Euchre

I'm coming at it from the perspective that we the tech savvy are the ones who get asked about these things, often too late, by those 'masses' of non-tech savvy people - so if we had a good way to respond to it, and ways to help those that we deal with, it would be great.
 
I've felt sad and angry at the same time toward people who I know are being scammed, but won't listen, and since I am either not targeted or don't listen to a scammer long enough to find out what their game is, I don't know how to counter the things the scammers are literally saying into the target's ear, until it is too late and I'm hearing about the latest scam after many, many victims have fallen for it.

If it is going to be just a single thread, which subforum would it be in, and can it be pinned by the mods?
 
I would love to see discussion not only of tactics, including new ones and new premises used, but also ways to convince people not to fall for the scams, and how to get them to accept and admit when they have, and get them to report them. One huge reason scams persist is the people that fall for them either don't believe (or want to believe) they've been scammed, or that they're too ashamed to admit it and get help. Working retail, I'm on the front line trying to stop people from falling for scams, and it is often sadly not easy. Had a lady trying to buy hundreds of dollars in Apple iTunes cards, because she believed the government had money she was owed, and that she was going to pay a 'fee' using those cards to get thousands of dollars. It took 2 levels of refusals to sell her the cards to get her to admit she could really use the money so she wanted to believe it was real.

OK kids, your 'old RAM' isn't that old. Here's a 72 pin EDO SIMM, 32 megabytes. Well, this one is down to 24, as 2 of the chips have popped off from the keys and keyring pushing on them. Bonus punch down tool for ethernet connectors. I save a few dead sticks to use for this, and this is my second one - the first one, half the chips popped off and I tossed it. I figure this keychain means I won't forget where my keys are. ?

An idea for a new sub forum : Tech scams
 
We all get bombarded by lots of them everyday usually. and they seem to have lots of new ways to jebait people other than the good old 'Nigerian scam'. just finished reading a book about the scammers and how they operate. apparently they work in groups and they share all their assets together lots of them based out of southern Africa. so why not do the same, and start our own little sub forum where we disscus what methods they use. and we all will become a little more educated about the scams

Is there a sticker with manufacturer info on the back of that? Might help in finding out what the actual native resolution of it is, which will matter a lot in how you can send a signal to it. The DVI connector is digital (no pins around the spade), and is dual link, so you might not support the display properly if your video card only does DVI single link (not meaning 2 connectors mind you, but difference in pin array in the DVI connector).

It is hard to say he shouldn't do more like it, because I laughed so damn hard at that video. One of few of his I've watched more than once.

@Kisai lol, that’s the charger you get in the US?
 
here in Europe we just get this tiny thing as a plug ? (And no, you can’t change the prongs)

It is hard to say he shouldn't do more like it, because I laughed so damn hard at that video. One of few of his I've watched more than once.

Gee, Google is buying all of the connected device companies, so they can own the 'internet of things'. Imagine that, Google wants to own 'the internet of things'.

This does a few possible things, actually...
 
If they were attempting to reset the password to any account, and it asks for a mobile number to send the reset code to, you just allowed them to use YOUR phone to reset the password. Now YOU look like the person that stole said account. Also, the link sent could allow them to install malware to continue using your mobile number to do resets or any number of other things.
 
I doubt your phone provider will even notice any changes right away. Also, they may not care, as you are liable for charges made to your number, even if you're a prepaid customer - and if you use autopay, your instruments of payment will be charged, and good luck getting it back.
 
It would help to know the actual number or short code the 'special code' you got came from, instead of that 'QP PROMOT' that shows as the source. You'd have to read or show the raw source of the text message.
 
At the very least, you confirmed your mobile number for a flood of spam, which may include scams, and the people that talked to you may be getting paid per number captured to get verified numbers.
 
One way or another this was definitely a scam.
 
Never, ever give some random person your number, but especially do NOT give them a code you receive as a result. You could be helping to steal an account, and you could have to prove you weren't the one doing it.

