tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3827007967201898212024-03-13T00:45:24.703-04:00The Trueflame Tech BlogThe layman's guide to techUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-64370656431814262402019-09-08T16:52:00.001-04:002019-09-08T16:52:27.064-04:00Consumer Cellular APN settings for Pixel 2 and other Modern Smartphones<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #585858; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 5px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Name: ConsumerCellular<br />APN: ccdata<br />Proxy: Not set<br />Port: Not set<br />Username: Not set<br />Password: Not set<br />MMSC: <a href="http://mmsc.mobile.att.net/" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153); border: 0px; color: #ff4900; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: background-color 0s ease 0s, color 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">http://mmsc.mobile.att.net</a><br />MMS Proxy: proxy.mobile.att.net<br />MMS port: 80<br />MCC: 310<br />MNC: 410<br />Authentication Type: None<br />APN type: default,mms,agps,supl,fota<br />APN protocol: IPv4<br />APN roaming protocol: IPv4<br />Bearer: unspecified<br />MVNO type: GID</div>
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Overflow menu > Save, then reboot.</div>
Robbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09281966106159728551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-45883523366126240052018-11-15T12:42:00.000-05:002018-11-15T12:42:16.221-05:00How to Fix Trackpad or Touchpad speed in Linux Mint (Specifically for ThinkPad xx40+ models)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcttrJqXvE0Ifhj-vtTubGD5zXZnYpafDv8dkg6930qDXbOqskeTWZzH2aNcrrHiA20cdLIMFUZLsdbmXM7xjjOHK4FelVwoB__DeCRWzBuTYWMiZOpsaDCqXP2Mesfg4xUWYaCoxytKY/s1600/ezgif-1-817d708dce1a.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcttrJqXvE0Ifhj-vtTubGD5zXZnYpafDv8dkg6930qDXbOqskeTWZzH2aNcrrHiA20cdLIMFUZLsdbmXM7xjjOHK4FelVwoB__DeCRWzBuTYWMiZOpsaDCqXP2Mesfg4xUWYaCoxytKY/s320/ezgif-1-817d708dce1a.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
This one is simple, but it took me forever to find an answer - so I'm sharing the answer.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>You might have noticed your trackpad or touchpad was too sensitive or fast in Linux Mint, especially on your newer ThinkPad - but not on other distros like KDE Neon or Ubuntu 18.10.<br />
<br />
Turns out - those other distros are simply running a newer version of libinput or the kernel.<br />
<br />
To fix it:<br /><br />On a clean install of Mint: Run System Update, and do NOT attempt to change any mouse speed settings before doing this - I suspect that those changed values will be respected rather than the new ones. Install all updates and reboot.<br />
<br />
On an existing install, I can only hope that setting your mouse/trackpad settings to default and THEN updating everything will work.<br />
<br />
<br />
Enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-35405050842556405392018-05-03T22:28:00.000-04:002018-05-04T19:32:38.585-04:00Best Cell Phone Plans Compared - And a 1 cent plan?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9YsASGEqcS2YZttmVdK4ke_yILB1-EE54QTjwAShDe_gT3tEdzJ_2uzooE4H3xGDPBaWMSas6pZHk-XfiHu1GsDgXx1Xzc_r6f1laQWyvg8bHX2wTw8cLub2FHvcgKvsZPoQeEdeMHU/s1600/04-FF-cellphone+92-ab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9YsASGEqcS2YZttmVdK4ke_yILB1-EE54QTjwAShDe_gT3tEdzJ_2uzooE4H3xGDPBaWMSas6pZHk-XfiHu1GsDgXx1Xzc_r6f1laQWyvg8bHX2wTw8cLub2FHvcgKvsZPoQeEdeMHU/s320/04-FF-cellphone+92-ab.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It can be frustrating to choose a cell phone plan. It seems no plan is <i>just right, </i>at a price that doesn't make you grimace. What if there were better options?<br />
<br />
Good news - there are.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<a name='more'></a>And I'm going to break them down as simply as possible below.<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Lowdown</h3>
<div>
It's not uncommon to think of prepaid plans as something only stooped to by the destitute - only buying calling cards from gas stations and dollar stores when a call must be made to call the bill collector before your car is impounded.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While plans that work like that are still available (used by the destitute and frugal alike) that is no longer the norm for use - and they compare to 'full-blown' contract plans in every way, except, often, in the way of <b>cost. </b>Which is why I'm featuring them today. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Note: Prepaid services often also don't offer much in the way of technical support. But to be honest - I haven't been happy with ANY carrier's technical support. And I say that as a former Verizon Business customer. If you need technical support, libraries, Walmart, and local shops are a better bet anyway.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Contenders </h3>
<div>
(and the TL;DR/Short version)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://totalwireless.com/serviceplan?session=reset" target="_blank">Total Wireless</a> (What I will likely switch to in the future, when it is time to get new phones for my family)<br />
<a href="https://www.att.com/prepaid/index.html" target="_blank">AT&T Prepaid</a> (What I currently use.)</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans" target="_blank">StraightTalk</a> (What I would use if I traveled, needed to save money, and only had one phone I needed to activate.)</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.consumercellular.com/" target="_blank">Consumer Cellular</a> (What I would use if I was lower-income and needed a family plan - as well as good tech support for the initial setup.)</div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.verizonwireless.com/prepaid/" target="_blank">Verizon Prepaid</a> (What I would use if money was no object, I traveled often, and needed truly unlimited data.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i>Notice the lack of TracPhone or Ting? In my opinion, they charge too much for what they offer compared to our contenders, unless you plan on using them as burner or temporary phones. <u>Ironically</u>, TracPhone owns Total Wireless - which is perhaps the best all-around deal here. Cricket is also left out, as I don't see any advantages over their sibling - AT&T Prepaid. Group pricing may be an exception. T-Mobile technically behaves like a prepaid plan, but they often have extremely poor service - the same goes for the carrier they just merged with, Sprint.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dealszo.com/store-logo/STORE-total-wireless.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dealszo.com/store-logo/STORE-total-wireless.jpg" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Total Wireless</h4>
<div>
This stands out as the best of all deals, unless you have special requirements like unlimited data or international calling.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
With plans like $30/m for unlimited calls and texts with 6GB of data (when purchased through Walmart) on the unbeatable Verizon network, and getting only better as you add lines - I'm really not sure how this deal could be beat. The only downside I've found is speeds average around 5Mb/s according to representatives. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
AT&T PREPAID</h4>
<div>
<a href="http://www.androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/att-prepaid-840x411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/att-prepaid-840x411.jpg" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="800" height="97" width="200" /></a>I've had AT&T PREPAID (formerly, GoPhone) for years, and they keep getting better. I pay $40/m for unlimited everything, with 8GB of high-speed data. AT&T PREPAID also includes free tethering (using your phone as a hotspot/traveling router for your other devices like laptops and tablets) and free calling to/from Mexico/Canada. My data speeds reach 25Mb/s!</div>
<div>
<i>The only catches are that 1. You need to be in the US for at least 50% of the month to maintain the last feature, and 2. It's not the Verizon network. AT&T is the runner-up to Verizon, however, and it was pretty rare that I ran into loss of signal all along the East Coast during a recent trip. Trust me, I would complain if that wasn't the case. </i></div>
<div>
<i><br /></i></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
StraightTalk</h4>
<div>
<a href="http://companyheadquarter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Straight-Talk-Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://companyheadquarter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Straight-Talk-Logo.png" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="100" width="200" /></a>If you're single, want a lot of data, and don't mind terrible support and a bill pay portal - StraightTalk is the one for you! Their website is pretty broken at times and their support is not great. HOWEVER, they offer the best bang for your buck by offering $44/m plans that include 10GB of data and unlimited everything else, on the Verizon network if you choose carefully. Choose the wrong phone/SIM combo and you end up with Sprint or T-Mobile's network.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h4>
Consumer Cellular</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://cache.bestmvno.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Consumer-Cellular.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="800" height="166" src="https://cache.bestmvno.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Consumer-Cellular.jpg" width="200" /></a>CC is interesting because it allows you to mix and match features as you need, and share those features across multiple lines. For instance, it is possible to have unlimited calling and texting with 1Gb of shared data for <b><i>two lines</i></b> for $45/m. It runs on the AT&T network, and several of my less data-needing clients and family members love it. <i>Ting offers more granular but similar mix & match options, and there is a chance you could pay less with it - but really, the data prices are not comparable.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
Verizon Prepaid</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://iconvert.cellpay.us/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/232x121/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/v/e/verizon_1_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="121" data-original-width="232" height="104" src="https://iconvert.cellpay.us/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/232x121/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/v/e/verizon_1_1.png" width="200" /></a>Want truly unlimited, high-speed data on America's best network and can pay for it? At $75/m, Verizon Prepaid can offer exactly that. Price gets better overall as you add lines; the second line on an unlimited plan is only $55/m extra. Cheaper plans from this carrier exist - but you'd be better served by Total Wireless if truly unlimited isn't a game changer for you.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<h2>
Freebie</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
FreedomPop</h4>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUPxwsCfMTDVRlLRQBKUx7ArHhFnh7FlEPb6ocJgzfJXaQRsyT9688PuFMBRBGC2VOul63oQAtEqHfzS1t4SPxB2VJtYsCVHj0AV5Dgu2JWILTqyemV1ZykrI5w5-vbwiROhn3xYLiA4/s1600/freedompop+%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="704" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUPxwsCfMTDVRlLRQBKUx7ArHhFnh7FlEPb6ocJgzfJXaQRsyT9688PuFMBRBGC2VOul63oQAtEqHfzS1t4SPxB2VJtYsCVHj0AV5Dgu2JWILTqyemV1ZykrI5w5-vbwiROhn3xYLiA4/s200/freedompop+%25281%2529.png" width="200" /></a>FreedomPop is a carrier that offers both the AT&T and Sprint networks, at technically unbeatable prices. For one thing, they have a free plan. Yes, free. For AT&T's GSM network - 200Mb of data, 500 texts, and 200 minutes of call time is technically free. I think they do charge 1 cent per month to keep your account active, and there is a startup fee of between $5 and $30 depending on your phone - but 1c/m service is real, and it is usable if you choose a GSM/AT&T networked device.<br />
<br />
They now offer other exceptional plans if you prepay several months in advance - and if I'm understanding this grid correctly, that price is amazing. I probably should try it to find out...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.freedompop.com/static/img/intro/plan-pricing-overview.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="800" height="175" src="https://www.freedompop.com/static/img/intro/plan-pricing-overview.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
But Where Do I Buy Phones?</h3>
<div>
Many of these provide phones you can either pay for outright, or add to the cost of your monthly plan. Unless you really want a cheap phone, or a particular one like an iPhone or Galaxy - I recommend you just order the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/XT1671-Finger-International-Version-Desbloqueado/dp/B06XH4396B/ref=sr_1_3?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1525400757&sr=1-3&keywords=moto+g5" target="_blank">Motorola G5</a>, or whichever is the newest model by the time you read this. They are the best phones for the price - hands down - and can be had at Amazon or Walmart for around $150. Given that they are comparable to the best phones out there in terms of performance and quality, that cost is definitely worth it. Other phones are either an exercise in frustration or more expensive than they are worth.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3o3_AmIkcKf8ELhb6CIQac6Uwz1FHo2xF_rqM07XRMz3SFQE6qYqeBurTdnAbEwjgWfp7MOBJzMPlWPKerBF6rRVv-3JN6P5Yz9-8pVK97z6vTX93FzMwpGajiBCsTZsg-a-bfJEwoM/s1600/71KsozYpMuL._SL1280_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3o3_AmIkcKf8ELhb6CIQac6Uwz1FHo2xF_rqM07XRMz3SFQE6qYqeBurTdnAbEwjgWfp7MOBJzMPlWPKerBF6rRVv-3JN6P5Yz9-8pVK97z6vTX93FzMwpGajiBCsTZsg-a-bfJEwoM/s320/71KsozYpMuL._SL1280_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h3>
Need Help Switching?</h3>
</div>
<div>
I offer to your home service starting at $90 for two hours of setup and training time if you live in or near Olean, NY. Reach out by heading over to my <a href="http://www.truefla.me/" target="_blank">main site</a>. I will handle every aspect of the switch over to your desired carrier and phone, and train you on the usage. Give me a call or text, or send off an email.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-73049175475128130362018-04-11T11:36:00.001-04:002018-04-11T11:36:04.715-04:00Why are so many computers terrible?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wSGOe8kJLuU7kPoT2kxJZTcFn0iyBFkSEEaq9ZPn2sQbevDdQqVbM4v93pZ5RrsZAR3CKNScepVJuFIjG4YcwnhTx-sBjj5rMNJvDOwPc64fAFxLMoAc656jn80UA2lc4UORnDW9vqY/s1600/social-1206614_1920.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-wSGOe8kJLuU7kPoT2kxJZTcFn0iyBFkSEEaq9ZPn2sQbevDdQqVbM4v93pZ5RrsZAR3CKNScepVJuFIjG4YcwnhTx-sBjj5rMNJvDOwPc64fAFxLMoAc656jn80UA2lc4UORnDW9vqY/s320/social-1206614_1920.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
