iPhone, iTouch, and IPad.

It’s not that surprising to me that couples do this despite the obvious risks. Many couples are trying to prove they have nothing to hide from the other person. A recent Pew Internet study reported that 30 percent – nearly one-third of teenagers have shared an online password with a friend, a girlfriend, or boyfriend. The study concluded that “while some passwords may be guarded by some youth, password sharing among peers can be a sign of trust and intimacy”.

My friend isn’t a teenager, but he was in love and didn’t see anything wrong with sharing that Facebook login. No one ever thinks they are going to break up, get divorced, or meet someone new, but it happens. If a jilted person has your email, online banking or Facebook passwords,  they can do major damage too daunting to even think about.

It’s important to keep your passwords private. It’s also up to us to explain to our children the importance of this, as well as the possible repercussions if they don’t. Let your children see you taking responsible steps to protect your own identity. Download a password manager like Chica Password Manager to keep all your logins, passwords and personal information encrypted and safe, and encourage your child to do the same when they get their own Facebook and other accounts. It’s important for them to learn from the start that they, and they alone, are responsible for safeguarding their personal information.

Have you ever shared your password?

Emma is a new way to make online dealings a little more comfortable for both parties involved. It’s like a friendly Craigslist – it’s a social marketplace where you can trade, swap, buy – find a carpool or rideshare, a new roommate, you name it. Even find a date! You access it with your Facebook account, so each party can feel they know a little more about whom they are dealing with. Facebook access also allows you to share your listings with others who may be interested in them.

The bidding process is easy. There are two parties involved – the listing owner who creates what is to be bid on – and the bidder. Listing owners start by choosing a specific category for their item/service, enter all the details, and then wait for potential bidders to find them. The bidders go through the listings and if something catches their eye, they can click on it. The listing owner will then be able to view the bidder’s profile, and send their own profile back. Listing owner can easily accept or decline bids — making the whole online market experience faster. It’s also more organized — you can click on the top to see all of your own listings, bids you’ve made and more.

Go to www.emma.com to learn even more about Emma, or download the free iPhone app.

Would you try Emma?

ChicaLogic is looking for female bloggers to review our newest software, Chica Password Manager, the password manager and form filler designed by women, for women. We would love to have you review our software and host a giveaway to your readers. Each blogger who completes a review receives:

• Posting of your review on ChicaLogic.com, and a link to your website to learn more
• $50 payment for review and hosting giveaway (paid via PayPal)
• Complimentary Product Key for yourself, and a total of (3) Product Keys to give away on your site, valued at $29.95 each
• Posting of your review (teaser statement) on ChicaLogic’s customer review page, Facebook, and Twitter

In exchange we ask that our guest bloggers/reviewers complete the following:

• Provide a minimum 100 word review of Chica Password Manager. Content should include links to ChicaLogic.com
• Post the review on your blog site, Facebook, and Twitter
• Host a giveaway for three FREE Product Keys of Chica Password Manager for a minimum of (30) days on blog site

Please let Angela Mullen angela@chicalogic.com know if you are interested, and you will be contacted and given additional details ASAP!

Ultrabooks are slim, lightweight laptops – but they are loaded with powerful hardware. Think MacBook Air – but Ultrabooks are PC’s. It’s like a hybrid, combining the best features of a tablet and a laptop – lightweight and portable like a tablet with data processing capability similar to a laptop.

Ultrabooks all have thin cases, Core i5 processors, solid-state drives, regular keyboards and single-button touchpads. Prices are mainly in the $1,000 range, which puts them higher than many people want to spend on PC’s. But if they pack the punch they are promising, that could quickly change.  Claudine Mangano of Intel stated that more than 75 ultrabook models are expected to be manufactured and shipped this year. Companies working with Intel on these ultrabook models include Samsung, Hewlett-Packart (HP), Dell, and Lenovo. Here’s a quick low-down on what the buzz was all about at CES – the ultrabooks that stood out the most.

Samsung Series 9. One of the higher end and thinnest models, the Samsung Series 9 is one of the most expensive too, starting at $1399. Made of aluminum, it also has a bright, impressive 13 inch display, and comes with more premium specs that the others.

HP Envy 14 Spectre. Also higher end, and a bit thicker than the Samsung because it’s made with Gorilla Glass. The glass also makes it a huge fingerprint magnet.

Dell XPS 13. Dell’s model is at the lower end of the market – starting at $999, but it’s still lightweight and thin like the higher-end models. It also has the 13 inch display, but not with as high of a resolution as the others.

Lenova Yoga. This one is not available until most likely Fall, but it’s definitely one of the most interesting models. In addition to the usual ultrabook features, the Yoga can bend into different positions (hence it’s name). You can fold it over into a tablet, and even “tent” it for viewing. It will run the touch-friendly Windows 8 platform.

What do you think of the new ultrabooks?

Two new hacking attempts are on the Facebook horizon. The most important thing to realize is many scams look completely legitimate, so you always need to be aware of existing scams and as always — be careful what you click on. Here’s what to look out for now:

Remove Timeline from Your Facebook Profile Scam. Timeline is something that is being slowly rolled out throughout Facebook, and will become permanent. Some of us are not that thrilled with the new layout, which gives hackers a great “in” to use to take our dissatisfaction into an opportunity to spread malware. That being said, if you are sent a link that promises to delete your timeline for you and return you to the old style profile, don’t click on it. It will attempt to get you to click on files, watch YouTube videos or install plug-ins, claiming the removal of Timeline in 24 hours – giving your computer a bunch of malware if you click.

Change the Color of Your Profile. This is the newest Facebook scam, and seems innocent enough – why not change your profile to a fun new color, like pink? It comes to you as an invitation to click on — and of course — share with all your friends. But if you click on these links you help spread the scam around.

Did you accidentally click on one of these links? Take immediate steps for damage control. Download the free version of ChicaPC-Shield and run a quick scan to see if your computer has been infected. ChicaPC-Shield will find and destroy any malware it finds.

Did you fall prey do these or any other Facebook scams?