2021 December eBytes
3M PCC Club 2021 Survey
Windows 11: Not sure about upgrading yet? What to know
Home WiFi Routers
Tech We're Thankful For: The Best Products of 2021
The Best Smart Home Tech for Every Room in the House
Too Many Data Breach Victims Respond by Doing Nothing
Best laptop under $500 for 2021
10 Privacy Features iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 Users Need to Know
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3M PCC Club 2021 Survey
If you could please take 5-10 minutes to complete this annual survey and submit it by Saturday Dec 22, it would be greatly appreciated. The PCC uses this information to make important decisions about the future of the club and plan meetings. We need your help to guide us. We are using Google Documents to collect the information. Make sure to hit the Submit button at the end of the survey. If the link below does not work for you, copy the URL into your Browser. You may have to do this at home or without the 3M VPN or laptop, since they block some sites. Will work on a tablet or phone also.
Privacy Statement: Your responses to this survey will be used only in aggregate with data supplied by other members, and will never be disclosed to any third-party, or used for marketing. It is only used by the PCC.
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Windows 11: Not sure about upgrading yet? What to know
If you're debating the upgrade to Microsoft's new OS, here are some things to keep in mind.
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Home WiFi Routers
The Best Wi-Fi Mesh Network Systems We've Tested - Now that working from home is just as important as gaming and streaming, defeating Wi-Fi dead zones is more important than ever. That's where multi-node mesh systems shine. Here are the best Wi-Fi mesh network systems we've tested.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-mesh-network-systems
The Best Wi-Fi 6 Routers for 2021 - Wi-Fi 6 has brought a new generation of premium routers designed to take advantage of improved speeds and bandwidth. Is it time to upgrade and future-proof your network? We've tested all the latest entries to help you decide.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wi-fi-6-routers
PCMag Picks the Best Wireless Range Extenders - A range extender is a solid lower-cost alternative to buying a new router if you're looking to beef up your Wi-Fi network, with many now supporting advanced features like MU-MIMO and mesh networking.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-wireless-range-extenders
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Tech We're Thankful For: The Best Products of 2021
Our annual collection of the most exceptional technology products in 15 important categories. All tested, rated, and highly recommended by our experts.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-tech-products
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The Best Smart Home Tech for Every Room in the House
You can make your home a little more livable—and a lot more automated—by adding appliances and devices you can control from anywhere. We've tested hundreds of smart home products in more than 20 categories to help determine which ones are best for every room in (and out of) the house.
https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-smart-home-devices
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Too Many Data Breach Victims Respond by Doing Nothing
Some survey respondents thought the breached company would take care of everything—but they can't get the personal data genie back in the bottle.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/too-many-data-breach-victims-respond-by-doing-nothing
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Best laptop under $500 for 2021
Here are some recommendations and buying advice to help you find the best budget-friendly laptop from Lenovo, Acer and others.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/best-laptop-under-500
Best Chromebook in 2021: 7 best Chromebooks starting under $300 - These Chromebooks will let you experience the best of Google's Chrome OS, whether it's for work, school or play.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/best-chromebook
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10 Privacy Features iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 Users Need to Know
The latest versions of iOS and iPadOS offer more ways to stay private, from mail privacy protection to hiding your email address. Here's how to secure your iPhone and Pad.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/privacy-features-ios-ipados-users-need-to-know
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Links - News, Tips, & Downloads
AirTag vs. Tile: Which Bluetooth Tracker Should You Choose? - Whether you've lost your keys, phone, or wallet, an AirTag or Tile can track them down. But which one is best for you? We tested Apple's AirTag and all four Tiles to help you decide.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/airtag-vs-tile-which-bluetooth-tracker-should-you-choose
Why you need to stop sending your iPhone photos via text - When you take a photo, a bit of hidden information could reveal where you live, work, hang out.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/hidden-info-location-attached-iphone-photos-most-people-dont-know
Windows 10 is a security disaster waiting to happen. How will Microsoft clean up its mess? - When Windows 10 hits its end-of-support date in 2025, hundreds of millions of PC owners will have four options, none of them good.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-windows-10-is-a-security-disaster-waiting-to-happen
10 Things to Know Before You Buy Refurbished Electronics - Buying a refurbished device can help you save money, but don’t go into it blind. These tips will help you get a deal and avoid being ripped off when buying refurbished laptops, TVs, phones, and other electronics.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/10-things-to-know-before-you-buy-refurbished-electronics
iPhone storage running low? How to free up space - Back up your photos and tweak a few settings.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/dont-run-out-of-iphone-storage-try-these-tricks-to-free-up-space
Apple's launching a DIY iPhone repair program - That is, if you have the skills!
