News: TMobile Turns On 988
T-Mobile Customers Now Have Access To The 988 Mental Health Support Lifeline. T-Mobile has turned on the 988 emergency lifeline for all T-Mobile customers, according to the announcement made Friday, November 20th, 2020. TMobile Turns On 988
Starting today, customers who dial 988 on the T-Mobile network will have free access to approximately 180 crisis centers that offer real-time, lifesaving mental health services from professionally trained counselors.
As TMobile noted, they are the 1st major American wireless provider to make the 988 emergency lifeline available to its customers, prior to the FCC deadline of July 2022.
TMobile Turns On 988
The Announcement By T-Mobile
BELLEVUE, Wash. — November 20, 2020 —T-Mobile has once again demonstrated its commitment to getting customers the essential connectivity they need at the most important times. The Un-carrier announced today that it is the first major wireless provider to activate the new nationwide 988-emergency lifeline for customers on the T-Mobile network. Those in need of free mental health support can now get it immediately by dialing 988 to be connected directly to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a network of approximately 180 local- and state-funded crisis centers.
As mental health issues rise and suicide rates climb, this critical service couldn’t come quickly enough. According to the most recent annual data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15.4 million American adults seriously thought about, made a plan for, or attempted suicide, and suicide claims the lives of over 48,000 annually—one death every 11 minutes. Veterans are hit particularly hard; on average, 17.6 veterans take their own lives every day. And this year the U.S. enters the holiday season with the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, recent research found that one-third of Americans – more than ever before – are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression as a result of COVID-19.
T-Mobile moved quickly to take the necessary measures needed to activate this service for its customers far ahead of the July 2022 deadline established by the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year. T-Mobile modified its nationwide network to translate and route 988 calls to the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, updated its billing system to ensure no customer will be charged for using the service, and created a bounce-back message so anyone texting 988 on the T-Mobile network will get an immediate response advising them to place a voice call to 988.
“T-Mobile knows how much our customers depend on us for reliable connectivity and when someone needs access to mental health support, seconds truly matter. Giving our customers a quick connection via 988 to trained mental health care professionals was a priority for us because it could save lives,” said T-Mobile’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Abdul Saad. “Making 988 available to our customers was a matter of urgency for us, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic continues and the holiday season approaches. And it’s particularly meaningful to launch this during November as we recognize the contributions and acknowledge the sacrifices of our military veterans. I’m proud that T-Mobile is doing our part to help get this lifesaving tool in the hands of those who will benefit from it.”
If You Need Help
Anyone who needs help can find it by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK) and through online chats. Veterans and service members may reach the Veterans Crisis Line by pressing 1 after dialing, as well as by chatting online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or texting 838255.T
Mobile Turns On 988
Source
TMobile Turns On 988
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News: YouTube Terms Of Service Change
YouTube is making changes to its TOS and the change isn’t good for the content creator or content viewer.
Deal Alert: OnePlus Headphones $1
Deal On OnePlus Wireless Headphones
If you are looking for a challenge and a smoking HOT deal on headphones
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Question On Installing macOS Big Sur After Download
Question – I downloaded macOS Big Sur and install shows on the dock but nothing happens. If this is happening, here is what you can do.
A visitor to the Tech Geek and More Facebook Page (@TGMTechGeekandMore) posted a question about an issue with the macOS Big Sur installation. According to site visitor Pawee, they have downloaded Big Sur and they see the install file, but “Nothing Happens”.
If you are having the same issue, this post will go over what you can do.
Question On Installing macOS Big Sur After Download
After The Big Sur Download
So you have downloaded Big Sur, and you see it on the dock but nothing happens. So what can you do? No particular reason why this happens, it just happens. You seem to have downloaded macOS Big Sur, and then it gets stuck during the installation process, or the installation process won’t start when you click the Big Sur installation icon.
Make Sure Your Device Is Compatible
Per Apple, Here is the official list of compatible devices:
- MacBook — 2015 and later.
- MacBook Air — 2013 and later.
- MacBook Pro — Late 2013 and later.
- Mac mini — 2014 and later.
- iMac — 2014 and later.
- iMac Pro — 2017 and later (all models).
- Mac Pro — 2013 and later.
To see what year your device was made, click on the apple icon on the top left and select About This Mac. There you will find the model and year for your machine.
Check The Free Hard Drive Space
Start by checking how much free space you have left on your machine. From experience, all macOS updates require plenty of space to allow install. For macOS Big Sur, Apple recommends a minimum of 35.5GB available storage on macOS Sierra or later*. To check hard drive space, click on the Apple icon on the top left of your screen, then select About This Mac.
