Technology news, reviews, and how to keep your technology running fast and smooth!
QUESTION:
Name the first animated character to get their own postal stamp in 1997.
ANSWER:
Bugs Bunny was the first animated cartoon character to appear on a US postage stamp in 1997.
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In September of each year, the Winnipeg International Writers Festival welcomes writers from Canada and around the world for a week of readings, lectures, interviews, conversations, book launches, and other events. Their programming spills over into the off-season as well, allowing them to showcase special writers and performances at Winnipeg venues throughout the year. With programming for adults and children, in English and French, THIN AIR is an infusion of energy into the thriving literary culture of Winnipeg.
Technology by Design has fast response times, both phone and email.
I would recommend Technology by Design to others. We have found that having a tech person at easy reach has been very helpful.
Perry Grosshans, Winnipeg International Writers Festival
If you are a client of Technology by Design, and are happy with our products and/or services, let us know! Email: marketing@tbyd.ca
If you are a client of Technology by Design, and are NOT happy with our products and/or services, let us know! Email: empowering@tbyd.ca
Winnipeg Transition Centre offers employment counseling and assistance, as well as recruitment, and professional development courses. They have computers for the staff, as well as available for students.
Technology by Design has very friendly staff. The processes and troubleshooting are explained in layman’s terms (in other words, easy to understand language). TbyD is a one-stop shop that provides tech support, as well as hardware needs. Technology by Design offers good suggestions re: software needs, that we may not know about, and provide better efficiency for us.
We very much value our existing relationship with Technology by Design staff, and appreciate their honesty and integrity.
Absolutely I would recommend Technology by Design’s services to others. Their integrity, honesty and caring attitude is hard to find when it comes to IT support.
Tracey Ediger, Winnipeg Transition Centre
If you are a client of Technology by Design, and are happy with our products and/or services, let us know! Email: marketing@tbyd.ca
If you are a client of Technology by Design, and are NOT happy with our products and/or services, let us know! Email: empowering@tbyd.ca
Abbey Road Distribution Ltd. is a family-owned and operated Manitoba business, with more than 30 years experience in the fastening industry. They aspire to be the best player in the fastening industry, not simply the biggest. So you know their computers are important to them:
The staff at Technology by Design are easily reachable, there is low wait time for responses, and they speak in a way that is easily understandable (no ‘Tech Talk”).
We have had several IT companies over the years and Technology by Design is by far the best we’ve dealt with. We definitely would recommend Technology by Design to others.
Trista Stirling, Abbey Road Distribution Ltd.
If you are a client of Technology by Design, and are happy with our products and/or services, let us know! Email: marketing@tbyd.ca
If you are a client of Technology by Design, and are NOT happy with our products and/or services, let us know! Email: empowering@tbyd.ca
A two-minute SIM card hack could enable a hacker to listen your phone calls, send text messages from your phone number, and make mobile payments from your account.
The vulnerability was discovered by Karsten Nohl, the same German security researcher that created a tool to break the GSM encryption, which enabled anyone with a scanner and a laptop to listen in to cellphone calls. The system used to encrypt GSM calls was strengthened as a result.
This new vulnerability relates to the encryption system that is used on SIM cards. Nohl found that by sending a fake carrier message to a phone, in approximately 25% of cases the phone would reply with an error message that revealed the 56-bit security key for the SIM. A 2nd text message claiming to be a software update, and which the SIM card would accept because it used the encryption key, would then allow a virus to be installed which would allow the hacker wide-range control over the phone.
The system only works with SIM cards using an older ecryption method known as Data Encryption Standard (DES). Modern SIMs use stronger encryption methods, which cannot be hacked in the same way. The vulnerability is present in an estimated 750 million SIM cards – approximately 1 in 4 of all SIM cards. There is no way to tell which system your SIM uses.
Nohl has already provided details to mobile operators so they can address the vulnerability.
There a couple different variations of this scam out there.
1. An increasing number of websites that scrape existing, real mugshots out of public databases, and contact these people. Arrestees sometimes pay hundreds of dollars to have their mugshots removed from general search engines, due to embarrassment or fear that their friends, families and/or employers will find out. Sites like this are being sued for extortion in a lawsuit testing the bounds of the First Amendment, but in the meantime, they have victimized many people. An example can be seen at www.mugshots.com.
2. The second variation of this scam is even worse than the first. In this scam, people that haven’t even been arrested, are being targeted with an email that claims their mugshot is easy to find on the internet and if they want to see this embarrassing picture, “Click Here Now”. The link leads them to a legit site that has been compromised and infects their PC with a drive-by attack, laying down a Trojan on the hard disk, making the PC a zombie.
Remember to Think Before You Click!
Delete any emails that mention mugshots of anyone; themselves, friends, family, or co-workers!
Dear Geek,
I recently noticed that when I go to send emails from Outlook, my Facebook photo shows. I sometimes use this email account for my small business, and don’t want my picture showing. How can I stop the photo from showing in my emails.
Signed,
Seeking Anonymity
Dear Anonymous,
Outlook.com can link into some social media accounts, specifically Facebook and Twitter. Once connected, Outlook.com will use your profile picture from the social networking account to help people identify you in emails. Assuming that your Facebook privacy settings allow it, Microsoft allows Facebook users on Outlook.com to send you friend requests. Outlook.com strictly follows the Privacy controls on Facebook and Twitter to determine whether others will see your public social networking info in the ‘People’ pane.
If you would prefer to keep your public and private life separate – you can disallow Outlook.com to connect with your social networks. You can manually change the third-party network settings in Outlook. To do so: 1. Sign into your Outlook.com account. 2. Select “Settings” (gear icon in the upper right corner), and select “More Mail Settings”. 3. Scroll down to “Reading email” and select “Content From Third-party Networks”. 4. Under “Showing Public Content”, select “Don’t Show Public Content From Third-party Networks”.
If you want to alter your Facebook Privacy settings, you’ll need to log into Facebook and do the following: 1. Go to the “Privacy Settings” page. 2. Click “Edit Settings” (next to “How You Connect”). 3. Locate “Who Can Look You Up Using The Email Address Or Phone Number You Provided”. 4. Select “Friends Of Friends” (or just “Friends”), and click “Done”.
If you do the steps above, this should keep Outlook.com from accessing your Facebook or other information.
If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca. We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!
5 Fun Facts about the NSA leak in the US, mutant bugs, and Google hits a roadblock!
We also feature May’s trivia winner –
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Multiple-Choice Question:
$10/day $35/week $100/day $240/week
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Dear Geek,
My Windows 7 doesn’t have Hearts, nor Solitaire. I’ve tried to get it from people, the executable, but I click it and it doesn’t work. And yes, my Windows 7 is original.
Signed,
Heart-less
Dear Heartless,
In the “Start” menu search bar, type “Turn Windows features on or off”, then click the first result. A pop-up will appear, check the box next to the “Games” folder, then click “Ok”.
Now when you open the “Start” menu there should be a “Games” button in the right-hand column. There should be lots of games there, including your missing Hearts and Solitaire.
If you have a question for our Resident Geek, send it to: geek@tbyd.ca. We’ll translate it from Geek-lish to English, so it actually helps!
QUESTION:
How much was Judy Garland paid for The Wizard of Oz?
ANSWER:
Judy Garland was paid just $35 a week for The Wizard of Oz. Funny enough, the dog Toto received $125 a week.
Email your answer to: answer@tbyd.ca for your chance to win coffee & donuts delivered to your workplace!
PLUS, Your company will be featured in next month’s issue of TechTips, on our blog, and our Facebook page!
Your feature will reach over 2000 other people!