Talking To Customer Support Is So Awful ...

... People Would Rather Shave Their Heads

You pick up your phone countless times a day. But what does it take to get you to pick it up and call customer service? A lot, it turns out.

Twilio asked OnePoll to conduct a survey of 2,000 Americans to find out what they would rather do instead of dealing with customer support on the phone. It found that respondents would rather do their taxes (30%), go to the dentist (28%), go to the DMV (25%), shave their heads (24%), and even spend a night in jail (22%) instead.

Although humans have evolved to hate talking on the phone, there’s more at work here. A bad customer support experience led 62% of survey respondents to end their relationship with a company or cancel a service. They reported spending an inordinate amount of time on hold, on average over an hour, and even then the issue is only resolved 46% of the time.

Those who’ve bailed on attempts at calling customer service have had the additional frustrating experiences of missing deadlines for canceling contracts (46%), passing the return window for products (44%), and losing on an item or service (41%).

Survey respondents said these experiences could be made better if people could solve their issues without speaking on the phone to a live person (52%) and had multiple ways to contact support to get their issue resolved (51%).

Credit: pcmag.com

Mozilla Makes Private Browsing In Firefox Easier ...

... Also Adds PDF Editing And "Firefox View"

The latest Mozilla Firefox web browser update places more focus on privacy, introduces PDF editing, and adds a new "Firefox View" tab history feature. 

Mozilla’s sales pitch for Firefox 106, announced Tuesday (10-18-22) for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, leads off with privacy, the focus of much of the non-profit’s recent browser development.

Unlike previous updates, which blocked such common tracking techniques as third-party cookies and browser fingerprinting, this release makes smaller changes: a private browsing shortcut that you can place on your desktop for quick switching, plus a default dark mode so it's clear when private browsing is enabled.

Mozilla created a new feature called "Firefox View" for desktop browser users which rolls out with the release. It acts as a short history of your browser activity (think of it as a supercharged new tab experience), keeping track of up to 25 of your recently-closed tabs. This isn't limited to just one device, though. Firefox will remember the contents of those tabs across all the devices you are logged into. On mobile devices, you'll see the last three tabs you had open on other devices.

Firefox’s PDF viewer, meanwhile, is now a PDF editor as well, allowing users to mark up documents and sign them without leaving the browser. This catches Firefox up to Microsoft’s Edge, which has featured PDF annotation for years, and sets it ahead of Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome. But Firefox still trails Safari, Chrome and Microsoft’s Edge in not offering a tab-groups feature aside from its weirdly Android-only Collections.

Mozilla is also expanding its Firefox Colorways feature, which allows for color-based customization of the browser. The latest, limited edition of the Colorways wallpapers were produced by streetwear and sneaker designer Keely Alexis (best known for the Nike Air Jordans).

And finally, Mac users get one extra feature in this update: automatic text recognition in images and PDFs, provided they run the 2020-vintage macOS Catalina or later.

Among the major browser choices, Firefox continues to stand out for its strong privacy protections and independent development.

Credit: pcmag.com

Executive Board Minutes

Computer Technology Club, Inc.
Executive Board Minutes
October 14, 2022

Alan Marcus, President, called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. Members in attendance: Jim Trimboli, Bob Kenlay, Bob Leiner, Don Forgette, Bob Irish, Bill Balch and Alan Marcus.

The Secretary’s report was read by Bob Kenlay. No corrections or additions necessary.

Jim Trimboli then read the current Treasurer's report. The current balance is $1553.85.

Jim Trimboli suggested that the club consider a bingo party at our 2023 Holiday party as a way of increasing our club membership. Discussion will take place at a future meeting.

Don Forgette suggested we consider a presentation on car dash cams, Alan Marcus will investigate.

Other considerations are “Team Viewer” and “Fire Stick” or streaming and video conferencing subjects.

Future meeting topics:

Oct 19 – Member Questions & Computer Problem Solutions by Alan Marcus

Nov 16 - TBD

Dec 21 - Holiday Party

Jan 25 - Whatsapp, Chat and Browse by Bill Balch

The meeting adjourned at 9:50AM.

Respectfully submitted,
Bob Kenlay, Secretary

How Malware Hides in Images and What To Do

There are plenty of dangers to watch out for when it comes to keeping your devices and your data safe, including viruses, phishing attempts, compromised wifi networks, and rogue USB sticks. Here, we’re going to talk about one of the lesser-known threats: Compromised images.

