Entertainment In The Park
Sponsored bands play several times during the summer in Hershey’s Mill Golf Club parking area.
Keyboard Shortcut Saves Keystrokes (Dec 2023)
Technology Tips – Published December 2023 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
This clever Windows keyboard shortcut saves you a ton of keystrokes
Windows key + H: A Windows 10 and 11 feature you won’t want to forget.
Make it easier and faster to do your daily PC tasks. Speak your text rather than typing it. Windows 10 and 11 both offer a simple key combination for this very purpose.
Hidden Dictation Function in Windows 10 and 11
Open Microsoft Word or WordPad.
Press the WINDOWS key and H key together then let go to open the dictation function. Click the “gear” icon inside the small window at the bottom of the screen for additional settings for the microphone and automatic punctuation. It’s recommended that you select both options. Click the microphone icon in the window to start dictation. Once activated it should turn purple and say listening. You may now commence your dictation. You must have a microphone installed but almost all laptops do. Once you are done the voice to text file can be saved in your Documents or OneDrive folder where it can be copied to another app as needed. I have found using this voice to text feature works well when replying to incoming emails. All you need to do is go online and get into the Reply mode for your email and instead of typing your reply just click the microphone icon and dictate you reply. Your voice will be converted to text just as if you typed your reply.
Any app that normally responds to a text input may respond to this voice to text feature. Experiment!!
Jury&Court Scams
Jury Duty or Other Court Appointments
Scam Alert
Chester County Sheriff’s Office Warns Against
Another Rash of Phone Scams
WEST CHESTER, PA – August 28, 2023 – The Chester County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about another round of recurring phone scams involving false fines for failure to report to jury duty or other court appointments.
The Sheriff’s Office has received numerous calls noting that the fraudulent calls seeking money are very convincing. For some, the caller ID shows Chester County Sheriff’s Office.
In addition to the caller ID displaying the Sheriff’s Office, scammers may use the name of a current Chester County judge and names of current or former sheriff deputies. Fraudsters may demand gift cards or urgent special bank transfers, claiming that the recipient was required to show up for jury duty, a meeting or conference. Callers deliver ultimatums including imminent arrest or loss of property for lack of immediate payment.
One individual lost $5,000 by responding to a false claim of missing a bail conference. Chester County detectives are investigating.
The Chester County Sheriff’s Office will never call and request immediate gift card payments or cash transfers for missing jury duty or other similar fines. If you receive such a request by phone, hang up. And if you are unsure about the legitimacy of a call requesting immediate payment or fine, please call local law enforcement, or the Chester County Sheriff’s Office at 610-344-6850.
Source: HOA email of August 29, 2023
DISM and SFC File Repair Tools (Sep 2023)
Technology Tips – Published August 2023 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
Windows’ built-in Deployment Image Servicing and Management command-line tool, a.k.a. DISM, has been around for about 15 years in various Windows versions. Its purpose is to maintain and repair Windows system files when the instruction (Dism) is commanded to run.
In Windows 10 or 11 >
1. Click the Search field then type Command Prompt. Right click the Command Prompt result in the window, and click the Run as administrator option.
2. Type the following command to perform a scan. Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth then press Enter.
3. After it finishes the scan it will notify you of what it fixed or if no errors were found it will say “Scan completed successfully”.
4. Rerun Dism if it found errors, if not, run SFC.
SFC is another Microsoft repair tool for Windows system files. If corrupted files are found SFC will repair those files.
In Windows 10 or 11 >
1. Repeat #1 as above.
2. Type the following command to perform a scan. SFC / Scannow then press Enter.
3. After it finishes the scan it will notify you of what it fixed or if no errors were found it will say “ Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.”.
4. Rerun SFC if errors were found.
These 2 tools only focus on Windows files. If you experience a problem on only 1 program consider uninstalling then reinstalling that program. Some programs offer a repair or reset feature that may work. To investigate that possibility go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps then select your App. Click the 3 horizontal dots on the right and click Advanced options if shown. Scroll down for Repair and Reset options
Text & Email Scams
There are some HM residents receiving Scam Text Messages and asking what to do. Know that this is a Nationwide problem and not limited to Hershey’s Mill.
