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freakflagbyiana · 5 years ago

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Identity theft in 2020

January 6th 2020,

You know that scene in Futurama where they are trying to scare Fry by saying “Hello and welcome to the world of tomorrow!” and then Bender acts like a crazy killer robot? My 2020 has started just like that. I woke up Jan 1st 2020 at 3pm, because New Year’s Eve is now the one night a year I DJ at our local goth bar, Elysium. I never usually sleep that late. Little did I know that all the bad things had already happened. I texted a couple of people and realized didn’t have mobile service. Huh. There was a system message that said something unusual.. ”SIM Not Provisioned MM#2” Eventually I look up what that means: ”The main reason of Sim not provisioned mm#2 is because your sim isn’t activated or is suspended from the service provider or isn’t picked up by the cell phone. If you just bought a new sim card then you are likely to see this error because you might have to activate your sim. If your sim was working fine and started giving this error then it can mean two things. The first scenario is that the sim card is dead and, therefore, inactive (in case it’s too old). The second scenario is that your sim card was deactivated from your service provider because you asked to transfer your number to a new sim card.” Which is alarming because I was asleep, definitely not buying a new phone or anything like that. I check my bank account. I can’t even login because my account has been restricted. That’s when I check my email, revealing the horrorshow of how they systematically bypassed all my passwords. It’s called SIM Card Cloning or SIM Swap Fraud. Here’s the wikipedia page. Basically, they duplicate your phone’s SIM card (I don’t know how but it doesn’t matter) then they port out, taking your phone number to another carrier and opening an account with them. This automatically closes your phone account, which is why I had no service or ability to call my banks. Now that they have your phone number and you don’t, they use text verification to get into your email, banks, etc... This means your passwords don’t matter, because everything can be reset with verifying through text. You should still keep your passwords strong, but consider the fact that it may not matter once they’ve digitally stolen your phone. And this happens long distance, one of my gmail login attempts was supposedly in Atlanta, Georgia but {March edit} they were using a VPN because all of the fraudulent transactions occurred in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. All in $50 or $100 transactions at Home Depot or Walmart. I’m assuming it was all Visa gift cards that are as good as cash. The extra clever part of this scam was doing it on New Year’s Day when everything is closed, the stores and their tech support, fraud departments. What’s The Damage? I haven’t been able to calculate it yet because access to my bank account is still restricted, although hopefully in the next 24-48 hours... But what I learned through email is that they made a bunch of purchases I guess with my debit card information, AND opened a new credit card. They didn’t get into my PayPal account directly but they did activate Samsung Pay and linked that to my PayPal... which is crazy, to think they don’t even need to get into the PayPal account itself to exploit it with a smartphone. Also, let this sink in, I’m still tallying the damage. The other night I got more unauthorized transactions. I keep saying, dealing with this type of fraud is like battling a hydra... It’s not a one an done situation, it’s overwhelming how much is suddenly and continually compromised, for days on end. It’s been a week and I still haven’t fully recovered. {March edit} The total damage was $1812.26 which is more than every penny I had. It was everything in my savings and debit accounts, plus $550 that was drained later through PayPal after I recovered the money back from the first time. That first 48 hours, I felt so alone, not only because my phone service was dead but because every institution I talked to had not heard of this type of fraud yet... Hello, I’m Chicken Little and the sky is actually falling, I promise. For example, explaining it to PayPal, an account that had not itself been compromised, was a nightmare. I attempted to chat with a helper - "What are the fraudulent transactions?” “There aren’t any, but my identity has been stolen though my phone” “If there are no transactions there’s nothing to report to the fraud department” - Then a day or two later there’s an unauthorized pending deposit from my bank for $50 and another for $500, but the automatic reporting system wouldn’t let me report it as as fraud since it was “MONEY RECEIVED” - Yesterday I figured out how to call them with Skype and we got it sorted. But for the record, Venmo was much easier to lockdown than PayPal so I will be closing my account with them when this is over. {March edit} My PayPal was compromised around this time through SamsungPay. I think even though I had changed everything, it still went through because it must have been a delayed Jan 1st charge from after my accounts had been locked down. I called them and said there’s a pending transaction that is unauthorized. They said they would “try to stop it but have no real power while the transaction is in process” - cooooool thankssss. I called my bank too, but despite all of that the transaction still went through and I had to recover it after the fact. Now that I have you sufficiently freaked out, and you should be, we come to the point of writing about it in my blog... iana’s list of What Saved My Ass / Prevention / Recovery Steps !! Firstly, put together a sort of post-apocalyptic survival kit but for identity theft. I had recently been given a Shell gas card as a gift and that saved me because I had to drive around a lot to sort most of this out in person. Previously I was using Lyft for transport and that is tied to, you know it, PayPal... so if I hadn’t had a car it would have been impossible to do all of this quick recovery. I am so grateful to have a car now. Inspired by that, here’s my fantasy kit that I wish I had Jan 1st:

a gas card

a gift card like the prepaid Visa kind that you can use anywhere and not linked to bank

CDs or analogue music for the car listening to the one disc I had in there while sorting this out was insult to injury!