You might not have realized it, but malware can be injected into digital photos that appear to be perfectly normal. The technique for doing so is known as steganography, or the practice of hiding one file in another, and it’s not always done maliciously. The method takes advantage of the hidden data that comes along with an image, data which isn’t necessarily translated into pixels on your screen.

Almost any image format can be edited to conceal malware, and the more appealing and popular the picture, the better: Images from the James Webb telescope were recently used as part of a malware attack, for example. Typically, these compromised pictures get served to you on websites or embedded in documents.

Those are the basics, but the exact details of this threat vary between attacks. Malware code can be embedded in an image in a few different ways, for example: Attached to the end of a file, or through slight tweaks to individual bits of the code, or through changes to the metadata associated with a file (this metadata also stores the time and date the photo was taken, and other information).

In one recent attack, the ObliqueRAT malware was hidden inside a seemingly ordinary bitmap file displayed in a browser tab. In this case, a Microsoft Office email attachment was used to direct unsuspecting targets towards the image, but a variety of other methods can be deployed as well, as long as the image gets loaded, the exploit can work.

Whatever the details, the image acts as the carrier for something dangerous, like the Trojan horse of Greek lore. Pictures can carry code to cause damage to a system, to set up a ransomware request, or to start mining crypto on a computer. There are many different variations and possibilities, and of course new threats are being developed all the time. In fact, any file can be used as a carrier, videos and documents work as well as images.

One of the reasons these attacks work so well is that an image file seems a lot more innocent than an executable file. Even if you’re unlikely to download and run an app you don’t know anything about, you might be tempted to take a look at a picture someone has sent you, especially if it’s a majestic shot of deep space, as with the James Webb telescope example.

As with other security threats, bad actors and security experts are in a constant battle to stay ahead: For instance, threat intelligence company Reversing Labs has a great blog post about how the EXIF data attached to an image (those details around when the photo was taken and which camera was used) can be compromised to execute code. There are plenty more examples out there.

At this point, you might be wondering if you should ever load an image in your web browser or email client again. The setting to block this is actually available in most browsers if you really want to be on the safe side, in Chrome, for example, open Settings from the menu and then click Privacy and security, Site settings, and Images.

The good news is that your web browser will be actively looking for online threats and should shut down the majority of malware attacks that come through images before they can do any damage. Computer security is never 100 percent guaranteed, but you’re most likely going to be fine if you carry on loading images as normal, thanks to the limits that browsers put on what websites are able to do, just make sure that your browser is always up to date.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that almost all the images you see on social media have been modified and compressed on their way to a data server, making it very difficult for a bad actor to hide code that’s still fully preserved by the time the image makes it in front of anyone’s eyeballs. Image-based malware isn’t a particularly common threat, but it’s still worth knowing about and protecting yourself from.

All the same security rules apply to keep yourself safe from image-based attacks as for any other kind of threat. Make sure your programs are always running the very latest versions, be wary of opening anything that comes your way over email and social media (even if it appears to be from someone you trust), and for extra peace of mind, get a third-party security software suite installed on your computer.

Credit: gizmodo.com

How to Switch iPhones Without Losing a Thing

Apple Bytes: 

Everything you need to know to successfully transfer your contacts, music, photos, and apps from one iOS device to another.

Wondering how to switch iPhones or iPads successfully, without losing anything in the process? If you're looking to upgrade, it is possible to do so painlessly. Your photos, contacts, videos, message history, music, calendars, mail accounts, and many of your apps can all be transferred from your previous device to the new one.

1. Back Up Your Old iPhone or iPad

First, you need to back up your old device, which can you do via iCloud or your computer.

Using iCloud

Make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi. Then go into your iPhone or iPad’s settings and click your name at the top, which will take you to your Apple ID page. Depending on which model you have, you will either choose iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now, or after clicking your Apple ID page, you'll see a list of devices your ID is signed into.

If that's the case, click on your iPhone or iPad. From there, choose iCloud Backup, toggle it on, click on Back Up Now, and let your device back up while it’s still on Wi-Fi. It might be worth setting your new device to automatically backup daily, but be aware that Apple only lets you store 5 GB for free.

Using a Mac

Plug your iPhone or iPad into your MacBook or iMac and open Finder. On the left, you should see your device come up under Locations. You can go through all your saved data, from music and podcasts to photos and files. If your photos have been saved via iCloud, they won't show up here unless you turn that feature off.

Under the General tab, you can select Back Up Now. To save Health and Activity data, choose the option to encrypt your backup, or else it will not be saved; not saving unencrypted Health and Activity data is a default privacy feature. All iCloud backups are encrypted automatically.

