Today’s ‘Must Read’

Folks, not only does everyone need to read this article, but pass it along to their friends and family.

* How your connected home or office is a gift for hackers, criminals, and cyber spies

“The Internet of Things needs to learn how to secure devices — and fast.” Read more..

[ Note: I also highly recommend clicking on some of the embedded articles.. Like, the Snowden one.. ]

Related articles: (In my way of thinking..)

* Britain has passed the ‘most extreme surveillance law ever passed in a democracy’

“The law forces UK internet providers to store browsing histories — including domains visited — for one year. Not only that, the law also gives the intelligence agencies the power to hack into computers and devices of citizens.” Read more..

* Distracted minds: 3 tips to disconnect from tech and increase productivity

“Adam Gazzaley, neurologist and author of The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World, explains how multitasking damages focus, and offers advice for workplace productivity.” Read more..

.. But the truth is, no one’s going to read those. And no one’s going to change their thinking or behavior. I’m wasting my time.

* * *

Today’s quote: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ~ Aesop

Copyright 2007-2015 © “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 few headlines of (possible) interest

Here are a few items of interest, for your consideration.

* THE FLABBY ERA How Far Fitness Has Fallen

“You’re pathetic. Really. According to the latest research, human fitness has decreased so dramatically in recent years that even the strongest of us would consider ancient men to be, well, monsters.” Read more..

* Heartbleed Havoc: 10 Passwords You Need To Change Right Now

“Facebook, Google Gmail and Amazon Web Services, among other services, are urging users to change their passwords in response to the Heartbleed bug.” Read more..

* Americans Can’t Pass Their Own Citizenship Test

“An impressive 91% of immigrants who seek to take an American citizenship test pass it. A sampling of Miami residents — all of whom were naturalized American citizens — didn’t fare as well. And by not faring so well, we mean only 1 in 15 passed. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” Read more..

* 10 Ways Hackers Will Get The Best Of You

“CRN pulled together some top ways, identified in the Verizon Data Breach Report, that hackers can get the best of you and your business.” Read more..

* U.S. search warrant can acquire foreign cloud, email data, judge rules

“Comments made by Verizon’s chief lawyer (and heavily disputed by legal experts and academics at the time) have been proven false.” Read more..

[ What are the big picture implications here??? ]

* Wallpaper apps on Google Play contain mobile Bitcoin-mining malware
Dendroid RAT slips into Google Play

“Five wallpaper apps in the Google Play store – that are now no longer available – did deliver on the background images that were promised, but also delivered a new piece of mobile Bitcoin-mining malware known as BadLepricon.” Read more..

Yippee yahoo.

Not so bad.. Nissan Shows Off Self-Cleaning Car

“Nissan is testing a new “super-hydrophobic” paint that will repel dirt, water, and oil.” Read more..

I want that! ( hmmm… I wonder if a can of silicon spray.. )

*     *     *

Bonus: (I know at least one reader will like this..)  Eckhart Tolle speaks at Google Fireside: “Living with Meaning, Purpose and Wisdom in the Digital Age.”

Today’s quote: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> 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. <<

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)

Attention all cell phone owners: Important news

Attention all cell phone owners

(well, GSM phone owners, any way..)

Important news: Unlocking Your Cell Phone Is Now Illegal

“As of Saturday, it is illegal for you to unlock your phone without permission from your wireless carrier.” Read more..

Now, understand, I am not really into all things cellular, but my understanding is: if you ever want to (re)sell your smart phone, or switch it to a different provider’s service, or travel without “roaming charges”, you want an “unlocked” phone. So you may want to call your current provider and request the unlock code before Saturday.
(I also understand, but may very well be wrong, that “unlock”-ing is different than “jailbreak”-ing or “root”-ing. [I’ve never cared to hack a phone.])

And you may want to sign the White House Petition and (try to) get the new law changed, as well (the link is at the bottom of the [referenced] article).

They keep trying…

Um.. One problem: I have not ever Facebooked.

Today’s quote: “Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.” ~ Cynthia Nelms

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> 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.

Bravo, Maryland! + Troubleshooting USB + More

Today’s reading includes a download for help in fixing troublesome USB ports.

Big, big news: Maryland Lawmakers Ban Employers from Requesting Facebook Credentials from Employees or Interviewees

“Last week, Maryland’s House and Senate passed legislation prohibiting employers from asking for a current or prospective employee’s logins to Facebook and other social media sites. Once Governor Martin O’Malley signs the bill into law, Maryland will become the first state in the nation to pass legislation protecting employees from having employers access their social media accounts.” Read more..

