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The following scam alert post is courtesy of our friends at (LINK)Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Scam-Watch/beware-of-remove-facebook-timeline-scams NULL.html). For the latest information concerning Facebook scams, Tech Geek and More recommends visiting (LINK) Facecrooks (http://facecrooks NULL.com). (Thanks to Facecrooks for allowing the repost) Originally posted – January 4, 2012
When new Facebook features are added, scammers use the chaos, confusion and disdain to take advantage of unsuspecting users. The most recent instance involved the Facebook Ticker. There are ways to remove the Ticker by using browser extensions; however, there is no such fix for the Facebook Timeline.
Inside Facebook (http://networkedblogs NULL.com/sjNEW)reported the following just yesterday:
“Despite Facebook’s efforts to educate users about the new profile, some people have misconceptions that make them susceptible to scams like these. We have found 16 Timeline-related scam pages, which have collectively gained more than 71,000 likes. The largest, with nearly 19,000 likes, has been around for at least two weeks. These pages are among the top search results when searching Facebook for “timeline.”
There are several Facebook Pages, rogue applications and rogue browser extensions claiming to show you how to remove the Timeline from your profile. Just doing a quick search via the Facebook Search bar revealed the following:
(http://facecrooks NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/remove-timeline NULL.jpg)
Update: After 11 Hours, everything came back. I can’t answer what happened but I’m still wearing my Oliver Stone hat.
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Its been a strange day. Maybe its all the holiday food, or the fact that it’s the day after the day after Christmas, or maybe 2012 has something to do with it. Not really sure, but for some reason I just can’t help put my Oliver Stone hat on right now and Facebook is at the center of it.
Yesterday, Tech Geek and More added a story (via Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/)) about being aware of common Facebook scams. Even though the story (LINK) Alert: Beware of Facebook Freebies! (Post via Facecrooks.com) was posted yesterday, I didn’t get around to adding the link to the (LINK) Tech Geek and More Facebook page (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/pages/Tech-Geek-and-More/123599817706693), due to the holiday schedule until today. About 12p, I added the links to that story and links to 2 other stories that were just posted on Tech Geek and More today
- Scam: Woo Hoo–I’ve just been offered a MILLION DOLLAR ATM Card (No seriously it must be true
- Shopping: After Christmas Gift Returns (Via Good Morning America) (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/l NULL.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fshar NULL.es%2FW251c&h=1AQEDQP21AQFAkcEx6ZOyunpNhQkIiufmyTgYcMludF4nwQ)
The stories were posted not more within 2 minutes of each other.
Immediately after the 3rd story was posted, Facebook stopped responding to me and when I refreshed the page, was taken to the log in page. I’m now met with the message “Facebook will be back soon” when I try to log back in.
If you look at the (LINK) “Read More (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/help/?faq=168410309885639)” that you get with the message, you see its says “It usually means that we’re making an improvement to the database your (my) account is stored on”.
So I have no facts that say anything more than this is just “Routine Maintenance”, but I find it funny that my routine maintenance started immediately after a link about Facebook scams. I knew my Oliver Stone hat would come in handy someday……
The following post comes from (LINK) Facecrooks.com (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Scam-Watch/beware-of-facebook-freebies NULL.html). They are a great resource for Facebook information. (Thanks to Facecrooks for allowing the repost)
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Very few words can capture one’s attention more than the word ‘FREE.’ You would think that the constant use and overuse by marketers worldwide would eventually desensitize us to its power, but such is not the case. Just seeing the word on a page, in an online advertisement, or hearing it on the television or the radio is enough for the average person to stop and take notice.
Facebook scammers and spammers have enjoyed great success with the lure of false promises. At any given moment, you don’t have to look very hard to find the following “Free” offers or scams on Facebook:
99% of the time, the end game encountered by unsuspecting users is either a survey scam or a marketing gimmick where you have to complete several ‘special’, ‘reward’ or ‘bonus’ offers to qualify for the promotion. These offers often cost real money, and we have yet to hear of a case where the participant actually received anything after jumping through all of the hoops. (if you know of someone that has, please have them send us an email with the details – info@facecrooks.com (info null@null facecrooks NULL.com))
What’s in it for the scammers?
