It seems that there’s a new data breach in the news every week. What makes the AT&T theft potentially devastating is that it affected so many people, and it included names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. Plus, the data belonged to BOTH CURRENT AND FORMER CUSTOMERS. Fortunately, there’s an easy way to tell if your data was stolen. The cybersecurity company, Malwarebytes, has a handy tool that checks your “digital footprint.” You simply enter your email address, and they will tell you where your information can be found on the web, including if it was exposed in the AT&T breach. (Remember to use the same email address that you currently or formerly used for your AT&T account.) Here’s the link for more information: www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/04/how-to-check-if-your-data-was-part-of-the-att-breach?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b2c_pro_oth_20240415_aprilweeklynewsletter_paid_v3_1_171291131806&utm_content=att_breach if you have been exposed, AT&T will be offering free credit monitoring. According to the company, they will be mailing information about this to affected customers in the coming days. Even if you haven’t been exposed, it is always a good idea to monitor your credit and be on the lookout for any suspicious activity.
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There’s an episode of the TV show, Seinfeld, where Jerry makes fun of George’s huge leather wallet and how he stuffs it into his back pocket. George goes on to explain that he keeps everything in there: paper money, coins, receipts, Irish money (he might go there), a coupon for Orlando-area Exxon stations to get a free poster, and even packets of Sweet’n Low. The only problem is that his wallet is now so fat that he can’t sit down without leaning to one side—so much so that his back hurts. Unfortunately for George, smartphones hadn’t been invented yet. If they had, he could have put many of his important items in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, saving himself the backache. Fortunately for you, however, you likely have a smartphone and already have one of these wallet apps installed. So, what exactly can your phone’s wallet do for you? Let’s take a look: •Credit Cards. You can securely store multiple credit cards in your wallet app and use them for Apple Pay and Google Pay whenever you make a purchase. (Note: Both Apple and Google take your privacy and security seriously. When you make a transaction with Apple Pay and Google Pay, the merchant receives a unique, encrypted code that hides your real card number. It’s actually the safest way to pay for something nowadays.) •Membership and Loyalty Cards. From your Michigan Theater membership to your CVS Extra Care card, you’ll have these cards with you when you need them. •Airline Boarding Passes. When you check in online through your airline’s mobile app, you can add your boarding pass to your wallet and use it at the airport. •Sports and Concert Tickets. You can store your event tickets on your phone. It’s becoming mandatory at all University of Michigan events. (I suggest learning how to show your ticket ahead of time so you don’t hold up the line.) •Driver’s License. Keep your drivers license or other state ID securely on your phone. (Not in all states.) •Other items your digital wallet app can keep: theme park tickets, transit cards, ID badges, and digital keys (car, hotel room, etc). •What Doesn’t the Wallet Keep? While your phone’s wallet doesn’t keep physical cash, many younger people find that they don’t need it to. They mostly use Apple or Google Pay for charges, and cash payment apps (Venmo, PayPal, etc.) for cash transactions. The bottom line, though, is that your phone’s wallet app allows you to carry numerous items that you traditionally would have to remember to bring with you and put in your pockets. With a digital wallet, you don’t even need an internet connection for most functions—all you have to do is remember your phone. It may be likely that leather wallets, like George’s, will soon disappear. Everything we'll need may be held securely in our smartphones. The only issue I see, however, is where will we keep our Sweet’n Low packets? The way we get our entertainment these days has certainly shifted. Not too long ago, we relied solely on cable or satellite. Maybe we added a subscription service like HBO or Netflix. But during the pandemic, the market for new streaming services exploded, and we subscribed to one after the other. We could afford to, as well, because the rates were cheap, designed to hook viewers. Recently however, services began charging a lot more to pay for the rising costs of landing top-notch shows. Now, many of us subscribe to multiple streaming services that cost a fortune (much to the chagrin of many cable cutters who thought they were saving money). To add insult to injury, they cost even more if you want to watch them without ads! If that weren’t enough, there seems to be a new streaming service born every other day, requiring us to subscribe in order to see our favorite programs. How’d you like having to sign up for Peacock in