fiendishlyclever

This came up on the Smashing Security podcast today. Seems appropriate... [emoji23] https://isitdns.com/

One of the things I did was to get a number that goes straight to voicemail - and emails the message. Great for giving to anyone who might want to sell you things. My solution to the voip was Sipgate basic as we dropped the landline years ago (easier on Virgin) We do have a BT number but can't use it as I don't use their router on our FTTP line (and the charges are extortionate)

I thought I'd be fine with the internal screen and a 4k monitor (home use) but I miss two proper external screens. I've got an M1 air.. The hardware is gorgeous but I think I prefer Windows to use, I just can't remember all the keyboard shortcuts (to get the same functionality as Windows)[emoji23]

Tracking all the devices may be a challenge. My brother-in-law was under the floorboards a few years ago laying a cable and found an old bakelite transformer, wired into the ring main. We have no idea what it was for and nothing stopped working when it was disconnected. I dread to think what we haven't found yet[emoji23] Having a smart meter didn't make much difference to us, probably because I'd already swapped to LED bulbs and disconnected everything I could get away with[emoji23]

Another plug for SIPgate. We've not had a landline for years. We didn't port our number in but chose a new one (in fact you can choose which area code you want too, so I have a Derby and a Nottingham number) We pay as you use for calls at just over 1p a minute and voicemail goes to email which is very handy When I moved from Virgin to BT FTTP we didn't use their router which also meant not being able to use the supplied phone number and handset, but at 30p+ a minute we aren't missing it.

That's what makes me hesitant about switching. My email address is about 15 years old and has attracted some spam from data leaks and contacts being harvested etc. I don't want to see spam on a daily basis That isn't as bad as my ordinary Gmail account which is my name with middle initial (separated by dots). It gets hundreds of spam emails a week from people guessing my name (the way you can add or remove dots makes it worse as I also get lots of email for Roberta as well as Robert[emoji33]) The Google spam filters are first rate and catch well over 99% of it but it's still annoying when they slip through. The email is the easiest bit, but I use the calendar lots and the iCloud one isn't feature rich enough for me. Hopeful that Google will introduce a compromise but perhaps I'm getting over optimistic[emoji23]

I've got a 100 seat free account for my own domain, and I've set family members with their own hosted emails so we're waiting to see what happens. I've not received any official notification from Google and there is no message in my admin account... As a matter of principle I'm happy to lose access to the Google account rather than paying for it (their classic bait and switch tactic) but will migrate out the email and calendar. I've spent the downtime during Zoom/teams meetings clearing out emails that I don't really need to keep so I have less than 2000 left so far (not bad for 15 years) Lots of threads/discussion about alternatives on Reddit but it depends what you are using (for example I have two domains on my account) iCloud+ and Outlook (M365 subscribers) seem to be the most popular destinations.

Notify her in writing and copy her line manager in. Then you have a clear papertrail if it does get damaged...

I've recently joined Google Stadia. You can easily grab 4 months free (1 month free trial plus a 3 month free code from Lenovo gaming or similar) for the free games I've completed a few games on there, currently playing Doom which is good fun (I bought my first PC to play the original version of Doom, it used to scare the living daylights out of me[emoji23]) I paid £3.75 for Doom - you don't need to subscribe to play games you've paid for (although you only get 4k graphics etc if you pay and access to better deals) Helps that I have FTTP though... (I also enjoyed Star Wars fallen order, also good fun)

PC Pro has a store too for retail users - is £40 a good price? https://store.pcpro.co.uk/p36876-windows_10_professional

I've got a load of Hue bulbs and stand alone lamps and even the LED strips. Bought most of them when Phillips phased out the old hub and everyone sold off the kits cheap (I've since managed to give away several hubs) I've yet to see a single one fail. I pick a colour I like but don't change them in response to a trigger. I've also got several smart plugs, most of which are connected to lamps. I've got a Xiaomi led bulb in the bedroom and it's a lovely piece of kit for the money. The downside of the cheaper kit is most uses WiFi and I've got dozens of devices in total connected to my router... Have a look at ifttt.com if you want to make your devices respond to external triggers (eg a tweet etc) It works for smart plugs too. [emoji106]

We used to reset it for each other - all of our DPs could do this (although I've not used it for 18 months so functionality may have changed) I preferred authy to their app - why all these organisations try to get you to install their apps which all use the same standard...[emoji33]

And some members of staff will still have to use names on external emails. Imagine telling a social worker about JD in 7A. If they aren't in the office (d they often aren't) they might not have time to look up a DOB etc. Perhaps we could include codenames for discussion with parents so you don't have to use the student's name 'Petal has worked very hard this week blah blah' We should collate a top ten of the daftest GDPR interpretations (although this probably wouldn't make the top ten...)[emoji3] (It does highlight how email has been left behind with things like encryption as technology has moved on)

I've used Sipgate residential for about three years with no issues. I've not got a landline but having a regional number means people who won't call a mobile can still call us. Top tip: Get a second number that you only direct to voicemail and give it to everyone you don't want to speak to. If a call is important they will leave a message (which gets emailed to you) and if not you don't get bothered.

I seem to recall most PAYG plans don't support call forwarding, I needed it for Hullomail took work (which forwards calls to an answering service). I think Giffgaff did but it's a while since I left PAYG behind...