Creating An Internet Brand

When I decided to go back to school, I decided to document the experience via Social Media, a Blog and random picture posts.  So, I began randomly posting my musings as status update with my Facebook friends.  I have sort of a core following of my friends who comment and actively participate in my life online, through Facebook.

I use Instagram as OldGuyStudent and have blogs at the following locations:

Wordpress where I post random musings about life at American River College, the local Community College where I am a student.  It’s a very strange experience and I am just getting used to it because I have never been one to study or to do much reading and work on my own.  I am striving to change this and it has been a challenge.  The TV Show Community makes me shake my head daily as I experience the jokes in it first hand, in real life sometimes waiting for the laugh track, other times hearing the laugh track and others being the laugh track.

Tumblr is where I put random pictures.  I want to take a Digital Photography class and I hope to be able to find a way to get a Digital SLR camera and preferably a Nikon.  To go along with it I would love to have a Samsung Galaxy Camera as it is an amazing device.  It would be awesome to have it so that I could sync the pictures to my Samsung Galaxy Note where I could edit and manipulate them.

So, now I have created a Facebook page for OldGuyStudent where I will now post the random status updates and blog posts related to School, being a student and being an old guy.  My life has been an amazing journey up to this point and I have met some truly amazing people online and in real life.  My family and extended family are all online and connected to me through Facebook.  So I created the Facebook page for me to advertise to them the things that I like, use and find useful on this journey.

I am going to create a brand name out of OldGuyStudent and see if I can become an Internet Celebrity by letting the world see in to my warped mind because I think deep down, we are all a little bit warped in our own way.  So welcome aboard! 

Universal Cellphone Automobile Mount

Driving with your cell phone in your hands is dangerous for obvious reasons.  I learned to drive watching my grand parents drive.  They drove with manners and attention to detail, both hands on the wheel most of the time.  The first thing you should think about when driving with that cell phone sitting in your lap is where it is going to go when your car stops suddenly in the event of an accident.  Go to the AAA of California website or Consumer Reports and watch some crash videos and imagine your device in a crash after it has bounced off another occupants head.

Even sitting on a seat or the dash is not good enough and will still become a projectile.  There are a lot of solutions that I feel provide a false sense of security, especially those with suction cup mounts.  The Factory OEM model from Samsung for the Galaxy S2 line was awesome, except for this particular issue.  The suction cup only worked when wet with water.  No, I didn’t like it and yes, I did think about it.  It would slowly loosen and pop off at the most random inopportune time while driving.  So, I stopped using it and even though I paid less then $20 for it shipped from AT&T, I felt like I wasted money because I did.  So when I upgraded to the Galaxy Note, I began looking for a universal mount so that I would not have to buy another one should I decide or need to upgrade to the Note 2.  Most Universal mounts are designed to stick to the windshield and or the vents.  It is illegal to attach anything to the window in California, technically.

Since I glued a plastic plate to my dash for the other mount, I decided to try and find a universal one with a way I could reuse this pad.  If the suction cup does not work on this one, I am going to silicone it to the plate, solving the problem.  The mount I chose is a unique design and I need to check and ensure it will grip the device even when stopped suddenly.  The idea of the airbag smacking me in the face scares me enough without think that the cell phone might decide to bounce off of something and clock me in the side of the head not protected by side curtain airbags.

The “Universal Clip-on Car Windshield Mount Holder” caught my eye when I found it being listed for another device.  I asked the seller if it would be able to hold the Note.  The seller confirmed by size how wide it would open, so I ordered it on November 11th.  On November 12th I got an email saying that my item had shipped and was on it’s way. 

         

The mount arrived on the morning of November 27th.  It arrived wraped in part of a plastic modeled protective package in a manila brown bubble-wrap padded envelope.  Although the packaging was a little less then I would have used, the item arrived in flawless condition.  The first thing I noticed was that the suction cup used for the mount is a different kind of material then all of the other unites I have encountered.

