From the start Gmail supported https connections which insures a secure, encrypted connection to Gmail’s server so that someone with access to the network you’re using couldn’t eavesdrop on your connection and capture the mail you’re reading. However, Google doesn’t force all users to use the https and allows people to stay connected to Gmail over the unsecured http protocol.

Gmail now offers a setting in the Settings to force https connections so your mail will be more secure. Look in the settings for this:

If you don’t see the option in Gmail and Google Apps today, check back every day until you do. They’re rolling out the feature to all users over the next few weeks. In the meantime make sure you’re only going to Gmail using https.

One downside to always using https is that it slows down your connection to Gmail a bit as everything must be encrypted and unencrypted when it gets to your computer.

Photographers create a hundreds, if not thousands, of 10-20MB files a day and storing these images safely has become a challenge.

Personally I use several backup methods to insure I don’t loose any of my images. I have three Western Digital My Books, two NAS drives (which are aging and due for failure,) and I also subscribe to a paid online backup service so I have off site backup.

You might have heard about Drobo, it is a unique backup storage array that allows you to insert up to four SATA hard drives in it, each maybe any size, and they don’t have to match like with RAID arrays.

I originally held off on joining the Drobo bandwagon mainly because it was new and wanted to see how they faired longer term. Everyone I know who bought the original Drobo Fully Automated SATA Robotic Storage Array 4 Bay USB 2.0 loves it. They haven’t had issues and they now swear buy them. They originally went for at least $500 but they’re now discounted to around $350 because they just came out with a new version.

As soon as the Data Robotics DR04DD10 Drobo 4-Bays USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 Fully Automated SATA Robotic Storage Array was announced I pulled the trigger. I’ve only had it a few days but I can tell you from my own personal experience that it is amazing! Its fast, so fast that I can use it for my primary storage and even use it for my Aperture vault and it’s much safer having my data on it rather than a single hard drive.

The redundant nature of the Drobo is what makes it far better than single drives and even mirrored RAID storage arrays. Nothing else compares to the Drobo in terms of reliability.

I’m so impressed by my new Drobo that I’m considering picking up the discounted Drobo USB 2.0 and a Droboshare to replace my NAS arrays and use it as additional backup. The price is hard to beat and even with several Western Digital 750GB Greenpower Sata II drives it’s still cheaper than other external arrays with comparable capacity.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Through July 31, 2008 you can save 15% off the Fisher Price Zen Collection at Amazon.com

The Fisher-Price Zen Collection High Chair is an unbelievably stylish and upscale high chair for moms with discerning tastes. It features wood accents and suede fabric. The 3 position recline seat has 3 adjustable height positions as well. It also folds for easy storage when you need to make room for guests. It’s machine washable and the tray and harness are dishwasher safe.

The Fisher-Price Zen Collection Gliding Bassinet will relax any baby and put them right to sleep with the calming gliding motion and the 15 songs, nature sounds, and simulated sounds of the womb it can play. Meanwhile mom’s friends will be impressed by the textured fabrics and real wood accents that gives this bassinet a sophisticated look. The large tray on the bottom provides convenient storage for extra blankets and pajamas.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Use this link to get a free one month trial of Amazon Prime and a $10 Amazon.com credit.

Amazon Prime includes unlimited free two-day shipping and you can upgrade to one-day shipping for only $3.99. Plus there is no minimum order size!

The $10.00 is credited automatically when you join Amazon Prime and the offer expires at 1:59PM PST July 28th, 2008. Promotional credit is applicable only to items sold by Amazon.com, not third party resellers. Free trial and promotional credit available to new Amazon Prime members only. See this page for details.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Through September 30, 2008 you can get Seventh Generation Diapers for free for six months when you or your friends complete $750 of purchases from your Amazon.com Baby Registry.

Seventh Generation Diapers are environmentally safe and and are chlorine-free so they do not contribute to dioxin pollution and could help reduce cancer rates.

By using the Amazon.com Subscribe & Save you can save quite a bit of money on them and also have them shipped free to your home automatically every month.

See the promotion’s page for all the details.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

Did you know that Gas Stations (actually any store or company) may not charge you more for using a credit card?

