Fake Email’s – A Scam That Doesn’t Go Away

anovelo

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October 30, 2016

Fake Email’s – A Scam That Doesn’t Go Away

Since the invention of email, there have been bad guys trying to trick others into giving up personal information. The fact is that in the 25+ years since the start of the internet, as we know it, the trend continues. That just means that there are still people out there falling for these types of scams. Some of the emails are so poorly done, that it’s obvious, but that’s not always the case. The more professional bad guys take time and care in putting together their scams, and some of the scams are so good that they could fool most people. The following are just a sample of some recently received fake emails

PayPal – Identity Issue

If you check the PayPal Security Information page, you will find the following

Questions PayPal will never ask you in an email.

To help you better identify fake emails, we follow strict rules. We will never ask for the following personal information in email:

Credit and debit card numbers

Bank account numbers

Driver’s license numbers

Email addresses

Passwords

Your full name

Discover – Your Account Information Updated

If you look at the links on this fake Discover email, you will find that they all show as link-shorted addresses. Short Link services may be convenient but they are also a great way to hide the real address you are being sent to. If you are ever confronted by a short link and you want to verify it before clicking, you can use services like LongURL to verify the link. In the case of the fake Discover email, the LongURL service shows me that one of the links in the email takes me to a site that definitely has nothing to do with Discover.

When it comes to any online account, if you get any email or any other social media message, the best thing to do is open a web browser, manually type the address of the company and sign in to the page you typed, don’t use a link as that link will probably redirect you to places you don’t want to go. If you are still not sure, call the company’s support line and let them know about the message you received. If it’s a real message they will be able to confirm it.

American Express – Verify Your Request

Finally, we have American Express and their concern about a change to my User ID, and of course, them wanting to confirm my details. The links on the screen do say AmericanExpress.com but if you look closely at the link itself, the page it will take you to is just a number.

These guys couldn’t afford to pay $10 for an actual website name, to at least seem like they are trying. No company with a reputation will just send you a link to an IP address (at least I’ve never come across one that has).

So as always, even if the message looks good, always be skeptical and NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER EVER EVER give out your personal information based on a message received via email or social media. As listed by PayPal (but it holds true for all companies). No company will ever ask you the following via an email or social media message

Credit and debit card numbers
Bank account numbers
Driver’s license numbers
Email addresses
Passwords
Your full name
Mothers Maiden Name
Social Security Number
Home Address

If you do get a fake email, you should just delete it.

How to Opt Out Of Emergency Alerts On Your Cell Phone

Apple
iPhone

anovelo

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October 29, 2016

0

How to Opt Out Of Emergency Alerts On Your Cell Phone

More and more these days people receive alerts via their cell phones. From storm alerts to amber alerts, everyone gets alerts. Today’s post will cover How to Opt Out Of Emergency Alerts On Your Cell Phone

What Is The Wireless Emergency Alert System

The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), is also known as the Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) or Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN). The system is a national emergency alert system to send concise, text-like messages to users’ WEA-capable mobile devices. The bill authorizing the WEA was signed into law in April 2012. All the major wireless providers signed-off (agreed) to participate in the emergency alert system.

There are three different kinds of alerts:

Presidential Alerts – Alerts issued by the President or a designee;
Imminent Threat Alerts – Alerts that include severe man-made or natural disasters. Things like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc., where an imminent threat to life or property exists; and
AMBER Alerts– Alerts that meet the U.S. Department of Justice’s criteria to help law enforcement search for and locate an abducted child.

While these alerts will appear on a person’s mobile device similar to a text message, Wireless Emergency Alerts are not text messages. Instead, Wireless Emergency Alerts use a different kind of technology to ensure they are delivered immediately and are not subjected to potential congestion (or delays) on wireless networks. For those who wish to not get these messages, here is How to Opt Out Of Emergency Alerts On Your Device

How does this work

In a nutshell, if your phone is on, it is connected to the nearest cell phone tower it can find, and it will stay connected to that tower until the phone finds another tower that it thinks is closer. If a message needs to get sent out, the cell phone companies will send out the message to the designated towers and if your phone is connected to one of these towers you get the alert.

One of the complaints of the messaging system is that it will alert you, with sound, even if your phone is on silent or vibrate (and the sound is loud). Furthermore messages can be sent at any time, 24 hours a day. One noteworthy alert in California, had an amber alert sent out in the middle of the night (about 2am or so) waking up and freighting a large number of people who were not expecting to hear that go off while they were asleep.

In the following report by Tech Feed, Annie talks about the wireless alert system and the California alert and shows you some ways to opt out of the alerts.

iPhone

To turn off the alerts on an iPhone

open the Settings icon
click on Notifications and scroll down the screen to the bottom where you will see Government Alerts
this is the screen where Amber and Emergency alerts can be turned off (Presidential Alerts don’t have that option)

Android

For most Android phones

open the Messaging app
press the Menu button and then Settings
furthermore, scroll until you see Emergency Alerts, select it
this is the screen where you can turn off Amber and weather notifications.