I help people a lot for free online, through forum boards. This question came up (in so many words) and I answered. I think it provides a unique look into computer companies - and serves to well inform your technology purchases.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I have reproduced the questions and my answers with some edits for clarity and family friendliness below.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Q:</b><br />
<br />
Ok so longstory short I bought a laptop from (pick a company) and when I get it its working fine for the first couple of months until the battery stops working and the computer wont turn on I send it in for repair and it takes like a month to get back, when it comes back they sent it back black and decreased my ram of 4GB to 2GB And the computer got slower it was terrible all my programs were crashing and next thing I know they also decreased the already very low 32GB I had to 14GB I was ****** at that point I call them up and send it in for repair AGAIN and it takes EVEN LONGER to repair it comes back in the mail like 2 months later and it was exactly the same except they wiped it I am SO MAD Right now as they refuse to refund it and I'm stuck with it don't buy from (pick a company) they will RIP YOU OFF, WASTE YOUR TIME, AND NOT EVEN GIVE A **** ABOUT YOU AS THE LOYAL CUSTOMER WHO BOUGHT THEIR MACHINE<br />
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Sidestory: When I called them AGAIN they said I needed to buy premium care for them to take my laptop again LIKE **** AM I NOT A "premium" CUSTOMER TO YOU????<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>A:</b><br />
<br />
As someone who used to work as an outsourced Tier 2 tech and trainer at a callcenter in the US, I can explain your experience. It is and isn't (pick a company).<br />
<br />
It's every brand but Apple (who has <i>huge </i>profit margins on new equipment). <u><i>Every. Brand.</i></u><br />
<br />
(PS I say this as someone who isn't an Apple fan. I run a small local computer shop now that services whatever)<br />
<br />
Here's what happened. As these businesses got bigger, they bought the smaller manufacturers and after those sales found that people didn't need to buy that many computers. They did two things to cut cost and stay in business.<br />
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Outsourced everything. You will never speak on the phone to a Dell, Lenovo, or Razer employee. If you reach someone who claims to be support for one of those, they likely 'work for' all three from the same chair. Most of these places get 'repaired' on an assembly line by unskilled laborers in Temple, TX.<br />
<br />
They released crap computers and marked them up. If you buy a PC in a real store for under $600 - it's garbage. Know a nerd? They'll hook you up for less than that!<br />
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As an IT guy, I pretend the warranty doesn't exist, unless it's third-party through squaretrade or the like. I also never buy new. My whole setup with like three computers and a great smartphone all cost under 1k.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Q:</b><br />
<br />
why dont you buy new? wouldn't a newer unit have less major issues than one which was returned and refurbished?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>A:</b><br />
<br />
Nope. In fact, it may have less. Here's two facts:<br />
<br />
Your 'new' computer may have parts from machines that were sent back.<br />
<br />
Competition is so heated, most manufacturers would rather rush a design to production, rather than putting it through proper testing or QC.<br />
<br />
So, when you get a refurbished model that has been out a year or two(or three or five), you know if any issues have been consistent with that model through reviews and complaints online - and, since new models have used parts sometimes, you are essentially getting a quality control tested device that will last you, for sometimes less than half the MSRP.<br />
<br />
This isn't conjecture - it's effectively why business-grade computers have a cult following.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Q:</b><br />
<br />
Don't understand your reasoning behind new products having parts from another product which was returned. Why would manufacturers do this since the unit will come back again for servicing owing to recurring issues?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>A:</b><br />
<br />
They put the parts that they believe still work in them. When a computer breaks, it's usually just a part or two.<br />
<br />
Sometimes they're wrong.<br />
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I hope you find this useful! I sell computers that I can personally trust (business grade) to consumers locally. </div>
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If you're interested, you can visit my site <a href="http://www.truefla.me/">here</a>.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-57308342844499775212018-02-24T23:48:00.003-05:002018-02-24T23:48:59.136-05:002007 Repost - "Analyzing Microsoft's OS by Linux Standards"<b>I wrote this little thing <a href="https://truefire.wordpress.com/2007/10/06/hello-world/">in high school</a>. Reposting for nostalgia - plus it's still true!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In the past, I’ve noticed that reviews of the various GNU/Linux OS distributions<br />
<br />
have frequently made point of their downfalls when compared to one Microsoft<br />
<br />
OS or another. This doesn’t make much sense in the grand scale of things,<br />
<br />
because most-if not all-of Microsoft’s advantages come from being the long-time<br />
<br />
market leader, not the better OS.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<br />
So, in light of that, I decided to right a few wrongs by creating a review of Windows XP<br />
<br />
Media Center Edition 2005 (which is arguably the best Microsoft OS to date)<br />
<br />
as if Linux were the market leader, and Microsoft, the upstart.<br />
<br />
Obviously, certain points must be ignored in this reverse scenario,<br />
<br />
but this will encourage an equal playing field.<br />
<br />
The biggest factor that will be ignored is the certain proprietary<br />
<br />
softwares that are locked into the Windows world, e.g.: Adobe Photoshop,<br />
<br />
autoCAD, Corel, games, codecs, and the ever slimming list of device drivers.<br />
<br />
(I will, however, mention drivers included with the OS, just not the ones that<br />
<br />
don’t exist at all.)<br />
<br />
These softwares should not be part of an honest Operating System review anyway,<br />
<br />
for once an OS proves it’s worth, the market will move to support it.<br />
<br />
(Other factors omitted are: the cost of the OS’s, which is preinstalled, and visual effects{Compiz, Aero}) I’ve obviously decided to be neutral on the proprietary v. open-source<br />
<br />
for this article, because although open standards seem to work just as well<br />
<br />
on the whole, some businesses require proprietary software for specialized<br />
<br />
equipment.<br />
<br />
Without further ado, let’s get on with the review.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The other day I purchased my first laptop, a shiny Gateway MX6453.<br />
<br />
It came with a new OS manufactured by a company called Microsoft Corp.<br />
<br />
labeled, “Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005”<br />
<br />
Ooh, Sounds fancy. And who doesn’t like a Media Center Edition?<br />
<br />
I decided to read up before installing.<br />
<br />
After a page or two of research, I found that this was actually Windows XP Professional,<br />
<br />
but with a few MCE related addons, drivers, and extra themes built-in.<br />
<br />
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a geek, and I just couldn’t resist trying out this new ‘toy’!<br />
<br />
The initial install was painless enough, but took an hour and a half on the Gateway;<br />
<br />
surprising only because the machine is a Turion x2 (dual-core) with 2gigs of RAM.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, after the install and basic setup, it seemed to work okay.<br />
<br />
Due to the size of the install DVD, I was expecting a full-featured OS<br />
<br />
complete with good burning software, an office suite, etc.<br />
<br />
What I got was entirely sub-par.<br />
<br />
No decent cd-burning software was provided,<br />
<br />
and I found that to get one, (Nero) I would have to pay extra.<br />
<br />
Wow. With Ubuntu, I could get K3b for free, with the benefit<br />
<br />
of it being open-source too. If that wasn’t bad enough,<br />
<br />
I noticed that all images, fonts, and the desktop itself seemed skewed.<br />
<br />
Hmm. Must be missing the display drivers. But before I contacted Gateway to protest<br />
<br />
that the included OS didn’t come with display drivers, I decided to browse it a bit<br />
<br />
more(after all, display isn’t a huge deal for the moment). Now, I’ve seen XP in use before,<br />
<br />
so I had a general idea of how it was supposed to work.<br />
<br />
After awhile, it dawned on me that my machine wasn’t cutting it: I needed those drivers!<br />
<br />
The sound, wifi, display, and some aspects of the MoBo and touchpad were either<br />
<br />
not operating to their full capacity or not working at all. Now Ubuntu (my main OS)<br />
<br />
did sometimes need drivers, especially for tv-cards and the like, but I had never<br />
<br />
had so many necessary driver additons. Geez. And this is the OS that came with<br />
<br />
the machine!<br />
<br />
I used Gateway’s free IM support, and they put up the drivers on a file-sharing<br />
<br />
site for me. Some command line work and several restarts later, I had all the hardware working,<br />
<br />
and had opened up an included browser called Internet Explorer 6 to my Google homepage<br />
<br />
through the WiFi network in my house.<br />
<br />
The interface was reminiscent of some Play Skool product, instead of one denoting<br />
<br />
even a modest profession(unless, of course, you are a Kindergarten teacher).<br />
<br />
But besides that, it wasn’t too bad. The ability to customize seemed to be<br />
<br />
lacking though, without some deep modification, or some extra piece of paid/trial<br />
<br />
software.<br />
<br />
I decided that wasn’t such a big deal though. After all, in a professional setting,<br />
<br />
customization would only serve to distract the more savvy workers.<br />
<br />
As I navigated Google Reader, a small yellow bubble popped up near my clock,<br />
<br />
asking me to update. With Ubuntu’s update-manager in my mind, I didn’t expect<br />
<br />
any hassle, just improved functionality. I clicked the bubble, and it brought me<br />
<br />
to a website called Windows Update. I went through the motions, first<br />
<br />
verifying that I was using a legit copy of Microsoft’s software,<br />
<br />
then getting Microsoft’s Update upgrade, then finally choosing updates.<br />
<br />
Whew. In Ubuntu, updating was a simple, painless, get-more-freebies thing.<br />
<br />
Compared to this, it was like opening presents on Christmas(or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa…Chanukwanzaa!). Well, I sighed,’At least it can’t get much worse…”<br />
<br />
Yeah, I know you were expecting me to say that.<br />
<br />
Boy, was I wrong. It asked me to,’…restart for the changes to take effect.’<br />
<br />
Now, after a system-wide update, this is normal for any OS you’ll use. It’s<br />
<br />
what happened next that drove my annoyance home:<br />
<br />
After the restart, I was prompted to update again.<br />
<br />
Okay…I updated again. Restart. I updated again. Restart.<br />
<br />
Finally, updates complete, (several hours later)I was then surfing happily when another bubble popped<br />
<br />
up /ask/ing/, no, demanding that I get protective software.<br />
<br />
After a good long time of research, I discovered that I needed<br />
<br />
antivirus, antispyware, and a firewall, because Windows’ built-in firewall<br />
<br />
was worth next-to-nothing, forums stated.<br />
<br />
I decided to use the free software with the highest ratings:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Adaware SE/Spybod S&D,<br />
<br />
Avast! Home Edition<br />
<br />
and Zone Alarm Free Firewall<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
It seemed to work pretty well, but of course I could not tell by myself if I had a spying<br />
<br />
virus or two.<br />
<br />
Zone Alarm worked well enough, but I found it funny that the manufacturers had so many<br />
<br />
different versions, not for different uses, but each consecutive product had more features<br />
<br />
and a bigger price tag then the last. Why didn’t they just do their best with one<br />
<br />
product? I wouldn’t mind paying a little for that(provided I got free updates for<br />
<br />
that series).<br />
<br />
Why didn’t Microsoft offer free, actually useful software for protecting it’s<br />
<br />
own?<br />
<br />
That aside, the multiple popups from the talkative Zone Alarm began to annoy me,<br />
<br />
and I looked more closely at the bubble. I saw it said that the identification for<br />
<br />
the program in question was not available for that edition.<br />
<br />
So that was it for me. It was clear I would have to pay for decent protection.<br />
<br />
After a bit of searching I found a temporary fix: Use the trial of Zone Alarm’s<br />
<br />
more advanced edition.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I found it much better than it’s cheap predecessor, but pricey to keep it.<br />
<br />
Oh well, enough on that.<br />
<br />
Thus far, this OS seemed to need more expensive maintenance than what<br />
<br />
it was worth(not to mention the EULA was the product of some nightmare plagued<br />
<br />
drunk).<br />
<br />
I set out to find a redeeming quality in this OS before I dropped it completely.<br />
<br />
First, I decided to try installing a program, namely OpenOffice,<br />
<br />
which comes with most Linux distributions.<br />
<br />
It’s install was easy enough, but I definitely preferred Ubuntu’s check-from-list-to-install<br />
<br />
style; but it did remind me of installing .deb’s..<br />
<br />
That was simple enough. Then I decided to install Ubuntu side by side with Windows<br />
<br />
(dual-boot) to see if I had any driver issues in my main OS.<br />
<br />
No such thing. In 7.10, everything worked, and it came with everything I needed.<br />
<br />
I was a secure, office-enabled, internet-surfing computer user out of the literal box.<br />
<br />
True, there was a glitch with the brightness control, but it did work out of the box,<br />
<br />
which is better than can be said for poor Windows. This not mentioning that<br />
<br />
Ubuntu’s OS is only one CD in size, not a gigantic DVD.<br />
<br />
Continuing to use Ubuntu as the main OS for my new laptop, I did use Windows<br />
<br />
occasionally, to see if one big update would improve it’s performance<br />
<br />
as was the case in the earlier versions of Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
After only a month or two of just using the computer, Windows became slow and had<br />
<br />
a terribly groggy feel.When two security scans later came to no avail, I went searching<br />
<br />
for the reason. After research on Microsoft’s site,<br />
<br />
I discovered the little known fact that Windows OS’s need to be ‘defragmented’ monthly,<br />
<br />
