Make sure you know who has your credit card information

If you are like me there are certain companies and organizations where it is convenient to register your credit card, either for payment upon purchase (eg, one click on Amazon or your on-line RX drug supplier) or for payment on a recurring basis (eg, health insurance, utility bills).  It is becoming more obvious there is risk in that practice.  However, if you accept that risk, there are a couple of things you can do to mitigate the risk:

1. Monitor your credit card transactions daily.  The easiest way for me to do that is by using the Quicken account update feature.  Each day I start Quicken. I have set it up to download all the transactions in all accounts (from the last time I did the download).  On the flip side, I have Quicken set up to automatically record in the ledger all recurring transactions I have set up.  Typically, Quicken records the pending transaction a day or two before it is actually executed by the biller, so I should have a warning of the transaction and a matching execution download.  If I don't have a match, then there's a possible breach.  If you notify your credit card company right away you won't be liable for the charge. 
2. Maintain a list of every place you have provided a credit card number for automatic transaction.  That way, if you know of a breach, you can both cancel the old card and know that you have to replace that card with another card.  If you don't replace the card, you will miss payments, with a resulting late payment notice and perhaps a penalty.  

Number 2 is what most people don't do.  Please don't be one of them.

Be careful when ordering from Amazon

I think most of us use Amazon from time to time.  This is an observation about "returns" and Amazon prime.   Here is a computer mouse offer:   I learned something about Amazon.com today that you might find interesting.  As I prepared to order the computer mouse I read the details more carefully and found that it is shipped from China. 

http://www.amazon.com/Delux-M618LU-Vertical-Ergonomic-Comfort/dp/B00D19KF7U/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1380740601&sr=1-7&keywords=vertical+mouse

Note that this is shipped from China.  This means that if you have a problem with it or just wanted to return it, you'd have to return it to China and be responsible for the shipping costs.  (This was verified through a phone call.)

If you explore Amazon further, perhaps focusing on Amazon prime products, you might find an offer like this: 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EYI46L8/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

This ships from the US and can be easily returned to Amazon. 

It’s more expensive but definitely worth avoiding the hassle.

Very helpful: How to Plan a Trip (walking, bike, public transport, car) using Google Maps

When I was in England, I depended (probably too much), on Google maps, which can give you to-the-number-of-steps guidance in getting from one place to another walking, biking, by public transport, and by car.  Google maps is integrated with most of the public transport schedules in England, as it is for most cities in the US.  So it will give you instantaneous train schedules and rates.  If you have to change stations, it gives you step by step (number of yards, number of steps) instruction on getting from one station to another or even one platform to another.  If you have to walk to a bus stop, it gives you time and distance, as well as the map.  When you are on your way, you can see where you are on your smart phone at any instant as long as your GPS is turned on.  As the situation changes, you can modify your plans on the fly.  This is a must know for all travelers and even commuters.  Learn how before you travel so you don't have a problem.

Note that, as long as you have airport mode on, you can still get info as you travel; ie, you won't be charged minute rates in England.  However, the maps may disappear until you get near the next wifi.  Always have your smartphone wifi on.  When I was in Europe I got one of those wifi hotspot pucks from http://www.tepwireless.com/.  Very good deal.  (Warning:  there aren't very many places to return the hotspot devices.  You will probably elect to mail it back.  You have to make sure you know how to repackage the device.  So take pictures as you are unpacking it.  I made the mistake of not doing that and, when I repacked it, I failed to properly repack/reconfigure the wall adapter:  got a hefty charge for the damaged adapter.)  Just remember to carry an extra battery pack if you are going any distance.  Oh, some bus services and trains have free wifi.  Check that out.

To the directions.  This picture is from Google Maps with the initial entry of planning a trip from Cambridge to Southampton UK.  It picks automobile mode by default:

But if you click on the bus icon, it will start a dialog about public transportation.  (If you click on the bike icon, it will pick a bike route, though not always the best, because it doesn't know all the shortcuts that bikes can take.  If you click on the walking icon it will give you a walking route.  It will use public paths where possible, but it may miss various shortcuts you can only take by walking.  These cases are where the instantaneous feedback from a navigator app can help.)

I'm not going to go through the entire tutorial on how to plan a route here.  Here is a step by step tutorial:
http://www.wikihow.com/Plan-a-Trip-on-Public-Transportation-Using-Google-Maps.  Practice getting from Cambridge to Southampton.  You'll be amazed at how it works.  Try both bus to the train station, then The Tube, then train.  Make sure you click on the "more options and times" link that shows up.  It gives a sliding trip selector.  It is really "wow."

Need help?  Google what help you need.  If you can't find what you are looking for, send a comment to me using the box below.