order to watch the Michigan game last fall? Over time, we tend to forget which services we’ve signed up for. That’s why I recommend a digital subscription audit. Check your credit card statements. Go through your email and search for words like “subscription” and “renewal.” See how many you have and write them down. Better yet, put them in an Excel spreadsheet so you can easily add, delete, or modify your subscriptions. The total cost may surprise you. One couple I know listed out all of the digital subscriptions they we were paying for: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Acorn, and AppleTV+. The total cost reached nearly $70/month. And here’s the kicker: they were paying over $200 for internet and cable on top of it! If you would like help sorting through your digital subscriptions and finding the right combination for your internet and entertainment needs, please don’t hesitate to contact me. People often ask me if they should get a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Though there are some benefits, improvements in security over the years have made VPNs not as necessary as they used to be. Let's take a closer look to see what a VPN actually does, and why a typical user may or may not want one. What a VPN Does A VPN usually comes in the form of a commercial product sold to consumers, such as Mullvad, Cisco AnyConnect, NordVPN, and Mozilla VPN. When you're on the internet, the VPN will route your browser traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a remote server owned by the VPN company. That server will then route your data off to the public internet as usual. Any data coming back to you from a website will also be routed through the VPN company's server and back to you. (See diagram) Encryption is Good...Isn't it? It sure is, and for years experts advised that people should get a VPN in order to safely browse the internet. This was especially true when on a public wifi network, such as one at a coffee shop, airport, or hotel. However, this was in the days when most websites themselves were unencrypted. Nowadays, the vast majority of sites ARE encrypted. (You can tell if a website is encrypted if its address begins with "https." (Unencrypted sites begin with "http." Also, look for the lock symbol next to the web address in your browser's address bar.) While having a VPN can add an extra layer of security when using public wifi, now that most websites are secure, there's less of a need to pay for extra encryption while on a trusted network–especially at home on your private, secure wifi. What About Hiding From Advertisers? A bonus feature of using a VPN is that when your data gets routed through the VPN's server, the website you visit and your internet service provider (Xfinity, AT&T, etc.) do not see your IP address (your location on the internet). They only see the IP address of the VPN company. This is convenient if you don't trust your internet service provider and don't want them to know your browsing history, should they ever feel like selling that data to advertisers. When you use a VPN, you may be hiding your IP address from your internet service provider, but unfortunately, you're now giving it to the VPN company. Unscrupulous VPNs have been known to sell users' data. That's why it would be important to choose a VPN with a solid reputation. Note: Apple products have a feature called Private Relay. This acts as a sort of VPN, but uses a two-step method of privacy. When you browse the internet, the first leg goes to Apple, who knows your IP address, but not where you're going. Apple then passes you along to a trusted third party they've partnered with. This entity knows where you're going, but not your IP address (who you are). What a VPN Doesn't Do While using a VPN can hide your IP address from advertisers and make it a little harder for them to target you, it does not prevent them from identifying you through other means. Called a "digital fingerprint," sites can figure out individual users from our operating system, browser type, screen resolution, device model name, and so on. It's a multibillion dollar industry that has many ways to figure out how to put which ads in front of the right consumers. In addition, a VPN won't protect you from malware. It also won't stop phishing attempts when you visit a bogus website or get a scam email. You can still fall victim to hacking while using a virtual private network. More Important Steps to Take For most users, a VPN is just one tool to help with privacy and security–should they feel like paying for one. There are, however, more effective steps you can take to protect yourself online.
If you're unsure of whether you'd be able to identify a nonsecure website, you could always add a VPN as a "better safe than sorry" expense. There are also other reasons to use a VPN that I haven't gone into here because they involve circumstances outside of typical consumer use. In sum, paying for a VPN can be helpful in certain less likely situations, but there are more important ways to keep safe. If you would like more information, or help with a security checkup, please feel free to contact me.
