Recent Comments
Comment by TW on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 09:17 PM)
@Jimmy When is spoofing illegal? Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, FCC rules prohibit anyone from transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID inf...
Comment by Brian on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 06:49 PM)
We in the UK have the same problem with robocalls. I find that simple common sense is one of the best defence mechanisms. Just do not engage and if un...
Comment by Wolf on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 05:36 PM)
This is another important article, which is very applicable as we have the holiday season approaching, and that is another time of the year that the s...
Comment by Jimmy on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 02:53 PM)
Nuisance calls and texts abound. I usually do not answer and I delete unsolicited text messages. But if I think someone (at a plausible number) may be...
Comment by john on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 01:26 PM)
I have nomorobo with my voip account. It usually works great. But lately, it is failing, I will get three calls in a row from three different random...
Comment by Chris is NJ on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 11:27 AM)
I have a landline with an answering machine attached. Most robo-dialers can detect the answering machine and the call does not go through. With the ri...
Comment by Renaud Olgiati on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 09:06 AM)
Living in Paraguay, any robocall hangs up quickly when I reply in English calls from unknown numbers......
Comment by Wild Bill on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 20, 2024 01:35 AM)
I suspect (based on the number of calls to our landline and the near impossibility of tracking and apprehending the miscreants) that some of the 50% d...
Comment by Erik S on [SCAM ALERT] Smishing is Getting Worse (what you need to know and do) (November 19, 2024 11:38 PM)
"WHAT IS MY NAME?" Whenever I have doubts, this is the question that I send back (in capital or regular letters). Not a single time so far h...
Comment by Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. (Oldster) on Who is Winning the Robocall Wars? (November 19, 2024 11:00 PM)
I have MagicJack for y home phone. The service includes call screening, where a caller must enter a random number to complete the call. This feature h...
Who is Winning the Robocall Wars?
With billions of calls made each year in the United States, robocalls continue to be one of the most widespread annoyances in the telecom industry. You've probably been annoyed by 'Rachel in Card Services' or 'Jennifer from the Warranty Department' recently. Even with improvements in technology and regulations, the fight against robocalls is far from ended. Here's a closer look at our current situation in 2024 and the resources at our disposal to address this problem. Read on...
Posted by Bob Rankin on November 19, 2024 | Category: Telephony
Which People Finder Sites are Legit?
A good man is hard to find, or so the saying goes. I first offered tips for “Finding People Online” way back in 2006, and updated that article with “Free People Search Tools” in 2020. Now in 2024, I have to say it’s getting harder to find free information about people and places. If you’re looking for a name, address or phone number, I have some tips on websites you should avoid, and some that actually do what they say, for free. Here's the scoop...
Posted by Bob Rankin on November 14, 2024 | Category: Reference
Just Add Onions for Online Privacy?
What do onions have to do with Internet privacy? I don't spend much time in dark corners of the Web, but every once in a while I fire up the privacy-focused Tor browser. I just installed the latest version and spent some time exploring the Tor network. It was an interesting and surprisingly non-geeky sojourn! Here's what you need to know about the Tor browser, and how onions can improve your online safety and privacy...work security
Posted by Bob Rankin on November 06, 2024 | Category: Privacy
Geekly Update - 30 October 2024
Can you fall in love with an AI chatbot? Is your TV harvesting your private information and selling it to data brokers? Are AI-powered cameras watching your bathroom activities? And will a flying car help you avoid traffic jams? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 30, 2024 | Category: Tech-News
Selling Your Saliva: Privacy Dangers of DNA Testing
At-home DNA test kits sold online are popular holiday gifts, promising to reveal facts about your family history and susceptibility to various diseases. But could sending in your saliva sample in a DNA test kit have a negative impact on the privacy of yourself, your family, and your close relatives? Here's what you need to know, especially if you've submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry or 23andMe...
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 29, 2024 | Category: Privacy
Geekly Update - 23 October 2024
Was the last tattered vestige of your privacy just swallowed up by data brokers, or did you willingly hand it over? Will dorky augmented reality glasses soon replace your smartphone? Is using AI-generated content in your term paper cheating? And is there a way to circumvent Windows 11's strict hardware requirements? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 23, 2024 | Category: Tech-News
Can I Share My Password for Netflix and Other Streaming Services?