Additional questions/answers can be found on the FEMA website

Source(s)

video – Tech Feed
Info – CTIA

How to resolve SD Card issues (For Windows and Mac)

anovelo

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October 28, 2016

6

I ran into an issue this week when I attempted to format an 8 GB High Capacity SD Card inside of a camera and it failed to format. I then put the SD card in a pc and attempted the format only to have the format fail in the pc as well.

The pc would report that the SD card was not formatted and needed to be. When I attempted to format on the pc, I would get an error that said “Failed to format the device”

In doing some research on this issue I discovered that there is an SD Association and they have a free Program specially designed to format SD/SDHC/SDXC cards. The program called SD Formatter has the following advantage (From the SD Association Page)

This software formats all SD memory cards, SDHC memory cards and SDXC memory cards that comply with the SD File System Specification. SD Formatter provides quick and easy access to your SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards.

The SD Formatter was created specifically for SD/SDHC/SDXC Cards. It is strongly recommended to use the SD Formatter instead of formatting utilities provided with operating systems which format various types of storage media. These generic utilities may result in less than optimal performance for SD/SDHC/SDXC Cards.

So I downloaded the program called SD Formatter 3 and tried it on ,my SD card and it worked.

Here are the steps for using SD Formatter

Once installed the application initialized with just one small screen.

First, select the drive containing the card you wish to format. Likely, this will be E or F for most Windows users. Notice that when you select the drive, the size of the SD disk appears just below the selection. For the 4GB card used in this example, the size is recognized as 3.68 GB. (No Matter what size SD card you use, the size will report just a little bit smaller due to formatting requirements).

Next, click Option to select how you want the SD card formatted. A dialogue box appears with a drop down menu listing three “format type” options.

The first, Quick, is simply a standard wipe of the disk—all data currently on the disk will be erased.
The second, Full (Erase), will put the disk into a proper SD format, be aware that even though this lists as Erase because it does a simple delete vs. overwrite, it may still be possible (It’s not easy but could be done) to recover the files that were on the drive.
The third option, Full (OverWrite),—is the option you will want to use most often, as it formats the card properly, while giving it a fresh start with no old data left on the disk at all. Not all cards support this, but if you choose this and the card does not support the option, the formatter automatically reverts to the second “erase off” option during the formatting process. (NOTE: With this option, when its gone, its gone!)

Under the Format Type drop down menu is a second menu called “format size adjustment” that asks if you want to try to increase the amount of space on your SD card or not. Turning this option on will allow you to use the maximum space possible on your SD card. Once you have made your selection, click OK.

You will be brought back to the original formatter screen where it should display the options you just selected:

Click Format. If you select Quick you will be informed that “Data may be retrieved after quick format. Meaning that it will not completely overwrite what is on the card. (However, you will need special recovery software to retrieve files from the card as all the pointers that would show you the files when you look at the drive will be removed, so the card will appear blank) Click OK

Finally after that you will be asked one last time if you are sure you want to do this. If you are sure, click OK.

A new dialogue box then displays the status of your formatting efforts. For the options selected above, it first erases all files from the disk, then formats it. If you are using a larger disk, as in this example, this process will take a few minutes. Do not turn off your computer or remove the disk until the entire process is complete.

When complete, a dialogue box appears telling you the results of the formatting process.

With that you should now have a very usable SD card.

Source

SD Formatter – SD Association

Apple Releases iOS 10.1

Apple
iPhone

anovelo

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October 25, 2016

0

After a couple of weeks of being in beta, Apple has now released the latest update for the iPhone, iPad & iPod’s. Apple lists the following changes in this latest 10.1 update of iOS. Apple Releases iOS 10.1

iOS 10.1 Release Notes

Camera and Photos

Introduces Portrait Camera for iPhone 7 Plus that creates a depth effect that keeps your subject sharp while creating a beautifully blurred background (beta)

People names in the Photos app are saved in iCloud backups

Improved the display of wide color gamut photos in the grid views of the Photos app

Fixes an issue where opening the Camera app would show a blurred or flashing screen for some users

Fixes an issue that caused Photos to quit for some users when turning on iCloud Photo Library

Maps

Transit support for every major train, subway, ferry, and national bus line, as well as local bus systems for Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya

Sign-based transit navigation including layouts of all underground structures and walkways that connect large transit stations

Transit fare comparison when viewing alternative transit routes

Messages

New option to replay bubble and full screen effects

Messages effects can play with Reduce Motion enabled

Fixes an issue that could lead to contact names appearing incorrectly in Messages

Addresses an issue where Messages could open to a white screen

Addresses an issue that could prevent the report junk option from displaying with unknown senders

Fixes an issue where videos captured and sent in the Messages app could be missing audio

