Change Log for DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

WEBSITE CHANGE LOG

MAY 2025

May 10: In the Battery topic, updated Android information for battery life span
May 8: In the WhatsApp topic added an article about the security of group chats. Also added an article about the new Advanced Chat Privacy feature.
May 7: In the Web Browser topic, added a note about the website PrivacyTests.org. Also about scanning Chrome extensions at the crxaminer.tech site.
May 6: The topic of Cryptocurrency was expanded and moved to its own page
May 5: In the topic of USB Flash drives added an article about data rot
May 2: Made a number of additions to the Death topic..

APRIL 2025

April 28: In the topic of Satellite communication added an article about dedicated satellite messenger devices. Added a warning about BackBlaze to the Secure File Storage topic.
April 26: Added two articles to the Privacy topic
April 21: Added a new page for Zoom
April 20: In the topic of Avoiding America and American Software added another article with many alternatives
April 19: Added Liquid Web to the Companies to Avoid. New topic on Children (not much there yet).
April 18: In the Email topic, added a suggestion to keep recovery info up to date with free accounts, to avoiding being locked out. In the Android Alternatives topic, updated info on the Light Phone which is really a smart phone alternative.
April 17: Assorted updates to the Satellite Communication topic
April 13: Updated topic on Imposter Voice Scams
April 12: In the Signal topic added a warning to never have duplicate Nicknames
April 11: In the Web Browser topic added yet another article about bad extensions.
April 9: In the VPN topic, added Chinese owned VPNs to avoid in the iOS app store. In the Facebook and Instagram topics added info on teenager accounts.
April 2: In the Email topic, added an article about Gmail starting to move to E2EE
April 1: Updated the VPN topic to note four VPN providers that failed a leak test done by RTINGS (in the Is the VPN Working) section.

MARCH 2025

March 30: Still more info added to the Signal topic. The Signal topic got so big, I moved it to its own page.
March 29: In the VPN topic, added that the desktop versions of Vivaldi now include ProtonVPN out-of-the-box. Added another Matt Blaze quote about Signalgate, one that gives the scandal some perspective (Secure Messaging topic). Still more info added to the Signal topic.
March 28: Added yet another article about Facebook spying to the Facebook topic
March 27: More new Signal info added in the Secure Messaging topic
March 26: Lots and lots of updates to the Secure Messaging topic with more about Signal after the big US Government screw-up
March 24: Added a link to file storage companies in the EU to the Secure File Storage topic. Updated the topic on avoiding American computing. In the Web Browser topic, added some more recommendations for privacy oriented browsers. In the topic of other sources of Defensive Computing information, added AvoidTheHack.com.
March 22: In the Web Browser topic, added LibreWolf as a suggested browser for desktop operating systems. In the Traveling topic added a new website with great airplane seat maps.
March 21: In the topic on avoiding software from the US, added another article with many European app recommendations. Added Jami to the Secure Messaging topic.
March 20: In the Satellite topic added an article about a new Verizon rollout. New topic: Avoiding Software from the USA. Added Briar to the Secure Messaging topic.
March 19: The Voice Assistants topic was moved to its own page and updated for the most recent Alexa changes
March 15: Added an article to the Secure Messaging topic that RCS texting between Apple and Android will be secure in the future
March 11: Updated the Phone Number topic
March 10: New section on Tax Refund Fraud and defending yourself added to the Tax Filing topic
March 7: On the Traveling page, added a section on Travel eSIMS. On the iOS page added the automated Check In feature that was added in iOS 17.
March 6: Updated the Printers topic to add two articles about Brother and put all the Brother articles together in a new section. Also added another HP bad article.
March 4: In the VPN topic, added an article pointing out that North Korea uses Astrill VPN.

FEBRUARY 2025

Feb 24: In the topic on the Signal Messaging app, added a warning about Russian hacks of Signal accounts using QR codes. In the Secure File storage topic, added an article on iOS alternative apps for UK users now that Apple is removing the best encryption from many types of data in iCloud.
Feb 22: In the Secure Messaging topic added an article that evaluated 10 alternatives to WhatsApp. Also added a new section on the fight over encrypted iCloud files betwee Apple and the UK government. Updated the Printers topic with a great article by Cory Doctorow that recaps the shitty things HP does and has done. Also added a warning about ink tank printers.
Feb 21: Moved the topic of Browser Fingerprinting to its own page. Also updated the topic content
Feb 15: Updated the Battery topic with new information on extending the life span of Windows laptop battery. Updated the topic of Secure Cloud File Storage to note a 4th term, yes FOUR, that Backblaze now uses for E2EE.
Feb 14: Another update to the Backup topic
Feb 13: Another update to the Backup topic
Feb 12: Updated the topic of Backups
Feb 11: On the VPN page, added a new option for a double VPN from Mullvad and Obscura. Also added iCloud Private Relay to the same section.
Feb 10: Added a good story about shopping for a Brother printer. That was not a typo, an actual good printer experience
Feb 8: On the Android page, a few updates to the Android 15 topic including the new AndroidSystemSafetyCore app. Added more information about the DuckDuckGo email forwarding service in the topic of Multiple Email Addresses.

