Tech Tip Tuesday: Credit Card Hacked at the Pump?

This week I saw post saying don't get gas at any of the stations on this particular highway because their credit card had got hacked.  True, this could happen at any gas station but I wouldn't knock out all the ones on the same highway as this vulnerability can be done at any gas station or even at any place that takes debit and/or credit cards. 

The bad news is that the same technology is used when you swipe your credit card or make an order online is used.  Granted a gas station is an easier target since they are outside and can be easily tampered with or hacked from a distance.  This has made way for hackers.   

So how do you stay safe?  What should you do?

• Protect Your Credit/Debit Card

• Most Banks have protection that you can have put on your card that will detect suspicious activity
• Set up Alerts to where you are texted/and or email when your card is used
• Turn off your card if you suspect you have been hacked.

• Just use Cash

• This is the route most people take after one hack; personally I don't carry too much cash, but if you want a 100% guarantee use cash.

• Pay the Attendant with your card

• If you don't have cash, a safe way is to pay the attendant.  

Now if you still want to use your card at the pump there are a few things to look for at the pump:

• Look out for gas station credit card skimmers

• This is basically a device that is attached to the real credit card scanner that collects credit card information.  Look and see if the scanner looks different than the others; pull on it as most skimmers are easy to remove so that the thief can get away quickly.

• Look for tamper-evident stickers

• If the pump has this it may be torn or it may read void indicating that the pupm has been tampered with
• Check the edges to see any evidence of prying. 

• Look out for Hidden cameras 

• Cameras may be placed above the pump to see your credit card and the pin number you type in.  Look for anything out of the ordinary and cover your hand as you type in your number; or even fake press a few numbers...

• Electronic Pickpockets

• There are small devices that can hack a card if your card has an RFID chip implanted in it. Now this isn't to be confused with the chip read that is on most credit cards now.  RFID is radio frequency ID chip that allows you to tap your credit card to pay.
• This feature is being phased out as a hacker only need to to be a few inches away.  There were wallets and sleeves that came out to protect from these hacks, but I recommend getting a card with out it.

• Use the Pump closest to the cashier

• Just for the simple fact criminals are less likely to hacked these pumps.

All in all the choice is yours.  Just be careful and safe.  Now pray the evil known as sinuses leave Tech's body so he can breath and be free of pain again.

Credit to 7 ways to Protect Yourself From Credit Card Fraud at Gas stations

Tech Talk Thursday: Tech Reviews IT You'll float too...

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You'll Float Too... You'll Float Too... You'll Float Too... You'll Float Too... You'll Float TOO!!!

Stephen King's horror is back on the screen again, but this time as a theatrical movie.  Is it better than the T.V many series or the book?  Well, I havn't read the book, but did read the cliff notes on it, and I did watch the the T,V series when I was young so i can still say whats what, right?  Anyway on to the good, the bad and the Tech Worthy.

The Good

• The Cast

• Bill Skarsgård brings a new creepiness to Pennywise the trans-dimensional clown that feeds on scared children.
• The kids aka The Losers Club acted their butts off in this movie.  Unlike, the T.V series this movie only tells the story of them as kids and there is little focus on the adult characters. Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things is a standout as the foul mouth quipping Richie Tozier and Sophia Lillis shined as the only female member of the loser club, Beverly "Bev" Marsh.
• The Story
• The main plot pretty much stays the same in this new movie.  A band of kids bond and come together to take down an interdenominational shape-shifting clown who needs to feed on children who are scared of him.  This time the kids are growing up in the Eighties, instead of the Fifties like the book, or the sixties like the T.V series; meaning part two of this movie will probably take place in present day to finish the story.
• Being Rated
• Poor poor Georgie, If you have seen the T.V series you know how the opening plays out with Georgie chasing his little paper boat down in the rain until it goes down the drain.  Here we just get Georgie reaching and seeminly being yanked in, but if you read the book and in the new movie poor Georgie gets his arm bit off and here we see him desperately trying to crawl away before IT shows his clawed teeth and sucks poor Georgie in.  I said oh no, they showing kids get mutaled this is going to be a different from the T.V series.

The Bad

• Michael "Mike" Hanlon going from star to token

• Ok, Mike is the only African American in the Loosers Club.  In the book and even the T.V series he had a big role, a rich back story, and was an integral part of the group.  First off Mike is the partial narrator of the book and is the only on to stay behind in the town; thus keeps his memory of IT.  He is also the historian of the group; his father had a photo album that had important moments in the the towns history; including Pennywise, and how long he had been terrorizing the town.  Here in this movie, that role went more to Benjamine. who is the new kid at school who likes to spend his time in the library and has research on the town and the killings...
• So, Mike, the key to the original story is now just a background character or dare I say token.  In the movie, he has few lines and we only see hints of the racial hate and prejudice the bully Henry had for him and don't get the backstory of their parents.  It's sad because where the novel and T.V series avoided just making him the token black character; the movie stripped him of who he was.
• Now, the director has gone on to say that Mike will be the one to still stay behind become a librarian and will keep up with the history and will be the one to call everyone back in the sequel, but he will also be a junkie.... yea... had to put that in there huh.  Looks bad, but the director says this is incorporating the seen in the book where Mike and the loosers get high off the fumes of the smokehouse and see Pennywise "origin".  Suuuuure, guess we will see where this goes in the sequel.
• Check out this article for more on how Mike was stripped of his role

The Tech Worthy

• Stephen King's shared universe
• IF you are a Stephen King fan you probably know that all of his novels exist in a shared universe thanks in part to having portals that can go to different worlds and time as present in the Dark Tower.
• In fact IT himself is a creature from outside all of the other universes.  His adversary is the Turtle and for those that know the lore know that the turtle is said to have created the universes and IT believes himself to be his opposite who consumes life where the turtle creates it.

Final Thought

All in all IT was a good horror film that calls back to a classic.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Yahoo! I told yall....

I can't count the number of times that I have received an email from someone that says, "Hey, Check this out!"  And it be some ambiguous link.  Yea, I'm talking to you yahoo email users.  Time and time again I told those with yahoo emails to get rid of it, but no they still use it and I still get spammed.

Well today Yahoo reporter that ALL 3 billion of its accounts were hacked in a 2013 data theft.  Yes I said All making it the largest breach in history.  I guess Verizon  is having second thoughts since they lowered their offer to purchase Yahoo...

Ah, anyway my Yahoo users check your email, Yahoo said it would be sending an email to all accounts affected or just go with another email provider.  Outlook or Gmail are two of my goto's.

For more check out the MSN article here.

And check out the Rise and fall of Yahoo below