That has nothing to do with what's been talked about before. It does not mean that the people you gave your number to won't connect the number itself to some sort of account. They can use your number as a verification/gateway to making purchases.

the code that came in u should never have shown them, they probably made a purchase using ur phone number xd

Glad to see people saying 'both', and even the Babylon 5 reference - I was thinking "Dune?", or that a Firefly faithful would appear. There's a lot more to sci-fi/fantasy, space based, high tech fiction than just the 'Stars'.
 
As for all the discussion of what went wrong with Star Wars, the real cause is basically the same as the problems with Star Trek - they did not follow a proper continuity. Canon only matters much if it can properly flow from one part of the franchise universe to another, and that's what you call continuity. The 'reboot' trend is wrecking a LOT of franchises.
 
With Star Wars, it all started with Lucas making 2 moves that started stumbling the whole deal. One was his own artistic obsession, trying to constantly refine things that were already established - can we say "Han shot first"? He almost didn't give us the prequels, because he was so caught up in his own revisionist thinking about the original trilogy. Shortly after the prequels, he said he'd hung it up again and wouldn't make the sequels. Only the purchase by Disney made them truly possible. All the open criticisms you see from Lucas now about where Star Wars has gone is largely based on his own torments over trying to refine and revise his art to the never achievable perfection. Lucas' second mistake was getting a bit too loose with fan expansion acceptance. When he basically said just about anything fans (and licensed writers, for that matter) made was pretty much canon, he lost control of much of the universe. Now you've got people complaining about 'canon' that he never created nor controlled being 'violated'. Huge, huge mistake. This is why Disney has Kevin Feige curating the whole of the MCU - nobody is going to screw up the continuity there, if he can prevent it.
 
Star Trek fell victim to expansion, which led to too many directors and producers wanting their own special interpretations and twists on the franchise, and inevitably led to failures in continuity. Retcon as hard as you can, some things you can't fix. JJ Abrams can be a brilliant director, but good lord can he also take a franchise someone else created and send it totally off the rails.

As a die hard fan who has over 100 Legends books - Star Wars was already messed up.
 
Legends has such a mixed bag - some is amazing and epic, some is crap.
 
With Disney, it's the exact same thing. Some of the new Disney Canon is amazing (Rogue One), some is crap (Many would say TLJ). The Mandalorian is coming out in 2 weeks, and that looks fucking swee
 

Neither - they are both fantastic, and trying to compete against one vs the other is, in my opinion, pointless.
 
Star Wars tends to be more comedy and action adventure, Star Trek tends to be more drama and action thriller.
 
Though the newer Trek shows are blurring the traditional lines - Discovery is borderline Star Wars - though way heavier on the hard Scifi front.
 
You must not be that old if Star Trek was a lost cause and nobody liked it when you were young. Star Trek was at it's peak in the 90's and early 00's with TNG, DS9, and Voyager - plus all the TNG movies.

I expect the cops aren't going to get anywhere with this, because a similar concept - the flashing of headlights - has repeatedly been upheld as First Amendment protected free speech in the US courts. This is pretty much the same idea. You can't really tell people they can't publicly speak about having seen a cop sitting in wait trying to catch 'speeders'.
 
As for 'why not just not speed', that's not all the cops in a 'trap' are really looking for. They will look for someone who is breaking any law that is a 'primary cause' for a stop, which in some states includes seatbelt use and cell phone use. It could also include a headlight out, even if it is a DRL in broad daylight. Most true 'traps' are set up to leverage obscure changes in speed limits or geography that favors slight violations from otherwise honest people. A lot of speed traps are set up around writing lots of small speed margin tickets, on the expectation nobody will fight them, and generate lots of easy revenue. So, not everyone is some sinister death on wheels plague that get snared in a speed trap.
 
In the end, speed trap warnings are likely to slow down people who want to be compliant with the law, and otherwise travel safely. Believe it or not, that's the main point of even pulling anyone over - getting drivers to slow down, including those merely passing the cop with someone pulled over.
 
