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[JimH]

It has been steadily harder and harder to run a business or even use the Internet these last few years.

We've got a couple of threads on the forum concerning problems caused by antivirus and bugs in drivers.  We could live with that, but...

EMAIL
Used to work.  Can't be relied upon lately.  Gmail tightened the screws on what it considers SPAM, so now I have to look at the SPAM folder every day.  Several times a week I find very important mail there.  Domain registrar emails for example.  Customers having license problems.

Sending the newsletter has continued to grow more difficult.  Bob has to do all kinds of things just to get our mail delivered.  I suspect that a significant percentage doesn't get there.  These are 100% addresses that people gave voluntarily.  The download page asks, but clearly says it's optional.

People then try to protect themselves from SPAM and send us an apologetic email saying that SPAM is now a big problem  and they want us to visit their special site to confirm our mail.  High risk, in my opinion,  so we don't do that.

Every message we send has an unsubscribe link at the bottom.  Every address was given voluntarily.  Still users complain loudly, including severe profanity.  I wish I could forward it to their mom.

Links in email get converted by the provider and don't work.

HACKING
Is this email I'm  about to open the one that will bring our business down?  Be careful, especially if it's from a friend who isn't.

Someone exploited a security hole in the forum software several years ago and it cost us maybe $30,000 to fix.  Luckily, we don't keep credit card information on file, so no cards were lost.  But it takes the fun out of running a small business, and it causes trust to decay all around.

Ransomware.  Brilliant.

I keep Javascript turned off in my browser and only turn it on for trusted sites.  Painful but a little safer.

Cookies.  Try protecting yourself from those, or even wading through the settings that the site has maybe purposely made so obscure.  I've got a Gmail problem now that probably is related to a setting I clicked when trying to defend  against cookies.  The European government created a bigger problem than the one it was trying to solve, in my opinion.

Accounts.  Every business I interact with has a different account system and I shudder every time I want to check something at my bank or on a utility site.   I have one account in France that is practically impossible to get into from the U.S.

Internet Access and phone access from outside the country.  I've been using Mint Mobile for a couple of years and getting service in Europe recently looked like it would  be straightforward.  The last step was a confirmation text message they would send to my Mint phone, but unfortunately it had no text or phone service because it had run out.

Similar problem with Orange in France.  I've had an Orange SIM card  for years so I can pop it in when I'm there.  Then you  recharge it with a 14 digit  number that you buy from Orange or a Tabac or ...  This time, the  number was no longer available because I had been absent for more than six months.  So I had to purchase a new SIM and start all over.

I imagine you may be reading this thinking, what a sad situation that he doesn't understand how to [insert task  here].  But  I don't want to have to understand every business structure just to do these simple things. 

And it's getting worse.

OK, I feel better now.

[Manfred]

- We could not book the hotel we wanted (1 week major security issues and booking engine was not working)
- My supermarket around the corner had a cyber attack (several shelf's e.g. with pasta were empty over a few weeks)
- My doctor's system had security problems with his servers (I got my 2ND vaccination during that time)
- A popular newsletter in germany had security issues during the weekend
- One family member was attacked via phone (she hang up the phone immediately as I had instructed her)
- not many pishing emails in my junk folder (my provider has good filters)
- One of my customers was hit by a cyber attack (systems were down for a few hours)

That was what I remember over the last two months.

Security has become a major issue. I feel with you!

I personally don't believe that business alone could rule it out - government has to do something. (but email in my company is really good from a security perspective - I could not remember of a pishing mail etc. over the last two years and any personal security flaw over the last 23 years I have been working for them  - US based - I work in Germany for them)

[Walt Whitman]

Pretty soon, many are going to realize the promise that came with technology was rife with pitfalls which were overlooked, unforeseen, or simply overshadowed in the initial euphoria. People will realize that what they have lost far outweighs any gains that certain technologies have brought.

