Lovin' From the Oven

Archives for July 2012

Review: Norton’s Identity Safe

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I was asked to review Norton’s Identity Safe program on my Mac and can finally do so after using it for about a week.
First of all, what exactly does the program do? Well, it saves passwords, autofills out forms and cards so you don’t repeatedly have to, stores notes, and it alerts you when it finds an unsafe website. It’s a fairly simple idea with a very small and easily accessible interface.
I was excited to give it a try because I have about a million different passwords to a million different websites. I find myself pressing the “Forget password?” button more times than I seem to care for. Even the answers to my security questions sometimes slipped my mind. I’d have to write my passwords down on pieces of paper, but how safe is that when you have your information laying out for everyone to see?
The downloading process was easy. I installed it from the app store and it downloaded within a matter of seconds. The setup was simple as well; a couple of clicks and it’s set up on your desktop. After tweaking with my computer settings, Norton’s Identity Safe was up and running.
It did it’s job and remembered passwords from websites I logged into, but I found the program to have more cons than pros. Sure, it has a lot of potential, but the pop-ups asking for your login information (username and password) after I logged in soon started to annoy me. Not only that, but I could only get the program to work with Safari, when I normally use Chrome. I did hear, however, that Norton plans to release versions for other browsers in the future. I look forward to trying that out when the time comes. It also didn’t remember every login password and didn’t fill in 100% of my forms.
One of the things I did like about the program was that it made browsing more secure. I knew when to avoid websites and when to refrain from putting any personal information in if the credentials weren’t verified. Norton’s Identity Safe also can sync with all your devices (PC, laptop, and mobile phone) so that you can access your information whenever and wherever you need to.
It made my life a lot easier by storing all my passwords in one place. I didn’t have to keep scattered post-it notes of my accounts all over my desk. It cleaned up the clutter and managed my information with a little button at the top of my screen. I felt that it was also secure because you couldn’t look at the passwords stored without putting in your “vault” password. Ironic, isn’t it? There’s no way of recovering that password if you forget it, so make sure you write that one down somewhere. The only way they have of reminding yourself of your password is a “password hint.” It doesn’t directly tell you your password, you just create a phrase that will help jog your memory of what you made your original password.

Want to give it a try? Head over to their website and download it for free today!
Have you ever forgotten or lost your password? Share a story about a time you forgot, or lost your password, in the comments below. Each response will garner automatic entry into a sweepstakes to win one of five Android Tables (Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 – 10.1-Inch, Wi-Fi) with Norton Mobile Security and Identity Safe installed on the device!

Visit BlogHer.com to find other reviews of Norton Identity Safe.

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw from all participating blogs, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 6/21 – 7/31.

Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

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I went home to LA this past weekend and realized how much I’ve adapted to the Bay area weather. The heat in the valley was just about unbearable for me. 98 degrees? I don’t do anything but eat watermelon and lay on the floor in that weather. That’s one thing that I’ve come to love about NorCal vs SoCal. The weather surely wins.

Here’s another great recipe from my favorite crockpot source, Crockpot 365. The chicken came out moist and flavorful. I chose to serve it over linguine (my favorite kind of pasta), but anything works. The jar of marinara sauce that I used was from Trader Joe’s. The topping was easily enough for four chicken breasts, but I only used two. I would recommending cutting the recipe in half for two chicken breasts– You don’t need that much topping!

Print
Crockpot Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

  • 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
  • 1 tsp italian seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese
  • favorite jarred marinara sauce

Directions

  1. Drizzle the olive oil onto he bottom of your crockpot.
  2. Beat the egg with in a fork in a small bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese together.
  4. Take the chicken and dip it into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture. Make sure that both sides of the chicken are covered.
  5. Put the chicken in the bottom of the crockpot. Layer 2-3 slices or 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top, depending on how much cheese you like. Cover chicken and cheese with entire jar of marinara sauce.
  6. Close lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4. Serve with your favorite pasta.
https://lovintheoven.com/crockpot-chicken-parmesan/

Easy Turtle Brownies

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I got to spend all day today out and about in downtown San Diego. I forgot how beautiful this city was. There’s so much to do and eat, including hole in the wall burrito places that need to be discovered. As much as I indulged in all of the savory food down here, I didn’t manage to get any sweets. Oh how I could go for one of these brownies right now!
These brownies are an easy way to impress guests without too much effort. They’re “simply homemade!” The brownies came from a box mix, but those caramels are surely time consuming to melt down. A touch of pecans and you’re good to go!

Print
Easy Turtle Brownies

Ingredients

  • 1 box of brownie mix and the ingredients needed on the back of the box
  • 16 oz of caramels, unwrapped
  • 5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
  • 2/3 cups chopped pecans, divided

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare the brownie batter as advised on the back of the box.
  3. Pour half of the brownie mixture into a greased or lined 8x8 pan and bake for 15 minutes.
  4. While the brownies are cooking, melt the caramels and whipping cream in a double boiler until evenly melted, stirring constantly.
  5. Evenly pour the caramel sauce on top of the brownies and top with 1/3 of the chopped pecans. Top with the rest of the brownie batter and the last 1/3 cup of pecans.
  6. Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 35 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean from the center.
  7. Cool completely before cutting and serving.
https://lovintheoven.com/easy-turtle-brownies/

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