A PREPAID BURNER PHONE to keep charged up and ready to go in case of emergencies, you just need it to call banks etc while you recover so you don’t need Data (after all, my smartphone still worked on wifi). I found $30 major network unlimited talk & text flip phones at Target and one $20 which I didn’t recognize but would probably still be fine.

A local secondary bank account Gift cards are probably doing the same thing but this saved me. My main bank is based in San Antonio (USAA) but luckily I had a second bank account at UFCU here in Austin. While I didn’t have enough money in it to pay rent or anything, being able to walk in and get new cards made same-day gave me some peace of mind.

A Google Number This isn’t as useful as the burner phone but it did save me this week. I use one for my work number, so luckily I could still text with it from my phone (on wifi) I just couldn’t use it to call anything. But I was able to use it to verify some stuff (not Venmo) with a number that had not been compromised like my main.

Prevention:

PUT A FREEZE ON YOUR CREDIT : I had never heard about this until it was too late. If you freeze your credit, people can’t just sign up for a new credit card in your name. If you want to open a credit card, you still can, you just have to take extra steps to do so.

2-factor Authenticate everything : hopefully there are some options BESIDES texting your main number that allow for extra security. It’s a pain but easier to tolerate than this mess I’m in now.

LIE ON YOUR SECURITY QUESTIONS : Example “What’s your mother’s maiden name? Blue” - Now this one is really hard for me to wrap my head around because the point is to prove you’re you so it feels wrong like lying in court under oath. But the fact is, if they are hacking your identity and you are using facts that are on record somewhere, that information can be stolen too. So lie, and write it down.

Long passwords are better than complicated ones : I had this explained to me by someone in the field. There are 26 letters, but only 10 numbers and even less symbols. Each time you add a letter you are multiplying the possible choices by 26, whereas each time you add a number or a symbol you are only multiplying by 10 or less. Example “ianaspasswordisverylongandhopefullysecureokaybye” is a better password than “iana123pa$$w0rd!” which is like what I used to do. This was a very interesting piece of the puzzle to put together. When I think about it, the more complicated and “random stuff” the password is, the shorter I make it. But if it’s a run-on sentence, it’s super long yet easy to remember. Of course sometimes you’re required to use a number and a symbol, but if you use the maximum amount of letters and minimum amount of symbols and numbers, it should be solid.

Pay for everything online with CREDIT not DEBIT: Ugh, this is going to be a hard one for me to transition to. But basically this makes it easier to recover if your account has been compromised. They drained actual money from my debit account, therefore the bank has to go track down that actual money and it’s a long process to get it back. If it’s a credit card transaction, they just void the transaction from counting against my balance, I simply wouldn’t owe them more than I legitimately owe, but they wouldn’t have to return actual money to me. {April Edit} I just saw Capital One is now offering virtual card numbers. You use a virtual number for online shopping and then your actual card number is never compromised.

Online Resources:

haveibeenpwned

how to freeze your credit

identitytheft.gov

the SIM swapping bible

prevent a SIM swap scam

delete your old email addresses

March 5th 2020,

In conclusion, I am just now wrapping up this blog because obviously this whole thing has been traumatizing and recovery is a massive work in progress. I wish I had a happy ending for y’all but I’m still cleaning this mess up. My phone is secure, my money is secure... but my credit is going to be royally screwed for some time. My accountant said at least 2 years. I ended up needing extra steps to secure my phone account, btw. They initiated 2 step authentication but I was able to bypass the second step, an 8 digit passcode, with the last 4 digits on my social security number. Get this, when I brought this up to a call center rep, they told me to get a new SSN! As if that’s a thing! Short of being in witness protection or some other person of international interest, the government is not going to issue a new SSN just to prevent my SIM from being compromised again. So I went into the store and brought this up to the manager, fortunately the same person who helped me Jan 2nd, and she was also surprised a 4 digit SSN bypassed everything. She put a priority note onto my account that says in big bold red letters something to the effect of “Do NOT make changes to this customer’s account without them being in-store providing photo ID. this is at the customer’s request” Yeah, you are correct, it is a huge pain in the ass to do stuff now... but it’s locked down. I got so many questions, “Why don’t you just change your phone provider?” and the thing is, it’s not just AT&T. This is a happening across the board and you should be concerned no matter what service you have. At least now I know my account is secure. I now have a complex money funneling system, too. It goes in one account (which I never use online or at gas stations), it gets transferred to another institution and that is the only outbound account for actual cash monies. The outbound account is not linked to the inbound account. Like a canal, only one section of money can get drained and it doesn’t compromise the whole operation. My battle is not over, though. I still have credit reports and the police report to deal with. But I hope this helps you today. Be careful out there, folks!

April 18 2020, post script: Oof, I don’t know if this article will ever really feel finished. I put off posting it because with all the COVID-19 stuff happening, I didn’t want people to panic further or add to unnecessary stress. But after hearing about a few cases of fraud in my friend group, I decided it best to post this sooner rather than later. To ease the impact I’ll be posting something fun right after this one.

#indentity #identity theft #security #technology #personal #money

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biofunmy · 6 years ago

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When You Give Your House Keys to a Stranger

One Saturday afternoon in late May, I puzzled over my toilet seat, attempting to decipher the strange Hieroglyphics someone had drawn onto the porcelain surface using Sharpie marker. Or maybe waterproof mascara?