JANUARY 2025

Jan 28: Updated the intro to the Domain Name Rules topic
Jan 25: Added info on resetting the Instagram algorithm
Jan 23: For Instagram, added some click-here type-this info for app settings on iOS
Jan 22: Updated the section on Extensions in the Web Browser topic
Jan 21: Updated the Passkeys topic with an excellent article from the British National Cyber Security Centre
Jan 20: Added GoDaddy to the list of Companies To Avoid. In the Secure Messaging topic, updated the Limitations section.
Jan 19: What if all your electronics are lost while traveling? Updated the Traveling topic with this. Added a new Rule of the Road, not to install banking apps on a phone. In the Facebook topic added an excellent article from the EFF about configuration changes to increase your privacy on both Facebook and Instagram.
Jan 18: In the VPN topic, added an article that recommended VPN providers
Jan 16: In the Chromebook topic, updated the topic of printers
Jan 15: Added a tip to put contact info on macOS lock screen in case you lose your Mac laptop
Jan 13: Updated the topic of Web Browser Extensions with more proof that its the Wild West out there
Jan 12: Added the Watch Duty fire app to the Emergency Alerts section. Updated the Rules of the Road topic to note that Apple, Google, Gmail and Microsoft will never call you. Also linked to an Apple article on what to expect when dealing with their tech support. In the Power Outage topic, added a recommendation for the Anker SOLIX C300 Portable Power Station.
Jan 7: In the iOS topic, updated the section on Protected Apps for iOS 18
Jan 6: Updated the Batteries topic with new information for Android users
Jan 5: In the Email topic, added info for people who own their own domain. Added the inevitable story of many browser extensions that went bad when they self-updataed in the Web Browser topic. In the iOS topic, added a battery saving trick for iOS 18.2.
Jan 4: Added Google Advanced Protection to the Android topic. Added details on a Google account takeover scam to the Gmail topic and Google topic. In the Secure Messaging topic, updated the section on Google Messages.
Jan 2: Added more articles to the Passkeys topic. They all expect Passkeys to be a failure. Added another Voice Scam defensive article about having a family password. Updated Satellite communication topic.

DECEMBER 2024

Dec 30: Updated the passkeys topic with more proof they are a bad thing
Dec 18: Added a Naomi Brockwell video to the Cars topic. Added info on how bad guys send scam emails from the real google.com domain to the Domain Name Rules page and the Scam School topic. Added a warning about Google Authenticator to the 2FA topic.
Dec 17: In the Satellite Communication topic added info on upcoming T-Mobile service. Added an article about ads on TVs to the TV Watches you topic.
Dec 16: Updated the Batteries topic with more on extending iOS device life for the day
Dec 15: Updated the iOS topic with a new way in iOS 18.2 to share photos without the embedded location information. Updated the Google Search topic with a WSJ story looking into scam products and how they are marketed.
Dec 13: Added the new iOS 18.2 Find My feature that some airlines will use to find lost luggage. Updated Scam School topic.
Dec 12: Added info on deleting Signal messages in the Secure Messaging topic. Minor update to Scam School topic. Updated the Fake Voices topic.
Dec 10: Re-wrote the intro to the Secure Messaging topic
Dec 8: Updated Scam School topic again. Also updated Zelle topic.
Dec 7: Updated the Power Outage topic and Rules of the Road topic.
Dec 6: Added another Rule of the Road. Small updates to the Secure Messaging topic.
Dec 5: Updated the Domain Name Rules page with another defense - judging a book by its cover. New Scam School section added to the Rules of The Road topic.

NOVEMBER 2024

Nov 25: Expanded Session coverage in the Secure Messaging topic
Nov 24: Small update to the Rules of the Road topic
Nov 23: Updated the VPN page
Nov 21: Added info on the AT&T Wireless Account Lock feature. Assorted small additions.
Nov 18: Updated the Printers topic, made a new section on Tank printers and added another HP horror story. Added Gmail Shielded Email as a possibility in the topic of multiple email addresses.
Nov 15: Updated the Batteries page to add the Android 15 Pixels will be able to limit the charge to 80 percent
Nov 14: Added details of Cash App and Block's legal problems on the Cash Apps page
Nov 13: In the Android topic, added a section on real-time Scam Call Detection
Nov 11: Updated the Public Wi-Fi topic
Nov 10: Updated the topic of Web Browser Extensions. New topic: Strava
Nov 8: Updated my VPN experience with IVPN on iOS
Nov 4: Added an article to the Batteries topic on extending Android battery life. Added info on the Block Party browser extension that increases the privacy of 9 different services to multiple topics, among them the News page.
Nov 3: On the page with my VPN experiences, updated the introduction to IVPN.
Nov 1: Added an article about a very sophisticated Gmail/Google scam to the News page.

