#DeleteFacebook

[yogi]

So, did this finally convince you to leave Facebook? If it did, what was the final straw for you? The carelessness with your private data? The enabling of lies and propaganda? Maybe a combination of everything? The boomer takeover certainly had something to do with it, didn't it?

Well, I wouldn't worry about missing Facebook too much — especially if you're under the age of 55. Most of your friends are probably on Twitter, YouTube, or TikTok anyway.

You already know how I feel about Facebook. The above is a quote from a lengthy article written by Matt Binder over at Mashable. He says it all better than I could.

https://mashable.com/article/delete-facebook-2020/

[Kellemora]

I don't like Farcebook, never did.
Unfortunately, if I want to stay in contact with folks, they are all on Farcebook.
Plus I play one game that is only available through Farcebook.
My author persona is on Twitter, but not the real me.
I don't have an account at YouTube or any mainstream places.

[yogi]

I understand perfectly. Most of the people who are still patronize Facebook do it for the same reasons you do. If It wasn't for the Fans Of Brainformation page I curate there, I'd have no qualms about #DeleteFacebook.

[Kellemora]

I tried to get a few of my family to move over to another website and although a couple did, they never check it.
Heck, I don't even check it anymore either now.
MeWe.

[yogi]

It's interesting that you would mention MeWe. I've seen their ads on Twitter. They claim they are the answer to all the problems inherent in Facebook and Twitter. So ... I signed up. I created a few things there as well as posted to my timeline and got zero response. I joined a couple Linux groups there too, and created an open group of my own. One ignored me altogether and the other verified my application. I posted to them a couple weeks ago and still see no response. As far as I can tell MeWe is about the same level as we are here @Brainformation. Heck, maybe you would see more of your family members if you got them to move over here. LOL

[Kellemora]

I've not been back to MeWe probably in well over six months now.
I do come here every day though, hi hi.
Glenn and I crossed paths on Ham Radio groups, Boinc, and Writing Groups.
He invited me here several times, and I told him I have too many websites to visit each day already.
But after I cut out a few, I finally agreed to join here, and I'm glad I did. Met some interesting people.
It's shame they are all gone now though. I recently got a request on Farcebook from someone from here, but I never saw them here, so don't know if they are actually on here or not. I forget who their request showed they were friends with.
Heck, I don't even remember who it was anymore, hi hi. Never saw them post anything on Farcebook so forgot about them.

Back shortly after I joined, you gave me a writers area, and I must have invited over 80 different authors to come join us and none did. That was disheartening for sure. There were about a dozen I invited several times and although they said they would come, they never did, or if they did I never saw them make a post.
That is basically why I quit adding to the writing column and I think you finally turned it off for lack of use.

[yogi]

I find it hard to believe, but it is very true, we were popular before there was a Facebook. "Social Networks" was just a buzz word and nobody knew for sure what that was back then. After a few years living side by side with them, Facebook took over the Internet. There was no reason for anybody to stay here anymore because all their family and friends were over there. There were several bulletin board style web sites that closed down during the Facebook migration. A lot of the die-hards came here because we had a familiar style. Our style never changed, and that's the main reason for our current status. People don't want to chat or discuss anything. If it can't be said in 260 characters or less, or in a meme, nobody has the time it takes to post anything here.

We have gone through three generations of forums. Your writers segment is part of the neo.brainformation archive. A few people did take an interest in what you were posting, but they all left. We have a list of members on this site which you can look through at any time to see if you recognize the invite you got over on Facebook. To my surprise I occasionally get a request for membership in the Fans of Brainformation page I have on Facebook - just got a new one about a month ago. She was a friend of a long time (inactive) member here and I have no idea why anybody would want to be in the fan group if they don't come over here. At one time I figured that fan page would take over what this site is doing, but it never did. So it must just be me.

I know you invited a lot of folks and I am sure most, if not all, of them did a drive by to see what we look like. It doesn't take much to note we are not Facebook. However, the Brainformation Twitter account did pick up one of your recommendations; at least I think she is related to you. Julia Doria is a writer and follows the Twitter account of Brainformation. It's not like having her post here, but it's something tangible for your efforts.

This website is the perfect antidote for #DeleteFacebook, but nobody is interested. It just goes to show how good FB is at brainwashing.

[Kellemora]

Almost all of my presence on various social media sites is as an author.
I did set up a couple of personal accounts, but never use them, so Farcebook is about the only one I hit personally.

Dig this, the frau just called me on the phone to tell me she gets a stronger signal from my new Access Point in the Office than she does from the Router right there in her office.
Ironically, the Access Point is sitting on top of a computer due to the short LAN cord that came with it.
However, there is no metal in the walls here, or in the kitchen addition, not like I have everywhere else in the house.
Then too, she was in the kitchen when she checked on her cell phone.
I wonder, maybe I can add the Kitchen Echo to the Access Point and be able to use it as an intercom with less hassles. I'll have to check and see.

