Better yet... don't create accounts everywhere... just use something like Paypal to make your payments.
The more accounts you create, the more often you'll get those "we got hacked" letters on the mail.
Also, don't put "apps" on your smart phone. If the vendor can not do it over an html web interface I ignore them. Or, like my doctor who now thinks it's OK to put an "app" on my phone, I call them on the phone and talk to them directly.
Even so, someone managed to get the MC card number for my Costco card. They were stealthy, charging me for three months until my wife asked me about it. Needless to say, the CC is turning off all of that and I got a new number.
True and you can export the username/passwords in a CSV file that becomes easy to use.
Bottom line... the less accounts you have the easier it becomes to manage.
What sites allow you to buy stuff without first creating an account? After that, it's your decision how to pay.
jeff
Mine: www.Neurochrome.com
I will never force anyone to create an account. I also allow you to calculate the shipping cost without creating an account.
I will shop elsewhere when possible if I'm forced to create an account to see the total cost (including shipping) of my order.
Easier said than done. Here on diyAudio, for example, you have to create an account in order to view attachments. And one could argue that's fair at some level.
Tom
SWMBO wants to downsize. I have been going through all of my good old stuff that I might not ever need and bringing it to the recycle centre. Unfortunately I have been bringing back tons of treasures that other people no longer want or need. I have 3 UPS systems that needed nothing else but new batteries. A number of 5.1 channel receivers that work fine. Just a bit dated. I have salvaged several computers that had NO password protection on them. I just turned them on and saw all of that persons personal files emails, downloads etc. One computer was a small business computer with all of that companies business and client records including tax records going back several years. If I wasnt an honest guy I could have robbed several people blind.
Please if you are going to recycle an old pc, tablet, phone or what ever, erase or destroy the drives and reset the phones or tablets to factory default.
I have given away lots of stuff that I found once I checked it out and deleted all personal information.
Please if you are going to recycle an old pc, tablet, phone or what ever, erase or destroy the drives and reset the phones or tablets to factory default.
I have given away lots of stuff that I found once I checked it out and deleted all personal information.
I suppose I should have been more precise.
The sites I frequent don't require me to enter credit card info just to log in and buy something.
It's one thing to create a lightweight account with almost no info and use something like Paypal to store all the hard info.... and another thing to put your CC info, plus more, into a lot of accounts all over the Internet.
Yikes... if you're gonna trash a hard drive... at least drill a couple of holes through it with a 1/4 drill bit. Then, hammer the heck out of it with a ball peen hammer.
True, but I don't give them my CC number.... or... hey.... did I? I believe I used Paypal at the store.
Well, some sites I trust more than others.
And, I have a specific CC and checking account for my online transactions.
That's one approach. Disk Utility on the Mac (and likely *nix as well) has an option to overwrite the disk before it's formatted. If I recall correctly the highest security one fills the disk seven times with random data before formatting it. That's supposedly an approved data erasure procedure in the US Department of Defence. If it's good enough to erase the nuclear codes, I think it's good enough for my data. I've used it on a few drives now.
Tom
Yes, you can erase a drive by doing it that way.... but my way is faster and likely better.
Physically destroy it.
The reason why the DoD requires the logical way is because if an aircraft falls into enemy hands you don't want to give over information, so not only do the hard drives need to be effectively wiped out but also ALL ROM must be wiped out.
Obviously drilling holes in the hardware and destroying with a hammer is not an option when an aircraft has fallen on the wrong side of the tracks.... so we do have that other requirement.
Which, btw, has another issue.... it requires power... hmm... you don't always have power when you've crashed... sure, caps might be around, but... sometimes the idea of explosives gets discussed in the conference room, but then you realize you don't want to crash an airplane because you had a fire in the avionics rack.
Physically destroy it.
The reason why the DoD requires the logical way is because if an aircraft falls into enemy hands you don't want to give over information, so not only do the hard drives need to be effectively wiped out but also ALL ROM must be wiped out.
Obviously drilling holes in the hardware and destroying with a hammer is not an option when an aircraft has fallen on the wrong side of the tracks.... so we do have that other requirement.
Which, btw, has another issue.... it requires power... hmm... you don't always have power when you've crashed... sure, caps might be around, but... sometimes the idea of explosives gets discussed in the conference room, but then you realize you don't want to crash an airplane because you had a fire in the avionics rack.
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I've been using Firefox's Pwd manager for many years with no problems at all. I'm less confident about letting Google store them.
There's a Logins button on the shortcuts bar making it easy to access the list (currently 260) and edit any of them.
It will also generate high security passwords when adding a new account.
Previously I used Roboform which I think was adopted by, and built in to Firefox.
There's a Logins button on the shortcuts bar making it easy to access the list (currently 260) and edit any of them.
It will also generate high security passwords when adding a new account.
Previously I used Roboform which I think was adopted by, and built in to Firefox.
^^ Firefox and other browsers now days have the ability to synchronize between instances, something I use to have access to my bookmarks. This data is send on line and stored off site. I have fear the password manager is no exception.
Don't give in to your paranoia. Had Firefox, Google etc had security breaches, we'd all have heard about them.
Interesting. I see Face**** now don't allow you to see any pages without an account... I don't want or need an account, but there's a couple of businesses that and a news page I used to look at from time to time Can't do it any more! I wonder is all those businesses that use it as a front page realise that they are no longer visible?!
Strange decision...
Also - just been told that you can't open an account now without providing a selfie!! Wow...
Just reminds me why I avoid all of *uckerbergs crap services...
Strange decision...
Also - just been told that you can't open an account now without providing a selfie!! Wow...
Just reminds me why I avoid all of *uckerbergs crap services...
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I'd check if the vendor has a "real" web page. Most do. The more people who ask for a real web presence instead of a FB only the more likely the vendor will spring for the 10 bucks/mo for a real one. It just is not expensive to offer static web pages. And pretty easy to secure if all you do is a static page. Stay away from wordpress though. Buggy.
Sure. But it also destroys the drive. Not so handy if you want to sell it as part of a used computer so others can get more life out of it.
Yeah. The military I served in taught us how to destroy stuff in case we had to abandon it. Getting overrun by the enemy is bad enough. You don't also have to give them a bunch of usable vehicles and weaponry to shoot at you with. 🙂
Tom
When you are erasing a drive so you can sell it with a computer you have TIME to do it properly. When abandoning military gear you may have to get out of Dodge quickly. Bullet through the hard drive is certainly quick enough.