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NEWSLETTER JULY/AUGUST 2013
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New Look, Same Old Newsletter
I've reformatted the Newsletter to match my website. Please let me know what you think of its readability. For those of you new to the publication, clicking on an underlined link will take you directly to the webpage mentioned in the article.
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The Department of Homeland Security is still urging computer users to disable or uninstall the Java programming language because of serious security vulnerability. This warning was released in January of this year. While Anti-Virus manufacturers are on top of the situation and Sun Microsystems, the Java provider has been constantly providing updates to thwart possible danger, it's clearly still an issue. Further, in my practice this month I've seen several cases of "drive by downloads" of malware that are best explained by this Java flaw (See: "Do you know this number", below). I am recommending that you all uninstall Java on every computer in your environment.
Here's how: Go to control panel and click on "programs and features", or "Programs", depending on your Windows 8/7/Vista setup. If you have Windows XP, find the "Add Remove Programs" icon in control panel. Click on whatever release of Java you see and uninstall it. There might be many Java releases as old releases are not always uninstalled. Do this to all of them.
Should you find some website that is a must have and which requires Java, try this same website using another browser, as not all browsers address their interaction with you using the same tools. If you still have difficulty, try calling the Company that provides the web content and inform them of your issues. As a last resort, you can reinstall Java here.
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Forgotten Password Consequences
Recently a client of mine passed away, leaving his family with a desktop and laptop, both fairly new and both password protected. These particular computers have Windows 7 as an operating system. Windows 8, 7 and Vista are all equipped with substantial protection against password cracking software, each better at the task than its predecessor. I still have a number of tricks in my bag to circumvent passwords, but my success rate diminishes with each newer release of windows and with the level of protection established by the owner. In the case of these two machines, I was unsuccessful in breaking the password and instead went through a laborious series of tasks to recover the pictures and documents that the family wanted. After capturing the information I preformed a clean install on both machines; a costly undertaking.
With a simple series of steps, you can protect yourself and your family from having to go through this type of turmoil. You do not have to create a password disk more than once, no matter how many times you change your password. Get a flash drive, the space required is very small (2K) so any drive will do. Click on the start button and then select "Control Panel" followed by "User Accounts". "Create a Password reset disk" is one of the first choices on the left hand side.
Once you create the disk, you can of course use it to store additional data, but I recommend you store the flash drive in a safe place and make your family aware of its existence. If and when you need to use it, you insert the flash drive and when prompted for a password, don't enter one. Windows will then ask you if you want to reset the password and will, from that same flash drive. |
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Automated Password Entry
 A variety of articles have been published, including a recent review in the New York Times, about Dashlane. Dashlane is a product that will generate extremely secure passwords for you and will maintain them moving forward. You generate or insert one master password and Dashlane does the rest. Dashlane will contruct passwords for you, for entry into any and all of your secure websites such as banks and other investment instruments. On subsequent visits to that same website Dashlane will insert the password for you. If you want to know what password Dashlane generated for a particular site, that information is readily available.
Dashlane for one computer is free. If you want to be able to add passwords to the same Dashlane account through more than one device, say an andoid phone, your Ipad or Ipod, your desktop and your laptop, you will need to purchase the paid version which will allow you to Sync (and backup) passwords. The cost of 19.99 per year is also reasonable.
Having said all that, I would add that I'm not really in favor of Dashlane and here's why. Dashlane is a great target for hackers and as we've seen with a variety of on-line websites and email hosts, all of whom tout the same AES 256bit data encryption, nothing is totally safe. In the instance of a Yahoo on-line email or a one vendor hack-in, the breach is limited to the one account or website. When you store all of your passwords in one location, that breach could cost you everything. If you lose or forget your master password, upon which all other passwords are theoretically based you would be locked out of every account you have until such time as you contact every site, one at a time, establishing your identity and starting all over again. The same would be true in an instance where Dashlane's servers go down. Yuck. Finally, I am a firm believer in that the mind more challenged is less likely to fall fate to dementia; a belief shared and documented by numerous scientific entitles. Why would I not want to deal directly with my passwords?
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Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts
 Please be aware that the salesman at places like Best Buy do not have your interest in mind and could just as well be selling shoes as technology. Case in point, I assisted a client this month that has cablevision, here in New York, but at present no internet service in her snowbird home in Florida. She came to Best Buy to buy a laptop. The salesman convinced her to sign a two year agreement for a (Sprint) hot spot, allowing her to access the internet from her Florida home for a mere $60 a month ($720 annually). She would be paying this money month in and month out when in fact at best the service was only required for the four months her family spent in Florida. More to the point, broadband providers (internet) like Comcast are more than happy to provide service for the months required for snowbirds and to cease temporarily for the months they are not around, all for a nominal charge. Instead of $720, my client will be looking at less than $200 for her Florida stint and that includes the temporary start and stop fees. Finally, a cable connection is just plain faster; as much as 20 times faster.
The client is a senior and seniors are not always on top of their game when it comes to technology. I was successful in canceling the service contract and getting the client a full refund, this after the 14 day cancellation window had closed, but only because of the circumstances.
