My employer received this “invoice” from US Telecom based out of Ontario, California. The claim was for “Telecom maintenance 1 year Warranty.” The invoice was obviously scammy since we’ve never worked with US Telecom. There’s a statement on the invoice saying “Thank you for your business. This is not an invoice for services rendered but for proactive maintenance on your telephone system.” In other words, “we hope you blindly pay this invoice so we can take your money and not provide any service.” Also, isn’t an invoice to bill for services already rendered? Yeah, it is.

I also knew this US Telecom didn’t do their homework, because had they done so, they wouldn’t charge a measly $300 to “maintain” our several-hundred-thousand dollar VoIP system which interconnects with two different services providers and spans several campuses. Shoot, maybe we should have had them come over for $300.

Shame on you UST. I’m going to go ahead and call out supposed parent company “CCG Company”, too. FOR SHAME!

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Scammy Invoice from US Telecom (UST) originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on May 6, 2012.

1. SubAssistant
Pros: Sends a text message, email, or push notification on Android when a job offer is available on Aesop. The service is cloud-based, meaning, the service is entirely online so you don’t have to download, install, or keep any software running on your computer or phone.  SubAssistant also keeps a graph in your account which shows the number of job offers you’ve received by the hour, so you can see which hours are most popular for jobs to pop up on Aesop.  (We thought that was a neat touch)
Cons:  No automated job acceptance
Other comments: Checks every 60 seconds. Costs $7.95 a month, can cancel at any time.

2. Jobulator
Pros: “Aesop approved” because its made by the same company who makes Aesop. So, presumably, you’d exepct the software to work better. Motives are nefarious, though, with them making a separate piece of software and charging subs to use it, but whatever…. Jobulator sounds notifications on your computer or phone, and you can pick up the jobs from the app.
Cons: The desktop software and mobile app are self-hosted, meaning, you have to run it on your computer or phone 24/7 to get notifications. This runs down the battery on your phone, and keeps your home computer running 24/7. Anytime the phone or computer is restarted, you have to remember to start the app again to receive notifications.
Other comments: Checks every 60 seconds, costs $40 for 12 months + your cost of electricity.

3. Sub Sidekick
Pros: Sounds notifications on your computer and sends text or email notifications.
Cons: Again, this app has to run on your computer 24/7 to check for jobs and send notifications. Anytime the computer is restarted, you have to remember to start the app again to receive notifications. No mobile application.
Other comments: Checks every 60 seconds, costs $9.99 a month or $90 for 12 months + your cost of electricity.

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Aesop Job Notifications: Comparing Jobulator, SubAssistant, and Sub Sidekick originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on April 30, 2012.

I received this text message earlier today, and I figured I was just a random recipient of a phishing attempt, but once I found more of my coworkers with Verizon service received the same message, I thought I should see if there was anything about this online. I wasn’t able to find anything about this specific message, so I’ll do my good deed for the day and post this little warning.

The linked web page tries to copy the actual Verizon mobile site (http://m.verizon.com/PAMMobile/TGridFB.aspx). Once you enter anything into the phish form and “proceed”, you’re directed to the Verizon mobile site as your credentials are stored, who knows where, waiting to be exploited.

What should you do if you receive this text? Delete it, and warn your friends who use Verizon Wireless. Or, if you’re inclined, flood the phishing site with bogus info or SQL statements, hoping the programmer didn’t sanitize inputs.

Update: I received two more phishing texts this week, but with slightly different text and different domains:

“[Unverified Sender] (9178696234) Verizon Alert.Account Locked. Please click http://m.wireless-updates2.com and update your login info.”

“[Unverified Sender] (9173279245) Verizon Account Locked. Visit http://m.verizonupdate.net and update your login info.”

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Verizon SMS Phishing Scam Making the Rounds originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on March 13, 2012.

Bill Gates & Co helped made a product (Windows) which can be used on almost any computing device. By that, I mean you can go down to Best Buy, buy all the pieces you need, and build a Windows computer (shut up Linux users: you require too much tinkering for the average Joe). This helped bring the personal computer to the masses. For a number of reasons, this brought Gates tremendous wealth. Now, certainly, Jobs & Co played a role in that as well, but their paths diverge quickly.

