Technical

Computers, Phones, Gaming. Hints and tips for technical things.

Please, stop trying to help me! I’m not a total idiot.

~ Ron Walker ~ 12 Comments

Browsers, websites, anti-virus programs. They all want us to accept, they know what’s best for us. Sure, there are some out here, that can benefit from some help to keep them safe online, but the majority of users today, know the dangers of clicking on links sent by email, or on social media.

First, they came out with “safe web surfing, big name virus companies scanned the web looking for websites with malicious items. That is great, in a way. Except scanners aren’t that smart. If something was detected on your site, you were immediately placed on a list as dangerous. Bad thing is, if it;s a false positive detection, it can take months to be removed from that list. If you’re a business that had a malfunctioning credit card link, you lost a lot of business while you fought to get off the list.

Certification

Next they decided SSL (a form of encrypting your data) was the way to go, turns out, it was full of holes itself. Then came HTTPS which shows you are encrypted and verified by a certificate. This was forced on everyone. Very soon, they possibly stop you from connecting to a site, just because it has images from a site that runs only HTTP (because the site can’t afford a certificate).

Then came the breaches of databases, actually these have happened for years, the last few years they are reported more, due to liability to customers. So we now come to browsers, and some sites that you have to sign in to, telling us whether our password is strong enough. They are about to go one step further, and not allow you to sign in if your password has been found in a breach, forcing you to make a new password. When you start to set a password, the site checks a HUGE database of passwords from all past breaches, to see if it is found in a breach somewhere.

Now, while I am all for being safe. Some of this seems to be knee-jerk responses. Overkill, comes to mind. You can’t protect everyone, by trying to protect the minority of users, you place more burden on others. Not to mention, if that massive database of passwords, was ever breached. Well, you can picture that. There is a saying in IT security. Nothing is truly secure, from a hacker with the proper skill set.

Want to check your password to see if it has been used?
Click Have I Been Pwned to find out.

Comments welcome,

Windows7: Goodbye old friend.

~ Ron Walker ~ 17 Comments

I would like to state right away, that I am in no way, presenting myself as a computer expert. So please, constructive comments, or corrections, are welcome. This is a post to hopefully answer questions posed friends, family and users, about the end of Windows 7. I am grateful to Pete, after seeing his post this morning on his Blog, It reminded me that I needed to do a post for my forum members that have questions.

 Can you still use Windows 7? 

January 14, 2020, we will have to say goodbye to an old friend, Windows 7. Considered the best version of the Microsoft OS by many, and still used by people and businesses alike, will no longer be supported. Many of us have resisted the update to Windows 10. If you’re still a hold-out, you will eventually have to make plans to change. Upgrade to Windows 10, or learn something new. Can you still use Windows 7? Yes, but eventually it will become a security risk. It may take months, or it could be only days. Antivirus, and malware detectors, will buy some time. However, as new vulnerabilities in the code itself are discovered, there will be no patches coming. Eventually, there will be many vulnerabilities found, for which there will be no defense.

For those not familiar with the terms, a virus/worm/trojan/ or malware is a program/code written by someone to cause harm or steal information from your computer. Those items can be detected and often times stopped, by software you utilize on your computer. A vulnerability, is a problem found by someone, in the OS code itself. Something that can be used for leverage against a computer. These problems are normally taken care of by Microsoft via patches and updates. Any vulnerabilities, discovered after the end-of-life for Windows 7, will be a serious security risk.

What are our options? Upgrade, or Change. Simplest is upgrade. Windows 10 is loved by many, and disliked by many, just as Windows 7 was. Someone asked me if the free upgrade to Windows 10 was over. Technically, yes. However, as of last year, there were still ways to get upgrades to Windows 10. That’s the simplest. It may require a new computer, as the software needs more horse power, than most Win 7 computers did. Some have enough power, some don’t.

Apple/Mac

You could move to something like, Apple/Mac. While very expensive and proprietary, it is a good brand. Way out of my league, fixed income won’t allow that for me. You’ll have to learn some new terminology and how to do things a little different, but it is well-spoken of. My daughter worked support for Apple for 3 years. She loves using Apple products.

