Unsuccessful sign-in attempts to my Microsoft account.

[Big Frank]

So far this month there have been over 200 unsuccessful sign-in attempts at my Microsoft account, from a dozen different countries. Mostly Germany, but also Albania, U.K., China, Libya, Croatia, U.S. (Apple iOS with a Safari browser, neither of which I use), Russia, Italy, Spain, France, and Vietnam. Sometimes it shows a map of the approximate location, Frankfurt, Zagreb, Paris, London, Hangzhou, Naples, etc., and other times they don't have a clue. That's especially true when someone uses a mobile device. I recommend everyone who has a Microsoft account sign in once in awhile and check the Recent activity. See when and where you've used your account. I rarely do as long as everything is working, but even then, like today, wow!

One a related note, I changed my phone number a couple of days ago. I had a plan from Tracfone with 500 texts per month. I may have made 20 texts in a month, but gotten well over 600 phishing texts, and had to pay for 500 additional texts. Any texts, minutes, or data left caries over to the next month as long as my service is active, so I didn't have to buy more every month. I get nothing but phishing and spam email at my Hotmail account every day, and get it at my Comcast account too. WHY WON"T PEOPLE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE? Sometimes I wish I never got a computer or cell phone. I was happier when I sat here reading books, and had a landline with no long distance service, but it cost 5 times as much my cellular service.

[alfsauve]

My landline, VOIP, costs me $7mo and came with two phone numbers. 

[Big Frank]

I never had a VOIP line. I didn't think they could ever be that cheap. I should see if any deals are available from Comcast. They keep pushing their wireless plans for 2 lines or more and don't even mention landlines anymore. Here's the names of my computers as they showed up on my Microsoft account. When I sent a copy of a text from Comcast saying, "My-POS-Dell-Laptop has signed onto your network for the first time." to a friend I thought it was funny, but she didn't get it. After I don't know how many decades of texting, she didn't know what the abbreviation POS meant. And like my brothers who've also been texting for decades, didn't bother to look up an abbreviation I thought everyone knew, so she was confused and I had to explain it to her.

This should be all the explanation anyone needs for the name of my desktop. So far it hasn't tried to kill me, but has caused me an untold amount of agony and grief.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy4EfdnMZ5g

[Jim Kennedy-ar154me]

My landline, VOIP, costs me $7mo and came with two phone numbers.

What provider are you using?

[alfsauve]

What provider are you using?

OOMA.  One number was the AT&T number I'd had for decades.  The other is just an extra number they give you.  You have total control of them.  Take the numbers anywhere to another service.  Forward them, block them, make them sound like they're disconnected, or my favorite, make them ringback to the caller indefinitely without disturbing you.  I can allow only a fixed list of numbers to ring through.  I can setup my own list of blocked numbers or subscribe to a number of spammer lists.   On and on.  These are thing the Bells should have been doing decades ago.   With the call forward, I don't actually have to have a physical land line phone. 

I think one device cell phone makers have missed out on is a docking station for my cell phone that connects it to a household land line.  Come home, drop my cell phone in the dock then any incoming calls become land line ones.  Answer on any phone in the house.  Don't have to carry my phone around with me at home.

[Sponsor]

[Timothy]

Don’t give my email to anyone these days.

Trusting anything Microsoft is another issue…

[Big Frank]

Don’t give my email to anyone these days.

Trusting anything Microsoft is another issue…

That's why I uninstalled the Cortana virtual assistant, and Microsoft Edge browser, and deny Microsoft just about everything I can on my computers' settings. I have Bing Wallpaper so I have a different picture on my desktop every day, but don't use the Bing search engine. I treat Google much the same way, but I get the apps for my Android phone from Google Play. It's usually a choice of do that or do without.

[Timothy]

I rarely use my laptops for anything unless I have no choice.

Apple may not be better but might be harder to hack.

[Big Frank]

A lot of people are under the false impression that Apple computers are inherently more secure, but the truth is a lot of hackers just don't bother making viruses and crap for macOS computers, because Windows laptops and desktops outnumber them by more than 3 to 1. Why would they waste their time on a 21% minority system when they can go after the 68% majority. If you want to be more safe, join the 3% super-minority that don't use either one.

[Jim Kennedy-ar154me]

I rarely use my laptops for anything unless I have no choice.

Apple may not be better but might be harder to hack.

Hackers tend to lean more toward Microsoft simply because of percentages. There are more of them than Apple. There have been some REALLY NASTY viruses released aimed at Apple devices but because there are not as many of them in business use we don't hear about them.