January 22, 2010

The Week in Review for 01-22-2010.

Here are a few selected RT‘s and assorted information from the StopSign Twitter account you may have missed this week. Did we miss anything? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.

And here are a couple of StopSign blog posts we talked about on Twitter, too…

Have a great weekend, and keep those tweets coming! We’d love to hear from you on the @stopsigntweets Twitter account and here on our blog.

If you're looking for great anti-virus software that won't break the bank, try StopSign. You don't pay extra for tech support for difficult malware, and our web protection software just works. Download & install StopSign to find out why our members choose us over the other options.

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January 6, 2010

62 Common Internet & Texting Acronyms.

62 Common Internet & Texting Acronyms.

If you’re new to the Internet or texting on your cell phone you may be confused by all the acronyms and text shortcuts used by more experienced users. To help you out we’ve compiled a set of 62 common acronyms used in text messages, IMs, social networks, and anywhere else that people want (or are required) to use fewer typed characters to get a thought or idea across to someone else. We’ve listed each one like this:

acronym: definition

example use

Please note that even though the acronyms below are written in ALL CAPS, it’s not necessary to use the capital letters, and most people tend to mix upper- and lowercase depending on the situation anyhow. Keep in mind that if you do use caps for the acronyms themselves it’s generally not considered poor netiquette even though typing in ALL CAPS is usually read as “shouting”.

  1. ABT: About

    What was that movie abt?

  2. ADN: Any Day Now

    ADN the printer will be done with my reports.

  3. AFAIK: As Far As I Know

    AFAIK the info is correct.

  4. AFK: Away From Keyboard

    Wife just got home. AFK for a bit to say “hi” to her.

  5. ASA: As Soon As

    I’ll be there ASA I’m done with work.

  6. ATM: At The Moment

    Can’t chat, I’m busy ATM.

  7. B/C: Because

    I love chocolate b/c it’s delicious.

  8. B4: Before

    What happened b4 it started raining?

  9. BB: Blackberry

    Just got 5 new messages on my BB.

  10. BIO: Bio (Bathroom) Break

    Hold on, I need to bio.

  11. BRB: Be Right Back

    I have to run to the store. BRB

  12. BTW: By The Way

    BTW your sister called earlier.

  13. F2F: Face To Face

    Let’s have a F2F meeting about the proposal.

  14. FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

    You can find the answers in the FAQ.

  15. FWIW: For What It’s Worth

    I like that color, FWIW.

  16. G2G: Good To Go

    Two more signups and we’re G2G.

  17. GL: Good Luck

    GL with meeting your boyfriend’s parents tonight.

  18. GN: Good Night

    I’m going to bed. GN.

  19. GTK: Good To Know

    Sewing buttons is something that’s GTK how to do.

  20. HTH: Hope That Helps

    The answer is 42. HTH

  21. IANAL: I Am Not A Lawyer

    IANAL but it seems like he’s within his legal rights.

  22. IAW: In Accordance With

    I put it together IAW the instructions that came with it.

  23. IDK: I Don’t Know

    IDK the answer to that.

  24. ILU: I Love You

    You got me the DVD? ILU!

  25. IMHO: In My Humble Opinion

    IMHO that color looks terrible.

  26. IRL: In Real Life

    Bob? Yeah, he’s not just an Internet friend. I know him IRL.

  27. JK: Just Kidding

    I’m running 20 minutes behind. JK I’m right around the corner.

  28. KBD: Keyboard

    I love my new wireless KBD.

  29. KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid

    Don’t make it complicated. KISS.

  30. KIT: Keep In Touch

    It was nice seeing you again. KIT!

  31. L2R: Learn To Read

    It’s right in the instructions. L2R, silly. 🙂

  32. L8R: Later

    Gotta go. L8R, bud.

  33. LOL: Laugh(ing) Out Loud

    Your text made me actually LOL!

  34. MOTD: Message of the Day

    It’s time to change the MOTD in the break room.

  35. MYOB: Mind Your Own Business

    Even if she did say that, I suggest you MYOB and stay out of it.

  36. N/A: Not Applicable

    Those instructions are N/A to this test.

  37. NC: No Comment

    I heard him say it, but NC. I’m keeping my mouth shut.

  38. NP: No Problem

    It’ll be NP to finish this within the hour.

  39. NSFW: Not Safe For Work

    Don’t open that website in the office, it’s NSFW.

  40. NVM: Never Mind

    Did you find my pen? Oh wait, NVM. I found it.

  41. O/S: Operating System

    What O/S are you using?

  42. OIC: Oh I See

    OIC what you mean!