Weeks earlier, my husband and I had listed our home for rent through a broker. We live in Cape May, a quaint Victorian town at the tip of the Jersey Shore, and it seemed like an easy way to make some extra cash. In short order, we weeded and mulched the flower beds, found a management company to handle changeover cleanings, and debated the appropriate number of beach towels to leave behind.

But now, as I inspected my defaced bathroom after the first set of guests checked out, I realized I’d neglected to prepare for one thing: the queasy feeling of having strangers in my space, touching my stuff, sleeping in my bed, leaving greasy takeout containers on my living room floor. (Don’t they know that’s the hallowed spot where Rudy, my beloved 15-year-old German shepherd, passed away in my arms!?) I felt a strange sense of territorialism creeping in.

“If we’ve taken the time and effort to put our personalities into our environments and to feel connected with them and express ourselves through them, inviting others in puts us in a vulnerable position,” said Lindsay T. Graham, a space researcher and social psychologist at the Center for Built Environment at the University of California at Berkeley. “It may sound cheesy, but you’re handing a piece of yourself over to a stranger who might not respect it. You’re renting out part of your identity.”

Fortunately, there are strategies newbies can employ that make letting go easier. Among the most common is to remove all valuable items or sentimental artifacts, either bringing them with you or locking them in a closet.

While this is sound advice, homeowners can take the depersonalization process too far, Dr. Graham said. Leaving a little bit of character behind — in the form of, say, a note explaining your connection to a favorite tchotchke or piece of furniture — can serve to humanize you and your space, potentially inspiring better behavior from tenants and forging a dialogue that stirs compassion on both sides.

Take the 38-page booklet that Bill Burleigh leaves for guests at his 1,400-square-foot Moose Lodge in Big Sur, Calif., named for Mr. Burleigh’s late bloodhound. The “Moose Manual” doesn’t merely offer the Wi-Fi password and explain the inner workings of the dishwasher; it also incorporates the homeowner’s sense of humor, encouraging guests to spend their vacation naked, since the property sits on 10 secluded acres overlooking the Pacific.

Tenants are also greeted by a life-size copper rendering of Don Quixote on a horse, a homage to Mr. Burleigh’s nickname when he worked as a judge and advocated for causes he says he never won, as well as a bottle of his homemade wine, which he calls “a fine red varietal” or “fly or ant spray.”

“Making people smile is sort of my raison d’être,” said Mr. Burleigh, 84, who has had only two negative experiences in 10 years of weekly rentals. In one case, a tenant broke house rules and hosted a large event, a pseudoscientific convention on energy cleansing for 50 of what Mr. Burleigh’s wife, Anne, calls “hocus-pocus people.” In the other, a gentleman trashed the house, leaving furniture outside and broken glass and dog-soiled rugs inside.

“This place is full of smiles and whimsical things,” Mr. Burleigh said. “I’ve always trusted people, and it’s worked out. You just have to trust and assume the best.”

For Seth Kelsey, an Olympic fencer and major in the Air Force reserves, achieving this Zen mind-set is easiest when there’s physical distance between him and the six rental properties he owns in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs, Colo. Because five of the homes were fixer-uppers and Mr. Kelsey oversaw and completed some of the renovation work himself, he feels an emotional attachment to them.

“Resist the urge to drive by unless you have a specific reason,” he said. “You’ll make yourself crazy noticing an open screen door or strange parking configuration. If anything is actually wrong, you’ll get a call. Otherwise, overly watching only raises anxiety.”

This is an impossibility for Scott Creamer, whose rental property is a 460-square-foot, treehouse-like apartment that’s attached to his home in the South Congress neighborhood of Austin, Tex. While Mr. Creamer, who is 55 and owns a branding and advertising agency, feels “no weirdness” about allowing strangers in his space, his husband, Timothy Lee, has the kind of control issues that lead him to redo folded laundry or rearrange a stacked dishwasher. So, when the couple designed their house five years ago, they included a separate entrance for the apartment and extra insulation in the shared wall.

“We did as much as we could to keep our personal lives and apartment separate,” Mr. Creamer said. “But, turns out, interacting with our guests and, in some cases, developing friendships with them, is something that’s helped Tim feel more comfortable.”

When it comes to coping with strangers in one’s home, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, Dr. Graham said. The best advice may be to figure out the plan that works best for you — and stick to it.

Consider Michael Seiler, a behavioral real estate researcher and professor of real estate and finance at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., who hosted the first renters at his house, which is on a peninsula on Lake Whitehurst in Norfolk, Va., in February.

Eight women who had found his property through Airbnb showed up in a stretch limo for what was supposed to be a mellow birthday celebration. But, after Dr. Seiler bid them good evening, hundreds more turned up for a premeditated, pay-to-enter, rager of a party that caused an estimated $35,000 worth of damage to the house.

Because he’d gone against his better judgment and allowed one of the scammers to pay for the rental and another to sign the contract, Dr. Seiler spent months worrying no one would be held accountable. He took his case to small-claims court, and eventually won a judgment of $25,000, the maximum allowed in a small-claims hearing in Virginia.

“In scuba diving, they say to plan your dive and dive your plan,” he said. “That’s applicable here, too. Do not deviate in the moment.” If you need help figuring out what this plan should look like — or if you’re simply in need of emotional support after turning over your keys — Dr. Seiler recommends using the Meetup app to find a network of like-minded property owners in your community.