(I think this absolutely should be Federal Law, and I wonder why they (Congress) voted down similar legislation. Oh. Wait. I don’t wonder at all actually. But if we have to gain this “protection” state-by-state, let’s do so. If your state doesn’t have at least one politician looking out for their constituents and smart enough to propose this — start a Proposition.)(Unbelievable there’s been no public outrage on this..)

* Map and troubleshoot your USB ports with Microsoft USB View

“After some deep investigation, Greg Shultz came across a Windows 7 compatible version of the old Windows utility USB View.” Read more..

These next two might be a little too corporate for most readers, but..

* Five ways companies use social media and look like jerks

“Let’s take a look at five ways companies use social media and end up making themselves look like complete and utter fools.” Read more..

(I enjoyed this one.. even though I don’t use “social media”, or work for the man.)

* Connect your iPhone to Microsoft Office 365

“Office 365, the cloud-based collaboration platform from Microsoft, can actually be iPhone-friendly. Will Kelly shows you how to connect your iPhone to Office 365.” Read more..

And.. this can’t be good..

* Seventeen years worth of Emory patient data missing

“Emory Healthcare in Atlanta lost the personal information of surgery patients treated at its three hospitals when 10 backup discs went missing.

How many victims? 315,000 patients treated from September 1990 to April 2007.

What type of personal information? Names, Social Security numbers (on 228,000 patients), surgery dates, diagnoses, and other information about the procedures, such as whom performed them and what types of devices were used” Read more..

More news on the Apple botnet..

* Russian security firm says Flashback infection rates still high

“Last week’s reports of a sharp decline in infections by the Flashback malware may have been premature. A new report by Dr. Web says 566,000 Macs are still infected, with new infections appearing.” Read more..

* New Flashback variant silently infects Macs

“A new Flashback Trojan has been discovered that infects Macs without prompting the user for a password. If you haven’t updated Java on your Mac, or disabled it entirely, you could be a victim.” Read more..

And in the News From Around The World Department..

* In China, plagiarization is an established business model

“Copying business ideas from both foreign and domestic firms has been standard operating procedure for Chinese Internet companies. But these borrowing practices could be losing their momentum.” Read more..

Well, I’m out of time for today. See you next time.

Today’s quote: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” ~ Booker T. Washington

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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>> 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.

Banned From The Internet For File Sharing?

Internet service providers are cooperating more and more with copyright holders to crack down on illegal downloading and peer-to-peer file-sharing.

Becky Waring published a very interesting ’round-up’ look at the current state of the ‘battle’ between copyright holders (primarily RIAA) and the very popular (yet largely illegal) “Torrent” P2P file-sharing phenomenon on Windows Secrets.

There are some tough new laws recently enacted, or under consideration, in many countries following the recent convictions of the operators of the popular Pirates Bay Torrent search engine in Sweden ... laws that could get people “blacklisted” from the Internet.

Internet Service Providers are coming under increasing pressure to use technology to identify people using Torrent applications and punish them, and Torrent users are using technology to escape detection. This ‘battle’ poses some very serious questions about the issues of privacy and technology.

Ms. Waring has done an excellent job with this article, and I invite my readers to read it. Please click the link below.

ISPs assist in cutting off file-sharing users

Today’s free link: KidZui – Free, Safe Internet Browsing for Kids

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Changes in California, coming to you soon

California has the distinct reputation of being a legal trendsetter. We pass laws here that no one else would even consider– and then those laws spread to other states whose High Mucketty-mucks say, “they got away with it in California, why not here?”
Before too long, it finds its way to your state.

Today, a law (passed earlier) comes into effect here in CA that will surely dig some hard-earned cash out of its citizens’ pockets and get it back into the Govt’s hands.. where it can do some good.. like maybe buy some time before insolvency. (California totters on bankruptcy, folks.)
That law is the Hands Free Cellphone Law.

As of today, you cannot use an ordinary, everyday cellphone while driving your car– you must use some device which allows you to keep both hands on the wheel. Those folks under 18 can’t use a cell at all. (And yes, it is one more excuse for them to pull you over: suspicion of violating the new law.)

Of course, sales of bluetooth earpieces is skyrocketing, and the motive for the law is to save lives– some hired “expert” estimated 300 per year. This is what is known as a “win-win” (increase sales and save lives–wow!!!) but is actually a win-win-win.. if you like police states.

But.. this new law won’t save any lives.. as this LA Times article points out. It isn’t where your hands are.. it’s where your head is at.
What would is if all the people out there focused on their driving and didn’t make telephone calls while cruising our roads. I don’t. And I manage.

But how are you going to put that genie back into its bottle?

And why the especially strict under 18? Was some lawmaker P.O.‘ed at his kid the day they wrote it?
Aitch-ee-double toothpicks in a handbasket.

[note: I don’t know how many folks drive while blabbing where you live, but this new law is going to affect everyone in CA.. except me.]

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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