Nov. 16 & 17, 2024 Show Notes
Greay Cup / Beaver Super-Moon Weekend Edition
🎙️ Show airs live
Saturday: 10:05am-Noon
🔁 Rebroadcast
Sunday: 1:05pm-3pm
🎧 Podcast
Anytime
Your crew this weekend:
Barbara Wilson
Guest Co-Host
Service Tech at Monk Office and in-home tech tutor
iPhone: 250-580-2993
Monk Service calls: 250-384-0565 Service@Monk.ca
1) Watch out for scam texts that appear to be from BMO
The texts include the BMO logo as shown in the screenshot, and claim to be a security alert about unauthorized transactions.
To make the text seem more authentic, the message refers to your card starting in 5510 29 — but in fact, all BMO client cards start with those digits!
The text is followed immediately by a second text with a link they want you to tap on…
If you tap on that link, it takes you to a CAPTCHA page where you have to tap on all the correct squares to prove you're not a computer…
If you do that, it next takes you to a fake BMO log-in page (hosted on a server in New Brunswick!), where the scammers are hoping you'll give them your BMO client card number, and password…
Even if you do give the scammers your card number and password, the scammers know that BMO won't give them access to your account without a second level of verification, for your protection.
They're gambling, though, that you use the same password for other accounts like your email, so they can get into that and then trigger and intercept a password reset email and get access to your money and other accounts that way.
NEVER tap or click on texts or emails like this!
2) Apple has released an important security update — 17.7.1 — for iPhones and iPads that are too old to be updated to iOS/iPadOS 18
If you have an iPhone or an iPad that's too old — we're talking six years or more — that can't be upgraded to iOS/iPadOS 18.1, Apple has released a special security update to give you as many of the security fixes included in 18.1 that your device can handle.
The special Security Update is 17.7.1, and it includes 15 security fixes, some of them critical.
Get it by going to Settings> General> Software Update. As always, your iPhone or iPad will have to either have at least 50% battery, or be charging, for the update to be installed.
If your iPhone or iPad can't be upgraded to iOS/iPadOS 18, this is a gentle reminder that your device is no longer supported by Apple, and should be replaced with a newer model, and with Black Friday sales beginning, this is an ideal time to do that and save some money at the same time.
4) iPhones running iOS 18.1 now automatically reboot and lock down after being idle for a while, to make it harder to get into them
A hidden feature in iOS 18.1 automatically reboots a locked iPhone when it's asleep but hasn't been unlocked for a while, presumably as a security measure.
The feature has been identified as an "inactivity reboot," and is similar to a feature found on Macs. The Mac version, known as "hibernation mode", saves the state of the device to disk when put to sleep, in case the power fails or the battery runs out before the user can return to the machine.
By flushing the last state of the device, iPhone users are better protected from forensic searches by law enforcement or other entities. The change also makes it more difficult for anyone to break into the device using brute-force or other methods.
5) Scammers posing as Apple Security steal thousands from Wichita senior
A GoFundMe account is accepting donations to help a Wichita, Kansas woman who fell for a common online scam that began with a text message to her iPhone.
Shawna Perdue lost over $5,500 after falling for a ploy from scammers pretending to be "Apple Security." She first received a text message claiming that her Apple ID had been used to make a purchase, and if she did not make that purchase to call a certain number.
Tech Deals This Weekend
Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the USA, and because US Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November, this year, that means Black Friday will be very late — November 29th.
As that doesn't give stores a lot of time to rack up big sales, and the holiday season is critical to their financial success, many stores — both brick-&-mortar and online — are starting early.
If you're going to take advantage of early Black Friday deals, see if the store offers Price Protection, so if a lower price is offered when we get to Black Friday, you can get the difference back.
Here are a few places where you can check out early Black Friday deals, with lots more to come as we get closer to the 29th…
They're also selling the 1st-gen Apple Pencil for $109 — a $20 saving.
Other Black Friday sale prices which are now in effect:
- Get a bonus $150 gift card when you buy a Google Pixel 9 or Samsung Galaxy S24 smartphone
- Canon PIXMA TS3720 printer/copier/scanner: $50 (save $40)
- LG 65" 4K UHD LED smart TV: $598 (save $250)
Costco is offering a $200 bonus gift card if you buy an iPhone 15, Google Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro XL, or Samsung Galaxy S24 FE
The phones are available on a two-year contract from Bell or Rogers.