December 14 & 28 2022, the Technology Committee gave a Zoom presentation on Email, Text and Phone Scams, How to recognize them, How to determine if the messages are real or scams and What to do about them. The following is a brief portion of the Zoom Presentation concerning Text Messages.
Why Am I Getting Spam Text & Email Messages?
It may be because of your online activity: websites where you’ve registered or bought something online.
Many companies sell your personal information. You may provide your email address and even a phone number for all kinds of things you want access to on the web. The next thing you know, you are getting spam texts & emails.
But it could be completely random. If you’ve got a cell phone, then you’re “eligible” for spam texts.
Is It Spam or a Scam?
If you don’t recognize the source of a text or email message, it’s safest just to go ahead and assume it’s a scam. Replying to suspicious texts or emails can lead to a number of bad outcomes including:
Phishing Scams
Identity Theft
Unintended Subscriptions and Opt-Ins
What To Do About Spam Text or Email Messages
If you get a text or email message you weren’t expecting and it asks you to give some personal or financial information, don’t click on any links. Legitimate companies won’t ask for information about your account or provide a link by text or email.
If you think the message might be real, contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real. Not the information in the text message.
If you think the Text Message is a Scam or Spam message, the best course of action is to Delete the Message. Responding in any way tells the Scammers that this is an active number and they will keep messaging. Scammers often message different scams or the same scam from different phone numbers. Scammers will sell a list of ‘active’ numbers – so, delete, don’t respond.
Already responded? If you have already begun to engage in any way with a Scam Text, such as a Package Delivery Notice or any other type of Text, stop engaging immediately. Do not be tempted to respond any further.
Block the number and report the number as detailed below.
Typing in STOP
If the text is from a known entity, for example a political, solicitation or advertisement text, and you no longer wish to receive the texts from that known entity, simply text one word: STOP. No more, no less, just the Word STOP.
Typing in Stop is an automated feature required by the government for all Texts.
Blocking Text Scams From Your Phone
iPhone
From the Messages app, open the conversation, tap the contact at the top of the conversation. Tap the ‘info’ button, scroll down, then tap Block this Caller.
Android Phones
Open Your Phone App, Tap More, Go to Call History, Tap a call from the number you want to block.
Tap BLOCK/Report Spam
The contact won’t get a notification that the call or message was blocked.
When you block an email address from Mail, it goes to the trash folder.
Email blocking works across all your Apple devices.
For Mobile Phone assistance: If you are having any trouble Blocking on your phone, dial 611 from your mobile phone and ask for assistance.
How to Filter Unwanted Text Messages or Stop Them Before They Reach You:
Through Your Wireless Provider: Your wireless provider might have a tool or service that lets you block calls and text messages.
Check out ctia.org, a website from the wireless industry, to learn about options from different providers or Dial 611 from your Mobile Phone and ask your Mobile Carrier.
With a Call Blocking App: ctia.org
What do you do if you get spam or a message you didn’t consent to receive?
Forward it to 7726 (SPAM) so your carrier can put a stop to it.
See the website of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to learn about more ways that scammers target unsuspecting people via text.
https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-report-spam-text-messages
Final Thought
If you get a suspicious text but think it might be from a legitimate source, don’t reply to the text. Instead, contact the person or company using a phone number or website that you’ve confirmed is authentic. Never use the contact information in the text or email message.
Publishers Clearing House scams
Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is a legitimate sweepstakes, but there are many scams that use
the PCH name and logo to take your money. A resident of HM recently was called but did not fall for it.
Here is the Postal Inspection Service on this:
https://www.uspis.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/uspis-publishers-clearing-house-handout-23Jun21_508.pdf
Laptop Battery – Extend Your Usage (July 2023)
Technology Tips – Published July 2023 in the Guide and Digest
by Don Trauger – Kennett
As your laptop computer ages, so does the battery. Where you once got 3-4 hours or more out of one charge, in several years you may be down to one hour or less. In fact you may start to notice it after a year or two. Each time you recharge the battery it takes a small bite out of the life expectancy of the battery.
Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have ways to extend the operational charge of the battery so you can get your work done while it’s not plugged in. First, for Windows 10 on the Windows taskbar, clicking the battery icon opens what we know as the power slider. Here you can trade lower performance for extended battery life. Simply click the slider and drag it to the left side to extend the useful charge. However, Microsoft decided that this convenient feature was too easy to get to (imho) so they moved it into Settings for Windows 11. Hold down the Windows button (the 4 pane window button) and press the X key. In the menu, click Settings, go to System , click Power & Battery, then scroll down to Power mode. On the right is an options button. Here you should see several options, Best performance, Balanced and Best power efficiency. Click the button and choose the one that works for you.
Another feature in this Power section, is that you can control when the computer sleeps. Adjust it for your needs. Scroll down to Battery and click Battery Saver to set the battery at a higher level above 20% that turns on the Battery saver earlier to help extend the existing charge during your unplugged session. Also, make sure Lower screen brightness when using battery saver is turned on.
There’s also another factor in extending your battery’s charge. The Internet connection draws considerable power from the battery. If you are working on a document or just using a program that does not require immediate Internet connectivity, consider choosing airplane mode. Again, this is available when you click the battery icon.
Another tip to improve overall battery life is not to leave the computer plugged in forever without doing a discharge down to 10 – 20% once every month or so. Unplug it and use it until you get a message that the battery is running low then. plug it back in. This helps in restoring battery chemistry.
AI (Artificial Intelligence) Can Crack Passwords (June 2023)
Technology Tips – Published June 2023 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
I’m sure you didn’t want to hear that, but it’s true. This powerful new tool has demonstrated that it can crack passwords, not in days or weeks but in seconds. The test, run by a cybersecurity firm, used a special AI driven tool. The tool managed to crack half the passwords fed to it in under a minute. Sixty five percent of the passwords were cracked in under an hour.
To circumvent this possibility, you need to use a password manager program to generate and save passwords. A password should have at least 20 random, unique characters created for each site you wish to apply the password. Password managers will automatically create different passwords for each site you create in the program.
A free password manager program is KeyPass. It will automatically generate a 20 character password without you getting involved in any complexities. You can download it at: https://keepass.info/download.html. Download version 1.41. Downloads are placed in your Downloads folder. Double click the KeyPass download file to install it. An entry password is required to open the program. Once you open the program, first choose a group name from the left side of the window. Click the plus sign next to General and choose Internet. Generally, web site entries use the Internet group. The 4th icon from the left in the top row of icons of the window should be the Add Entry icon. Click it to open the website window you wish to protect. Enter a Title name. After you’ve added 2 new entries right click one of them and move to Rearrange then click Sort List by Title. Continue the sorting for each new entry.
Increasing the strength of your Internet passwords will greatly reduce your chances of being hacked and it will also reduce anxiety that you are doing enough regarding your Internet security.
Art Group
The Art Group meets on Wednesdays from 9-12 in the Cove. New members are welcome.
Come try us out!
Contact Sara Hamilton (see Directory) for more information.
ArtGroup2023More on AI (Artificial Intelligence)-Apr 2023
Technology Tips – Published April 2023 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
Last month (March 2023) I wrote about a new technology called AI . Although it is not exactly new, it is new in how it’s being delivered to users. Consider it as a service. In last month’s article I asked the service, questions. It delivered answers. The answers seemed reasonable and believable. It has a long way to go before it becomes a fully reliable and dependable service where you can say the answers or information displayed is completely accurate. It also must show the sources of that information and how it derived that information.
This is a huge development in computer science, not only regarding the technical aspect involved, but also in the way the information is presented to the user. The information is shown in everyday conversational language. Conversely, the service will also respond with complex answers when asked complex questions. Microsoft’s Bing and Google are feverishly working to imbed AI into their search engines. Bing has displayed a wait list where you can signup now for future use. Here’s Bing’s home page: https://bing.com. Click “Learn More”. Follow the prompts to be added to the wait list. Google’s Bard is further behind Bing in development so there’s no AI service available at this present writing.
New technologies may come with new risks and we will have to address them. Implementing acceptable use policies and educating the general public about how to use them properly will be needed.
As far as operational AI services go ChatBot is the one to try. Access it by going to https://www.chatbot.com for a 14 day free trial. Another is https://you.com. Sign up to start using it.
I think you’ll find it interesting, useful and definitely a step into the future of computing.