Are you using Facebook because it is free?
How much are you paying to use Facebook each month? “Haha Mark, trick question,” you may say. "It's free. I am paying nothing.” I beg to differ.
You are paying with your personal information. Let me introduce Tanya, one of my fellow Michigan State University alums. I found her on Facebook. I sent a friend request and she accepted within 24 hours. We both told Facebook we graduated Michigan State University. On the UP side, sharing that information helped us connect. On the DOWN side, we shared information Facebook monetizes.
Highly targeted and branded MasterCard
We both checked Facebook one day and saw ads for a Michigan State University branded MasterCard. The advertisers created the MSU branding and then purchased (or ... Read More
Social media connection requests are not always real
Meet Tom. He sent you a social media connection request. Here's some background on Tom. Single. Medical student. Works part time at a coffee shop in Palo Alto. Plays computer games in his precious free time. Promises to cure dementia, which has stricken his grandmother. Tells friends the country will be screwed up until we elect Bernie Sanders President and he cancels student loan debt.
Would you accept a social media connection request from Tom? He looks decent and honest, right?
Fake profile
Think twice. He is fake. I visited https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/ and chose three pictures for my book. I wrote the profiles from scratch. https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/ uses a generative adversarial network, defined at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_adversarial_network to create pictures. Wikipedia tells us “a GAN ... Read More
Let LastPass manage your passwords (you have other things to think about today).
We have too many passwords. Keeping track of them mentally or on Post-It notes does not work. Keeping them in a Microsoft Word document is also troublesome. If you change a password and fail to update the document, then the record becomes wrong. Next time you go to that website and use the password in your Microsoft Word document, it won’t work. You did not update the document. Let me introduce LastPass.
Several companies have solutions. I use LastPass, which lets you create a vault that holds all your passwords. You don’t have to remember what LastPass stores in the vault. You only have to remember the master password to access the vault. The ... Read More
Three Mile Island: From Meltdown to Microsoft's AI Power Play
Remember Three Mile Island? That nuclear plant south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that gave us all a scare back in 1979? Well, it's making a comeback, and this time it's got Microsoft muscle (and money) in its corner.
A Brief History Lesson
Three Mile Island was home to two nuclear reactors. In March 1979, Unit 2 suffered a partial meltdown, causing the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. While Unit 1 kept chugging along, it eventually closed in 2019 due to economic pressures. Producing electricity there was more expensive than other providers using cheaper natural gas.
New Owner, New Expectations
Constellation Energy now owns three Mile Island. That's not the only nuclear power plant Constellation owns. Here's a partial list:
... Read More
2-factor Authentication helps protect your identity.
You should deploy 2-factor Authentication. This increases your security and reduces your chances of becoming an identity theft victim. Most services encourage 2-factor Authentication and let you deploy it at no additional cost.
Here's a quick question for you.
When attempting to access a website, the website can challenge you based on:
A) What you know (e.g. password).
B) Who you are (e.g. fingerprints).
C) What you have (e.g. phone).
D) All of the above.
Correct answer: D.
How it looks in real life.
Daisy runs a dental office in Folsom, CA. Keeping the practice up and running is her top priority. She runs most of her patient, insurance and vendor communications through her Gmail account. She deploys 2-factor Authentication with the steps at https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/two-step-verification/enroll-welcome. She keeps her smartphone nearby. ... Read More
Social media connection requests are not always real
Meet Lynne. She sent you a social media connection request. Here's some background on Lynne. Happily married to a professional athlete. Real estate agent in San Francisco. Runs three marathons a year. Promised her mom she would visit all seven continents before turning 50. Laughs and walks away when you try talking politics.
Would you accept a social media connection request from Lynne? She looks decent and honest, right?
Fake profile
Think twice. She is fake. I visited https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/ and chose three pictures for my book. I wrote the profiles from scratch. https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/ uses a generative adversarial network, defined at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_adversarial_network to create pictures. Wikipedia tells us “a GAN trained on photographs can generate new photographs that look at least superficially ... Read More
Coronavirus coverage increases ratings
Coronavirus dominates our lives and our consciousness. So much so that we stop what we are doing to watch network news every day. It has returned to being a mandatory part of our lives. A local TV news station anchor began the broadcast with “And now the latest Coronavirus news.” It seems we cannot get enough news, even when the news is not really news anymore. It is just an update of what we already know.
Higher ratings
The news networks are benefiting from Coronavirus. They are enjoying increased viewership, which in turn produces higher ratings which in turn generates increased advertising revenue. I’m sure you get the picture. For the second quarter of 2020, all major news networks saw increased ratings. https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cable-news-networks-tucker-carlson-tv-ratings-1234694846/ says ... Read More
Covid-19 coverage increases ratings
Covid-19 dominates our lives and our consciousness. So much so that we stop what we are doing to watch network news every day. It has returned to being a mandatory part of our lives. A local TV news station anchor began the broadcast with “And now the latest Covid-19 news.” It seems we cannot get enough news, even when the news is not really news anymore. It is just an update of what we already know.
Higher ratings
The news networks are benefiting from Covid-19. They are enjoying increased viewership, which in turn produces higher ratings which in turn generates increased advertising revenue. I’m sure you get the picture. For the second quarter of 2020, all major news networks saw increased ratings. https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cable-news-networks-tucker-carlson-tv-ratings-1234694846/ says ... Read More
Social media connection requests are not always real
Meet Cassandra. She sent you a social media connection request. Here's some background on Cassandra. Single mom. Receptionist for a federal government agency's Los Angeles office. Helps establish neighborhood watches throughout Los Angeles County. Tells her kids and neighbors the country will be screwed up until we elect a woman President.
Would you accept a social media connection request from Cassandra? She looks decent and honest, right?
Fake profile
Think twice. She is fake. I visited https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/ and chose three pictures for my book. I wrote the profiles from scratch. https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/ uses a generative adversarial network, defined at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_adversarial_network to create pictures. Wikipedia tells us “a GAN trained on photographs can generate new photographs that look at least superficially authentic to ... Read More
How to save money on your domain renewals
Here's a smart way to save money. Yesterday, Domain Listings sent me a letter asking me to renew an Internet domain. This domain is truly one of mine and I need to keep this domain alive. An Internet domain is your address on the Internet. CNN.com is CNN’s Internet domain, Amazon.com is Amazon’s and eBay.com is eBay’s. I have several. This list includes HowHacksHappen.com, CyberSafetyNet.net and CameronParkComputer.com. All are mine. I am writing about this letter because Domain Listings' renewal price is ridiculously high. Do not fall into their trap.
Internet domains typically renew for $18/year. Domain Listings is offering me a chance to renew at $228/year. Let me save you the math. This is a 12.67x markup. This ... Read More