Apple Watch

Adds distance and average pace to workout summaries in the Activity app for outdoor wheelchair run pace and outdoor wheelchair walk pace

Fixes issues that may have prevented Music playlists from syncing to Apple Watch

Addresses an issue that was preventing invitations and data to appear in Activity Sharing

Fixes an issue that was allowing Activity Sharing to update over cellular when manually disabled

Resolves an issue that was causing some third-party apps to crash when inputting text

Other improvements and fixes

Improves Bluetooth connectivity with 3rd party accessories

Improves AirPlay Mirroring performance when waking a device from sleep

Fixes an issue where playback would not work for iTunes purchased content when the “Show iTunes Purchases” setting is turned off

Fixes an issue where certain selfie apps and face filters used with the FaceTime HD Camera on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus did not display a live preview

Fixes an issue in Health where individual strokes are converted to separate characters when using the Chinese handwriting keyboard

Improves performance of sharing websites from Safari to Messages

Fixes an issue in Safari that caused web previews in tab view to not display correctly

Fixes an issue that caused certain Mail messages to be reformatted with very small text

Fixes an issue that caused some HTML email to be formatted incorrectly

Fixes an issue that in some cases caused the search field to disappear in Mail

Fixes an issue that could prevent Today View Widgets from updating when launched

Fixes an issue where Weather widget sometimes failed to load data

Fixes an issue on iPhone 7 where Home Button click settings would not appear in search results

Fixes an issue that prevented spam alert extensions from blocking calls

Resolves an issue that could prevent alarm sounds from going off

Fixes an issue where audio playback via Bluetooth would cause the Taptic engine to stop providing feedback for some users

Resolves an issue preventing some users from restoring from iCloud Backup

This 10.1 update is intended to be installed on

iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus
iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, iPad 4th generation, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro 9.7 inch, and iPad Pro 12.9 inch
iPod touch 6th generation.

To get the Update for your device

Directly from your device

If a message says that an update is available, tap Install Now. You can also follow these steps:

Plug your device into power and connect to the Internet with Wi-Fi.
Tap Settings > General > Software Update.
Tap Download and Install. If a message asks to temporarily remove apps because iOS needs more space for the update, tap Continue or Cancel. Later, iOS will reinstall apps that it removed.
To update now, tap Install. Or you can tap Later and choose Install Tonight or Remind Me Later. If you tap Install Tonight, just plug your iOS device into power before you go to sleep. Your device will update automatically overnight.
If asked, enter your passcode.

Source

How to Install iOS – Apple

Apple Releases macOS 10.12.1 for Mac

anovelo

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October 24, 2016

0

For those of you that have Mac laptops, Apple has now released the latest update to the OS (now known as macOS). The latest version, which is 10.12.1, is now available after going through beta testing for the past month or so.

Continue

How To: Use KeePass Password Manager

anovelo

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October 16, 2016

0

There have been a number of newsworthy hackings over the past few months (Yahoo being the latest BIG one), and the one thing you hear everyone say after each site gets hacked is “You shouldn’t use the same password on multiple sites”. That however is easier said than done, considering how many passwords we have for work, school, email, banking, social media, etc.…..there is no way that you will be able to remember all of them. We have so many things to remember these days, which is one of the main reasons most people repeat or use simple passwords over and over.

This short tutorial will show you the basic usage of the KeePass password manager.

Downloading KeePass

There are a number of places where you can find the KeePass program including the KeePass homepage, however for simplicity, we recommend downloading KeePass from the Ninite Website

If you are downloading KeePass from the Ninite website, all you need to do is put a check next to the program and then click the Green “Get Installer” button on the Ninite page.

The reason we prefer Ninite is that they will install it without any extra unnecessary files or toolbars that you could end up with if you get the program from other sites.

Creating a new database

The very first step is creating a new password database. KeePass will store all your passwords in such a database. To create one, click ‘File – New…’ in the main menu or click the leftmost toolbar button. A window will appear, which prompts you for a master password and/or key file. The database will be encrypted with the password you enter here. The password you enter here will be the only password you’ll ever have to remember from on now. It should be long and built up of mixed characters. Keep in mind that when someone gets your database file and guesses the password, he could access all passwords you stored in the database.

For this tutorial, we’ll just use a password, not a key file. Click into the password edit field and enter a password of your choice. The password edit control isn’t limited in length, so feel free to even enter a whole sentence (just keep in mind that you’ll need to remember it).

After clicking [OK], a second dialog appears. In this dialog you can configure some generic database properties. For now, just leave everything as it is and click [OK].

Now you see the main window. On the left, you see the entry groups. On the right, you see the actual password entries. The password entries are grouped together into the password groups you see on the left. So, depending on which group on the left you selected, it’ll show you the entries in this group in the right view. KeePass has created a few default groups for you, but you’re totally free to delete them and create your own ones.

