Do you get "unidentified" or 8** phone calls. Here is what to do.

If you get 800, 866 or any 8** calls, and the number is captured by your phone on a caller list, then you can go to http://800notes.com/ to investigate who is calling.  Enter the number and you will see what the experience of others is.

I've used this many times and find indispensable in protecting my privacy.  Check for yourself.  

Another email scam: This one looks like it is from Google, but don't click! Argentina here we come!

The email looks like this

---

Google myles.kleper@ge.com via yahoo.com	12/13/14
to

Why is this message in Spam? It contains content that's typically used in spam messages.  Learn more

Gmail December 13, 2014 Support Service Reporting: View deferred messages . Sincerely, The Google team You can also unsubscribe from these emails  or change your notification settings . Need help ? If you received this message in error, click not my account .

You received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google product or account. © 2014 Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

---

So, the email looks like it is from Google, but note the From address:  ge.com.  That is weird.  So I did an email trace using a special tool.  Here is the actual origination of the email:

IP Address:  190.228.129.31
Hostname:  smtp31.allytech.com
IP Address Country:  Argentina  
IP Continent:  South America 
IP Address City Location:  Federal 
IP Address Region:  Entre Rios
IP Address Latitude:  -30.9546, 
IP Address Longtitude:  -58.7833
Organization:  Allytech S.A.
ISP:  Telecom Argentina S.A.

Interesting.  So, as usual, don't click on these kind of messages.  

Wow: A Nifty Fed Ex Scam- from Russia, Turkey, who knows

Below is the email I got.  The Get Shipment Label goes to just about any bot server.  The giveaway is the opfavorit.ru.   That is in Russia folks.  Another one was to Turkey.  I've had about a dozen this week.  Don't touch it!

Shipment status ID#00923339

Inbox

x

FedEx International Economy support@opfavorit.ru via yahoo.com	12/17/14
to dgleet

	FedEx
	Dear Customer, Your parcel has arrived at December 12. Courier was unable to deliver the parcel to you. To receive your parcel, print this label and go to the nearest office.
		Get Shipment Label

2014 End of Year Buying Guide: Tablets

I've been asked a number of times to provide advice on what computer to buy.  I've done some research and decided to summarize my advice in a series of four posts.  Three of the posts are titled by the skill of the user and how the computer is used: light, medium, and heavy.  The fourth post, this one, is on tablets, which doesn't really fit in one of those categories.

The usual reason for getting a tablet is to have something bigger than a smart phone but still to be able to easily carry around, from room to room or on a trip.   They have kind of replaced the smaller laptops.  If you are a "light" user, then perhaps the only computer you need is a tablet.

Tablets are for browing the net, handle your email, taking pictures, play games, listening to music, and reading books.

Some advice:

• To save money on new tablets, wait for a sale, which usually occurs when a company is about to release a new model or near the end of a business quarter.
  
• The tablet should have a slot for a flash drive:  standard or miniUSB port or microSD.
• If you do touch typing or do a lot of typing, get a cover that supports the tablet in an upright position and get a bluetooth keyboard.  Note that tablets don't fit the paradigm of using a mouse, so, unless your tablet supports and you feel comfortable moving the focus from field to field using the tab key or the arrows keys, you will still need to touch the screen whenever a mouse is required.
• Get a good case to protect it from spills and drops (Amazon, search "tablet cases", then compare to other sources)
• As with a phone, make sure you set up security so that, if you misplace the tablet, you can lock the tablet and even wipe the drive.     

Buying Guides and references:

• In general, google "tablets" and then what you want to know, such as "reviews," "cost,", "ranking," "reliability,"etc.  Youtube has a huge number of videos on tablets.
• Kim Komando buying guide 
• General PC World Index page:
• Tablet rankings:  net Apple iPad Air 2, Samsung Galaxy Tab S
• Tablet rankings:  net Apple iPad 2, Nexus 7 (but no microSD) 

The "Intelligent" Talking Search Engines- the future

Google Now- a better Siri in your google browser and Android:  http://www.komando.com/blog/245973/now-you-can-get-google-now-in-your-browser?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=notd&utm_content=2014-03-25-article_11-in-body-a

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.