The Library Extension

Reading can turn into an expensive hobby, unless you remember to use your local libraries. And the Library Extension is made to help with this! You can use this freebie in your browser to make it easier to check your library for book titles, as you shop on other sites. If you want to try … Read more

Grey Market Computers

I see more and more people buying Grey Market Computers, but most of the time, it’s by accident. They didn’t know there was something amiss or abnormal. I’ve touched on grey market tech before in my traptop posts, but this topic deserves one of my Too-Many-Words write-ups. Black & White & Grey In the US, … Read more

Google’s Inactive Account Manager

Estate planning involves wills, POAs and beneficiary selections… and also your Google account? Yes, Google has a tool for you to use as you plan for what happens when you are no longer around. Anyone with a Google account can use the Inactive Account Manager. This allows you to designate someone(s) to have access to … Read more

Facebook Badge Phishing

Meta/Facebook/Instagram all offer various “badges” to their users and customers. Some are for free, while others you have to pay a subscription fee to get. But please be warned: If you get an email that says you’ve been granted a free badge, it is probably a scam. Here are more details on Facebook Badge phishing: … Read more

Undeliverable Phishing

A sneaky way of getting people to click on spam is to send a note that claims “your email couldn’t be delivered.” Let me show you some examples of the subtle Undeliverable Phishing that I’m seeing these days: As spam goes, these are pretty convincing. The sender addresses usually look legit, and the undeliverable-verbiage is … Read more

Utility Scams

Utility Scams are on the rise. You could encounter these via email, text message, phonecall or even at your door. Here are some examples to learn about and be ready to dodge: Slamming In some states, you are allowed to switch your energy supplier to save money on (for example) your natural gas bill. This … Read more

The YouTube Privacy Settlement

Yes, there has been a recent class action suit against YouTube, and now that it’s wrapping up, you can consider getting involved. The case revolved around your children watching YouTube while Google allegedly collected data about them. Were your kids’ privacy violated? Google has settled the matter to the tune of $30M, and admitted no … Read more

Report an Inappropriate Street View

Google Maps is amazing: One of its abilities is to drop you down to a photographic “street view“. You can see what it looks like to stand on the street of so many locations, all from the comfort of home. While this is useful and fine for public buildings and such, it may also raise … Read more

Benevolent Deception

When watching an on-screen progress bar, I often comment to my client that we shouldn’t put too much stock into the information it presents. If it shows a “Time Remaining”, we may see that figure swell and shrink with little rhyme or reason. A Percentage-style progress bar may creep towards 30%, and suddenly surge from … Read more

Yahoo & AOL Marketing Preferences

If you use a Yahoo or AOL email address, then you probably see a lot of marketing offers from them. Pop-ups, emails and other offers abound. And this also goes for other email addresses that have found their new home with the Yahoo/AOL family. You should know how to get to the Yahoo & AOL … Read more