The following is a frequent conversation that I have with clients: Client: "My computer suddenly stopped working." Me: "What app were you in when this happened?" Client: "Google." Me: "The search engine?" Client: "No. Google. The...the...you know…Google." Over the years, I have discovered that there is a great deal of confusion over the word “Google" and what it refers to. I can hardly blame people for mixing up the terminology—it’s awfully complicated. I'll do my best below to clarify what is correctly called "Google," and which products should be called by other names. Defining the Word What I've found is that, when a good number of people say the word “Google," they are referring to the internet browser app called "Chrome." While technically correct, there are many other apps that could just as easily be called "Google" under this approach. Allow me to explain: Google: is the company name (owned by the parent company, Alphabet). They make a whole slew of products, from Android phones to apps. They started out as a search engine called "Google Search," or just plain “Google." If you go to Google.com on the internet, you will be on the Google Search page. It's okay to call the search engine "Google." If you want to be more specific and clear, you should call the following apps that Google makes by their app name: Chrome: is the internet browser app by Google. Competitors are Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox, and Microsoft's Edge. GMail: is the email service by Google. The gmail app on your phone has an "M" on it, which stands for "Mail." (The "G" in GMail stands for "Google.") You can get your GMail on the internet at mail.google.com, or in any number of other companies' email apps, such as Apple Mail or Outlook. Google Docs: This is the word processing program by Google. It’s main competitors are Microsoft Word and Apple Pages. Just to Make Matters More Confusing Here’s a fun fact: Every web browser has a search engine built into the search/address bar to help us find what we’re looking for on the internet. (Plus, any browser can navigate to the Google Search page at www.google.com.) Only two of the most popular companies, though, make both a browser and a search engine: Google and Microsoft. Google’s Chrome browser comes with Google Search set as the default search engine, and Microsoft’s Edge has its search engine, Bing, set as the default. Here’s the kicker: The others (e.g., Safari and Firefox), not having a search engine in their family of products, come with Google Search set up as the default. So, yes, you can be using Google Search, but not be in Google Chrome. In every browsers’ settings, however, you can switch the default search engine to something else (Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, Yahoo!, etc.). Is it critical that you know the difference in Google terminology? No. It’s just helpful. After all, we just want our technology to work when we need it. We don’t have to be able to give a dissertation on it. However, calling the different apps and their functions by their correct names can go a long way in helping us understand the internet and our devices. Have you ever squinted to read the text on a website? Or tried to tap on a link to an article over and over, only to have it open an ad instead? Many of us can't read the small print, or hear as well as we use to. Some of us have tremors in our hands that make fine motor movements difficult. Wouldn't it be nice if our computer, phones, and tablets were just a little more forgiving? The good news is that most of our devices–iPhones, Androids, Macs and Windows PCs–have something called Accessibility Settings that can make it easier to use them. In fact, there are so many different options available (with different instructions depending on the device), that I can only go into basic descriptions of them here, covering each of our five senses. Sight Our computers, tablets, and phones all have the ability to change the brightness of the screen. But, did you know that they also have ways to adjust the contrast to accommodate varying degrees of eyesight issues? In addition, you can zoom in and out on a screen to see it close up. One step better than that, however, is to change the size of the text and icons so they're always at a readable size. If you don't feel like reading text of any size, you also have the option to have your device read it aloud in something called System Speak. One more thing: Have you ever missed a call because you just didn't hear or see it ringing? Well, your phone also has the capability to flash whenever there's an alert. Sound Of course there are volume buttons on your device to adjust loudness, but if your hearing issues are a little more robust, you'll be glad to know that most phones are equipped to integrate with hearing aids. In addition, you can turn on captions when video chatting with others. I've used captions when FaceTiming with a friend in a noisy environment. Very helpful indeed! Touch For those of us who need assistance with our fine motor movements, there are numerous functions that can help us operate and navigate our devices more easily. •On phones and tablets with a touch screen: adjust how the screen registers your taps and gestures. Settings include (but aren't necessarily limited to) tracking sensitivity, dwell control, movement tolerance, and customizable gestures. •On computers: you can adjust the size of the pointer and the speed that the mouse moves it across the screen. You can also set the speed for double clicking the mouse or touchpad to something that YOU find comfortable–not what some 25-year-old programmer thinks is the right speed. These are just some of the motor skill accessibility features that can make life easier for those of us with stiff joints, tremors, or reduced reaction time in our hands. Smell & Taste Starting with the iPhone 15, Apple has introduced a feature that can enhance the flavor and scent of your device. New iPhones now taste more delicious and smell more daisy fresh than the leading Android