In my own case, it has helped to remember that things are bound to go wrong, and this doesn’t make me a traitor to my home. Drinking glasses will break, pets will have accidents, and Scrabble tiles will go missing — just like they would if I were living in the house myself. Most of the problems I’ve encountered this summer have been nothing a little all-purpose cleanser and elbow grease couldn’t fix — it did the job on my toilet seat.

In several instances, the house has been left in better condition than I would have managed after a week of deadlines and dog hair. That’s possibly because I’m not above buying the respect of my weekly tenants — my husband leaves each of them a $100 gift card to the local restaurant he owns. That may sound tacky, but it’s a psychological strategy with merit. “It’s much harder to mistreat someone you like or even just know,” said Dr. Seiler.

And if we ever do feel again like the sanctuary of our home has been violated? We’ll try focusing on our motivation for renting in the first place.

“Whether it’s altruism, paying bills, or unloading a burden, there are all kinds of reasons a person may rent out their home,” Dr. Graham said. “It’s about acknowledging what purpose this is serving in your life and not having judgment around it. If money is the value for you, own that. Recognize that it’s good enough.”

When all else fails, I try reframing my thinking. If I feel queasy about people in my house, it means I have a space in which I feel happy and supported, and now I’m able to share that vibe with others.

One strategy for embracing this joy is leaving a guest book behind. “A building is just a building until you understand its story and how people connect to it,” Dr. Graham said. “So reading these messages can be a really enriching exercise.”

It may even help you forgive those takeout containers on the living room floor.

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

Sahred From Source link Real Estate

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fashiontrendin-blog · 7 years ago

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How I Learned to Make Friends With My Anxiety

https://fashion-trendin.com/how-i-learned-to-make-friends-with-my-anxiety/

How I Learned to Make Friends With My Anxiety

he first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check my email. I sleep with my phone under my pillow, and every morning, I hold my breath and scroll for anything important. It’s almost always your standard deluge of morning messages, but sometimes there are emails about exciting project opportunities like writing jobs or speaking gigs — the kinds of things I should be thrilled about given they’re how I earn an income. But in reality, they’re yet another entry on the list of things that make me anxious.

When you’re an anxious person, even something good can fill you with dread and panic: How will I deal with this important thing?

I work for myself, which means I’m in a perpetual state of semi-panic. My mind is filled with constant nagging worries that any self-employed person will easily recognize: What if my tax bill is huge? What if I fall and break my arm on the Metro? Should I have never quit my 9 to 5? Throw my anxiety into the mix, and most of my days are spent with a low-level fear that something bad will happen and that once I go through the internal whodunit in my mind, I’ll realize that I was to blame the entire time. The call was coming from inside the house; I am ruining my own life with my own behavior.

As a full-time creative professional who writes, hosts a podcast and designs social media content, a lot of my daily work involves staying on top of the kinds of tasks that get more difficult to deal with the longer I put them off. And they’re the kinds of tasks that feel so good to put off: answering that email, tracking down those forms, scheduling that appointment, booking that flight. I tell myself I deserve to put them off for a day, so I do. And then I do it again and again and again. Then it becomes habit. But in my line of work, putting off an email could mean missing out on a big gig or a deadline and rent money.

I was recently offered a dream opportunity: to produce a live episode of my podcast at South by Southwest in front of a sizeable audience. It was the perfect launchpad for a budding creative like myself, but it was also a perfect storm of things that make me anxious.

As soon as the opportunity landed in my inbox, a familiar a chorus line of anxiety was set in motion. Would I overthink the confirmation email reply and never send it? Would I be too nervous to cold email people? Would I stress about booking the last-minute flight and put it off until it was financially prohibitive? How would I ruin this golden opportunity? How much would I hate myself for it if I did?

While I voiced all these anxieties aloud to a close friend, I realized I sounded like a pessimistic broken record and that I wasn’t even giving myself the chance to imagine it would be a success; I had already decided the outcome would be a negative one. It was a moment of clarity.

Wendy Wood, a social psychologist who studies the neurology of habits and how to break them, writes that a key component of breaking habitual behavior is giving yourself space to do things differently. “First you must derail existing habits and create a window of opportunity to act on new intentions,” she says. The way someone who’s trying to quit soda might have to train themselves to stop wandering down the soda aisle when grocery shopping, Wood says that disrupting your old cues is one of the keys to breaking bad habits. In other words, if anxiety has me feeling like a broken record, I need to actually do something — anything! — to break the repetition. Stop sleeping with my phone under my phone under my pillow. Delete the Instagram app. Have a friend change my Facebook password. Work from anywhere other than my apartment and vow to not return until I’ve finished. (If you already have a great tactic, add it in the comments.)

Wendy Wood’s words really spoke to me. I don’t have to play this the way I always do, I thought to myself. I may have anxiety, but that doesn’t mean anxiety has me.