Cameras on every corner, doorbell, traffic light, intersection, etc. Goodbye privacy. Billions and billions stolen or extorted from unsuspecting people and businesses from high tech thieves phishing or deploying ransomware. Goodbye money. Criminals and governments devising new and more sinister ways to use technology to box you in and rip you off, or simply destroy you. Goodbye safety and security. Lives flying by at the speed of light. Goodbye simple life and free time. Complexity mounting exponentially. Goodbye calm and ease and leisure. Internet companies tracking everyone and building dossiers on each person to sell to the highest bidder. Goodbye freedom from a world of sellers constantly peering over your shoulder like an unrelenting bunch of used car salesmen, and goodbye freedom of movement. Censorship for saying the "wrong" thing, and internet ostracism as your penalty. Goodbye free speech and freedom. And coming soon, robots that can do virtually everything. Goodbye job, money, dignity, and freedom to advance yourself. Goodbye sovereignty.

Goodbye humanity.

Not all tech is bad. The leaps in medical technologies continue to be miraculous. And there are many, many other examples of technologies being great aids to the world, JRiver being one; it has enhanced my enjoyment of music tremendously. As I write I'm listening to a CD rip of an Avison orchestration of Scarlatti that sounds as wonderful as 16/44.1 can, because of software technology and the people at JRiver who construct, strengthen and magnify it with their skill and passion.

There will be a critical mass reached when the world realizes the tech that cages them has to go. The seduction of galloping technological advancement has worn out and run its course.

[marko]

This forum aside, I don't use any social media platform. I tried Facebook for a few years, but found it exhausting. That little red number on the corner of the icon on my phone's home screen would get into the hundreds... jesus! It got to be depressing. I would go in there every six months or so and do the obligatory "like" on some stuff, and then leave until the next time.

I left for good. Friends were frustrated with me at first, but they found other ways to comunicate with me, such as, you  know, just calling or texting me. My world has not imploded.

I fear that Walt's point of "critical mass" is some way off yet, as in, a generation or two. For the up and coming generations, all of this stuff that we find exhausting and invasive is just normal. I shake my head every time I see a two or three year old child, head down, engrossed in their handheld device, beside parents doing the same... It's all just... bonkers... but to them, totally normal ?

I wish that someone would do something about it. Maybe I'm "just getting old", but seriously, to me, it's just not right. How often have you been sitting in traffic at a red light, which turns green, and the car in front doesn't move because the driver cannot go the duration of a red light without checking their 'socials' and is too busy "liking" stuff to notice a green light?

[Soundwave]

Surly you knew that with great promise of things, comes first the stage of Wild West swindlers and criminals of the most brazen audacity.

We're still filled with governments who's primary staff is computer illiterate buffoons. Nowhere close are we either with a framework of laws that can keep somewhat brisk pace with technological advancements.

Until these two things change, nonsense like this will continue to perpetuate. Interestingly, you're mostly now concerned with technical issues pertaining to security. You haven't even touched the surface of the actual content quality of some portions of the internet, and the amount of mind swaying that occurs (leading to the lunacy you see presently manifested with large swathes of the first world population becoming anti-vaxer's and conspiracy theory nut jobs, on top of just novel and insane political predispositions).

Email is turning into nuts though. Especially with these major providers now requiring things like a cellphone number and ID for signing up. And on top of it all, monitoring ALL your email contents (since email now is an advertising platform as well). Simply gonna have to pay for quality email services if you want to avoid this garbage like Gmail and Yahoo. Go with ProtonMail.

As far as people whining about "too many emails" .. LOL, idiots, just unsubscribe - what's wrong with you?

[IAM4UK]

Bad-guys always try to exploit everything they can.
The internet has become a place where optimism is crushed ruthlessly; however, the necessary pessimism to deal with the internet these days is not very pleasant.

[Outlaw Audio]

Pretty soon, many are going to realize the promise that came with technology was rife with pitfalls which were overlooked, unforeseen, or simply overshadowed in the initial euphoria. People will realize that what they have lost far outweighs any gains that certain technologies have brought.