Adding an entry

Time to store your very first password in the KeePass database! Right-click into the right password entry view and choose ‘Add Entry…’. A window will pop up. In this window, you can now edit your entry

Enter some title for it, a username, an URL, the actual password, etc. If you don’t need some of the fields, just leave them empty. When you’re done, click [OK].

You’ll see your new entry in the password list on the right side.

Using Entries

You got the new entry in the password list now. What can you actually do with it now? Right-click on the entry. You have several options now.

You can for example copy the username of the entry to the Windows clipboard. When you’ve copied it, you can post it into any other program of your choice. The same works for copying passwords.
KeePass can open the URL you specified. To do this, just click ‘URL(s) – Open URL(s)’ in the context menu. KeePass will start the default browser and open the specified URL.

Saving the database

It’s time to save our database. Click on the ‘Save’ toolbar button (looks like a disk; 3rd toolbar button). As you’re saving the database the first time, you now have to specify a location where you want the database file to be stored.

There are a number of free password managers, KeePass is just one of the more well-known. Programs like KeePass are free and will help you keep track of all your passwords. There is no reason why you should be using simple passwords (like password or 12345) and no reason why you are using the same password on all your sites. There is an old saying about having “all your eggs in one basket”, well using the same password on your accounts is the digital equivalent of that. KeePass is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS (iPhone / iPad), Android, and Blackberry.

Sources

Bring Back IE / Change Default Browser In Windows 10

anovelo

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October 16, 2016

0

Since the release of Windows 10, most of the comments I’ve heard are positive. Everyone seems to like Windows 10, or at least like it more than Windows 8, however the BIG complaint that I keep getting over and over involves Internet Explorer being removed, and how the Edge browser doesn’t work for a number of popular websites or in business environments. The reason the Edge browser does not work for some is because the Edge browser does not properly support some of the applications that are used to make websites run (ActiveX controls, Silverlight, or Java). If the site you are trying to use requires one of those functions as part of a web browser, then Edge will not work for you. It is true that not supporting those features makes Edge a much more secure browser, but if you need access you need access. Did I mention that the Edge Browser is set to default so whenever you click on a link in Windows 10 (like in an email) the Edge browser is what opens.

There are a couple of things you should know

Internet Explorer has not been removed, the link has just been moved to an area where most people wont think of looking (Windows Accessories).
You can make Internet Explorer, or any other browser you download (Chrome, Firefox, etc.) the default browser really easily

The following steps will help you find Internet Explorer and also change the default browser in Windows 10 to whatever you wish to use.

Where is Internet Explorer?

The Edge browser looks a lot like Internet Explorer but it has some major differences under the hood. To access Internet Explorer – Look in the start menu, under Windows Accessories. You can right click and pin it to the start menu for easier access.

How To Change The Default Browser In Windows 10

Use the following steps to change what Web Browser opens by default in Windows 10, when you click on links.

Next to the start menu –> Click in the Search the web and Windows box –> Type Default Programs –> Click on Default Programs

In the Window that opens, you can select the Default Email Client, Maps Program, Music Player, Photo viewer, Video Player, and Web Browser (from programs currently installed on the computer). In this case, click on the Browser listed under Web Browser

Once you click on the browser, you will get a pop up box listing installed browsers. Just select the browser you want to use by default.

Once you make your changes, just close the window and that will do it. What you select is what will open by default when you click on links.

Adding 2 Factor Authentication – Amazon

anovelo

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October 16, 2016

0

This past week Amazon sent an email notifying some of its users that their passwords had been reset. The company said there’s no reason to believe the Amazon accounts had been hijacked but decided to take this step of resetting passwords “out of an abundance of caution”, after discovering a list of email addresses and passwords that had been published online and suspecting that some of its users’ credentials were on that list, given that certain people use the same passwords for multiple services. One of the recommendations that Amazon gave its users was to turn on 2 factor authentication for Amazon.

Here’s the complete message that Amazon sent under the subject line “Your Amazon password has been changed”:

Hello,

At Amazon we take your security and privacy very seriously. As part of our routine monitoring, we discovered a list of email addresses and passwords posted online. While the list was not Amazon-related, we know that many customers reuse their passwords on multiple websites. Since we believe your email addresses and passwords were on the list, we have assigned a temporary password to your Amazon.com account out of an abundance of caution.

You will need to reset your password when you return to the Amazon.com site. To reset your password, click “Your Account” at the top of any page on Amazon.com. On the Sign In page, click the “Forgot your password?” link to reach the Amazon.com Password Assistance page. After you enter your email or mobile phone number, you will receive an email containing a personalized link. Click the link from the email and follow the directions provided.

Your new password will be effective immediately. We recommend that you choose a password that you have never used with any website.

You can also enable Amazon’s Two-Step Verification, a feature that adds an extra layer of security to your account. In addition to entering your password, Two-Step Verification requires you to enter a unique security code during sign in. To learn more about Two-Step Verification, go to Amazon.com Help, go to Managing Your Account, and click More in Managing Your Account, and then click More under Account Settings.