Linux

Linux. It’s totally free. I moved to it five years ago. More secure, and never tries to sell you something. Linux is now as easy to install, as Windows. Except it’s faster, and very secure. Linux is free, I can afford that on a fixed income. It runs on older machines, no need for upgrades when the OS updates versions. It has free Open Office suites that rival and look a lot like MS Office. Maintained by people who love choice and freedom.

Questions/Comments always welcome.

“Like and Share” Buttons: I solved my problem.

~ Ron Walker ~ 7 Comments

First, let me say that I am self-hosted. I use Jetpack for additional options such as the like and share buttons. The problem I was having, was the like and sharing buttons were not showing on my first page, or any single type page. They were showing properly on every post. I tried everything I could think of, to solve why the share and like buttons were missing. I read dozens of Google search leads. Checked every setting I could find over and over again. Different themes, I even set up a fresh test site.

My solution

I assumed, and we all know what that action can do, that Jetpack overrode all settings of my WordPress installation and provided the like and share buttons. It turns out, that in the WordPress controls, under Settings, there are options that control the like and share buttons. Either I had changed them recently, or something else threw a monkey wrench in. Below you will see the options I chose. My problem was I found the top box ” Front Page, Archive Pages, and Search Results ” unchecked. Checking that box, set everything right with the world. I hope this helps someone else with the same problem.

Comments always welcome,

Securely sharing my Wi-Fi at home.

~ Ron Walker ~ 5 Comments

I had to shout out my password

When we have family over, many times they may need an Internet connection, due to poor reception of their phone. I’ve always felt a little uneasy when I had to shout out my Wi-Fi password during a family gathering. Or if it’s just a friend or acquaintance dropping in needing access. Not that I don’t trust them, but security is the best policy. I also with the methods below, change the Wi-Fi password often. Lately, I have been tinkering (as always) with QR Codes and NFC. I have two methods that friends can use to access the Wi-Fi if needed. QR Code and NFC (near field communications).

QR Codes are more rugged

What are QR Codes? (Quick Response) 
A simple QR code app can be downloaded by anyone with a smartphone. Some apps are dual use, and scan bar code and QR codes. Some phone cameras come with the ability to scan them built in. QR Codes are more rugged and error resistant than bar codes. They can be read even with some damage, depending on their size. 

Selection_017.png
QR code

You can print your own QR Codes, large or very small (using smart phone apps or free online QR Code generators). Then you can tape, glue, glue it to thin magnet material, or just lick the back (NOT recommended) and stick it to a location of your choice in your home. This is a QR Code for my blog I generated. My phone can read it from 4 feet away. It takes you to my blog when you scan it with your phone. If you have an android phone, try QR & Barcode Reader.

NFC (Near field Communications)
Some users don’t know it’s even on their phone. It is off by default and has to be turned on by the owner. NFC can be used to transfer files from one person to another by touching the backs of two phones together. NFC is limited to very close range, sometimes as little as millimeters. NFC is used when (if) you use payment by your phone, by touching the credit card machines at check out.

nfc.jpeg
Round clear NFC Tag

I have one on my desk

NFC Tags, come in various shapes, colors, sizes, material. What ever they are made of there is a small chip and antenna inside the material. The chip can be programmed, erased, and reprogrammed thousands of times. You can use them for information, text, URL, etc. I have one on my desk, I programmed it, so when I lay the phone on it, the settings for volume, brightness are set for my office environment. The type of tag, defines the amount of data storage they can hold. Some NFC tags sold on Amazon here. 

tagmouse.jpg
Self adhesive rectangular NFC Tag

A company sent me a sample of 5 rectangular, self-adhesive NFC tags. I use one to allow visitors, access to our Guest Wi-Fi. Touching it with their phone, brings up a screen asking if they would like to connect to the “Guest Wi-Fi”. This way, my password for the Guest Wi-Fi is not given out. This gives you an idea of the size of the sample I received. I also have a small QR Code if they rather use a code scanner.

If you have questions, or just curious, feel free to ask. Comments always welcome.