So all parents cherish a child’s first…first steps, first words, first day of kindergarten, first scam. Wait…first what?! Yes, a six year old child scammed Amazon. Six year old vs Amazon: cute or warning sign?
So let me explain. For her sixth birthday, her mom let little Caitlyn order a Barbie doll from her mother’s account. She did. But this was when mommy was watching. However, she asked her mom could she look and track the Barbie’s package. This is when Caitlyn found the ‘add the cart’ button. Not only did she find it, but she used it. And she used it a lot.
Because the next day, one box didn’t arrive at their Utah house. Several of them did. In fact, imagine the shock on mom’s face when she saw several boxes on her stoop. The total came out to $350. The content not only included the Barbie, but other toys and video games. Caitlyn’s older cousin, Ria, posted a picture of the child posing with a smirk on her face and crossed arms on Twitter. Ria talked about how her cousin bought over $300 worth of toys without her parents finding out. So what happened to Caitlyn? According to Ria, she wasn’t punished, but they returned all the toys Caitlyn ordered except for the Barbie.
Caitlyn’s episode isn’t a unique one. I’m reading several incidents on Twitter where kids are using the easy add to cart and pay buttons to buy to the max. This is a huge flaw for the world’s largest IT service company. In our Boston computer service shop, while searching for a part for a computer repair job, I accidentally pressed the purchase button for the wrong part. Luckily, I was able to correct the issue. But what if a professional adult scammer sees this and goes to town with your credit/debit card Amazon already has on file? Six year old vs Amazon: Cute or warning sign? If it is a warning sign, then what should we do about it?
It’s four days until Christmas. But you don’t know to get that person on your list. However, you do know you’re not getting anybody that $1,000 iPhone X. At least I hope not. But here are last minute holiday tech gifts: for 2017.
One of the biggest IT support gadget crazes this year is the voice assistant. And if you think it’s too expensive, then Google and Amazon can help your dilemma. Because both Google Home Mini and Amazon Echo Dot go for as little as $30. However, if you must get an expensive smart phone this year, help then keep it safe and clean. You can do that with an Speck case for as little as $20.
Now this next one is a little controversial for my taste. I say that because it’s a tracker. But it isn’t to track people…necessarily. Trackers like Tile Mate helps that person who is always misplacing stuff, like keys, wallet, phone, etc… (hey, don’t look at me…okay who are we kidding…I’m guilty as sin with this one!). This Bluetooth tracker will help you find where it is. It can even do it on silent mode. This is really helpful if you’re in the movies, church, or business meeting.
And I can’t talk about gift giving without talking about entertainment gifts. There are gift cards for Apple, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, and even Comixology. Because even in our computer service shop, there is somebody who can’t get enough comic books. Let’s face it…wherever there are computer geeks, there are those who can’t get enough comics. These are just a handful of ideas that I came across. And guess what the cool thing is? You can get these gifts for well under $50. Think about it. That’s less than 5% of that dreaded thing you were about to get somebody. Plus, is there anybody even worth a $1,000 iPhone? What are your last minute holiday tech gifts?
As you know, Congress helped kill online privacy. So this means ISP’s (Internet service providers) can share their customer’s history with whoever and whenever. But one Congressman blew everyone away. This Wisconsin representative says we don’t need Internet.
The Wisconsin Representative’s name is Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). So there was a town meeting. The ISP issue comes up. One man argued ISP companies should be face stricter rules protecting privacy. But nobody will forget the Congressman’s reply. He stated, “Nobody’s got to use the Internet.” Then, he went on to praise ISP’s for their universal service. He also seems to believe selling and trading our information makes it easier for advertisers.
But Rep. Sesenbrenner didn’t stop. On Twitter, ?his office tweeted, “He said nobody had to use the Internet. They had a choice.” But what about ISP’s tracking and using and even abusing their your data? He was quiet about that one. But at least we had some protection before this. ?They couldn’t exactly run wild with our data. The ISPs need some consent before trading our information like stocks on the NYSE. But earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a bill that repealed this law. So here is the real surprise. This repeal had the backing of Democrats and Republicans.
But I’m still stuck in this, “Nobody’s got to use the Internet” comment. I would like to see this Wisconsin Representative go 30 days without using the Internet. Let’s see how fast Rep. Sensenbrenner changes his tune. In our Boston computer service shop, and in every IT service company in the world, we know how critical the Internet is. In the 1990s, it might have been a luxury. But now, it’s a necessity for survival. Can you imagine if an EMP took out the Internet and other technology? It would be like something out of an apocalypse movie. Do you think you can go without the Internet for 30 days?
