Alleged Any Desk Application Scam

Alleged Any Desk Application Scam

Comments 0 Comment

Alleged Any Desk Application Scam

 

July 2, 2021 I get a call from 667-203-6635 (11:35 am Pacific Time). and the man at the other end of the call claims to be working for Amazon security. He asked me if I just purchased an iPhone for $729?  I replied no. That person then said that one of my electronic devices was compromised to make this purchase.  He warned me not to use my cell phone in any location where I need to use public WiFi.  He then told me that Amazon needs to gain access to my computer using a special software so they could rid my computer of the bad software being used to make these purchases.  (My wording is not exact.  I only try to convey the proper movement of the conversation.)  I am then instructed to use Safari and go to the web site “https://anydesk.com/en” and click on “download now”.  I follow the instructions which get to be a bit complicated because I have to open the Apple System Preferences and then Security & Privacy to allow their software to gain control of my computer.   A second person, a supervisor, needs to take over the phone instructions because the first person can not get “anydesk” to load properly.  I am a bit suspicious because the two men that I have conversations with have deep foreign accents.  I find the time to walk over to my wife who is at her desk and ask her to check on Amazon using the software “anydesk.com” on her computer.   She did a search and found that this software is used to scam.  She can not find that Amazon uses this method to solve issues.  I hang up and delete the anydesk software.  I then go into my bank account to see if there was any recent payment to Amazon for $729 for the alleged cell phone.  There was no Amazon payments which also proved that this was a scam.  I then filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission Fraud web page.

I keep getting return phone calls.  This is my list of phone numbers:

  • #2:  855-658-6637. Date:  7/2/2021. Time:  12:31 pm Pacific Time
  • #3:  279-657-6632. Date:  7/2/2021. Time:  1:04 pm Pacific Time
  • #4:  805-637-7243. Date:  7/3/2021. Time:  7:51 am Pacific Time

I then ran a virus scan on my computers and then a malware scan.

NOTE:  Any Desk is a very good legitimate software that is allegedly being used for illegal use by bad people.  Please do NOT diminish the value of this software just because it may be used for incorrect purpose.  App Store gives this a 4.7/5 score which is pretty good.

 

 

Posted July 2, 2021
Revised H1 July 11, 2022

Hard Drive For Lightroom

Hard Drive For Lightroom

Comments 0 Comment

My daughter asked us to find still photographs of a friend of hers.  I came to realize that I had digital photographs spread around in a lot of devices.  I have a very large collection of hard drives, USB finger drives, old cell phones, etc.  I also realized that I had taken lot of super 8 movies and DVD movies.  It stands to reason that all this effort would be lost if I could not devise a method for passing these treasures on to my children.  I already had subscribed to the Adobe suite of products and in that package is Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom.  I wanted a solid state hard drive to store the sill images and a larger SSD to store the movies.  While I was at a local computer store buying a bluetooth headset I mentioned to the salesman that I also needed a really good SSD drive.  I wanted a 2TB and my son recommended that I get a Samsung.  The salesman took a look at his stock on hand and recommended the Samsung 2TB SSD T5.  I purchased it because he showed me the Internet reviews that gave this drive a really high score.  But, at home trying to get this drive to work with my Macintosh laptop running Big Sur Version 11.4 the drive really showed problems.

Good:

  • Very small.  I was shocked to see a 2 TB so tiny!
  • Comes with two USB cables.  The first cable is your normal USB interconnection to your computer.  I think the second cable can be used to interface with your cell phone, not sure.

Bad:

  • The drive worked with the format but I changed the  installed format to Mac OS Extended.  Then the drive failed to work.  I spent days trying to get the drive to work with any format but it appeared to be lost.  I returned the drive to the store and got my money back.
  • The management software was awful because I could not remove it’s desktop window and that application window took up a lot of space.