Your Android phone could run better. Change these settings - Here are five ways to customize your Android so it works exactly for you.
Switch phone plans for a better deal: Is it time? - Choosing a phone plan isn't easy. Hopefully this will help.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/best-unlimited-phone-plans-in-2021
The Best Windows 11 Tips and Tricks - Windows 11 gives Microsoft's venerable OS a new look and adds a few features you'll want to tweak or customize.
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/best-windows-11-tips-and-tricks
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Ask a Question - Send any Tips & Downloads, Ask a Question, For Sale, or articles to: TheMiningPCC@gmail.com
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Q. From a Friend - Your Dad is in senior living at Carondelet. When Carondelet discontinued support of their panic button, what did you do.
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. I had setup an Alexa speaker and an Alexa show in my dad’s apartment several years ago. Check out “Alexa Together” on the Alexa app has some very nice features for remote care giving. Prior to November 2021 it was called “Care Hub”. Free for now, but looks like $19.95 month service. Once setup the person can say "Alexa Call for Help" and it will make an emergency text and phone call to an emergency contact. It can also alert me if Alexa has not used during the day. In addition, I can connect to my dads Amazon show with Alexa "Drop In" without any action on his end at anytime and see if he is up and about in his apartment. I do not plan to pay $19.95 a month and can get some of the features using other skills.
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Q. From a PCC Member - My HP Office Jet Pro 8610 has a print cartridge issue. At first it did not like any of the cartridges I had including new ones (not HP cartridges but they worked well for the past couple of years). Now the cartridge carrier is stuck in the closed position and will not move when the access door is opened so that I can no longer remove cartridges. It may need a carriage cleaning but I cannot get to it. I got frustrated and bought an HP ENVY 06055e at Best Buy. Now it will not print from my laptop unless it is turned on before the laptop. Not sure where to turn next. Need a good YouTube for the 8610 but cannot find one?
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. This looks like a good video that might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqDE6oXHm1o You may have to pull the print head over manually so you can see if anything is jammed in the track or if it old ink that that is gumming it up and needs to be cleaned up.
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Q. From a PCC Member - I've been getting spam emails regularly, I flag them as Spam. Should I/can I do anything else? Note: They come from different email addresses, so they don't go to Spam automatically? Email below.
Hi Purchaser,
Thanks for using Norton LIFELOCK Computer Protection plan for the last 2 yrs. Your subscription Has been Auto-renewed And the Amount will be Auto-debited and will be reflected in your bank A/C within 24Hrs.
INVOICE SUMMARY:
item NAME : Norton 360 Computer Security
Invoice#LL974863
EXPIRATION : 2 years
Amount CHARGED: $538.00 USD
Payment method: Auto/debit
If You wish to cancel this subscription or have any questions Then feel free to contact Our Support TEAM. +1 (845) (377) (0238)
Note :- Transaction statement Will appear IN Your account within 24 hours subject to clearance.
Best Wishes,
Symantec team
A. From Tom Kreuzer, a PCC Board member. Marking the email as spam is the right thing to do so that similar emails in the future will automatically be marked as spam. It can take months for it to automatically happen and most spammers are constantly changing the sender and content in the email so that their future emails do not get flagged. So this solution does not provide 100% relief.
In Gmail you can create your own filters to automatically delete emails. The most common uses are to block email from users, subjects, or that just contain certain words. If you wanted to block emails like this one, you could create a filter to look for the word "Norton Life Lock" anywhere in the email and delete the email. You can go to the Gmail settings, "Gear Icon" if you are using a PC or Mac, then select the tab for Filter and create a new one.
If you have any question on filters or trouble creating one, let me know.