Pretty soon??  Email was born around 1966, The internet in 1969, the world wide web in 1989, Google was formed in 1995 and its first web presence in 1996.  The base elements that provide the functionality (and pitfalls) have been with us for 25-40 years.  Id say "pretty soon" has left the building.  History has illustrated to the dire extent a society will tolerate breaches in its privacy, security and other pitfalls before it says enough is enough.  Id say given the slow creep of awareness it will take another two - four decades (if it happens at all).  People love their Facebook overlooking the fact that ever scrap of data they enter into the system is being sold, or stolen for gain 

Cameras on every corner, doorbell, traffic light, intersection, etc. Goodbye privacy. Billions and billions stolen or extorted from unsuspecting people and businesses from high tech thieves phishing or deploying ransomware. Goodbye money. Criminals and governments devising new and more sinister ways to use technology to box you in and rip you off, or simply destroy you. Goodbye safety and security. Lives flying by at the speed of light. Goodbye simple life and free time. Complexity mounting exponentially. Goodbye calm and ease and leisure. Internet companies tracking everyone and building dossiers on each person to sell to the highest bidder. Goodbye freedom from a world of sellers constantly peering over your shoulder like an unrelenting bunch of used car salesmen, and goodbye freedom of movement. Censorship for saying the "wrong" thing, and internet ostracism as your penalty. Goodbye free speech and freedom. And coming soon, robots that can do virtually everything. Goodbye job, money, dignity, and freedom to advance yourself. Goodbye sovereignty.

I think this is a bit melodramatic but I understand.  I was plugged into that "lifestyle" once.  I lived in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, worked 16 hour days sometimes six or seven days a week.  Every essence of my day was tracked by my cell phone to my various ID badges used to gain entrance into the labs and clean rooms I worked in.  Years of regular blood testing due to the toxic chemicals I might have been exposed to.  I sold a part of my soul to the "American Machine" which is why I'm dedicating the years I have left towards getting it back 

Further, I think the skill of disagreeing with someone without creating an enemy has been lost.  Like you I feel we have lost something constructive not feeling welcome to voice our opinion for fear of "backlash" or social media reprisals.  Sadly, with so many Americans willing to be influenced by rumour, innuendo and uneducated conjecture, that social media is full of,  this has been a runaway freight train with no signs of slowing

Luckily I was able to retire in my early 50's and made a conscious effort to "unplug" from this technology.  I don't carry a cell phone, have 0% social media presence and my only use of technology is email.  My life is much simpler and less stressful now  However, its not the technology, its the lack of societal moral integrity and abject greed that is driving the pitfalls you mention

Goodbye humanity.

I suspect the "humanity" you speak of has been on the decline since right after WWII.  Humans have the reflex action to romanticise time or ages they find comforting to them; and it is my philosophy that human beings are at their best when they struggle (like we did in the Great Depression, or the two World Wars)  When bounty is plentiful, we tend to grow lazy and complacent.  I'm not saying that the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's 90's and the 2000's were "easy" for all demographics but certainly nothing compared to the Great Depression and the two world wars.

There will be a critical mass reached when the world realizes the tech that cages them has to go. The seduction of galloping technological advancement has worn out and run its course.

Not holding my breath for that one.  It takes most of us decades to come to that realization, a few of the younger generation get it much sooner but in too small numbers to make an impact.  The seduction of technology with all its promises appeals to the weaker side of human nature so we allow the shackles to be put on our lives willingly, often enthusiastically.  I remember reading George Orwell in High School thinking "theres no way in hell this will ever happen"  The more time passes the more I think of George as a visionary

[rudyrednose]

Greetings,

Several actions simplified my life...

I never run my computers from an admin account, always from a simple user account.  (a simple user account cannot do changes affecting other users without a popup for an admin account password).  Told the rest of the family about that one, it really simplified my "family's IT guy" role...

For more than a decade, I have used exclusively Firefox for my financial transactions and only those, and Chrome (and lately Brave) for all my non-financial web browsing.  It sure cannot hurt...  I use separate password manager accounts for finances (Firefox) vs the rest (all other browsers).  I use "Ungoogled Chromium" in private mode for sites that I think may be more risky.

I do general web browsing in private mode, so cookies are not retained, and in the case of Brave browser, the browser fingerprint is always different in private windows.  For sites that depend on my logging in, I use Brave regular windows, but always open links on a page in a new private window.

