You love your technology and probably have a lot of it at home. You might not think of computers, smartphones, printers, or routers as a fire risk, but they can do real damage.
Microwaves, laundry machines, and air conditioners are the top sources of residential fires, but computer equipment is also responsible for fires that injure and kill homeowners.

So, what should you do? Keep in mind that your technology generates heat when it’s switched on; that’s why it’s designed with venting. But desktops, laptops, routers, modems, and printers can all overheat.
Desktop computers have fans to push out the air, but they can get clogged with dust or blocked. Often, we’ll see computers pushed up again a wall, covered with papers, or kept in a small alcove that gets no airflow.

Laptops can also overheat. People often sit with their laptops literally on their lap, or on a blanket or pillow. If you’re blocking the device’s exhaust port, the laptop can’t cool down.
Air also needs to get into the device to cool it, but that won't happen properly if dust or pet hair clogs the vents. Your precious technology could overheat and cause a fire or stop functioning effectively because it has to work harder all the time.
 
Other Tech-Related Fire Threats
A rat’s nest of cables represents a fire risk. You should always try to avoid overloading your circuits with too much electrical load. You can also upgrade your electrical wiring and go with heavy-duty extension cords.

Charging cords and overheated batteries are another issue. You’ve probably heard of airlines banning certain smartphones because they have been known to spontaneously combust.
You can prevent charger and battery damage by choosing brand-name items. Third-party chargers for phones, tablets, and laptops can save money, but they are often cheaper because they lack safety features. If your charger sets your room on fire, your cost savings go up in flames.
You might also think about getting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This battery backup supplies power if your regular power source fails. It can also prevent power surges and allow for safe shutdown of connected equipment.

Finally, plan to get your computer cleaned annually. You might do this yourself, but many people prefer to hire a computer tech for help. While we’re at it, we can also perform a Tune Up on your device to make sure it’s ready for all you need to do.

Whether its computer cleaning, or setting up safe wiring or a UPS, we can help protect your home. Visit us today at 219 N Washington St, Downtown Thorp!

Cybercrooks are disturbing people. Consider job-search scams. With the world economy reeling, bad actors are capitalizing on people’s desperation. They’re targeting those looking for work. There are steps you can take to filter out illegitimate opportunities.
Cybercriminals like to be timely. Plus, appealing to people’s emotions improves their success rate, so it’s not that surprising that there’s been an uptick in job-listing scams in 2020. The bad guys are betting people will be less cautious when they see an attractive job offer. Don’t be their victim. Take these steps instead.

Read the Job Description Carefully
This means:
·         Looking for grammatical or spelling errors. As with other cyberscams, someone who is not a native speaker of the posting’s language may write the listing.
·         Being wary of phrases designed to communicate urgency or a too-good-to-be-true offer. You wouldn't expect to see “quick earning potential” or “unlimited money” in a legit posting.
·         Search for specificity. A legitimate listing will list job responsibilities and industry credentials. Someone faking it is less likely to be able to use the industry vocabulary.

Be Wary of Instant Hiring
No matter the industry, few positions are filled immediately. You should expect the recruiting process to take time. If you are being pressured to take hiring steps urgently, that should be a red flag. Get an email congratulating you on earning the position before you’ve met with anyone? Proceed with caution.

Question Modes of Communication
Job scammers will rely on online chat interviews and email. If you don't speak in person with someone, it will be more difficult for you to confirm legitimacy. With emails, read the return address carefully. A scam job might use a close approximation to a big brand to add credibility. (You have to look closely to distinguish between nationalbank.com and nationlbank.com.)
A good strategy is to search the company’s website for a job listing. If you don’t see the role you’re interested in posted, investigate further.

Don’t Pay for A Job Opportunity
Don't pay an upfront fee for a background check, uniform, or some other testing or training. Don't provide any of your private personal information at the outset either. Don’t send tax or banking details before a formal offer of employment. Even then, be aware that some scammers take it from start to finish, including interview and job offer.
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Trust Your Instincts
If the job sounds amazing, and you can’t believe how perfect it is, scrutinize the posting. A listing posting an exorbitant fee for easy work or telling you about the stupendous success of another candidate is likely a fraud. Confirm standard job expectations and salary with an online search of career listings.
Falling prey to a job or other cyberfraud can leave you vulnerable to more than disappointment. Victims report loss of money, identity theft, or computer hacking, and more. An IT expert can help with security patches and system upgrades to keep your devices and network safe.

 By Anderson De Paiva Gabriel | UWire
Facial recognition, drones, heat maps, massive data processing and cellphone monitoring: Decades ago, they appeared only in science fiction movies, but in recent years, they have been increasingly applied for security purposes. With the world combating the coronavirus, the integrated use of such technologies has become a global phenomenon.

Although such measures are aimed at the public health emergency, how can we guarantee that the databases and applications developed for protecting the population‘s health will not be directed toward not-so-noble purposes and prioritize privacy? It is imperative to deepen the debate about the use of these tools, expanding the understanding of where, how and when to apply them in an ethical, fair way to communities worldwide.

In Israel, the security service Shin Bet has started to employ a powerful surveillance program used to fight terrorism to monitor patients with COVID-19 and possible carriers in order to retrace their movements. Despite having identified 500 infected individuals, Israel‘s highest court ruled that without special legislation authorizing the program and drawing specific limits, the Shin Bet has no authority to track civilians in its efforts to contain the crisis. The risk of a dangerous invasion of privacy that would undermine democracy was the primary concern, and it is a valid one.

