Take this Ransomware stuff seriously. If you don’t, you will lose your work and your life.
And drive yourself to drink, or whatever.
First, this is a 256 gigabyte USB flash drive — big enough for your working files.
Copy all your working files to this. Do it daily. Then unplug this tiny gadget from your computer — so it won’t be infected with ransomware when your computer is.
This USB flash drive is only $88 from Amazon. Cheap insurance. Click here.
Second, update all your Windows machines using the “Windows Update” software that’s on your PC.
If you’re using Windows XP, you may be able to update your machine using “Windows Update.“
If you can’t, you need to upgrade to Windows 10. Or buy a new machine with Windows 10 on it and move all your work over.
Most of last week’s ransomware problems happened on PCs running Windows XP.
Other ways protect yourself:
+ Turn off Adobe Flash, or use the Google Chrome browser, which I use and prefer. It has features others don’t. Use it.
+ Turn off Office Macros. In Office 2016, go to Trust Center > Macro Settings. Or type “macros” in the search box at the top and check “Security” box.
+ Never open questionable hot links — on a web site or in an email — even an email from your dearest friend.
+ Don’t rely on your anti-virus software like Norton, or Malwarebytes. They’re not designed to stop ransomware.
+ Use online free storage for your working files at places like Google Drive, etc. Find more at PC Magazine’s “Best Online Backup Services of 2017.” Click here.
+ Do a “Harry.” That consists of buying a second PC — probably a laptop if that’s what you use. Load it up with all the software you have on your main day-to-day working machine. Copy all your working files over. When Ransomware hits you, you simply copy your working files over to your Harry backup machine, and keep on working. Your infected machine will need its hard disk reformatted and everything re-installed — unless you have a cloned backup disk, which you make using this machine:
To buy this $58 disc cloning gadget, click here.
If you’re totally freaked by ransomware (it’s been everywhere in the news), here are some pieces to read. You don’t need to read them, however. I’ve summed them up above:
+ How to remove ransomware like WannaCry: Use this battle plan to fight back. Click here.
+ With New Digital Tools, Even Nonexperts Can Wage Cyberattacks. Click here.
+ Global ransomware cyberattack halted by a young engineer’s opportunistic domain registration. Click here.
+ A large-scale cyber attack highlights the structural dilemma of the NSA. Click here.
+ With New Digital Tools, Even Nonexperts Can Wage Cyberattacks. Click here.
+ U.K. Health Service Ignored Warnings for Months. Click here.
+ Major Cyberattack Sweeps Globe, Hitting FedEx, U.K. Hospitals, Spanish Companies. Click here.
+ How to remove ransomware like WannaCry: Use this battle plan to fight back. Click here.
+ Windows 10 reinstallation tip: How to reset your PC and remove everything. Click here.
Wonderful toy
When this bouncy house works, the kids love it. Sadly, it broke over the weekend, when the manufacturer’s call center is (naturally) closed. On Monday morning they said, “Send a boatload of paperwork, a sales receipt and photos, and we may send you a replacement blower.” Maybe. Cross your fingers. Horrible company.
All the grandkids love the bouncy house – when it works. What can you expect for $180? Click here.
Useful gadget. Postal scale:
Weighs to 50lbs. Only $26. Works like a charm. Click here.
Uber and Lyft are cheaper than taxis.
Much cheaper. Like 30% to 40% cheaper.
If I sound surprised, it’s because I am.
Other ride hailing services include Gett, Juno, Curb, Summon and Bridj. Some offer ride sharing. Some offer classy cars and not so classy cars (e.g. Uber) and some offer bus sharing.
Taxis are a rip-off. Taxi medallions have fallen 80% plus in New York City in the last four years. They were once a great investment, reaching as high as $1.3 million. I actually thought of buying one a few years ago as an investment. What could possibly go wrong, I thought? Everyone uses taxis in New York. .. Now nobody does. Everyone uses Uber and Lyft. how fast the world changes.
Online ride sharing are decimating the taxi business, just as Amazon is decimating the bricks and mortar retailing business. My small Macys short is still making me a little money.
The best interview ever on TV
Click here.
Stress Reliever
Girl: ‘When we get married, I want to share all your worries, troubles and lighten your burden.’
Boy: ‘It’s very kind of you, darling, but I don’t have any worries or troubles.’
Girl: ‘Well that’s because we aren’t married yet.’
The Smile
There once was a religious young woman who went to Confession.
Upon entering the confessional, she said, ‘Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.’
The priest said, ‘Confess your sins and be forgiven.’
The young woman said, ‘Last night my boyfriend made mad passionate love to me seven times.’
The priest thought long and hard and then said, ‘Squeeze seven lemons into a glass and then drink the juice..’
The young woman asked, ‘Will this cleanse me of my sins?’
The priest said, ‘No, but it will sure wipe that ridiculous smile off your face.’
Harry Newton, who flew in and out of JFK to visit granddaughter on weekend. Out trip was three hours late. In trip was 15 minutes early. Go figure.
I received my $57.50 “best seller” Britzgo “digital hearing amplifier” on Friday and tested it on the weekend.
Conclusions: it works. But it can be painful, as it amplifies loud noises even louder. It doesn’t work well in ultra-noisy environments. (Does anything?) It’s also ugly. But, heh, for the price — $57.50 — who cares. Give a couple to your aging, nursing home-bound relatives. I’m planning on testing it against a $5,000 pair — if I can find an accommodating, honest audiologist. Good luck with that one.
Down here in Boca Raton, Uber and Lyft are a little over a third the cost of taxis. The reason taxis were such a (formerly) great investment is that the owners weren’t really in the taxi business so much as they were in the vehicle leasing business. If a driver wanted to enjoy the “privilege” or working for a particular company, he needed to come up with a certain amount of money each month right off the bat… AND he had to share in the money he/she took in from fares. Uber flipped that around. It also eliminated the weak link in the chain of the taxi business, the dreaded dispatcher, the overstressed person who tells you that a taxi will be there in the proverbial “ten or fifteen minutes” when in fact it will be half an hour, or never (they forgot about you until you call back). Dispatchers, not being based on advanced queueing theory and network flow algorithms, were inefficient at figuring out who to send where and when (and just plain incompetent, too, sometimes mis-hearing an address uttered by the would-be passenger). Moreover, they sometimes had “favorite drivers” who would give them kickbacks for additional business. Uber drivers have to speak English and maintain a certain rating and insurance. Uber completely revamped the whole historically preposterous industry.