Vishing

Last week I was contacted by a friend who received a very authentic looking email (often these are from Amazon or Paypal) alerting them to a purchase they had made.  In the email, it said:  "If you haven't made this purchase, please call us at ............"  Well, of course, they hadn't made the purchase and it frightened them, so they called the number, then later asked me what to do.  My tip for today is:  NEVER EVER call the number in an email or click on the link in a questionable email.

You may have heard of phishing, but what is vishing??  Vishing is a slight variation of phishing that scammers are using to get you to give up your personal information and access to bank accounts.  Instead of enticing you to click on a link in an email, you are asked to call a number. Another method is a phone call alerting you to a problem with your account.  The scammers/fraudsters then ask you for your personal information to help solve the "problem."

So, what should you do? 
1)  Access the account in question - Amazon, Paypal, etc. - with your browser. Log into your account to view your recent activity.  This will indeed reflect if there are any questionable purchases on your account.  Usually, you will not see the transaction mentioned in the email or over the phone.
2)  Delete the email in question after checking your account.
3)  IF you happen to give private/financial information after making or receiving a questionable phone call, change your password on your bank account and credit card accounts, monitor those accounts for activity and alert your bank or credit card company.  
4) If you believe information was given as a result of a vishing email or phone call, you should contact  The Federal Trade Commision online or at (888) 382-1222

Remember, scammers often rely on creating a sense of urgency for you to respond. Do not respond.  There is always plenty of time for you to check it out on your own, without their help!

Care of Airpods and other wireless earbuds

Do you use wireless earbuds - Airpods, Galaxy Buds, or another brand?  I became an owner of a pair of Airpods about 18 months ago when we switched our cellphone service.  The Airpods were a "gift" for making the switch.  :-)  I wasn't sure how much I'd use them but they became a part of my walks everyday, and I love them!  Listening to podcasts while walking makes the 50+ minutes go by much more quickly!  Daily use, though, invites an accumulation of earwax, sweat, skin cells, etc. on the tiny mesh screens of the speakers in the earbuds.

The recommendations for keeping your earbuds clean are not difficult or time-consuming, but there are some definite "do's" and "do nots".  
DO:
1) Wipe gently with a soft cloth - a clean Microfiber cloth is recommended
2) Use a slightly damp - not wet - Q-tip and gently wipe the mesh screens covering the speakers. You don't want water getting into the speakers.  Even though a "damp" Q-tip does not introduce much moisture, allow the earbuds to dry thoroughly before putting them back in the charging case.
3) Wipe the charging case with a Microfiber cloth or damp lint-free cloth
4) Use a toothpick VERY GENTLY if you notice a large amount of earwax or grime that needs removed

DON'T:
1) Run the earbuds under flowing water or dip them in soapy water.
2) Use a harsh brush on the fine mesh screens; this can harm the speakers.

So, I've added earbud cleaning to my weekly technology "to-do" list....the price we pay for owning different pieces of technology! 

Have a wonderful Tech Tip Tuesday.  I'm ready to head out the door for my morning walk.....with the latest podcasts queued  up and ready to go!

Wait to post those Facebook travel photos!

Facebook and Instagram are social media; we use both of these platforms because we want to share with others or want to keep up with what our family and friends are doing.  Spring and summer post-COVID travel photos have once again been populating the content on my News Feed.  I enjoy reading about people's travels and enjoy looking at their pictures, but it makes me worry about those people who are traveling because they are broadcasting to the world that their house is empty. Their posts and photos can invite would-be thieves into their homes while they are on vacation.

So, my tip today is just a reminder:  Wait until returning home to share on social media about your travels.  I encourage you, too,  to wait and share photos of any of your social gatherings until you are home, not while you are at an event.  Posting information in "real time" is fun but not always the safest thing to do. You may be sharing your posts only with "Friends" but there are many ways that those posts can make their way out into the public.

