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  Geebo 9:01 am on July 10, 2018 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: computers ( 4 ), hard drives, laptops ( 4 ), personal information ( 2 ), phones, security ( 46 ), tablets ( 3 )   

  Wipe your devices before selling them 

  

  Congratulations. You just bought a shiny new device, but you’re unsure what to do with still functioning older device. You could either donate it, recycle it, gift it, or even sell it on Geebo. However, before you do any of those things, you want to make sure there is no longer any valuable information left on the device.

  Recently, ABC Action News in the Tampa area bought a number of laptops from people who were selling them on online marketplaces. A number of those laptops still had valuable information on them including bank account and social security numbers. Before parting with a device that has been in your service for years you want to make sure that there is no personal information left on it. While Action News mentions taking your device to be professionally wiped, that costs money and could eat into any potential windfall if you’re planning on selling the device. That’s not even taking into account that while most professionals are on the up and up, there are those bad apples who may use this as an opportunity to harvest your data. After backing up the data you want to save, try these tips for wiping the hard drive on your PC or laptop.

  As the video mentions, software like DBAN is probably your best bet for wiping your hard drives of all important information. Apple computers have their own built-in process for wiping the hard drive. The same goes for Android and iOS devices in case you’re selling a phone or tablet.

  In these days of personal information being leaked from just about everywhere taking these few extra steps and a little bit of time are definitely worth the effort and your peace of mind.

   

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  Geebo 9:53 am on November 14, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: pay phones, phones   

  Pay phones are still making money 

  

  There was a time, for those of us old enough to remember, when payphones were everywhere. Shopping malls would have banks of them, busy intersections would have them on the corners and most public places like restaurants would have at least one. Pay phones were the lifeline to home and safety in a world without cell phones. Fast forward to today when finding a pay phone is about as easy as finding Bigfoot, but did you know that pay phones are still making a lot of money?

  According to tech blog Motherboard, pay phones in the US and Canada are still making hundreds of millions of dollars even though the profits have been declining steadily over the years. However, the Motherboard post seemed to gloss over the question that’s on everyone’s mind. Who’s still using pay phones?

  A lot of people in rural parts of the country where there is no landline or cell phone service are still using pay phones as in many cases it’s their only way of communications. In neighborhoods with a high immigrant population, pay phones are still popular because in most cases it’s cheaper to use a pay phone to call their home country than in it is to use what we might consider a regular phone. Then there are those who just don’t feel the need for a phone. With all the ways we are able to communicate today, how many of us even use the phone function of our cell phones?

  While pay phones may be a relic of the past, to a lot of people they are a still a vital lifeline.

   
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  Geebo 8:57 am on May 8, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: landlines, mobile phones ( 7 ), phones   

  Most US homes ditch landlines in favor of mobile 

  

  In a survey released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the first time since the advent of the telephone, more than half of US homes have eschewed the once required landline in favor of mobile phones. This really should come as no surprise, the surprise really is what took everyone so long?

  Back in the days that even predate television, landline phones were once hard-wired into the house. There was no unplugging the phone and once it was installed the phone couldn’t be relocated anywhere else in the home. In addition to that, even when the phones advanced to the point where they could be unplugged and relocated, you could only get your phone from the phone company itself. You didn’t even get to own the phone, instead you were charged a monthly rental fee. Service itself was often difficult to get and if you didn’t meet certain financial requirements. the phone company wouldn’t even allow you to have service. That’s not even mentioning they were the company that invented the “We’ll be there sometime between 1 and 6pm to install service”. The service was prohibitively expensive too if you had to make long distance calls.

  Conversely, in today’s market, you can go to just about any store, including gas stations, pick up a relatively cheap mobile phone and be up and running with service in just a few minutes. Rates are relatively cheap plus you get the added benefits of texting and internet. The only real advantage to having a landline is if you ever need to call 911, emergency services know exactly where you’re calling from. However, mobile phone technology is advancing to where that should no longer be an issue.

  While we may take our plastic fondle squares for granted, it’s amazing to take a moment to reflect on just how far the technology has come in such a relatively short period of time.

   
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  Geebo 11:01 am on January 3, 2017 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: California ( 20 ), driving ( 2 ), phones, Safety ( 44 )   

  California seriously cracks down on cell phones in cars 

  

  We’re all guilty of it. We’ve all used our cell phones while driving. Whether it’s quickly checking a text message or changing a song, we’ve all taken our eyes off the road for just a second to fiddle with our phones. While we think we can handle it, it really is extremely dangerous to do so. California believes so too, and believes it so much they have instituted some of the toughest laws against driving and using your phone.

  While California has only allowed hands free calling for years, as of January 1st of 2017 California has made it illegal to use your phone while driving unless it’s in a cradle on your dashboard. Part of the law even states that the cradle can’t be on the center of the windshield. Not only that, but the law states that you can only use one finger to swipe anything on your phone while it’s in the cradle. Whether or not this will actually decrease incidents involving distracted driving remains to be seen. For example, can the law requiring only one finger swipes be enforced in reality? Will the fines, running from $20 to $50 be enough to discourage this kind of behavior? Or is this just a cash grab by the always financially addled Golden State?

  California is one of the most visited states by tourists. How many of them will be aware of the new law when they go to visit California? How many of them will be stopped by the California Highway Patrol for having their cell phones in their hands? While California has always had the toughest cell phone laws in the country, these new laws seem to be on par with the red light cameras that plague our cities, meaning that they generate more money for governments than they prevent actual accidents.

   
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  Geebo 10:41 am on June 7, 2016 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: phones, Safety ( 44 ), Scams ( 1,224 )   

  Just hang up 

  

  Even with the advent of the internet, phone scams are still as prevalent as ever. Whether it’s someone posing as the IRS, your bank or credit card company, or winning sweepstakes company they’re all looking for the same thing. They’re all looking for just the smallest bit of personal information to use to try to steal your money. Now you may think that you’re clever enough on how to deal with these scammers but you may be inadvertently providing them with the exact information that they’re looking for.

  This article from Forbes by tax attorney Kelly Phillips Erb advises not to engage in any way with these scammers. She says that your best bet is to just hangup on them. She goes on to say that of you engage them in any way you may be providing them with just enough information for them to try to either steal your identity or your money. She goes into detail about a number of the possible outcomes that could happen when engaging a scammer.

  Much like our post about being careful of your reflection it only takes just a tiny crumb of information for scammers to be able to overturn your life.