WEBSITE CHANGE LOG

SEPTEMBER 2023

Sept 23: Some updates to the Secure File Storage topic
Sept 22: Added the customization of Google ads to the Google topic. Added more on Kia and Hyundai car thefts to the Cars topic. Added info on limiting the iPhone battery to an 80 percent charge to the iOS and Battery topics.
Sept 21: Added diskless VPN servers as a feature to look for in the VPN topic
Sept 20: Added info on new Apple Roadside Assistance feature to Traveling and iOS topics
Sept 19: Added a dedicated IP address as a VPN feature in the VPN topic
Sept 18: Started adding some Natural Disaster info to the Power outage topic
Sept 15: Updated the Chromebook topic to note that Chromebooks now get 10 years of bug fixes.
Sept 14: Added Pegasus Defensive advice to the iOS topic
Sept 6: Lots of additions to the Cars topic.
Sept 5: Updated the VPN topic with an article about Windows malware that leaks your location. Added a VPN Relationship Map to the VPN topic.
Sept 4: Added an article on the new Proton Sentinel feature to the News and Extra Credit topics
Sept 3: Updated the Domain Name Rules page to add Country Code TLDs.

AUGUST 2023

Aug 31: On the Cellphone companies topic, added an article about blocking email to text. New very small topic on Home Protection.
Aug 30: Updated the Power outage topic
Aug 29: In the iOS topic added an article about getting weather alerts
Aug 28: In the Secure Messaging topic added another article that compares different products
Aug 25: Updated the VPN User Experience page to note the great diagnostics feature of IVPN on Windows. On the VPN page, added a new way to judge a VPN provider - technical communication. IVPN and Mullvad pass this test.
Aug 19: Expanded the topic of ad/tracker blocking for IVPN on the VPN page.
Aug 17: Updated the iOS topic with a couple articles about Bluetooth not being really disabled. Updated the Rules of the Road topic. In the Microsoft topic, added yet another example of why the company is not trust-worthy.
Aug 16: Added links to a malicious USB cable detector to the USB flash drive page and the Extra credit page. On the Search Engine page, added info on having your personal information removed from Google search results.
Aug 15: In the Secure Messaging topic added that Google Messages can send fully encrypted messages.
Aug 12: There is a WiFi bug in some Ford and Lincoln cars - added to the Cars topic.
Aug 1: More bad news for Tesla on the Cars topic. Also, an investigation in California into how data from cars is being used.

JULY 2023

July 29: In the Facebook topic added an article about reporting scam Facebook accounts
July 28: In the Cars topic added a warning about Tesla and their corporate mind set. Expanded the Microsoft topic furthering my argument not to use their software.
July 17: Updated the Power Outage topic and moved it to a new page
July 15: Updated the Printers topic with articles and advice from the Washington Post
July 13: Lots of updates to the Two Factor Authentication topic
July 12: added an article about planning for 2FA failures to the 2FA page and the News page
July 4: In the Cars topic added a new free tool that provides a privacy report about the data being collected by a specific car.

JUNE 2023

June 28: In the Gmail topic added an article about moving from Gmail to Proton Mail
June 27: Updated the Tax Filing topic with info on IRS Identity Theft PINs
June 20: Updated the VPN topic with an added warning about sockets. Added some warnings about Signal to the Secure Messaging topic.
June 19: Updated the VPN topic with another warning about a bad VPN provider. In the Domain Name Rules page, added a report on domain look-alikes.
June 17: Still more problems with an HP printer and Windows in the Printers topic.
June 16: Updated the Printers page with a horror story about installing an HP printer
June 14: Updated the Extra Credit and Printers topics with a warning about the Geek Squad
June 10: Updated the TikTok page with 3 new links. Updated the Death topic with an article that makes many bad suggestions.
June 7: Still no fix from HP for the printers they ruined. Updated the Printers topic.
June 5: Expanded the topic of Extensions on the Web Browser page
June 1: Updated the passkeys topic with another new article. Updated the iOS strange networking topic. Updated the Domain Name rules topic with two more tricks that bad guys use in scams.

