Ok, this one
is for all you advocates, guardians, care givers of the elderly folks who seem
to be running with a few oars out of the water so to say. And remember, we too
will end up like this, so don’t think I am being mean with this post.
Now I am
known for being a techno geek. I can usually fix anything, or figure out what
is wrong with it in a matter of minutes. Yesterday I went with a buddy to go
visit his dad at a retirement community, because his dads smart phone was no
longer working. And what I found out, what we found out is a lesson for all of
us.
The end
result was we had not one but several smart phones being used by “dumb” people,
who could not, or were unable to understand the implications of using this kind
of technology. The results are that at least 2 of them will be losing their
smart phones, which will be replaced by standard flip phones or standard just
talk and text phones with no internet capabilities.
The cell
phone technology is growing in leaps and bounds. And many are now able to do
what some of the earlier tablets could do. And that opens up a whole new can of
worms (problems) for us to have to work on.
What people seem to have forgotten is that Desktop computers and Laptops can be made secure for personal information. Virus checkers, anti-spy ware program, security programs work in the background if installed.
Some tablets have this, some smart phones have it, but not all do. And that is where we get into trouble. There are some things one should NEVER do on a smart phone or a tablet. One of them is banking. And that is what some of these people were doing. Using the smart phones just like a Desktop computer, only without the security measures in place. And 2 of them were being hacked. Great way for someone to lose their bank account or have their ID’s stolen.
What people seem to have forgotten is that Desktop computers and Laptops can be made secure for personal information. Virus checkers, anti-spy ware program, security programs work in the background if installed.
Some tablets have this, some smart phones have it, but not all do. And that is where we get into trouble. There are some things one should NEVER do on a smart phone or a tablet. One of them is banking. And that is what some of these people were doing. Using the smart phones just like a Desktop computer, only without the security measures in place. And 2 of them were being hacked. Great way for someone to lose their bank account or have their ID’s stolen.
NEVER NEVER
NEVER do your banking on a cell phone unless you are an expert with security
software, or an expert systems operator.
I wouldn’t even do it on a tablet.
I would also advise you never to put facebook on a tabet or a cell phone. This includes facebook messenger. Many people believe facebook to be a major security flaw. Every one of the phones I looked at had facebook on it. And the people were spending hours on their phones. I believe this is how 2 got hacked, and others had major security problems on their phones.
I would also advise you never to put facebook on a tabet or a cell phone. This includes facebook messenger. Many people believe facebook to be a major security flaw. Every one of the phones I looked at had facebook on it. And the people were spending hours on their phones. I believe this is how 2 got hacked, and others had major security problems on their phones.
All of these
phones had unlimited talk, text, data. This is a recipe for disaster. To those
who keep an eye out on our elderly people, this is something we need to be
aware of.
Cell phones
and tablets are NOT secure devices. Keep that in mind next time you visit your
elderly friend or relative when you go to check on them.
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