So why do the scam creators go through all of the trouble? If there is a word more powerful than ‘FREE,” it could be ‘MONEY.’ The more benign scams are run by marketing companies that get paid a commission for each survey completed or offer accepted. Users often submit their name, date of birth, home address, email address and phone number while signing up for the ‘special’ offers. As you can imagine, this is a treasure trove of data for unscrupulous marketers and identity thieves.
Another danger with survey scams is the potential for malware infections. Users are often tricked into downloading what they think are games, browser plug-ins or other files. If their system isn’t protected, then they could unknowingly install a virus, keylogger, or all sorts of other malware.
How can you protect yourself from these scams?
As the old saying goes, “if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is.” No where are these words of wisdom more applicable than on Facebook!
The Free App of the Day, Christmas Day offering from the Amazon App Store is ATARI Greatest Hits Pro. 
The regularly free version of ATARI GREATEST HITS only comes with 1 game (Missile Command). The pro version of the app includes the following games
“You can also purchase additional Atari games quickly and easily from within this app. Choose from 25 separate packs, each of which contains three to four individual Atari games. (For example, the Adventure 4-pack contains the well-loved game Adventure, as well as Haunted House, Return to Haunted House, and Save Mary.) “
I loaded the app on my Acer Iconia Tab 500 (16gig), and it ran just fine. The Controls for each game are easy and responsive. The look for each game is that of the original Arcade version. If you are an ATARI fan this is a must have.
You will see on the Amazon page some negative comments about the app, from what I can make out, most of the negative comments are people who did not read the part that says it comes with only 9 games and you have to buy others. Even then, the remaining game packs for the app cost $0.99 each, for games like (Listed in their packs)
Just came across this one today. For any HTC cell phone fans in the So. California area, HTC USA is holding an event at the Lexington Social House in Hollywood tomorrow night 12/14/11 from 7p to 11p (Pacific Time).
Information about the event, and where to RSVP if you want to attend can be found on the HTC (LINK) Facebook page (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/events/153841771383150/)
The event, which is 18 and up, will have “bites and cocktails for all”, plus “there will be the latest HTC phones on display for those of you with dreams of megapixels dancing in your heads”. The event is “Dress to Impress” (Based on comments on the Facebook page).
(*Note – Tech Geek and More has no involvement with this event, just sharing the information)
The following post comes from (LINK) Facecrooks (http://facecrooks NULL.com/). Facecrooks considers itself “THE Social Media Watchdog!” From their site -
“Our mission is to monitor and chronicle the seedy, unsavory and silly side of social media. We provide current news, educational resources and alerts on social media privacy, safety and scams”.
The following post cover a Facebook feature that unless you are paying attention, you could miss. A 2nd inbox in Facebook for messages, where some of your messages could be ending up. The post was originally posted on (link) Facecrooks (http://facecrooks NULL.com/Internet-Safety-Privacy/have-you-overlooked-your-other-facebook-messages NULL.html), in their Internet Safety and Privacy section.
(http://facecrooks NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/other_messages NULL.jpg)Mashable (http://mashable NULL.com/2011/12/09/facebook-hidden-messages/)revealed yesterday that many Facebook users have been unaware of the “Other” inbox located beneath the standard ‘Messages’ tab on Facebook.
Facebook, in its infinite wisdom, created this folder to automatically sort the messages you receive that they deem to be spam or not important due to a lack of connections to you. They committed a similar act earlier this year when ‘Smart Lists’ were introduced. Users were none too pleased to find that Facebook had added friends to certain lists based on their previous interactions and relationships.
I checked my folder and was pleased to find that the only thing I had missed were messages from Facebook Pages that I have ‘liked.’ I’ve missed a few webinar invites and event notifications. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but it would have been nice to know the ‘other’ tab exists.