MAY 2023

May 31: Updated the passkeys topic with an article showing why they are bad
May 26: More examples of strange iOS networking traffic
May 22: Updated the Printers topic again.
May 21: Updated the Printers topic
May 19: Added more about the App Tracking Protection feature of DuckDuckGo on Android. It looks like a great feature. Added the Android DuckDuckGo browser as a recommended browser in the Web Browsers topic.
May 18: Updated the fake/scam Voices topic
May 16: In the VPN topic, changed info on who owns OVPN.
May 11: New topic on Passkeys. Minor updates to the NAS topic
May 10: Intuit is finally paying their $141 million fine for scamming US taxpayers. See the Tax Filing topic.
May 8: New topic on Death (includes a section that was already in the iOS topic)
May 7: Added Seth for Privacy to the list of other Defensive Computing sources
May 6: Updated the TikTok page.
May 5: Updated the iOS Networking topic. A scan of my iPad showed two open TCP ports. Ugh.
May 2: On the Traveling page, added a comparison of Expedia and Booking.com. T-Mobile hacked yet again, added to the Cell Phone Companies topic. Updated the iOS Networking topic.

APRIL 2023

April 29: Added more articles to the Voice Scam topic
April 28: Added a new topic - iOS networking
April 26: Updated the Amazon topic with a warning not to buy dishes from them. On the Printers page, added an article by Consumer Reports about reliability.
April 24: IVPN also sells vouchers on Amazon. Updated the VPN experiences topic with this
April 22: Updated the Facebook topic with a good article about not getting hacked on Facebook
April 20: Added a note in Google topic to setup recovery email and phone numbers
April 16: The topic of being Safe on Public WiFi was re-done, improved and moved to its own page
April 15: Expanded the Juice Jacking topic on the Extra Credit page
April 14: Expanded the WhatsApp topic on the Secure Messaging page with articles from WhatsApp and info on upcoming security features
April 13: The Extra Credit topic is now on its own page with a new link to an article about USB condoms. Added an article about car theft to the Cars topic.
April 12: New page on detecting fake images
April 11: Added info on Amazon recycling to the Amazon page.
April 9: Moved NAS topic to its own page and added a story about a Western Digital outage. In the Cars topic, added a story about Tesla employees spying on their customers.
April 6: Updated the SIM Swap page with two more examples. Updated the 2FA topic with warnings about Security Keys.
April 3: Moved the topic of Tax Filing in the US to its own page. Added info on the Mullvad web browser to the VPN page.

MARCH 2023

March 30: Added recommendation for Mint Mobile on the Cell phone company page
March 28: Added FileN to the list of secure cloud storage providers
March 26: TV Watches You is now on its own page and has instructions for Apple TV
March 25: New topic on USB Flash Drives, prompted by their new use as explosives. In the VPN topic, added another software feature - support for using a NAS as a VPN client.
March 24: On the Amazon page, updated the defenses available on their website. Long list.
March 23: On the Domain Names Rules page, expanded the topic of sub-domains
March 20: Added another watch-and-grab phone attack defense on the iOS page
March 18: Updated the Watch-and-grab defensive steps on the iOS page. Updated the Android topic with latest huge and critical flaw.
March 16: Updated the SIM Swap page
March 13: In the News topic, added a link to Best Practices for Securing Your Home Network from the NSA. Yes, the NSA.
March 12: New section on dealing with the loss or theft of a phone added to the iOS page. It is really its own topic, will break it out soon. Updated the Secure file storage topic.
March 11: Updated the Printers topic with articles about HP blocking 3rd party ink cartridges in more printers
March 8: Updated the Reporting Bad Stuff topic to add a new section for Apple
March 7: Added a couple Apple KB articles to the Cash Apps topic. Updated the TikTok topic with a new article about how they spy on everyone and a new section on blocking all access to the company using DNS.
March 6: Updated the topic of stolen cellphones in the iOS topic. Much applies to Android too.
March 5: Updated the ADP topic in the iOS topic. Updated the topic on Voice scams. Updated the Cars topic with a horrific story of VW. Added a recommended TOTP app in the Two Factor Authentication topic.
March 1: Many updates to the Watch-and-Grab attack on the iOS page.

See the full history of changes back to 2019