Trick #1: You Want Info Fast - You Got It

Although this neat search system is still in beta, these folks sure make looking for answers easy. They claim that they have built the smartest and most comprehensive question/answer search engine on the web by pre-searching millions of FAQ's spread across the web -- so that you don't have to.

This looks particularly powerful for researching computer glitch error messages that are often buried deep in computer and software manufacturers' FAQ sections on the Web.

Give it a shot with your next perplexity.

Trick #2: Even The FBI Can't Reach Your Files

Did you ever donate your old computer to a local charity? Or maybe gave it to your scatterbrained nephew? Of course you formatted the hard drive and figured that all of your data was gone. No way -- it was all there to be grabbed by the bad guys.

These folks give you a program that erases files completely and securely by painstakingly wiping the content of the files and fastidiously messing up its metadata, They claim that even J. Edgar Hoover couldn't recover your private data and sensitive information because it will be securely deleted and completely unrecoverable.

And best of all it's on the house. .

Great Place #1: What Do You Own?

Picture yourself after a disaster in your home - a fire - flood or theft. The grief from the loss of a lifelong collection of furniture, collectibles, paintings, jewelry, and just plain old family memorabilia, is just the beginning. The gut wrenching chore of itemizing all of your possessions follows any catastrophe like this.

These nice folks have developed a software package that helps you to create an inventory of your possessions prior to such a tragedy. This program is easy to use and its intuitive interface helps you organize your inventory by room and category. You can add multiple pictures of your possessions, room by room as you go along. You can also add replacement values. And when you're done, you can save your possessions file and print a hard copy report to store in a safe location off site.

This inventory can be a financial lifesaver in a time of disaster. - and it's yours for the asking.

Great Place #2: How Secure Is Your Password?

Think you have a pretty jazzy password? Like maybe your mother's first name (nobody would guess that ;-). These people have come up with a formula (using 10,000,000 - the approximate number of passwords a regular computer might be able to test every second). They claim that with this they can calculate how long it would take to discover your password.

For example "grace" would take a hacker 38 seconds to crack. But add upper case and her birth year (Grace1934) and it would take the bad guys 42 years to break through. Add a pound sign before and after (#Grace1934#) and the villains would get pretty grey while waiting the Million years it would take their computers to figure that one out.

Maybe their math is a bit fuzzy but the obvious moral of the story is to drive the villains coo coo with long and crazy passwords.

Copies of all previous "Real Estate CyberTips" columns complete with all direct links are available at www.REcyber.com/reintelligence/cybertips.html

Published: September 20, 2010

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

John M. "Jack" Peckham is the Executive Director of REcyber.com (the Real Estate CyberSpace Society). In that capacity he oversees the development and delivery of the latest up to the minute Real Estate Cyberspace tools, strategies, networking structures and services that the Society provides its members to leverage their effectiveness, visibility, professionalism and earnings. As host of Real Estate CyberSpace Radio, he provides over 40 hours of programming to help listeners integrate the power of the Internet into their daily business lives. He is the author of several real estate books published by Prentice Hall and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich including his latest Master Guide to Income Property Brokerage from Wiley Publishing. A columnist for the Boston Herald for nine years, his syndicated columns have appeared in over 100 papers nationwide. Jack loves to sell real estate has been involved directly in the sale of over one billion dollars in Real Estate. Today he sells in his jeans and fuzzy slippers as a one-man shop and has closed over $40,000,000 in sales on the Internet recently in 20% of his working time. The balance he spends directing the affairs of the 10,000 member Real Estate CyberSpace Society. The Society awards the RECS (Real Estate CyberSpace Specialist) Designation to members based on the current criteria. He served as Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a Past President of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and has been honored as the Massachusetts State Realtor of the Year. You can reach Jack at or by calling 617-523-4441.