Are there gremlins in my computer? (2 Viewers)

AccessBlaster

Registered User.
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
5,827
you mean like crashing the electrical grid due to overuse of computer power? ha ha. I heard that it's a real threat.

I don't know about that, but pretty much everything you have ever written online goes through here ⬇️
The area 51 of the internet

gettyimages-96263974.jpg
 

Pat Hartman

Super Moderator
Staff member
Local time
Today, 18:33
Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Messages
42,976
Yes, I know I am constantly being tracked (but I don't make it easy) and I am not happy about it and have been talking about it for years but there's way too many stupid people out there who have allowed this to happen because they haven't a clue how governments can use this against its citizens and that means YOU. YOU let Big Brother into your life because you were too lazy to get up and change the radio station or turn on the lights. Yes, it is wonderful that my refrigerator can tell me what I'm low on if I call if from the grocery store. I look at the fabulous conveniences of modern technology. Your phone talks to your bank, your car talks to the traffic satellite so it can be rerouted around traffic. Your furnace talks to the utility company so the utility company can control your temperature level if you are using too much power. Do you remember agreeing to that? They gave you a discount so you probably said yes. I like "free" stuff. Your doorbell calls you if someone comes to the door. You can buy almost anything your heart desires from Amazon and have it delivered tomorrow. I sort of miss the adventure of going to the mall and finding the treasures myself but I use Amazon and other shopping sites to buy things I don't need to see and touch or try on first.

I'm not about to start an insurrection but I really don't want to be spied on even if I'm not doing anything anyone could object to. It is a matter of principle and freedom. If I am not allowed to "disappear" for a couple of days if I just want to chill, I am no longer a free person. Big Brother knows where I am all the time. Maybe in the utopian future, crime will be eradicated because you won't ever be able to get away from the constant surveillance. I used to wonder how the world of Star Trek worked without money. They never explained that part of the future utopia they presented. Didn't stop me from enjoying the various series. Did any of you other "trekkies" ever wonder about the total absence of money (except in Deep Space 9)?

Yes, in the past, the US government was benign. Not so any more. We now keep political prisoners , those evil trespassers of Jan 6 who dared to enter the PEOPLE's house armed only with their cameras and soon we'll be arresting parents who dare to speak out at schoolboard meetings because they don't want their children subjected to pornography and false history. The DOJ is on the job:(

Who would have thought Australia would turn into the police state it currently is? We know what China does to its citizens who displease it. Now we are seeing this in formerly free countries. I think I need to learn Hungarian. They are turning into a bastion of freedom. That's because their citizens still remember what it was like to live under the yoke of tyranny and they don't want to go back. The idiot, doped up flower children of the left do not know what they have gotten us into. The door is closing, the light is dimming on freedom. And its coming faster than you can even imagine. Are you aware that the US Treasury is trying to convince the world banks to accept a crypto currency based on the US dollar as the world currency? Think about that people. You can't buy a pack of gum without your money passport. And if you have displeased the government, you can't get on an airplane or a train which is already the rule in China. Don't for a minute think we here are safe. Already woke banks and CC companies refuse to do business with companies they disapprove of. Google is working very hard to support the Chinese government but their "ethics" won't let them work with the US military.
 

kevlray

Registered User.
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
1,046
I know that they can track me and for the most part I leave a pretty boring life. "I've miles And miles Of files Pretty files of your forefather's fruit..."(Moody Blues, In the Beginning-Lovely to See You, 1969)
 

Pat Hartman

Super Moderator
Staff member
Local time
Today, 18:33
Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Messages
42,976
Most ordinary people live boring lives. That's not the point.
 

kevlray

Registered User.
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Apr 5, 2010
Messages
1,046
The information capture started before I was born. Just made a lot easier with the technology we have now.
 

Eljefegeneo

Still trying to learn
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
904
OK, latest scary update. I've been listening to an audio book titled "Forget The Alamo", a revealing history of Texas' holy shrine. Today on Google news on my phone, two stories about the Alamo. What was even scarier was a story about Phil Collin. He is mentioned prominently in the book as he was a big Alamo buff and artifact collector.
 

Galaxiom

Super Moderator
Staff member
Local time
Tomorrow, 09:33
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Messages
12,849
The tracking goes way beyond what you do on your own devices. A few examples off the top of my head from my life. There are many more similar that I can't remember.

My grand daughter was turning four and had a party at the beach. While lighting the candles I told my daughter-in-law about the old Two Ronnies Four Candles joke. That night the Four Candles video came up on my Facebook feed. I didn't even have my phone with me at the party.

One evening I sat down at my computer eating the end of a tub of yogurt. Immediately up came an add for the exact same brand of yogurt.

A couple of years ago, my work Christmas party was a Saturday night variety stage show that included a unicyclist. (I am also a unicyclist.) He picked a coworker from the audience and idled his unicycle while she sat on his shoulders. Monday morning she appears in my Facebook friend suggestions. I didn't have my phone with me at the Christmas Party.

Two nights ago my wife was watching a recorded show about Steve Tyler of Aerosnith. Exactly the same time as the word Aerosmith was first said on the television, Aerosmith appeared in my Facebook feed.

I walked very briefly into a surf wear shop one Saturday morning thinking about buying some shorts but didn't buy any. That night I had ads for surf shorts.

Don't worry about it. Just assume they know more about what you are thinking than you do.
 

Pat Hartman

Super Moderator
Staff member
Local time
Today, 18:33
Joined
Feb 19, 2002
Messages
42,976
Am I alone? Doesn't anyone else care? Look what Trudeau did to the truckers and the businesses and people who helped them. That ought to dim your desire to resist if nothing else does. How will you survive if Big Brother decides you can't have access to your bank accounts?
 