The Skinny on the How and Why of Two Step Verification (example: Gmail)

Introduction

Two step verification is a security methodology that requires not only a user id and a password but some means of verifying you are who you are on the computer you are using.  Typically, this means that you have to receive a text message with a unique key of 6 to 8 characters every time you log on to a site and it isn't a computer that you have registered before.  To me, it is a sometimes difficult methodology to use, because part of it requires a different password for each application you use, called an application-specific password, but it does have the advantage of being pretty near fool proof:  your account will not be successfully hacked. 

The Sign Up Process

Google requires that you sign up for two step verification.  The signup page is:  https://www.google.com/landing/2step/ .  Click through all the help pages before you decide to do it.  It was helpful to me to watch this video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMabEyrtPRg .  

The Confirmation Note

When you sign up, you will get a confirmation note that looks like this:

Hi xxxxxxx, Congratulations on enabling 2-Step Verification for xxxx@yyyy.com! We have a few suggestions to make sure you can always access your account. What if an app stops working Now that you have 2-Step Verification, you may have trouble accessing your account from some apps, such as: "Mail" on iPhone, iPad, or Mac; Chat clients (e.g., Adium). To get your apps working again, you'll need something called an application-specific password. Don't worry—we'll generate one for you, and you won't need to remember it. Get started now. Set up a backup phone If your primary phone is ever unavailable when you need a code, Google can send one to a backup, like your home or work phone or even a family member's phone. To set one up, Go to your 2-Step Verification settings page and sign in. Click on Add a phone number in the Backup phones section. Get backup codes If you don't have access to your primary or backup phones—such as when you're traveling—you can sign in with a backup code. You can keep them in your wallet or save them as a file on your computer. To get your backup codes, Go to the 2-Step Verification settings page. Click on Show/Generate codes. Learn more about 2-Step Verification and update your settings at any time. Sincerely, The Google Accounts team

Do you have any specific questions?

Financial Apps on your phone

It seems a no brainer to include Apps on your phone for banking and credit cards.  I recently received this email from American Express:

Enjoy added peace of mind with protection alerts on the Amex Mobile app. Simply enable push notifications to set up this service. With protection alerts, you can:
Get updates when irregular or fraudulent activity is detected on your account.
Verify fraudulent charges in seconds.
Amex Mobile is available on the App StoreSM or Google Play™

Sounds good, but there is an unintended consequence:  you have to enter your userid and password.  What is wrong with that, you say?  Well, unless you have a secure password manager, you will need to remember the password.  Who has a memory for dozens of 20 character, letter- mixed and lower case, number, and symbol passwords.  According to security best-practices, each one of them must be unique.  Can you do that?  The alternative is to have one or two passwords that you use everywhere.  More than that, those passwords are usually simple:  definitely easy for cybercriminals to break.

So, consider that before you download these apps.  And please follow best practices.  Hacking financial institutions is becoming a weapon of choice for countries and terrorist groups as well as "enterprising" college students:  cheap, easy, with high payoff.

PS:  The alternative is to use a password manager that works across all platforms:  Computers, tablets, smart phones.   Then you will have to remember just one gosh awful password.  For a review of password managers, see:  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp

BTW, giving a license to one of these would make a great Christmas gift.  Of course, the gift recipient would have to learn how to use it.  At least for Lastpass, the on-line videos are good.  And if you or they are in the neighborhood, you can always give me a call.

The Battle Between the TV Service Providers and the Networks

This morning I was watching Fox news and a black crawler appeared at the bottom of the screen, under the usual news crawler.  It said something to the effect that Dish might cancel Fox News this week end.  It advocated going to a web site to tell Dish that you don't want Fox News cancelled.

To tell the truth, it crossed my mind that this was somebody's hack.  Wow, good technology, but really dangerous:  Sci Fi stuff.

So I googled and found that there really is an issue that involves multiple networks and the TV Service providers.

I know that Newsmax may not be high on your list of news websites, but it does have a succinct article on the situation.  Here is the url:  http://www.newsmax.com/us/dish-network-fox-news/2014/12/15/id/613194/.
PS:  I don't have an opinion one way or the other on this article, but I will have an opinion if Dish is playing politics.

Wikipedia Donation Time

First of all, I'm sorry I haven't been contributing as often as I have liked.  Life has been complicated the past couple of months and I am working on a couple of books.  One is a dummy's guide to Ubuntu- have to see how that flies.  The other is an historical novel on the Puritans and my family's involvement.  It is based on my genealogy research.

But, the reason for this blog entry is to let you know that this is the time of year when Wikipedia is having their donation campaign.  If you use wiki as much as I do (as well as contributing according to your expertise, I hope), you know that it is as valuable, perhaps more so, as PBS.  So take a minute to donate $5 to the cause:  https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:FundraiserLandingPage&country=XX&uselang=en&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=donate&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org.

Thanks