Why more teens are quitting Facebook

Teenagers are turning their back on Facebook 'in their droves' and switching to simpler social networks and messaging apps, new research has found. Not only are 16-18 year olds moving on to rivals such as Snapchat, Whatsapp and evenTwitter, teens are embarrassed to be so much as associated with Facebook, as their parents adopt the network, researchers said.

"Where once parents worried about their children joining Facebook, the children now say it is their family that insists they stay there to post about their lives," said Daniel Miller, a professor of Anthropology at University College London, who works on the Global Social Media Impact Study.

"Parents have worked out how to use the site and see it as a way for the family to remain connected. In response, the young are moving on tocooler things," he said. "What we've learned from working with 16-18 year olds in the UK is that Facebook is not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried," he added. Miller, writing on academic news website the Conversation, added that the research found that "slick isn't always best" as even the teenagers that took part in the study admitted that Facebook is technically better than its rivals.

"It is more integrated, better for photo albums, organizing parties and more effective for observing people's relationships," he said, yet other factors are much more important to teens —namely the fact they are likely to get a friend request from their mum on Facebook. "You just can't be young and free if you know your parents can access your every indiscretion," he said.

"It is nothing new that young people care about style and status in relation to their peers, and Facebook is simply not cool anymore." Instead, rather than using the network to communicate with each other, teens use Facebook as a link to older family and older siblings who have gone to university.

How sites like YouTube are dealing with nasty commenters

Mix blatant bigotry with poor spelling. Add a dash of ALL CAPS. Top it off with a violent threat. And there you have it: A recipe for the worst of online comments, scourge of the internet.

Blame anonymity, blame politicians, blame human nature. But a growing number of websites are reining in the Wild West of online commentary. Companies including Google and the Huffington Post are trying everything from deploying moderators to forcing people to use their real names in order to restore civil discourse. Some sites, such as Popular Science, are banning comments altogether.

The efforts put sites in a delicate position. User comments add a lively, fresh feel to videos, stories and music. And, of course, the longer visitors stay to read the posts, and the more they come back, the more a site can charge for advertising.

What websites don't want is the kind of off-putting nastiness that spewed forth under a recent CNN.com article about the Affordable Care Act.

"If it were up to me, you progressive libs destroying this country would be hanging from the gallows for treason. People are awakening though. If I were you, I'd be very afraid," wrote someone using the name "JBlaze."

YouTube, which is owned by Google, has long been home to some of the Internet's most juvenile and grammatically incorrect comments. The site caused a stir last month when it began requiring people to log into Google Plus to write a comment. Besides herding users to Google's unified network, the company says the move is designed to raise the level of discourse in the conversations that play out under YouTube videos.

One such video, a Cheerios commercial featuring an interracial family, met with such a barrage of racist responses on YouTube in May that General Mills shut down comments on it altogether.

"Starting this week, when you're watching a video on YouTube, you'll see comments sorted by people you care about first," wrote YouTube product manager Nundu Janakiram and principal engineer Yonatan Zunger in a blog post announcing the changes. "If you post videos on your channel, you also have more tools to moderate welcome and unwelcome conversations. This way, YouTube comments will become conversations that matter to you."

Anonymity has always been a major appeal of online life. Two decades ago, The New Yorker magazine ran a cartoon with a dog sitting in front of a computer, one paw on the keyboard. The caption read: "On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog." At its best, anonymity allows people to speak freely without repercussions. It allows whistle blowers and protesters to espouse unpopular opinions. At its worst, it allows people to spout off without repercussions. It gives trolls and bullies license to pick arguments, threaten and abuse.

But anonymity has been eroding in recent years. On the internet, many people may know not only your name, but also your latest musings, the songs you've listened to, your job history, who your friends are and even the brand of soap you prefer.

"It's not so much that our offline lives are going online, it's that our offline and online lives are more integrated," says Mark Lashley, a professor of communications at La Salle University in Philadelphia. Facebook, which requires people to use their real names, played a big part in the seismic shift.

"The way the Web was developed, it was unique in that the avatar and the handle were always these things people used to go by. It did develop into a Wild West situation," he says, adding that it's no surprise that Google and other companies are going this route. "As more people go online and we put more of our lives online, we should be held accountable for things we say."