Caution Note:  Some hard drives offer security protection such as password or even finger print to gain access to the drive contents.  I reasoned that I had no reason to protect our photographs.  More importantly, I do NOT want to impede any family member from opening the hard drive for any reason!  The whole idea is to share the contents.  

I researched for a while why the Samsung SSD T5 would not work and found a number of Internet reports that blamed the new Macintosh operating system Big Sur. 

I then knew that I had to find a SSD that would run on a Mac.  I finally decided upon two possibilities after hours of  Internet research.  Here is my favorite review:

https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/best-ssd-mac-3600870/

  • LaCie
  • SanDisk Extreme

I could not find any LaCie selling for a low price.  I finally found that COSTCO was selling the 1 TB SSD at a local COSTCO store and I rushed over and picked up their last one.  It took three store staff about one hour to find it because it was placed in a rather obscure location (being the last one).  This SanDisk is no longer being supplied in the local stores, I was told. But, COSTCO was selling the SanDisk Extreme 2TB SSD from their web site.  I also purchased that one to store my movies.  Both of those hard drives were being sold at significant discounts.

As soon as I connected the SanDisk 1 TB SSD to my laptop I formatted it for Mac OS Extended and it has worked perfectly.  Also, I do not see any annoying SanDisk computer screen application appear.  The hard drive just works.  The 1 TB drive came with a carabiner clip.

 

Note that the cable that comes with the SanDisk appears to have the same connectors at both ends.  That is NOT the case.  One end has very small tabs. This end needs to be inserted into the USB adapter as shown in the image below.

 

 

I then discovered hard shell cases for the SanDisk SSD.  I purchased one for each SSD.  

 

 

Put up July 1, 2021

Consider Sending Your Library This Message

Consider Sending Your Library This Message

Comments 0 Comment
Library Board of Trustees, 
I heard a report that it is the policy of the city library that only books that are purchased as new will be placed on the library shelves for check out.  
 
I heard that books that are being received as donations and appear to look to be in excellent condition are NOT put into the library official check out stock.   
 
I also heard that there is an application that anyone can install on their cell phone that allows the user to scan any book to reveal it’s probable value. “You can create a full-time income by buying things like used books locally and listing them for a profit on Amazon and other online marketplaces.”  https://fbafaq.com/best-book-scanner-app/.   
 
 I also heard that some libraries may have diminished book offerings when compared to prior years.  “ Tim Coates warns that U.S. public library usage statistics show a steep decline—and he suggests that library leaders must do more to address the trend.”
 
Posted June 15, 2021
USA Slow Slide Toward Autocracy

USA Slow Slide Toward Autocracy

Comments 0 Comment

The Republican Party 

The Republican Party is now the party of white US citizens feeling threatened by the increase in minority numbers and power.   Some Republican politicians, it is reported, say they are even afraid for their lives if they fail to show allegiance for Donald Trump.  Some GOP congressmen and women can no longer do what they may think is correct to protect our democracy but rather make their constituents happy working toward the betterment of the white race.  For many, the GOP is now the party of white racism.

The Republican Party agenda is as follows:

  • Protect business interests as payback for their dark money income.
  • Keep business taxes low as payback for receiving dark money income.
  • Protect their personal dark money gains from being revealed.
  • Work toward revising state voting laws to cheat instead of compete in all future elections.
  • Work toward making President Biden fail so the do nothing GOP looks better to the American public. 

The Democratic Party

Is now the party that claims it wants to do the following; 

  • Building an economy that lifts up all Americans, not just those at the top.
  • Equal pay
  • Job creation
  • Health care
  • Education
  • Clean energy
  • Civil rights
  • Immigration reform
  • National security
  • Voting rights
  • The Democratic Party also receives a lot of dark money.

