I just got this email a few minutes ago, ostensibly from RyanAir:
Man, this one looks pretty legitimate. The things that caught my attention? #1, I haven’t booked any travel with RyanAir.
#2, the email is one I haven’t used in ages, but it is set to auto-forward to me main one. But it’s not one I would’ve used. Perhaps I used it in the past with RyanAir? Nope. Never flown with them.
But what if, maybe, just maybe, it was someone else, some other Carl Setzer, who accidently used this email that was off in some weird capacity. Hmmm…
Oh, well if someone made a mistake, I should click on this link, right? Be nice and help a chap out, right? Knowing how many people want to be nice, I opt to hover over this link, which leads me to the big ol’ red flag
Check out THIS url:
Yep, my friends: classic phishing!
Now, you don’t need to dig around like I did. I did so mostly for the academic exercise. My first impulse was to mark this as phishing immediately, but I just was too curious.
For most folks, just mark as spam and ignore these things. Do NOT click on any of the links!
So, the world of spams & scams is evolving. Be aware and be safe, my friends!
Last June I wrote about a scam running through my Facebook accounts. Well, I’ve now seen this a few times over the months. However, starting overnight last night, several of the pages I managed have been inundated with the message. I think I’m up to 7 or 8 on one page alone.
Here’s a screenshot of the message:
Ultimately, it’s a phishing scam. If you click on the link, it’ll either ask you for your credentials or download malware…or both. Dear friends, DO NOT CLICK ON THE LINK!!!!
Part of me takes delight in reporting these…people…for spam and getting their accounts blocked. However, in the end, it’s just a game of whack-a-mole. Clearly, they are able to create new accounts as fast as they get deleted. A part of me wants to kick these folks in the gonads.
Anyway, I wanted share this ASAP and I’m sure there are some people alarmed and, thus, more likely to click on the link. Please be safe out there in cyberspace!
I’m a bit behind on my 2025 planning. This “bug” I’ve been fighting has sapped away SO much energy. As I’m FINALLY feeling my energy return (at least more of it) this week, I’m starting to map out what my career direction and focus looks like in 2025 and forward.
Quick summary: I spent the pandemic working on a degree in Information Systems with its main focus on Web Development. In a weird twist of fate, I finished it right as the tech sector meltdown was hitting hardest. Competing with 500k+ tech workers has made the transition challenging. But I did land an IT role. Currently, I work 1/2 time as an IT/Systems Analyst for the Edmonds Waterfront Center, and 1/2 as a “tech savvy” Administrative Assistant. I feel like I’m straddling both my past and my future. My vision of my future, though, is to move full-time into IT/Information Systems. And that’s the plan I’m building.
However, that’s not a narrow enough focus. Within this umbrella is a huge array of roles. Network administrator, help desk analyst, web developer, systems analyst, information security, and data analyst….and there’s plenty more! First world problems, a plethora of riches….you know.
Anyway, focus, right?
After looking over my notes, exploring all the projects I’ve worked on the past few years, reviewed the classes I’ve taken, exploring what I’ve found the most fulfilling, most valuable, and even what I thought was the most fun, I have pretty much narrowed things down to what I’ll call “data systems”.
I’ve worked with data in many settings, and have spend many hours with Excel. And I like this stuff! While studying for my ATA, I got to work with a LOT of database systems and tools. Besides extensive projects in Access, I got to do a lot of work with SQL. Not just MySQL, but also SQL Server, and even a few variants of Oracle. I find this stuff endlessly fascinating. And I see that “data” is a huge growth area in our economy. Between data analytics, data security, data warehouses, and data lakes, there’s a huge need for people who both understand these systems and structures, but also, well, enjoy it! My experience with data is pretty extensive as well. From budget tracking for my teams at both Starbucks and Microsoft, creating dashboards for real estate teams, and tracking projects and feasibility for construction companies, I’ve done a lot.
Looking towards the future, I want to dive deeper into key skills. First, Data Visualization. I have studied design and worked extensively with PowerPoint. Power BI and Tableau are a logical next step. Thus, I’ve started the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst course on Coursera. I also want to build my skills in Python/R and Statistics. Perhaps via the IBM Data Analyst Cert or Google’s Data Analytics Cert. I’ll evaluate that as I move forward.
I recognize the place of privilege I’m in, where I have all these options that I struggle to choose amongst. For that, I’m grateful.
So, I know some of you have experience in this area. I’d love your thoughts on my framework/vision (I’m still turning it into a plan). And if you have any advice, I’d deeply appreciate your thoughts.
This article prompted me to Google RSS readers. The first article was the Verge’s “Top 5 RSS Readers“. And the first on that list is Feedly. Well, I remember Feedly, as I set up an account ages ago…and then forgot about it. But I was able to log in and off I went. I have some curating to do, but it’s not really that bad. And I see several sites that I’d stopped tracking in all the mess of email updates. So, that’s a win.
I intend on unsubscribing to gobs of email blog updates, cleaning up my inbox quite a bit. Also, I need to use the “feeds” feature, where I can segment my different feeds.