Bolstered by the notion that I could break the pattern, that I was in control, I took a deep breath and began. I listed out the steps I needed to take in descending order and gave myself an hour to complete them. I emailed the important people. I booked the guests. I bought the last-minute flights. Instead of dwelling on the dread these kinds of tasks often elicit in me, I rolled up my sleeves and did them before I had the chance to procrastinate. And you know what? My last-minute flight to Austin didn’t bankrupt me or crash into the ocean. The important guests confirmed their attendance and then showed up. People came and enjoyed themselves. The live show went mostly as planned, and I was elated. And even though there were some tiny snags (like when a guest showed up so close to showtime I could only assume I’d given her the wrong address), it was okay. Nobody got fired. Nobody died. Nobody got screamed at. Even if things don’t go 100 percent smoothly, they went, which is better than not going at all.

This whole experience showed me is that I am not my anxiety and that I can break out of the cycle of feeling unable to tackle things that I’ve deemed “hard.” If any of this sounds familiar to you and your creative process, here are some tactics I’ve found helpful while tackling the biggest anxious hitch in my own.

Spend Some Time Thinking About Why Things That “Should Be Exciting” Feel Stressful to You

In an interview with the Creative Independent, sociologist Eve Ewing explains how she handles that all-too familiar feeling of really, really not wanting to do something.

She says: “I’m a big believer that when you don’t want to do something, there’s a deeper reason. When I find myself dragging or having a hard time, I step back and ask, ‘Why aren’t you doing this? Is it ‘cause the project isn’t important? Why’d you do it then? Is it just for money? Like you agreed to do this just for money or you said yes because the person seemed important?’ And I’m like, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t do that again.’”

I first read that when I was in a tailspin of writer’s-block-induced self-loathing, and it sparked another moment of clarity. If I don’t actually want to do something I agreed to do, acknowledging my reluctance can help me decide next steps.

I know it’s easy to ignore those feelings and struggle through the associated tasks instead, but next time you find yourself filled with dread and anxiety about a project, ask yourself: Is it early enough in the project that you can responsibly pull the plug? If you can’t bow out, who can you ask for help? Can you ask for a deadline extension? Even if none of that is possible, spend a little time ruminating on the why of this anxiety and remember its source; this can give you clarity when faced with a similar decision next time. It will give you a lot of insight into how you work.

Be Like Nike and Just Do It

According to a Lifehacker piece about procrastination, we start feeling anxious about tasks the moment they plop onto our plates (no sh*t), and that anxiety worsens the longer we put tasks off. If you’re not actually making progress, then nothing happens during this phase other than the accumulation of bad feelings. So, if you want to save yourself weeks of feeling like an unproductive piece of crap, the only logical thing to do is just start.

Easier said than done, I know. Here are some tips I use: Try setting a timer and writing nonstop for five minutes. Or break your project down into small, easier-to-manage tasks. If writing and sending a two-minute email will get the ball rolling on a project, start there and use the momentum it creates to fuel your next steps.

At Harvard Business Review, economist and executive coach Caroline Webb writes that zeroing in on the smallest step is a good way to dive into a daunting project. You know how procrastinating feels so good? That’s because research shows your brain is pretty much always biased toward feeling good now over feeling good later. To combat that, Webb says you should identify that easy-to-accomplish first step, “something that’s so easy that even your present-biased brain can see that the benefits outweigh the costs of effort.”

Make an Accountability Pact

I’m lucky to have friends in my life who hold me accountable; they recognize my patterns (when I go MIA, it means I’m stressing) and they help get me back on track. Having an easier time staying on track when friends are involved isn’t unusual: A study from the Institute of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Aberdeen asked a group of participants to find a new “gym buddy” while a different group worked out solo. In the end, the group who leaned on supportive workout pals worked out more.

Asking a friend or roommate to keep you on track requires vulnerability and clear communication. This can feel scary, so offer to make it a two-way street. Maybe your friend helps you beat procrastination while you help her get to the gym more. Maybe you both text one another when you want to stray from your paths. This way, you’re both sharing in the vulnerability while offering mutual support.

Treat Yourself

Once you’ve completed the project that caused you anxiety, reward yourself! Getting a handle on anxiety isn’t easy. Celebrate small victories. You train a puppy by giving her a treat when she exhibits behavior you want her to repeat, right? Think of yourself as a more complex version of a puppy and reward yourself for completing tasks.

When I finally tackle a handful of things I’ve been putting off, I celebrate by watching “bad TV.” And while I’m still in the middle of the work, knowing that I get to watch whatever I want (for as long as I want) once I finish keeps me going. It’s a literal light at the end of the tunnel.

Webb says treating yourself is effective because it helps take the edge off having to do things we don’t want to do. “We can make the cost of effort feel even smaller if we link that small step to something we’re actually looking forward to doing. In other words, tie the task that we’re avoiding to something that we’re not avoiding,” she writes.

For me, anxiety is like that mean girl from junior high who was always there to point out my flaws, only she lives inside my head. While I may never fully silence the inner monologue that drives me to obsess on the scary “what ifs” of any given situation, I’ve learned that I don’t have to let it stop me from doing the things I want to do in life — starting with my to-do list.

Bridget Todd is writer and digital strategist who lives out of a suitcase. She is the cohost of the podcast Stuff Mom Never Told You. Her Twitter is @BridgetMarie and her IG is @BridgetMarieinDC

lllustrations by Gabrielle Lamontagne.