Nearly three-quarters of teens and young adults think people are more likely to use discriminatory language online or in text messages than in face to face conversations, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and MTV. The poll didn't distinguish between anonymous comments and those with real identities attached.

The Huffington Post is also clamping down on vicious comments. In addition to employing 40 human moderators who sift through readers' posts for racism, homophobia, hate speech and the like, the AOL-owned news site is also chipping away at anonymous commenting. Previously, anyone could respond to an article posted on the site by creating an account, without tying it to an email address. This fall, HuffPo began requiring people to verify their identity by connecting their accounts to an email address, but that didn't appear to be enough and the site now also asks commenters to log in using a verified Facebook account.

"We are reaching a place where the internet is growing up," says Jimmy Soni, managing editor of HuffPo. "These changes represent a maturing (online) environment."

Soni says the changes have already made a difference in the quality of the comments. The lack of total anonymity, while not a failsafe method, offers people a "gut check moment," he says. There have been "significantly fewer things that we would not be able to share with our mothers," in the HuffPo comments section since the change, Soni says.

Newspapers are also turning toward regulated comments. Of the largest 137 US newspapers - those with daily circulation above 50,000 - nearly 49% ban anonymous commenting, according to Arthur Santana, assistant communications professor at the University of Houston. Nearly 42% allow anonymity, while 9% do not have comments at all.

Curbing anonymity doesn't always help. Plenty of people are fine attaching their names and Facebook profiles to poorly spelled outbursts that live on long after their fury has passed.

In some cases, sites have gone further. Popular Science, the 141-year-old science and technology magazine, stopped allowing comments of any kind on its news articles in September.

While highlighting responses to articles about climate change and abortion, Popular Science online editor Suzanne LaBarre announced the change and explained in a blog post that comments can be "bad for science."

Because "comments sections tend to be a grotesque reflection of the media culture surrounding them, the cynical work of undermining bedrock scientific doctrine is now being done beneath our own stories," wrote LaBarre.

We can't wait to see the response to this story.

Finding Serial keys

How to Find SERIAL KEYS from Google:

steps:-

1) go to google.com

2) write the name of the software you want key and add 94FBR at the end.
Eg :- if you want to find key of IDM then write
"IDM 94FBR " (without quotes)

3) search it and you will find many sites with serial keys of that softwares

DONE !!!!

How to modify or remove your online presence

Applying for a new job? Maybe you're about to tie the knot! You may have several reasons for removing certain parts or all of your online presence from websites and search engines. ET shows you how: 

Facebook 

Removing Individual Posts 

You can remove individual status updates/comments by clicking the drop down arrow on the top right corner of your update and selecting delete. For photographs posted by you, open the image, click on Options and select "Delete This Photo''. 

It becomes tougher when you want to delete a photo uploaded by someone else. In most cases, a friendly removal request to the uploader should work. If not, open the image, click options and select Remove/Report Tag. A pop-up box will guide you. 

Delete The Account 

By default, Facebook does not give you the option to delete your account completely. Instead, you can deactivate your account by going to Settings > Security. Deactivating the account hides you profile and prevents people from find you. However, if you choose to join back, your account will get reactivated when you login with the same username and password as before. To completely delete your Facebook account, you need to fill out an online form. Facebook gives you the option to download a copy of your info to your computer before you do this. Login to your Facebook account and open www. facebook.com/help/delete_account. 

LinkedIn 

Sign in to Linkedin and from Account & Settings select Privacy & Settings. Scroll down and click on the Account section — here, on the right side, you will see the option to "Close your Account". Linkedin will ask for a reason for the account closure request and once you submit a reason your account will be removed. Keep in mind that once you delete your Linkedin account, your entire profile, all your connections and all recommendations will be removed. Linkedin advises that your public profile which is visible via a search engine, might take a few days to disappear. 

Google 

A Google account not only offers access to Gmail but various other services including maps, calendar, Google+, YouTube, Picasa and so on. Your Google account is also intricately linked with your Android phone (and it includes details of any apps you have purchased from the Play Store — deleting an account means that any paid apps will be forfeited. If you want to dowmload any of those paid apps again, you will have to pay again). 

