Random thing you loathe right now.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Iridium884 wrote:

I use Castro and think it's' great.

High Fidel-ity.

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Chairman_Mao wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
Iridium884 wrote:

I use Castro and think it's' great.

High Fidel-ity.

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Sorry you got caught Joaquín into this one

It would be better Joaquin on sunshine.

Here's an interpretation of the week I've had at work:

Perform the "simple" task of opening a door:
1. Open door
2. Door is locked.
3. Look for key.
4. Key is missing.
5. Contact person who has key.
6. Wait for person to respond.
7. Person finally responds.
8. Explain problem to person.
9. Wait for person to return key.
10. Person brings key!
11. Unlock door.
12. Open door.
13. Door knob breaks off in my hand.

Happy Friday all!

It’s nice you left the door open for the next person because that seems like a real hassle.

IMAGE(http://www.sidewaysthoughts.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/timesheet1.jpg)

Engine light for car turns on for a few days. Drive to mechanic and it turns off...

Not sure if that's good or if I should worry.

master0 wrote:

Engine light for car turns on for a few days. Drive to mechanic and it turns off...

Not sure if that's good or if I should worry.

Codes should be stored in memory for the ECU unless the battery was disconnected and can still be read out using a boring old OBDII reader. Your mechanic should know that.

silentsod wrote:
master0 wrote:

Engine light for car turns on for a few days. Drive to mechanic and it turns off...

Not sure if that's good or if I should worry.

Codes should be stored in memory for the ECU unless the battery was disconnected and can still be read out using a boring old OBDII reader. Your mechanic should know that.

Good to know, since I know nothing about cars. They are a dealer service center not sure how much I trust them to be honest. That said they were polite and professional and could have charged a diagnostic fee but didn't. Guess I'm in wait and see mode now.

Otherwise any AutoZone usually will read your codes for free too.

Migraines paired with a puppy who believes the solution to everything, from wanting snuggles to needing to go outside for relief, is barking.

Hobear wrote:

Otherwise any AutoZone usually will read your codes for free too.

Call first. A lot of auto parts stores are ending this practice.

Boudreaux wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Otherwise any AutoZone usually will read your codes for free too.

Call first. A lot of auto parts stores are ending this practice.

Well that should be a loathe.

Was super useful to customers and an easy way for them to get people in the store. Win-win.

Can order parts online if they're not offering any service at the brick and mortar.

Someone keeps setting up online accounts using my email address. I have had to delete two of them in the past month.

Stele wrote:
Boudreaux wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Otherwise any AutoZone usually will read your codes for free too.

Call first. A lot of auto parts stores are ending this practice.

Well that should be a loathe.

Was super useful to customers and an easy way for them to get people in the store. Win-win.

Can order parts online if they're not offering any service at the brick and mortar.

It's probably because ODBII scanners are starting to get super cheap now. You can get one that connects to your smartphone with Bluetooth and tells you the codes for like $20.

NSMike wrote:
Stele wrote:
Boudreaux wrote:
Hobear wrote:

Otherwise any AutoZone usually will read your codes for free too.

Call first. A lot of auto parts stores are ending this practice.

Well that should be a loathe.

Was super useful to customers and an easy way for them to get people in the store. Win-win.

Can order parts online if they're not offering any service at the brick and mortar.

It's probably because ODBII scanners are starting to get super cheap now. You can get one that connects to your smartphone with Bluetooth and tells you the codes for like $20.

In which case they should toss one in with the tools they let customers borrow.

Telecoms (specifically Spectrum at the moment) and stupidity/ignorance of identity theft practices.

I'll be engaging in a bit of foreign travel for work this year. So, I requested a corporate cell phone so I won't get murdered by international roaming/data fees for calls and GPS usage while I'm out of the country. Obviously, the number I was bequeathed once belonged to somebody else and I have been getting an insane number of calls and text messages - 99% of which seem to be from legit service companies, bill collectors, etc.

So, in an attempt to stem the tide, I returned a voicemail to Spectrum i.e., the most egregious of my enthusiastic callers, this morning to let them know the person they are trying to contact is no longer at this number. As soon as I called their service number, it asked me to re-enter my own... At which point, without any providing any further identifying information, their automated service revealed the previous owners name, amount past due, and account balance.

