go to sections menu

The Technology blog and podcast

This is for the technology blog and podcast Commentary, articles, and podcasts

header picture for Ingegno theme

You are here: November 2018

Go to Homepage [0], contents or to navigation menu

sections menu

fine menu sezioni pagina

Is it time for some good news? Calif. Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal Swatting Case, Faces 20+ Years in Prison

In the better late than never department, I read way back when some good news I thought I’d share since I’ve thought about it again. Calif. Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal Swatting Case, Faces 20+ Years in Prison and that is definitely some good news knowing he won’t hurt anyone else like he did before this case came to be. This is the same man who was featured on my podcast as well as on several articles on Krebs and other news networks for the Kansas case that killed an innocent man. I knew I wanted to cover this one, but I have been engrosed in other things and forgot it until now. I think its worth the read, and feel free to comment!

Comments (0)

Aira updates listeners on a blind bargains podcast

Hi there everyone! I’m late in posting this, and I recently thought this would be good to post. In an earlier technology blog post found here I mentioned the news that indicated that Aira was making changes, and we covered this in on podcast 298 which is directly linked for you to download. Michael in Indiana provided that update in the linked podcast, however, Blind Bargains also has one of the people from Aira on their cast. Blind Bargains Qast 164: Naked A.T. Twister is the title of the cast and the post linked herein, and you can download the audio file from there and read the show notes. I want to pass this information along to everyone, so they may be informed in regards to updates. I will try to catch this, and you can do so through the blind bargains app, or through Podcast or RSS feed directly from their site. I hope that this finds everyone well, and please let me know what you think.

Comments (0)

Blindfold and the Ipad

Hi all, Michael in Indiana needs help in regards to blindfold and the ipad. Applevis has a forum topic posted by him that has not received any response and is 9 days old. Please use this link to go to this forum topic directly and he is telling me he’s tried this with 12.1 although he may be using a beta, but regardless, any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Comments (0)

A free alternative to Vorail

Hi all,

On Applevis, there is a thread that is discussing potential free alternitives to Vorail. As reported in an earlier podcast, Michael in Indiana has advised us of the changes which are now in effect. This Applevis forum entry is where someone asked about alternitives and there are some options. I have not personally used any of them, and was never on Vorail as discussed in that podcast.

I’m going to post this and let people read the forum post linked and they can decide what they are going to use. If you want to submit a demo of one of these apps for listeners, please let me know and arrangements can be made to get me a copy of the file.

Comments (0)

Should we be telling people to look for the lock symbol or the HTTPS in URLS? Articles say no

Hi all, I was doing some reading on my RSS feeds, and came across a few items that may be good for some discussion. To start, we’ve advised in various circles to look (if visual) or determine (if blind) if the site was secure either by a lock symbol in your tool bar or the HTTPS in the URL to symbolize the URL is safe. According to Krebs On Security, an article that is entitled Half of all Phishing Sites Now Have the Padlock and this can’t be good. This article talks about something called Unicode, and the domain system is allowing this. Firefox is the only browser that will happily go to these pages and will convert these in to characters it understands. What jumps out at me is the fact that we’re going secure, and the people who pedle these wares know this. To seem legitiment, they will of course get their site secure. With services like Lets Encrypt, it is now free to encrypt any domain as long as it is hosted somewhere.

The other article which is not too late to post, talks about shopping online. This article was posted the 23rd, and it has some great tips. While Amazon is mostly safe, there are people who could come on to their platform to sell things, or compromise an existing merchant account with Amazon. While Amazon refunded the money in this instant, checking the who is directory is a great idea if you know where to look.

I did have two sites in my bookmarks, but it seems like I’m having trouble with these particular URL’s. <a href=”http://www.ultrahost.usUltrahost has a domain lookup tool, which works quite well. The first box is for the portion of the domain, the second is a combo box asking for the top level (tld) such as .com, .org, .net, etc. How to Shop Online Like a Security Pro is the article that I read in regards to checking domains as well as making sure you’re on a reputable site.

The reason Brian indicates to look at the registry is simple. New sellers will have their domain up within recent months. If you’ve been around selling things awhile, your domain will show this, as it records when the domain was first baught, and when it is set to expire.

My web site for example, was baught in 2008, and white cane travel in 2014. While neither of my sites sell anything, I’m using them as reference points so you understand how valuable this could be.

Most people may not go through this trouble, but as has been demonstrated, your common merchant could be compromised, although it has happened in store, and not necessarily online. The point here is to be as careful as possible, and trust your gut.

Please have a happy and safe shopping season, and thanks for reading the blog!

Comments (0)

Today is Giving Tuesday

I don’t know when this started, but today is Giving Tuesday.