          
When I was a kid, there were these slimy, sticky insects that when thrown would stick to the surface and if the octopus one landed right it would walk down the window or surface.  It’s sort of like sticky Jello except that its solid and stronger then that.  All doubts about it sticking well went out the window the first time I affixed it to the disc on the dashboard.  I had no doubt about it falling off during the drive to pick my daughter up from school or the other appointment I drove to today.  It placed the device within reach and provided a perfect view of the screen for navigation when necessary.

Before I mounted it in the car, I held the base of the mount and shook it violently up and down with the front of the phone facing my lap.  I easily shook it harder then it would have received in the average accident and the phone did not wobble or fall loose.  Understanding how Physics works, this is very important to me since I already have a rational fear about any introductions between my face and the airbag but the common sense to realize that whatever the Airbag does will be far more preferably to being in the same situation without an airbag. 
      

The pictures above should be self-explanatory.  They are, of course, my N-7000 in the black soft Gel Case in the clamps of the mount.  It would also be large enough to hold my N-7000 in the External Battery Case that I have for it, so overall this is an awesome mount.  The second set of pictures are of my old Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4g Touch from Sprint.  I took those pictures so that you could be judge the size and dimensions of the mount.

New Facebook Attack

So, I was looking at my stream on Facebook and came across a post by someone I trust that looked like this:

The subject matter and the title by my friend was a clue, so I clicked the link.  The page that appears is this:

If you look closely, the Submit button is drawn over the original Facebook button that allows you to use your Facebook credentials to login to a website.  By clicking submit, the same link above will be posted to your wall and the ‘Hacker’ will have access to your Facebook account.  Every one of your friends who clicks and does the same thing will perpetuate this scenario.  Pass this around so that we can stop this from spreading.

If this happened to you, change your password and look in your Facebook security settings and remove any unknown apps and websites that have access to your account.

FBI Virus

So, there is a new creative Malware circulating throughout the US and world.  It is called the FBI Virus and when it infects your computer it displays the following screen:

 

 

This screen prevents you from doing anything with your PC except entering payment information.  Since this is NOT a real message from the FBI or any law enforcement agency and there is a simple fix.  Download ComboFix, Install it.  Reboot the PC in to safe mode and run Combo Fix.  Allow it to scan and clean everything it finds.  Then update your antivirus and other malware software and allow them to perform a full system scan.  This is the easiest and most direct way of getting rid of this Nag Screen, which will not go away or allow you to do anything else until you do.  Also, there is no guarantee that paying the fee will get rid of the issue and that it wont just keep popping up randomly and demand money.

Refurbished Warranties

In my effort to get healthier and to lose more weight, I have experimented with substituting fresh vegetable juice for a regular meal.  To do this we used a low end Juicer that was purchased on sale at Target.  I wont mention the make or model, but will say that it worked really well for the price, but it was a chore to use because every few carrots or other vegetables, you had to disassemble the unit to clean it.  So in August, while still euphoric from the splendor of the Redwoods, I went to Fry's and purchased the Cuisinart CJE-1000FR juicer because it was listed on the shelf as being on sale for less then $100.  I realized by reading the box that it was Factory Refurbished and having dealt with this in Electronics I realized that most of the time they are as good as a new one.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwnd5hJoxSY]

When I got home, I decided I wanted to get a rubber storage bin to put the unit in after I cleaned it. This way it would remain in pristine condition. Well, I got busy with work and other chores and did not get around to opening it this weekend. To my surprise the hinge that holds the top on to the body of the device was broken, thus making the device worthless. A call today to Cuisinart Customer service, the representative said that this part was not covered by warranty. I asked for a supervisor, and the floor supervisor again told me that this part was not covered by a warranty.

When I asked her for a supervisor, her initial response was that she was the supervisor.  When I pressed her and asked for a name or number for her supervisor she gave me a number for the corporate office, the parent company is Conair.  I called the number and eventually got the Voicemail for the person that I was referred to and left a message.