and reinstalled almost annually. Realizing that I would need to understand more<br />
<br />
about this OS to understand this cruel and unusual punishment so I did studying.<br />
<br />
Now I know every OS has it’s curves, but this was insane-(Xp doesn’t have curves, it has razor-sharp edges) I think this endless maintenance will lead less savvy users to buy a new computer annually!<br />
<br />
Soon enough I learned that the primary fault of Windows slow-but-sure decrease(in already sub-par)<br />
<br />
performance rested in something called the Windows Registry.<br />
<br />
The Windows Registry, in a nutshell, is an all-eggs-in-one-basket issue.<br />
<br />
As it turns out, every time you install/uninstall, update, or change a setting<br />
<br />
in Windows, you are fiddling with the Windows Registry.<br />
<br />
If one thing goes wrong here, you could end up with system-wide freezes,<br />
<br />
‘white-windows’ (frozen programs) and BSOD’s,(blue-screens-of-death(Cryptic error<br />
<br />
messages that do zilch to remedy the problem)), and, as you can guess,<br />
<br />
this happens allot in this system; since everything that changes affects it,<br />
<br />
and there are frequent conflicts.<br />
<br />
All things considered, no matter what securities you have one well formed virus attack could take this system down in seconds.<br />
<br />
It is horrific to imagine the government using such buggy(no, bugs are NOT features, Bill Gates!), insecure software, no matter if Microsoft’s techs say that the government versions<br />
<br />
are ‘special’. No matter how special they are, they aren’t changing the base:<br />
<br />
The Windows Registry. Unfortunately, that’s not Achilles’ heel, either: There are too many<br />
<br />
other glitches, holes, and beta(experimental) features in this OS to even grant it ‘Achilles’ status.<br />
<br />
A note to software manufacturers: don’t bother with this OS; stay with Ubuntu.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Please feel free to comment, and if you would like to reproduce this, feel free. All I ask is that you email me where it was reproduced, and all credit be given to me for the writing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-24995530227098664512017-06-26T11:39:00.000-04:002017-06-26T11:39:48.264-04:00On real-estate phishing scams...<br />
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<a href="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/90000/velka/florida-home-for-sale-1403781064I2s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/90000/velka/florida-home-for-sale-1403781064I2s.jpg" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="800" height="203" width="320" /></a></div>
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Heads up -</div>
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There is an epidemic of real-estate related phishing scams going on. </div>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Bad guys silently take over the email address of a home buyer or their realtor / lawyer, and right at the moment that a large amount of money needs to get wired for closing, they send a fake email with a different bank account that the bad guys control.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><b>Always, always, always pick up the phone</b></i> before you make a large transfer and get confirmation about the correct bank account that the wire goe<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">s to. This is true for the house, but also the office.</span></div>
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Realtors (and really anyone in a position that requires email - there was a famous one last year!) can help stop this nonsense by ONLY emailing clients from their business email address. This allows clients to more easily know what address to trust, and not just blindly trust anything with your signature.</div>
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Don't know how to use your business email? Time to hit up your IT team and learn. <i>A minor inconvenience is no longer excuse for willful ignorance </i><b>that can cost you or your organization money, time, legal battles, and client trust</b>. Most companies are hit not because the hacks are works of genius - but rather, because they left the door wide open and someone noticed.</div>
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Telling yourself,"We're too small to be targeted," is not an excuse either. Hacking is now done automatically by many groups, and at scale. The robots don't care how big you are - just that you have a bank account at all that it can send back home.<br /></div>
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If you need security consulting for your business, reach out. Business-class security training, consulting, and assistance with hiring an IT team are all things we handle for you.</div>
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Visit and contact us by heading over here <a href="http://www.truefla.me/">to our main site.</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-62676828524257651822017-06-14T22:54:00.000-04:002017-06-26T11:42:43.529-04:00The Frugal Nerd’s Total Technology Setup - Under $400!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="419" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/zZmhnds_9sENZVZxF7E4bcLi6JHxZs6rMgLiwWY5efhsp_zHpP0YmwNheFASjVDO19-s5jSoY1U9MM55Cohgx09IbTLO6Z7ZKBihpWEMDaBUuN-TY9utq6NkVo6S_5CpUAr1Ns4V" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Frugal Nerd’s Total Technology Setup - Under $400!</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is an article I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Truth is, you don’t need to spend upward of a $1,000 on one piece of tech for your dorm, or even the whole setup!</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s how to get the whole shabang for under $400. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Got a bit more fundage? You can score a newer laptop, and a smartwatch for just about $700. <a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2017/06/the-frugal-nerds-total-technology-setup.html">Check this article</a> for that guide.)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of this, you’ll have a good </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">smartphone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, durable and fast </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">laptop</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a pair of Bluetooth-enabled wireless </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">headphones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Plus, a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: line-through; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lightsaber </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">err, really cool </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">screwdriver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that’ll let you fix just about anything. Sonic screwdriver? Idk, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">maybe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laptop</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Companies spend a lot of time regurgitating similar stuff. Fact is, a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">high-end computer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> made as long ago as 2009 can rock just as good as a mid-range computer you’ll spend 2-4x as much new today. The only thing you’ll want to be aware of is the batteries on ol</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">der computers tend to not last quite as long. Not true for all of them, but many.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second thing you need to know is, if you’re spending less than $600 on a new computer, it’s probably garbage. BUT, if you get a high-end refurb computer (ESPECIALLY BUSINESS-GRADE) you can get it just </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dumb cheap,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and it’ll probably last you more semesters than your bff’s super thin consumer notebook. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that in mind, I present the Lenovo ThinkPad T420s. </span></div>
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<img alt="161112010331_t420.jpg" height="257" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/iWDdX9SA4ImvFEWINJy4PD0y__RGV3KZKA9okl_N9NoB5dhseyO1dAnhQ15-k5jtYOfsA83oL7ih9m4G4THsqDA6usw2tu1seeA6DttLqoIc0Q_y1XFHoAeYBkFupna6p7x5s4gO" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="339" /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You might not think this is that pretty, but you’ll quickly grow an affinity for it after your third roomie’s drunken stumbles destroy your second’s fifteen-hundred dollar MacBook Pro by knocking it off a desk, (leaving it a pile of molten metal); while your </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$150-$200</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> laptop survives being tossed out a third-story window after you tell that same roomie that, no, they can’t copy your homework. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just make sure you find one from a reputable seller, with 4GB+ of RAM, and an SSD. It’ll be plenty fast, just don’t expect it to game hardcore. ‘Kay?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To top it off, score free backup and office software by installing Google Drive and Google Photos. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, you’ve got a winner.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where to find this gem? </span><a href="http://www.ebay.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eBay </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or </span><a href="http://www.rakuten.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rakuten</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smartphone</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember all that stuff we learned about refurb’d high-end stuff above? Yeah, I’m not going to repeat it here.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Same gig, but with phones - the Nexus 5x or iPhone 5c can both be had for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">under $200.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Install the Google Drive and Google Photos app on these too, and you’ll keep your stuff backed up on your phone - plus, all your docs, powerpoints, photos and videos will be on all your devices. How cool is that?!</span></div>
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<img alt="File:iPhone 5c blue back.jpg - Wikimedia Commons" height="238" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fYIeoZryA_SMAnKnJyxdLo4stl1JOwn127lL8E3MWJKPnVhIYNIoWsblxRaIMbztfYN0sz2J8BmuMlaklKqQFYuW9HEOUbdwpWhz25Ss8eIPtsokB1XNZ2F9iLL4wJq7Q49OiQkh" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="153" /><img alt="nexus-5x-topic-1.png" height="284" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/45t5L016DsoPZ_HrU53f50aAOSFDV6r5R6K_PYCcueDY2pAhK5lJkP10BF6GYZ2Mzz3tgk1Ksv3nppRcYYHOh9-8jjhPRMCDjMWxNrYDldzqmCHjieo8qLmLT6s2fjch9JI_rxqT" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="284" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.ebay.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eBay </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- still your friend on this one. Same deal - reputable sellers are the key.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Need </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cell service</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the cheap? AT&T GoPhone is the cheapest and most reliable if it’s in your area, running </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>$40 for 6GB of data + rollover, and unlimited talk and text. </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No AT&T near you? Verizon’s prepaid service isn’t far off from that price. Make sure you get the right phone for whichever carrier you choose. ‘GSM’ for AT&T, ‘CDMA’ for Verizon. Make sure the phone is listed as ‘unlocked’ and ‘good IMEI (aka, not stolen)’.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Headphones</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now here’s where we start to cheap out a bit, because this is the least crucial bit.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sentry BT200’s can be found </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for $15</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in your local Big Lots or TJ Maxx. They aren’t Audio Technicas, but if you want good, wireless sound with a wired option built in, check ‘em out. If you REALLY want good sound, get the </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1497492909&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+technica+m+50" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audio Technica M50</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s. Beats? </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsxQxS0AdBY" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nah</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><img alt="71wrusDh4eL._SL1500_.jpg" height="214" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/OOg88e87ws4IXGsTQxK9dh0sbNXuIGPykCZTMEIRVD2-qMSiOWTk5RKyLm-bBwl2EbCbF3C8Ra48gybpeF2mmMeOWDfdEkHBWkxchzvJhWDMOo6YxvznKbGjd1wlKTkuQzcbWGo7" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="343" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline line-through; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IRL Sonic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Screwdriver</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s a bunch of rebranded ones of these, but if you can find an auto-loading screwdriver in a discount store, it’ll be your friend. Look for Craftsman in a Sears if you can, so that if it breaks you get a free one. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should be </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">under $20.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="262" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/WaBCuteFlljXsw_unbKjXvYP1KaMjwgQOBCGE8WfAfGfiTLZpNfY05cpwmXg1k38YGtlhPaSx_KDVQeOJ5ssrK9D-3EHBGxDLpAgHPEeUcb915o_x5J3eB7DdeZ-cuoW7E0wf3Ua" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="447" /></span></div>
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<h2>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final notes…</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you notice the title? Yeah, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nerd’s guide.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you’re not a nerd, or don’t consider yourself a DIY’er, this guide can be frustrating and unproductive. Basically, if you can’t install an operating system on a computer yourself, make sure that computer comes with Windows 10 - otherwise you might be stuck with 7 </span><a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2016/05/are-updates-important.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a good thing</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want a setup like this one on the cheap (and you live in Upstate New York) - for a bit more, we can help you with the purchase, setup, data transfer, and tutoring in basic computer/smartphone use.