Eljefegeneo

Still trying to learn
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
904
Still more? I went to Whole Foods yesterday to buy a few things but of course left my phone in my car. When I got to the check out stand I told the checker that I forgot my phone in my car and did I need to get it. They usually tell me no,, but bring it next time. Once I had to go to customer service to check out when I returned wit my phone with its stupid app. This time I was told I needed my phone so trudging in the heat to my car I retrieved it and went to the check-out stand. The checker said to go to customer service. I did and the employee said it was all taken care of since they use facial recognition. I asked him if he was kidding and he said with a deadpan stare, no.

I've tried to look this up on the Internet but there is nothing saying that Whole Foods (Amazon) uses facial recognition.

So, was this a big put on by the employee or?

I'm starting to get paranoid. And don't like it.
 

Isaac

Lifelong Learner
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Mar 14, 2017
Messages
8,738
Still more? I went to Whole Foods yesterday to buy a few things but of course left my phone in my car. When I got to the check out stand I told the checker that I forgot my phone in my car and did I need to get it. They usually tell me no,, but bring it next time. Once I had to go to customer service to check out when I returned wit my phone with its stupid app. This time I was told I needed my phone so trudging in the heat to my car I retrieved it and went to the check-out stand. The checker said to go to customer service. I did and the employee said it was all taken care of since they use facial recognition. I asked him if he was kidding and he said with a deadpan stare, no.

I've tried to look this up on the Internet but there is nothing saying that Whole Foods (Amazon) uses facial recognition.

So, was this a big put on by the employee or?

I'm starting to get paranoid. And don't like it.

Weird
 

Isaac

Lifelong Learner
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Mar 14, 2017
Messages
8,738
Still more? I went to Whole Foods yesterday to buy a few things but of course left my phone in my car. When I got to the check out stand I told the checker that I forgot my phone in my car and did I need to get it. They usually tell me no,, but bring it next time. Once I had to go to customer service to check out when I returned wit my phone with its stupid app. This time I was told I needed my phone so trudging in the heat to my car I retrieved it and went to the check-out stand. The checker said to go to customer service. I did and the employee said it was all taken care of since they use facial recognition. I asked him if he was kidding and he said with a deadpan stare, no.

I've tried to look this up on the Internet but there is nothing saying that Whole Foods (Amazon) uses facial recognition.

So, was this a big put on by the employee or?

I'm starting to get paranoid. And don't like it.
According to google they might use something based on your palm and maybe that's what he meant.

I have no idea as I wouldn't dream of shopping at that silly place where everything costs 12 times as much as it ought but is a badge of prestige to be seen walking out of.
 

Eljefegeneo

Still trying to learn
Local time
Today, 15:33
Joined
Jan 10, 2011
Messages
904
I know I am kicking this thing to death, but the other day my wife told me that she and our daughter-in-law were talking about something person to person in the same room, although her phone was on. Then she went on Facebook (yes the evil one)later on and lo and behold an ad came up for what they were discussing. My wife swears she didn't look up the item they were discussing. Am I getting more paranoid?
 

The_Doc_Man

Immoderate Moderator
Staff member
Local time
Today, 17:33
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
27,001
All of the above is why my wife and I turn off our cell phones when we are at home, don't have an "audio assistant" like Alexa, disable Cortana from our phones, and use a type of home phone that isn't smart enough to record anything. Our PCs have neither cameras nor microphones. I'm not technologically impaired. I just don't share everything all of the time.
 

CJ_London

Super Moderator
Staff member
Local time
Today, 22:33
Joined
Feb 19, 2013
Messages
16,553
We stopped using Alexa a while ago. The final straw was when my wife and I had been talking about the amount of dog poo our previous dog had made in the back garden (he was old and did not have any real control of his bowels any more).

I never realised that Amazon sold dog poo.......
 

Cotswold

Active member
Local time
Today, 22:33
Joined
Dec 31, 2020
Messages
521
I'd never buy or use anything like Alexa.
On each of my devices I have a different name and email address. I do not tell a device what my main phone number is. If a phone is needed for recovery, then I have a 2G Phone PAYG which is normally off I can use and is registered to a different name. If needed I'll switch it on, get the code and switch it off. I never link two devices via an email address because Google do.

I do not use the same anti-virus on each device. You allow anti-virus companies to check everything you do when you agree to their T&Cs. From the programs you use, sites you visit and you also allow them to read and download anything they choose, including emails and passwords. Maybe even the Access program you are working on! Antivirus know as much as anyone exactly what you do from switch on to switch off, and they sell it to whoever they choose. They maintain the virus fear to steal your data.
I do not use a free email address. I use a secure and paid for email, no adverts, no data sold, that always sends encrypted emails. I refuse to fill in CAPTCHA which is a spy and download software.

Problems coming are new devices in the home, TVs fridges etc. How do we turn off that stuff? In the UK we have Freeview and now if you want to see something from last week you need to register. So I registered with each using a different name, DOB, Postcode and email. Then deleted the email addresses. Never yet had any spam from a deleted email address.

'They' want to get rid of telephone landlines and force everyone to use a smartphone. That way every conversation, text etc and where you made it will be stored, maybe for ever. There is so much computing power being used on these intrusions on privacy that if they were closed down global warming wouldn't be a problem any more. 'They' also want to see the end of cash for obvious reasons. Already MasterCard are selling your transaction data.

Paranoid is maybe an explanation, but those beggars make you paranoid. It's a game, just don't make it easy for 'em.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Top Bottom