  • Make sure if you give, that it is at a reputable site.
  • If you have a Paypal account, Paypal has a section that allows you to give to charities and other places securely.
  • If you go to my Web Site and click on the donation link, I have a Paypal button. When you click or press enter, you’ll see that it redirects to a secure page. While I’d appreciate if you do donate to this network, I’m illustrating here what you should be looking for, a site that has a secure page. It should have the S after the HTTP as shown when you click on the paypal link on my page.
  • Remember to ask questions if you aren’t sure. Look for a contact link or a telephone number.
  • Criminals would love to have your hard earned money, even on this day. Look for the signs that might set them apart of other sites.

If you give to the network this year, we thank you. I want people to donate and shop securely whether it is with me or anyone else on the Internet. Thanks for reading.

Comments (0)

tech podcast 298 is now out!

I’ve decided to go non-TTS, and that may be a bad idea since I’ve been diagnosed. the podcast is on the RSS is the only place right now the program is on. It should be on mixcloud very soon.

On this podcast, a cautionary tale in regards to a credit card situation, the braille transcription course is talked about in a multi part series, and blind alive news.

Comments (0)

cyber Monday, the criminals don’t care

Hi all,

As you prepare for Cyber Monday today, the criminals will be looking to take advantage of you too. They don’t take holidays off, they look to take advantage of what is happening around the world.

  • The recent Northern and Southern California fires are still being delbt with that have occurred just after Haloween. It would not surprise me if agencies are still collecting donations to help with the massive costs involved in the cleanup and restoration of many homes. If you want to give instead of bargain shopping, thank you! Please donate to the red cross or other trusted agency, not to some email that might come in your inbox.
  • If you bargain shop, Criminals have now taken up domains that have been let go. This November 13th article talks about it in detail. You want a bargain, but you want a bargain from a trusted source.
  • If you enjoy networks like mine and want to donate there, I’ve got a donate button on one of the pages on the blog, and also my web site. The buttons are paypal, and are secure. They take you to a page that has my name, or if you donate elsewhere, the name of the person or company that it belongs to. If you question something, I’d suggest you call. If you do donate to the network this year, thanks!

I’m not asking for donations, but giving information out as to what to look for, since there is a lot of stuff happening now that we didn’t have to worry about.

In this post, comment and let me know if you’ve seen anything out of the ordinary, and what you did to spot such a thing. Please be careful no matter what you do, this Cyber Monday.

Comments (0)

Is facebook in trouble again? This article may let you think so

Well, I was going through twitter, and I found this article about Facebook and some documents that may implicate them in something they say they’ve never done. Parliament seizes cache of Facebook internal papers is the name of the article and it was interesting.

Comments (0)

Happy thanksgiving from the Jared Rimer network

There could be a change in plan where the podcast will be released through TTS introductions and endings, but for this post, lets wonder what people are thankful for this year in tech.

While I was saddened on the closing of GW Micro, I’m happy for two things within the past year.

  • Freedom Scientific allowed us to get JFW for free even upgrading my so-out-of-date license.
  • We’ve got another option in NVDA

The security aspect of this year has been nothing but interesting. I just can’t fathem what the next year will bring with all of the DDOS attacks and botnet activities.

I’m thankful for the meriad of arrests that we’ve seen in the tech field for cybercrime activity. Let it be a deterant to those of us who would want or think about doing such activity. In no way am I saying I’m thinking of doing anything, however, I’d do it for the fun of it if I were to do it, not to harm people. Poking around, maybe.

What are you thankful for this year in tech?

Comments (0)

Blind Alive closing after 5 years of service

It was reported to me through Michael in Indiana about the closure of Blind Alive. While the home page doesn’t mention anything, I have confirmed through the downloads page the news. Blind Alive was ran by two women, Mel Scott and Lisa Salinger. While I never baught any of the exercises, the web site through the download page is offering everything for free until the 31st.
Companies come, and companies go, and this is one that while I respect the mission, has their reasons for closing its doors.

Blind alive web site where you can learn more about its mission. Remember to go to the downloads page to get the items for free.

An email address is provided for those who would like to contact them. There is no reason to subscribe to a mailing list, but there is a donate link should you be inclined to do so.

I’m surprised that blind bargains didn’t pick it up, but after hearing the audio, and resting this afternoon, I did some digging around their web site.

The audio will be released in the next podcast once I fight off what I’ve recently come down with.

Thanks for your continued support.

Comments (0)

technology podcast 297: lots of newsy stuff

The RSS feed and mixcloud have the show up. I’ve also caught up the mixcloud, and there may be some duplicates. Below, please find the show notes.