The Supreme Court

The “Supreme” Court made a series of decisions that created an awful environment for the US Democracy to survive.  They have failed to uphold what was written in the US Constitution and understand that document provided an outline for all of us to follow which is to form and keep this country a well running Democracy.  A Democracy needs constant attention toward the details of how it should run to best allow it to run better for the people it was designed to function for as a governing body and method.  Our country, at times, may need changes in how it operates to improve our form of Democracy.  But, over time, the “Supreme” Court has failed it’s stated and implied mission to protect this nation.  Here are some examples:

The Supreme Court’s decision in Buckley v. Valeo (1976) a majority of justices held that limits on election spending in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 § 608 are unconstitutional.  In other words, any single rich person can buy a congress person.  This builds a plutocracy class that holds sway over this government.  Each citizens vote is not equal.  People with money have taken away your voice and control over what takes place in the government seats of power.  The concept of equal rights is not recognized by the “Supreme” Court.  The “Supreme” Court had diminished the individual citizen’s power.

Another Supreme Court decision, First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti, 435 U.S. 765, is a U.S. constitutional law case which defined the free speech right of corporations which held that corporations have a First Amendment right to make contributions to ballot initiative campaigns.  So large corporations can use their money to buy election results.  What is obviously wrong with this is that corporations have way more power than the single voter does.   A voter that realizes that his or her vote is now diminished may feel not to vote.

The “Supreme” Court Citizens United decision struck down as unconstitutional a federal law prohibiting corporations and unions from making expenditures in connection with federal elections thus allowing the plutocracy class to control our form of government to a varying degree by allowing their dark money to buy politicians.  The politicians then serve the plutocracy and not the Democracy.  The plutocrats are interested in their own separate ambitions and needs apart from the interests of the general population of citizens.  This is dangerous because the wish of the people has become diminished.  

 

Voting for Citizens United:

  • Kennedy 
  • John G. Roberts
  • Samuel Alito
  • Antonin Scalia
  • Clarence Thomas

Current “Supreme” Court members who voted for Citizens United, and still serving, should be forced to resign by the American voting public.

Dissenting (the good members):

  • John P. Stevens
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg
  • Stephen Breyer
  • Sonia Sotomayor.

The current result from a lot of factors is that it seems that the United States is sliding toward an autocracy form of government as we have already witnessed with the rise of Donald Trump and the control Mitch McConnell and the white race has over the GOP.

 

 

Thom Hartmann on How the Democrats Should Fight Back

 

 

Please Support For the People Act.
“An Act to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.”

 

 

 

 

Published June 11, 2021
Revised June 15, 2021

Brinks Money Debit Card Is NOT Recommended

Brinks Money Debit Card Is NOT Recommended

Comments 0 Comment

June 6th 2021 while walking along a highway I found a Brinks Money Debit card laying on the ground.  I picked it up with the intent to return it to the owner.  After hours on a computer searching for phone numbers for Brinks, and they have quite a few, I discovered that there fails to be, in my opinion, any live person to talk to.   I tried all the phone numbers that I could find and every one has a rather long phone tree with a lot of branches that end without being able to talk to anyone about this problem.   I have spent way too many hours trying to research who owns this card with NO help from Brinks.

I do NOT recommend anyone using Brinks services or products because they seem to fail to offer the service I require, a live human being, to talk to.

I have tried Internet searches but no positive results.

Currently, I have contacted a local police department but after 4 calls to the records and front desk, they fail to respond to their calls.

HOURS SPENT ON THIS ISSUE SO FAR:   Approximately 5 hours.  (This will be updated after each effort.)

June 15, 2021, I called my local university police department and asked if they could find the person who’s name is printed on the debit card.  They told me they only have records for people who have commited a crime but they would check.  I waited a few minutes for the person to check their data base.  The lady came back saying they could not see any solution.

June 16, 2021 I took the debit card to the police department that had jurisdiction for the location that we found the debit card.  They took possession of the card and said they would try to research who owns the card.  I asked for a police report be sent to me as to what they found out.

If this card was from a more modern bank or credit union, I would have found the owner of the card rather quickly.