How many remember the TV show Chuck from the late 2000s and early 2010s? It was about a consumer servicing man who was an undercover agent. But computer repair company Geek Squad allegedly has undercover agents, too. Geek Squad: Are you spying on us?
So here is the story. Tech news website Techdirt?tweeted on this subject. Consequently, they say the FBI paid Geek Squad technicians. Their mission: to investigate crime on their customers. Techdirt isn’t the only one talking about Geek Squad. Tech journalist Zack Whittaker also claimed their Geek Squad technicians got FBI rewards for spy activity. It’s not much though. At best, the reward is $500. That sounds like a cheap amount for an informant, doesn’t it?
But wait…there’s more. Hence, these undercover techs caught some real criminals. In California, an Orange County doctor brought his computer in. The Geek Squad tech found child pornography on it. But this tech was an FBI informant. He reported the doctor. In November 2014, the law indicted the doctor on two counts of child pornography. So there is some good here. But are they crossing legal boundaries? Furthermore, just how cozy is this private tech company with the FBI?
Well, according to Whittaker’s tweets, very cozy. The relationship goes back to 2007. From what I’m reading, being informants is about the only thing Geek Squad has going for them. Don’t take my word for it. In our computer service shop, we served some of their dissatisfied customers. But I digress. I’m glad they caught the doctor. But that’s just one case out of thousands. I’m sure there are thousands of innocent people that are getting spied on. These people did nothing to deserve this treatment. I believe this is a violation of our Fourth Amendment. You see, there has to be probable cause to search and seize somebody. Simply bringing a messed up computer in a shop is hardly probable cause for anything! Once again, too many people are having their privacy trifled by the government and corporate America. Are they going too far?
Let’s talk about the emoji. They’re everywhere: Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, all other social media. You may think you’re sending a smiling, loving, or funny emoji. But some studies are saying that emoji could be easily misinterpreted.
A study was done at a GroupLens lab through the University of Minnesota. They observed the Emoji ‘Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes’. This one differs, depending what app and what device you use. The version of this particular emoji on Samsung Galaxy looks happier than it does on Facebook or Apple, but they’re still the same emoji. This causes confusion of how the grinning emoji is interpreted. Samsung Galaxy users, for the most part, thought the ‘Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes’ emoji sent positive vibes. Apple and Facebook Messenger users thought this same emoji produced either negative or creepy vibes. If that wasn’t confusing enough, a good percentage of iPhone users thought this was a positive emoji. So there’s confusion even among Apple users. And what about the more neutral emoji? The rain emoji could tell someone it’s raining in their town, or it send the message that you’re very sad. The eggplant emoji could tell someone you’re eating healthy or encouraging someone to eat healthy. Or you could be sending someone an insult about their weight or health.
My advice before you send an emoji: Know your audience. This study proves that. Not only know your audience, know the device you’re sending your emoji from. What might be funny to one person might be offensive to another person, especially in this highly offensive politically correct environment we’re in now. What might mean happiness to another person might mean doom and gloom to another. How often do you use the emoji in your life? What message do you convey? Which ones are the easiest? Which ones are the most confusing?
Another April Fools Day has come and gone. The tech world did it’s part. Let’s look at some of the most memorable April fools’ pranks of 2016.
Let’s start with Google. Over the years, the Internet giant has given us some of the most memorable pranks ever! This year, not so much. They came up with the GMail Mic Drop. They advertised this as a way to have the last word to reply emails. Once you send the response, you’ll never have the conversation again. The result was email chaos. Gmail users started sending Mic Drops into business emails. It even had a bug that sent the Mic Drop even when people weren’t trying to. Google had to disable mic drop because the joke caused more headaches than laughter. Think Geek took advantage of the virtual reality craze. They came up with a supposedly VR device, but all it really did was tickle you and spray you with water. In your face, VR fans! Apple music had their fun with music icon Taylor Swift and the beef they had. She downloads music while on her treadmill, begins her workout, falls down, and continues rapping to the music. But my favorite was by online language learning institute Duolingo. They offered a fake promotion of a pillow guaranteed to make you fluent in a language overnight. I hope nobody actually tried to buy such a pillow.
There were many other gimmicks, pranks and commercials that celebrated the day. So this year’s pranks weren’t as legendary as years past, but it?was good to still see people participate. There were some pretty good You Tube videos that got into the April Fools spirit. Google tried this year. But their main prank backfired. That’s the way it goes sometimes. What was your favorite tech based April Fools joke this year?