In Brazil, COVID-19 has concentrated efforts around heat maps. In this way, states were able to consult aggregated and non-individualized information on population displacement in real time and in different locations to assess the efficiency of social isolation measures and facilitate decision-making. There are also companies monitoring 60 million cellphones using GPS data, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals, under the claim that data collection occurred with the permission of the applications’ users, negating possible privacy concerns.

In Russia, even phone and credit card data have been used to map those who made contact with infected people and must be quarantined, in addition to the robust system of 170,000 cameras and facial recognition. At the end of March, Moscow police reportedly identified and fined more than 200 people who allegedly violated quarantine and self-isolation orders. A Russian media report pointed out that some of the alleged offenders had been away from home less than half a minute before they were caught by a camera, displaying the cutting effectiveness of this technology that disregards the privacy of those it monitors.
But on top of these privacy worries, there are doubts about the effectiveness of such methods. Smartphone use is far from ubiquitous, even in affluent countries. It is also essential for the device to constantly be on, with the app installed, as well as with GPS and Bluetooth activated. Moreover, users, once infected, must register it on the app in order for the program to function.

Other countries have implemented similar contact tracing applications, generally supported by GPS or Bluetooth smartphones, which seek to catalog all personal interactions that their carriers have had over the past 14 days. The moment that one of these individuals tests positive for COVID-19, messages are sent to the entire network of people who have been in contact with the infected person, warning them to quarantine. But GPS data raises special concern regarding privacy violations. If analyzed over time, this information can easily reveal not only the identity of each “anonymized point” on the map, but also tastes, routines and has even exposed marital infidelities.

In some situations, the public’s concerns regarding privacy have come to fruition. A security breach in Qatar of one of these applications exposed sensitive data from more than 1 million people. In North Dakota, it was discovered that a similar application was passing data to Google and Foursquare, further revealing that the widespread privacy concerns are not without foundation or reason.
In the United States, San Francisco banned the police from using facial recognition technologies on the grounds that the use of technology would jeopardize civil rights and freedoms. Data capture has increasingly sought to reach sensitive human information. Images taken in public places can, for example, lead to biometric data drawn on faces and possible inferences about the individual‘s religion and racial or ethnic origin.

Do you remember that free and harmless app you downloaded that asked for enduring access to your GPS and Bluetooth? Such information was requested to be collected and passed on to “partner applications” after being properly monetized, for treatment on different purposes. The next time you encounter these permits, it’d be wise not to click “accept” without further reflection.
Technological mechanisms can be essential for human development and, immediately, to overcome this unfortunate pandemic. Far from defending the abolition of these technological tools, foster public debate in order to promote their improvement and adequacy. We must keep in mind that such mechanisms should aim to maximize human well-being and dignity, true foundations of democracies worldwide.
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This article was written by Anderson De Paiva Gabriel from UWire and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.

Your business has the OK to go ahead and get back to work on-site. You want to return to your office, but you don’t want to risk people’s health by doing so. After all, some say it’s too soon to go back. Plus, others predict a second wave of COVID-19 is likely. These suggestions can help you return to work while prioritizing safety.

Not everyone will welcome the call back to the corporate environment. Some employees may still be in a population vulnerable to the virus. They may want to take leave instead of returning to the work environment. Others may simply not show up. Have your HR team send out a written notice informing employees of the timeline for returning to the office. Educate them about precautions you’re taking to provide a safe work environment. Ask for a written response of people’s intentions. Then, IT can start establishing procedures for getting everyone back to work.

You may have had great success with remote working during the quarantine. This could position you to allow workers to stay home if they are at risk or oppose the idea of returning “too soon.” For those coming back, support social distancing by phasing in people's return. Your business could also use a hybrid IT solution to allow people to come in just three days a week, and they could continue to work two days at home. This allows staggered re-entry and reduces the numbers of people on-site at the same time.

Back-to-Work Technology
You may be thinking you already have all the tech you need to go back to the office. C’mon, you were already working from there before this whole thing started. Plus, now you have all the new tools you added to support remote-employee productivity.
Still, you may not have invested in a long-term remote-work solution that will now support a hybrid model. Or perhaps the on-site technology you’ve long relied on isn’t meant to handle remote working for the long haul.
To achieve a flexible hybrid model, go with cloud solutions or expand on-site IT. Do you need to add infrastructure to handle remote employees using virtual private networks (VPNs)? Both on-site staff and off-site workers might need to securely access systems at the same time.
Adopting cloud collaboration software allows co-workers to access network resources simultaneously, regardless of location. Or with virtual desktops, employees can access the same files and business applications on their work machine or on a personal device.
Bringing people back to the office, you’ll want to rethink the physical setup. Support social distancing by spreading employees’ seating arrangements out more. This will require moving around computer hardware, too.
If you were previously sharing technology, you’ll also need to add more desktops. Or you might invest instead in more laptops or portable devices. This could mean securing more software, too.

Added IT Precautions
Finally, cybercriminals are opportunistic. They’re already exploiting people with malware promising vaccines or cheap masks. These bad actors are also looking to exploit the tech demands on businesses. Many businesses adapted to a new way of doing things: they moved files to the cloud, and they allowed employee access from personal devices, but they did so quickly.
 
Explore any new vulnerabilities from your transitions. This is a good time to double-check permissions. Ensure that accountant Jane can access staff wage data but that receptionist Jenny can’t. Also, confirm that all virus protection and security patches are current.
Active planning is the answer to a smooth return to work. While offering protective coverings and ramping up cleaning in the office is important, make sure that you don’t overlook your technology needs.
Stop by our new offices located at 219 N Washington St, downtown Thorp!