About an hour later he called me back and we discussed the situation.  I provided him the same information that I had provided previously and he explained to me that the reason that they told me that part was not covered was because the unit was refurbished in 2001 and must have sat in Fry's warehouse for years before being shipped to the store where it sat until the day I purchased it.  By the normal methodology used by the company the device was out of warranty.  I explained that I had just purchased the unit and the gentleman asked if I had a proof of purchase.  I explained that I did not but that I had paid with a Visa card and that I could contact Visa or Fry's and get a copy of the receipt.  He explained that in order to expedite the process he would ship me a new CJE-1000FR unit and also put in a request for UPS to collect the old unit.  He then asked if I still had the box, to which I replied "Of course I do, I haven't completely unpacked the unit since I saw the hinge was broken."

The morale of this story is simple, when dealing with any warranty related issues, make sure you either have proof of purchase or can get it and then do NOT take no for an answer.  Sometimes you have to hang up and call back multiple times or talk to multiple people in order to ensure that you get the company to do what it is supposed to do.  This is true with all Warranty packages from the default to any extended warranties that you might purchase.

Keeping Your Data Secure

Now, I do not do much with my phone that I am worried about.  I also am not paranoid about people invading my home to find what nefarious acts that I am doing on my computer or my phone.  That being said, I do not want someone to access the information on my phone without permission.  I have always had a pin code or now a pattern lock on my phone.  The new Atrix that I purchased for my wife so that we can switch from Sprint has a Fingerprint Reader and I have encouraged her to use it.  What does kind of make me nervous is the fact that the court has ruled that Police can take your cell phone during a routine traffic stop and look through it without a warrant.  Sure, right now it is only in Florida but the way our legal system works, it could easily be used as the basis for a ruling in other states.   This is even scarier when you add to it that Michigan Police have a device that can copy all of the information on your phone, including deleted information in less then a minute.  Why does this scare me?  Let’s say for instance, your child is in the bubble bath and just gave themselves a soapy Mohawk and are not showing anything but the minute before you snap the picture they stand up exposing themselves to you and the camera.  You delete the photo and think it is gone forever and they find it, technically in the eyes of the law it is child pornography.  The police will charge you with possession of child pornography and more then likely it will make it in to the news papers because it is sensational.  Even if you are later found innocent of the charges, that court decision will not receive the publicity or the front page status like your arrest and the damage will be done.  Not to mention those risqué pictures you took of the two girls in your ultimate fantasy threesome.

The other reason you should worry about this is if you use those free charging stations in airports, ever because they can do pretty much the same thing as that device mentioned above or worse because there are ways to potentially put information on your device without your knowledge like viruses and hidden applications.  People may say it is not possible, and I used to think it was impossible to infect a Windows PC just by connecting to the Internet and then someone figured out how to do it.   So just because it seems impossible does not mean that it really is or will always be so.  We used to think that our government didn’t kidnap random people from around the world, regardless of reason, take them to a not so secret, secret military base in Cuba to torture them with enhanced interrogation techniques.  Then we found out that they did it quite regularly and also wanted to be able to do it to citizens too.  But I digress.

So how do you prevent this from happening?  Android devices have the ability to disable the USB port for anything other then charging.  I am going to show you how to do it with the two most popular brands of Cell Phones, Samsung and HTC.  HTC is easy, this screenshot is from the HTC Sensation, go to Settings and USB and the screen looks like this:

So uncheck the Ask me option and set the Default connection to charge only.  You will have to change this each time you wish to copy things to or from the phone.  If you want you can check the Ask Me and the default to Charge Only, this will let you change it on the fly when you connect it to your computer.