And I am trying to reduce my dependency on Google.  I use DuckDuckGo as my main search engine in Firefox, Brave and Ungoogled Chromium.  I still use Chrome when I want to search using Google or want to use Google Docs or other Google products.

Sometimes, I go to the extreme of opening a link or an attachment in an Hyper-V virtual machine I keep handy for this.  The VM sees nothing of my network.

Any day, the first time I use a computer, I always start by running Windows Update, before doing anything else.

And of course, offline and offsite backups.

It has all become an automatism.  I never paid for an antivirus, still using good'ol Windows Defender, and I have not caught a virus this century.

[rudyrednose]

On a more positive note, I still think that truly nasty people are few and far between.  Just do not give them a handle.

It is just that you do not want to stand between most people and their self-interest.

And media never speak about nice people, seldomly about nice gestures.  This has a tendency to taint our view of the world.
But they exist!

Cheers.

[Outlaw Audio]

This forum aside, I don't use any social media platform. I tried Facebook for a few years, but found it exhausting. That little red number on the corner of the icon on my phone's home screen would get into the hundreds... jesus! It got to be depressing. I would go in there every six months or so and do the obligatory "like" on some stuff, and then leave until the next time.

I left for good. Friends were frustrated with me at first, but they found other ways to comunicate with me, such as, you  know, just calling or texting me. My world has not imploded.

++1

I fear that Walt's point of "critical mass" is some way off yet, as in, a generation or two. For the up and coming generations, all of this stuff that we find exhausting and invasive is just normal. I shake my head every time I see a two or three year old child, head down, engrossed in their handheld device, beside parents doing the same... It's all just... bonkers... but to them, totally normal ?

Not to mention sad.  As a society, we are more focused on email, texting and social media than the human being we are standing (or sitting) right in front of.  There's a movie from 2009 staring Bruce Willis called Surrogates that explores this very thought

I wish that someone would do something about it. Maybe I'm "just getting old", but seriously, to me, it's just not right. How often have you been sitting in traffic at a red light, which turns green, and the car in front doesn't move because the driver cannot go the duration of a red light without checking their 'socials' and is too busy "liking" stuff to notice a green light?

.....too many times to count, and then when you honk your horn at them trying to get the neurons to engage, they give you a look like your interrupting them.  I think the penalty for using a cell phone in a car (or driving drunk or high) should be immediate loss of the privilege for 30 days minimum and a steep fine

[Outlaw Audio]

Surly you knew that with great promise of things, comes first the stage of Wild West swindlers and criminals of the most brazen audacity.

We're still filled with governments who's primary staff is computer illiterate buffoons. Nowhere close are we either with a framework of laws that can keep somewhat brisk pace with technological advancements.

Until these two things change, nonsense like this will continue to perpetuate. Interestingly, you're mostly now concerned with technical issues pertaining to security. You haven't even touched the surface of the actual content quality of some portions of the internet, and the amount of mind swaying that occurs (leading to the lunacy you see presently manifested with large swathes of the first world population becoming anti-vaxer's and conspiracy theory nut jobs, on top of just novel and insane political predispositions).

Agree, but it still sad to see the absent moral compass in our society.  I'm not saying we have more or less of it now, but its certainly easier to watch it decay

Email is turning into nuts though. Especially with these major providers now requiring things like a cellphone number and ID for signing up. And on top of it all, monitoring ALL your email contents (since email now is an advertising platform as well). Simply gonna have to pay for quality email services if you want to avoid this garbage like Gmail and Yahoo. Go with ProtonMail.

As far as people whining about "too many emails" .. LOL, idiots, just unsubscribe - what's wrong with you?

That's a bit of an oversimplification to the problem

• Often the "unsubscribe" button is merely a signal back to the offending marketing company that your email address is indeed valid
• The concept of "opting out" is backwards.  A company should ask for my permission before marketing my information instead of making me specify to them what is and isn't for them to use
• In one position, I had an email address that was very public.  You could google my name and I was the third listing.  The amount of spam that email account accumulated was in the 100's of pieces per day.  I don't think "unsubscribe" is an effective method to combat this, nor do I think my employer would allow me to spend 50% of my day dealing with non value added activities