Google Pixel 9 is on sale everywhere as part of pre-Black Friday sales, but the best price is from Freedom Mobile
All the big carriers are trumpeting free (Telus and Rogers) or almost-free ($1/month at Bell or $4/month at Freedom Mobile) Google Pixel 9 phones, but if you do the math, their deals are not the best.
Telus and Rogers will both give you the phone for free, but you have to go on a $75/month plan with 100GB of monthly data.
Bell wants $1/month for the phone, and you also have to sign up for their $75/month plan, so they're the priciest at $76/month.
Freedom Mobile's deal is easily the cheapest, because the phone plus your plan at Freedom totals $49/month ($4 + $45 with 75GB/month) and your plan includes "Roam Beyond" coverage in 92 countries at no extra cost.
Staples
Staples has put lots of items on sale, with a red sticker to indicate which ones will not get any cheaper when Black Friday arrives. Check out their sale items here…
Best Buy
Best Buy is also offering up lots of sales, and this year, you'll see a red box above some prices that says ‘Black Friday Price Now’, which means the discounts on those items won’t go any lower throughout the month.
Here are some of the best deals:
- TCL 55" 4K TV – $349 (save $100)
- Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling headphones – $279 (save $150)
- JBL Flip 5 waterproof Bluetooth speaker – $109 (save $50)
- Garmin Fenix 7X smartwatch – $699 (save $500)
- Xbox Series X 1TB – $589 (save $60)
- Samsung Frame 55-inch – $1,299 (save $700)
- Sony A7 IV camera (28-70mm lens) – $2,999 (save $400)
- Seagate 2TB Xbox Storage Expansion card – $274 (save $65)
- SteelSeries Arctis Pro Headset – $299 (save $100)
- LG B4 65" OLED 4K HDR UHDTV – $1,999 (save $300)
- iRobot Roomba J7 Combo – $999 (save $400)
Amazon
Amazon Canada currently has a section called ‘Early Holiday Deals’ which has hefty discounts on lots of items ranging from smart lights to cameras, printers, and more. Amazon.ca/deals
Not a good deal: onn brand TV's at Walmart
Several of you have asked about the ridiculously-cheap onn brand TV's which Walmart is offering for Black Friday…for example, a 32" set for $128 or a 75" set for $648.
Onn TVs are produced by Durabrand, one of Walmart's private labels; the manufacturing is outsourced to different companies in Taiwan and China. Warranty repairs for onn TVs are handled by Element Electronics based in South Carolina. They run Roku's TV operating system.
Reviews from people who've bought them are not good; on Reddit, people describe onn TV picture quality as "absolute garbage", "crappy", "dimmest I've ever bought", and there are lots of comments about sets not working out of the box (known in the industry as DOTB: "dead out of the box").
Tech News Of The Week
Items start at #10, so the numbers don't get thrown-off if we add more security items above!
Tip: if an item in these Show Notes has the icon on the right in the upper-right corner, you can click/tap on it to make the additional info open in a new tab.
10a) Telus is now offering Roaming Passes
Telus has followed the lead of Freedom Mobile, and more recently also Koodo, and is now offering Roaming Passes which let you use your phone and data in other countries. Rogers and Bell have advised the CRTC that they plan to offer 'improved roaming options' next year.
Telus/Koodo ‘Easy Roam Travel Passes’ let you bundle roaming for a set amount of days instead of paying the standard $14/$16 per day roaming charge.
These new passes allow you to buy the option to roam for seven to 30 days, depending on where you’re travelling, and can save you up to 45% on trips to the USA.
Telus/Koodo's USA Easy Roam Travel Pass pass costs $55 for seven days. If you were to pay $14 per day to use their regular Easy Roam, that'd cost you $98, so you'd save $43.
Their Caribbean/Mexico Easy Roam Travel Pass costs $60 for seven days. Easy Roam in these locations is $16 per day, so that'd save you $62 for a week.
If you travel to Europe, you can get either a 14-day pass for $50 or a 30-day pass for $60. These locations would have $16 per day roaming traditionally, so these options are the best deal of the bunch.
