Category: Beliefs

Joe’s IT Rules

Post author By Joe White
Post date November 12, 2018

Do not call numbers that that appear in pop-ups warning your computer is infected/compromised/&c. It is a scam.
Do not believe web pages that say your computer is infected/compromised/slow and to download X now to fix. It is a scam.
Do not accept calls from Apple Support/Windows Support/Microsoft/IRS. It is a scam.
Do not call the first support number you find in a search. It is an ad.
Do not believe emails that say they have your password or phone number and video of you misbehaving, or that there is a bomb. It is a scam.
Do not believe emails that require you to enter your username and password to see an attachment. It is a scam.
Do not believe emails that say your account has been suspended. It is most likely a scam.
Do not click on Unsubscribe in a email in another language or advertising Viagra or from an outfit with whom you’ve never dealt. It will only get you on more spam lists.
Do not install Flash Player. It is a huge security risk
Do not install programs or extensions or add-ons from outside your platform’s official source unless you have a Very Good Reason and you know exactly what it does and trust the source you are clicking with all of your life’s information.
Do not trust sites that are missing the lock icon in the address bar.
Do not share anything in an email or chat that you wouldn’t want to see in the news or shared with your family, friends, and coworkers.
Do not repost something you haven’t verified. When you share a lie, you are the liar.
Do have a unique, strong password for every site.
Do use a password manager (Keychain, LastPass, Dashlane).
Do apply updates.
Do wait for the .1 release to do upgrades.
Do ask if you are unsure.

Will update from time to time.

Beliefs

The Day We Fight Back

Post author By Joe White
Post date February 9, 2014

I’ll be doing this. I hope you will, too.

DEAR USERS OF THE INTERNET,

In January 2012 we defeated the SOPA and PIPA censorship legislation with the largest Internet protest in history. Today we face another critical threat, one that again undermines the Internet and the notion that any of us live in a genuinely free society: mass surveillance.

In celebration of the win against SOPA and PIPA two years ago, and in memory of one of its leaders,Aaron Swartz, we are planning a day of protest against mass surveillance, to take place this February 11th.

Together we will push back against powers that seek to observe, collect, and analyze our every digital action. Together, we will make it clear that such behavior is not compatible with democratic governance. Together, if we persist, we will win this fight.

https://thedaywefightback.org

Beliefs

Keynes v Hayek Round 2

Post author By Joe White
Post date April 28, 2011

Beliefs

What a Joke

Post author By Joe White
Post date April 9, 2011

Don Boudreaux:

Suppose that in a mere three years your family’s spending – spending, mind you, not income – jumped from $80,000 to $101,600. You’re now understandably worried about the debt you’re piling up as a result of this 27 percent hike in spending.

So mom and dad, with much drama and angst and finger-pointing about each other’s irresponsibility and insensitivity, stage marathon sessions of dinner-table talks to solve the problem. They finally agree to reduce the family’s annual spending from $101,600 to $100,584.

For this 1 percent cut in their spending, mom and dad congratulate each other. And to emphasize that this spending cut shows that they are responsible stewards of the family’s assets, they approvingly quote Sen. Harry Reid, who was party to similar negotiations that concluded last night on Capitol Hill – negotiations in which Congress agreed to cut 1 percent from a budget that rose 27 percent in just three years. Said Sen. Reid: “Both sides have had to make tough choices. But tough choices is what this job’s all about.”

What a joke.

[From What a Joke]

Beliefs

gotta love xkcd: Nolan Chart

Post author By Joe White
Post date March 4, 2011

[From Nolan Chart]