Sound good? <a href="http://www.truefla.me/">Pop over to our main website by clicking here </a>to contact us for an appointment via phone or email.</span></div>
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<br /><span id="docs-internal-guid-0730ee99-a9ab-139a-b345-de6ca02522b0"></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-32867346338346435822017-06-14T22:49:00.000-04:002017-06-26T11:43:16.572-04:00The Frugal Nerd’s Total Technology Setup - Under $700!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="419" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/MdOW29wvGyQ4qtTSpO5_dcQIirY3Cru3UmS9mFCXcmhYeOcm7UgyJIYJ2009WVhEeMDdf3Ob8sM4D--Aoj1b0uh2vjSHRn0mNQLXM4b-BzaEkoSsHCUg_glG1d-q7l97j0JqrSND" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="624" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Frugal Nerd’s Total Technology Setup - Under $700!</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is an article I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. Truth is, you don’t need to spend upward of a $1,000 on one piece of tech for your dorm, or even the whole setup!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s how to get the whole shabang for under $700. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Super low on the fundage? Hey, the only way to go is up! I’ve been there. Check<a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2017/06/the-frugal-nerds-total-technology-setup_14.html"> this article</a> on how almost everything for about $400. It’ll be better than you might think!)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of this, you’ll have a good </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">smartphone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, durable and fast </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">laptop</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">smartwatch </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so your wrist tells more than time, and a pair of Bluetooth-enabled wireless </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">headphones</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Plus, a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: line-through; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lightsaber </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">err, really cool </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">screwdriver </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that’ll let you fix just about anything. Sonic screwdriver? Idk, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">maybe</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laptop</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Companies spend a lot of time regurgitating similar stuff. Fact is, a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">high-end computer</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> made as long ago as 2009 can rock just as good as a mid-range computer you’ll spend 2-4x as much new today. The only thing you’ll want to be aware of is the batteries on ol</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">der computers tend to not last quite as long. Not true for all of them, but many.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second thing you need to know is, if you’re spending less than $600 on a new computer, it’s probably garbage. BUT, if you get a high-end refurb computer (ESPECIALLY BUSINESS-GRADE) you can get it just </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dumb cheap,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and it’ll probably last you more semesters than your bff’s super thin consumer notebook. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that in mind, I present the Lenovo ThinkPad T430s. </span></div>
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<img alt="s-l1600.jpg" height="257" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/VCxGfbvtfcayVWlOod6z6WzzdyPqvi4QmWXeGGzWxbwWdr0q2pEVl10xCo9WEMzEoHI3ArEzVNGFZ6vD10MjMq0n0fdk6ct1KJIX4oUkrY3cWSzcBp6kSbe_7A0SRCBKHXZpeepw" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="339" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You might not think this is that pretty, but you’ll quickly grow an affinity for it after your third roomie’s drunken stumbles destroy your second’s fifteen-hundred dollar MacBook Pro by knocking it off a desk, (leaving it a pile of molten metal); while your </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">$250-$300</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> laptop survives being tossed out a third-story window after you tell that same roomie that, no, they can’t copy your homework. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just make sure you find one from a reputable seller, with 4GB+ of RAM, and an SSD. If you’re planning on doing gaming of any kind, look for ones that say, “NVIDIA” in the description. They’re a bit more, but hey, it can game!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To top it off, score free backup and office software by installing Google Drive and Google Photos. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, you’ve got a winner.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where to find this gem? </span><a href="http://www.ebay.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eBay </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">or </span><a href="http://www.rakuten.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rakuten</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smartphone</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember all that stuff we learned about refurb’d high-end stuff above? Yeah, I’m not going to repeat it here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Same gig, but with phones - the Nexus 5x or iPhone 5c can both be had for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">under $200.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Install the Google Drive and Google Photos app on these too, and you’ll keep your stuff backed up on your phone - plus, all your docs, powerpoints, photos and videos will be on all your devices. How cool is that?!</span></div>
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<img alt="nexus-5x-topic-1.png" height="284" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/rZhyfS2UVa92QTfs6Un7B9VXI0dpHMfzDMBhbo7cYl-phJIMAPr7B499bDMf-t7Mmnr6YML59D95IxYlPrN4r7b5zXgQh0j8dveHUGmoeWil3yYI6eBYpJkjrfvkys-BVgRWVCoO" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="284" /><img alt="File:iPhone 5c blue back.jpg - Wikimedia Commons" height="238" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Sgn2QcYjl0MGjFLVFQvPUfnJg4IE4Izdr-ujr8LWeorCvNbLLQD6MtkV-H1HrrarKcSDL6S87dX-EIqHkouVKGUatlZFEfcrH1eU5GmE0cpiWL7Wk0dxdGptLAH9VhdS_Gk0okA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="153" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.ebay.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eBay </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- still your friend on this one. Same deal - reputable sellers are the key.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Need </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cell service</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the cheap? AT&T GoPhone is the cheapest and most reliable if it’s in your area, running </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>$40 for 6GB of data + rollover, and unlimited talk and text. </b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No AT&T near you? Verizon’s prepaid service isn’t far off from that price. Make sure you get the right phone for whichever carrier you choose. ‘GSM’ for AT&T, ‘CDMA’ for Verizon. Make sure the phone is listed as ‘unlocked’ and ‘good IMEI (aka, not stolen)’.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smartwatch</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Funds are getting tight here, but hang with me. The Asus ZenWatch 2 is great if you chose the Android/Nexus phone above (which you totally should, Apple is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">out, brah)</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. With ‘Okay, Google’ functionality, it’s pretty dope. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you chose the iPhone, well… yeah. You’re not getting an Apple Watch on a budget, especially not one you can accidentally take a dunk with. You’re stuck with the still-cool-but-not-quite-as-cool Pebble.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Both can be had for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">under $100</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<img alt="Asus Zen Watch - AMOLED imprint issue | AMOLED imprint issue… | Flickr" height="210" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/npepDCokBca_Su7_15jXAh7B0sF0mvWuI6VLd7m9epL1JeqUxANSDZCbvXcfV_9mCeN9O6cPJ78lTT9pMjAb3riFQbBkOmLda_Oy18LAaNr_rW2F5KL6FsHytI4MsSHTGMyWARhA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="178" /><img alt="Pebble - 维基百科,自由的百科全书" height="210" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/20Zs2Zon6TUAS7skgUd5R7pCoXSPomEBa-2g7GDkRC2HGocz_7Fv7Yg9CSuVbrjALIDuxaNikOv7Sl16n3mnibRFez7aZ16ZQC8IQU2MnLv9JLnyg33vYMDgmJFQxBqK2VLSB6-D" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="183" /></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stillll </span><a href="http://www.ebay.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eBay.</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Headphones</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now here’s where we start to cheap out a bit, because this is the least crucial bit.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sentry BT200’s can be found </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">for $15</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in your local Big Lots or TJ Maxx. They aren’t Audio Technicas, but if you want good, wireless sound with a wired option built in, check ‘em out. If you REALLY want good sound, get the </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1497492909&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+technica+m+50" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Audio Technica M50</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’s. Beats? </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsxQxS0AdBY" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nah</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><img alt="71wrusDh4eL._SL1500_.jpg" height="214" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lNOgbol1Pf53_9AgD6j_PVvVOCx0wxGkTmy8NxFuHxgPxfkR8HCxkz_gQn0RgpjblhRNjzDnIbXMEoz8dnqt4uZK8U81QtKBbPxvCDYnN1Isuttk-FR5yCeTfHZ2ErwTQSe4Rp1T" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="343" /><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline line-through; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IRL Sonic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Screwdriver</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s a bunch of rebranded ones of these, but if you can find an auto-loading screwdriver in a discount store, it’ll be your friend. Look for Craftsman in a Sears if you can, so that if it breaks you get a free one. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should be </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">under $20.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="262" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ubGay4tkZlJkF1sB5JWtN8WkxOFVODPWTSnrI_SZv3ymkiJsnbrHkfWuds2o3LDkWjqwTgqVKihq_y_rHyUbumX60E5X2s63_t4KF7evJd60K8szjPL45uWDKXqG0yhrgQGjuhsD" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="447" /></span></div>
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<h2>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final notes…</span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you notice the title? Yeah, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">nerd’s guide.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you’re not a nerd, or don’t consider yourself a DIY’er, this guide can be frustrating and unproductive. Basically, if you can’t install an operating system on a computer yourself, make sure that computer comes with Windows 10 - otherwise you might be stuck with 7 </span><a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2016/05/are-updates-important.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">which is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a good thing</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sound good? </span><a href="http://www.truefla.me/" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pop over to our main website by clicking here </a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">to contact us for an appointment via phone or email.</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-c598e175-a9a5-d21f-f165-7eb0f9617132"></span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-64719329258044147562017-04-20T13:41:00.000-04:002017-04-20T13:41:38.831-04:00Don't get hooked by 'juicy details' on celebrities' deaths<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDeEcwemBG71hBs_WAIIo6AviN3wn29aOdToM8hDy29B04tkEAgH6Gu9As6-PvUQSrOgBiUQK0bNjARbf1Vqf-QcPqUTT2dgxfxYtPv6oNh4WYl-8yiiK8LTWeloM_zKkfCEhJOpfpys/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDDeEcwemBG71hBs_WAIIo6AviN3wn29aOdToM8hDy29B04tkEAgH6Gu9As6-PvUQSrOgBiUQK0bNjARbf1Vqf-QcPqUTT2dgxfxYtPv6oNh4WYl-8yiiK8LTWeloM_zKkfCEhJOpfpys/s1600/unnamed.jpg" /></a></div>
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Hackers are exploiting the deaths of celebrities - such as Aaron Hernandez.</div>
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Celebrity deaths scams such as Prince, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Paul Walker and Robin Williams have been used by bad guys for their own criminal purposes. Don't be a victim of these scams. Never click on links in emails or text messages promising you photographs, videos or even new information about celebrity deaths.<br />
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Don't go to unfamiliar websites to find such information because your workstation may get infected with malware or your identity stolen just by browsing the website without clicking on any links. For more information about these events, only go to reliable, reputable sites where you normally go. Remember, Think Before You Click!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Thanks to the lads and ladies at </span><a href="https://blog.knowbe4.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration-line: none;">KnowBe4 </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">for this great information!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-36576542961605717922017-03-02T13:17:00.000-05:002017-03-03T15:00:52.849-05:00Should You Really Take Their Phones?<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="6659976191_5a16b0a624_b.jpg" height="401" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/EuLSNhUlqqfC44PoxPUCcyu2O2o4RIDCxyhlzWb7FIebIum1qyrHWrhLVJ01V9-CodcdCCf1fxYGqxeP3fr0f7GgLsgX9azMY4eoVZBHuCK9RPg8rCvIssoKgBx4ZG2cNOPD9oCR" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="301" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Should you really take their phones?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve been seeing articles pop up a lot lately that advocate a zero-technology approach for your tweens and teens.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With titles like,</span></div>
