The Raging Tech

What Information Do You Protect?

How often do you, in the course of your employment, come across personal data such as social security numbers, addresses, DOBs (date of birth), or financial records? In my line of work as a tech support analyst, we often look at personal data either because we need to identify someone before doing a password reset, or in the course of backing up someone’s data during a repair.

There’s a good rule of thumb for making sure you don’t fall victim to a lawsuit in the case of FERPA (financial and educational record privacy act) and HIPPA (health insurance privacy and portability act) violations, and that’s to make sure you don’t have any access to information you don’t need access to see, and don’t give any information to people who shouldn’t have it.

In the era of identity theft and privacy violations, government-run agencies and businesses alike are running scared and auditing left and right - and with good reason! These violations can cost not only huge fines to the entities found liable, but also the individual can be charged with civil and criminal charges and fined exorbitant amounts.

If you’re worried about such entities fumbling the ball with your personal information, you can sign up for something like life lock, who monitor your credit activities for suspicious events and remove you from junk mail lists, and also provide a guaranty against loss due to identity theft, all for a low monthly fee.

Protected Posts

My Mom A reader commented on another post of mine saying, “how am i supposed to read when it is now password protected and there is no directions on how to get a password?”

So I thought I’d shed some light on the feature of my blogging site that I haven’t really used before - password-protected posts. These are for me, an “eyes only” sort of deal.

You’re probably thinking, But RT, why would you want to put a password on a post about your personal life that is on the *internet*? And the answer is pretty simple. Blogging can be cathartic or maybe just personal, and sometimes I may want to share things with only certain people and not everyone.

Sometimes it’s because I’m keeping someone else’s confidence but really need to get something off my chest, other times it’s because I want to talk about things I might not want a potential employer to know. Either way, if it’s something you’re supposed to read, I’ll make sure whoever you are, you get the password you need. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

I may also put personal thoughts and worries in there, and I don’t want you all to think I’m a complete basket case. I could keep a completely separate blog for that and just not tell anyone about it. But that’s too much work - this is easier.

Holiday Alert: Valentine’s Day

I know Valentine’s Day is not a minor holiday, and no one really gets off work for Valentine’s Day. But, being I’m a guy who is seeing someone now, I thought it’d be nice to remind my readers that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. You still have 8 days to make arrangements or find something nice for someone special.

Now, I know my readers may have differing opinions on Valentine’s Day festivities and the silliness or respectable tradition of the whole fiasco, but a good portion of you will have reason to participate, even on a minimal scale.

That being said, don’t waste any time! Get your reservations, flowers sending scheduled, chocolates, and cards - all will be scarce in the next few days as countless couples make plans and get ready. On the bright side, as soon as the holiday is over, you immediately have National “That’s What She Said” Day on February 15th. So even if the 14th is Singles Awareness Day for you, you have something to look forward to, along with deeply-discounted Valentine’s Day candy at local grocers.

On Giants and Gentlemen

Last Sunday, I had very low expectations out of the Super Bowl. I don’t really like the Patriots, nor do I hold any special place in my heart for the Giants. In fact, football really doesn’t hold a special place in my heart at all. I’m lucky I at least understand the rules enough to know what’s going on in the game. But I must say, the first two quarters weren’t that exciting - and then it all went crazy.

Sportsmanship used to mean something in America - but nowadays we just have spoiled brats in the NFL. Eli Manning, good job - one of the best games I’ve seen in a long time. But Pats - come on, just because you’re desperately clinging to a 1 touchdown lead does not mean you should drop all fair play and attempt to rip the ball from the precariously falling man’s arms, to his injury. He clearly had made the catch and was on his way to the ground to complete the play, but you had to go be a douche bag about it.

All that being said, where are the gentlemen in America? I know some guys who do everything they can to be gentlemen to any woman they encounter - not to be flirtatious or impressive, but because it’s the right thing to do. But what’s up with the rest of our half of the species, guys? The other day I opened the door and held it for a lady at the post office, and she patted me on the shoulder and said “Your mother raised you the correct way,” and I thanked her and said I’d be sure to mention it to her (here you go, Mom - I’m mentioning it here because I know you read this).

So what is it guys? Do you think chivalry is dead? I know some girls don’t prefer it, and that’s OK to let some things go if they are bothered by you holding doors. I know I forget sometimes, or sometimes positioning does not easily allow for it. But make the effort. Let’s honor the women in our lives, guys, in one way or another.

Frustrated? Pop Off a Few Rounds

There was a time in my life when I could spend patience on anything and that would be enough to get me through. That time is approximately every night from around 1am until 6:42am, when I’m asleep. For the rest of the day - give me a good round of Halo or Unreal Tournament and I’m good.

Back at Thanksgiving 2006, I worked at Blockbuster Video, Inc. as a store manager, and it could be frustrating to say the least. One of our church members built houses for a living - luxury dream homes, I mean. Which also means his home was a huge luxury dream home. Out back of his house he had actually built his own firing range with a retractable, motorized targeting system that you could staple paper targets to, send it out, shoot, and bring it back.

I shot a .44, a .22, and some sort of handgun I didn’t recognize. That entirely worked out some good amounts of stress. But let’s say you don’t like guns, because they’re dangerous. You can always get air guns and airsoft rifles on the cheap along with ammunition and paper targets. You can setup almost anywhere, and it’s much less likely your neighbors will call the cops on you for firing BB guns in your back yard. Or, you could try paintball and actually shoot at living, breathing, moving targets.

Or you know, there’s always therapy. But bullets are cheaper.

Don’t Be Dumb: Avoid Blizzard Fever

Just about everywhere I’ve ever lived there are people who love to do the dumbest things whenever there are weather reports that call for snow or temperatures below 30 degrees F. This week, particularly tonight, the weather is calling for snow.

But here’s the thing - the National Weather Service says it’s only going to snow about an inch and it probably won’t stick.

So what do these dumb people do? They drive 10 miles under the speed limit and wear 10 layers of clothing before it actually gets cold enough to call for it.

And my least favorite thing these nuts do? They flock to the grocery store and “stock-up” like they’re going to be shanghaied at home for three weeks. Which means when I go to do my casual grocery shopping (maybe 6 items),  I had to wait in line tonight for 30 minutes to get out of there!

Don’t be dumb people, and don’t horde or “stock-up” at the last minute.