Using a Windows Computer

You'll need to download iTunes for Windows and plug your iPhone or iPad into your laptop or desktop via USB. Click the iPhone/iPad button at the top left of the iTunes window, then go to Summary > Back Up Now. Encrypt your backup by clicking Encrypt local backup and setting a password. Encrypting allows you to back up your Health and Activity data, as well. To find your backups, click Edit > Preferences > Devices. Apple also goes through the steps here.

2. Swap SIMs or Activate eSIM

Once you're fully backed up, it's time to sort your SIM card. If you're in the US, the iPhone 14 range no longer has a physical SIM card slot, so you have to use eSIM. If you have previously used an eSIM on an iPhone, you can activate it during setup by following the onscreen instructions.

If you are switching from an older iPhone using a physical SIM card, then you will be asked about transferring your number as a part of the Quick Start process described below. Apple has full eSIM setup instructions for different scenarios. Just know that once you go from a physical SIM to eSIM, your physical SIM card will no longer work.

To use a physical SIM card with an older iPhone, simply swap the SIM card from your old phone into the new phone. You can also do this step after setting up your new iPhone, in case you don't want to miss any calls or messages during the process. Lightly pushing a SIM tool or paperclip into the SIM tray hole will help you open it up. The SIM card has one sloped side, which you can line up on the SIM tray of your new iPhone.

3. Turn On Your New Device

We recommend fully charging both your old device and your new iPhone before you begin, and keep a charger handy just in case. You are ready to turn on the new device. The next part depends on the version of iOS or iPadOS your old device is running.

Note: Anyone using the Google Authenticator app (or any other two-factor authenticator app) should be careful not to delete this app on their old iPhone until they have moved their accounts across to the new one or they may lose access. Google's instructions for transferring Authenticator codes to a new phone are HERE.

If your old device is running iOS 12.4 and iPadOS 13.4 or newer, then you can use Quick Start to directly transfer data from your old iPhone or iPad to your new one. (You can check your iOS version by heading to Settings > General > About > iOS version.)

Steps to use Quick Start:

1. Turn on your new device and place it near the old one, making sure that Bluetooth is turned on. The Quick Start screen should appear on your old iPhone or iPad, and you can tap Continueto begin the process.

2. Wait for an animation on your new device and hold your current device over the new device to center the animation in the camera viewfinder. Wait for a message that says Finish on New [Device].

3. Enter your passcode on your new device and follow the instructions to set up Face ID or Touch ID.

4. You can choose to migrate data directly from your old iPhone or iPad to your new one by choosing Transfer from [Device].

5. Keep both devices close and plugged into power until the transfer is complete and you're done. You can skip the rest of the steps below.

If your old device doesn't support Quick Start, or you don't want to use it, then follow the steps on the Hello screen until you reach a screen that asks whether you want to join a Wi-Fi network. Choose the network you wish to join. You will be prompted to set up eSIM (choose Transfer from another iPhone) and then set up Face ID or Touch ID.

4. Restore Your Backup

Restore from iCloud Backup

If you used iCloud to back up your iPad or iPhone, continue through the setup process until you reach the Apps & Data screen and tap the Restore from iCloud Backup option. Sign in to your Apple ID (if you're forgetful, consider using a password manager to find and store old login information) and choose the backup that you want to use.

The backups are time-stamped, so if you've been regularly backing up your phone there will be several listed; be sure to look at the date and size of the backup to make sure you pick the correct one.

Restore from Mac or PC

If you used your computer to back up your data, plug your phone or tablet into it. If you're using a Mac running Catalina 10.15, open Finder and select your device. If your Mac is running an older operating system or you have a PC, open iTunes. Select your iPhone/iPad when it appears in the window. Click Restore Backup under the General tab and choose the correct date.

5. Make Sure Your Wi-Fi Connection Is Stable

Don't disrupt the Wi-Fi connection until the transfer is totally done. Disconnecting early will cause your backup to pause until you reconnect. The same goes if you are restoring by tethering your device to a Windows 10 PC or Mac, leave your phone or tablet plugged in until it's finished.

There isn't anything else to it. If you went ahead and fired up your new iPhone or iPad without transferring anything, you'll have to either erase it and start over, or transfer your content manually, but that's going to be a lot more work than doing a full transfer. We recommend just starting over from scratch and following the above steps to get all your data over at once.

Do not delete data on your old device until you have your new one up and running. Have fun with your new iPhone or iPad, and if you don't need your old one, consider selling it.

Credit: wired.com