The bottom line is not to buy add-ons when you buy any technology in a retail store. This includes Anti-virus software, a big markup item. If you read my column, you know, paid Anti-Virus products are no better than the free Anti-virus software offered by a variety of excellent vendors including Microsoft. Additionally, paid A/V products are notoriously bloated, which in turn slows down any computer and can bring a lesser or older machine to a near halt. Also, be vigilant and assistive when a family relative or friend goes out to buy technology with less than a complete understanding of what they are buying.
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Do you know this number 866-978-0777
 The people behind this (and other 800 numbers) operate by opening a warning, in a browser window about non-existent viruses on your computer. They flash erroneous warnings on your computer screen informing you of potential viruses on your machine and suggesting you click on the scan button they provide. Click the button and you're done for. Now, there really is a virus on your computer, that they've just put there with your help. Then comes the 800 number imploring you to call for immediate help. Call, give them your credit card, they'll charge you $299.99, do nothing to rectify what does not need rectifying, leave a module on your computer to further compromise you in the future and move on to the next sucker. Don't call and you will find your computer immobilized until you do, or until you call someone like me to fix it.
Scarier yet, I've had a second incidents of this same scenario just yesterday, at a client, where these people called him to offer to remove their virus by somehow gleaning his phone number and being able to associate it with his computer. Wow!
These people, who appear to be in India, are immune to normal channels of prosecution and have an arrogance about them that is utterly distasteful. The bottom line is that anytime something or someone flashes a message at you, telling you that you are infected, close the browser window and even turn the computer off. If the message comes back, call me, I'm certainly more honest and less expensive than these racketeers.
To make matters worse, my client in this particular scam scenario, was using a visa card provided by a 3rd party distributor that effectively resells the credit card services of a larger provider, refused, knowing full well the circumstances and legitimacy of the claim, to stop payment.
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Porn-A-Holics Anonymous?
 I recently read the results of a published study indicating that men are spending too much time at the computer viewing pornography. The article went further to say that there is a definitive correlation between the change in men's sexual behavior in the bedroom and this excess; all to the degradation of intimacy in the bedroom. There are numerous studies to cite, all defending this position.
Here are some of the startling numbers and the numbers are rising:
- 12 Percent of the total websites on the net contain pornography.
- 25 Percent of search engine requests are related to pornography.
- 28,000 internet users are viewing porn, every second.
- 75 Percent of people using the internet have "accidentally" viewed a pornographic site.
- 81 Percent of Americans believe federal laws against internet obscenity should be "vigorously enforced" (really?).
- 266 new pornographic websites appear online, every day.
- There are Approximately 3,000 English-language websites that distribute child pornography.
- 1 in 7 "youths" report being solicited for sex online.
- 11 is the average age at which a child is first exposed to adult material via the web.
- 7 in 10 children have inadvertently viewed online pornography.
- 1,536 sites featured child pornography in 2008, according to the Internet Watch Foundation and 58 percent of those sites are housed in the United States.
- 48 Percent of kindergarten and first grade students have reported seeing online content that "made them feel uncomfortable," according to a 2008 study by the Rochester Institute of Technology.
- 34 Percent of teenage girls have shared photos or physical descriptions of themselves online, compared to 15 percent of teenage boys.
- $89 is spent on internet pornography, every second.
- $13 billion is the estimated revenue generated by pornography in the U.S. in 2006, including $2.84 billion from online pornography.
- Approximately $97 billion is total worldwide revenue generated by pornography annually, as of 2006.
- 43 Percent of all internet users view pornographic material online.
- There were 75 million monthly unique visitors to adult websites between 2005 and 2008.
Enter our savior, Covenant Eyes. Yes, now you can arrange with a like minded individual to keep each other off pornography sites with the help of this third party application. You each pay for the right to "monitor" your "Accountability Partner's" internet travels and to have serious discussions about them and their transgressions, all this, for less than $10 a month per partner. Go for it.
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Cell Phone Shopping
Try Smoopa, it gives you the best price for the item that it finds and reimburses you if you find a less expensive price for the same item. Available for Android and IOS (Apple).
Or Red Laser which lets you know whether the item is less expensive on line or in a local store. Additionally, if the item is available from a local vendor, Red Laser will arrange to have it delivered to the store for pickup. (Android and IOS).
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Vacation Help from your Cell
Send a postcard home. Download and install Postgram. Take pictures from your computer, your phone or your facebook account and Postgram will help you create a personalized post card and mail for you for a small postage fee anywhere in the world. (Android and IOS).
Going to a foreign country? Learn a language on the go for FREE! Try Duolingo offering Spanish, English, Italian, French, German and Portuguese.
Need medical help? Try Itriage . Give it your symptoms and it returns a most likely diagnosis and a course of treatment. If your vacation is here in the US, it will even give you a list of nearby druggist, clinics and hospitals. Nice! (Android and IOS).
Going with a group or family? Text and call each other for free anywhere in the world with TextPlus. All users are required to be on Text Plus. The app even allows you to place international calls for a lower rate than Skype. You need to be on wifi of course. (Android and IOS). BTW, Microsoft just purchased Skype.
Get the real time rate of currency exchange, any country with the XE Currency Converter Free. (Android and IOS).
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