I have had several emails approach me asking if I would like them to write up something for my blog. They are companies that want to advertise their products. Most times I tell them, "no, thanks", but there are two that I want to post because they are about computer security and I think they might be helpful to you. Here is the first one. It talks about Encryption, which is a big computer word, but is important.

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Hackers are violating people’s privacy every day via email. You may not realize it, but there is a lot of sensitive information in your email account. From banking details to personal information, you want to be sure your data is protected. Even if you are protecting your passwords, there’s a chance that someone especially crafty can get by. 

One way to protect yourself is by encrypting your emails. Email encryption is a way of disguising the content of the message to protect them from any unwanted eyes. With encryption, each person has a public and private key. The public key encrypts emails you send while the private key is used to decrypt emails you may receive. 

Some email providers such as Gmail and Outlook already have an email encryption feature built-in using the encryption protocol called S/MIME. Others like Yahoo or AOL need apps to enable the PGP/MIME encryption protocol. 

To help you understand how email encryption works, Panda Security has an infographic on how to encrypt email that details what you need to know about email encryption and notes some secure apps that can help you. 

Enjoying Your Computer During Covid 19

It is hard to imagine what it would be like if COVID 19 had come in the 80s when I did not have a computer. I know it can be unhealthy to be too connected to a screen and not to people. I don't think it should be a replacement for people at all. However, it allows me to do so many things that I would not be able to do while sheltering in place. 

The main thing for me is connecting with other people. Here are the things I do that connect me to other people:

• I use Facetime to read books to my granddaughters.
  
  
  
• I met my new grandson! It is so sad to not be able to meet him in person. We got to know him through Facetime since he was born to about 5 month when we decided we could not stand it  anymore and drove to see him. 
  
  
  
• I talk with my family in California and New York with Zoom.
• My husband and I often have Happy Hours with friends. We even had one with friends who live in Denmark!! We could have done that years ago, but we didn't. Somehow, experiencing the same thing in such different locations made connecting really important.

I exercise regularly:

• I do a zoom Yoga class with my instructor from pre-COVID days twice or three times a week. She is even able to teach it when she goes to Santa Fe to get away!
• I can also find thousands of other yoga classes, as well as other types of exercises on YouTube. My favorite online Yoga instructor is Adriane. https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
  

• I also do Silver Sneakers exercises on YouTube. True admission - I am now a senior and the exercises I find there are more helpful for coordination and balance.
  
  
  
• The one I have not done yet, but am planning on trying is Paul Eugene dancing to Motown. https://youtu.be/rn1r39YHfrE

I participate in a couple of other things

• There is a weekly Feldenkrais session. This is a unique system of small movement intended to help you with pain caused by movement. It works by changing your brain pathways from old habits to better ways of movement. 
• I am in a Creative Women's Circle that meets for a couple of hours every two weeks.

I have not even mentioned the boring regular things like email and reading the news online. 

• I get my library books online and read on my kindle.
• I order vegetables online that arrive weekly.
• I do the Times Crossword puzzle online (I am really good on Monday's puzzle)
• I do some phone calling to encourage people to vote online. 
• I work with clients remotely!  I actually have several past clients who call regularly and a few new ones!

It is amazing! If you want to get some help from I'm not a Geek.com you no longer have to live in Austin, TX. We can connect from anywhere and I can help you as long as you have regular people problem issues with technology!

Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10

It is time to upgrade to Windows 10 whether you want to or not. Microsoft will not be supporting Windows 7 as of January 14th!  That is only 11 days from now. If you are still running Windows 7 on your computer you have two choices. You can upgrade to Windows 10 on the same computer OR you can decide to upgrade to a new computer. 

If you go to the Microsoft website to upgrade to Windows 10 it will cost $139 for the home version. When it first came out Microsoft offered an upgrade free for one year. If you did not upgrade at that time both Techdator News and CNET tell you how to get a free upgrade to Windows 10 still.

Techdator News
https://techdator.net/heres-how-to-upgrade-windows-10-for-free-before-microsoft-ends-windows-7-support/

CNET
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/upgrade-to-windows-10-free-heres-how/

In order to upgrade you need to have a computer with some basic capabilities. 

• A 2-GHz processor
• 4 GB of RAM
• 100 GB of hard disk space

To find out if your computer has these
1. Go to the START MENU and left click on the word Computer on the right side.
This will open a thermometer looking gauge that shows how much storage space there is on your computer and what you have used so far.

