Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving again!
Yesterday I sent out an email with some information for Black Friday sales (https://mac-pc-assist.com/nordvpn-privacy-and-black-friday-deals/) and of course recommending a VPN for any public WiFi usage, yes, even those at Starbucks and such can be insecure if you are shopping or entering passwords on your device. By device, this can be a laptop, phone or tablet.
Yesterday the federal government issued a warning regarding public WiFi, charging phones at public stations and phishing. I have covered phishing many times. This time of year can be especially challenging as it’s hard to make out real emails form REAL retailers versus the fake ones. If you are not sure, forward that email to me and I will be happy to determine it’s authenticity.
Here is the link to the warnings: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2018/11/20/Securing-Mobile-Devices-During-Holiday-Travel.
And this brings up another link to follow with the tips for holiday travel:
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips/ST11-001
Although that was written in 2011, the warnings are still true today.
In short: Avoid public WiFi (or encrypt it while you are connected, turn off Bluetooth when not in use, and of course, be very cautious regarding where you charge your phone…read on for more.
So I have been using the NordVPN when I am out and about, it works for any Wifi connection. – here’s that link again for NordVPN: https://go.nordvpn.net/aff_c?offer_id=15&aff_id=19099&url_id=902
Once installed, all I have to do is go to Settings/VPN in my iPhone and turn it on. A small VPN icon will show up in the top status bar. if you have an Android-based device, it will be different and also depends on how new your device is.
Understand that this does not encrypt your phone’s carrier signal, it’s for WiFi if it is connected to a network.
On to the next warning – public charging stations or someone’s computer that you don’t know…
I have always been leery of public charging stations – who knows if the connection is to a trustworthy power source or a power source AND a device that can capture and read the contents of the device?
Some chargers can overpower the port and damage batteries and the charging system in a device. Nintendo Switch owners have to follow specifics such as amperage for an external battery pack and cables that support those specs.
If you have to charge your device on the go, get one of these…and it’s also a good idea to keep one for emergencies. I have covered some emergency preparedness on my other site: https://scottpam.com/. I also got certified with CERT last year and keep my CERT bag in my car as well.
I have two external batteries – one from Anker as well – one or both are always in my car or in my bag.
With 20,000mah of power, this can recharge your phone in an emergency more than once, possibly up to four times with judicious use of your phone.
The power supply has been through the intense heat here in the desert and so far, I have not charged it beyond it’s initial charge, even after using it to charge my phone, a tablet and another device.
I have also used it to power my phones during long video recording events.
I am also an Amazon Associate so these links might earn me three pennies, four if you actually buy the product from that link. Amazon requires that I notify my readers about my relationship with them.
All of the links below go directly to Amazon and I have used their service to shorten the links for brevity. Trust me, two paragraphs of HTML code will scare most humans, even those of us with coding experience.
To purchase that specific battery that I use, click here: https://amzn.to/2TvqPgv.
I also bought USB-C cables to charge the newest devices that handle that connection such as my Galaxy Tablet.
I have pretty high end cables for charging that I did find on Amazon as well. I prefer the metal braided cables as they seemingly last longer than the basic plastic/rubber wrapped ones.
USB-C: https://amzn.to/2PLwtN6 – check with your device manufacturer (or get in touch with me and I can check) for their specs for charging;
Lightning Cable (iPhone and other Apple devices): https://amzn.to/2FC5u2d
For those of you who need the USB Micro B: https://amzn.to/2TynKw4
Any other questions or issues, please call!
Gobble, Gobble,
Scott (760) 550-9496