This whole incident came to light when a Slate (http://www NULL.slate NULL.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/12/facebook_s_other_messages_mail_you_are_probably_missing NULL.2 NULL.html) reporter received a message from someone who found her lost laptop. Due to the fact that there was no connection between the two Facebook users, the message was sorted to the ‘Other’ inbox. Of course she was outraged that she didn’t receive the message in a timely manner. Upon further investigation, she discovered that both she and her colleagues had missed other important messages.
So, what can you do to make sure something like this doesn’t happen to you in the future? To make a long story short, the only remedy is to check the ‘Other’ message tab often. You can’t set up your account to receive email notifications for messages sorted to this Social Inbox.
It’s really easy to check to see if you have missed any important messages. Just Click the ‘Messages’ link located under “Favorites”. (located in the left column of your Facebook page) – this will reveal the ‘Other’ tab.
Facebook’s logic and reasoning for this behavior makes sense, it would just be nice if they did a better job of communicating subtle nuances of features to their users.
Currently on the (LINK) Best Buy (http://www NULL.bestbuy NULL.com/site/searchpage NULL.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-2385739114435906649&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=iconia+tab&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960) website, they are offering a refurbished Acer Iconia Tab 16 GB Tablet with Case for $269.99. 
As someone who has tried virtually all 10” tablets, and owns an Iconia Tab (That I paid $399 without a case), I can highly recommend this tablet. I know it lists as a refurbished model, from the Best Buy (http://www NULL.bestbuy NULL.com/site/Electronics-Promotions/Refurbished+Product+FAQs/pcmcat249600050017 NULL.c?id=pcmcat249600050017) site, here is what that means
The Iconia Tab looks and feels well built, and comes well equipped. The Iconia Tab has the follow specifications
|
Product Height
|
0.5″ |
|
Product Width
|
10.2″ |
|
Product Weight
|
1.7 lbs.. |
|
Product Depth
|
7″ |
|
Processor
|
NVIDIA Tegra 2 |
|
Processor Speed
|
1.0GHz |
|
Display Type
|
Widescreen WXGA high-definition multitouch (1280 x 800) |
|
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally)
|
10.1″ |
|
Storage Capacity
|
16GB |
|
SD Card Slot
|
Yes |
|
Adobe Flash Compatible
|
Yes |
|
Front Facing Webcam Pixels
|
2.0MP |
|
(Rear) Digital Camera Pixels
|
5.0MP |
|
Wi-Fi Built In
|
Yes |
|
Bluetooth-Enabled
|
Yes |
|
USB 2.0 Ports
|
1 |
|
HDMI Output
|
Yes |
|
Operating System
|
Android 3.0 Honeycomb (at boot up) (Will upgrade to v3.2) |
The Tablet comes with Honeycomb 3.0 installed. Acer has released the 3.2 upgrade for the tablet, so you will be running the official LATEST version of Android. You will get prompted for the upgrade when you 1st boot up and get connected to the internet. In addition, for those of you who like to Root your Android devices, this is one of the simplest tablets to Root. Rooting instructions are on (LINK) Tech Geek and More (via XDA – Developers (http://forum NULL.xda-developers NULL.com/showthread NULL.php?t=1138228)).
Microsoft via their (LINK) Windows Team Blog for Internet Explorer (http://windowsteamblog NULL.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2011/11/23/get-ready-for-update-your-parents-browser-day NULL.aspx) is calling this coming Friday 11/25 “Update your Parents Browser” day. However, in the opinion of Tech Geek and More that idea is narrow minded. Every Tech, Geek or just knowledgeable computer person has a few people (because no one has just 1) that call regularly whenever something goes wrong on a pc. You know the call, “I wasn’t doing anything and then all of a sudden………” . So Tech Geek and More is actually asking its readers to expand on the idea, and use Friday while your visiting non-tech friends and family, and update all software on the pc. Just remember, the more updated they are, the better chance you have of them NOT calling you to fix it.