Some make the argument that Job’s contributions to the world made it a better place. The iPad didn’t make the world any healthier or smarter. Perhaps the developers who created applications to use on the iPad did. The only world that Jobs really improved with his products are the worlds of those who directly benefited from the money tree. Is there anything wrong with this? Absolutely not. I only take issue with those who praise him as the savior. Let’s just refer to him as what he really was: Jobs was an excellent capitalist.  He spent his time figuring out how to create another piece of consumerism plastic with built-in obsolesce. I don’t buy into the “genius” of Jobs. He wasn’t by himself, sitting atop of mountain, stepping down once a year to give us mere mortals a piece of hand-crafted brilliance. He had an excellent team of creative individuals who probably endured an immense amount of stress as Jobs thought himself perfect and demanded the same everyone around him. For whatever reason, Apple decided to create an image of an ultimate, infallible leader. Corporations don’t put creative geniuses at their helms, they put cutthroat capitalists in those seats. Jobs was celebrated for working, right up to the end, on creating more wealth for Apple’s shareholders. Then, it happened. Consumers around the world wept. Why? Because they weren’t sure they were going to get another cool product to spend too much on. Jobs was stinking rich, and he knew it. With his over-reactive legal department suing anything with a fruit on it, he attacked Android for stealing everything from him. Apple’s entire culture is built around exclusivity, being a walled-garden with complete control over what you can do with what you own. You can’t play unless you pay. Windows has to play with everyone, lest they be taken to court again. Apple can force consumers to use iTunes with their iStuff. Meanwhile, Microsoft has to be cut up into several business units and pander to governments around the world because of “anti-trust” issues. Apple’s no underdog, nor a champion for them, they just have a better legal department.

Since stepping down as Microsoft’s CEO, Gates now spends his days literally giving away his wealth which saves lives around the world and teaches computer literacy to children who would otherwise never have the opportunity. And, not just giving the money away, but taking the time to research and invest in long-term strategies to better the lives of the underprivileged.

Which of these men is worshiped?

It says a lot about who we are as a people.

There, I’ve said it.

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The Tallies: Steve Jobs & Bill Gates originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on November 7, 2011.

• Panasonic BL-C30A NETWORKCAMERA.zip
  All CD files in a .zip folder

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Configuration Program for Panasonic BL-C30A originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on August 8, 2011.

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Hey, Oracle! We hate this crap. originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on March 16, 2011.

At first, I set up a shortcut on her smartphone which jumped right to the web sites for SubFinder which allowed her to job shop throughout the day. But with my mind still turning, I knew I couldn’t let this continue manually. This is the INTERNETS! That means connected systems and automation, my friends!

SubFinder has no built-in notification system, aside from the archaic one-at-a-time phone calling system(I know, right?). However, I was able to find a new online service called SubAssistant which checks your SubFinder account for you, then sends you a text message or email alert when one is available. All you need to do is sign up, enter your SubFinder info, set your notification preferences, and wait for the jobs to come to you. Once I set this up for my wife, she couldn’t believe how many notifications she was receiving. While SubAssistant doesn’t auto accept the jobs for you, it was easy for my wife to get the email on her phone, then immediately pop open the browser and pick up the job manually.

While looking for automated programs to check SubFinder, I ran across a couple of others for different sub systems like Sub Sidekick, Jobulator, and SubAlerts, but all these programs require you to download software to your own computer and leave your computer on 24/7 so the software can check the site. I liked SubAssistant’s approach; its all online so you don’t have to worry about leaving your computer on or missing jobs because you forgot to start the software after a reboot. (Not to mention the electric bill!) Another option is using something like the Check4Change plugin for Firefox or ReloadEvery for Internet Explorer and (I think) Chrome. But again, these two just refresh the page and essentially tie you to your computer.

Does anyone know of any other program that can do the same thing for SubFinder? SubAssistant works great, but it doesn’t hurt to try others, right?

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New Program Checks SubFinder Automatically originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on March 16, 2011.

When you go through the cart process, be sure to remove any “backup” or physical media options. As long as you’re careful enough to keep the downloaded ISO somewhere safe along with the product key, you don’t need to pay Microsoft for their backup or physical media.

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Microsoft Windows 7 Student Discount is on again originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on February 8, 2011.

No copyright infringement intended?? That’s like saying “no offense, but…” right before you say something that’s really offensive.

This one is like stealing a neighbor’s car then becoming indignant when he confronts you for stealing it. “What? I told everyone I didn’t own your car while driving it, so I’m good to use it for anything I want, right?!”

And my favorite:

The pissed off YouTube user with an incredibly misplaced sense of entitlement and absolutely no clue about how advertising, copyright, marketing,  or really, anything works in the real world. “This is YOUtube, the place where we can post OUR videos that we make with YOUR music, YOUR video, and YOUR imagery using the free Windows Movie Maker or Adobe Premiere that I illegally downloaded!”

Idiots.

Discover:
Copyright Law
Fair Use

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I’m Stealing Your Car, and that’s Okay originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on February 3, 2011.

For those interested in the actual product, not the glamor shots found every where else, I took a few snapshots of the figure placed next to the Motorola Droid X for comparison.

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My New Cubical Buddy – Android Mini Collectible Standard Edition originally appeared on 365 Discoveries on February 2, 2011.