- When About This Mac Opens, select the tab that says Storage. There you will see what space you have left. If you want to do clean up to get more space, you can click on the manage button on the right side.
- From the manage button, in the new window, you will find different choices. Look in applications, and also under documents. If you see something you use or need anymore, you can highlight it and select delete from the lower right corner of the window.
Reboot Your Computer
Once you have made enough space on your hard drive, try your install. If it still isn’t working, do something simple, REBOOT. It could be possible that there is a service or application currently running that is preventing the update from running. Once you have done the reboot, don’t open any other programs (not the time to see what’s on YouTube, it’s time to do an install). Go ahead and try to run the macOS Big Sur install.
Reboot Into Safe Mode
So you have tried all of the steps above and still no go. The next thing to try is rebooting into Safe Mode. To use safe mode, hold down Shift, and go thru the entire restart process while holding down the shift button. This will start macOS with just the minimal files to operate. This is again done to try and run the install with no other program interfering. Once in safe mode, try to do the install again.
Try Resetting NVRAM
If you have gotten to this point, and you still can’t install macOS Big Sur, we have a couple of more things to try. The next thing to try is resetting the NVRAM. To do this follow these steps
- Shut down your Mac
- This next step is interesting to do. Hold down Option + Command + P + R and power on your machine. Keep holding those 4 buttons until you hear a DING sound.
- Now release the 4 buttons and wait until your Mac restarts and try reinstalling macOS Big Sur.
Start Over With Download
If you have tried all of the steps and you still can’t get the macOS Big Sur to run, then it is possible that something got corrupted within the download. At this point, the only option left is to go to the Launchpad window (where you see all of your installed applications) and look for the install file listed and delete it.
Once deleted, reboot, and then go back to System Preferences, Software Updates and start over by downloading the update again. (Sorry!)
Final Thought
Hopefully, the install happens without going through all of these steps. Usually, computers play nice, but sometimes it’s a battle. If you come across any tech battles, you can drop us a line here on the website Under Contact Tech Geek and More, drop us a line via FB or Twitter, or email us at techgeekandmore @ gmail.com
Source
- Hard Drive Space Info – Apple: macOS How To Upgrade
Question On Installing macOS Big Sur After Download
Showing Battery Percentage Level In macOS Big Sur
How To Add The Battery Percentage Level After Upgrading To macOS Big Sur.
News: FTC Zoom Settlement
FTC alleged Zoom deceived users about the level of security for Zoom meetings and unfairly undermined a browser security feature. FTC Zoom Settlement
Daily life has changed a lot since the pandemic started. Because face-to-face interactions aren’t possible for so many of us, we’ve turned to videoconference for work meetings, school, catching up with our friends, and even seeing the doctor. When we rely on technology in these new ways, we share a lot of sensitive personal information. We may not think about it, but companies know they have an obligation to protect that information.
The Complaint Against Zoom
The complaint against Zoom has two very important parts to it. It involves the level of encryption that was being offered, vs what was being claimed and it also involves software that they loaded on Mac users’ computers, without telling the user, which compromised the user’s security.
The Encryption Part
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that, since at least 2016, Zoom misled users by touting that it offered “end-to-end, 256-bit encryption” to secure users’ communications, when in fact it provided a lower level of security. End-to-end encryption is a method of securing communications so that only the sender and recipient(s)—and no other person, not even the platform provider—can read the content.
In reality, the FTC alleges, Zoom maintained the cryptographic keys that could allow Zoom to access the content of its customers’ meetings, and secured its Zoom Meetings, in part, with a lower level of encryption than promised. Zoom’s misleading claims gave users a false sense of security, according to the FTC’s complaint, especially for those who used the company’s platform to discuss sensitive topics such as health and financial information. In numerous blog posts, Zoom specifically touted its level of encryption as a reason for customers and potential customers to use Zoom’s videoconferencing services.
According to the FTC’s complaint, Zoom also misled some users who wanted to store recorded meetings on the company’s cloud storage by falsely claiming that those meetings were encrypted immediately after the meeting ended. Instead, some recordings allegedly were stored unencrypted for up to 60 days on Zoom’s servers before being transferred to its secure cloud storage.