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apprenticeshipsinlondon · 7 years ago

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Software Engineering Intern

Cardiff, Cardiff, UK Alert Logic Software Engineering Intern* UK - Wales - Cardiff • Job ID 2182 Job Summary We are looking for fourSoftware Engineering Internsto join some of the industry's brightest minds that are dedicated to providing our customers and partners with security value and outcomes. Primary Responsibilities As a Software Engineering Intern, you will play a critical role in our Engineering teams, designing and developing key parts of our next generation cloud security solutions. You will be part of an extremely talented, creative, and focused group of engineers delivering a ground-breaking product, and will be tasked with applying your skills in a complex distributed system at scale, where your choices and design trade-offs matter. Working fully as part of the team you will be responsible for the development, testing, and deployment of high quality micro services in our software-as-a-service backend, using agile processes and a continuous integration/delivery pipeline. Required Skills and Experience · Passion and a strong sense of ownership for the software you build · Experience developing backend web services · Software development, troubleshooting and optimization skills in the likes of Java, C++, Python, C, or Perl · Thorough understanding of basic IP networking and protocols such as HTTP and TCP Desired Skills and Experience · Familiarity with functional programming with the likes of Erlang, Haskell, or Scala · Experience with AWS technologies and services · General knowledge of Internet security · Knowledge of vulnerability scanning, IDS, and other security technologies · Experience supporting production software The Alert Logic Internship is a 12 month placement within our Engineering Department here in Cardiff. The role is a paid position and candidates must have the eligibility to work in the UK as we are unable to offer sponsorship for these positions. About Alert Logic Alert Logic® the leading provider of Security-as-a-Service solutions for cloud, hybrid and on- premises data center infrastructure. Fully managed by a team of experts, the Alert Logic Cloud Defender suite delivers the deep security insight and continuous protection needed to protect a company's most sensitive data. Alert Logic provides 24x7 network, system and application protection for over 3,800 organizations worldwide. Our People & Culture We work in an exciting space, and we create technology solutions like nothing else out there. We are passionate about our work, and share our skills in a team environment. As a managed security provider, we are always looking forward, running to opportunities, and solving needs with solutions that work. We strive to meet customer needs with teams that exceed expectation. And we work hard, because we know everyone around us is working hard, too. Alert Logic is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Notice to recruitment agencies: Alert Logic does not accept unsolicited candidate resumes from recruiting agencies. We will not be liable for and will not pay placement fees for unsolicited resumes submitted to our jobs postings, employees or company locations. Alert Logic, founded in 2002, is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with offices in Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Cardiff, Belfast, London and Cali. Previous Applicants: Email: Password: If you do not remember your password click here. Back to Search Results New Search from Youth In Jobs https://youthinjobs.co.uk/job/91410/software-engineering-intern/

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damajority · 7 years ago

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DaMajority Fresh Article https://www.damajority.com/week-iphone-x-worth-hype/

A week in with the iPhone X — Is it worth the hype?

Before I begin, here’s a TL;DR for you if your attention span is short and you’re on the fence. The iPhone X is great. It’s a definite step up from previous iterations, and is better than the iPhone 8/8+. The screen is gorgeous, the phone feels weighty and substantial, the speakers are clearer (not louder), photos are noticeably better, and the notch should only really be annoying if you’re coming to the X from an Android device. Do you need a case and screen protector? Yes. This thing is a scratch magnet, and if you drop it, it’s game over. Do you need AppleCare+? Absolutely, because repairs will break your soul. For a more detailed review, photo comparisons, and video, keep reading.

https://www.damajority.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/video-1510711079.mp4

_________________

During my second year of undergrad, I lost a political science paper to a blue screen of death. Nine pages and two weeks of research on how Marcus Garvey’s black nationalism compared to the Nazi philosophy of lebensraum, gone. I got a matte black MacBook, and never looked back. I’m completely immersed in the Apple ecosystem—a die-hard fan. I’m also dramatic. The kind of dramatic that would make me play “Barry Bonds” as I unbox my iPhone X. Somehow, Kanyé rapping “This what y’all all been waiting for, ain’t it? What people paid paper for damn it, they can’t stand it, they want something new, so let’s get reacquainted” feels like a fitting way to introduce myself to Apple’s newest offering. This isn’t going to be one of those reviews where I talk lustfully about the iPhone’s innards and drone on about things that you couldn’t care less about. This is an everyday user review where listen to music, spend time arguing with people on social media, occasionally use the camera, and hope my battery lasts until I call it a night. Here we go.

So shiny — an introduction

I’ve been waiting for Apple to redesign the iPhone since the 6 Plus. I had hoped that the iPhone 7 would be where that redesign happened, but it was not to be. The candybar form factor with the bezels on the top and bottom is dated—like Jheri Curls and Fila gear. So, when the rumour mill started churning out news of a redesign, I was all in—when I picked up the redesigned iPhone X for the first time, I was sold.

My first thoughts were that it was the most beautiful piece of technology I’d seen in recent history. The phone feels weighty, the materials used are gorgeous, and the fit and finish is on par with what you’d expect from a $1,100 phone. My first gripe is that I wish Apple would have put AirPods in the box, but we can’t have everything. In typical Apple fashion, though, the transfer process from my 7 Plus to the X was seamless. I turned the phone on, went through some steps, and iOS 11 noticed I had an new device in close proximity to an old one, and offered to set up everything automatically over the air. When I tell people that the Apple ecosystem is incredible, these are the kinds of creature comforts I’m talking about.