Previously, Tech Geek and More had posted about turning on 2 factor authentication for several services (like Facebook, Twitter, iCloud, etc). The following information is for those who would like to turn on 2 factor authentication on their Amazon Account.

How To Turn On 2 Factor Authentication

Log into your Amazon Account. Once logged in, click on Your Account, that is just under your name (on the top right), and then click on Your Account (again) from the drop menu.

In the next window, under Need Support (toward the top right), click on Change Email or Password

At this point, click Edit (toward the bottom) to the right of Advanced Security Settings.

You will now be in the Advanced Security Settings page. On this page, click on Get Started button

Text Message (SMS) Steps

You will now have a decision to make. You can either select to receive your authentication code via a text message or you can select using an Authenticator App. The following steps will be for those who want to use text message (Authenticator App Steps scroll down). If that’s the case all you will need to do is enter your phone number, and click send code. Once you receive the text code, enter it into the box (at the bottom) and select Verify code and continue.

You will now set up a backup method. This is in case you can’t access your initial text message number. In this 2nd step, you should either set up a different phone number to receive text messages or a number you can receive calls from. NOTE: This CAN’T be the same number you used in step 1.

Lastly in this step, Amazon informs you that on some devices (usually older tablets, you may run into an issue with 2 step authentication because the device wont be able to show the second screen that prompts for the security code. If you run into that issue, just log in by adding the security code that is sent to you to the end of the password. In this step, you also have an option of NOT using 2 factor authentication on devices you use often. If you want to limit not having to use 2 factor authentication on some devices, check the box on the bottom of the page.

This completes the Amazon 2 factor authentication using text messages.

Authenticator App Steps

For those who don’t want to bother with receiving a text message, you can use what is known as an Authenticator App. The advantage with the Authenticator App is that any device that you have the app installed and logged into can be used to authorize your log in. To get an Authenticator app visit the app store for your device. Do a search for Authenticator App. You will find a number of apps, the easiest ones to use are Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator.

Once you have your Authenticator App installed, here are the steps you need to follow for your Amazon Account.

To start, open your installed authenticator app, and scan the bar code on the page. On the app you will get a 6 digit code, enter that code on the box in the bottom of the page and click on Verify code and continue.

In the next section, you will select and set up a back up way to access your account via 2 factor authentication. This screen will let you set up either a phone call or text message to authenticate.

Lastly, just like in the text configuration, you will be prompted about issues logging in on some devices. Just remember if log in doesn’t work (usually on an older device), just add the code that is sent to you to the end of your password.

And that’s it. With that you should now have 2 factor authentication set up on your Amazon Account.

Source

Amazon – 2 Factor Authentication / Screenshots

Samsung Note 7 Ban

News

anovelo

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October 14, 2016

0

In an emergency order, that was just issued, and goes into effect tomorrow Oct 15th @ 12p (ET), the US Department of Transportation has banned all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices from all airplanes going to/from the US, or traveling within the US. Samsung Note 7 Ban

What’s In The Order

In the order, the DOT states the following

What air travelers should know

If passengers attempt to travel by air with their Samsung Galaxy Note7 devices, the phones may be confiscated and passengers may face fines.

Passengers who attempt to evade the ban by packing their phone in checked luggage are increasing the risk of a catastrophic incident. Anyone violating the ban may be subject to criminal prosecution in addition to fines.

Passengers currently traveling with Samsung Galaxy Note7 phones should contact Samsung or their wireless carrier immediately to obtain information about how to return their phones and arrange for a refund or a replacement phone. Samsung has provided guidance for customers about refund and replacement options, as well as how to contact wireless carriers, athttp://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall/[external link]. Samsung is also answering customers’ questions at 1-844-365-6197.

If an airline representative observes that a passenger is in possession of a Samsung Note7 device prior to boarding an aircraft, the air carrier must deny boarding to the passenger unless and until the passenger divests themselves and their carry-on and checked baggage of the Samsung Galaxy Note7 device. Passengers absolutely should not pack the phones in their checked luggage.

If a flight crew member identifies that a passenger is in possession of a Samsung Galaxy Note7 device while the aircraft is in flight, the crew member must instruct the passenger to power off the device, not use or charge the device while aboard the aircraft, protect the device from accidental activation, including disabling any features that may turn on the device, such as alarm clocks, and keep the device on their person and not in the overhead compartment, seat back pocket, nor in any carry-on baggage, for the duration of the flight.