If you want to remove your account completely, head to your Google Account (http://accounts. google. com) and click on Data Tools. On this page, in the Account management section, you get option to delete just your Google+ profile, your entire Google account and other associated services/products. You could also choose to remove specific products. If you or someone else accidentally deletes your account, Google allows you to restore everything for a limited time (unspecified) after deletion. 

Twitter 

Your Tweets 

If you go to www. twitter.com and sign in (as opposed to third-party apps or phones), you'll see a delete button near each tweet you send. If you're using third-party apps, browser extensions or add-ons to tweet, you may have to look for delete option. However, no matter where you tweet from, the delete button on twitter.com will remain. 

 

Delete The Account 

Removing a Twitter account is simple — head to www. twitter.com/settings/account and sign-in to your account. Scroll to the bottom and click on 'Deactivate my Account'. On the page that opens, click on the Deactivate button. Keep in mind that Twitter first disables your account for 30 days. If you login to your account within 30 days, the account will be reactivated. 

Search Engine Results 

Tougher Than You Think 

Removing search results are tricky. Search engines only point to content from various websites. This means that even if you manage to remove a search result, the content on the website will still remain — searchable by other search engines like GigaBlast or Volunia. Luckily, Google offers several help pages and tips on how to remove unwanted search results, photos and other personal information. 

A Google section called 'Manage your online reputation' will guide you. In case of Bing, search for 'Bing Content Removal Tool' while Yahoo provides an online form for the same. According to comScore, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft remain the largest English search engines — so if you successfully manage to remove content from these three, most of your work is done. 

Don't hesitate to directly contact the search engines when you want to take down your copyright content, if you find your financial information (like credit card numbers) or content that personally defames you. 

Justdelete.me 

Apart from the popular ones, you may have also registered with several other websites over the years (for newsletters, online shopping or even to post a comment). Head to www. justdelete.me to instantly find out how hard it is to delete your account with them — green labels are the easiest, red are hard and the black labelled websites have accounts that cannot be deleted. One of the tools available on the site is a fake identity generator — especially useful for random websites that require all sorts of info like birthdate, address and user description. 

Accountkiller.com 

At www. accountkiller.com, you can get to-the-point instructions on how to remove your account and/or public profile from many popular websites, blogs and networks. It's all listed alphabetically but you can also search for the ones you want. In most cases, they also provide a direct link that provides more info on account deletion or a simple 'Delete Account' button. Everything is free and you don't need to sign up with account killer either. 

But You Cannot Delete 

News Articles/Interviews 

If your name has been mentioned in a news article or in an interview on a website/blog, it cannot be removed unless you have been quoted incorrectly. 

Comments 

Reviews/comments on a website's comment section cannot be deleted by you. You can request the admin to remove them, but they are unlikely to comply without a good reason. 

Photographs 

Photos posted online by someone else (friends, family or colleagues) in which you are visible, cannot be removed by you. You can 'un-tag' yourself in certain cases though.

Galaxy Grand 2's India launch date, price leaked

Within a fortnight of launching the Galaxy Duos 2, Samsung is set to unveil its Galaxy Grand 2 phablet in India. The device is the successor to the Galaxy Grand that was launched earlier this year and was a big hit in the country. It has a larger screen, more RAM and bigger battery than its predecessor.

The company will unveil the handset at an event in Mumbai on December 23. It is running a promotion #EverydayGrand campaign on Twitter ahead of the device's launch. Media reports suggest that the model will be priced between Rs 19,000 and Rs 21,000.

The all-new Galaxy Grand 2 has a 5.25-inch HD screen and 1.2GHz quad-core processor. It comes with 8GB internal storage, up to 64GB microSD card support and 1.5GB RAM. On the back, it has an 8MP camera with LED flash and sports a 1.9MP camera in front.

Connectivity suite of Galaxy Grand 2 includes 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It is powered by a 2,600mAh battery and the company claims that it can provide talk time of 17 hours. The phone will be available in white, black and pink colours in the market.

Some of the proprietary apps that come preinstalled in Galaxy Grand 2 are Story Album, S Translator, S Travel, Sound & Shot, Samsung Hub, Samsung Link and Group Play.

This phablet will compete against the likes of Sony Xperia C, LG G Pro Lite and Micromax Canvas Turbo, along with its sibling Galaxy Grand Duos.