OCTOBER 2024

Oct 31: Updated my VPN experience with IVPN on Windows. Added more T-Mobile suckiness to be aware of. To both the Facebook and Instagram topics, added an article about a new way to recover a lost account.
Oct 29: Added another rule to the Rules of the Road. More on Apple iCloud in the Secure File Storage topic. Added excellent EFF articles on using Signal and WhatsApp. Updated the Printers page.
Oct 26: Added a new parental control app to the iOS topic
Oct 25: Updated WhatsApp topic. Updated the Satellite communication topic.
Oct 24: Updated the beginning both the iOS and Android topics to suggest keeping Wi-Fi and 4G off when possible. Updated Satellite topic. Added info on the new AT&T free trial to the Cell Phone Company topic.
Oct 21: Big update to the Secure File Storage topic - added a new section with security warnings
Oct 20: Updated the Android topic on Samsung Secure Folder and Google/Android Private Space. Updated Venmo topic.
Oct 19: In the topic of Web Browsers, updated the section on Extensions. Added an Android Theft protection article in the Android topic.
Oct 18: Updated the multi-hop topic in the VPN topic. Added a Privacy focused article to the topic of Cellphone Companies. Still more on Tesla safety on the Cars topic.
Oct 15: More updates to the Satellite Communication topic. Android Non emergency messages were just introduced with version 15
Oct 14: More updates to the Satellite Communication topic
Oct 13: Updated the Theft Protection section in the Android topic. More updates to the Satellite Communication topic.
Oct 12: In the topic on Cell Phone Companies, added a news story about porch pirates stealing Fedex delivered AT&T iPhones
Oct 11: Updated the new Satellite Communication topic, again. Added PowerOutage.us to the Power Outage topic. In the Android topic, added a new section on Theft Protection features that just started rolling out. Updated the PayPal topic with info on their sharing your data with merchants.
Oct 10: Updated the new Satellite Communication topic
Oct 9: New topic - Satellite Communication. Not much there yet, working on it. Added suggestion on the Natural Disasters page to take pictures before the storm.
Oct 5: Added SimpleX to the Secure Messaging topic because Nazis are using it. Updated the secure file storage topic to improve the intro and include a review of 5 services by Max Eddy.

SEPTEMBER 2024

Sept 30: Small update to the Batteries topic
Sept 28: In the TV Watches You topic, added an article about spying and ads in LG TVs
Sept 27: On the Cars page, added info on website security bugs for Kia cars
Sept 19: Updated the Android topic with more on Android 15. Also updated the section on controlling data usage for Android 14.
Sept 18: In the Defending Yourself section of the Amazon topic, added a new scam Amazon pulls and the defense for it
Sept 17: In the Cars topic added an article about proposed advertising in a car. Updated the Secure Messaging topic with iOS 18 changes for Apples iMessage.
Sept 12: Updated the Email topic
Sept 11: On the VPN User Experiences topic added a warning about iPhones not having a VPN-connected indicator/icon.
Sept 10: Updated the About This Site page. In the Cell Phone Companies topic, added info on free trials for each of the 3 US-based networks.
Sept 9: Updated the Printers topic. Updated the VPN topic to add the Proton VPN browser extension.
Sept 3: Updated the Email topic with the suggestion to pay for email
Sept 1: Added Verkada to the list of companies to avoid

AUGUST 2024

Aug 31: Added three new articles to the Emergency Alerts topic. On the Secure Messaging topic, added another warning about Telegram.
Aug 29: In the TV Watches You topic, added another article on configuring assorted Smart TVs to increase Privacy
Aug 28: Many changes to the TV Watches You topic. Also, many updates to the Batteries topic.
Aug 13: Doubled the size of the Backup topic. Added new sections: TRUE BACKUP vs. SYNCHRONIZATION, IMAGE BACKUPS and IMMUTABLE BACKUPS
Aug 12: New topic: Backup
Aug 8: Updated the Search Engine page, the section on default mobile OS search engines
Aug 7: On the Rules of the Road page, updated the web browser advice
Aug 5: Added AVM to the list of companies to avoid

