Happy Easter
Source: SF Chronicle Online
Thank you for stopping by, Dear Reader, and I wish you all a very happy Easter Holiday!
Today’s quote: “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.” ~ Dwight L. Moody
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
A Great Day and a Pretty Picture
Folks,
It is a Saturday afternoon. And I have completed all my day’s To Do’s. And it’s gorgeous outside. I mean, N-I-C-E-!
So I’m going to take the rest of the day off, and wish you all a safe and enjoyable weekend. I hope there are plenty of signs of Spring where you are, and that you can take a moment and enjoy them.
Click on image to see more by this artist (reco’d)
“first spring daffodil” by BotheredByBees, courtesy of Flickr Commons
Just thinking out loud: This probably isn’t the best time of year to ask people to consider Charity.. unless of course, you’re looking for next year’s deductions.. But it occurred to me that I have not mentioned those wonderful people who look out for dogs and cats, and try to find them homes, in some time now — Rescue Shelters. The SPCA and Humane Society. Etc.. Maybe this year is the year you adopt a furry, faithful companion? If so, consider a mutt or a rescued stray. Pedigree’s may be nice, but.
Today’s quote: “The world is neither wise nor just, but it makes up for all its folly and injustice by being damnably sentimental.” ~ Thomas Huxley
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
A List of Active Scams (to be wary of)
Yesterday’s article prompted a reader to ask,
Seen on Litigation Digest
Q: “Do u know of any good sites that list all latest known scams?”
A: I don’t think there is any one particular “master list” of the latest fraud, rip off, scam, bogus websites, etc., fly-by-night companies, etc., but there are resources the smart consumer should be aware of. Here are just a few: (not necc. in order of import.)
1) Snopes
The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
2) Current Top 10 List of Scams and Frauds
Find out what the latest scams are on the internet, in your mail or on your phone.
There is loads of free fact sheets, guides and links to reporting authorities.
3) Consumer Frauds and Scams | USA.gov
Tips to help you avoid scams and fraud. … How to Protect Yourself Against
Consumer Frauds and Scams. Banking and ATM Frauds Protect your money
from
And to give you some idea of just how GIANT a task compiling such a list would be … (as well as being perhaps the main ‘bookmark this’ page offered here today..)
There are many internet scams including career, employment, unemployment,
education, business, visa, and other scams. Here’s an A – Z of the most common …
I’m going to have to look into this more.. and I welcome any reader suggestions for answering the reader’s question.
Oh. Yes. Almost forgot. The Better Business Bureau maintains a list of scams.
Don’t get hooked by a scam. Check our list of scams from across North America.
I have to go sulk now. Microsoft just switched my “classic” Hotmail to the new “Outlook.com” mail, and I absolutely hate it. Trouble is.. I’m not aware of any good webmail to switch to.. they all have issues. The day where I go off the grid may be coming sooner than planned.
Hey, Microsoft? *Thank* you!
[ In case you didn’t know the lingo.. when you see an * asterisk before and after a word, it signals that the author cannot print the word they really want to use.. so use substitution. Example: “*Rats*. I just stepped in some dog *stuff*!” ]
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Alert: Automated Verizon Call Is A Fake
Folks, I almost fell for a scam telephone “phishing” phone call reporting to be from one of my cellular service providers. I think hope you are going to want to read my ‘confession’, and forward this warning to all your friends and family.
See, truth is, I did fall for it, but fortunately the trap did not close on me, and I did not give away my personal information, which (probably) would have been used in an “Identity theft”. (Or, they might have just glommed my credit card.) Me! Mr. B. Paranoid.
Here’s how it worked (and why I thought it was real):
I have been very busy helping people un-Windows 8 their new Windows 8 PC’s (bypassing the “Metro” UI, mainly) and so I found the message on my answering machine. It was a ‘recording’ woman’s voice. What I mean by that is it was an “automated” call. Anyone who has navigated a telephone “menu tree” (“para Espanol, pulse dos“) has heard this voice. “She” was, in a way, familiar. And “spoke” perfect robot-English.
The automated message identified me by name, said it was an “Important message regarding changes to my account status”, said I needed to call today, and provided me a 1-800 number to call and told me I would be asked to enter my cell phone number.
It pronounced my names correctly, and identified my Verizon phone number correctly. It repeated itself appropriately, and was – to put it simply – professional and exactly how I would expect an ‘alert’ call to sound. It sounded to me exactly the same as other legitimate calls I have received — such as our County’s “emergency alert system”, and my bank’s “unusual activity detected” calls.
But what really made me “bite” was, I knew that I had been “meaning to get to” paying my latest Verizon bill, but had put it off, then forgotten, in my busy-ness.. Had I delayed too long? Was this a pay-or-get-cut-off call? Could be.
So.. I called the 1-800 number to see what was up. And it rang once and disconnected. Thankfully!