​Samsung Galaxy S5 may have diamond coating: Report

Samsung's next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, could sport a new exterior featuring a scratch-resistant coating with a diamond-like material. 

Samsung is testing a new technology called the "diamond metal surface treatment" that involves diamond material being coated onto the metal case surface of the phone, as per a report by South Korean publication ET News. 

The report points out the external design of Galaxy S5 is likely to be changed to a great extent. The process will make the phone's exterior less vulnerable to scratches and deformation. 

It adds that Samsung could expose carbon material to high temperature and high pressure turning it into powder or liquid. It could then be coated on the surface of the metal case of the phone. The metal surface could be treated with nano materials or convert it into paint to coat over the surface. 

However, it is worth pointing out that the company is expected to launch the Galaxy S5 in the first quarter of 2013. So it is unlikely it will be able to adopt this technology at a mass level so soon. 

Another report by Digitimes cites "Taiwan-based chassis makers" to report that Samsung may or may not adopt a metal design for the Galaxy S5 as there's no sign of mass production, and that the South Korean electronics giant is still introspecting on the matter. 

Other rumoured features of Samsung Galaxy S5 include iris recognition for security, a QHD (2560x1440p) screen, a 64-bit processor, 5.25-inch touchscreen, 16MP Isocell camera and Android 4.4 operating system.

World's first phone with 2K resolution launched

Chinese manufacturer  Vivo has pipped the likes of Samsung and LG to launch the world's first smartphone with 2K (2560x1440p) resolution, named Xplay 3S. This phone's screen has more pixels than the current crop of 1080p displays, making text, videos, images etc clearer and sharper.

The new Vivo Xplay 3S's 6-inch display has pixel density of 490ppi, which is higher than the 469ppi (the highest pixel density before this launch) of HTC One. Other features of Xplay 3S are also top end, such as 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset, 3GB RAM and 13MP rear camera. It also has a 5MP camera in front and comes with an app called Photo+ that features augmented reality functionalities and shares video on the cloud.

The phone is powered by a customized version of Android, named Funtouch OS. Other features of Vivo Xplay 3S include 32GB built-in storage, 3,200mAh battery and metallic bezel. The phone weighs 172gram, measures 4.95mm at its thinnest point and comes with a fingerprint scanner.

The manufacturer has included several audio technologies in the phone, such as TI OPA2604 amplifier and ESS Technology ES9018 DAC. Its DTS Headphones:X technology supports 7.1 and 11.1 surround sound effect.

Vivo is also the company behind the world's thinnest smartphone, X3, which is just 5.75mm thick.

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S5 smartphone is also rumoured to feature 2K resolution. Earlier this year, LG unveiled its 2K resolution display panel that is likely to be used in future smartphones. Chinese manufacturer Oppo has also announced that its upcoming Find 7 handset will have 2K screen resolution.

Wipro launches online programme for students

Indian IT bellwether   Wipro unveiled an online programme to train undergraduate students in finance and accounts to enhance their job skills in both subjects, the company said Wednesday. 

"We have started imparting skills online to final year students of commerce and business administration in select degree colleges across Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad to enhance their employability in finance and accounting," Wipro back office global head Subhasish Biswas said in a statement here. 

The online course has been designed in two parts - basics of finance and accounting and corporate readiness training. 

Successful students will be certified after assessing their skills for a placement in the global software major. 

The 24-hour programme consists of modules, which give students flexibility to work over two months along with their graduation course. 

The course modules are in a video-based PowerPoint presentation format to understand the concepts. 

"As we need readily employable workforce, our expertise in training delivery in the services sector enabled us to create a platform for graduating students to pursue a rewarding career in finance and accounts," Biswas said. 

Wipro's business process outsourcing (BPO) division has partnered with Firstnaukri.com to promote the initiative and allow the job portal to host the online module and distribute it to colleges with which it has tie-up across the country. 

"Indian businesses are struggling to recruit youth with right technical and soft skill sets. It is becoming imperative for companies to focus on skill development and employability of youth entering workforce," Firstnaukri.com business head Deepali Singh said in the statement.

Facebook launches ‘dislike‘ button for Messenger

 Facebook has updated its Messenger app that includes a 'dislike' button. 

However, the 'dislike' option is only available on the desktop and mobile versions ofFacebook Messenger, Fox News reports. The dislike button is not available for the newsfeed and cannot be used in statuses and other posts. 