Once a billing agent finally answered and I explained that not only was the former owner no longer the owner of the number that they had on file, but their automated system had provided personal details with nothing more than a phone number, I was told there was nothing they could do. Can't change the number on file, can't notify anyone that they need to fix the automated process.

My employment for the last 23 years, in both military and civilian capacities, has provided me a front row seat to all the vulnerabilities of the internet and the lack of protection afforded our personal information. The many failures by big name corporations, government agencies, etc. of the last decade - HELLO FACEBOOK - f*cking INFURIATE me. And now I'm basically being told that not only is such a company going to continue to engage in an privacy-violating behavior, but also that they will continue to blow up MY phone to do it.

(Buh-bye operator #1, hello operator #2.)

This time, instead of mentioning anything about the personal info they have revealed, I lead with the fact that the number they have on file is no longer assigned to their customer AND that it is now in fact a government office (minor exaggeration - I'm actually a contractor, but we have an embedded Air Force detachment here that I work with every single day and our customers are almost exclusively government/military agencies).

Surprise! Operator #2 is 'happy to help get that fixed'...!

Once she removed my number from the account, I politely inform her of the second issue: that I dialed in with nothing but their customer's phone number and that in-turn, before talking with an operator or providing any sort of security PIN or other identifying information, I was automatically provided with the customer's name, amount past due, and account balance.

"I will notate that in the file, sir, but we didn't provide you with an address or credit card number. So, it's actually fine."

Fine? FINE?! REALLY?!!! (I thanked her and hung up while my co-worker in the next cubicle - who actually spends all her time securing and accrediting government networks - laughed in disbelief).

So, let's think about this, I now have a name that Spectrum so graciously provided. If you're not seeing a real problem yet, consider the fact I could have called in and provided ANY phone number. I could have provided YOUR number. As long as the number provided matched that of an account holder, I would have received their name... and I could call back as many times as I liked phishing for numbers associated with as many Spectrum accounts as my blessed little hacker heart desires. So, regardless of how I "chose" the number I provided, I now have a phone number and a name. Based on the phone number's area code, there's a high chance that I will also be able to determine a city or small area where the customer lives or has lived. So, what do I do? I Google the name and city.

Holy sh*tcicles, less than 2 minutes worth of work and I now have a list of potential matches - two of which provide the name, phone number, job history, education levels, hobbies, family members, former places of residence, obituaries (yeah, the two most obvious matches are both dead... thankfully?) AND GOD KNOWS WHAT ALL ELSE...!!!!

I swear on all that is holy and unholy, my anger sharks are in a feeding frenzy right now.

Good job, Spectrum. Good job.

To be blunt, that barn has been horse-less for a long time.

Type your own name into Google. The loosey-goosey information security loophole you've discovered is a drop in that ocean.

Everything about new phone numbers is a nightmare. My daughter's new number used to belong to a Navy petty officer. Now she knows where he lives, where he's stationed, what his kid's name is and where he goes to school, and just how many days of school he misses. And she's *still* getting calls and texts over a year later. Luckily nothing's been quite "Captain canceled liberty, get your ass back to the ship NOW".

Jonman wrote:

To be blunt, that barn has been horse-less for a long time.

Type your own name into Google. The loosey-goosey information security loophole you've discovered is a drop in that ocean.

I'm well aware, but Spectrum basically connected the dots for me. Yes, I can google my name and get a lot of information, but what I can't do is match that information to a service provider account (behind which lies financial information). I probably could, but Spectrum themselves have made that process a helluva lot easier. I provide a number, Spectrum gives me a name, I match that to an address in my google search, and I can now call Spectrum back and with nothing but a little charisma and a few matching pieces of info that they have helped piece together, I can start digging for credit card info.

Maybe I'm feeling really magnanimous, maybe I track you down and let you know the info I just learned.

"Hi Fred, how are you today? Hey, I got your old number and was trying to get Spectrum to stop calling and they told me you're $179.67 past due on your account?"

Feeling good? Yes? No?

Maybe I'm not so magnanimous. Maybe I used all that info to get your credit card number, but that just wasn't enough. Maybe I learned you work for a police department, a judge, the government or the military. Maybe I take all that info, call you up, and tell you what who I'm going to tell if you don't give me some more money.