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<a href="http://foreverymom.com/mom-gold/horror-stories-real-dont-give-children-smartphone-jonathon-van-maren/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Horror Stories are Real. Don’t Give Your Children a Smartphone</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/real-life/in-the-news/dad-horrified-to-find-vile-messages-in-popular-game-on-sons-ipad" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dad horrified to find vile messages in popular game on son's iPad</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s no mistaking what these headlines are after.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Philosophy</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I break this down, I want to give you my take at the top – but stick around to hear the reasoning.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In short: As a father, eldest brother, and someone who has regret over things I saw at a young age – I still don’t agree with these headlines.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here’s why.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The conclusions of both writers comes from an uninformed perspective that is not addressing the two root problems at all.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The problems are simple to detail, but difficult to fix:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. We live in an age where technology is the primary means of communication. To remove this is to effectively remove oneself from the world. Thus, education for persons of all ages is an incredibly important but often ignored step to using it properly.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. As mentioned above, technology is a principle method of communication. Like all communication in the past, from the spoken word to the written, technology is merely a conduit for the full gamut of human emotion, for good and for ill. What we need to instill in our children is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a fear of technology, but rather, a healthy understanding of personal boundaries in all aspects of our day to day lives.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether it is boys in the locker room sharing the ‘cool kid’s’ smut collection, or the girls in the cafeteria emotionally bullying the girl that’s not ‘pretty enough’ to join their club – it is clear that the problems pinned on new technology are not new at all.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just as our parents and grandparents needed to be aware of the dangers of VHS tapes being shared from our classmates – we as the new generation of parents need to do our best to be aware of what apps our children use, set time limits, and have a basic sense of the dangers. Most importantly however, we need to communicate these expectations and dangers to our children effectively.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the children are rebelling against all the standards you set, including technology, clearly technology is not the problem. Who they choose to (really, who you ALLOW them to) socialize with might be.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Taking their technology away in this scenario is just an exercise in frustration for both parent and child. Rather than benefiting either party, it is far more likely to serve as a wedge of irritation and distrust between you as they enter more independent stages of their lives.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Real World Advice</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ve already answered most of the concerns in the first of the articles referenced above(</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the one written by van Maren – an author I otherwise appreciate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">), but he brings up one point I want to address specifically:</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Parents cannot control the new world of teenagers. In many cases, they cannot even penetrate it...there are a number of answers. Open communication and open conversations. Attempted oversight of social media use. Accountability software and filters on all technological devices.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for today, I just want to push one: Don’t give your children smartphones.”</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I want to bring up my previous point to contend this one. Is this really new? In a world without smartphones, would a parent be intimately involved enough at their children’s school to know all of their acquaintances, good and ill? Of course not. Unless you have chosen the path of homeschooling, this is an impossible feat. Still then, LEAH groups and co-ops would introduce your children to other families’ values (or lack thereof).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I posit that since the problem hasn’t changed with the rise of technology, the answer hasn’t either: Invest time in your children if you want them to share your values and their feelings.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second article I find to be simply ‘clickbait’, a sensationalist article meant to generate page views for advertising revenue.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The story details a man’s (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">a famous one, they repeatedly tell us – as if that has any impact on the tale</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">discovery that his 8 year old son was playing a game with pornographic content. As the story goes on though, we get to the truth – the game itself does not intentionally have this content, but other players try to seduce children through the game’s online multiplayer aspect. The father demanded of the company that this content (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in-game communication with other players</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) be removed entirely. As you might imagine, his request was denied.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multiplayer games are far more profitable than single-player, and beyond that – games that have multiplayer interaction are rated as such. If the father had simply paid slightly more attention, he would have seen that it had that function, and should not have installed the game or allowed his son to play it unsupervised.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In Summary</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology changes nothing. Online interaction is merely a reflection of offline (real-life) interaction, and to simplify it to ‘don’t interact’ would to be doing all parties a disservice – gaining you nothing but children that are behind others socially and professionally. Most importantly: If their own discernment and decision-making skills are never tested or used, do they really have them at all?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Likely not.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What should we do then? I’ve written an article about that here: </span><a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2017/03/basic-technology-guidance-for-parents.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Technology Guidance For Parents</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Further articles will be written on the topic soon, including “How to see what apps and games are safe for your children” and “How to block advertisements on your PC, Mac, or Chromebook” - so be sure to like and follow me on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TrueflameTech" target="_blank">Facebook</a> for updates!</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-24357688184621271282017-03-02T13:09:00.000-05:002018-05-04T19:35:53.570-04:00Basic Technology Guidance For Parents<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPEFizuXx68rGevojCBZ8yYu_yhWeROejLn5X9RBVhYCN6fpXBoZrdaVbzfc_PaDYHfWxfVd8-0ON8WYrGK5QLEzjpS45h8JCewLbkuCM7iifBdWaZa6wP87oeboEPDKnXkKEeR39N2A/s1600/baby-84626_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPEFizuXx68rGevojCBZ8yYu_yhWeROejLn5X9RBVhYCN6fpXBoZrdaVbzfc_PaDYHfWxfVd8-0ON8WYrGK5QLEzjpS45h8JCewLbkuCM7iifBdWaZa6wP87oeboEPDKnXkKEeR39N2A/s320/baby-84626_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's a nasty world out there. </span></h3>
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Though I don't yet have children of Internet-browsing age, I am very aware of the dangers.<br />
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Over the years, I've found a few useful tools to keep your kids safe. Here are the ones that are not only tried and true in my home- but are also the simplest to use.<br />
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Note: I am not affiliated with any of the Parental Control solutions below. Any change(s) they make to their products or prices are not under my control.<br />
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OpenDNS FamilyShield is a great free tool to instantly put a layer of protection on your entire home network. While the setup may appear daunting, it's like anything else. Follow the step-by-step instructions, and you have a great tool in about fifteen minutes or so.<br />
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After following the link, click the FamilyShield tab on the right-center of the screen for the free version.<br />
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Windows 10 Parental Controls aren't that great. But if you're looking for free, basic controls that already exist on your Windows computer, you're in luck.<br />
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ColdTurkey is a new player, and is really meant for self-time management and as an anti-distraction tool - but if all you're looking for is a website blocker for a period of time (Like Facebook, until all the homework is done), this is the way to go. Dead simple, and free. Nice how that works out, eh? Note: This is nearly impossible to disable(Note, not impossible to circumvent temporarily!). Make sure you set the block duration to something reasonable to for study time.<br />
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Extra</h2>
Norton Online Family seems to be a pretty good tool from the reviews I have found, but I'm not a huge fan of Norton (notice the Norton Removal Tool on my Tools page above?), so I haven't tried it. It's free, and a review of it can be found here.<br />
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Personal Suggestion to Parents looking into Parental Control methods and software:<br />
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Let me be the first to say: Good job. If you're at this page, you're taking the initiative to protect your kids (or yourself) from stuff that can ruin their lives.<br />
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I have a word of caution though. In this world where the public schools teach sex ed (or perversion ed, in my book) at ridiculously young ages, and inappropriate content is more accessible than ever via the Internet, you need to be careful to address the root cause of what your children may be into, and keep in mind this generation's need to 'stay connected'.<br />
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Facebook and the like are how this generation organizes things. From birthday parties to charity events, it all happens on Facebook. They won't get a letter in the mail. If you see something about it in a paper (aka, 'snailmail') newsletter, that newsletter writer is probably out of touch with this generation.<br />
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Your great-great-great grandparents probably thought phones were weird - but now, they are a necessity for the working individual. Sign up for services like Facebook and Twitter yourself, and 'be hip.' Don't look at social networks as evil. Be educated yourself on why these things aren't bad, but just a natural evolution of human communication. You will simply alienate your kids if you don't do this.<br />
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All the same, too much of anything is too much - and the definition of 'too much' is at your discretion.<br />
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Once your kids are a certain age, I encourage you to move from moderating their web content to to monitoring it. The tools above can help with that. But the best real-world way to handle this is simple: Move the family and personal computers to a central area of the home. You'll notice if something is up pretty quickly that way, just by walking by quietly. If you see something suspicious, don't mention it then, but have a 'family meeting' to establish values and remind them of consequences. Not punishment consequences - this will make them bottle their emotions and feelings - but long-term, natural consequences.<br />
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Talk with them about it. Make it not something to be scared of, but something to look forward to at the right time.<br />
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More information (including peer-reviewed studies and quick explainer videos!) can be found here:<br />
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http://fightthenewdrug.org/<br />
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Related from Trueflame Tech:<a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2017/03/your-children-and-their-technology.html"> Should you really take their phones?</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-82417667438613899542017-02-22T11:40:00.000-05:002017-02-22T11:42:02.503-05:00How Does my Phone Know Where I Work?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw55JrLuLxnNlip5NknrZhxnaNCP-hNrqXnU47-6Klzv5cbx2bWCz058J7KBOF7Dtlxf-TPp7FC-YyjH24zRQC5wY22wL9FqVKQGCpiNuw7XbDEaJVOPskBHFQzI_41OiCCjUqvW6_QrI/s1600/78eXmdz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw55JrLuLxnNlip5NknrZhxnaNCP-hNrqXnU47-6Klzv5cbx2bWCz058J7KBOF7Dtlxf-TPp7FC-YyjH24zRQC5wY22wL9FqVKQGCpiNuw7XbDEaJVOPskBHFQzI_41OiCCjUqvW6_QrI/s320/78eXmdz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's a Google Now algorithm. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>But is it safe to use?</b></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><b id="docs-internal-guid-0a5bdf1b-66a6-ee13-12f4-c217883b8773" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Let's talk about how it works:</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It works by the phone checking your location every so often, and it has guessed that because you commute fairly regularly to a certain location, that's where you work.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once it establishes that, when you stop moving at above human-capable speeds, it marks that location as where you parked. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It knows when you need to leave because it gathers data from local news stations, other Now users, and radio to check traffic and weather conditions.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's capable of a lot more than that if you play around with it. I use it to schedule my whole day! </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(You may be thinking,"Are you crazy?!" Nope, read to the end!)</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Should I be worried about privacy?</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We all should be educated - but I wouldn't be worried about privacy with this specific service. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When it comes to privacy, you have three attackers: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Your government.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Foreign government.</span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. 'Black Hat' hackers that just want your money and identity.</span></div>
