The number of scam calls claiming to be from either the IRS or the Social Security Administration (SSA), and claiming that they have found “suspicious activity” with your SSN, and that they are going to “suspend your social security number” seems to have skyrocketed in the past month. They come from all sorts of phone numbers (some included below), but they all seem to carry the same message.
Yoast is the 500 pound gorilla in the world of Wordpress SEO plugins. It’s easy to see why: for a long time Yoast was pretty excellent. With over 5million active Wordpress installs, and with a 5 star rating, when your Wordpress friend says “use Yoast”, why wouldn’t you? And yet, we have come to hate Yoast.
Last year, somewhat quietly, Amazon and Kohl’s launched a partnership in which Kohls would accept your Amazon returns, no questions asked, and no need to even repackage your return. The launch was in just a few locations, however this week Kohl’s announced that, by July, they are expanding the Kohl’s Amazon Returns program to all Kohl’s stores. Here’s everything you need to know to return your Amazon return at a Kohl’s.
The Internet Patrol was recently tipped off to a fake DHL notice that is making the rounds. The fake DHL notification is relatively easy to detect IF you do not have the use of ‘friendly name’ enabled, and instead see the actual ‘from’ email address, which is admin@vedadas.tk, or some version thereof. (The .tk domain is Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand.)
Did you know that there is what amounts to an Airbnb for renting cars? Meet Turo, the gig economy app that describes itself as “Way better than a rental car”, and boasts “Book unforgettable cars from local hosts around the world.” Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: you rent someone else’s car, through the Turo app, just as you would rent someone’s house through Airbnb. In fact it’s sort of like the unholy love child of Airbnb and Uber.
As a public service, as many do not have the ability to or know how to navigate the Internet to find such documents, the Internet Patrol is providing access to the full text of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Even this public version, while heavily redacted, is still an historic moment in our democracy. Here is the full text of the Mueller Report.
Google is providing law enforcement agencies with lists of devices it has identified as being in the area of a crime scene at the time of the crime. With the data from Google’s massive device location database called Sensorvault, law enforcement then creates lists of possible suspects and witnesses.
Microsoft has disclosed, over the weekend, that hackers have hacked into and accessed Microsoft users’ Outlook email, Hotmail email, and MSN email, over the course of several months, ending just last month (March of 2019).
If you are one of countless Gmail users who have set filters for their incoming email, only to find that Gmail seems to be ignoring or overriding your filter, well, you’re not alone. For example, you may have set a filter for email from certain people or mailing lists to skip the inbox, and yet those same emails keep ending up in the inbox. Here’s how to fix that.
The GPS rollover – it sounds like an April Fools joke a few days late, but it’s not. It feels like Y2K, but more confusing. The GPS (Global Positioning System) rollover – which is actually a reset – is going to happen tonight (April 6, 2019) at 7:59pm EST / 4:59pm PST / 11:59 GMT. That is when the GPS system will reset its time-tracking to 00:00.
Amazon has announced that they are working on Alexa enabled wireless earbuds (Echobuds? Alexabuds? Earechos?), and that they should be available as soon as the second half of 2019 (Alexa enabled headphone and earphones have been around for a while). However, the term ‘Alexa-enabled’ may be misleading.
It’s lovely getting all those birthday posts and birthday messages when Facebook tells your friends that it’s your birthday, but trying to keep up with them all, let alone manage and respond to them all, can be a bit overwhelming. Here’s how to make all of those Facebook birthday greetings manageable, including being able to respond to them all!
No, it’s not an April Fools joke. Several mobile phone manufacturers have foldable phones in the works, and it seems that Samsung will be the first to market. The Samsung Galaxy Fold foldable Android phone is said to be set to launch later this month.
AT T has started tagging telemarketer calls, so that if you have AT T and receive a telemarketing call, you will instantly know that is what it is. Concurrently, AT T and Comcast have announced a new Caller ID technology partnership which they are calling an “anti-robocalling milestone”, and in which calls that are authenticated and verified will show that the caller is verified.
Below is the full text of Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s launch announcement of Google Stadia and the Google Stadia Controller, as presented at the 2019 Game Developers Conference this week.