phone. (Not really, but wouldn't that be fun?) Keep it Simple iPhone users also have the ability to set up their device in something called Assistive Access. Here, you can choose just what items you want to see on the screen in a bigger, more focused way. Assistive Access makes using your iPhone simpler to navigate and understand how to use it. So Many Options to Help Us I wish that I could've gone into detail about how to set up all of the available accessibility features. Unfortunately, there are just too many, and I would be writing until next year. However, if you'd like to explore what features are on your devices that can help you with sight, sound, and touch issues, I'd be happy to help you set them up. Please feel free to Contact me! Most of you have heard me at one time or another answer a resounding "yes" when asked if you should download and install updates to your software. Not only are there important security patches in the updates, but there are usually beneficial performance enhancements, as well. For this month's blog, I'd like to focus on some of the performance enhancements that come with the latest versions of Mac and Windows computer operating systems. What to Expect: MacOS Sonoma 14 While there are a lot of fancy new additions (many that you'll probably never use), here are some of the ones that will come in handy: •Improved autocorrect accuracy. (Maybe it'll stop correcting "Jim" to "Him.") •Enhanced dictation that allows you to use your voice and keyboard together to type •Newer Macs can now be paired with made-for-iPhone hearing devices •One-time verification codes sent to Mail will now auto populate into Safari without leaving your browser To see all of the new features, go to System Settings and click on General, then Software Update. Note: at the time of this writing, Sonoma was still at version 14.0. While I haven't heard of any bugs yet, I usually advise people to wait until at least 14.0.1 before downloading. In the meantime, you can (and should) still keep updating your current operating system. What to Expect: Windows 11 latest version Microsoft doesn't seem to do major overhauls as frequently as Apple, so we're still receiving updates to Windows 11. That's okay, as even these little upgrades contain valuable features. Here are three of my favorites: •Windows Backup app: Allows you to back up more than just files to OneDrive. Now you can also backup your settings, credentials, and apps. This operation acts more like syncing to iCloud on a Mac, enabling you to easily install those items when you buy a new PC. Note: The Windows Backup app is not the same thing as Windows File History, which performs true backups (full and incremental) to an external drive. •Quick Assist: I love this new feature! Quick Assist is an app that allows you to share your screen with another Windows user for remote support. (Only do this with someone you trust!) You can even allow the other person to control your screen. When I help others, I can request access to a client's screen by providing a simple one-time access code. Of all the various methods I've used to help people remotely, Quick Assist is by far the easiest for my clients. •Copilot: This is an AI (Artificial Intelligence) assistant that helps cut through the clutter and gets you answers to what you're looking for. All year long I've been enjoying the AI experience in Microsoft Edge's Bing search engine. It gets me more specific answers, without all of the junk that Google delivers with a search. I'm excited to use this iteration of AI in Windows Copilot, located on the Task Bar, to help me find things on my PC and the web. Multiple Benefits I know updating can be a bit of a hassle--especially when you're prompted to do it when you need to use your computer for something important. However, if you plan a little ahead, you can click Yes when you're done using your device. Then, next time you use it, you'll have your security patches and performance enhancements ready to go! You're Not AloneAt first, I thought my wife and I were just getting hard of hearing. Night after night of watching shows and movies on TV, we found ourselves turning to each other and asking things like, "Did you catch what she said?" and, "Go back–I didn't hear that." It turns out, we aren't the only ones having trouble hearing the dialogue while streaming content, and it's not due to hearing loss. The sound issue with streaming content has gotten worse recently, and many people are struggling to hear what's going on. It's Technology's Fault There are several reasons why we're having trouble hearing dialogue: 1. Movies are generally made to be seen (and heard) in a movie theater with huge and expensive speakers that are able to handle a very large range of sounds–whispers to explosions. When we stream the same movie through Netflix, for example, on our TV, the audio gets what's called "down mixed." This is a compression of the sound, designed to enable it to be heard through much smaller, cheaper speakers like those on your computer, phone, and yes, your TV. 2. Most TV speakers are not well made. Despite, or rather because of, the high-tech nature of the video screen, the speakers get short shrift. Manufacturers focus on picture display quality. In addition, they make the screen as flat and lightweight as possible. This only leaves a small amount of room to add the speakers, many of which are facing behind or down underneath the display, rather than toward the listener. 3. Streaming shows do not have to comply with the same loudness restrictions as broadcast TV shows. I still remember watching Magnum P.I. and Seinfeld at one steady volume level back in the day. I generally heard all of the dialogue. Now, while watching Jack Ryan or Stranger Things, we find ourselves viewing with one finger on the volume button. Turn it up when the character is speaking in a dramatic, mumbly whisper, then immediately turn it down when the music soundtrack or explosions blast us. I continuously fail at trying to keep the volume at one single level. What Can We Do? 1. Turn on captions. Many cable and streaming devices have remote controls with a built-in microphone these days. Simply hold the button down and say, "Turn on captions." Interestingly, captions aren't just for older adults, either. According to research content provider, YPulse, over half of Millennials and Gen-Z watch TV with captions on, too. 2. Add a soundbar. This is an enhanced speaker that generally sits right at the base of your TV, making up for the subpar speakers that came with your flatscreen. In fact, many of these soundbars even have a "dialogue boost" setting for even clearer speech. Take Control
