Hello, and welcome…
Rick’s Daily Tech Tips Update for Friday, December 8, 2023
Topics covered in this issue…
• My #1 tip for protecting your sensitive info from scammers
• How to shop at Amazon and pay cash (no card required)
• How to quickly check your blog for viruses and malicious code
• The life best lived, is your own.
• My Monthly Tech Giveaway is back – Brother DCPL2550DW Multifunction Laser Printer
Today’s issue is sponsored by…
Jean Healy Consulting – Succeeding in business is all about navigating an ever-changing environment to achieve better outcomes that impact you personally, professionally and financially. Let’s work together to liberate greatness that’s already inside you.
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Note: Have something you’d like to tell over 16,000 engaged subscribers? Click here to sponsor the next available issue of this newsletter.
Monthly Tech Giveaway….
We have a winner for November…
Congratulations to Sheryl N. from Springdale, Arkansas for winning the fantastic Brother multifunction laser printer in November’s Tech Tips Giveaway.
December’s winner will receive an Acer Aspire 3 A314-23P-R3QA Slim Laptop. Click here for details.
The prizes featured in my Monthly Tech Giveaways include a combination of the best items I have received for testing and review and brand new items provided directly by partner companies.
Winners are selected at random. All Standard subscribers have an equal chance to win. All Premium subscribers have double the chance to win (their email addresses are added to the pot twice).
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Today’s featured tech tip….
My #1 tip for protecting your sensitive info from scammers
I frequently write about things you can do to protect your online accounts and your personal information from scammers and hackers, but there’s one tip that can do more to protect you against fraud than all the others combined…
Don’t post any piece of sensitive info on any website or social media platform that isn’t absolutely necessary for effectively using that site or service.
Why? Because information that can’t be seen or accessed in some other way can’t be stolen and subsequently exploited.
For example, anyone who takes the time to look at my personal profile on Facebook won’t see very much except for my name, my profile photo and the URL to my tech blog.
Therefore, there’s virtually nothing on there for a scammer or hacker to steal and exploit.
The same goes for other types of sites as well…
Most any “service” type of website will require that you input certain types of information, but there are typically fields that you have the option of leaving blank. I recommend that you do just that whenever possible.
It really concerns me when I look at a friend’s profile on social media and see their full name, their street address, their phone number, their mother’s maiden name and their birthdate.
All of those pieces of info together can be used to steal that person’s identity. The only thing missing is their social security number, and an experienced scammer can easily dig that up once they have all the other info.
I recommend that you be an absolute miser when deciding which pieces of personal and financial information to make available online.
Here are my two primary rules of thumb for Internet safety and security:
1 – If it’s optional, it won’t be posted. Period.
2 – If it’s mandatory but I can get by with making something up, I make something up to ensure that piece of info can’t be used for a nefarious purpose even if it gets stolen.
Bottom line: The scammers of the world are getting smarter by the day. It’s your job to make their job as hard as possible by keeping as much of your private information private as you possibly can.
The latest from Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog…
• How to shop at Amazon and pay cash
No card info required.
• How to quickly check your blog for viruses and malicious code
All it takes is a few seconds.
• Click here to see today’s ‘Picture of the Day’.
Every morning I post a new photo that I find inspiring, intriguing, or just plain beautiful to look at. Jumpstart your day by checking it out.
Rick’s Daily Pick…
Ruko F11GIM2 GPS Drone with 4K Camera
Looking for a high-quality camera drone that has extended air time and captures crystal-clear 4K video and images? This one can be yours at a great price. (As of this writing it has a massive $200 coupon available!)
Today’s post from ‘My Daily Smile’…
The life best lived, is your own.
And it’s the easiest as well.
Tech news that caught my eye…
• Facebook Messenger boosts security, enables message editing & more
• Apple and Google confirm that governments can spy via smartphone push notifications
• First responders praise iPhone’s Emergency SOS via satellite feature: ‘Truly a lifesaver’
• Windows chief sees AI bridging the cloud, PCs
• Google rolls out recovery tool for bug that deleted Drive files
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Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
https://www.ricksdailytips.com