By BD Bondy
 
Windows is Messy.
So was Oscar. Felix was the neat one. That’s a fair analogy to Microsoft and Apple, Oscar and Felix. They each had their endearing qualities.

Microsoft has just released an app for Windows 10 & 11 that cleans itself up. This can potentially speed up your computer and free up some disk space.

I’ve been using CCleaner for this purpose, and manually doing cleanups, adjustments. It’s great that after a gazillion years Microsoft has finally decided to clean up its room. I tried out PC Manager, the new app, and it was good. It basically is doing what 3rd party programs, like CCleaner, have been doing for millennia, plus adding some other features, like a screen for your startup programs. There was also an option for cleaning up your disk, finding duplicate files, allowing you to do something about them.

I am guessing that the app will eventually be included in a Windows update, but I had to download the app. I searched for PC Manager in my search bar and clicked on the suggestion which brought me to a webpage where I selected ‘Download’. It downloaded and I installed it.
You can read more about it HERE. 

I would suggest reading about it and see if you want to install it. You can download it HERE. 

As an aside, it doesn’t do everything. While I was running it I got a pop-up for Macrium Reflect saying there is an update for it. For me, this is normal, as I do have Macrium Reflect on my computer. What I didn’t understand was why it asked me that after just starting up my computer. I went into my Startup tab and sure enough, it was NOT there. So I went into my running Processes, and it was running there, so I ended them (there were several). They started up again, so I then went to look at my services and found Macrium there, set as Automatic. I edited it to be Manual and stopped the processes.
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Long winded but I want to point out is that the new app won’t do everything. If you aren’t doing anything, then this will be a very useful app. If you use CCleaner, then this may be a better choice. In any case, there’s always plenty more to look at if you are so inclined. I am a bit more Felixy, so I do this stuff, but Oscar was great too. 

By Rick Rouse
Rick's Daily Tips

Question from Darla: Hi, Rick. I hope you can answer a Facebook question for me.

I'm an amateur photographer but I'm hoping to go pro before too long.
I regularly upload some of my best photos to my Facebook profile to get feedback from my friends and other photographers.

I was chatting with one of my photographer friends the other day and she said once I upload a photo to Facebook they automatically become the copyright holder of that photo and they can do anything they want to with it.

First of all, is that true? And if it is, will deleting my Facebook account also delete the photos and return the copyright for them back to me?

This really has me upset so I hope you can give me an answer ASAP. Thanks so much in advance!

Rick's answer: Darla, it appears that your friend has given you a mixture of correct and incorrect information.

I'll discuss the incorrect info first...

When you take a picture you automatically become the copyright holder of that photo the instant it is taken.

According to this page on the US Copyright Office's website you will own the copyright to that photo until the day you pass away. What're more, your heirs will own the copyright to it for 70 years after your death.

Of course you can sell (or otherwise transfer) the copyright for any photo to a third party at any time, but simply uploading a photo to your Facebook profile doesn't affect that photo's copyright in any way.

In other words, YOU still own the copyright to every photo that you upload to Facebook IF you owned the copyright before it was uploaded.

How do we know this? Because Facebook states it on this page of their Terms of Service (TOS). Here is the relevant passage:

"You retain ownership of the intellectual property rights (things like copyright or trademarks) in any such content that you create and share on Facebook and other Meta Company Products you use. Nothing in these Terms takes away the rights you have to your own content. You are free to share your content with anyone else, wherever you want."

That, in a nutshell, explains the "incorrect" part of the info your photographer friend shared with you. Now, let's discuss the part she got right...

When you upload a photo to Facebook's website that does give Facebook the right to USE that photo in pretty much any way they see fit as long as they don't share it with people who aren't allowed to see it (based upon your privacy settings).

For example, if your privacy settings allow the Public (i.e. anyone on Facebook) to view your photos then Facebook is allowed to share them with everyone on Facebook via advertisements and other common uses as they see fit.

What's more, your "Public" photos can be also be shared with third parties outside of Facebook if those entities support Facebook in some way.

However, if your privacy settings only allow your Facebook friends to see your photos, Facebook won't share them with anyone else on Facebook. They also won't share "Friends Only" photos with third parties because doing so would circumvent your privacy settings.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I am NOT an attorney so the info I provide in this post should not be considered legal advice. That being said, what I've stated above is my understanding of the situation based upon my reading of Facebook's TOS.

I strongly recommend that you read the TOS yourself and/or consult with an attorney if you want to be sure your rights to your own photos are fully protected.

You'll find the relevant info you need to understand in section 3.3 of Facebook's Terms of Service (TOS).

As you can see from that passage, Facebook is pretty clear about what they can and will do with the photos you upload to their site.

And now, one final note concerning your question about what would happen if you were to delete your Facebook account...

Also per the Facebook TOS, if you delete your Facebook account your uploaded photos will be removed and they will no longer be used in any way by Facebook.

Bottom line: Facebook does not assume the copyright to your photos when you upload them to their site, but they can (and do) use your photos pretty much any way they see fit as long as that use doesn't circumvent the choices you made in your privacy settings.
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Bonus tip: All of the above being said, when it comes right down to it, true privacy really doesn't exist on Facebook. This post explains why.

By Rick Rouse
Rick's Daily Tech Tips

The long chain of data breaches that have been in the news of late should be a huge wake-up call for everyone who is concerned with their online security.