In order to access the new sticker pack, users will have to download it from the Sticker Store inside the Messenger app. 

While a "like" sticker was already available on Facebook Messenger, the new set of finger stickers was added only now, after having been created during a hackaton that took place this fall.

Facebook is said to be mulling launching a 'sympathize' button.

How Nexus Android is different from other Androids

While Google uses a fairly straight-forward edition of Android on its own Nexus-branded devices, other smartphone makers can add their own apps and customize the interface to better suit their hardware; wireless carriers may add their own modifications as well. 

Google's own "pure" version of Android may run a bit smoother and faster because there is less tinkering. 

However, it may not offer certain features offered by another phone maker or carrier, like a more advanced camera app. When shopping, be sure to check the software offerings as well as the hardware specifications for the models you are considering. 

Because there are no third-party alterations to the system, Android updates for Google's Nexus line tend to roll out more quickly than updates from other hardware makers and wireless carriers, which need to update or enhance their own modifications on top of Google's changes for the new version. These companies also handle technical support for their own Android-based devices, while Google supports the Nexus phones and tablets. 

If you do not care for the Nexus hardware choices, some companies like HTC and Samsung offer "Google Play Editions" of their popular phones that feature the stock edition of Android — and get system updates more quickly than other models. The Moto X and Moto G phones from Motorola Mobility (a company owned by Google) also feature a fairly unmodified version of Android with quicker access to system updates.

Gmail to finally display images

Google's Gmail service will finally show images by default in emails. The company has done this by serving all the images users receive on its own proxy servers, instead of serving them from external host servers.

According to Google, this will improve the email experience without compromising security. In a post on the official Gmail blog, the company said: "Your messages are more safe and secure, your images are checked for known viruses or malware."

LG Gx with 5.5-inch screen makes debut

Korean electronic giant LG has expanded its G series portfolio. The company has launched LG Gx smartphone featuring a 5.5 inch full HD screen at an event in South Korea. 

LG Gx runs on quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor and is powered by Google's Android Jelly Bean operating system. The device, which appears to be similar to LG Pro, boasts of a 13MP autofocus camera at the back and a 2.1MP camera in the front. 

LG Gx packs 32GB of onboard storage and 2GB RAM. The device comes with 3140 mAh battery. Connectivity options include LTE/HSPA/EV-DO, 2.6GHz broadband LTE support, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0 and NFC. 

Many of the apps on the new phone are same as those found on LG G2 and LG GPro like KnockON, Pause, Smart Day, Media Time, Smart Memo and QRemote. LG Gx will be available in black and white colours. 

So far, there are no details available about LG Gx's international availability and pricing. 

Recently, LG launched its curved screen smartphone G Flex and OLED TV in India. G Flex made its debut in October, however, its sales were restricted to South Korea only. It is the second smartphone in the world to have a curved screen, next only to Samsung Galaxy Round. This handset has a 6-inch flexible OLED screen that is curved along the horizontal axis. The phone's 3,500mAh battery is also curved.

Want to check your password’s strength? Try this

Got a secure password? You may have to rethink! 

US software giant Microsoft has developed a new online tool that tells you how vulnerable your passwords may be, helping you choose better passwords in the future. 

The tool 'Telepasswords' tries to predict the next character of your passwords by using knowledge of: common passwords, such as those made public as a result of security breaches, common phrases and common password-selection behaviors. 

The new project from Microsoft Research has a simple premise: you start typing one of your favourite passwords in its little text box, and it tries to guess what the next character is. 

"To guess the next character you will type, we send the characters you have already typed to query our prediction engine. The prediction engine uses a database of common passwords and phrases that is too large for us send to your computer," the project website said. 

To measure how much of an effect Telepathwords has on your behaviour, the tool also sends and maintains a log of your mouse movements and the timings of when characters are added to or removed from your password. 

"This log does not contain the actual characters you type, but it does indicate whether each character was among those predicted by Telepathwords," the project website said. 

Telepathwords uses a log for research intended to increase its understanding of how users choose passwords and how to help them choose better passwords in the future.

