How much personal information do you have online? Have you ever thought about that question? Have you ever googled your own name? How about the different variations of your name, have you googled them? Take this story that just happened to me as an example of how personal information and data can end up online without your knowledge or permission.

Today I received an email from, Google Alerts telling me that my name had popped up in a new web page. This happens occasionally since I am on Twitter, Facebook and I have my own blog (this one) so I didn’t think it was anything strange. However once I read the email (pictured below), I had to check it out.

A day or 2 earlier I had written a letter of recommendation for a friend and thought nothing more about it. Then I get the email that you see above and I had to see what it was talking about. Apparently the friend needed to convert the Microsoft Word file to an Adobe Acrobat file and used the website http://www.scribd.com/ to do so. No big deal, right? Well, the website made the letter public and Google had searched it and found my name. This is why I was alerted. So I called my friend to ask her about it and apparently her resume as well as 2 more letters of recommendation were posted online as well. Thanks to Google Alerts, we were spared the embarrassment of having somebody else find it.

So, how much personal data do you have online? Have you ever Googled your own name? You should. And if I were you, I would set up alerts for the different variations of your name. That way, any time something new is added, you’ll know about it.

Setting up your alerts is easy. You don’t even have to log in or create a new account.

1. Go to Google Alerts.
2. Enter the text that you want alerts for.
3. Choose comprehensive.
4. Enter your email address.
5. Click on “Create Alert”.
6. Google will send an email to the address that you enter. Open that email and click on the link under “Verify this Google Alert request”.
7. You’re done.

Keeping up to date with your information online is a great way to reduce embarrassment and credit fraud.

Thank you for reading,
Tim

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Biden PC is a Computer Networking Company and we now offer Online Computer Support.

For years, Biden PC has resisted the temptation to start accepting credit cards. Due to the current economic climate we have found that it would make things easier for our clients if we started accepting them.

So in addition to cash and check, we now accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.

Thank you very much,
Tim

If you found this post to be informative, consider following Biden PC on Twitter.

Biden PC is a Computer Networking Company and we now offer Online Computer Support.

I want to encourage everyone to send a card to our troops overseas. Most of them will not be able to get home to see their families for Christmas and the holidays so lets send just a bit of home to them.

Xerox has premade cards that they will print out and send to a soldier fighting overseas. At http://www.letssaythanks.com/, you can choose a card, put your name and home town in it and choose a message or create your own. It is completely free and a great way to show your support for our troops.

I want to thank the Xerox Company for doing this and Mark at SBSC & MSP Buzz for alerting me to such a cool service.

Hello,

Today I am thrilled to announce that Biden PC has moved. We are still a home-based business and now we are actually located in a house instead of an apartment. Thank you to everyone who helped make this dream our reality!

Our new address is:

544 Chester Place
Pomona, CA 91768

As of today, October 27th, please direct all correspondence to our new address.

Happy Computing,

Tim

Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.

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Everybody sees it but nobody is doing anything to prevent it, this country is in a downward spiral. The economy is getting worse, the politicians are liars, common courtesy is extremely uncommon and we are just sinking deeper and deeper into a mire of personal brokenness. The farther we move from our Judeo-Christian roots and values, the deeper we sink into depravity. The deeper we sink into depravity, the worse our entire situation gets. And there are still people in this world that insist on pushing us farther from those values for the purpose of their own wants and desires. The desire of the minority is trumping the needs of the majority. Pick your problem, there are many problems that we are facing today and I say that the cause of it is our distance from God.

At this point, either you agree with me of you have labeled me as some sort of religious fanatic. If you intend to insult me, I thank you. Whether you agree with me or not, please read on.

Here in the United States of America, we live in a free society. You have the right to do whatever you want as long as it does not affect another person. I can swing my arm around and I have the right to do it but my rights end where your nose begins. I can swing my arm but I cannot punch you in the nose.

