Banking Information Hacked on a Large Scale

The Russians are using cyberwarfare against US banks now.  Read this and evaluate it against your current security measures with respect to your banks and financial institutions.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20140828-fbi-investigating-hacking-attack-on-jpmorgan-chase-other-banks.ece.  I don't expect any help from the government on this.

Smartphone battery saving tips

While I'm on Kim Komando, her web site has some excellent tips on saving power on your smartphone, especially if it is at the "low point" and you need to use your phone.  The web page is:

http://videos.komando.com/watch/5241/kims-reports-3-ways-to-squeeze-more-life-from-a-dying-smartphone-battery?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=tvkim&utm_content=2014-08-23-article-screen-shot-d

This page has a series of videos on the subject.

Something I noticed in these videos is that Kim doesn't cover the Droid phones as well as she does the iphones.

One simple trick I've discovered on those Droid phones that have three symbols along the bottom of the phone (outside the screen area), left to right: counterclockwise arrow, then a kinda house symbol for return to home screen, and finally, on the right, two rectangles, one in front of the other.
That last one, the rectangles, shows you all your running apps.  I use that a lot now.  I use it to stop all the apps I'm not using.  Put your finger on the app and flick it to the right.  App gone.  An easy way to get more life.

Note that the GPS using apps, such as navigation and "track" use a lot of power. As, much as possible, make sure you don't have your screen on when using these.  Set your phone out, don't put it in an enclosed place.  (When riding a bike and using "track" to keep track of progress and location, put it in a breathable pocket on your jersey.)

Also, I rely on Google Maps and Track when I am biking in the wilderness.  It's a safety feature and it works most all the time, even here in the mountains.  So, I carry an external battery pack backup, just in case.  When the battery gets low on my phone, I plug the backup battery into my phone for extra hours of "up-time."

Travel Tips: Using Credit Cards, Getting Cash Best Practices

Kim Komando, "America's Digital Goddess" used to be on a local radio station for 3 hours every weekend.  I don't think she has an outlet in our area any more?  (Let me know if you have have heard her on one of the local radio stations.)  I keep up with her through the her daily newsletters.  There is a superb article on her website regarding all things credit and cash regarding making reservation for travel and making the trip.  I urge you to read what she has to say:

http://www.komando.com/tips/267847/credit-cards-best-for-travel-and-money-saving-exchange-tips

Follow the other links in this article for a good summary of best practices for all aspects of travel.  If she has left something out, send a comment to me using the comment box below and I will review and perhaps add it to this post.  

Have You Got eMails from "Turkey" or other country The Forensics: This is how it is done.

I have put together a PDF document that is the forensics investigation of an actual case.  You will see the details on what caused it and where it leads.  .  Because it has specifics on companies and people involved in this scam, I have put it in a PDF file.  (No identification of the victim, just the perps.)  You will need to request access to this document by sending an email to me.  Everyone should read this so you won't get hit by this (as a sender of the fishing attack).

Continued phone scams... 606-755-0236... how to handle these and how to handle junk mailers

I received a phone call from the subject number today. I immediately went to the 800notes website and typed the number in the field on the home page. I got this: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-606-755-0236.  You can read all about it.  Please excuse me for the swearing on that page.  It still provided the information you need.

The following site has assorted tips on how to handle both phone scammers and land mail spammers:  http://www.yourhomenow.com/sit.html.  This web page, written by Greg Molenaar,describes how to put a SIT (Special Information Tone) tone on the front of your voice message to cause telemarketers and robocallers to think your phone is out of service.  (You've heard this tone sequence before.)  He doesn't really say how to put the tone in front of your voicemail message, so the way to do it is to sit in front of your computer with your browser on that web page.  (As another option, you could download the wav file.) Start your phone message recorder.  Click on the sound with your phone close to your computer's speakers, which will play and be recorded, and then continue with your message.  You'll have to be the judge of whether or not these beeps are an aggravation to "friendly" calls.

Greg also has some great ideas about how to handle junk mailers.  Read the article.

HOAX: Dangerous: Notice to appear in court; Green Winick

The following looks very official, but it is dangerous malware:

You can google "Green Winick" or "Notice to appear in court" for more information.  One link is:  http://www.onlinethreatalerts.com/article/2014/7/10/virus-email-message-green-winick-attorneys-at-law-notice-to-appear-in-court/

"System Image" Question

Question:  Is it a good idea to back up the Windows 8 Program files and Program Data?  Or do we have that pretty well covered in the system image?

Answer:  That should be in the System Image. You can google "what is in the Windows 8 system image" and you will get lots of hits.  Here is one:  http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-81-tip-use-system-image-backup.  The image you create is "frozen" in time.  So if you add new programs, download updates, etc., those will not be in the image.  But it is better than having to start from scratch with a Windows installation disk or .iso file.  Also, you may have included all your own "user" files, such as documents and pictures.  Those will be restored too, to that moment in time.  So it is best to have a continuous cloud or off computer backup of all your own files.  You'll have to reload all your files from the backup after deleting those that came with the system image restoration.