It is a violation of their Merchant Agreement with the credit card companies to advertise, have a sign, or state there is an additional fee for using a credit card. However, stores maybe able to get around this rule by offering a “Cash Discount” but since most gas stations and stores that are charging fees are not following this technical distinction they’re in violation of their Merchant Agreement.

If you have been charged an additional fee for using a credit card, instead of being offered a cash discount, you should call your credit card company and complain. You should even be able to dispute the additional charge levied as it’s a violation of the Merchant Agreement.

When I pull up to a gas station and see they’re charging an additional fee for credit cards I pay cash or drive to another gas station. I feel arguing with the attendants will get you no where and is a complete waste of time. Instead, I later call Mastercard and Visa and report the station.

The contents of this post are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. I’m not a lawyer, so I do not give legal advice. If you should have any questions please consult a licensed attorney.

Amazon.com is offering $10 off of purchases of $50.00 or more through July 21.

There is a slight catch, you will have to pay for your order using the same Bill Me Later service I told you about last week and enter the promo code: “BMLSAVES” at checkout.

Most items sold by Amazon.com (not third party retailers) also qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping!

Promotions, pricing, and the free shipping promotion maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

My wife hasn’t stopped raving about Endless since one of her friends told her about it. She tells me they have all the big name brands Handbags and Shoes at the lowest prices anywhere and she should know the way she shops!

Endless offers an unprecedented amount of perks such as free overnight shipping, free return shipping, 110% price guarantee, and a 365-day returns window. I don’t know how they do it all.

Next time your girlfriend or wife is dropping hints about a pair of shoes or a handbag do yourself a favor and head over to Endless for a great deal and awesome service.

Amazon.com has inked with Bill Me Later to pay for orders without using a credit card.

The first time you place an order on Amazon.com and choose Bill Me Later at checkout, you will be prompted to answer two quick questions and accept the terms. Bill Me Later will verify your information within seconds and your order will be shipped as usual. Later, you’ll receive, by mail, a bill from Bill Me Later. You may pay it in full without a finance charge or pay it off over time at an annual percentage rate of 19.99%.

Just be aware that Bill Me Later does perform a credit check and probably won’t offer an account to someone with poor credit.

Hanging picture frames can be a royal pain, especially frames that require multiple wall hooks.

Before the existence of fancy laser levels or cool tools, like the ones I’m about to show you, my grandfather taught me how to use scotch tape and string to make it a little neater than marking pencil lines directly on the wall. You’d first decide how high you’d want your photos and take the string to one end of the wall. Then with a level you’d level the line and tape the other end of the string on the opposite end of the wall. But often the string would move or fall off and it was never perfectly level.

The Black & Decker’s 36″ Gecko Grip Level with Accu Mark is a new spin on a traditional level. It’s most useful feature is the Gecko Grip friction pads that help keep the level steady and prevent it from slipping with little pressure.

It also has 2 adjustable targets that slide back and forth on the level and are used to easily transfer the spacing between your picture hooks to the wall. You simply slide them to line up with the mounts on back of your pictures and then move the level to the wall and note the spots with a pencil.

To make things even easier you could also use a laser level such as Black & Decker Bullseye Auto-Leveling Laser With AnglePro which sticks to your wall and projects an autoleveling laser beam along the wall’s surface.

It can even project the laster vertically and on angles to make lining up your pictures in stair wells. At under $30.00 it’s a steal and even the batteries are included.

If you purchase both the Black & Decker’s 36″ Gecko Grip Level with Accu Mark and Black & Decker Bullseye Auto-Leveling Laser With AnglePro your order should be eligible for free super saver shipping.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

When I wrote about the first-class Leatherman Skeletool in my post, The Last Pocket Multi-Tool You’ll Ever Need, I was unaware that Leatherman also made Gardening multi-tools. This afternoon Judy showed me the Leatherman Hybrid Gardening Multitool and Leatherman Genus Gardening & Landscaping Multitool.

The Leatherman Hybrid Gardening Multitool features bypass pruners, wire cutters, a weed remover, grafting knife, bark lifter, phillips screwdriver, flat screwdriver, saw, sprinkler tool, bottle opener, ruler, and a nylon sheath. All the tools and the blade are stainless steel, the handles are non-slip, and it comes in for under $40.00 and is eligible for free super saver shipping!

