We’ve discussed email issues, password issues, thing specific to credit agencies, the last topic will be good computer security hygiene. Continue reading “Home Computer Security Hygiene”
Author: bill
Securing your credit files and credit cards
This is the third blog post in a series of posts about security. The first was email security, the second was about passwords.
Now that you’ve secured your email, installed a virus checker, and are using a password manager, you can move on to dealing with the Equifax hack. Continue reading “Securing your credit files and credit cards”
Passwords as primary computer security
From the movie spaceballs:
Dark Helmet: So the combination is one, two, three, four, five. That’s the stupidest combination I’ve ever heard in my life! That’s the kinda thing an idiot would have on his luggage!
[President Skroob walks in.]
Skroob: What’s the combination?
Colonel Sandurz: One, two, three, four, five.
Skroob: One, two, three, four, five? That’s amazing! I’ve got the same combination on my luggage!
[Colonel Sandurz and Dark Helmet give each other a look.]
Skroob: Prepare Spaceball 1 for immediate departure!
Colonel Sandurz: Yes sir.
Skroob: And change the combination on my luggage!
Email Security
There are six significant risks to your security associated with anyone’s use of email:
- Opening files that contain viruses, usually these are attachments to emails sent to you.
- Getting what looks like an ‘Official’ email and clicking on a link and typing in your username and password into a bogus site. This is called ‘Phishing’.
- Having your email account stolen and losing your contacts, this allows the thief to send trusted emails to your friends and family.
- Having your email account stolen and losing the sensitive contents like passwords or really private information stolen (see Hillary Clinton’s Campaign)
- Being stupid. Don’t think that you can get 5 million dollars from an African potentate. Don’t taunt a spammer.
- Email is transmitted without encryption from your computer to your recipients computer and all hops in between. Don’t send passwords or sensitive documents via email.
The first two categories involve what you do when reading email, the second two involve securing your email account. Continue reading “Email Security”
Post Equifax computer security
Some thoughts on computer security post Equifax. Equifax is different from say the 2013 Yahoo hack that stole usernames and passwords. Equifax has a full file of your social security number, your drivers license number and a collection of assets, loans and bank accounts. Yup they have been collecting data on each of us for years. So someone could impersonate you with all this stuff and you might not know it.Electric Cars – How long will they last?
I’ve been really thinking about this article I read recently which stated:
“Current estimates for the lifetime today’s electric vehicles are over 500,000 miles.”.
This has made me realize that I’ve been looking at electric cars as a conventional car purchase, but that assumption is probably wrong.
Rivka’s kale eggs
Ingredients:
- 2-4 eggs
- 2 -3 cups of kale (about 1/2 or 1/3 of a bunch)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- olive oil
- pinch of tumeric
- Pinch of cumin
- salt and pepper
Crack the eggs into a a bowl and stir, crush or chop the garlic into a small bowl. Soak the kale in the sink in cold water for a few minutes, then shake it in the water to get all the bugs off and all the dirt off. Pick up each kale leaf and hold the stem and pull stripping the kale off. chop the remaining leaf parts and compost the stems.
In a frying pan, drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the pan and set the stove on high. Add garlic until it starts to sizzle then add the kale leafs. stir frequently, if it begins to burn, add 1/4 cup water and steam until the kale is soft. Add cumin and tumeric and stir the kale. once soft, add the eggs and stir contnuously until the eggs are cooked. Eat the result. 🙂
Canon D5 Mark IV memory card analysis
Summary: CF memory cards are faster than SD cards for capturing raw images on the Canon D5 mark IV camera. Don’t use speed alone as an indicator of whether an SD card would outperform a CF card. A 50 MB/s CF card out performs a 90 MB/s SD card in my tests.
El Diablo classic cocktail
This recipe was provided by Jason the bartender at the Andaz hotel, in Wailea Maui in January 2016. Continue reading “El Diablo classic cocktail”
Passover Cauliflower and Mushroom Kugel
Modified from “The Gefilte Manifesto” at their suggestion for passover. This is a parve Gluten Free variant. They recommended a 9 Inch square glass baking pan (actually their first recommendation was individual ramekins), but it’s passover, so a smart and final 9 by 12 inch aluminim 1/2 steam pan. The Steam pan is 25% larger than the recommended pan, so I’m quadrupling the recipe and making three. The ingredients are listed for one recipe.