Thoughts From My Inbox
February 12th, 2021

Something About…

Ever get a call from somebody claiming that your PC is having issues, and you’ll just need to pay $300 for them to fix it?  They’re usually very nice people, and the customer experience is outstanding.  Until, that is, you realize that you’ve just provided them remote access to fix a problem on your PC (or Mac) that doesn’t really exist.  Sophos was kind enough to point out a few of the most common scams and how to avoid them.

There’s a day for everything, right?  Cheeseburgers, hemp, and showering with a friend (Feb 5th- sorry you missed it) to name a few.  So, why not Safer Internet Day?  That occurred this past Tuesday (Feb. 9th) which happens to be the day after “Clean Out Your Computer” Day.  Wow.  Anyway, if you’re looking for some tips on safer internet usage (might as well celebrate the day, right?), Sophos provided a few for you.

We’ve heard for quite some time about concerns regarding water supplies and other resources and the likelihood of them being hacked.  Turns out it happened in Pinellas County, FL, last week , when somebody gained access to the system and increased the amount of lye to be mixed into the water.  For a more technical look at this hack, you can see what CISA has posted.

My friend Dave Loomis was kind enough to send me the article above, regarding the drinking water hack in Florida.  That got me to thinking that there is probably a lot of interesting stuff that doesn’t make it to my inbox each week.  Whether it be technology, sports, marketing, or something else you find worthwhile, feel free to send it to me.  I’ll pick one every week to include in my “Thoughts”, and if it’s yours I’ll send some Ashton gear your way.  I added a “submit” button below.  In the meantime, don’t tell Dave, but he’s going to receive a stainless steel Ashton tumbler today.

Because I can’t seem to go a week without getting something in the inbox about ransomware (but this is another good one).  In this case, a two page fact sheet providing examples, government efforts to combat ransomware, and common threat vectors.  If you take the time to read this, you should take the time to share it with your team/employees, as education is the first line of defense.

This one is a little into the technical weeks, but the gist is that the Chrome browser (and others based on Chromium, such as Edge) needs to be updated immediately.  Security researchers have found a new zero-day attack (zero day meaning that there were zero days for anybody to come up with defensive measures to stop the attack) through the browser, which can put your security at risk, when browsing online.

I hope you have your flowers and candy ordered and dinner reservations made, as Valentine’s Day is Sunday.  The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) thought I would appreciate a reminder regarding ‘internet romance scams’. This actually reminds me of the time my wife convinced me to watch 90 Day Fiance…That’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back.

It was on this day in 1878 that the baseball catcher’s mask was patented, designed by the Harvard team captain to help their catcher become less timid (hard to blame the guy for being timid after taking numerous foul tips to the face). Here is an interesting piece about the evolution of the mask, as well as one showing how they continue to evolve.

I had lunch the other day with a faithful reader of this publication, and he mentioned the fact that he enjoyed watching the Hannenkahm video from a few weeks ago. The alpine skiing world championships are being contested in Cortina, Italy, as we speak (and it’s cold and snowy in Cleveland!), so I figured I’d post a video.  This one links to run that won the Women’s Super G, and it really makes me want to get back on the mountain (albeit at a little slower speed).

That’s all for this week.  Football is done for the season (until the D2 and D3 teams start a spring season), but baseball pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday (Feb. 17th).  Aside from some skiing tomorrow, I think I’ll be spending most of the weekend painting bedrooms.  I hope you have something more interesting on the agenda!

Best,
Jim