We don't have to put up with inaudible dialogue anymore. We can take back control of the situation, without feeling like the problem is our fault for not having top-notch hearing. If you need help with turning on captions or choosing the right soundbar and setting it up, please feel free to contact me. I’ve been seeing a lot of situations like this lately: Many of my clients will click on a link from an email or a website, and suddenly a warning pops up in their internet browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc). The message looks something like the image on the left. On top of it all, the client's screen is now frozen, often with an annoying and repeating audio message. Sometimes, the warning looks even more official, with Apple or Microsoft branding on it. Of course, it's a total scam though. The perpetrators want to scare you into calling their phone number, where a concerned technician will offer to rid you of said viruses. They will then ask you for access to your computer and proceed to either steal your data or charge you to "fix" the problem. Or both. In my last blog, I talked about how we sometimes end up with these fake warning messages. However, today, I want to impart 3 takeaways: 1. Getting this warning message does NOT mean you have an actual virus 2. No legitimate tech support will ever contact you in your internet browser to tell you that you have a virus 3. All you have to do to "unlock" your screen is to quit your browser (command + Q keys on a Mac, or alt + F4 keys in Windows) I hope this info will save you any future anxiety from such scammers. If you have any questions about these fake warnings, please feel free contact me. The Background One of the easiest ways to get scammed or pick up malware these days is through something called “clickbait.” Like the name sounds, clickbait is an internet device designed to catch our attention and cause us to click on it to find out more information. Often, this scourge (like the one shown here) comes in the form of what looks to be an advertisement or news article. This practice is also known as "malvertising." “Priscilla, 72, Admits What Elvis Used to…” “iPhone Users, Don’t Forget to Do This By Monday!” “7 Ways to Retire Comfortably With $500,000” “Acclaimed Doctor Says Do This One Thing Every Day. Loose Belly Fat Now!” “Where Are These Stars of the 1970s Now? Number 5 Will Shock You!” The sad part is that you don’t even have to go to a nefarious website to get stung. A large number of good websites have these bad ads, too. But Why? For the sake of this example, let’s take ordinary, reputable news sites, such as MLive, CNN, or the Weather Channel. These organizations make money by selling a lot of advertising on their sites. In order to bring in the most revenue, they contract out the selling of ads to a sophisticated network of advertising tech companies, which in turn place millions of ads on millions of websites. In fact, it’s these ad tech firms that decide who sees what ads on which websites—not MLive, CNN, or the Weather Channel. And How? The technical term is called “programmatic advertising.” In this system, advertising tech companies use computers to automate a lightning-fast auction process whereby advertisers bid on available ad spaces on websites. The software programs also ensure that advertisers can target specific ads to specific groups of users. Ever wonder how you see a bunch of ads for cars after doing a Google search for one? The Upside The benefit (and, here, I mean only to the websites and advertisers) is that advertisers get to show the ads they want to the people they want, and websites can keep their ad spaces full. The Downside The problem (and, here, I mean only to you the user) is that quite a few odious ads make their way to good websites. With the millions of transactions happening rapidly in the auction process, the advertising tech companies have their hands full. It’s their responsibility to prevent bad ads, but it’s very difficult to keep a few from slipping through the cracks. What can you do?
The scammers try hard to get your attention. Their ads look very enticing, or often look like real news articles (even I really wanted to click on the picture of the submarine). To keep yourself from getting burned, I recommend a few things: •Before clicking on a news story (particularly those at the end of a legitimate news article or in the margin) look for words in faint text that say things like “ad,” “sponsored,” or “from around the web.” •If the ad or headline seems out of character for the legit website you’re on, it’s likely trying to sell you something or scam you. •To prevent malware, download Malwarebytes and add their browser guard. •If one of those scary alerts pops up telling you that your computer is infected and you need to call a phone number, don't panic–you're not really infected yet. It is a scammer trying to get you to, but all you need to do is quit your browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.). •Don’t click on ads. Just don’t. Why play Russian Roulette? Stay Safe Out There I know it seems like navigating the internet just gets harder and harder, but if you stay vigilant you can keep yourself out of trouble. Now that you know some of the telltale signs to look out for, and understand that even good sites can have bad ads, you can now read a news article or look up the weather without being the fish that gets caught by clickbait. |