Geekly Update - 25 March 2020

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

If it looks like your cat videos are a little grainy on Youtube, your eyes are not to blame. YouTube is reducing video quality for all videos to standard definition for a month, to minimize the load on their network, while people are stuck at home in search of diversions from Netflix binging.

If you need some non-video distractions, this list of "The 66 Best Inventions of the Past 66 Years" from Popular Mechanics will keep you busy for a while.

Amazon is discounting the newly-released Samsung Galaxy S20 5G smartphone by $200. The factory unlocked version can be used with any U.S. carrier and has 128GB of onboard storage, Fingerprint ID, and Facial Recognition.

Working from home may make you more vulnerable to hackers. Here are some tips on how to stay safe while getting work done outside the office.

Along those lines, while working from home, you might want to mute or turn off your nosy always-listening digital assistants such as Alexa and Google Home, while making business calls. You don't want any proprietary or confidential business discussions accidentally seeping into the cloud.

This just in from the "We Built This City On Sausage Rolls" Department: YouTube Music users on iOS and Android devices can follow along with lyrics while listening. To see the lyrics, tap the “i” button on the left side of the screen, and lyrics will show up under the song. (The "sausage rolls" reference comes from this humorous website with commonly misheard song lyrics.)

Microsoft is warning Windows users about a new software bug that can be exploited in multiple ways. The most likely is convincing an unsuspecting person to open a “specially crafted document” delivered by email. Be especially careful about opening email attachments, as there are many reports of hackers trying to take advantage of people during this time of crisis.

Do your eyes glaze over when you hear terms like blockchain, bitcoin, and cybercurrency? Here’s a CNET tutorial that explains these terms, and how related services may change your life in the months and years to come.

I’m sure you realize that everything you post on social media can and will be used to build facial recognition databases, and create dossiers enabling third-parties to understand who you are, and target you with ads. So much for privacy in the digital age. But now, governments may be scouring social media in search of clues that people might be violating “social distancing” directives. A research group in Italy scanned Instagram posts and found over 30,000 people violated quarantine orders. 

Verizon is adding 15GB of high-speed data to all wireless plans in response to the virus crisis. They'll also waive overage charges and late fees, and provide free international calling to CDC level 3 countries.

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