Regardless of how long it's been going on, I have a right to be angry. We all should be. Like I said, I've been working in this realm for over 20 years; I'm more in the know about what is vulnerable, how it's vulnerable, and why it's vulnerable than most. It's dumb sh*t like this that keeps our private information flying free to amateur hackers, highest corporate bidders, and just about anybody else that wants it. At this point, you'd think somebody would start to do something, but apparently leaking other people's information is a good for some extra cash and perhaps an invitation to highly publicized tea and crumpets with the legislative branch.

qaraq wrote:

Luckily nothing's been quite "Captain canceled liberty, get your ass back to the ship NOW".

Let us know if this changes, eh?

My name is the American Portuguese equivalent to John Smith. When I type my name into google, I don't find myself in the top 30 pages.

Try having a less unique name.

Agent 86 wrote:

My name is the American Portuguese equivalent to John Smith. When I type my name into google, I don't find myself in the top 30 pages.

Try having a less unique name.

I think I have you beat. Translated to German, where the majority of my ancestors originate, my name is basically "John John".

Agent 86 wrote:

My name is the American Portuguese equivalent to John Smith. When I type my name into google, I don't find myself in the top 30 pages.

Try having a less unique name.

Sadly, that horse has also left the barn for me. There's about 30 of us in the entire world. Google my last name, and you'll find most of my extended family within the first 3 pages.

Jonman wrote:
vypre wrote:
Agent 86 wrote:

My name is the American Portuguese equivalent to John Smith. When I type my name into google, I don't find myself in the top 30 pages.

Try having a less unique name.

I think I have you beat. Translated to German, where the majority of my ancestors originate, my name is basically "John John".

Sadly, that horse has also left the barn for me. There's about 30 of us in the entire world. Google my last name, and you'll find most of my extended family within the first 3 pages.

Jon Jonman? ...BROTHER?!

vypre wrote:

Jon Jonman? ...BROTHER?!

You joke, but I've literally had that happen. Some lady saw my last name somewhere on the internet and emailed me. Turns out we lived in the same town, so we got together in a pub and compared family trees. Yup, third cousins.

Actually, I've had it happen twice. The other time, second cousins-once-removed, from the Canadian branch of the family when my great-grandad's brother emigrated to Canada.

I remember they used a publish this book that had everyone's name, phone number, and address all lined up nicely together, and they would put it right on my doorstep...

thrawn82 wrote:

I remember they used a publish this book that had everyone's name, phone number, and address all lined up nicely together, and they would put it right on my doorstep...

As I recall, you could opt out of being listed in a phonebook and that was also in the days before you could just take that information and gain remote access to every aspect of a person's life. The threat of someone in your town thumbing through the phone book and choosing to exploit you was far less than it is today when I can spread that every fact that was ever recorded about you across the entire planet in less time than it takes to blink.

Granted, phonebooks still exist, but

1.) If you're dumb enough to continue to list yourself...
2.) In this day and age, they should probably be limited to commercial listings anyway

Jonman wrote:
vypre wrote:

Jon Jonman? ...BROTHER?!

You joke, but I've literally had that happen. Some lady saw my last name somewhere on the internet and emailed me. Turns out we lived in the same town, so we got together in a pub and compared family trees. Yup, third cousins.

Actually, I've had it happen twice. The other time, second cousins-once-removed, from the Canadian branch of the family when my great-grandad's brother emigrated to Canada.

It was a half-joke. At one point, there were at least 12 living Johns in my family. For Christmas, my wife bought me an ancestry.com DNA test to help start the process of tracking down a sister that was put up for adoption a couple years before I was born when my mom was 16. While waiting for the test results, I have been working on my family tree and have traced nearly every branch back 8-10 generations. There has been at least one John, or variation thereof, in my direct family line i.e, my father and his brothers, my grandfather and his brothers, great-grandfather and brothers for every one of those 10 generations. I haven't tried looking at all the offspring of each of those uncles, but the few I did, generally followed the same convention.

The large majority of my family branches migrated to the US pre-Revolutionary War... I can't even imagine how many distant cousins there are scattered around this country that I share a name with. Anyway, different topic...

When I was in my 20s, due to someone also in my state with same first and last name passing bad checks, I had troubles getting loans and credit. Even though it was different middle name.