10b) Freedom Mobile's "Roam Beyond" passes are cheaper, and work in more countries
Freedom Mobile sells a 30-day "Roam Beyond" Pass which is good in either 92 or 101 destinations. The passes, which can be added onto any Freedom Mobile plan, give you unlimited calling in the included countries and back to Canada, plus unlimited global texting, and either 1GB or 5GB of data in the included countries.
The passes are good for 30 days from the time of issue, and cost $20 for 1GB of data, or $30 for 5GB good in 92 countries. If where you're headed is not included in the 92-country list, there's also a 101-country Roam Beyond pass ($30 for 1GB or $50 for 5GB) which adds service in nine more countries: Belarus, British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Denmark, Macao, Malta, Mongolia, Montenegro,and the UAE.
If you're planning on making multiple trips, you can switch to Freedom's $35/month plan which gives you unlimited calling and texting in Canada/USA/Mexico and back to Canada, plus 50GB/month of data in Canada/USA/Mexico. Freedom also has $45/month and $55/month plans, which give you 75GB or 100GB /month of data, plus 10GB or 20GB of no-cost calling and roaming in 92 countries.
11) Westjet's $12.5 million class-action baggage fee settlement has been approved; claims can now be filed
Some travellers who checked baggage on certain WestJet flights between 2014 and 2019 may now claim their share of a $12.5 million class-action settlement, now that it's been approved by the BC Supreme Court. Westjet, at that time, was not allowed to charge a checked baggge fee.
If you paid for your first checked bag on Canadian domestic flights booked directly with WestJet for travel between Oct. 29, 2014 and July 29, 2017, you're eligible to submit a claim. For international flights, the travel time period is from Jan. 6, 2016, to Feb. 27, 2019.
Claimants who can submit proof of a baggage fee payment for flights during those time periods will get a travel credit good on any Westjet flight for up to two years. The settlement provides for $8 million in travel credits to be distributed amongst the number of eligible claims which are submitted between now and February 10, 2025. Eligible claimants will likely get a $15 - $20 travel credit per bag fee paid.
If you can find proof you paid Westjet for a baggage fee during the eligible travel window, you can submit a claim at AirlineBagFeeSettlement.com.
CBC
Claims open in $12.5M class-action settlement over WestJet baggage fees | CBC News
A statement from Evolink Law Group says anyone in the world who paid a fee for their first checked bag on domestic and international flights during certain periods when they shouldn't have been charged has until Feb. 10, 2025, to submit a claim.
12a) If you have a jammed printer, or one that won't print cleanly, Monk Office can try to fix it for you.
Monk Office charges a $40 inspection fee, and Barbara Wilson, who does some of the repairs, says in many cases, they can unjam and clean the printer and have it ready to be picked-up the next day.
If more work is needed, they charge $60/half-hour and will contact you before doing any work beyond what's covered by the initial $40 fee.
Monk Office has four locations in Greater Victoria, and tone in Courtenay. More here.
12b) Avoid having to clean your printer's heads by regularly printing a colour test pattern
If you don't print very often, you can avoid having to waste a lot of ink through a head-cleaning by regularly printing a colour test pattern.
You can download and save the PDF below and print it when you haven't printed anything lately…
13) Why we don't recommend refilling inkjet printer cartridges!
Cartridge refill kiosks used to be in virtually every shopping mall, but they've almost all disappeared, and there are several reasons for that. I've detailed the reasons why we don't recommend refilling inkjet ink cartridges in a PDF which you can download and share…
15) If Rogers has started charging you for TV box rentals, ask them to stop, and file a complaint with the CCTS if they don't
Rogers is being accused of using a 'bait and switch' technique, promising people no rate hikes if they signed-up for a two-year Value Plan, but then hiking the rental fee for TV boxes. But people who have complained, are having the charges reversed!
TV box rentals were initially included in Rogers' two-year Value Plan packages, just as they were with Shaw, which Rogers bought. However, Rogers last month quietly started charging $7/month for each TV box other than the first one, and when asked why, they pointed to fine print which says equipment rental rates are not covered by their two-year promise of no rate hikes.