We've had the opportunity to travel to Pennsylvania several times this summer and were beginning to feel a little more comfortable with travel.  We planned a trip to Tahoe with family this coming Saturday but the smoke from the fires and increased concerns with the Delta variant caused us to cancel those plans yesterday.  I'm so ready for things to be back to "normal."  But until then, I guess I'll have to enjoy other people's travels on Facebook.......after they return.  :-)

Have a wonderful Tech Tip Tuesday!  Stay safe and try to stay cool.  

Jeline

National Security Agency Tips for Mobile Devices

The National Security Agency (nsa.gov) prepared a great document suggesting ways to keep yourself as safe as possible when using your mobile devices.  You may be familiar with some of these, but I think it is a good reminder and I found the second page of the flyer to be especially interesting.  It details the type of possible "attacks" on your devices, what you can/should do, and displays how successful the different mitigation techniques are against those attacks.

The information is applicable to all smartphones and tablets; take a look: 
https://media.defense.gov/2020/Jul/28/2002465830/-1/-1/0/MOBILE_DEVICE_BEST_PRACTICES_FINAL_V3%20-%20COPY.PDF 

In Kansas we're enjoying a reprieve from the oppressive heat, and the air quality is to improve today.  Hope you can enjoy this beautiful Tech Tuesday!

Oh, to be young and using technology!

We had a great two weeks with our granddaughters!  Lots of outdoor time as well as fun indoor activities.  Their parents limit the girls' time with TV and also their iPads so anytime they get to be on is a real treat for them (watching downloaded Netflix shows makes a non-stop 2-hour plane ride to Baltimore a breeze!)  

It was fascinating for me to watch the girls use technology.  The girls and I did some online browsing and shopping since our local venues are limited. Our 5-year-old and I were looking at "school shoes" on my computer on Amazon and I had to step away for just a minute.  I returned to the room to find she had ordered one pair of shoes and was ready to order a second pair (a pop-up on Amazon alerted that it was going to be a duplicate purchase and did I really want to do that).  :-/  No, our 5-year-old does not read but  had put the item in the shopping cart, tapped on all the right buttons, and proceeded to complete the order! Fortunately, Amazon allows orders to be canceled so I, of course, did that, as my granddaughter proudly beamed at me because of her success!

I wish we adults found things to be as intuitive in technology as our granddaughters do!

One last thing - the real tech tip today is for those of you who own an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.  The updates for each of those devices released on Monday do need to be installed as soon as possible.  They mainly contain security patches.  Although I have my devices all set to install updates automatically that had not happened as of this morning so I manually installed the updates.

Have a terrific Tech Tip Tuesday .....on Wednesday! Try to stay in, keep cool, and do those updates on your devices.

Tired Grandma

After spending a week in Pennsylvania, we brought our two granddaughters, ages 5 and 9, home with us a week ago for Camp Harc 2021.  Lots of fun kid activities for two weeks = one grandma with no time to spend writing on Tech Tip Tuesday. I'll make a round trip to Baltimore on Monday to take the girls home, so, maybe next week's Tuesday Tech Tip will be written on my flight home.  :-)

Have a great week!

Facebook and Two Factor Authentication

Have you ever received a Facebook friend request from someone who is already your friend?  Or have you received an inappropriate link from someone who is a friend? Solving the problem can be frustrating and time-consuming if it is your account that is the one sending out these messages. 

Here are several things to know and do to help protect your Facebook account:

1)  When friends begin telling you they received another friend request from you, look for a duplicate Facebook account that someone has created using your information.  Your account has not been hacked but has been cloned using information gleaned from your "real" account.  If you or your friends can locate that account, report it to Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/help/306643639690823/

2)  If you believe your account has been hacked (someone has figured out your username and password) rather than cloned, change your password the minute you become aware of the problem.

3)  Consider turning on two-factor authentication for your Facebook account.  This adds an extra layer of of security; it is not foolproof but does make it more difficult for someone (a hacker) to access your Facebook account,  The process is clearly explained in this video, and although the example is demonstrated on a computer, two-factor authentication can also be set up using your mobile device.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWcOzk6-VTg

Using online technology requires responsibility on our part to keep our personal information as secure as we can. Learning all we can about ways to stay safe can be time-consuming but are well worth the effort and time.