The Mac Software Install Part
The FTC also alleged that the company compromised the security of some users when it secretly installed software, called a ZoomOpener web server, as part of a manual update for its Mac desktop application in July 2018. The ZoomOpener web server allowed Zoom to automatically launch and join a user to a meeting by bypassing an Apple Safari browser safeguard that protected users from a common type of malware. Without the ZoomOpener web server, the Safari browser would have provided users with a warning box, prior to launching the Zoom app, that asked users if they wanted to launch the app.
The complaint alleges that Zoom did not implement any offsetting measures to protect users’ security, and increased users’ risk of remote video surveillance by strangers. The software remained on users’ computers even after they deleted the Zoom app, and would automatically reinstall the Zoom app—without any user action—in certain circumstances. The complaint alleges that Zoom’s deployment of the ZoomOpener, without adequate notice or user consent, was unfair and violated the FTC Act. Apple removed the ZoomOpener web server from users’ computers through an automatic update in July 2019.
The Settlement Of The Complaint
The Federal Trade Commission settlement with Zoom Video Communications, Inc. will require the company to implement a robust information security program to settle allegations that the video conferencing provider engaged in a series of deceptive and unfair practices that undermined the security of its users.
Zoom has agreed to a requirement to establish and implement a comprehensive security program, a prohibition on privacy and security misrepresentations, and other detailed and specific relief to protect its user base, which has skyrocketed from 10 million in December 2019 to 300 million in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Final Thoughts
Andrew Smith, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection comments about the complaint and settlement with Zoom explains it best.
“During the pandemic, practically everyone—families, schools, social groups, businesses—is using videoconferencing to communicate, making the security of these platforms more critical than ever. Zoom’s security practices didn’t line up with its promises, and this action will help to make sure that Zoom meetings and data about Zoom users are protected.”
Mac OS 11 Is Finally Here
Apple retires macOS X after almost 20 years and releases macOS 11 (Big Sur)
Alert: Office 365 Issues 7th Oct 2020
Quick alert, if you are having issues with Office 365 or Exchange, Sharepoint, or OneDrive Online it’s not you, it’s Microsoft’s fault. Many reports started a few minutes ago (just before 3p Easter / US Time) that people could access Outlook or other Microsoft online programs. Here is what we know
Microsoft 365 Issue
Microsoft has posted online that they are investigating issues that affect Microsoft 365 services.
If you use Outlook installed on your computer, you may notice it crash and not want to reopen, if you use any of the online services like Teams, Outlook.com, Sharepoint Online, or OneDrive, you may notice they are not responding if you are already logged in or that you can’t if you try and log in.
Checking the Status
If you want to check the latest status of Microsoft Services, you can always visit the office status page @ https://status.office.com. There you will see the latest updates.
As of now, that is all we know. We will update once we know more….
Stay Tuned!!
Source(s)
- Microsoft – Office Status Page
- Twitter – Microsoft 365 Status Twitter Page
FB Changes Location of Most Recent Option
It is easy to complement Facebook over the recent redesign of the website, as it was long overdue and the new look is actually user-friendly. Everything was right where you need it. That is until someone at FB figured out that the Most Recent option was probably a little too convenient. So if you are looking for the Most Recent Option, here is the 411.
Facebook Changes Most Recent Location
For some reason, FB believes that the algorithm they have is smarter than people and it knows what you want to see. They cant seem to understand that for most people, they want to see what is happening and being posted in timeline order. Let me see the newest stuff 1st and then work down.
From the redesign of the website until the past 24 hours (or so), the choice for Most Recent that let you put your news feed in chronological order was the 6th thing listed on the left side of the page. Easy to access and make the change as needed.
However, now FB has decided to move Most Recent since if people don’t see it, they make not take the time to find it. However, if you want to find and use Most Recent, it is still there. Just now to find it you will need to click on See More at the left of your screen and then scroll down. You will now find Most Recent listed 19th (between Town Hall and Jobs).
So the Most Recent choice is not gone, just more annoying to use.
Thanks Facebook.
Source
- Facebook – logo and screenshots
iPhone / iPad Storage Issue – Other Storage
Do you have an iPhone or iPad that tells you that you are out of space? When you look at the settings, is “Other Storage” taking up ridiculous space? Well, today’s post is for you and comes by request from several TGM readers who all report the same issue
News: Facebook Updates Its Terms Of Service
Since most people NEVER seem to want to read those Terms of Service (TOS), privacy policies, or anything else legal posted by companies, today’s post is a quick FYI.
If you saw your Facebook notifications in the past 24 hours, you should have seen that the FB Terms of Service are going to be updated effective October 1, 2020. Today’s post will be a short non-lawyer review of what this change means.