Helpful Dave LLC

NEWS ALERT:

GoDaddy has suffered a massive security breach. If you or anyone you know has an account please make sure to take all necessary steps to secure your site!

Out of an abundance of caution we recommend resetting your passwords to something new and completely unique.

GoDaddy

https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/22/godaddy-breach-million-accounts/

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1609711/000160971121000122/gddyblogpostnov222021.htm

GoDaddy says data breach exposed over a million user accounts – TechCrunch The web host said an unauthorized person used a compromised password to get access to GoDaddy's systems.

Hello, once again it’s time for Tech News from your Local IT Business Helpful Dave! Where we try to simplify what’s going on in your tech world!

Do you own any Amazon Alexa or Ring devices? If so, you are automatically being opted in to Amazon’s new Network Sharing plan! That’s right, your home network and devices are going to be shared with neighbors and strangers alike. Is it safe and secure? Maybe. Can you opt out? Definitely! But should you? Let’s find out as we take a deeper dive!

Our Tech Terms for this week are:

Sidewalk – this is referring to Amazon's new data network

Tile – Not what you put on the floor in your Bathroom. It’s actually a small device people attach to items that helps find that item in case it is lost.

---Now onto the news---

Amazon’s Sidewalk program is a new network sharing service that users of Amazon Alexa and some Ring Devices are automatically being opted into. The goal of Sidewalk is to make sure all Amazon devices and Amazon Partner devices (Ring, Tile, etc.) always stay connected to the internet.

How it works is simple. First we have to assume that both you and your neighbor have an Amazon Alexa/Echo or Ring Device.

First the Scary Part:

Now let’s assume your neighbor’s internet goes out but someone is ringing his Ring Video Doorbell.

This is where Amazon Sidewalk will come in.

Your neighbors Device whether it be a light, doorbell, or garage door opener, will connect to your home's internet and transmit data back and forth to your neighbor’s house. It's possible that these devices can eventually transmit audio and even possibly video. We know it's possible because one of the frequencies (900Mhz) is currently being used for radios (walkie talkies) for emergency service (police, fire, etc.).

So, here’s the question. How can anyone be sure that your devices aren’t being snooped on when they connect to someone else's network? Well Amazon stated they are taking measures to secure the data including multiple layers of encryption. As a matter of fact the way the encryption is setup, according to Amazon, is even Amazon won’t be able to see what you are transmitting back and forth.

However, we have all seen large companies get hacked and have data breaches before.

Now the Benefits:

You may be asking, why would anyone WANT to leave Amazon Sidewalk enabled?

That’s because Sidewalk does have some benefits that Amazon is touting.

Remember Tile that we mentioned earlier? If you haven’t heard of it, Tile has been making tags for a long time that help you find things you have lost. You attach the tag to a device and if you ever lose it you can use your smartphone to help you find it again.

The problem is devices like Tile are all very limited by range. With Amazon’s Sidewalk, Tile can now use all of the existing connections in the Sidewalk network so whoever loses and item can find it.

But Dave, you’ll say, I don’t care about helping some guy find his sunglasses! Sure, that’s fine. But according to Amazon they are expanding a lot of their services. They will also be including products that you’ll be able to attach to your dog’s collar, or maybe to an elderly relative’s watch or Life Alert device. So that way if they are lost, they can be located as well through the sidewalk network.

This is why Amazon is opting everyone in automatically without their consent. Amazon’s argument is that in the future it will do more good than harm. Amazon also states that the impact on your home network will be minimal (less than 500MB/half a gigabyte a month).

How do I Opt Out?:

If you own an Alexa Device:

1. Open the Alexa app
2. Open More and select Settings.
3. Select Account Settings.
4. Select Amazon Sidewalk.
5. Turn Amazon Sidewalk On or Off for your account.

Amazon Official Instructions: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GZ4VSNFMBDHLRJUK

If you own a Ring Device:

1. Open your Ring App
2. Tap the three-lined icon in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
3. Tap Control Center.
4. Tap Sidewalk.
5. Tap the Sidewalk slider button.
6. You will see a screen asking you to confirm that you want to disable Sidewalk.
7. Confirm that you wish to disable Sidewalk.

Ring Official Instructions Below:
https://support.ring.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032524592-Opting-In-and-Out-of-Sidewalk

I hope this information proves helpful to everyone! If you have any questions feel free to contact us!

---Working from Home? Learning from Home? We can help remotely as well!---

We have the capability to connect into your PC remotely as long as you can still get on the internet. Feel free to shoot us a message or provide a phone call and we will do our best to assist you!

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or comments or want more information.

Thanks and have a good week!

-Helpful Dave

Hello, once again it’s time for some Tech News from Helpful Dave!

In this update we are focusing on:

Chrome Browser: There is a new exploit for this browser. Are you running the latest version?