Just an idea of what should be updated
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Flash
- Adobe Air
- Adobe Shockwave
- Oracle Java
- Anti-virus (If they don’t have a current one install a free one)
- All Windows Updates
- All Office Updates
- All installed browsers (Not just IE)
- **Plus review for any other installed programs that you know should be updated.
If you don’t want to take to long doing this, you can visit (LINK) Ninite (http://ninite NULL.com/), where you can install the latest version for a majority of the software.
If you need ideas as to when, the (LINK) Windows Team Blog (http://windowsteamblog NULL.com/ie/b/ie/archive/2011/11/23/get-ready-for-update-your-parents-browser-day NULL.aspx) lists Top-10 Moments to Update…. (Windows Team Blog story by Scott Armstrong (http://windowsteamblog NULL.com/members/sarm34/default NULL.aspx))
10. When they’re manning the fire extinguisher dealing with the yearly deep-fried turkey accident.
9. When they’re telling your cousins “when I was your age” stories.
8. When they’re face down in the eggnog punch.
7. When they’re fighting over the right way to carve a turkey.
6. When your mom kicks you out of the kitchen for peeling potatoes “the wrong way.”
5. When they’re sent to the grocery store at 2PM on Thanksgiving Day for extra cranberries.
4. When they’re sitting at the Adult’s table (rally the other kids to help).
3. When they’re standing in a Black Friday line.
2. When they’re untangling Christmas lights.
And the number one time to update your parents’ browser is…
1. When they’re distracted by grilling you about when you’re going to get a real job, when you’re going to settle down, and when you’re going to give them grandchildren.
So watch for these moments and many more to help them make the upgrade to a modern web browser today. Web developers everywhere will thank you!
Happy Thanksgiving from the IE team!
(https://wfc2 NULL.wiredforchange NULL.com/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173) (Banner from EFF.org (https://www NULL.eff NULL.org/))Tech Geek and More does not usually take a political stance as that is NOT the goal of this site. With that being said, there currently is a pair of bills in Congress that are SO SCARY that TGM feels that it has to get politically involved in this case.
Senator Wyden (D – Oregon) who is a steadfast opponent of the Protect IP bill. He has agreed to try and block any vote on the bill by filibustering it if it comes up for a vote.
“Sometimes filibusters last hours – or days – leaving Senators reading out of the dictionary or cookbooks to pass the time.”
‘Sen. Wyden agreed to read censorship opponents’ names from the floor of the Senate, and to try to enter the rest into the Congressional Record.”
You can visit (LINK) Stopcensorship.org (http://stopcensorship NULL.org/?referring_akid= NULL.1521576 NULL.GByv-v&source=typ-tw) to add your name to the list.
“Establishes a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be “dedicated to infringing activities.” The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against the alleged infringer and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. In some cases, action could be taken to block sites without first allowing the alleged infringer to defend themselves in court”. (From LINK OpenCongress.org (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show))
“This bill would establish a system for taking down websites that the Justice Department determines to be dedicated to copyright infringement. The DoJ or the copyright owner would be able to commence a legal action against any site they deem to have “only limited purpose or use other than infringement,” and the DoJ would be allowed to demand that search engines, social networking sites and domain name services block access to the targeted site. It would also make unauthorized web streaming of copyrighted content a felony with a possible penalty up to five years in prison. This bill combines two separate Senate bills — S.968 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s968/show) and S.978 (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-s978/show) — into one big House bill”. (From LINK OpenCongress.org (http://www NULL.opencongress NULL.org/bill/112-h3261/show))
The following video comes from Chris Pirillo of Lockergnome explaining how Protect IP and SOPA can affect everyone.
If you visit a site like (LINK) Project VoteSmart (http://votesmart NULL.org/) and enter your address on the top right,
you can get a list of information from the President to your local ballot measures.
If you click on the + next to Congressional (or whichever area interests you), you will get information like Office, First Election, Next Election, and Most Importantly Contact Information.
If you disagree with these bills and want to protect your freedom of speech, please contact your local Representatives in Congress and let them know that they need to vote against these bills if they want your vote in the next election.