For those who still have a Note 7

For additional information on returning your recalled Galaxy Note7 device to the manufacturer, call 1-800-SAMSUNG or 1-800-726-7864 or visit the website: http://www.samsung.com/us/note7recall/[external link]

Source

US DOT

How To: Removed From People Search Sites

anovelo

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September 26, 2016

0

How To: Removed From People Search Sites

Did you know that for a couple of bucks, without leaving the comfort of your home, anyone could easily become a stalker? In this day and age of information available at the press of a button, it doesn’t take much or cost much, to find out almost anything you want about anyone. Removed From People Search Sites

If you have a driver’s license or id, if you have a bank account or purchased a home or rented housing if you had a job, have a phone number, or have done just about anything that involves leaving your home or having contact with the outside world, you have a public record. Removed From People Search Sites

Issue With Online People Search Sites

Companies like Been Verified, Spokeo, PeopleSmart, MyLife, Intelius, People Finder, Peek You, and People Finder are all getting paid for selling your information. Keep in mind, I know I didn’t give them the right to access and sell my information, and for 99.9% of you, I know you didn’t either. They claim that all they are doing is making public information more accessible.

Here is the thing, in the past if someone wanted to become a stalker they would need to make a public appearance in a courthouse, local government office, or at a private business. Once there they would have to be seen by another individual and fill out forms to access public information, all the while being seen by lots of people and recorded by security cameras. The average person, would not go through all of that, so your information, even if the public was fairly private.

NOT ANYMORE. Now I could get up at 2 am in my underwear (sorry about the mental image), and get online, use a prepaid credit card I bought at a gas station, connect to one of these sites using a proxy service (which is free), and no one would know (at least not easily) who actually got the information. If that doesn’t concern you, especially about your privacy, it should. If nothing else, it should make you mad knowing others are making money from your identity without your consent.

So with all that being said what can you do??? Well, it is possible, even though for some sites NOT EASY, The following information covers some of the most popular people search companies on the web and how to get yourself removed from their records.

Removed From People Search Sites

Getting Yourself Removed

Spokeo – Search your name on the site (if that doesn’t work, try your maiden or former name). Once the list of names comes up, select See Results Now next to your name. Once your specific listing comes up, copy the complete URL (web page address info) from the top of the page.

Go to the opt-out page, paste the URL, and enter your email address to remove the listing. You may have multiple listings on Spokeo if you have moved or changed your name and will need to return to the opt-out page to remove each one. As I said, they don’t want to make it easy for you.

MyLife – This is the one that annoys me the most. They are also one of the hardest to get removed from because, even though they are a tech company that can pull public records from 1000s of places, they have zero ways to allow you to remove yourself from their systems online.

To remove yourself from MyLife, you will need to call 1-888-704-1900, press option 2, and wait to speak to a person. When they answer and be prepared to wait on hold for a bit, tell them that you want to remove your listing, and tell them that you found it by searching for yourself online (if they ask). They may also ask if you have a paid membership with them or get emails from them; the answer is no in both cases. Finally, they will ask for your name, age, current address, and sometimes a previous address before they’ll remove you. The company claims it will take up to 10 days to remove you. NOTE: Be prepared for a very hard sell on why you want to pay them to use their service. When they give you the hard sell, just tell them, You Want Nothing To Do With Them!!!

BeenVerified – Seems to have one of the easier ways to get removed. From the opt-out page of BeenVerified, search for yourself. Once you find your listing, click on the Green “That’s the one” button. That will take you to the Submit Your Opt-Out Request. Once you submit your info, keep an eye out for an email to verify your removal. You will have to do this for each listing of you, so you do want to check and see if there is more than one listing for you.

Intelius – From the opt-out page, you will get prompted to verify your identification by attaching a scan of a driver’s license, passport, military ID, state ID, or employee ID from a state agency. The photo and driver’s license number should be crossed out. A notarized statement of your identity is also acceptable. Enter in an email address to receive a confirmation when your info has been removed, and type in any additional records found on the site in the Additional Information field.

Remove Yourself From 4 Online People Search Sites

Source(s)

Removal Instructions – Spokeo , MyLife, BeenVerified, Intelius

FYI – Liquid Damage to iPhone / iPod Not Covered by Warranty

Apple
iPhone

anovelo

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September 25, 2016

0

If you’ve seen the announcement for the iPhone 7, one of the key points Apple focused on was the fact that the iPhone was “water-resistant”. If you look at one of the latest commercials from Apple, it again emphasizes the fact that the iPhone is Water Resistant.

However….don’t let that fool you. One of the big keys of the iPhone (and iPods) is that “Liquid damage to iPhone or iPod isn’t covered by warranty”.

If liquid damages an iPhone or iPod (for example, coffee or a soft drink), the service for the liquid damage isn’t covered by the Apple one-year limited warranty or an AppleCare Protection Plan (APP). iPhone and most iPod devices that were built after 2006 have built-in Liquid Contact Indicators that will show whether the device has been in contact with water or a liquid containing water.

According to Apple –

An LCI will activate when it contacts water or a liquid containing water. The indicator’s color is normally white or silver, but when it contacts water or a liquid containing water, it will turn fully red. An LCI won’t activate because of humidity and temperature changes that are within the product’s environmental requirements.