 

Posted 6/7/2021
Updated 6/16/2021

Apple Airpod Pro Review

Apple Airpod Pro Review

Comments 0 Comment

Apple Earbuds Pro

 

Years ago I purchased wireless bluetooth Apple headsets and they seemed to work fine until March 2021.  Then, the batteries within the earbuds failed.  I went out and purchased the new Apple Airpod Pro paying close to $200 before tax.  I have been disappointed with this purchase for the following reasons:

  • My main complaint is that the audio level has diminished.  They provide a much lower volume than the older version of Apple bluetooth headsets.  I use an Android LG-V30 cell phone and have tried to increase volume settings but nothing works.  I did discover that if I tap on the left earpiece the volume seems to go up a tiny bit.  I walk outside along roadways and the traffic noise easily drowns out the audio I am listening to.   I find that I have to plug in corded headsets to properly listen to my cell phone applications.  With the cord headsets my cell phone allows me to increase volume.  This option fails to show when I am using the Apple Airpod Pro.
  • A constant problem is that the audio frequently fails to arrive at both ear pieces at the same time.  I get sort of an echo type of effect.  My solution is to switch out of one audio playback application and enter another different application which frequently results in synchronized audio.  I then switch back to the audio application I wish to listen to and for a while it plays properly.  The best solution is to, again, use wired headsets.
  • I tried to make a phone call using the Apple Earpod Pro but the party that I called immediately complained that he could not properly hear me.  I think he said that my audio was distorted.  I told him that I would call him back.  I removed the Earpods and used the phone microphone and speaker to make a second call to the party I wanted to reach and the person at the other end said the audio was now perfect.
  • The changeable ear piece fittings, of which there are three, is a possible improvement maybe for some people.   They are a bit difficult to unplug and attach, in my opinion.  I have yet to find one of the three ear gaskets that keeps the device in my ear without falling out.

The Good: 

  • The connectivity between this unit and my cell phone has really improved over the prior Apple wireless model.
  • Audio quality is very good.
  • Pairing between the headsets and the audio source is good.

The Bad:

  • Low apparent maximum audio level.
  • Audio fails to reach both headsets at the same time, occurs frequently.
  • Possible distortion in my microphone audio when using with a cell phone to make a call.

 

Summary:  I do NOT recommend this product.  I have resorted to wearing my very old corded headset, which NEVER provides echo problems, never falls out of my ears, gives good audio output level, but the cord is a bit of a pain.  I really do think I wasted my money.

________________

My Solution:

Years ago I purchased a very expensive handheld ham radio.  It is a Kenwood TH-D74 costing over $800.  I discovered that one of its many features is that the user can connect a bluetooth headset to it so the user can listen and talk on the radio.  But, for years I could not find any bluetooth headset that showed to work with the radio until 2021.  One ham radio operator stated that he found three bluetooth headsets would work. I rushed out and purchased two of them and they do work.  My surprise was that the Plantronics Voyager 5200 was so good that it not only connected to my handheld ham radio but also to my Android cell phone. It could connect to BOTH!   This headset is perfect for me for the following reasons:

  • Perfect audio.  The audio level can be turned up.  When I walk along any highway the passing car noise is loud so I turn the volume up or down to my liking.  I also found out that if I hear a vehicle approaches from behind me on the road, I can take my hand and press the headset into my ear and the volume really goes up.
  • Quick charge.
  • Very nice controls.
  • Perfect voice commands.  This headset notifies you of any incoming call and asks you if you accept or deny the connection.
  • There is a very small switch that you need to flip when you use the headset or not.  When you turn the headset off and plug in the USB charge cable there is a very small blue light that shows you that the headset is charging.

 

Summary:  I am so happy that I purchased this headset.   It costs about half what Apple Airpod Pro costs.  The one slight deficiency is that you only get audio into one ear.  I find this slightly annoying.

 

 

Posted May 21, 2021
Revised:  July 1, 2021