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Technology for Normal People

A Podcast Talking tech like you talk

Episode 44 Airbnb, Hidden Cameras and Privacy

May 22, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: Privacy and Security Tagged With: airbnb, fake smoke detectors, hidden camera, how to find hidden cameras, spycam

Episode 43 Father’s Day Gadget Gifts

May 21, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

 

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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Filed Under: gift ideas Tagged With: cheap fathers day gifts, cheap gifts, fathers day 2018, fathers day gifts, gadget gift ideas, gift ideas, tech gadgets, tech gifts

Episode 42 Should You Make a Smart TV Dumb

May 17, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: Privacy and Security Tagged With: amazon, hulu, netflix, Smart televisions, smart tv, streaming

Episode 41: Yes, Your phone does die in the summer

May 16, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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Filed Under: How To's

Episode 40 DNA Kits and You. How a 4th Cousin puts your genetic data at risk

May 15, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: Privacy and Security Tagged With: 23andme, ancestry dna, ancestry.com, dna kits, golden state killer

Episode 39 Is Amazon Prime Still a Good Deal

May 14, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: saving money Tagged With: amazon prime, amazon prime membership, saving money

strangers unlocking your phone with Siri

May 10, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: How To's

May 9, 2018 Episode 37 Working Remotely and Side Hustles

May 9, 2018 by Jamey 1 Comment

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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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: entrepreneur, remote worker, the problem with working for yourself, working from home

Facebook’s Sharing Problem

March 30, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

Facebook’s sharing problem is not the only thing to worry about. We have a problem too.

Share List

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Filed Under: Privacy and Security

Episode 31: More Spammy Android Apps you should delete

March 27, 2018 by Jamey Leave a Comment

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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Filed Under: Apps, Privacy and Security

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