Secure Your Social Media Spaces Before Someone Does It For You
Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 5 to 10 minutes every week – about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly to SoundCloud, if you’re interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I’m really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.
This week we discussed:
Lessons in social media: even if you don’t know, like or will use an existing or new platform (be it Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook or whatever), it’s always a good idea to “protect yourself” by signing up to it, and grabbing your own name there. A local news celebrity had an impersonator on Twitter (and, they didn’t know because they’re not on the platform). Now, they have to sign up and deal with trying to get this nefarious individual shut down. The best solution? Secure your name.
Not sure what to get someone into tech this holiday season without breaking the budget? Why not get them a computer? I know, I know, I did use the word “budget.” Well, what if I told you that the latest iteration of the Raspberry Pi computer was recently released. It’s called Raspberry Pi Zero, and it’s only $5. Not a typo. A $5 computer. The perfect gift if you ever thought of getting into programming, or if you have a young person in the house that you want to get into programming. Happy hacking!
How do you like your wi-fi? You may soon be dumping it, if li-fi can truly deliver. Li-Fi transmits data using LED lights, which flicker on and off within nanoseconds, imperceptible to the human eye. It was invented in 2011. In the lab, li-fi has been able to reach a mind-blowing speed that is 100x faster than the fastest wi-fi. Unlike Wi-Fi signals which can penetrate walls, Li-Fi is based on light and can’t, so its range is more limited. However, because of that limit, Li-Fi is also potentially more secure from external sniffing. Pretty interesting development.