JULY 2024

July 25: In the Chromebook topic, added an article about resetting ChromeOS
July 24: Added Entrust to the list of companies to avoid.
July 21: Added AT&T to the list of companies to avoid
July 21: Minor updates to the iOS and Android topics
July 20: Updated the section on Authenticator Apps in the 2FA topic
July 19: Added TripAdvisor to the list of companies to avoid. Also added Crowdstrike for the most obvious of reasons.
July 18: New VPN server software bugs added to the VPN topic.
July 17: More proof that Microsoft is bad added to the Microsoft topic. Updated the VPN topic with a new section on OS bugs. Added a known Android VPN bug there.
July 16: New topic: Companies to Avoid. This has been part of the Rules of the Road topic
July 12: In the Secure Messages topic, added an article about Signals desktop apps not being very secure
July 10: Many updates to the Batteries topic
July 9: On the Traveling page, added a warning about United Airlines. In the Chromebook topic, new section on Learn About Your Chromebook.
July 8: In the VPN topic, in the section on Who Owns the VPN, revised the writeup about OVPN. They seem to be hiding their change in ownership
July 7: Updated the Death topic. On the Reporting Bad Stuff page, added a new site that offers help in reporting scams.
July 3: New page/topic on Privacy
July 2: In the Windows topic added an article about bad security in Windows
July 1: In the Battery topic, updated the section on finding the Cycle Count in iOS

JUNE 2024

June 30: Updated the Link Expander topic with the main reason that I use them. For Windows and Google users, added a nifty trick to the Google topic about making Google Drive appear as a Windows drive letter.
June 27: In the Traveling topic added an article about Android travel apps that spy on you. Updated the Batteries topic with a real world example of the Windows battery report.
June 26: On the Power Outage and Disasters page, added an app with wildfire info and other minor changes.
June 24: Updated the Extensions section of the Web Browser topic
June 23: On the Android Alternatives page, added another Linux phone
June 22: Yet another article about cars spying on their driver in the Cars topic
June 20: New page/topic on Alternatives to Android
June 19: In the Android topic, added that a lost Pixel 8 phone can be found, even if the battery is dead or it is powered off.
June 16: More about how bad Microsoft is in the Microsoft topic
June 13: Started an iOS 18 section in the iOS topic. Minor updates to the Android topic.
June 8: Added an article about stopping a car from spying on you to the Cars topic. New section on Bug Fixes in the iOS topic.
June 6: In the Cash Apps topic, added more about how Paypal is a shit company
June 5: In the Bad Companies section of the Rules of the Road topic and in the Cash Apps topic, added a warning to avoid Paypal
June 3: Added a new Password Manager section in the Traveling topic. Important issue.
June 1: Multiple changes to the iOS topic.

MAY 2024

May 31: In the Android topic, added a new section on the Find My Device Network. More on Tesla lawsuits in the Cars topic.
May 30: In the topic on Multiple Email Addresses, added a new Microsoft Outlook section
May 29: In the Android topic, added a heads up article about repairing a Samsung phone at an independent shop
May 28: In the Search Engine topic, added how to configure Desktop Firefox to remove Google AI from Google Search. In the Cars topic, added a Defensive Computing suggestion for Tesla owners. In the iOS topic added a spyware article with defensive steps.
May 26: Updated the VPN - My Experiences topic to note a new feature in the Mullvad iOS app. Started a Table Of Contents section for the Android topic. Android Battery information was moved to the Battery topic.
May 24: In the Search Engine topic added a new section on disabling Google AI Overviews
May 23: Expanded the topic of Guided Access in the iOS topic. Many changes to the Batteries topic. Added a couple things to the Fake/Scam voices topic.
May 22: Updated the NAS topic with a damning article about bugs in QNAP software. Updated the Camera section of the Airbnb topic. Added an article about Microsoft being bad to the Microsoft topic. In the web browser topic, linked to an online suite of browser auditing tests.
May 21: Updated the Venmo section of the Cash Apps topic. In the Secure Messaging topic, added info on securing the Proton Mail mobile app with an app run password.
May 20: Added the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to the topic of Reporting Bad Stuff. In the iOS topic, added a new section on Lockdown Mode.
May 19: Updated the Travel topic to add a note about keeping the airline phone number handy. Updated the VPN topic with a note about ads in podcasts. Added ChromeOS Flex to the Chromebook topic. In the Android topic added a note about the Private Spaces feature of Android 15.
May 16: In the iOS topic, on the topic of iCloud leaking, linked to an article about ADP. Also updated the topic of Apple account recovery.
May 13: Added Zebra Crossing to the list of other websites focused on Defensive Computing.

See the full history of changes back to 2019