[yogi]

Whether it was intentional or accidental, I believe you built a Faraday Cage around your home. LOL As the saying goes, what happens in the cage stays in the cage; well mostly. Back in the Dark Ages we had an intercom that consisted of two boxes just slightly bigger than a pack of cigarettes. They were connected by something that resembled telephone wire and worked super good about 50' apart. Of course the Internet didn't exist in those days, but the KISS principle did.

[Kellemora]

At our florist, we had a really old intercom system. It consisted of a transceiver in the office, and only speakers in the remote locations. If you put out a call, they could answer, heck we could even listen in on each of the remote speakers.
Although we had a switchboard, we often still used the intercom to call someone working in the greenhouses. Usually it was a relayed message from the greenhouse office to an employee to go to the greenhouse front office or back office, hi hi. If it was to go to an office, we just used the switchboard.
That old intercom probably worked for around 50 years if not longer. Of course we had to replace the power tubes in it every few years, but at the time, they were still available.

My Creve Coeur house had an intercom system to every room, and three basement areas, but I took it out as I remodeled.
It was an elaborate but dated system. You could call any room from any room, but you could not listen between rooms, except from the main box in the kitchen. It had a built in am/fm radio also, and a row of switches so you could send music to any room or no rooms. If you did send it to a room, they had a volume control and could turn the music off but keep the intercom working.
I had a business type phone system, with a phone in every room too, and that is what we usually used instead of the intercom anyhow. No it wasn't expensive, it was a Panasonic Small Business System I bought USED because it wasn't good enough for the business who had it. I think the problem was they didn't really know how to work it. You could ring any phone from any phone, which they said it didn't do, and why they replaced it.

[yogi]

One of the homes we looked at when we were relocating had music in every room. I'm not sure anymore if it was also an intercom, but I liked the idea of being able to pipe music wherever I wanted it. I could easily do something like that here because the basement is unfinished and wiring it up would not be that difficult. I have an old radio receiver that could also play CD's and was hardly used. It's just waiting for a place in the closet to be put into service. LOL I also like the idea of surveillance cameras that I can view and control remotely. That would be a wonderful system for when we are on the road. Then again, it's one of those IoT things that has no security built in.

[Kellemora]

One of my neighbors, not sure who, has a doorbell cam that works on WiFi.
I accidentally connected to it thinking it was the new Access Point I just installed, hi hi.
I didn't do anything at my end other than hit the connect button, and my video player opened and I could see a dead lawn and our street but it was not set high enough to see whatever was across the street so I could pick out a house.

I'm also getting a WiFi connection that reads "The Hills have Eyes"
I looked it up on line and the only thing that shows is a movie by that name.
The reason this piqued my interest at all is because Debi's son lives in Nashville and he mentioned a WiFi that appears on his connect list by the same name. Probably coincidence?
Then I got to thinking, Comcast does weird things like that too for their access anywhere WiFi if you subscribe to it.
So I tried connecting to it and used my Comcast account number to see if it would log-in, but it didn't, hi hi.

One thing VERY INTERESTING. From the Silver Yogi, checking available WiFi, I only got like four and my house WiFi was not on the list. After I installed the Access Point, (by the way I needed a computer with WiFi to set-up the Access Point, so it's a good thing the Silver Yogi had WiFi in it), The Silver Yogi now showed a list of like 7 WiFi places. I have no idea why it would show more since it is not connected via WiFi, it is hardwired. However, at first it only showed the original 4 plus the new access point, but once the Access Point was activated, the Silver Yogi showed 7 some of the existing with higher signals too. Today it is only showing 3, my Printer, my Access Point, and The Hills Have Eyes, hi hi. Strange, very strange!

[yogi]

The first thing that came to my mind was that your anonymous neighbor with the camera is named Hill; thus the Hills have Eyes. The fact that you could see though their eyes tells me how nonexistent the security is on that camera. Anybody can attach to it, even bot nets. It may have password protection or some kind of firewall that the neighbor didn't bother to set up, or did not know how. I don't think there is much danger in that particular situation but it is a vulnerable entry point into that LAN.

Your wireless access point is a transceiver in the same sense as is your router. As such it can effectively extend the range of your LAN which is controlled by your router. I don't know if it's the Silver Yogi that is actually picking up those signals, but with the access point connected you were able to see things you could not see before. Those fringe signals are fragile and even a passing bird can upset the propagation pattern. I can see a few dozen LAN's from my router because of the high density of homes in our area. A few are always there and strong (my immediate neighbors most likely) while the others come and go like the weather.

[Kellemora]

The only way to change data on either the router or the access point is to connect using the local IP.
All other access, such as from the Internet itself is blocked by the firewall, which is set to local access only.
Even if you knew the MAC address of the unit, and the access password to use the WiFi, you still could not get into the set-up program.
Even though my Access Point is hardwired to the LAN, it is done so through a gigabyte switch.
I can only change certain setting on it with it connected that way using a web browser and the IP number it was assigned on the LAN. However, if I want to make other deeper changes to it, probably things I know nothing about, I have to directly connect the Access Point cable to the card in the computer without going through any switches, can't even do so connecting it to a router. There are some setting I can change connecting to a router, but not others.
I already put the paper away in the box and have it up on the closet shelf. Else I would read some of the steps required to make internal changes to factory settings.

