Wednesday, November 13, 2019

"Breaking News"

We live in a country where the president is fined $2 million for stealing money from charity and nobody cares.

Main Stream Media should have had Banner Headlines, TV should have had "Breaking News" Reports every 30 minutes. Average citizens should be out in the streets demanding his resignation.

However, like Trump University, the Trump Foundation, and even a recent eat-lunch-with-the-president contest in which winners donated but never got to eat lunch with the president; no one seems to notice. That's just the highlights, there are dozens of scams.

Our President is a crook, a shabby con man, a hater, racist and a moron. The Trumpsters eat it up (possibly they see him as a reflection of their own tastes) and average folks just post on Facebook and Twitter.

If you really care about our country, if you are not a racist, if you believe we should be progressing to a better world, instead of regressing into hate and racism then do something.

Call your congress people. Call your local news papers and stations. Write letters, send telegrams, take to the streets if you have to. Join Greta's protests, Boo Trump, donate to your favorite cause ($3.00 will do).

Most important VOTE. It is your duty as a citizen, it is your right as an American. It is what our veterans fought and even died for.

If you don't know who your Congress Persons are, you can find out (and shame on you). Here is an easy way to find out:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm

Vote local, too. That may be even more important. Your County Clerks Office web site has all the info, and an online registration page, too.

For My New Mexican Friends you can start here:
https://portal.sos.state.nm.us/ovr/webpages/instructionsstep1.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Vote or Shut up.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

You'd Be Surprised

You might be surprised by the number of technical support calls that are ended by asking one question; "Is it plugged in?"

You may also be surprised how many tech folks, appliance repairmen and auto mechanics "Google" the brand, model number and problem before attacking your problem. You can try that, too before calling someone else.  example - "JVC LT-43MAW588 no power" (try it).

I spent nearly 30 years in IT, from tech support phone rooms to my own contract business installing entire networks for medium sized companies. 8 times out of 10 the bosses master password was in his secretary's desk drawer, or under her desk pad. At first it dismayed me, later it just pissed me off. Before long I started concentrating on the Bosses secretary (no, not like that. Gosh what a mind you have) and gave her special training, because she did all the work anyway.

You would also be surprised how many people use "password" as their password. That being said, it's not considered the worst password. (insert face palm here)

Quick tips:
Does your password have your name, birthday or address in it? Change it now.
Are you using the same password for everything? Don't. Use different passwords for your bank, utilities etc. NEVER use those same passwords for Facebook.
You're best bet is a password manager. Most IT sites (Spiceworks, Cnet, Pcmag, et al.) say this is the way to go.
I found one that is free for multiple devices.
Full version is only $36.00 / year

https://www.lastpass.com

 I have not used it yet, as I use my own system (28 years in IT) and sorry, I am NOT going to share it. Soon I will be using one, probably this one, because they are better than mine and easier to migrate (move from system to system).


Be prepared: You will be required to enter a 12 character password which is
At least 12 characters long
At least 1 number
At least 1 lowercase letter
At least 1 uppercase letter
Not your email

There are many other choices, Cnet has the most readable list, but you can just google "Best Password Managers" to find your own.
https://www.cnet.com/news/the-best-password-managers-of-2019/


Just for entertainment, here is a list of bad passwords, the top 10 are much the same anywhere you look. If your password is on there, get a password manager, NOW.

Source

#10  iloveyou
# 9  qwerty
# 8  sunshine
# 7  1234567
# 6  111111
# 5  12345
# 4  12345678
# 3  123456789
# 2  password
# 1  123456