2. Go to START again, but this time right click on the word Computer. This will open up a window where you can see information about your Windows Operating system. It will tell you there how many GHz your processor has and how much RAM your computer has.

p.s. I just tried this on a computer that had Windows 7 Pro. I was able to do it for free!  It took a while, but it worked!!

Making a Contact into a Favorite on your iPhone

MAKING A CONTACT A FAVORITE
ON YOUR IPHONE
This morning I was wanting to add someone to my FAVORITES list in my phone contacts. I could not figure out how, so I used Google searching to find the answer and it came right up:
Here's how it's done:

1. Launch the phone application and click on favorites in the lower left corner.
2. Tap the + button in the top right.
3. Find the contact you wish to add as a favorite and tap on their name.
4. Select the information you wish to favorite (phone number, email, FaceTime, etc)
5. That's it!

So this tip is a double tip.  Now you know how to make a contact your favorite and also how to find out about just about anything you need to do!

The only thing I have not included so far is WHY to make a contact your favorite.  It may be obvious, but there are a few people that I contact often. If I put them in my favorites list calling them is much faster.

PROTECTING YOUR PASSWORDS - Learn how people are stealing them!

The following article was sent to me by Chris Jones @turnonVPN. Since it fits so well into what this blog is about I am glad to share it with you. 

HAVING DISCOMFORT USING YOUR COMPUTER?

5 THINGS TO ADJUST IF YOU ARE HAVING DISCOMFORT USING YOUR COMPUTER

1. ADJUST YOUR DISPLAY: Your monitor should be at eye level.  Sit back in your chair and point with your right hand. If it is not at the center of the screen you may want to make adjustments.
2. USE TWO MONITORS: If you do work with lots of data or creative work you can expand your view size by using two monitors. Second hand monitors are cheap and tough to recycle, so this is a good use for them. You can plug both monitors into the same computer and they will act like one!
3. KEYBOARD AND MOUSE PLACEMENT: The ideal height of a keyboard is two inches above your knees. If you have to bend your wrists in order to type you can become injured with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Your mouse should be easy to reach and not cause you to bend over in order to use it.
4. OFFICE CHAIRS AND DESKS: You should be able to sit comfortably with no compression of the thighs. Your feet should be flat on the floor and there should be at least 1 inch of space around your hips and thighs. The best Stand Up desks allow both standing and sitting since it is movement that is most beneficial.
5. SMARTPHONE POSITIONING: The well known posture of bending over a Smartphone is not a good practice. Instead hold your phone at near eye-level. Notice one person in this picture doing it right!

Tips from CMIT Quicktips
https://cmitsolutions.com/austin-central/ergonomics-do-more-than-just-make-your-job-easy/

A FEW MORE PASSWORD THOUGHTS

NEW PASSWORD RECOMMENDATIONS
If you are like many people and prefer NOT to use a Password Vault (Dashlane is what I use) and struggle with remembering all of those passwords you might really like this advice. The newest advice that I have read urges user friendliness.

The new recommendations call passwords "Memorized Secrets" and encourage long passphrases rather than complex short passwords. It is still good to use special characters like !, @, #, $, %.  Use a whole sentence that you will easily remember. The fact that it is long and has some special characters will make it difficult to crack.

WHAT MAKES A BAD PASSWORD
These are all things I have seen people using! 

• repetitive words (“passwordpassword”) (often because so many letters are required)
• sequential strings (“password12345”)
• variations on the website name (“FacebookPassword)
• It always surprises me how often when told to use a capital letter people capitalize the first letter in the password or when told to use a symbol put ! (exclamation point) at the end or a number and put 1 at the end. Now that I have seen it so often I would build that into my password-breaking program if I was a geek.

On another note, what really matters is WHAT you are protecting. If you are online quite a bit and even pay bills or do banking you REALLY need to be careful. If you rarely use your computer and never do anything financial it is less important.

PASSWORDS AND THE END OF LIFE

Thinking ahead is important and since so much of our lives are online right now it is important to be prepared for what will happen with all of your accounts at the end of your life. Is there someone who will have to access some password protected sites after you are gone.


Start keeping a log book with passwords, preferably in alphabetical order. Or use a password vault. Whatever you do let someone know how to access your passwords when you are gone. This will save someone SO much pain and time later on. Password vaults can be set up with an emergency user.