On my last road trip, we were using Google Maps Navigation in a rental car connected by Android Auto, and it alerted to speed traps. I'd not had that before, and what it mostly did was make me aware that those without the app in use would be jamming on the brakes soon as they caught sight of the cop. It actually made things safer for me, and I could tell which other drivers were using it or Waze, and the effect was that most traffic was slowing down. Sounds like the 'warning' actually enhances safety, and if anything is bothering the cops, it is the interruption in revenue generation.

I expect the cops aren't going to get anywhere with this, because a similar concept - the flashing of headlights - has repeatedly been upheld as First Amendment protected free speech in the US courts. This is pretty much the same idea. You can't really tell people they can't publicly speak about having seen a cop sitting in wait trying to catch 'speeders'.
 
As for 'why not just not speed', that's not all the cops in a 'trap' are really looking for. They will look for someone who is breaking any law that is a 'primary cause' for a stop, which in some states includes seatbelt use and cell phone use. It could also include a headlight out, even if it is a DRL in broad daylight. Most true 'traps' are set up to leverage obscure changes in speed limits or geography that favors slight violations from otherwise honest people. A lot of speed traps are set up around writing lots of small speed margin tickets, on the expectation nobody will fight them, and generate lots of easy revenue. So, not everyone is some sinister death on wheels plague that get snared in a speed trap.
 
In the end, speed trap warnings are likely to slow down people who want to be compliant with the law, and otherwise travel safely. Believe it or not, that's the main point of even pulling anyone over - getting drivers to slow down, including those merely passing the cop with someone pulled over.
 
On my last road trip, we were using Google Maps Navigation in a rental car connected by Android Auto, and it alerted to speed traps. I'd not had that before, and what it mostly did was make me aware that those without the app in use would be jamming on the brakes soon as they caught sight of the cop. It actually made things safer for me, and I could tell which other drivers were using it or Waze, and the effect was that most traffic was slowing down. Sounds like the 'warning' actually enhances safety, and if anything is bothering the cops, it is the interruption in revenue generation.

lots of cops in america are just poorly trained and overreact a lot

I love the acetylene test shot in the studio, that obliterated the tree. I laughed pretty damn hard at that one.

A downward firing cannon while wearing socks and sandals. Mr. Tips, you are bold.

Windows > Mac OS period.
Why?
 
Changing desktop background.
Windows: 2-3 steps. Desktop background changed in less than a minute
MacOS: I don't know how
 
There Windows is better, go with Windows.

Yes, it is bad - because it is the default. They didn't exactly explain the whole nature of the setup, but this sounds like the default configuration of a lot of NAT devices, from home routers up to enterprise web servers. Chances are, the login was default, and the remote administration option was on by default, and left on. It takes literally seconds to change that configuration so you have a non-default password and remote administration is turned off. People commonly fail to do this on their home routers, but for an enterprise to do it is pathetic.

Tbh your parents are right to refuse to buy you a new PC.
You only justifications are :
 
- I am getting bullied because of my T H I C C pc (First : You have to stand up against it yourself -- Second : Who the fuck does that ? Are you 13 ?)
- I can't play video games.
 
Well guess what ? Video games are not essential, therefore you dont need a new laptop.

If there's a device anywhere on the same breaker panel that is creating new line noise, like a space heater, it'll have an impact on the effectiveness of the powerline adapter. This is one of the reasons they're far from an ideal solution.
 
If you are literally directly above that router, and your wifi connects poorly, and the house isn't so ancient that it has metal hiding in the walls (like chicken wire to hold plaster on lathe), then look at how your antennas are oriented. The pictures show them with the 2 outer ones slightly splayed, which I think is done to make it look 'cool', but the position alters the propagation of the signal itself, quite a bit. Believe it or not, laying the center antenna flat, straight out from the back of the router, could actually massively increase your signal directly upstairs.