First off, Mr. and Mrs. Claus came in to join us this hour! They talk about where they’ll be this month, plus where you can find them! Want to find out more? Passwords and Santa! They’ll be at the Kihei Public Library on Saturday, December 8th 2018 from 10:30am til 12:30pm. They’ll also be at Maui Makers on Sunday, December 9th 2018 10am til 2pm. Then there’s the Hansen Toy Drive on Saturday, December 1st 2018 from 4pm til 8pm! Look them up and get more details at https://www.facebook.com/mauimrandmrsclaus/ Anyhow: Recycling is good unless you’re talking about passwords. Reusing a password is bad internet hygiene (dare we say unsanitary!) and can cause all sorts of problems for you. So, what do you do about that? Well, glad you asked! Time for a 101 on Passwords and Password Managers! https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-password-managers/ https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407168,00.asp https://www.wired.com/2016/01/you-need-a-password-manager/ https://www.xkcd.com/936/
Are you ready for BLACK FRIDAY? (11/17/18 Part 1)
Are you ready for the holiday shopping season? No? Well too bad! It is upon us! Black Friday 2018 But, the trick with sales is sometimes they’re tricky. Is it really a deal? Is it what it says it is? Oh goodness, what a pain! The holidays are a great time for research as well! https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm https://www.tomshardware.com/ https://www.newegg.com/ https://blackfriday.com/ https://www.bbb.org/
So, what do you want in a new computer? (11/17/18 Part 2)
So, its sale season so what do you look for? What do you want? What do you need? New Computer 101 The guys go over some of the basics of computer specs to help you find what will work for you! You don’t want to spend too much, but you don’t want to spend too little, either!
Bad News and Fake News (11/10/18 Part 1)
Look! Bat Boy is cheating on Marilyn Monroe with an Alien Elvis Clone! It used to be that bad news was confined to the pages of the supermarket tabloids. Aliens! Secret Conspiracies with Lizard People! The Pope is a 1,000 year old Vampire! Fake News! – Part 1 Likewise, some “news” were more sensationalist in nature. Remember Y2K? How many times have “its the end of the world!” come up as a headline? There might’ve been a kernel of truth or just an opinion at the core, but it got spun up to be more headline grabbing. Now? Not only is it easy to find bad and sensationalist stories online, its exploded. Additionally, you can find anything you want. Got an opinion? Someone out there will cater to it. Chances are, there’ll be dozens of sites out there. Is it fake? Is it bunk? Why would we make this up? Oh, right, there’s money to be made. Join Jonathan, LD, Sam, and special guest Tracey as we talk about bad and fake news!
Protecting yourself against Fake News (11/10/18 Part 2)
Self-defense isn’t just a physical thing: it relates to your mind as well. While you can’t judo-chop lies and flim-flamery, you CAN go through your due diligence. Fake News – Part 2 Fact checking! Axios as a nice list of some of the initiatives out there to help sift the wheat from the chaff. https://www.axios.com/fake-news-initiatives-fact-checking-dfa6ab56-3295-4f1a-9b38-e61ca47e849f.html If you have library near by, you might be able to get a groovy bookmark to help you with this! What’s on there? A short little list to help you karate-kick fake news! Want to buy the bookmark for friends, your classroom, work place, or group? You can get it online at https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/fact-or-fiction-bookmark You can also download and print or buy ready-made posters with logical fallacies, cards with critical thinking skills, and more! https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/shop
Stingrays! Security! Phones! YOU! (10/27/18 Part 1)
What is a Stingray? Its a fake cellphone tower that law enforcement can deploy to intercept cell phone signals. And frankly, if the bad guys have it, then the spies probably do. And we’re sure the organized crime bad guys do too in some places! Why Encryption? Maybe you don’t feel you’re important enough to worry about this sort of thing, but our elected officials do. And some of the things they could/should be doing you can do too! What to learn more about Virtual Private Networks? Go to https://thatoneprivacysite.net/ Want to encrypt your phone? Best check with your smartphone’s manufacturer!
You got to fight! For your right! To fiiiiiiiiix thangs! (10/27/18 Part 2)
You buy something, its yours, right? Common sense? Well, not quite. “Says who” you ask? Well, Apple and John Deer come to mind. Right to Repair gets a boost! First off, you’ll want to visit https://hawaii.repair.org/ So, there’s a movement fighting for your Right to Repair. There was a big win via the Library of Congress approving an exemption the the Digital Millennium Copyright Act allowing you to circumvent (“break”) the digital rights management of certain types of devices. https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/10/26/us-copyright-office-says-circumventing-drm-repair-certain-electronics-including-phones-smart-speakers-now-legal/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/10/feds-say-its-ok-to-jailbreak-alexa/ https://gizmodo.com/its-now-legal-to-hack-drm-to-repair-your-own-devices-1830002757 On a side note: there’s even an exemption that’s been made for online games that have shut down. Its really interesting, and quite relevant when you consider how many games are online only now! US Library of Congress grants DMCA exception for preserving online games You might remember Sam was a fan of City of Heroes, so this is pretty cool for him.
Security? It has us on PINs and needles! (10/20/18 Part 2)
Personal Identification Numbers (or PINs) are a part of modern life. Using an ATM, a debit card at the store, and unlocking your phone all use PINs. So, do you need a good one? Heck yeah you do! Not just for protecting your stuff, but legally as well! Passwords! – Part 2 https://www.thebalance.com/pin-number-definition-and-explanation-315344 https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/why-biometrics-are-bad-for-your-constitutional-rights.html https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/12/16298192/apple-iphone-face-id-legal-security-fifth-amendment https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/01/court-rules-against-man-who-was-forced-to-fingerprint-unlock-his-phone/
LD cut the cable TV cord! (9/22/18 Part 1)
Our beloved LD Reynolds has cut his cable TV cord! Whaaaaaat? Cutting Cable TV We talk about what his bill was, what it is now, and what he’s doing instead of cable TV. Is it streaming all the time? Any broadcast TV? Is he just at the library day in and day out?
Cord cutting is great, but don’t forget your NETWORK! (9/22/18 Part 2)
So, you cut the cord, what else is there? Well, you need the internet obviously! Networks, and Updating Them You’re going to want to make sure your home network is up to snuff for streaming, gaming, downloading, uploading, and more! Going to have guests? Got kids? Trying to save data on your cellular plan? All these things matter!