HELP DESK
Q: I took my new iPad mini on vacation and was subjected to a bed bug infestation in a hotel room. When I returned home, I took precautions to keep my home from being infected, including putting the iPad in a sealed plastic bag.
What would be the best economical, do-it-yourself way to ensure that there are no live bed bugs in the tablet, short of keeping it put away for a year until the bed bugs die off. That, by the way, is the only advice I got from AppleCare.
Ginette Watson
A:
I recommend putting the computer and some mothballs in a sealed plastic bag and leave it that way — sealed — for more than a week. Mothballs are not as toxic as most insect sprays. But here’s the rub. You could kill the bedbugs but still have problems. The bedbugs can lay eggs inside a computer. And that lets a new batch of them hatch.
From what I read, eggs hatch between two days and seven days after being laid. So to be safe, leave the computer in the bag for eight or nine days. Now mothballs have a strong smell and I’m guessing your tablet would smell a bit after coming out of the bag.
So wipe it down — gently — with a mild soap and water solution (just a damp cloth so that water doesn’t get inside). Then you’d wipe with a damp cloth (just water this time, same deal about using a cloth that’s just damp). I think that within a few days the camphor odor would be gone.
If I was king of the world I’d ban social media. No more Twitter. No more Facebook. Good-bye to all online meeting places.
With all that gone you’d manage friends the old-fashioned way. You’d have coffee with them, or play golf together.
I don’t enjoy social media. But that’s not why I’d ban it.
I’d ban it because – day after day – people use it to expose themselves to all sorts of dangers. They tell about their big vacation plans and. And they talk about expensive new purchases; they show photos of their attractive children.
I’m just getting started. Since people – foolishly – often compose passwords using the names of children, pets and favorite pursuits – a would-be hacker can harvest useful information to guess the password.
My chances of becoming king of the world are fairly slim. And your chances of giving up social media are even smaller. So let’s talk about how you can be semi-safe and still engage in social media.
Learn the rules
Spend time learning about any tools the social media site offers for protecting your information. And use these tools. But also read the site’s disclosures about what it does allow. That may include the fact that it shares information with marketers. Reading all this may, in fact, discourage you from using the site. But, at the very least, you must know what’s allowed and how any security protection tools can be enabled.
Don’t be crude
This should be a no-brainer. But many of us seem to have episodes when we have no brains. Otherwise decent and sensible people can easily post information using social media that will come back to haunt them. Employers routinely check social media accounts of job applicants these days. And what may seem funny to you today may end up costing you a job tomorrow.
Keep private stuff private
Don’t tell the world where you live, the name of your children, your last name or anything else that makes you easy to find. And for gosh sakes don’t mention upcoming vacations that will leave your house empty and unguarded.
Picture this
Obviously you’d be an idiot to post inappropriate photos. These pictures often get copied and sent around the web. But even perfectly ordinary photos can come back to haunt you. What seems to you to be a nice photo of your family can expose your children to dangers from molesters and other perverts.
Don’t give hackers a free pass
Many of you use easy-to-crack passwords – the name of a family pet, your street address, the name of a child. Obviously you should stop doing that and use passwords that are a random collection of letters and numbers. Even so, make sure you avoid listing any of this personal information. Even the name of your high school can put your passwords at risk. Here’s why. Let’s say you follow my advice and create a decent password.
Your online accounts are still at risk based on what you reveal. Many email programs and password-protected websites use security questions that – if answered correctly – allow folks who have forgotten the password to reset it. These questions often include things such as the name of your high school, your mom’s maiden name, the place you met your spouse-to-be. Social media can provide the clues so a hacker can answer these security questions correctly and take over your accounts.
Keep opinions to yourself
So you had a bad day at work. Your social media account gives you a chance to do a little venting about the stupidity of your boss. At the very least, comments like this can make life unpleasant. At worst –it can (and it has in many cases) cost an employee his job. If you want to vent, tell it to your dog.
Look, I know many of your enjoy social media. And I understand that – in this busy world – it lets you stay in touch with friends and family scattered across the country and even the world.
But keep in mind that what you say and do on these sites exposes you and your family to many real risks – things that can cost you money, a job or even put a family member in physical danger.
So work hard to be responsible on the social media sites. Otherwise, you are in danger of using them as a tool to give your life away.
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