I am not beating myself up too much, as I was juggling a lot of activity (aka “multitasking”), but at that disconnect, I did what I should have done first, I went to my computer and logged in to my Verizon “My account” and looked for any alerts, notices, or big red letters saying “PAY NOW OR GET CUT OFF”.. or anything that might explain that message on my voicemail. I did see a very mild “past due”, but nothing else.
Now I was quite intrigued! So I called the Verizon customer service number posted on the website (1-800-922-0204) and spoke with a young man who asked me several questions.. then asked me to play the message to him.
And he told me, “that’s not us. That’s a scam.”
How did he know? “Our robot voice is different, and that’s not one of our telephone numbers.”
Like I would know those two things.
So.. “in conclusion”.. I am abashed and embarrassed. This call had the earmarks of a phish, but I let those things .. not raise red flags. But this was undoubtedly the most professionally done phishing scam I have witnessed. A truly “pro con” (job). And, I guess I learned that I am not quite as “paranoid” (alert and wary) on the telephone as I am when online, and surfing the web.
And maybe I ought to quit trying to do three things at once, and pay more attention to one thing at a time.. But I feel stupid none the less.
Today, it was Verizon. Who knows what company they’ll impersonate next. I’ll never ‘trust’ another robot voice again!
So be aware. And be wary. They are trying to get us.
Dang. I feel dumb. Go ahead and laugh at me if you want. But I feel darn lucky too. What would I have given away if the call had gone through? What does untangling one’s self from Identity Theft cost these days? Don’t find out.. and don’t let your friends and family find out. Tell them about me, this call, and my dumb move. Let them laugh at me too.. and maybe raise their ‘paranoia’ as a consequence, and avoid scams like this.
I cannot print how I would punish the perps behind this one, if I could get my hands on them, but I can tell you I’d do it on TV.
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Questions Answered plus You Might Want To Know
For today’s Grab Bag, I am going to answer some reader questions, and point out a couple of items of interest.
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| Samsung E2420L 23.6″ LCD Monitor – 70,000:1, 5ms, 1920X1080, VGA/DVI | ||||
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| *When you use Promo Code 51D1AAE for $20.00 off |
First up: we all know bigger is better (in tech, anyway). And nowhere in your “computing experience” is that more evident than the size of your monitor. There are three ways to really improve (aka “upgrade”) your computing:
1) buy fastest Internet (aka “speed”, aka “bandwidth”) and,
2) have a big, bright monitor and,
3) add RAM.
I spotted a deal today that makes upgrading to a 24″ monitor hard to resist (VGA, DVI).
Reader Questions Answered:
Q: “Can you recommend some cooking games for girls?”
A: I am sorry, Dear Reader, but I cannot help you out with that question. Perhaps people in the audience can help us out with some suggestions.
Q: “How can I get more wifi than my roommate?”
A: Well, short of planting limiting software on their machine, you really can’t (short of bringing in your own Internet line..). But there are some ‘tweaks’ you can make to your router which can help you get as much as is possible. (See, How To Limit Your Roommate’s Bandwidth)
Q: “How can I attract all the bandwidth to my Xbox via a laptop?”
A: That really isn’t how networking works. If you really want the fastest online experience, whatever the Internet-connected device, you want to use wires (aka “Ethernet cables”). If you’re using Wi Fi, you want the fewest devices accessing the ‘net as possible.. so turn off your laptop’s wifi when Xbox-ing. Unless .. you are “tethering” your Xbox to the laptop to gain a Internet connection, for some reason.. which is the worst way to do it and will have serious lag. (See, Wired or Wireless?*)
Q: “Does Gigabit router multiply megabit Internet speeds?”
A: Again, that isn’t how networking works, so no, it doesn’t. Purchasing a higher service level from your ISP is the only real way to increase your Internet speed. (See, Gigabit Ethernet Didn’t Make Internet Faster)
Q: “Can you put more than one virus protection on a tablet?”
A: Well, you could.. but you do not want to. Antiviruses most often do not play well together. (And spend more time fighting each other than protecting you.)
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Q: “Is there any way to look at logs of what website my kids visited through a linksys router???”
A: I know you can blacklist (block) websites but, I have not looked that deep into Linksys router config’s since, basically, when Wireless N came out (i.e. all the Linksys models I own, and support, are older) so I’d have to look up “DNS lookup logging” or “domains accessed logging” to answer that specifically. (If you set your DNS server to OpenDNS, they do free DNS logging.) You can look for a “Logs” tab in your (router’s) Control Panel. Generally speaking, I doubt your router creates logs that you could easily see where they visited.
But, if your child has erased their browser’s History, my (technician’s) advice is to install parental control/monitoring software; such as the excellent and free K9 Web Protection or Norton’s Family Protection services (Norton Family is free).
And finally.. Not a bad price on a higher-end 7″ Tablet..