I do realize that the WiFi does connect people to my LAN if they have the password, and I also have it set to 3 failed attempts locks out the IP trying to connect for 30 minutes, first time, 3 hours second time, permanently the 3rd time or three attempt cycles of 3 each. The only way to fix that is to completely do a Reset of the Unit itself.
I was amazed since I bought one of the cheapest I could find, hi hi.

[yogi]

You might own one of the safest access points ever invented. I have no familiarity with those devices. It is like your neighbor;s camera in the sense that it is connected to the Internet. If it's visible, it's vulnerable. You can count on that. Exactly how vulnerable varies widely from device to device. The bot nets are pretty much interested only in rebroadcasting website requests. That's how DDoS attacks are conducted. Many manufacturers are starting to look at the security aspects of their devices, but most can't be bothered. I don't need an access point, but I have considered a camera or two.

[Kellemora]

I think the reason I can see it, is because he never added a password to it.
When I connect to it, where it asks for the password, I just leave it blank and it opens.
However, if I try using admin admin it says wrong password, use password on unit.

Oh I did learn something about The Hills Have Eyes WiFi name.
It is used by the Ruckus Cloudpath Enrollment System to allow Secure Guest Access into Private WiFi Systems.
What I did not find out yet is if it has anything to do with Comcast's Anywhere WiFi Access which is built into their Rental Modem/Routers. I have my own modem not one of their rentals, so do not have access to their Anywhere WiFi. Not that I need it, I never leave my hardwired office, hi hi, and Debi can do web surfing from her Schmartz-Fone if we are out and about.

[yogi]

If Deb is surfing the web while she is out and about, most likely she is doing over the cellular network from her service provider and paying for it. "Anywhere" WiFi supposedly avoids that situation. Since you personally don't use mobile WiFi, you won't miss it. I do use WiFi on the road but am not paying Spectrum for the privilege of using their network to do it.

"Secure Guest Access into Private WiFi Systems"
I think that's called an oxymoron. LOL

[Kellemora]

Comcast claims over 8 million Anywhere Hot Spots around the country.
How they do this is through their rental modems with wifi.
Supposedly it is a separate wifi inside the modem/router that is not connected to the users own lan or connection.
At least they say it is a separate circuit that only listens with the modem and then connects only to the cable.

Their own words:
"This Xfinity WiFi service is completely separate from your secure home WiFi network. Xfinity WiFi is included at no additional charge for all Xfinity Mobile customers, as well as Xfinity Internet customers who subscribe to Performance Internet or above."
"To enjoy the benefits of XFINITY WiFi, use your WiFi device to search for "XFINITY WiFi" or "Cable WiFi®" in your list of available networks. Sign in using your Comcast ID and password."
"Encrypted secure key service is available with a subscription from Ruckus Enrollment and uses a different network name."

Wow, you have to be between 50 and 100 feet from an Xfinity Hot Spot, and non-members can get access for 20 bucks a WEEK. OUCH! Heck, Ruckus is only 19.99 a month, but I don't know what it includes.

[yogi]

No doubt a lot of my neighbors use Xfinity, and probably have the Anywhere WiFi built in. More power to them. I'm subscribed to Spectrum's cable Internet and that's all the WiFi I need. When I travel I use the local service and the Tor network wherever I can. As an aside, Spectrum sent me an offer the other day which promises to boost my Internet speed to 400Mbps - currently I'm at 100Mbps when they are not throttling it. It was either a $20 or $40 add on; I don't recall which. Now that we no longer enjoy net neutrality they can charge me for the extra speed even though it costs them nothing.

[Kellemora]

Comcast has always charged by what speed they would let you use, and they hold it within those parameters.
Charter supposedly does the same thing, except some users on their lowest priced option still get over 300Mbps quite often.
I don't do streaming so what I have has always been fine for me. Downloads are always fast!
But I am on all day every day, so don't know about some companies that limit total monthly usage.

Just got a call from my host provider, they are reducing my rate from 10 bucks a month down to 5 bucks a month, which seems crazy, but they said nothing about my package contract will change.
The main reason for their call was my https service I set up, I didn't do it exactly right, so they are going to fix it for me.
My website gets so few hits, they almost didn't notice when it tossed a connection error I wouldn't see but they do.
I've been with them since 2015, although I though it was before then, but 2015 is when I changed my contract status.
I'm a little leery when they call and say they are going to reduce the price, and also I don't have to pay for a couple of things that were extras I won't have to pay for anymore. Like they will pay my domain fees, etc.
I really questioned her about that, because I don't want to lose ownership of my domain like happened the last time.
She said no, I still have to pay I think it is ICANN for my renewal fee, and I still own my domain. I just no longer have to pay my hosts domain fee, which I think was only like 1.32 per year, hi hi. Don't even know what that was for either.
In the back of my mind, I'm thinking some government regulation don't let them charge for some things anymore, hi hi. Either that, or they no longer have to pay for it themselves so cannot charge their customers the fee. I say that because NOBODY lowers their prices these days, hi hi.