  43. OMG: Oh My Goodness

    OMG that new haircut looks so good on you!

  44. OMW: On My Way

    I just left work and I’m OMW to meet you.

  45. OOS: Out Of Sight (Scope)

    That new car is OOS.

  46. OTOH: On The Other Hand

    OTOH you may be right about this.

  47. POV: Point Of View

    From my POV there was nothing there.

  48. RTFM: Read The Fine Manual

    Next time RTFM that came with the printer before you open it up!

  49. RU: Are You

    RU going to be at the next meeting?

  50. SO: Significant Other

    Tina is bringing her SO to the restaurant.

  51. THX: Thanks

    Thx for the pictures!

  52. TLA: Three Letter Acronym

    He uses TLAs all the time in his messages.

  53. TMI: Too Much Information

    She told us all about her surgery last week. TMI!

  54. TTYL: Talk To You Later

    I need to go to sleep now. TTYL.

  55. TYVM: Thank You Very Much

    TYVM for those reports.

  56. UR: Your/You’re

    UR car’s alarm is going off.

  57. URL: Uniform Resource Locator (e.g. a website’s address)

    What’s the URL to the website you told me about earlier?

  58. W8: Wait

    W8 for me before you go.

  59. W/E: Whatever

    W/E you want to eat for lunch is fine with me.

  60. YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary

    It worked on my computer, but YMMV.

  61. WRT: With Regard To

    WRT your meeting request, I think that’s fine.

  62. WTH: What The Heck

    My mouse just stopped working WTH?

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

If you're looking for great anti-virus software that won't break the bank, try StopSign. You don't pay extra for tech support for difficult malware, and our web protection software just works. Download & install StopSign to find out why our members choose us over the other options.

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December 17, 2009

Six Secrets of a Safe Twitter Account.

Six Secrets of a Safe Twitter Account.

Twitter is like a giant party in a community of over 18 million people, and there’s bound to be a few apples in the bunch who want to cause trouble. You can get around some of those problems by locking down your Twitter account and being aware of some of the potential problems you might run into when you’re tweeting. Just follow these simple Twitter tips and use your common sense, and you’ll be much ahead of the “safe twittering” curve.

  1. Good, strong passwords.

    The creation of a good password cannot be stressed enough! Make sure to create a password that’s difficult for others to figure out and contains a mix of letters and numbers. Also try to use a different password than you use on other social networking sites in case one of the passwords gets cracked or is leaked out. Read more about how to create a strong password on our blog.

  2. URL shorteners.

    Sites like bit.ly, ow.ly, and cli.gs are great URL shortening services, especially when someone wants to link to websites in 140 characters or less. But if you don’t know the person who tweeted with a shortened URL, you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get. (OK, that’s not 100% true*) Be careful what you click on!

  3. Are you (literally) on Twitter.com?

    Scammers and spammers love to build lookalike sites to try and trick you into submitting your user names and passwords to them instead of the real thing. Before you log in, check the address bar to make sure you’re actually on Twitter.com and not some scam website. Learn more about how to figure out if you’re on a fake website or a real one on the StopSign blog.

  4. Third party access.

    There are some really neat services out there like We Follow and Twitter Grader that help enhance your Twitter experience and learn more about your tweeting habits; but there are also some fishy ones too. Make sure to regularly check your Connections settings in Twitter to clear out any unexpected or suspect applications that have been given access to your account. And if they offer it, connect using OAuth, as it’s much safer than supplying your user name and password to a strange website.

  5. Phishy phish.

    You’ve got to be diligent about reading DM’s and @ mentions (there’s a particularly nasty trick going around now where a scammer will @ mention you regarding something you’ve tweeted about and there’s a shortened URL to a spam site in the mention – do NOT click on it!). There always seems to be a phishing scams of some kind happening on Twitter, so make sure you know what you’re clicking on or responding to.

  6. Don’t get too personal.

    It’s really important that you don’t expose too much information about yourself or your family online. The wrong tweet can get you on a spammers list, or at worst, can lead crazies on the Internet right to your front door. We’ve got tips on how to stay safe online and offline.

For more information on Twitter security, check out the official Twitter help article on safe tweeting.

*OK, technically you can preview any bit.ly URL by adding a “+” to the end of the URL. Other sites and/or services may do the same; but the main issue is that URL shorteners, by default and by design, do not natively display the destination URL. Back to the top

Image courtesy of Twitter

If you're looking for great anti-virus software that won't break the bank, try StopSign. You don't pay extra for tech support for difficult malware, and our web protection software just works. Download & install StopSign to find out why our members choose us over the other options.

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