Final Thought

So even though Apple keeps advertising the water-resistant features of the iPhone, it’s a good idea to try to avoid finding out for yourself. As noted in the pictures above, if the LCI on your device (any device made after 2006) activates, then you will lose your warranty.

Source(s)

iPhone 7 Introduction Commercial – Apple / YouTube
iPhone 7 Commercial – Apple / YouTube
Liquid Damage Notice Info / Screenshots – Apple / HT204104

Updated: Yahoo Breach Announcement Confirmed

anovelo

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September 22, 2016

1

Updated: Yahoo Breach Announcement Confirmed

Updated 9/22/16 @ 3:15 pm (EDT).

Yahoo has now confirmed that it was breached, by what it calls “a state-sponsored actor” in 2014. The hack according to Yahoo affects at least 500 million accounts (and to that can we all say DAMM!). Per Yahoo,

The account information may have included names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords (the vast majority with bcrypt) and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.

If you haven’t changed your password since 2014 ( and even if you have), it’s HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you change your password. Also NOTE, yahoo said it may have also included security questions. So you should change those too, and remember if you use a yahoo email as your sign-in on other sites, with the same password, change the info in all those places TOO! For additional info visit the Yahoo Account Security FAQ

Yahoo Breach Announcement Confirmed

——–Original Post——————

There have been many reports of a possible data breach at Yahoo, that could affect 200 million accounts. Yahoo even admitted that they were “investigating” the reports a few months back. Well, it seems now, if a report by Recode is correct, that Yahoo will admit, this week, it had a breach.

According to the report by Recode, a hacker by the name of Peace has the data and is selling it on what is known as the dark web.

So knowing this is a possibility, what should you be doing?

To-Do List

Do you have a yahoo account? It doesn’t matter if you haven’t logged in since y2k! Do you have an account? If you opened an account and never went in to close it, you have an account.

Log into your yahoo account and change your password. If you haven’t used your yahoo account in years, CLOSE YOUR ACCOUNT.

To Reset Your Password – Visit the Yahoo Info Page (https://login.yahoo.com/account/personalinfo) -> Log In and then click on Account Security -> Followed By Clicking on Change Password.

To Close Your Account – Visit the “Terminating your Yahoo account” page (https://edit.yahoo.com/config/delete_user)
If you use a phone number to sign in – visit yahoo’s alternative account termination page (https://login.yahoo.com/account/action/delete_user) instead.

Read the information under “Before continuing, please consider the following information.” Because terminating your Yahoo account also terminates account access to sites like HotJobs, Yahoo Mail, and Flickr among others.
Confirm your password.
Click Terminate this Account.

Do you have any other accounts that have you log in with an email address? Are any of those accounts using your Yahoo email as the user name? If the answer is yes, go to those accounts and change your password on those accounts. You may be asking why? Well 2 things

Most people use the same password everywhere, so you need to change it.
As remote as it may sound, if they have your account info they can log into your email and see emails from other accounts and know what you have/use. It’s not that crazy.

Final Thoughts

Yahoo is a shell of what it used to be, but back in the day, it was to the Internet what social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. ) is today. The breach is still “a rumor” as Yahoo themselves have NOT confirmed anything. It could be a false alarm or it could be one of the biggest ever. In either case, changing your password now and regularly on all your accounts (as much of a pain in the asset as it is) is always a good idea.

Yahoo Breach Announcement Confirmed

Source(s)

Yahoo Breach News – Recode
Yahoo Account Closing Info – Yahoo

Apple Releases Safari 10

anovelo

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September 20, 2016

0

While everyone was waiting for the release of macOS, Apple also released Safari 10.0 for those Mac users on OS X El Capitan or OS X Yosemite . Apple lists the Safari 10 update as a recommended update, that includes improvements for privacy, compatibility, and security. If you install macOS, you are automatically updated to Safari 10, but those who can’t update (due to the age of their machine) or who choose not to update to macOS at this point can (and probably should) update to Safari 10.

Apple lists the following new features in Safari 10

Safari Extensions such as 1Password, Save to Pocket, and DuckDuckGo
New Bookmarks sidebar, including double-click to focus in on a folder
Redesigned Bookmarks and History views
Site-specific zoom: Safari remembers and re-applies your zoom level to websites
Improved AutoFill from Contacts card
Reader improvements, including in-line sub-headlines, bylines, and publish dates
Legacy plug-ins are turned off by default in favor of HTML5 versions of websites
Allow reopening of recently closed tabs through the History menu, holding the “+” button in the tab bar, and using Shift-Command-T
When a link opens in a new tab, it is now possible to hit the back button or swipe to close it and go back to the original tab
Improved ranking of Frequently Visited Sites

In addition to the features, Safari 10 also has a number of security fixes.

Source

Safari 10 Features and Fixes – Apple

macOS Sierra Now Available For Mac’s

anovelo

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September 20, 2016

1

For those looking to update to the new Apple macOS Sierra, it is now available. To get it, from your Mac, go into the App Store and look in the featured section. There you will find the link to download the latest version of the desktop operating system. The update is free.

