Reports of hidden cameras in Airbnb and condo rentals as well as the occasional hotel room. As you get ready for your summer vacation, here’s how to discover hidden cameras before you change into your swimsuit.
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Episode 43 Father’s Day Gadget Gifts
I called this episode 42 the entire time. l
Father’s Day is June 17th, do you know what you’re getting dad yet? Tech gadgets have been popular gifts for fathers since the 1960s and they’re even more popular now. If you’re looking for some of the newest and coolest gifts for your dad here are a few of my favorites. [Read more…] about Episode 43 Father’s Day Gadget Gifts
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Episode 42 Should You Make a Smart TV Dumb
Smart TVs are about all you can find these days in the stores, but if you have privacy concerns you’ll likely want to turn some of the features off. Can you actually turn a smart TV into a dumb one?
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Episode 41: Yes, Your phone does die in the summer
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Episode 40 DNA Kits and You. How a 4th Cousin puts your genetic data at risk
I talk with Tiffany Li, a lawyer, and fellow at Yale University about those DNA family ancestry kits and how police used a database to catch a killer.
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Episode 39 Is Amazon Prime Still a Good Deal
Try to wrap your head around this: There are over 100 million subscribers to Amazon’s Prime membership and the company is increasing the annual price by $20. The math says that’s a $2 billion increase in Amazon’s revenue. [Read more…] about Episode 39 Is Amazon Prime Still a Good Deal
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strangers unlocking your phone with Siri
So you find an iPhone that someone has left behind at a coffee shop or restaurant. They’re nowhere around. Without even touching the phone, Siri will tell you who owns it. And a little more information. I went out to see what Siri would tell me.
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May 9, 2018 Episode 37 Working Remotely and Side Hustles
This is a departure from the usual topic of What the Tech? but I was thinking today about the pros and cons of working remotely. Technology makes it very easy for many people to work from wherever they want to be. All you need is a laptop and internet connection and many people can do everything they do in the office.
In this podcast, I talk about working remotely, which I have for the past 14 years. How to weigh the freedom and more time with being all alone for 8 hours a day. Do you have a dream of starting your own business? Do you want to leave the corporate job to work for yourself?
Here are some of the things I’ve discovered in the decade-plus of working solo. Plus a little background on how I got here.
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Facebook’s Sharing Problem
Facebook’s sharing problem is not the only thing to worry about. We have a problem too.
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Episode 31: More Spammy Android Apps you should delete
Pop-up ads on a smartphone are THE WORST! Google has just removed several QR Code reading apps for launching a barrage of pop-up ads on the smartphones that installed them. The offending apps were identified by Sophos Security.
Sophos discovered then reported the apps to Google but not before some of them were downloaded over 500,000 times. The apps include readers and scanners released by VIP Boy, TDT App Team, VN Studio 2018 and smart.sapone.
Sophos reports the apps would lie quietly for a while, not taking any action after it was installed, but later would paste numerous spammy ads on the screen.
QR Code readers and scanners use the smartphone’s camera to read a special bar code that will open webpages or download images. These are quite popular in both the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
Sophos said in addition to sending pop-ups, some of the apps would send notifications, including clickable links.
I can’t think of a reason anyone would want or need to download an app from a company they’ve never heard of to scan QR or barcodes or to use the phone as a compass or flashlight because most phones today have those features built in. Google also has its own code reader Google Goggles that will also detect photos and objects and send related information about them.
Android device owners should pay attention to fake or malware-infected apps in the Google Play Store. While Google says it reviews apps before placing them in the Play Store it has run into problems with bad apps several times in the past. Over 2017 Google had removed over 700,000 bad apps for privacy or malware concerns.
The problem with bad apps is not exclusive to Android and the Google Play Store. Apple has had to remove bad or spammy apps but not nearly to the degree they’ve plagued Google.
If you are an Android device user, it’s a good idea to install mobile security. Sophos has its own software for Android devices. Once installed, Sophos Mobile Security will scan the phone’s storage, looking for apps that may spread or install malware or steal information from the user. If it detects a threat it prompts the user to delete the app.
It is also a good idea to only download Android apps from the Google Play Store. Although it does not catch every bad app before it appears in the store it is much safer than downloading apps from other websites or emailed links.
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