Do you use an RSS reader? Have a favorite one? Let me know!
Some time ago, I created a list of alternatives to Adobe’s and Microsoft’s key software offerings. A filmmaker by the name of Joris Hermans created a video featuring a nice list of Adobe alternatives.
I’ve explored a few of these, but most are unfamiliar to me. I want to explore them, but it will be challenging to do so in the near future.
Have any of you explored any of these tools? Oh, and Joris closes with a request for Acrobat alternatives. Do you have any suggestions? I’d love to hear them, and I’m sure Joris would, too.
Over the years, I’ve helped a few people regain access to their Facebook accounts. Most all of those times were relatively easy since they were simply forgotten passwords. One was more complicated where a former social media consultant basically vanished and ghosted the business owners. The main challenge for me entailed getting copies of the business license and then a letter from the business owner. The hardest part (for me) was the waiting. It took me a fair bit of googling to track down a way to make the request, and then I had to wait for Facebook to respond. A few minutes of work that took weeks to complete due to slow communications.
So, now, I am working with someone whose account was compromised/taken over by someone else. Facebook’s knowledge base was a series of loops that accomplished nada. Frustrating. I then reached out to a friend who worked at Meta, who let me know that they’d risk termination if they tried to route me outside of the “normal channels”. So, as I value my friend, I opted to not push it. But, man, it’s frustrating. All of this to state that my experience with troubleshooting Meta issues has gone from clunky to infuriating.
So, when I read this article on Engadget, “How small claims court became Meta’s customer service hotline“, I groaned in recognition. I can see why people are using law suits to push Meta to act. I expect that they hope that this level of agrevation will deter people from seeking help and they just give up. However, I doubt that’s really going to be the case. Besides, I would expect that Customer Service Reps are much cheaper than attorneys. This seems to be the most expensive way to navigate this situation.
Since this article is posted on a major blog, I wonder if more people will seek Meta customer service via small claims court. Perhaps it will become painful enough for Meta to finally staff their customer service department adequately. Perhaps…
This strikes me as an element of Cory Doctrow’s “Enshittification”. In particular, the notion of “too big to care“. For so many folks, Facebook is an 800 pound gorilla. And they know it and are hard pressed to care.
So, one of the things I do regularly is markup PDF documents. Every time I add text I get the notice below:
No, I don’t need to have someone sign this. I know how to set up e-signing, I’ve done it literally hundreds of times. Quit bugging me, Adobe! I know what I’m doing. Argh! Nagging me every few seconds is, *ahem* annoying.
Yeah, I know, first world problems, but geez, trust your users to know what they’re doing.
I also appreciate that they touched on the sustainability issues surrounding AI. Huge amounts of energy and water are part of this equation. These will be key elements for the efficacy of this technology.
I have a few ideas that I want to explore with AI tools. These tools will be critical ones to learn and master. I’m confident many jobs that will be replaced by AI, will create new roles on the other side of this equation.
They had a side discussion looking at the ethics of using AI to enhance photography, and what should be disclosed. Todd Bishop, one of Geekwire’s founders, used an AI tool to enhance (de-noise is the phrase they used) an image. When I first heard the situation, I thought that disclosing was unnecessary. Mainly, I don’t see any difference between “de-noising” and color-correcting, or cropping. As they went on and explored the issue, I shifted to thinking disclosure is the wisest course. As I respect the distrust many feel towards AI, so it makes sense to just be conscientious.
There’s so much that AI is challenging in our lives. I really appreciated this unique dive into it.
One of the things I do for a number of orgs is manage social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok). For the most part it’s pretty fun. However, there’s a group of folk I’m seeing more and more: spammers. This crew is bolder and more annoying. They’ll post their spam comment about being a YouTube expert, then keep replying (“did you read my note?”). Initially, I took them at face value and replied saying “thanks, no thanks”. Then I had the guy ping us how we could increase our YouTube engagement, for a client who has NO YouTube presence. I mean, come on, at least TRY with your time-wasting spam.
I have been taking modest delight in deleting these requests. Micro-empowerment, I guess. It is a Sisyphean process, so I take what wins I can.
So, when I saw this in my email the other day, my suspicions were raised.
Besides no longer being a LastPass customer, the sender’s email was a huge red-flag.
Ah, there’s a link! I always recommend people do in these circumstances is hover over links in email. In the lower left-hand corner, you can see the actual link. *Note, this is not a a LastPass site.
I’m quite confident that these hackers got my information from the dark web, but found that I’ve changed all my passwords, as well as shifted away from LastPass. It’s a rather convincing email phishing for information.
So, I wanted to share this for a few reasons. Mainly, for my fellow LastPass breachees, watch for these sorts of scams. Hackers can use information in multiple ways, not just with accessing your sites with stolen credentials. Also, there are some good tools to use in any suspicious email. My main advice: never click on a link unless you’re 100% certain it’s valid. Reach out to the send via phone/text if you’re in doubt.
Anyway, be wary my friends. If you’ve ever been part of a data breach (is there anyone who hasn’t?), expect that the information collected will be used against you.