Now on sale and eligible for free super saver shipping, but still almost double the price of the Hybrid, the Leatherman Genus Gardening & Landscaping Multi-Tool offers many design improvements and it’s really built to last. It features an anodized aluminum body with stainless steel bypass pruners and rotating/locking handle. It also has a sprinkler-head adjustment key, phillips screwdriver, flat screwdriver, saw, wire cutters, bottle opener, open-end adjustment wrench, diamond coated file, a knife, and a nylon sheath with a belt clip. It’s a brilliant, well made too, tool that feels very comfortable in your hands and is covered by Leatherman’s top notch 25-year warranty. I bought one right away!

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.

According to Serious Eats, the New York Post has reported that neither Hell’s Kitchen contestant will really be the Executive Chef at Gordon Ramsay’s new LA “The London” restaurant.

Do you honestly think, my sweet pea, that I’m going to be that stupid and that vulnerable? That I would stick my ass to the window and give one of them a chance to run that restaurant, which is a multi-million [dollar] investment? One of them will be part of an amazing team, put in the deep end. But they will definitely not be running the room.” For the record, the winner will be called an executive chef, but in fact will be one of 65 chefs responsible for all hotel meals, including breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner…

I’ve got to say I was a bit concerned with all of this season’s contestants as most of them didn’t seem skilled enough to run one of Ramsay’s restaurants, let alone cook the line at a TGI Fridays.

Even though I’ve been rooting for Christina Machamer, and feel she was the most qualified out of this season’s losers, she’s hardly experienced enough and still has much to learn.

All in all, this season didn’t stand up to past season’s and Top Chef made it look like kindergarden. But it still remained my weekly guilty pleasure.

[The Prize of Winning ‘Hell’s Kitchen’: Executive Chef by Title Only]

With the economy the way it is, more and more people are falling behind and getting harassed by debt collectors but there are things you can do to make them stop.

CNN reports the first thing you should do when contacted by a debt collector is demand proof of the debt.

If a debt collector contacts you, your first move should be to ask for proof of the debt, said Linda Sherry, of Consumer Action, a consumer advocacy group. “What you should get is a real document with your signature that shows you applied for the debt.”

Collection agencies use a practice of tracking people down called “skip tracing.”

“Sometimes they make huge leaps between what’s real and what’s not,” Sherry said. You might have been contacted erroneously, just because you have the same name as the debtor they are looking for, or their old cell phone number.

Even if the debt is yours, it could be old enough to no longer be collectable. Some debt has a statute of limitations, which can range from three to 15 years, depending on your state. Make sure you find out your debt’s expiration date because once you pay a portion or initiate a payment plan, the clock starts ticking all over again, Sherry said.

However, I feel it’s more important to get advice from a Consumer Advocate Lawyer or a Lawyer that has lots of experience dealing with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act before taking the calls and speaking with debt collectors. It’s not the end of the world, and they can’t do anything to you, if you hang up on them or don’t pick up the phone! Also once you have a lawyer the collectors must stop calling you once you tell them to deal with him or her.

If you have the ability to pay, and do owe the debt, the best thing you can do is attempt to work out a payment plan and start paying off the debt but get an agreement in writing before submitting any payment.

For some more tips see CNN’s article, Debt collectors on the rampage.

The contents of this post are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. I’m not a lawyer, so I do not give legal advice. If you should have any questions please consult a licensed attorney.

No matter how much or little you earn you’re at risk of having your identity stolen. More and more often these days identity thieves are finding victims by going through trash and dumpster diving to find bank statements, credit card offers, and other documents with personal information.

To discourage the most determined identity thief you have to use a confetti/cross-cutting shredder which make it too time consuming to piece back together the document.

Reliable confetti/cross-cutting shredders typically cost over $100 but the Fellowes Powershred P-57Cs Shredder has been getting great reviews and comes in under $50.00. It’s able to shred up to 8 sheets at a time and can even take care of standard letter and legal-sized documents with staples and credit cards. A 5 gallon waste basket is also included.

If you’re going to be shredding hundreds of documents per day you’ll need something heavier duty like the Fellowes 32177 Powershred PS-77Cs Shredder which is designed for up to 600 sheets per day.

Pricing, rebates, free super saver shipping, and other promotions maybe subject to availability and restrictions.