<br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the first, the only realistic way for most people not to be tracked is to not use technology or be around it at all. Pretty much impossible. Vote for who you want to have this kind of power! </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>(And preferably, vote for persons trying to eliminate that kind of power.)</i></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If foreign governments or black hats target you, the best thing to do is have good passwords, updated phones, security software, and know the basic principles of <a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/58642/online-security-breaking-down-the-anatomy-of-a-phishing-email/" target="_blank">phishing</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Should I disable the 'Now' scheduling functions?</span></b></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Probably not. It likely won't make a difference on real life privacy.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google is pretty secure. They could do better, but so could everybody. So that provides a reasonable expectation of relative security against the last two as well even using this particular feature.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Effectively, your government tracks all this data anyway whether you use it consciously or not, and if you follow the basic security principles I listed, you at least won't be more insecure than everyone else against the hackers and foreign actors. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since we're already tracked - might as well use that data to make our life easier to schedule. Is it a perfect solution? No. But the alternative is far more drastic than is feasible to live a normal life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Where can I learn more?</span></b></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want more information on this, pick up the documentary <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Citizenfour-Edward-Snowden/dp/B00XIFAJMS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487781422&sr=8-2&keywords=citizenfour" target="_blank">CitizenFour</a>. It's pretty interesting, and covers why this power is dangerous in the wrong hands.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you liked this article, please consider clicking one of the sharing buttons below in the grey box - Facebook, Twitter. or email it to your friends and family!</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-362660666801381542017-01-08T23:53:00.000-05:002017-01-08T23:53:59.417-05:00New PDF Phishing Scam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blog.knowbe4.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pdf_phishing.png?t=1483911134848&width=788&height=445&name=pdf_phishing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blog.knowbe4.com/hs-fs/hubfs/pdf_phishing.png?t=1483911134848&width=788&height=445&name=pdf_phishing.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
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There is a phishing attack going on you need to know about.<br />
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The campaign sends and email with the subject: "Assessment document" and the body of the email has a PDF attachment in it that claims that it is locked.<br />
The message reads: "PDF Secure File UNLOCK to Access File Content". If you click to unlock the document, a dialog box comes up that asks you to put in your email address and password.<br />
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If an email like that makes it into your inbox, do not click on anything, and definitely do not enter your email address and password. Follow the organization's procedure and if you are at the house, delete the email.<br />
Remember, Think Before You Click!<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Thanks to the lads and ladies at </span><a href="https://blog.knowbe4.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none;">KnowBe4 </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">for this great information!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Victimized by this scam? Need help with any of this? Reach out to me by submitting a ticket </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WTSWtaXu0brNesvOwpN_J_vM3EsUGIChIlLXW9OBfIc/viewform" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-20165699502898025572016-11-18T23:52:00.001-05:002016-11-18T23:52:30.187-05:00Encryption... It's a Big Deal<br />
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<a href="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*rlgXmXM0xEiQ5AMqoeqsyg.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*rlgXmXM0xEiQ5AMqoeqsyg.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />OK, so, I’m hearing about this enough from people that don’t understand it, that I want to take the time to explain it the best I can:<br />
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Encryption. It's a big deal.<br />
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It's been in the news a lot lately, and I recently posted a lengthy article about it, but I'm going to keep this short, with an analogy.<br />
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It's like this. One day, when houses were new, all the carpenters decided what was in the houses was important enough that they needed locks. So they built locks into all their houses. Those locks were broken into, so they learned to make better ones, and the government told the people,<br />
"Yeah! These new locks are great! We'll call them 'magic locks', and everyone will be safe."<br />
The carpenters, and all the people, were happy and felt safe. Even the government said the magic locks were safe!<br />
<br />
Well, one day, a man from the government left the government and said, "There are no 'magic locks!' They're fake, and the government broke them all when the carpenters were making them, so we would feel safe, but any bad carpenters can get in, just so they can get into your house more easily when they have a warrant - but they make EVERYONE less safe, even from bad people!"<br />
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That's encryption, folks. And you should be very upset at what the government did, many, many times - and now that we know about it - are trying to make it legal and enforceable to have totally fake 'magic locks'. It's not just bad for the bad guys - you can't just break things for them by breaking the factory everyone gets locks from.<br />
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Major tech companies are totally against what the government is doing, and it's because they understand the long term consequences.<br />
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This is just a small part of the whole encryption/big brother crap going on right now, but it’s possibly the most important, and I haven’t heard any major news publications explain it correctly or accurately.<br />
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If this helped you understand something, or you think it will help others in your feed to… please share.<br />
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<i>This article was moved from my other blog to here. Originally posted in 2015, it still holds relevance as the full impact of the Snowden revelations have not been yet realized, in my view.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-71596428187025007592016-11-13T15:48:00.000-05:002016-11-13T15:48:16.703-05:00Fake Apps - How to Stay Safe<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgLSnnEhQ387sYJ8DXU4VshCs-JKK0MPUlPJJxW0b8dwtJz6vnk0jwvfKPus556tIkW35PhLyri9X3kF31T3jxy2nWbWrv-DO9eGxN9w7SUXiQ5MkyAuoQg8qEMRLhWTKmk-wB63kW-E/s1600/mobile-phone-1087845_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgLSnnEhQ387sYJ8DXU4VshCs-JKK0MPUlPJJxW0b8dwtJz6vnk0jwvfKPus556tIkW35PhLyri9X3kF31T3jxy2nWbWrv-DO9eGxN9w7SUXiQ5MkyAuoQg8qEMRLhWTKmk-wB63kW-E/s320/mobile-phone-1087845_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<strong>Watch Out For Fake Apps!</strong><br /><br />The holidays are here and the scammers are out in force. Their latest trick is fake apps. Starbucks started the first "retail app" it, and many stores have followed...</blockquote>
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<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
But scammers are now creating fake apps, trick you into downloading them to your smartphone or tablet, and ask you to load your credit card information in these apps. You can guess what happens next.<br /><br /><em>Here are 5 things to keep in mind about this Scam of The Week:</em><ol>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Be very judicious in deciding what app to download. Better safe than sorry.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">If you *do* decide to download an app, first thing to check is the reviews,<br />apps with few reviews or bad reviews are a big Red Flag.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Never click on a link in any email to download a new app. Only go to<br />the website of the retailer to get a link to the legit app on the AppStore<br />or Google Play.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Give as little information as possible if you decide to use an app.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Be very, very reluctant to link your credit card to any app!</li>
</ol>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">
There is more information about this at the New York Times:<br /><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://info.knowbe4.com/e1t/c/*VrJm9z97nvN1MLz5l3mrvXf0/*N5ybC10t-65YW3MJwS21-f5nC0/5/f18dQhb0Sq5v8Y9ZP0W66ZgKT4T_wCFW8r4N5H3N1vtHVscYd11SddPTW6kfX-L7s5Q7nW1ysf9932SCk4N8Wm1twrNVR8VtMXdk7vpyC6W5nrYy44dNWhNW8-j6jm30JBhSW1Txrp84jtNJ9W32Hgyx2M6yR7W4f1jnP53bkYFW7KRg2p95M0T5N51tb1nXDmq1W90G7th8S23M9N2yJF1WYT2jkW6Nx3fj1bwwwgW5rC5Q63lzN6vW4Dl4vz3sxGyLW8Ng95Z3X0g0yN6bp1cMbq5fxW4TKc2l8Ry1Z0N3KNMyQbKwSLW1xzP0g3Mbw66W5wf5h84VVVFJW4Vyn-_2BH2wrW2zncpr1JPJpHW3LRw8_7ZCbmcW42d7PD8KDTp8W3V1HLh1pgBKTW5WNrJr5s_dqyN5bcNn1RY2x5W7xvXpR5sxnHKW1bBvW3403st-W1y_sL38csGDVVD2JBL7723-WW5RTL6M3XX3XFW3C5TDb5B508WW28Z_GG2L5GhqW8kRMyV3tY9rXW8Mj18n1N-f09W77JTV43qC_rPW90d8bS38xmtnDvHVknhvr9f5qTFQq03&source=gmail&ust=1479091965384000&usg=AFQjCNFOvf3Bkw8rVHOWQbW_sQL10s5eBA" href="https://info.knowbe4.com/e1t/c/*VrJm9z97nvN1MLz5l3mrvXf0/*N5ybC10t-65YW3MJwS21-f5nC0/5/f18dQhb0Sq5v8Y9ZP0W66ZgKT4T_wCFW8r4N5H3N1vtHVscYd11SddPTW6kfX-L7s5Q7nW1ysf9932SCk4N8Wm1twrNVR8VtMXdk7vpyC6W5nrYy44dNWhNW8-j6jm30JBhSW1Txrp84jtNJ9W32Hgyx2M6yR7W4f1jnP53bkYFW7KRg2p95M0T5N51tb1nXDmq1W90G7th8S23M9N2yJF1WYT2jkW6Nx3fj1bwwwgW5rC5Q63lzN6vW4Dl4vz3sxGyLW8Ng95Z3X0g0yN6bp1cMbq5fxW4TKc2l8Ry1Z0N3KNMyQbKwSLW1xzP0g3Mbw66W5wf5h84VVVFJW4Vyn-_2BH2wrW2zncpr1JPJpHW3LRw8_7ZCbmcW42d7PD8KDTp8W3V1HLh1pgBKTW5WNrJr5s_dqyN5bcNn1RY2x5W7xvXpR5sxnHKW1bBvW3403st-W1y_sL38csGDVVD2JBL7723-WW5RTL6M3XX3XFW3C5TDb5B508WW28Z_GG2L5GhqW8kRMyV3tY9rXW8Mj18n1N-f09W77JTV43qC_rPW90d8bS38xmtnDvHVknhvr9f5qTFQq03" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/<wbr></wbr>11/07/technology/more-iphone-<wbr></wbr>fake-retail-apps-before-<wbr></wbr>holidays.html</a></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Thanks to the lads and ladies at </span><a href="https://blog.knowbe4.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none;">KnowBe4 </a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">for this great information!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Victimized by this scam? Need help with any of this? Reach out to me by submitting a ticket </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WTSWtaXu0brNesvOwpN_J_vM3EsUGIChIlLXW9OBfIc/viewform" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none;">here</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-49737278241952481572016-10-13T11:08:00.000-04:002016-10-13T11:08:58.649-04:00New Scam: Brad Pitt Dead?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7sUH5RN9Rjnef8oKhDo4W0o6mywijW36SIzp-aAeE0PPEehgI3mL65yUw-_XCs1kUqU8KXIPFX-KT2b3HmaD52Dqz1bY4elASixdKA8ZvhltX9rezVag09VS47hgBw5nxxOsfo9afQU/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ7sUH5RN9Rjnef8oKhDo4W0o6mywijW36SIzp-aAeE0PPEehgI3mL65yUw-_XCs1kUqU8KXIPFX-KT2b3HmaD52Dqz1bY4elASixdKA8ZvhltX9rezVag09VS47hgBw5nxxOsfo9afQU/s320/unnamed.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
A new celebrity death scam reared its ugly head.<br />
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The bad guys claim that Brad Pitt has committed suicide because of the recent Angelina Jolie divorce. The scam is currently on Facebook but you can expect emails with links for "more details" and/or attachments that claim it is a video of his last moments. There are several versions that claim he hanged himself, died in a shooting range or from a substance overdose.<br />
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You might even get text messages to your smartphone that try to trick you into going to a site with the exclusive pictures of his death. If you see any social media posts or get emails with links or attachments, do not click on anything, do not open attachments or reply, and if it is social media, do not touch and do not share or forward. These bad guys will use anything to shock and trick you into clicking. Do not fall for it and Think Before You Click!<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks to the lads and ladies at <a href="https://blog.knowbe4.com/">KnowBe4 </a>for this great information!<br />
<br />
Victimized by this scam? Need help with any of this? Reach out to me by submitting a ticket <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WTSWtaXu0brNesvOwpN_J_vM3EsUGIChIlLXW9OBfIc/viewform">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-69228956312520247482016-10-11T15:35:00.000-04:002016-10-11T15:39:03.815-04:00New 'IRS' scam with CP2000 forms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVseQyY48RoPTe5flMsoUtqxYwojHKa1M0SxnZUjD_Rp7VAE5uNXQHwbPUvAAMSBfgOZIWiEgPgDF4VQMCNlue2cQC0g-Itx5AcM8IOlShFiMlaxbjTEMYH7n85CAfPIfYYKSnx6Vrac/s1600/screen-shot-2014-08-14-at-10-09-46-am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSVseQyY48RoPTe5flMsoUtqxYwojHKa1M0SxnZUjD_Rp7VAE5uNXQHwbPUvAAMSBfgOZIWiEgPgDF4VQMCNlue2cQC0g-Itx5AcM8IOlShFiMlaxbjTEMYH7n85CAfPIfYYKSnx6Vrac/s320/screen-shot-2014-08-14-at-10-09-46-am.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
