Thinks have been quite on the list the last two days and a friend
sent me a timely warning about the security issues of copy machines,
so I have expanded and amplified upon it. Some of it is old hat, but
there may be newbies hiding in the bushes who could still use the
knowledge.

Don't send anything you would not want on the front page of the
newspaper by email, especially not on Google searchable lists like
GoLive Talk. Don't put it on a website. Don't copy it at a commercial
copy store like Kinko's or anyplace else, for that matter, or on any
copy machine or scanner that has its own hard drive (it is saved on
that hard drive and can be retrieved by someone else merely by
removing the hard drive and accessing it with a computer.)

And when you are done with your computer or hard drive containing copy
machine, don't sell it or send it to the junkyard without first
removing the hard drive and destroying it.

And get yourself a throw-away email account like Earthlink has for
ordering things online to keep down the spam, and delete it now and
then and get another one ... and when you do buy something online,
only give your personal data like SS# and credit card numbers and
passwords, date of birth, mother's name, your dog's name and so on to
companies you know and totally trust, and even then change them every
few months. Including your bank account password and your dog's name
if you used it for a hint when recording your password somewhere. And
never open an email that has any kind of attachment with it. I
regularly, every couple of months, receive a virus from somebody I
know because their computer has been compromised and invaded by one of
them.

I have a little Mac application called "Little Snitch" that alerts me
every time something on my Mac tries to call home. Mostly it is the
makers of software I have bought, seemingly innocuous, but who knows
what data is being sent to them and what they might do with it? One
browser I tried would not work at all unless I let it connect with its
home port. So I deleted it.

Why? Several times in the past I have discovered spyware on my
computer. Where did it come from? Beats me. So I concocted the
policies described above, and I don't let anything call home. Some
companies, like Adobe, for example) have their software do that to
help control piracy. They try to excuse the practice by making it
appear to be support, but trust them at your peril. I have no control
over what data they might collect from my computer, so I have set
Little Snitch to disallow the connections.

I also have good virus scanning program. It used to find a virus now
and then, and found several Trojan Horses and Spyware in the years
before I instituted these security measures. Since I did, though, I
haven't had any of the nasty things. Some of my friends have
inadvertently sent me some, but Little Snitch and ClamX Virus is on
guard so they don't get loose in my computer. But it's a constant
challenge, and we keep a nightlight on and the shotgun loaded, and
when the computer is on, only speak in whispers.

Incidentally, we are going into rehab next week. I'd rather you found
out from me than on the rumor line. It isn't drugs or anything like
that. It is a very pernicious Farmville Addiction. They say there is
still hope, if we act quickly.

Frankly, I think the world was a better place before these damned
computer things were invented. They are a constant hazard to our
American Way of Life and Our Precious Bodily Fluids.

Forever yours,

Etaoin Shrdlu


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