The question of whether you can legally or ethically share your password for Netflix and other streaming services is a hot topic. With access to enormous collections of films, TV shows, documentaries, and more, streaming services have emerged as a crucial component of contemporary entertainment. However, the manner in which users share these services raises concerns about what is acceptable and what the potential repercussions might be. Read on for a look at the details of this question...
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 22, 2024 | Category: Video
The Most Common Computing Mistakes (how many have you made?)
You might prefer to blame hackers, cyber-criminals, and shoddy software, but the unpleasant truth is that most computer problems are caused by users. Here's the good news: there are a few basic steps you can take to avoid malware infections, data loss, and performance issues. Too often, people try to save time or money by cutting corners, and they end up paying the price. Check out my list of common computing mistakes, and how to fix (or even better, avoid) them. Read on...
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 17, 2024 | Category: Security
Try These Free Online Photo Editors
An AskBob reader says: 'I don’t have Adobe Photoshop and I’m looking for a photo editor that I can use on the go. What do you recommend for photo editing when I’m away from my home computer?' It turns out there are quite a few online image and photo editors, and the features they offer are quite impressive. Check out these free web-based image editing tools that are just a click away...
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 11, 2024 | Category: Photography
Yes, You Do Need a Disposable Email Address
It seems everyone wants your email address -- shopping sites, your bank, your doctor, the grocery store, even the vendors at the local farmer’s market. It’s no wonder our spam filters are so busy! But I do wonder which of the many entities that have my email address gave it away, sold it, or carelessly lost it in a data breach. A disposable email address provides a handy solution to this and other privacy problems. Read on to learn more...
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 08, 2024 | Category: Email
A Time Machine for the Internet?
Have you ever wondered what the Internet looked like 25 years ago? The Internet Archive has been crawling the Web since 1996, taking snapshots of Web pages and preserving them for posterity. Today, approximately 835 billion Web pages, 44 million books, millions of images, audio recordings, and video, along with a million games and software programs are stored on the IA’s servers. Read on to learn how you can access the Wayback Machine, an amazing resource that offers a window into both the history and the present of the Internet...
Posted by Bob Rankin on October 01, 2024 | Category: Reference
So You Dropped Your Phone in the...
For a variety of reasons, millions of mobile phones are “drowned” each year. When your phone stops working after falling into the sink, toilet, bathtub, swimming pool, muddy puddle, lake or the ocean, can it be saved? In many cases the answer is “yes,” if you do the right things and don’t do the wrong things. If you're thinking about using rice, silica gel, cat litter, couscous, or instant oatmeal, don't waste your time. Here's what you need to know if your device is dunked, and the tale of my unsuccessful attempts to teach my phone to swim...
Posted by Bob Rankin on September 26, 2024 | Category: Mobile
Geekly Update - 25 September 2024
Can you prevent Facebook and Instagram from scraping your social media data to train their AI models? Should you hand your phone to the police, when they ask to see your digital driver's license? Is anything being done to stem the tide of phony product reviews on Amazon and other ecommerce sites? And is AI really all about creating God in our image? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on September 25, 2024 | Category: Tech-News
[ALERT] Fake Facebook Profile - What to do?
Today I got a message from an AskBob reader, alerting me that someone had made a fake Facebook profile in my name. The malefactor pretending to be me stole my profile picture, reposted some of my updates, and was already running a scam. Fortunately, that reader wasn’t fooled, and was kind enough to let me know about the bogus account. Sadly, this happens all the time. Here’s what I did, and what you need to know about fake Facebook profiles...
Posted by Bob Rankin on September 24, 2024 | Category: Facebook
Geekly Update - 19 September 2024
Will these new tech devices allow the blind to see and the deaf to hear? Has Toyota solved the problem of small children being left behind in locked cars? And have AI deepfakes ruined everthing? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on September 19, 2024 | Category: Tech-News