It seems that every day or two we hear that another online service has been hacked and their customers’ personal information stolen.

Short of simply closing all of your online accounts, there’s really nothing you can do to prevent the services you use from getting hacked since the security of their servers and software is entirely out of your control.

There are a couple of things you can do however to limit a successful hacking attack’s effects on your own life: 

1 – Limit the amount of personal and financial information you provide to any online service to the bare minimum required in order to use the service.

And the reason is simple: The less information you allow a company to store on their server, the less information a hacker will be able to steal if he/she breaks in to it.

2 – Enable Two-Factor Authentication on every online account that supports it.
While it isn’t perfect, Two-Factor Authentication is one of the most effective tools you can use to keep hackers and scammers from illegally logging into your online accounts, even if they somehow manage to get your passwords.

In regards to number one above, once hackers have possession of your personal and financial information they can do pretty much anything they want to do with it.
And if that happens, you’ll likely be left to try to clean up the mess they create for you all on your own.

But there’s better news in regards to number two…

Enabling Two-Factor Authentication on any online account will add another bar that a hacker must hurdle in order to gain access to that account.

What’s more, that extra bar is extremely high since it’s highly unlikely that the hacker will have physical access to your mobile phone.

After you enable Two-Factor Authentication on an account the service will send an authentication code to your mobile phone every time someone tries to log in to the account.
Anyone attempting to log into that account (yes, even you) will have to enter the code from that text message or app before he/she will be logged into the account, even if they know your password.

In a nutshell, in addition to needing something you know (your password), a hacker would also need to have physical access to something you own (your mobile phone) before being granted access to your account.

Since any potential hacker is very unlikely to have access to your phone, enabling Two-Factor Authentication is an extremely secure method of locking down your online accounts.
I strongly recommend that you enable Two-Factor Authentication on every one of your online accounts right away.

You can find instructions for enabling Two-Factor Authentication on most any online account simply by searching the web for the term enable two-factor authentication on [name of service].

For example, if you were seeking instructions for enabling it on Facebook you would search for enable two-factor authentication on facebook.
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Bottom line: While you can’t control the security of a company’s servers, you can make it difficult for a hacker to use your stolen login credentials to log into your accounts simply by enabling Two-Factor Authentication on every account that supports it.
Bonus tip: This post explains how to choose a password that’s easy to remember, yet extremely hard to break.

By BD Bondy
 
Since I retired from computer repair, I get asked who they can go to for computer repair. I have been recommending Julian Shapiro for PC work and Eric Roithmayr for Apple work.

I know sometimes they are unavailable so I just heard about a company in Taos that a friend recommended highly. I know Taos isn’t that close, but not many places are.

Electric Sheep Computers was recommended. I have only spoken to them, a man called Jack answered the phone, and my questions. They sound quite competent. I asked general questions, so, they work on both PCs and Macs. They also do internet work, if you have a need to expand your internet at home, they can help.

They are located in Taos, so you would need to take your computer there. They do some traveling in the area, particularly if you wanted to set up a WiFi mesh system or the like, but it depends on the job and the distance.

Contact info is as follows:
Julian Shapiro, [email protected], 631-680-2404
Eric Roithmayr, [email protected], 310-467-0477
Electric Sheep Computers, electricsheepcomputers.com, 575-737-8855

By Rick Rouse
Rick's Daily Tech Tips.

Note from Carol.   Any links in Messenger should be suspect even when seemingly sent from Facebook OR from a trusted friend.    Also I would include in this messages that your page has been marked for deletion.   I get about three or four of those a week.  Reject message requests: In the Messenger app, go to Privacy & safety, then Message delivery, and reject requests from people you don't know

By now you surely know there are multiple scams making the rounds on social media at any given time.

That's just a sad fact of life in this Internet era.

There's a very dangerous scam that's been popping up on Facebook at times for years, and unfortunately it's making the rounds again right now.

This scam works something like this:
You receive a text message or email stating that your Facebook account has been "reported for abuse".

You're then told that you must provide a ton of personal information and "update your credit card information" in order to prove that your account is legit and you are who you claim to be.
If you receive this message, ignore it. It's a scam, and a very dangerous one at that.

If you fall for the scam and provide the requested info, the scammer will end up with your credit card information and possibly even enough of your personal info to steal your identity and open new credit accounts in your name. At the very least they will be able to sign into your Facebook account and assume control of it.

Luckily, this is a very easy scam to avoid...

All you have to do is make sure you never respond to any private messages or emails asking you to verify your personal information in the manner described.

Again, these types of messages and emails are ALWAYS fake. If you receive one of them you can easily verify that it's a fake simply by signing into your Facebook account at the official Facebook website (Facebook.com) or by signing in via the Facebook app. If there's truly an issue with your account you'll be notified at that time.

Important: DO NOT click any links in the text message or email. Only sign in at the official Facebook website or via the Facebook mobile app.

Note: Facebook does ask certain users to provide proof of identity on occasion, but they only display that request when the user attempts to log in to the system, never in a private message or email.

If Facebook ever does feel the need to require you to verify your identity, they will direct you to visit this page on the official Facebook website for instructions on how to submit your ID/documentation for review.

Bottom line: It's important to always remain vigilant about protecting yourself from Facebook scams, and the scam described above is one of the most dangerous scams being spread at the current time.