Once you click on the initial download link, you will go to the macOS Sierra page where you will be able to download the 4.77 GB (that’s Gigabyte) file.

From the Apple App store, here are some of what you can expect. Note (as stated below) some features are not available in all languages, some features have hardware requirements, which means you may be able to update to macOS Sierra but not use all the new features depending on how old your Mac is, and some features require you to have an icloud storage plan to use.

Source

Screenshots – Apple App Store

Upgrade To macOS Sierra Coming 9/20

anovelo

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September 19, 2016

0

Update: macOS Sierra is now available. See more detail in the post macOS Sierra Now Available

As of tomorrow 9/20, Mac owners will have the option to upgrade to the new macOS Sierra operating system. Up to now, the Mac operating system was known as osX, but to get the naming in line with the other Apple product operating system (iOS, watchOS, etc.) this update will also update the name of the operating system. Over the past couple of months, Apple has been testing beta versions of the software with those who like to be on the cutting edge. Those users who volunteered to download and test the beta versions have seen and reported bugs to Apple. Apple is now ready to release the final product.

Here is what we know so far…..

Compatibility

Those with Macs that were released in late 2009 or newer will most likely be able to update to the latest version. The compatibility list is as follows

MacBook (Late 2009 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)
MacBook Air (Late 2010 or newer)
Mac mini (Mid 2010 or newer)
iMac (Late 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Mid 2010 or newer)

So how do you know when your Mac was released? The simplest way is to click on the Apple logo on the top left corner of the screen, followed by clicking “About This Mac”. In the windows that pops-up you will find the Model (screen size and year released).

When Will It Be Available

We know it will be available on Tuesday 9/20/16, however, Apple didn’t announce the time that it will be released. Based on previous Apple OS releases the most likely time that you should be able to get your hands on the update will be (approximately) 10 am PST (Pacific Standard Time). If you live in other time zones here is a general idea

New York (Eastern Time) – 1 PM
London (British Summer Time) – 6 PM
Moscow (Moscow Standard Time) – 8 PM
Delhi (India Standard Time) – 10:30 PM

On 9/21/16 (Due to Time Zones)

Beijing (China Standard Time) – 1 AM
Tokyo (Japan Standard Time) – 2 AM
Sydney (Australian Eastern Standard Time) – 3 AM

If you still are not sure what time corresponds to your time, you can use the Time Zone Converter at TimeandDate.com . All you need to do is set the time to 10 am and set the location to USA – California – San Francisco and the location to the nearest major city near you.

What’s New in macOS

macOS has a number of improvements and changes to the OS. Here are some of the more notable changes…..

Siri comes to Mac. For those with an iPhone, I’m sure you are well versed in using Siri. Now Mac owners will get a chance to use Siri, as their personal assistant as well.
Memories in Photos. With this change in photos, you will now see photos automatically grouped into events and you can then take the resulting collection and turn it into a short movie that Photos automatically edits and sets to music.
Auto Unlock with an Apple Watch. With this set up if you have an Apple watch, you will need to log into your pc initially, but after that, you will be able to use your Apple Watch (as long as it’s updated to watchOS 3.0) to log in for you. (NOTE: you will probably need a Mac newer than 2013 to use this feature)
Copy on iPhone, Paste on Mac. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you will be able to copy something you are looking at on your device (like a link for example) and paste it on your Mac without having to email it to yourself.
Apple Pay while using your Mac. If sites have this option, you will be able to pay for online purchases using Apple pay. The advantage here is the security of NOT having to manually enter your credit card info onto a website and having the added security of using your Touch ID on your iPhone or by double-clicking the side button of your Apple watch.

These are just some of the new features coming to macOS.

Final Notes

As with all new toys, the 1st couple of hours after the release, everyone will be trying to get their hand on it. You will probably find it a bit slow to connect and download the update. So waiting until later in the day should help if you are having issues getting it.
Apple has been testing the beta version for a few months now. They are usually very good and finding and correcting bugs in the software before they release the final product, BUT they are NOT perfect. There is bound to be something that they miss. If you have a work-related or critical application on your Mac, you may want to wait a day or 2 to update. Usually, if they miss something, you will see it reported within a day or 2.
It is suggested you make a time machine backup prior to upgrading. That way if you find it necessary to revert back to osX, it is possible using your time machine backup. There are other ways to revert back but a time machine backup will be the simplest way.

Tech Geek and More Making Technology Easy

Tech Geek and More Making Technology Easy

What Is The Wireless Emergency Alert System

There are three different kinds of alerts:

How does this work

iPhone

Android

iOS 10.1 Release Notes

This 10.1 update is intended to be installed on

To get the Update for your device

Source

Downloading KeePass

Creating a new database

Adding an entry

Using Entries

Saving the database

Sources

What’s In The Order

Issue With Online People Search Sites

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