Newsletter Archives

• The death of a hard drive

  Posted on September 11, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I got a call. “Susan? Can you help me with my laptop? It won’t boot up, and it’s making a weird noise.”

  “Sure,” I said to the friend on the other end of the phone call.

  But when my friend brought the laptop and I turned it on, I went from feeling certain I would tame the tech (after all, it’s me) to knowing it wasn’t looking good and that I might not be able to help after all.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.37.0, 2023-09-11).

  On Security Backups, Data recovery, Data Recovery Services, Drive Failures, HDDs, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, SSDs

• The season of devices

  Posted on September 4, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  It’s the time of the year when PSLs hit the menu.

  What? You don’t know what PSL means? Of course you do, because Pumpkin Spice Lattes arrive at those coffee shops you find on nearly every street corner. You can’t miss them.

  As summertime fades into fall, it’s also the season of rumors about the new phones and tablets that will soon hit the headlines. And that means it’s time for me to take a hard look at all my devices in this category.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.36.0, 2023-09-04).

  On Security Android, Backups, Battery charging, Battery life, iOS, iPhone, Newsletters, Password managers, passwords, Patch Lady Posts

• My day on jury duty

  Posted on July 31, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The last time I was called upon to perform my fundamental American civic duty was years ago. It hasn’t changed much, except for technology.

  There were bar codes, large displays that broadcast PowerPoint slides, and a YouTube video that explained jury service. That video went so far as to explain who sat where in the courtroom. (I thought that was obvious, but apparently I have watched way too many Perry Mason episodes.)

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.31.0, 2023-07-31).

  On Security Android, iPhone, Lockdown Mode, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Routers, Travel, Wi-Fi

• Zero day in the cloud

  Posted on July 24, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  If you are a consumer, home user, small-business user, or even a medium-sized business user, today’s column may anger you — or at least cause you to mutter, “I told you so.”

  For those of you who work in large companies and government entities, your size allows you to complain more loudly than most. I hope you will, because the event I’m about to discuss, plus all our past and present complaints, should make all cloud vendors, especially Microsoft, take note.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.30.0, 2023-07-24).

  On Security Cloud, CVE-2023-32019, Email, Email security, Microsoft, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts

• Traveling with security

  Posted on July 10, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  With the past few terrible years behind us, more and more people are beginning to travel again.

  But modern traveling raises technology questions. What to take, how to connect securely to the Internet, and how to do it affordably? Those roaming charges can be expensive!

  Here are some tips for those returning to the road, along with a bit of travel advice.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.28.0, 2023-07-10).

  On Security Currency, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Travel, VPN

• Dealing with a data breach

  Posted on June 26, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Recently, the MOVEit system from Progress has been in the headlines, and not in a good way.

  MOVEit is used by many businesses and governments to transfer files. Those same entities are now sending out notifications that your personal information may have been stolen by attackers using a vulnerability discovered in MOVEit.

  Although the problem has now been patched, attackers had a window of opportunity for at least several days during which data was captured in the clear.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.26.0, 2023-06-26).

  On Security data breach, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, safety, security

• Email for the modern world

  Posted on June 12, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  When we go online, we begin with a basic tool that started us all on the technology journey years and years ago — an email address.

  Some people consider email addresses temporary, changing them often as they switch ISPs or other services. But others, perhaps a vast majority, consider them a matter of identity.

  Having dealt with clients, friends, and family for decades, I have some recommendations regarding the general use of an email address — including using it for authentication.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.24.0, 2023-06-12).

  On Security authentication, DKIM, Email, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts

• Is online banking secure?

  Posted on May 29, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Over the past few years, banks have been increasing their online footprint.

  From mobile banking with cell phones to remote depositing with check scanners, banking has drastically changed. Some of the changes are forced on us due to the changing hours of operation at our local banks, but some of the changes enhance our ability to get our funds where we want them to be.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).

  On Security Banking, Credit cards, Debit cards, Newsletters, Online Banking, Patch Lady Posts, Payment Processing

• Is Secure Boot important for security?

  Posted on May 22, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  During the last few months, some chinks have appeared in Secure Boot’s armor as the result of various attacks and vulnerabilities.

  Let’s go back in history and understand how we got here.

  When a computer boots up, and before the operating system is launched, other code runs. For many years, that was the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) pioneered by IBM in the original IBM PC. Unfortunately, inventive attackers found ways to permanently install malicious code as part of this launch sequence.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.21.0, 2023-05-22).

  On Security IPSec, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Secure Boot, VPN

• Planning for the final digital divide

  Posted on May 8, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy in 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote a phrase that has often been repeated ever since.

  Most of us don’t realize that his comment started with a mention of the recently signed U.S. Constitution, but instead remember only the final part of his saying.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.19.0, 2023-05-08).

  On Security Credentials, Death, Digital assets, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Personal Media, Taxes

• The problem with local administrator accounts

  Posted on April 24, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.17 • 2023-04-24

  Look for our BONUS issue on Monday, May 1, 2023!

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Microsoft doesn’t want you to use a local administrator account, whether in a consumer or a business edition of Windows.

  But depending upon which sort of user you are, the company is taking two different approaches to “encourage” you to stop using local accounts.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.17.0, 2023-04-24).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  On Security Administrator account, LAPS, local account, Local administrator account, Microsoft Account, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts

• Who controls our tech?

  Posted on March 27, 2023 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The other day I spotted a USA Today article by Kim Komando about how to ensure Chinese tech wasn’t spying on you.

  She wrote: “Know that there are plenty of allegations that the companies below have government ties, but it’s up for debate how much the Chinese government is genuinely involved in operations. I’m sharing this to help you make more informed decisions on what you purchase and use daily.”

  I think her view is far too simplistic.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.13.0, 2023-03-27).

  On Security China, Foxconn, Lenovo, Microsoft Telemetry, Newsletters, Packet sniffers, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 10, Windows 11
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