There is an insidious new IRS scam doing the rounds.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
They send you a phony IRS CP 2000 form and claim the income reported on your tax return does not match the income reported by your employer. This is meant to get you worried. To confuse you further, the bad guys claim this has something to do with the Affordable Care Act.<br />
<br />
You might receive emails with attached phony forms, text messages and even live calls to your phone about this! You need to know that the IRS will never initiate contact with you to collect overdue taxes by an email, text message or phone call.<br />
<br />
If you get any emails, text messages, old-time snail mail or even live calls about this, do not respond and/or hang up the phone. If you receive a "CP 2000" form in the mail and doubt this is legit, you can always call the IRS at 1-800-366-4484 to confirm it is a scam.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks to the lads and ladies at <a href="https://blog.knowbe4.com/">KnowBe4 </a>for this great information!<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-62198263000192757462016-10-05T14:27:00.000-04:002016-10-05T15:37:06.853-04:00Keep an eye open for this new scam technique...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeGvEty0eRMzRJKMu64ovF0dUdDv0fvEtfQ6YFvHxMjZhB5OfgDXPVNTdvc-8tu6PdcR1JP5ZTQNjyUK2uYIw1QPltJo_EkvDzatKEaUZGhyUg1HpPE9c-nFh6NqeiuuO39DrqdTrdPw/s1600/2016-10-05_14h12_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPeGvEty0eRMzRJKMu64ovF0dUdDv0fvEtfQ6YFvHxMjZhB5OfgDXPVNTdvc-8tu6PdcR1JP5ZTQNjyUK2uYIw1QPltJo_EkvDzatKEaUZGhyUg1HpPE9c-nFh6NqeiuuO39DrqdTrdPw/s320/2016-10-05_14h12_01.png" width="232" /></a></div>
Watch out for this one, folks. Just got this in my email - and unsubscribing in the way highlighted (highlight added by me) would be EXACTLY what they want you to do!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Why?<br />
<br />
Well, the scam works like this - hackers and tricksters write a program that 'guesses' email addresses.<br />
<br />
If you respond 'unsubscribe' - the baddies' program tells them they got a hit, like Battleship! Now they know your name, email address, and perhaps more - depending on what you have in your email signature.<br />
<br />
If you respond, the attacks against you will continue, but they then use that information they have to get even more tricky, addressing you by name, as if you should know who they are!<br />
<br />
Here's how this works for them, a big percentage of the time: Did you read the email? Notice how nonsensical it is? Who <i>wouldn't</i> want to unsubscribe?<br />
<br />
And that's how they get you. If your email app has a 'mark as spam' or similar button, click that on emails like this, and <u>don't respond!</u> Stay safe out there, folks!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If you've fallen victim to this, reach out to me through this form, by clicking <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WTSWtaXu0brNesvOwpN_J_vM3EsUGIChIlLXW9OBfIc/viewform">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-46241054883089814202016-10-03T22:40:00.002-04:002016-10-04T10:32:52.184-04:00Why I use iPhone, and Why I Hope the Google Pixel will Change That<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOIeCbaNlBhp1PYcG8FXMl-u2K7aShdhR52lkNUnLvsSiBNXQStHl3_6hhshg4NEifd00cLhOQV5AKK8fhskcgJQDS2aLp73O49mPpDZ730CRdY33zxCJw1jS-V66XoluyRc4p2Pswjs/s1600/pixel-cw-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOIeCbaNlBhp1PYcG8FXMl-u2K7aShdhR52lkNUnLvsSiBNXQStHl3_6hhshg4NEifd00cLhOQV5AKK8fhskcgJQDS2aLp73O49mPpDZ730CRdY33zxCJw1jS-V66XoluyRc4p2Pswjs/s320/pixel-cw-2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I've mentioned in my previous post,"<i><a href="http://blog.truefla.me/2016/05/are-updates-important.html">Are Updates Actually Important?</a>"</i> that my mobile platform of choice (currently) is iOS - limiting my options to iPhone and iPad - no Motos or Galaxies for me.<br />
Not that I don't want them - it's a side-effect of knowing the huge security disadvantage of Android that caused me to recently switch to an iPhone.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<br />
It's not up for debate, either. The mere fact that all Apple devices 5+ years old get security updates immediately after Apple develops a patch is a far cry from the very scattered update system in place for the myriad Android devices - where stingy carriers and manufacturers can hold up updates months, years... or simply drop support for the device altogether, even if it is relatively young. Like Motorola's Verizon flagship (which implies better service), the Moto X Second Generation - receiving updates for roughly a year and a half.<br />
<br />
While a terrible disregard for green initiatives, this too could be forgivable if they didn't act like these devices are still usable, and drop them from their shelves. (Which they don't - meaning some new, bought-in-store Android devices were out of support before you bought them.)<br />
<br />
Notwithstanding the inherent lack of safety in the Android platform, it was truly my favorite platform to use. Speed, cheap hardware, and a lot of options all make the nerd in me a happy man. And the customizable notification system genuinely had a huge impact on my productivity - something iPhone sorely lacks.<br />
<br />
Security, however - in today's day and age - is a deal maker and a deal breaker.<br />
<br />
This then, is what I really am hoping for at Google's event tomorrow (madeby.google.com on 10/4) - for Google to show that they can reign in these rogue manufacturers under new licensing agreements that benefit the consumer.<br />
<br />
At this point, I can barely recommend any Android device - except, perhaps, the <a href="https://oneplus.net/">One Plus</a> line.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anyway, here's to hoping Google launches a game-changer tomorrow. I'd like my speed and notification system back, please.<br />
<br />
You can watch the livestream of the MadeByGoogle Event right here:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/q4y0KOeXViI/default_live.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q4y0KOeXViI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-45645306599159525422016-09-23T10:05:00.001-04:002016-10-05T15:37:58.634-04:00Yahoo breached! What you need to do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsINVRsk7GnDduKdrpK39s2BKzifhpp4jxTCSkZgDa4yuUeo04Vo2MbC6uKGlLteFlxLWiVGA5xlYqPOf8QJpWYX-edRZFm-dWQ1dEREjH4GNB9YtYkNTF3VND15OSgkk4U24PlrXjXU/s1600/yahoo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsINVRsk7GnDduKdrpK39s2BKzifhpp4jxTCSkZgDa4yuUeo04Vo2MbC6uKGlLteFlxLWiVGA5xlYqPOf8QJpWYX-edRZFm-dWQ1dEREjH4GNB9YtYkNTF3VND15OSgkk4U24PlrXjXU/s320/yahoo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">
Yahoo announced that 500 million of their accounts were hacked and are sold by internet criminals. Bad guys are going to use this information in a variety of ways. For instance, they will send phishing emails claiming you need to change your Yahoo account, looking just like the real ones. Here is what I suggest you do right away:</div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #777777; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<li>Open your browser and go to Yahoo. Do not use a link in any email. Reset your password and make it a strong, complex password or rather a pass-phrase. </li>
<li>If you were using that same password on multiple websites, you need to stop that right now. Using the same password all over the place is an invitation to get hacked. If you did use your Yahoo passwords on other sites, go to those sites and change the password there too. Also change the security questions and make the answer something non-obvious.</li>
<li>Use a free password manager that can generate hard-to-hack passwords, keep and remember them for you.</li>
<li>Watch out for any phishing emails that relate to Yahoo in any way and ask for information.</li>
<li>Now would also be a good time to use Yahoo Account Key, a simple authentication tool that eliminates the need to use a password altogether.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="color: #777777; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #777777; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Thanks to the lads and ladies at <a href="https://www.knowbe4.com/">KnowBe4 </a>for this great information!</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #777777; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #777777; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Need help with any of this? Reach out to me by submitting a ticket <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1WTSWtaXu0brNesvOwpN_J_vM3EsUGIChIlLXW9OBfIc/viewform">HERE</a>.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-18218409937037658582016-05-23T23:37:00.000-04:002016-09-20T12:16:33.664-04:00Are updates actually important? <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://news.techgenie.com/files/Windows-Update-Agent-in-Windows-7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://news.techgenie.com/files/Windows-Update-Agent-in-Windows-7.png" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Yes, yes they are. Let’s just get that straight right off the bat. Software updates for anything connecting to the Internet are increasingly crucial as digital thieves find more and more lucrative ways to steal your Greenbacks and ruin your life. Here's a real-life example of how that could happen.<br />
<br />
<i>What’s that? Priceless family photos? Let me lock down your computer with a virus that uses high-grade encryption – and hold your files at ransom until you pay up.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“What did I do to deserve this?”</blockquote>
<br />
... you wail, as your lament forever-gone images of loved ones who left you too soon – finding yourself unable to pay the exorbitant fees, or just incapable of understanding the strange currency the miscreant demands his earnings in.<br />
<br />
In the best case scenario, you didn’t do anything. You faithfully let your computer run it’s updates on a daily basis before you shut it down for the night, your antivirus protection was subscribed and up to date – and you still got hit.<br />
<br />
“What?!” You stare at your screen blankly. “Isn’t this article in favor of updates?”<br />
<br />
Yes it is. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it - everyone needs to have a better understanding of what is necessary to protect against these threats, so we’re going to take it a just a bit deeper than ‘updates = good.’.<br />
<br />
If you take away one thing from this article, let it be this: Security always has, and always will be a catch-up game.<br />
<br />
The reason why you got infected with ‘Ransomware’ in the example of above wasn’t your fault at all. The reason was that Microsoft, (who provides security updates for Windows) and your antivirus vendor of choice (Symantec, Mcafee, etc) were a step behind on defending you against the particular strain of virus you contracted. And this is always how it will be. They cannot fathom every change a hacker will make to gain access to your system. They can only defend you against the viruses they ‘catch’, study, and send you updates for.<br />
<br />
And therein lies why you should update. Why you NEED to update – to be as secure as you possibly can be. While updates can never be fully ‘up to date’ - they help immensely, so you aren’t vulnerable to every attack ever created.<br />
<br />
So, what do you need to make sure is updated?<br />
<br />
- Your Operating System (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, or iOS)<br />
- Your Web Browser (Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Internet Explorer)<br />
- Your Antivirus (avast!, AVG, Windows Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials, ESET, Norton…)<br />
- Your applications (Microsoft Office, Adobe’s suite that is too long to list here)<br />
<br />
<br />
For all the complaints about Windows 10, there is one huge bonus to using it. Security updates are automatically applied for the Home edition. This is a big for users that always put off or ignored updates, unknowing of the threat.<br />
<br />
Since 10 is the latest and most updated – I recommend it to consumers.<br />
<br />
My favorite web browser is Google Chrome, because it is the most up to date on security patches, and updates in the background 90% of the time - with no needed interaction from you!<br />
<br />
My mobile Operating System of choice is iOS, aka, an iPhone or iPad. Apple seems to be the only mobile manufacturer that takes updates seriously, and that’s a huge problem – because Android currently has the largest market share. Thousands to millions of users are vulnerable on older Android devices, with no way to update – since manufacturers of Android devices often don’t offer them, or they are even shipped to market… OUT OF DATE ALREADY. This is a terrible disservice to their clients, as phones now hold the keys to our whole mobile lives.<br />
<br />
The antivirus I use is Windows Defender, and it is baked into Windows 8 and 10. In 10, all updates are automatically applied through Windows Update. One less thing to do!<br />
If you are on a Mac, my go-to antivirus application is Avast.<br />
<br />
Now that we’ve got an idea of what and why - let’s go back to our example. How did you get infected?<br />
<br />
It's called a 'drive-by-download', and malware has been using it for some time. It's one of the most scary things I have to educate my customers on.<br />
<br />
There is code (in things like Internet Explorer's Active X and Adobe's Flash) that allows for the browser to call for a download and run, even if nothing was clicked.<br />
This explains further: https://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/drive-by-download/<br />
<br />
To protect yourself, I recommend using Chrome+Adblock/NoScript addons due to the frequent automated updates, blocking of known malware, and blocking of potentially dangerous code. Also, this Ransomware blocker from MalwareBytes can potentially save you if it still gets on your system. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/malwarebytes-anti-ransomware/<br />
<br />
PS: This concept is why some in the security community have all their endpoints (client machines) run Adblockers. Advertisement networks have been known to facilitate drive by downloads on major websites: http://336699.org/the-responsibility-of-ad-networks<br />
<br />
That’s it for now! Check back soon for a detailed guide on how to set things up like this.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-46544335728266440472014-11-17T10:41:00.000-05:002016-09-20T17:30:37.709-04:00Are Chromebooks Viable?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.google.com/chrome/assets/common/images/devices/hp-cb-14-chromebook/large-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://www.google.com/chrome/assets/common/images/devices/hp-cb-14-chromebook/large-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