Hello everyone, my name is Jared, and I want to take this opportunity to welcome each and every one of you to my technology podcast. On this edition of the podcast, I have lots of news type items including domain registration news, Aira, of course a braille transcription course update, and other newsy types of things.

The following are links to various items that I thought should be linked for you to read at your own time.

The program lasts 64 minutes. Contact information is available at the end of the program. Thanks for listening, and enjoy your stay!

Comments (0)

How important is cyber securty training for employees? I think its very important

I recently read an article by Trend Micro on their blog about cyber security for employees. I believe that it is very important. The Importance of Employee Cybersecurity Training: Top Strategies and Best Practices is the article from Trend Micro.

I don’t want to say that all employees are security problems, but one of the headings in the article talks about the fact that employees may be the weakest link between your data that should not get out, and hackers. It only takes one employee to start the chain of a much bigger problem in your company.

What do you think of this? I’d love to hear whether you agree or not. Please participate and lets discuss how we can change the culture of security.

Comments (0)

Vorail getting updated, people are not happy

Hi all,

On Podcast 291 which was released recently, we had Michael in Indiana give us an update in regards to Vorail. We’ve recently learned that it is now out, the paid version. This is free, with an in-app purchase for a monthly subscription to the service.

I’ve never used the service, but I’ve heard mixed reports about the app, and I do not have an opinion on whether I like it or not.

In the next podcast being worked on, Michael in Indiana will talk about this fact, and also talk about a potential issue where people could get away with using the app for free and how the potential issue is fixed.

We thank Michael in Indiana for providing this update series, and we are here to provide updates.

Comments (0)

Seedlings Offers over 350 items in Online Auction to Raise Money for Braille Books

I remember reading books by this company, Blind bargains has a post up Seedlings Offers over 350 items in Online Auction to Raise Money for Braille Books and time is running out. They posted this yesterday, and while I wish I could give asan adult, I do remember reading some of their books they produced. Good books too.

Comments (0)

Not so breaking, better late than never: Breaking: Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act Unanimously Passes House, heads to President for Signature

Hi all,

I’ve not been on blind bargains in some time, so this isn’t so breaking as it was. Breaking: Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act Unanimously Passes House, heads to President for Signature is the article and it talks about the fact that we now in the U.S. will soon be able to get books and other material in accessible formats if not in the states. This is a great step, and I’ve been watching this when I’ve been able to get news on this. This comes from blind bargains, and I’m happy to see it.

Comments (0)

Cooking and technology

Hi all,

Did you ever think you can use technology to cook? Microwave Cooking Just Got Easier with AmazonBasics and Alexa and GE and Alexa Work Together to Create a Voice-Controlled Microwave with Scan to Cook Technology are two articles from Blind Bargains that talk about this possibility. I honestly think that this is going to get rather interesting, and only time will tell what could happen. Since the product won’t ship till mid November, I’m curious on thoughts on what you think whether it could work for us. I have high hopes.

Comments (0)

Aira news of interest

I’m tipped off of some Aira news. Aira is a service provided by a company that allows people with disabilities to get services to assist in navigation, computer help, whatever they may need. I searched for an article, and we’ll have audio coverage in our next podcast. This blindbargains post found at this link will cover it in more detail. A user of the service will talk about the changes and will have more opinions on the change. My goal is to pass this along, and I hope that people find this of value.

Comments (0)

Technology podcast 296: Braille Transcription, and news notes items

The RSS feed located at this link has the file. I still need to get the Mixcloud updated, but the RSS continues to be updated. Here are the show notes.

On this edition of the podcast, braille transcription takes a different turn, where I discuss my struggles and show you what was going on. Talk about work arounds, and other things of interest. One of the things that I talk about is the information about the program I chose, Braille 2000 which is done in such a way, where it could be considered true WYSIWYG. I talk about other programs, but since I don’t know much about one, and have used little of the other, I do mention them by name. I also have news notes items as well. One of the items effects the mac, whereby, you must be using a crypto wallet, and a very specific one. Spam campaign targets Exodus Mac Users is the article referenced in the second news notes file. I hope you enjoy the program as much as I have putting it together for you.

Comments (0)

How do you stop a multibillion dollar problem?

Hi all,

The topic of cyber attacks costing billions of dollars comes across my desk as an article from Trend Micro. Thoughts are in place on how to stop this global problem. Cyber-Attacks: How to Stop a Multibillion-Dollar Problem is the article. I have a thought. I don’t know how successful it’ll be, but if we start by figuring out who the purps are in the particular crime, and we have laws in place that will curtail the continuation of such a crime, we can start with that. It, at least, is a start. Its not going to be perfect, but definitely something that could be interesting. Check out the article, and let me know if something pops at you.

Comments (0)

Older Posts »

go to sections menu

navigation menu

go to sections menu