Buyhatke.com, one portal for all e-commerce websites

Two IIT Kharagpur students, Gaurav Dahake and Prashant Singh, in the final term of their course last year were checking out a few e-commerce sites to buy an iPod for their friend's birthday. But it wasn't a comfortable experience. The more they surfed the more they were at a loss.

Different sites showed different prices, discounts and delivery time. There was no way of easily coming to a decision. Finally, they ordered one, only to learn later that the product would take five days to arrive, well after the birthday. They also realized that when they placed the order, they were not aware of another site which offered the product Rs 300 less. The experience set the two thinking on the need turn online shopping into a hassle-free experience.

Explains Dahake, "It's not easy to find out the best deal while shopping online. We felt every buyer should be able to know all the e-commerce sites that offered the product and the prices they offered."

A website, Buyhatke.com, was their solution. With a designer, Srikanth Sethumadhavan from their campus, and a monthly sum of Rs 8,000 the IIT gave each of them in their final year, the work on Buyhatke.com began. "People are not only price sensitive, they also don't have the time to hop back and forth many sites. We cover all products from baby care to books to electronic goods. There are 47 e-commerce sites, including all the major ones, on board. When you search for a product, you get to know every possible site that offers it," says Dahake.

"In January this year, the site was getting about 5,000 visitors every month. That number has gone up to a million visitors monthly," he says. The revenues come from affiliate sites, advertisements and exclusive home page listing for retailers. Dahake says the sites are selected after due diligence and they are constantly reviewed based on performance and consumer feedback. The team has also created a Chrome extension that helps buyers get the best price by comparing across portals. It also set price alerts.

There is a separate portal for mobiles 'compare-mobiles.buyhatke.com' which helps a non-tech savvy consumer to decide which model will be a better choice. There is also a separate portal for books which allows buyers to compare prices across 16 portals. Buyhatke was one of the five winners from among 2,000 applicants for the Tata First Dot, a mentoring platform for student startups, who would be supported by the National Entrepreneurship Network.

Nokia's low-cost 'smartphone for India' leaked

Nokia's new Lumia 525 is yet to arrive in the Indian market, but the company may be readying another low-cost smartphone aimed at budget buyers.

Data recorded by Zauba, a logistic tracking website, shows an unannounced Nokia device codenamed RM-977. This device has a 4.5-inch touchscreen and single sim slot and will reportedly ship for Rs 7,966 in the Indian market. This device was sent to India from Finland for testing and evaluation purposes, according to the website.

No other details about this upcoming smartphone are available at present.

The recently unveiled Lumia 525 is the successor to the popular Lumia 520, however, the only differences between the two devices are RAM upgrade and glossier body. At present, Lumia 520 is available in the market at approximately Rs 8,000, while there is no word on the launch date of Lumia 525.

Nokia has already listed the entry-level Lumia 525 and top-end Lumia 1520 smartphones on its India website. However, it has not announced their launch dates.

Mobile radiation causes no health risk: WHO

Mobile towers and mobile phone radiations have no health risks and do not cause cancer, a World Health Organisation (WHO) expert said. 

"WHO studies have already proven that mobile phones do not affect human health. Cancer or brain tumour apart, it doesn't cause even headaches or sleep disorder," said radiation expert Michael Repacholi, the first co-ordinator of WHO's radiation and environmental health unit. 

Talking at the launch of the book "Mobile Phones and Public Health - Myth and Reality" here, Repacholi added: "A person absorbs five times more radio frequency (RF) from FM radio or television than the base station tower. Mobile tower radiation is lower compared to RF emissions from radio FM or television." 

He also dismissed the views that mobile radiation levels higher than the prescribed limit can have ill effects on human health. 

The book's editor Ravi VS Prasad said: "Scientific studies from all over the world failed to prove any adverse effects from use of mobile phones and towers. Their energy emissions are one-thousandth of the energy from sunlight, and so can't impact on health." 

Prasad also highlighted that the Indian standards are ten times more stringent than the already strict international norms, which in turn are one- fiftieth of the level at which there can be any impact on health.

How to protect your Facebook, Twitter account

Security experts say passwords for more than 2 million Facebook, Google and other accounts have been compromised and circulated online, just the latest example of breaches involving leading Internet companies. 

Some services including Twitter have responded by disabling the affected passwords. But there are several things you can do to minimize further threats -even if your account isn't among the 2 million that were compromised. 