When I mentioned getting a Chromebook, I was asked to test it with work applications to check viability. Here are my findings.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I got a refurbished, debranded, HP Chromebook 14, codename ‘Falco’.<br />
<br />
Specs:<br />
2GB of RAM<br />
Haswell Celeron (Intel)*<br />
16GB SSD<br />
14” LCD (1366x768)<br />
Intel HD Graphics (Haswell)<br />
3x USB 3.0<br />
HDMI Out<br />
Webcam and dual mics<br />
6 – 10 hour battery life (for real!)<br />
<br />
Like its Super Smash Bros’ / StarFox namesake, the Falco is fast. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfDB5_WmDH9gcFWdgQ760Sc5pxW0hO1TYUOxrgNnq7MfgCnABb_esNCJtQpial5VYN_UT_2cTROymK4WNSNS81bFhlNS5XC_4Tn6TIa20LyicIhyphenhyphen47kPjXjFhGwcm8axVsl_LViun5c4/s1600/228px-Falco.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfDB5_WmDH9gcFWdgQ760Sc5pxW0hO1TYUOxrgNnq7MfgCnABb_esNCJtQpial5VYN_UT_2cTROymK4WNSNS81bFhlNS5XC_4Tn6TIa20LyicIhyphenhyphen47kPjXjFhGwcm8axVsl_LViun5c4/s1600/228px-Falco.png" width="148" /></a></div>
<br />
As I expected, having a superfast computer with minimal overhead<br />
and instant boot/resume time changed my workflow. I didn’t expect<br />
how much it would do that, however.<br />
<br />
System resume is immediate. You’ll doubt that it actually sleeps at all – but the battery’s lack of change would indicate otherwise.<br />
Case in point, I charged the Chromebook for the first and only time around 8pm Tuesday night. I used it for work all through Wednesday, and this morning I almost didn’t stop to leave my charger with the device for my wife to use, because frankly, it still doesn’t need it. It’s at 20%.<br />
<br />
Regarding workflow: With this kind of battery life and ease of access, you don’t really stop to think about what you need when moving locations – you just go and do whatever it is you need to do.<br />
<br />
The screen is bright, the sound is excellent (for the price, and even more), the keyboard and trackpad are top notch, and the responsiveness is amazing.<br />
<br />
Now on to the cons.<br />
- Some webapps are not supported due to them requiring Windows/Mac specific plugins.<br />
<br />
- It's a bit hard to tell what files are on your Chromebook and which ones are in the cloud still.<br />
<br />
- Weight. The battery likely makes up a decent portion of the machine. This laptop is noticeably heavier than any of the Thin and Lights we have at the office (X Series ThinkPads in particular). But I think the battery life well makes up for it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Despite these shortfalls, the Falco has convinced me that most users really don’t need anything more than a Chromebook. Pages load extremely fast, and it’s really difficult to ‘break things’. Even the hardware feels sound. I would happily recommend one of these to many or all of my clients for personal or ‘on the go’ use.<br />
<br />
<br />
All in all, it is a great device that I would recommend to anyone as a secondary/portable - and I’m certain it would eventually dwarf nearly all use of their primary workstation.<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks for listening,<br />
<br />
Robbie<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
*ARM/Other architectures shouldn’t exist, really. There’s terrible communication from OEM’s to consumers on what they’re actually getting, and how limited they will be on a non-standard arch. I’m looking at you, Windows RT.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-58962122981305972862012-08-16T19:21:00.001-04:002016-09-20T17:31:39.571-04:00Why I'm Upgrading To Windows 8 - and Why You Shoudn't <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.sbbic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/windows-8-logo-large2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.sbbic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/windows-8-logo-large2.png" height="242" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Or rather, "Why You Shouldn't - Unless You Have a Tablet".<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Windows 8 is a touchscreen-centric operating system, the only real advantages of upgrading exist there.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While there are some small <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-vs-windows-7-benchmarked-7000002671/" target="_blank">speed improvements</a>, you should really just think about getting a Solid State Drive <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5930747/these-super+cheap-ssds-should-convince-you-to-switch-storage" target="_blank">instead</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm upgrading because I need to be familiar with the latest. This is my field - technology. You won't need to know it unless you share my choice of field - simply because <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/12/07/2739491/windows-8-could-flop-with-enterprise-users" target="_blank">it won't be the go-to OS for businesses</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's what XP and 7 are for. This is for tablets.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm upgrading primarily because I have a SSD I want to take full use of now, and I'd rather upgrade to 8 at the same time.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'll be using the Release Preview (more <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview" target="_blank">here</a>) and <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-confirms-windows-8-testers-to-get-40-upgrade-price-too-7000000409/" target="_blank">upgrading</a> to the full version of 8 Pro when it comes out in October. It actually doesn't expire until January of 2013, which is pretty nice <a href="http://superuser.com/questions/431299/windows-8-release-preview-expiration-date" target="_blank">too</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Since I'll be using it on a touchscreen-less laptop, I'll be <a href="http://www.techspot.com/guides/551-bypass-metro/" target="_blank">using these tweaks</a> to bypass the Start Screen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Back to work.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-32492579292180007242012-07-25T12:11:00.005-04:002016-09-20T17:32:56.119-04:00How to Install CM7 on the MyTouch 3G Slide (Aka, HTC Expresso)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.htcsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/mytouch-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.htcsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/mytouch-1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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I recently had to install CyanogenMod 7 on my Grandma's phone, the HTC Expresso slider.<br />
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<i>Why would I do such a silly thing? Why does she even have a smartphone?</i> <br />
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Well, the stock OS that can only be considered the result of an unholy union between HTC and T-Mobile is horrible. Buggy as heck, and basic features like Messaging and Contacts are a pain to work with due to missing features, gaudy theming, and all-around bad code...<br />
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Grandma has a smartphone for two reasons:<br />
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<b>A</b>. Texting. We are a texting household, mostly due to the fact my Dad is Deaf, but also due to the fact that texting is more convenient. You may be thinking, "Why would you need a smartphone for texting?" And you'd be right. But I'm sure you've noticed how IM-style chat conversations can be easier to follow than the crummy pop-ups you'd get on a 'dumbphone.'<br />
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<b>B</b>. Wifi calling. We live in a valley surrounded by trees that gets almost no cell-service whatsoever. Drive two minutes up the street, and you're good to go! But in the house? Tough-luck bro. Fortunately, T-Mobile, in their wisdom, decided to try something revolutionary - Wifi Calling. No signal? No problem. Have Router, Will Text. Very few of their non-smartphones offer this feature, so it was necessary.<br />
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<i>On to business</i>, says I.<br />
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Lucky me, I had had the exact phone almost two years ago(which I had since passed along to Mom), and rooting it wasn't too bad. This should be a breeze, right? Things should be even easier with things like SuperOneClick around! Right?<br />
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<b><i>Wrong. So, so wrong. </i></b><br />
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After over ten hours of searching (and watching far too much MacGyver on my second monitor during that time) and researching, and testing, and soft-bricking the phone, I was starting to get annoyed. There are other things I needed to do, but Gramma came first because, well, she's Gramma ^_^<br />
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/Endrant<br />
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These are the threads that I followed to successfully root the phone. It is by far the worst root method I have had to use out of the ten or so Android devices I have had to root. Sadly, it's necessary if your phone received, or came with, the 2.2.1 OTA update from T-Mobile(Use Settings > About Phone to check)<br />
If it's an older version, <a href="http://theunlockr.com/2012/03/15/how-to-root-the-mytouch-3g-slide-new-method/" target="_blank">use this instead</a>.<br />
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<b>Disclaimer. </b>This is not for the weak-hearted. As with any howto, follow the steps exactly if you want it to work. Also, this howto is for your benefit. Under no circumstances do I accept any responsibility for damage caused to you, your phone, any other device, your cat, your guinea pig, or your bacon as a result of you reading or following anything on any of this content or the content linked below. Have issues? Google your error. That's what I do.<br />
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<b>Part 1: </b>Create a Gold Card.<br />
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<a href="http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Howto:_Create_a_Goldcard">http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Howto:_Create_a_Goldcard</a> <br />
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<b>Part 2: </b>Rooting the Thing.<br />
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<a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1025336">http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1025336</a> <br />
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<b>Part 3: </b>Don't Enable WiFi-Calling Before This Step!<br />
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Download the Zip file here, then install it like you did Cyanogenmod. Choose the zip, install it from SD Card.<br />
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<a href="http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=923878">http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=923878</a> <br />
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<b>Thanks and more ranting:</b><br />
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Thanks to everyone who made the articles linked here. Without you guys, our phones would all be garbage.<br />
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To the carriers and manufacturers: We want vanilla Android. Don't make us 'fix' your products ever again.<br />
HTC, your 'open bootloader' process didn't help at all. <i>Recommendation</i>? Give testing phones to the CyanogenMod team BEFORE they are released. Pay them, then use the ROM they create rather than your junk. Unmodified.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-382700796720189821.post-25115300313636120982011-12-05T12:57:00.001-05:002016-09-20T17:34:01.734-04:00Is Android Ready?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Is Android Ready? </div>
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Although Android has gone mainstream
already, and is currently the dominating smartphone OS, there is
still some skepticism over its overall polish and usability.
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So my question to you is this: "Is
Android Ready?"<br />
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To clarify, I don't mean, "Is
Android Ready - For group 'x'?"</div>
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I mean, quite simply, is it ready as a
whole? Would you consider it a complete product?</div>
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To start the discussion, I am going to
argue that Android, as an Operating System, is indeed ready. However,
Android, as a marketing movement, is not.</div>
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What do I mean by that? I mean that
since manufacturers have some inexplicable desire to mutilate vanilla
Android with their custom skins, they are stealing value and
ease-of-use from their customers. One of the biggest problems caused
by their customization is a lack of uniformity. Though Android is
inherently customizable, out of the box, ALL ANDROID PHONES SHOULD
LOOK THE SAME. I don't mean the hardware, I mean what you see on the
screen. I mean the default apps. I mean the /experience/.
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What would this do for a user? A few
things:</div>
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1. Unified experience, tutorials work
across the board. When a user decides to use Google to look up a 'how
to' thread or video, they should be able to use it across any android
device. This means that the community as a whole, and also
manufacturers, will be able to better cater to the user, and they
will need less manpower to handle manuals and FAQ's, such as what is
needed for HTC's Sense, Samsung's TouchWiz, and ViewSonic's
Tap'n'Tap.
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2. One less thing to 'go wrong'. With
that one less layer of customization, users will inevitably have less
problems. For example, the Droid Incredible 2 has problems with its
Clock widget and app due to Sense customizations (see:
http://tinyurl.com/72jxmvv ) and ViewSonic's Tap'n'Tap is so
horrible, some users returned it rather than trying to install a
custom ROM such as CyanogenMod (which shouldn't be necessary at all).
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3. Less confusion, easier marketing.
Even some less savvy users have seen the hype about Google's latest
OS releases, such as Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) and eagerly
await their updates to the spiffy new software. With no additional
customizations, the manufacturers could port the latest releases to
their devices with relative ease, which in turn may mean some devices
get more updates during their lifetime.</div>
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Let's hear what you have to say below!
Remember, Why give two cents when you can give a nickel? :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com