Next you will want to go to the Security settings and enable a screen lock.  The most secure is a pin code, but the pattern lock is secure enough that the FBI asked Google for a back door, which they said was not possible, publically.  In that regard it does not matter which you use if there is a back door around it.  Once this is done, your device is pretty safe from the scanners listed above.  This screen shot is from my Samsung Galaxy Note:

As you can see I have enabled the Pattern Lock and the pattern is visible.  As I said, I know that nothing will stop everyone so I am primarily concerned about deterring the less determined people.  I usually turn it off to be honest and have just left it on since I only use it as a tablet right now until I port my number from Sprint.  This should be very similar to the HTC or other Android devices in how this functions.  I know it works on my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4g Touch, and yes that is a mouth full.

Right now it is configured to be connected to the PC, I am running Ice Cream Sandwich and if you notice in the top Status Bar, the USB icon on the left side.  If you pull down the ‘curtain’ it will say “Connected As Media Device” or something else if you have uncheck this.  If you then click on that it will bring up this page so that you can change it on the fly.  When the first option is unchecked, the USB port only functions as a charging port.

Finally, under Settings, Development make sure that USB Debugging is not checked.  Once this is done, your device is impervious to the device mentioned above.  There is always more you can do to secure your device and this is only the first  step.  I will add more in future articles.  Just because you have nothing to hide, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t or do not need to secure your device because in this day and age you never know what could be misinterpreted or used against you so securing your digital device is the smart thing to do.

Loss or Theft of a Smart Device

When I started using a Smart Phone they were not called such, they were referred to as a PDA Phone in the beginning and then Microsoft needed to refresh their mobile operating system and coined the term Smart Phone.  I wasn’t particularly worried about loss or theft because I pin protected the device and I had insurance from my carrier, Sprint, that would replace the device after a modest deductible.  I also did not worry about my data because I had everything synced with Outlook, even text messages and call history.  This worked well for me because when a device failed or was replaced all I had to do was plug it in the USB port and away I went.

When I got my Android tablet, I set it up so my important personal data was kept in a secure, encrypted container with a complex passcode.  So I was not worried about people accessing my data and my device was insured.  I never thought about theft because I always kept the device secure or on my person.  A couple of weeks ago, it was in my car, in my driveway and someone took it out of my car.  Needless to say I was devastated and posted on Facebook about it.  Within minutes one of my friends suggested a piece of software called Plan B  that I could install in the hopes that it would help me retrieve my missing device.  The awesome thing about Google Play is that you can login to the website and install applications on your device through the website.  So I chose to install Plan B and thus far it has not worked for me but this could mean the device has just not been connected to the internet or that someone wiped the device.  If it does connect to the internet it is supposed to email me the location when it does. 

If I had not of cancelled the wireless internet on the device, it would have installed instantly and notified me of the location.  I could then use text messages to control the device.  Unfortunately when Sprint screwed over all their HTC View owners I eventually decided that $20 a month for 1gb was just too much money.  Even if I did not get ahold of the device, I carried the $15 dollar insurance package which would have replaced the device by now for a small modest fee.  Unfortunately the insurance went along with the service.  I know, sucks to be me and I just hope that all the fleas from all the camels in Saudi Arabia infest the person who took it’s underwear so that it gives new meaning to Jock Itch.  While I know anyone could have done it, I am leaning more towards a male as this was a very bold theft.  But I digress.

For my Cell Phone I have installed a program from Google Play called Prey and this program will allow you to do some awesome things with your device remotely should it become misplaced or misappropriated.  I will let you know after I have had some time to play with it if it is a viable option or not.  There are quite a few applications like this on the market and I always try and use the open source products first since this allows others to fix the bugs or take over development should the current developers decide against further development or they get a real life.

So I recommend installing something and making sure that if you have a high end smart device that you also carry theft and damage insurance from your carrier.  A new smart device can run as high as $800 without a carrier discount and they only give them every two years so if you lose the device it will cover it.  Most carriers have it for $10-15 and a $100 deductible which over the course of a two year contract with no deductibles will set you back about $300 but isn’t that worth it knowing that if you drop it or lose it that it will be replaced?