April 10, 2013

How to give focus to a FoxPro top-level form at start-up

By Mike Lewis

This is a question I often see in Visual FoxPro forums. An application needs to show a top-level form (typically a log-in screen) at start-up. But when you launch the form, it
appears behind other windows on the desktop. Even if it is at the front, it's not necessarily the active form. So how do you give the form focus programmatically?

April 8, 2013

Strong passwords? Yes, but let's not get carried away

By Lynn Evans

I'm getting a bit tired of over-the-top advice about strong passwords. Of course, we all need to keep our passwords secure. But a lot of what tech journals and websites write about the subject is exaggerated and alarmist - and often counter-productive.

April 3, 2013

Banish interest-based ads from your AdSense pages

By Mike Lewis

In an earlier post, I explained how you can opt out of seeing so-called "interest-based ads" on Google's search results pages and on third-party websites. This time, I'll describe how AdSense publishers can prevent these ads appearing on their own sites.

To recap, an interest-based ad is one that's based on the personal information that the advertising network (usually Google) has collected on you. Some people dislike being tracked and targeted for advertising purposes. There might also be times when these ads could cause distress or embarrassment (seeing an ad about a medical condition that you'd rather keep to yourself, for example). That's why you have the opportunity to opt out.