Here are some tips to help you secure your online accounts: 

One thing leads to another

When a malicious hacker gets a password to one account, it's often a stepping stone to a more serious breach, especially because many people use the same passwords on multiple accounts. So if someone breaks into your Facebook account, that person might try the same password on your banking or Amazon account. Suddenly, it's not just about fake messages being posted to your social media accounts. It's about your hard-earned money. 

It's particularly bad if the compromised password is for an email account. That's because when you click on a link on a site saying you've forgotten your password, the service will typically send a reset message by email. People who are able to break into your email account, therefore, can use it to create their own passwords for all sorts of accounts. You'll be locked out as they shop and spend, courtesy of you. 

If the compromised password is one you use for work, someone can use it to break in to your employer's network, where there are files with trade secrets or customers' credit card numbers. 

Better passwords

Many breaches occur because passwords are too easy to guess. There's no evidence that guessing was how these 2 million accounts got compromised, but it's still a good reminder to strengthen your passwords. Researchers at security company Trustwave analyzed the passwords compromised and found that only 5 percent were excellent and 17 percent were good. The rest were moderate or worse. 

What makes a password strong?

* Make them long. The minimum should be eight characters, but even longer is better. 

* Use combinations of letters and numbers, upper and lower case and symbols such as the exclamation mark. Try to vary it as much as you can. "My!PaSsWoRd-32" is far better than "mypassword32." 

*Avoid words that are in dictionaries, as there are programs that can crack passwords by going through databases of known words. These programs know about such tricks as adding numbers and symbols, so you'll want to make sure the words you use aren't in the databases. One trick is to think of a sentence and use just the first letter of each word - as in "tqbfjotld" for "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." 

* Avoid easy-to-guess words, even if they aren't in the dictionary. Avoid your name, company name or hometown, for instance. Avoid pets and relatives' names, too. Likewise, avoid things that can be looked up, such as your birthday or ZIP code. 

One other thing to consider: Many sites let you reset your password by answering a security question, but these answers -such as your pet or mother's maiden name- are possible to look up. So try to make these answers complex just like passwords, by adding numbers and special characters and making up responses. 

A second layer

Many services offer a second level of authentication when you're accessing them from a computer or device for the first time. These services will send you a text message to a phone number on file, for instance. The text message contains a code that you need in addition to your password. The idea is that a hacker may have your password, but won't have ready access to your phone. 

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Twitter are among the services offering this dual authentication. It's typically an option, something you have to turn on. Do that. It may be a pain, but it will save you grief later. In most cases, you won't be asked for this second code when you return to a computer you've used before, but be sure to decline that option if you're in a public place such as a library or Internet cafe. 

One final thought

Change your passwords regularly. It's possible your account information is already circulating. If you have a regular schedule for changing passwords for major accounts, you reduce the amount of time that someone can do harm with that information. 

You'll need to decide what counts as a major account. Banking and shopping sites are obvious, as are email and social-networking services. It probably doesn't matter much if someone breaks into the account you use to read newspaper articles (unless it's a subscription). 

And strong passwords alone won't completely keep you safe. Make sure your computer is running the latest software, as older versions can have flaws that hackers have been known to exploit. Be careful when clicking on email attachments, as they may contain malicious software for stealing passwords. Use firewalls and other security programs, many of which are available for free.

Why Barack Obama can't use an iPhone

The troubled mobile phone maker BlackBerry still has at least one very loyal customer: US President Barack Obama. 

At a meeting with youth to promote his landmark healthcare law, Obama said he is not allowed to have Apple's smartphone, the iPhone, for "security reasons," though he still uses Apple's tablet computer, the iPad. 

Apple was one of several tech companies that may have allowed the National Security Agency(NSA) direct access to servers containing customer data, according to revelations by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The companies deny the allegation. 

Obama fought to keep his BlackBerry after coming to the White House in 2009, though he said only 10 people have his personal email address. Neither George W. Bush nor Bill Clinton used email during their presidencies. 

BlackBerry, a Canadian company formerly known as Research In Motion, virtually invented the idea of on-the-go email, but lost its market stranglehold as rivals brought out more consumer-friendly devices, like Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Androidsoftware. 

The company recently halted plans to be sold and is trying to chart a new course by focusing on large business and government clients.