T-Mobile: Did you know T-Mobile will begin a new policy of selling your browsing data to third party advertisers? You can opt-out if you don’t want this to happen to you!

Before we begin a small update from us:

It’s been a while since we have put these posts out. We hope everyone has been doing well during these trying times. As the restrictions over what we can and cannot do begin to ease we are now opening back up for business.

In person appointments will resume after we are able to get our vaccines. We are currently assisting with phone support and pickups.

Our Tech Terms for this post are:

Zero-Day: A Zero-Day vulnerability or exploit is something that already exists in the wild before developers can fix it.

Third Party Data: Generally, this is data that contains very little personal information. However it can be handled in such a way to be able to identify you.

Machine Learning: A way to teach a computer to be able to find or solve something using data so you don’t have to perform the task manually.

---Now onto the news---

Chrome has been under fire lately as they have had a couple of Zero Day exploits. The latest exploit is a particularity nasty one. The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) has rated it an 8.8 out of 10. Further information will not be released about the bug for some time as Google wants to allow people to update their browsers before more bad actors can take advantage of this exploit.

However, with a rating of 8.8/10 it can be safely assumed that this exploit will allow a bad actor to take control of your device remotely and install any malware they choose.

Please make sure to update Chrome to the latest version by following the steps listed here: https://www.google.com/chrome/update/

Your Chrome Version should say: 89.0.4389.90 or higher.

T-Mobile is opting all of their customers in automatically to new data collection and selling. T-Mobile will begin selling information about your browsing history and the apps you have installed on your phone. How much of this data will be sold is not completely clear however T-Mobile has stated that they won’t include personal information that could be used to directly identify you.

Why is this still a problem then? Different Third-Party data can be combined by using certain techniques with other data to actually identify you!

Researchers back in 2013 showed that by just having access to your “Anonymous Mobile Phone Location Data” (not exact GPS coordinates) they were able to identify specific “anonymous” users.

Researchers in 2019 showed that they can actually identify specific individuals with anonymous data by using Machine Learning. Meaning that with enough data they can actually figure out who you are from all this anonymous data!

I’ll include some links below if you want to read the studies yourself as well as some articles that give a more detailed breakdown.

What can you do to Opt Out of T-Mobile’s new Data Collection?

You can Visit T-Mobile’s privacy center and Opt-Out:
https://www.t-mobile.com/privacy-center/take-control-of-your-data

------Extra Links------
Finding People using Anonymous Phone Location Data
Wired has a more detailed breakdown:
https://www.wired.com/2013/03/anonymous-phone-location-data/

You can read the study here:
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01376

Identifying people using Anonymous Data:
CNBC Article has a more detailed breakdown: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/23/anonymous-data-might-not-be-so-anonymous-study-shows.html
You can read the study here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-10933-3%22

---Working from Home? Learning from Home? We can help remotely as well!---

We have the capability to connect into your PC remotely as long as you can still get on the internet. Feel free to shoot us a message or provide a phone number and we will do our best to assist you!

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or comments or want more information.

Thanks and have a good week!

-Helpful Dave

How to Update Chrome to the Latest Version - Google Chrome Chrome updates happen automatically when you close and reopen Chrome. Discover how to check your version and apply a pending update.

Weekly Tech News from Helpful Dave!

Hello, once again its time for Weekly Tech News from Helpful Dave!

This week is going to be brief. I know this is impacting our local community as much as myself so I still wanted to get an update out there! If you’re working from home I have tips in here for you as well so read on!

Our Tech Terms for this week are:

Trojan: This is a piece of software/app that is disguised as something useful but is actually Malware that will either damage your electronics or steal your information!

---Now onto the news---

The Trojans are coming!

Firstly a warning about Corona virus app based scams. I know many of us are scared and want to have more access to information and the bad guys know that as well! I’ve seen reports of apps that disguise themselves as Corona virus trackers. These apps will tell you that they provide real time GPS updates as people in your area become infected so you know what areas of your local neighborhoods to avoid.

Please remember that local officials normally do not release names or locations of people who become infected for everyone's safety. So if an app is promising you information that nobody else seems to have, its probably a Trojan!

---Private Messages are not always private!---

It's only natural for water cooler talk and general socializing to continue as people shift to work from home. If your company or school set you up with software so you can communicate directly with your co-workers please remember that those conversations do not come with any promise of privacy!

In general unless you are texting someone directly over the phone you should always assume someone can read what you are saying. Especially if someone else is providing the software you communicate on since you are there employee!

---Working from Home? Learning from Home? We can help remotely as well!---

We have the capability to connect into your PC remotely as long as you can still get on the internet. Feel free to shoot us a message or provide a phone call and we will do our best to assist you!

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or comments or want more information.

Thanks and have a good week!

-Helpful Dave