If you're on a Rogers/Shaw two-year Value Plan and have discovered that your bill has gone up because of TV box rental charges, use the Rogers Customer Care online messaging system in the lower-right at Rogers.com/contact/billing-payments — it looks like this screenshot…
Politely but firmly tell the person with whom you chat that you're not happy about the extra charges and would like them to reverse those charges, and if they won't, that you will file a complaint with the CCTS — the Commission for Complaints about Telecom-TV Services.
If the person at Rogers is still unwilling to cancel the charges, politely ask for their first name and employee number, make a note of the date and time, and file a complaint with the CCTS below…
CCTS
File a Complaint
Our complaint resolution service for the phone, internet and TV industry is completely free to all consumers. If you tried to solve a problem with your service provider and were unsuccessful, we can help. We handle customer complaints about these services: telephone (mobile, home and small business), internet, and television. Filling a complaint should take about 15 minutes. We will ask you questions to help us do two things: Decide if we can accept your complaint Understand what happened and how you want the problem solved. We will share this information with your service provider, as part of our complaint
Everyone that we've heard from who has filed a complaint, has received a phone call or a letter from Rogers, reversing the extra charges and promising no extra charges for the duration of their Value Plan! Two of our listeners didn't have to file a complaint — they say the person with whom they chatted online escalated their issue and their supervisor waived the charges, so it's worth the effort!
16) How to find out precisely what time (and date) it is
If you want to synchromize a clock to the accurate time, believe it or not, you can still call phone numbers that will connect you to a digital readout of the date and time down to the second, based on atomic clocks.
Here in Canada, you can call the National Research Council's time number:
1-613-745-1576
In the USA, you can call either of two numbers operated by NIST — the US National Institute for Science and Technology:
1-303-499-7111
which is a rebroadcast of WWV shortwave radio in Fort Collins, Colorado, or
1-808-335-4363
which rebroadcasts WWVH shortwave radio in Hawaii.
Note that those are NOT toll-free numbers.
18) Google's "Gemini" AI assistant is now available as an app
Google has released a standalone "Gemini" app for iPhones and iPads, as it looks to compete against Apple's Siri personal assistant, which is about to get a huge upgrade with Apple Intelligence.
Gemini has been available for several months via a button within the Google app, but now it can be downloaded for free from both the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store.
In addition to the free basic Gemini service, subscribers to "Gemini Advanced" get access to "Gemini Live", a version of the assistant offering "free-flowing conversations." Using Live, users can have a back-and-forth conversation with Gemini, complete with the ability to interrupt mid-response, or to pause a conversation to pick it up later.
19) We've also started compiling a list of our favourite phone apps
The "Our Favourite Apps" list — which will have a lot more added in the coming weeks — is on our home page, and you can also get to it by going to Tech-Talk.ca/apps.
20) iPhone users will soon be able to share the location of their misplaced luggage with airlines, to speed getting it back
When iOS 18.2 is released in early December, it'll include a sure-to-be-popular expansion of the "Find My" app's ability: Apple says it'll be adding a feature called 'Share Item Location', which will let users share the position of an AirTag or a Find My network accessory with someone else.
The idea is that it can be shared with someone you trust, who may be able to retrieve the tagged item on your behalf if you cannot, for example. Apple says the location will also be sharable with airlines. In theory, this could help an airline discover your lost luggage quickly within an airport or its transit system, increasing the chance of its safe return.
More than 15 airlines will be supporting the feature in the coming months, including Air Canada, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Qantas, and Virgin Atlantic. More airlines are expected to be added over time.
For security, only a few people at an airline will be able to view the link, with recipients required to authenticate before viewing the location. And the sharing of the tag isn't permanent, as it will be disabled as soon as it is reunited with its owner. Sharing can also be stopped at any time by the user, and will automatically expire after seven days.
22) EU has fined Meta $1.2 billion CAD for stifling competition by serving unwanted Marketplace ads to Facebook users
By linking Facebook with its Marketplace classified ads service, the EU says Meta had “imposed unfair trading conditions” on other providers.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s outgoing competition chief, added: “It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that [others] could not match. This is illegal.”
Meta said it would appeal against the €797.72 million fine levied by regulators, saying it built Marketplace in response to consumer demand, and claiming this decision ignores the market realities.
…and finally, our "Sign Of The Week"…
And so it goes…