Category: Privacy

Reynolds Wrap

Posted on by Gail Eddy in Privacy, SmartPhones, Tips

We’re not sure if we should file this under “scary” or “”weird coincidence”.

On Saturday Chris noticed that we were out of aluminum foil.  We had a long conversation about it, revolving around his mom.

When she moved out to Colorado to live with us in 2001 she moved almost her whole house with the exception of some furniture.  And she LOVED the deals at Costco!  So, yes, her closets were full of supersized cases of paper dinner napkins, paper plates, plastic cups, laundry detergent, plastic wrap, AND aluminum foil.  She insisted that she would still be needing all that, so we moved everything across the country from Long Island.  I’ve slowly given much of the party goods away, although we still have a ton of plastic forks, but we always seemed to have a never ending supply of aluminum foil and plastic wrap.

When I went to get another roll from the garage, I noticed we were all out!  We joked about not having any more foil from the Pathmark in Massapequa.

An hour later I was looking for something on Amazon and an ad for Reynolds Wrap was prominently displayed.  Huh?!  When was the last time you saw an add for Reynolds Wrap on your screen?

Reynolds-Wrap
Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil, 200 Sq Ft

A year or so ago, I might have said it was just a strange coincidence.  Today, I’m not so sure.

With all of the SmartPhones in the room at the time, one of them was bound to be listening.

There are two apps that I know of that could be listening.  One, “Hey Siri”, had been turned off.  The other, “OK Google”, I wasn’t sure about.  Do you have these running in the background on your phone?  Here’s how to turn them off:

Hey Siri is only available on the iPhone.

  1. Click on “Settings”
  2. Click on “General”
  3. Click on “Siri”
  4. Slide the green button next to “Allow ‘Hey Siri'” to turn it off

“OK Google” is available within the Google app on your SmartPhone.  There are subtle differences in the instructions depending on whether you have an Android, iPhone, or Windows, but these are essentially the same steps each time.

  1. Open the Google App
  2. In the top left corner of the home screen, touch your photo
  3. Touch Voice Search
  4. Slide all of the blue buttons to the left to turn it off.  (You can still speak your request to the Google app, but will need to tap the microphone icon first.)
  5. Touch Done to Save

What are your thoughts about surveillance?  How do you protect your privacy?  Let me know your favorites in the comments below!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Staying Safe on Social Media

Posted on by Gail Eddy in Privacy, Security, Social Media, Tips

Social Media, whether you’re using Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any of the other sites, allows you to easily connect with friends and keep up-to-date on what is going on in your life. It sometimes seems very intimate and you feel safe sharing the details of your life with all 473 of your closest friends. DON’T! Social Media is a very public way of communicating. There’s nothing intimate about it!

  • Remember to set your privacy settings to an appropriate level for each post. If there’s no personal information, set it to “Public”. Otherwise, set it to “Friends Only”, or “Family only”. Remember to use the “Acquaintance” setting for people that are not close friends. Spend some time to set up groups of people so that you can target your posts to specific people only.
  • If you’re leaving home on vacation or only for a weekend, make sure you have someone checking on your home. If you don’t have someone monitoring your home, then don’t post anything on social media which could indicate that you are away from home for an extended period of time. (You can post all of your photos when you get back!)
  • Never respond to anonymous requests via social media. I have a friend who asked me how to respond to a private message she received on Facebook. The message was from a young man who thought her profile picture was beautiful and he wanted to get to know her better. I get messages like that on Twitter and Pinterest too. Here are examples of some messages I’ve received – If you ever get messages like this, click the spam button or report the sender:
    • “Hello, I am Abyan, I like you to contact me in my Email”
    • “Hi pretty, it’s good to come across a beautiful woman like you here, you are beautiful and elegant , I like you and I would like to get acquainted with you.Get in touch so that we can commence communication”
    • “OMG your in this http://facebook.com/2742803?EpicFailVideox … LMFAO”

Have you encountered any scams with Social Media?  Please share them in the comments below and let others know what to watch out for!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report on what to look for to protect yourself from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.