That’s all I have time for today.
Today’s quote: “At sixty, I know little more about wisdom than I did at thirty, but I know a great deal more about folly.” ~ Mason Cooley
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
I can get away with this.. it’s the weekend!
Just going to ramble a little bit today.. But I hope you’ll find something rewarding.
* Here in Kallyfornyah, we give birth to every kooky New Age fad that sweeps the nation; and so the whole Think Your Way To A Happier, Wealthier You thing is, to me, kinda “so 80’s” (and the Fonz is saying, “Aayy“). Depak Chopra, Tony Robbins, et al, became .. well, a bit passe here. You found The Science of Getting Rich and its brethren in the library’s free bin.
But in these “tough economic times”, I’m sensing a resurgence in popularity.. “self help”. And, hey, that’s “cool”. I’m all for people expanding their minds.
I read this one, though, that said all I had to do was visualize my mansion, “see” myself in my Rolls Royce, and “feel” the security that having all the money I need feels like,, And that if I did this everyday, and really got “into it” (came to believe), the Universe would simply materialize those things in my life.
That sounded easy, so I’ve been giving it The Old College Try. For two decades now …
Clearly, I must be doing something wrong..!
* This 9″ Android 4.0 Tablet has 3G, Wireless N, and decent specs — for $100. AGPtek 8GB 9″ Android 4.0 Tablet w/ 5 Point Capacitive TouchScreen & Expandable Memory
* A reader recently told me about an online ‘bookmarking’ and ‘sharing’ service for music (and music videos) – kind of a “store your songs in the cloud” kind of thing – that I think many will be interested in (it’s quite different than things like Spotify) named Songdrop. My competitors have already written about it, so I’ll just pick one and let you read their write up, here.
(Thank you for the heads up, Dear Reader!)
* How about a pretty photograph?
Click on image to see more by this artist
And now a word from our sponsor: Oops. This position is still available. If you are a high-end tech manufacturer, producer of “gaming” gear that retails for no less than $1,500/unit, and you would like to send me units to keep, and maybe review.. lots of units.. of your best, well contact me using the form. Only serious gamer OEMs need apply.
* I have heard from various locales that some of you still have snow on the ground and/or are having snow storms and/or are expecting snow. But my weather-spy network still needs volunteers. If there’s snow on the ground where you are, well, how about a roaring fire and a hot toddy. Put your feet up. It’s Saturday!
Chillax, man. It’s cold outside.
Astounding Glory Pink Hybrid Tea Rose
* But if you’re thinking it’s time for planting roses.. 20 -50% off sale at Jackson & Perkins. (Not too late for bare root.)
* Yes, cyber-war and cyber-crime continue to make headlines, I could post a half-dozen items, easy. But S. Korea is kinda far away, and as I said, it’s Saturday. I’ll save up the downers for Monday. Have a great weekend, y’all!
* Started watching House of Cards on Netflix. Wow. It’s kinda like West Wing, only.. real-er. Kind of like the mc (played by Kevin Spacey).
* * *
Today’s quote: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank
BTW.. This is my 2,000th article here on T4E. What a long strange trip it’s been.
And, yes. Ole Tech Paul likes his rose bushes. (Can’t be all tech, all the time.)
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
People are waking up!
Somebody told me some good news.
And because I don’t trust anything I hear, I looked it up (I believe half what I read). Guess what? It’s true! Someone must have have put Get Smarter pills in the drinking water because Facebook numbers are – tighten your sealtbelt – declining. Yay!
Have people finally figured out that data mining, and the selling of their most personal information is actually an un-cool thing?! That there’s advantages to Privacy?!
* Data privacy trends: Mining and socializing
“2012 was a wild ride for cyber security and data privacy with no signs of reprieve as we slide into the New Year. So, how well did we do on our predictions from last year? At the end of 2011 I predicted there would be increased scrutiny of the third party data mining industry, and that has happened. A significant percentage of consumers continue to be concerned that data about them is being accessed and used for commercial purposes without their permission, with the potential for a variety of unhappy consequences.” Read more..
[very interesting read.]
Well.. not really. That seems to only be a concern for a small group of the IT savvy. But it does seem to be true: numbers are declining..
* Facebook numbers in decline in the UK and US
“Facebook numbers are falling in the UK and US, new research reveals.” Read more..
[related: Facebook criticised over silent launch of facial recognition tool]
and..
* Facebook Users Decline Along With Share Price: Competition from Samsung?
and for a look at the WHY of it.. Why Facebook Is Losing U.S. Users.
Has Facebook’s time finally come? Have they finally “gone too far”?
Or do the paid journalists grab at any straw, just to have some copy to submit?
I don’t know. But I don’t think anyone’s putting Get Smarter pills in the drinking water …
Today’s quote: “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.” ~ Elie Wiesel
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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