Screen play

The screen on this thing is incredible—the new Samsung-made OLED blows everything I’ve ever used out of the water, perhaps with the exception of the 5K Retina iMac. The Galaxy S8+ and Note 8 are beautiful devices, with screens that would make the most loyal Apple fan jealous. But they have nothing on this. Blacks are pitch black, colours are vibrant without being oversaturated, and everything looks incredible. The notch is noticeable at first, but not in a way that I find upsetting. I may come to hate it eventually, but right now, it doesn’t matter. I will say this: if you’re coming to the X from any previous model of the iPhone, the notch likely won’t bother you much either. If you’re an Android convert, especially if you’re accustomed to Samsung’s huge, gorgeous screen real estate, then it will definitely be more visible, and probably more annoying. If I were to complain about something, I’d say that I would have preferred a wider aspect ratio, because this thing is long. Not long enough to be uncomfortable, and certainly not longer than the competition. Just long enough to make you notice.

Face ID?

With all the pre-release hype (and criticism) over the home button being gone, users needing to get used to a new gesture-based interface, and Face ID being a poor replacement for Touch ID, I was a bit apprehensive about how everything would work. After setting up Face ID, which was seamless, I started going through my usual routine of checking email, deleting old notifications, and overusing social media. This is where the X surprised and impressed me most. It’s also why I detest pre-release reviews from writers who spent 10 minutes or so with the device on launch day.

First, I never missed the home button. Swiping up felt as natural as putting my finger to the Touch ID sensor—perhaps more natural, since Face ID allowed me to glance at the phone and swipe up in one fluid motion. Second, Face ID feels like a near perfect security solution. Critics of Face ID have harped on about how it doesn’t work under all circumstances, which puzzles me because Touch ID didn’t work for me all the time either. Wearing dark sunglasses in bright light while using Face ID is the equivalent of trying to use Touch ID with wet hands—it will or won’t work. Is it mildly annoying? Sure. Is it a backward step because Touch ID was perfect and Apple ruined everything? No. I’m convinced at this point that some tech writers are luddites who loathe progress, especially when Apple’s the frontrunner. Headphone jack, anyone?

Third, the True Depth camera and Face ID work together using Attention Detection to handle notifications and prevent random unlocking for those people who prize their privacy. Messages and email, for example, show up with a name and time stamp but will not show their content until the device recognizes your face. To unlock the device, you have to be awake and looking at it, so the hypothetical situation where a jealous or nosy partner uses your face to unlock your phone while you’re sleeping is near impossible.

Fourth, and maybe most importantly, is how Face ID handles passwords. I have not needed to remember a single piece of security information since I picked up the iPhone X. Apps, website logins, shipping and billing addresses, and banking security information populate automatically once my face is recognized. If you use LastPass or 1Password to supplement Safari’s native password saving capabilities, then Face ID can authenticate those too. I’m excited for a Mac ecosystem where biometric scanning is ubiquitous, and I can sit at the computer and start working without needing to type in a password.

Housekeeping — AppleCare+, phone cases, and battery life

There is no way around it—this phone will break if you drop it. Apple claims this glass is the hardest glass it’s ever made, and the hardest ever in a phone. Cool story, but it’s still glass, and glass breaks. It’s also a scratch magnet, so especially on the space black version, scratches will ruin your vibe. If you want to protect your phone and still show it off, I recommend this Tech Armor screen protector and this transparent Otterbox Symmetry case or this one from Spigen. Otterbox is synonymous with bulletproof drop protection, Spigen’s pretty good, too, but your mileage may vary. True, AppleCare+ is an eye-watering $199US on top of your $999 or $1,149 phone, but with iPhone X screen repairs at $279 and other out of warranty damage at $549, I’d argue it’s essential.

Battery life is what you’d expect from a phone made by Apple. Long enough to get you through a day, but definitely not long enough to survive 9 cumulative hours of heavy screen use. With all-day bluetooth tethering to my Apple Watch, 3-4 hours of music, pictures of my food, the occasional social media argument, and constant texting, I can call it a night at 11pm and wake up with 20% battery the next morning. If you live on your phone all day, consider a battery case or a charge pack of some kind.

Photos & Video

I don’t have earlier models on hand currently to compare exact scenes, but I do have photos I’ve taken with various iPhone models going as far back as the 3GS. That might be overkill, so I’m going to stop the backwards comparisons at the 5S. I won’t compare the iPhone with other brands, simply because much more qualified people than me have already done so. Professional photographer Austin Mann has an exhaustive and comprehensive review on his website, and the guys over at Fstoppers compared the X to their favourite camera, the Panasonic GH5.

I’ll post a more in-depth review at a later point with photo and video comparisons, but my first thoughts are that the X is noticeably better than the 7 and 7 Plus, and much, much better than previous generations. Photos on both the front and rear cameras are crisp in good lighting, not overly saturated or washed out. In low light, there is some noise, but significantly less so than in previous generations. Throw in a camera app like ProCam or Camera+ and your DSLR is (almost) obsolete. The Portrait Lighting beta still feels like it’s, well, in beta. It doesn’t always get selfies right, and sometimes it mangles an ear or shave part of my head in real world use. Overall though, to make an Android comparison, the X is a few software updates away from the Pixel 2 XL in terms of photo perfection. Video is as detailed and rich as you’d expect from 4K, slow motion in 1080p is brilliant, and with a gimbal or tripod, you could easily shoot a movie off this thing. Again, your mileage may vary.