There are people that say we should legalize victimless crimes such as drugs and prostitution. The problem is that every crime has a victim. No crime is victimless which is why it is a crime. Drugs kill your mind and the drug user’s family is hurt by seeing the person go through this. If they suffer, they are a victim of the user’s actions and therefore there is a victim. Prostitution has victims. Often the women themselves are the victims. They sell their bodies and lose respect for men. They can no longer have a relationship with a man and when they grow old and lose their looks, they have no work experience to fall back on. They are then unemployed and essentially unemployable in any profession that would make a decent living.

Sexual sin is one of the things that the Israelites committed that caused God to leave them. Today, in California, we are about to vote on Proposition 8, which would define marriage as being between anyone or just between a man and a woman. I agree with prop 8 that marriage is and should remain a union between a man and a woman.

Just because we have the ability to do something doesn’t mean that we should do it. It means that we have the opportunity to make a choice that will bring glory to God and Jesus. They are burdened when we sin because every sin we commit is a sin committed against them.

God gave Moses the 10 commandments, and many other laws, not as rules to prevent us from having a good time but to show how we should treat each other. If we all truly tried to follow such rules, we would live in a much safer and happier society. That is why God gave us such rules, so that we could live in peace and harmony with each other.

I truly believe that God has left the United States to fend for ourselves. He has left us alone. But just as the children of Israel did so many times, if we call out to Him and repent of our sins and transgressions, He will hear our cries.

Please California, for the love of this state and country, vote yes on proposition 8.

Tim

In remembrance of the events of 9/11/01, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who is currently serving in the United States Armed Forces and the forces of every other country that is striving to keep terrorism at bay. May God bless you all and keep you safe wherever you are.

If you truly support our troops, send them a care package!

Thank you,

Tim

This is NOT an endorsement for Joe Biden or Barack Obama.

I know, this post doesn’t have anything to do with a computer but it is all about my last name and the name of my business.

So having the same last name as a man who is running for Vice President of the country is a bit odd. It used to be that I would hear “Are you related to the politician” about 3 times a year. I thought it was odd that those people didn’t even know his name or where he was from. Now I hear “Are you related to our next vice president” all the time. At this point knowing who he is can’t be avoided. My honest reply is “I don’t know. But at least people will start pronouncing my last name right.”

Politics aren’t my thing and since Mike Huckabee dropped out, I’m really not sure who to vote for. I’m not a fan of either of the two current presidential candidates.

But Joe, I do want to say thank you! You are single-handedly improving my life by accepting the VP nomination. I don’t like being called Mr. Bidden or Mr. Biddle. Where in the world do people get the “L” from anyway? I don’t have a single “L” in any of my 3 names.

Thanks Joe!

Tim

Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.

This is obviously not a computer-centered blog post. I still hope you enjoy it.I went out to Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday and had a blast. It is something that my wife’s family loves to do and I’ve since fallen in love with the place.

Admittedly, when you get to Joshua Tree, your first thought will probably be “So… What’s the big deal?” Yes, it’s in the middle of the desert and there are these huge, strangely placed rock formations. Those huge, strangely placed rock formations (links here and here) are exactly what make Joshua Tree so great. You can climb all over them and just act like a kid. It’s a blast trying to figure out your way to the top and then, once you’re at the top, figure out a different way down. Only once have we had to take the same way down that we went up.

So, on to the part about aching everywhere… I’m not 16 years old anymore. It is now Tuesday morning and we went to Joshua Tree on Saturday. That gives me a whole 36 hours since I stopped climbing and I feel worse today than yesterday. I tried a hot tub, massage, stretching. I just have that ache that says “I worked hard at having fun.”

Growing up, I had no idea that you were actually allowed to go off the path at a park. I thought parks were just like an art gallery where we are supposed to look but not touch. How wrong I was. Admittedly, if I wasn’t allowed to climb around on the rocks, I’d probably never go back to Joshua Tree. But I am allowed so I go back as often as I can. I’m glad that someone in the government had enough foresight to know that such an arid stretch of land should be preserved for future generations.

Tim

Biden PC is a Computer Network Consulting Company.

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