Augmented Reality

What’s to say about it, except that it’s really, really good? I got my hands on a Microsoft HoloLens headset a few months ago, and while I enjoyed playing with it, it felt incomplete. The iPhone is better, cheaper, and has broader application. I’ve played basketball on a table-sized half-court, measured my entire condo (at scale!) and made a 3D model of it, and developers are still thinking of ways to get more out of this thing. Changing tires, building treehouses, rebuilding engines, interactive how-to videos, the applications are endless. I’m excited about where this technology is heading, and with Apple mainstreaming it, broad adoption is inevitable.

Final Thoughts — worth the hype?

Well, it depends. If you have $999 in disposable income and want to upgrade from any other iteration of the iPhone, you won’t be disappointed. The X is familiar enough to feel like home, but different enough to warrant the purchase. The screen alone is worth the upgrade, in my opinion. But with new technologies like TrueDepth and Face ID, the updated form factor, and that new camera, it’s a must buy. If you’re an Apple fan who jumped over to Android to escape the small screens and boring form factor, it’s a great “welcome back to the fold” moment waiting to happen. If, however, you’re looking to be completely blown away by something vastly different from anything Apple branded that you’ve used in the past, leave this one alone. It’s worth the hype for the faithful. For those on the fence, if the reviews haven’t convinced you, wait a year and buy it at a discount.

#apple #featured #iPhone X #Smartphones #technology

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austinandmarreunion · 11 years ago

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hihi just dropping by to say i will be here later love youuu :*

#need to remember austins email and password in the process #ooc

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apprenticeshipsinlondon · 7 years ago

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Software Engineering Intern - Belfast

Belfast, UK Alert Logic Software Engineering Intern - Belfast* Belfast, Northern Ireland • Job ID 2192 Software Engineer Intern - Belfast Job Summary We are looking for a Software Engineer Intern to join some of the industry's brightest minds that are dedicated to providing our customers and partners with security value and outcomes. Primary Responsibilities As a Software Engineer Intern, you will play a role on the Analytics Platform team, designing and developing a next generation cloud security solution. You will be part of an extremely talented, creative, and focused group of engineers delivering a ground breaking product. Apply your skills in a complex distributed system at scale, where your choices and design trade offs matter. Be responsible for the development, testing, and deployment of high quality micro services in our software-as-a-service backend, using agile processes and a continuous integration/delivery pipeline. Required Skills and Experience

Passion and a strong sense of ownership for the software you build

Experience developing backend web services

Software development, troubleshooting and optimization skills in more than one language

Thorough understanding of basic Internet networking and protocols

Desired Skills and Experience

Familiarity with functional programming

Experience with AWS technologies and services

General knowledge of Internet security

Knowledge of vulnerability scanning, IDS, and other security technologies

Experience supporting production software

The Alert Logic Internship is a 12 month placement within our Engineering Department. Candidates must be able to commit for 12 months and must be eligible to work full-time in the UK. About Alert Logic Alert Logic® the leading provider of Security-as-a-Service solutions for cloud, hybrid and on- premises data center infrastructure. Fully managed by a team of experts, the Alert Logic Cloud Defender suite delivers the deep security insight and continuous protection needed to protect a company's most sensitive data. Alert Logic provides 24x7 network, system and application protection for over 3,800 organizations worldwide. Our People & Culture We work in an exciting space, and we create technology solutions like nothing else out there. We are passionate about our work, and share our skills in a team environment. As a managed security provider, we are always looking forward, running to opportunities, and solving needs with solutions that work. We strive to meet customer needs with teams that exceed expectation. And we work hard, because we know everyone around us is working hard, too. Alert Logic is committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Notice to recruitment agencies: Alert Logic does not accept unsolicited candidate resumes from recruiting agencies. We will not be liable for and will not pay placement fees for unsolicited resumes submitted to our jobs postings, employees or company locations. Alert Logic, founded in 2002, is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with offices in Seattle, Dallas, Austin, Cardiff, Belfast, London and Cali. Previous Applicants: Email: Password: If you do not remember your password click here. Back to Search Results New Search from Youth In Jobs https://youthinjobs.co.uk/job/91409/software-engineering-intern-belfast/

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apprenticeshipsinlondon · 7 years ago

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Software Engineering Intern

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apprenticeshipsinlondon · 7 years ago

Text

Software Engineering Intern

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apprenticeshipsinlondon · 7 years ago

Text

Software Engineering Intern - Belfast

Passion and a strong sense of ownership for the software you build

Experience developing backend web services

Software development, troubleshooting and optimization skills in more than one language

Thorough understanding of basic Internet networking and protocols

Desired Skills and Experience

Familiarity with functional programming

Experience with AWS technologies and services

General knowledge of Internet security

Knowledge of vulnerability scanning, IDS, and other security technologies

Experience supporting production software

0 notes