I would love to be able to receive email and cellphone calls only from people I want to hear from, but that's not the case. Approximately 90% or more of my emails and cellphone calls are spam or nuisances, so I don't read my emails and I don't answer my phone unless I recognize the person who is trying to contact me.
One of the things I love about having a SmartWatch that's also a phone is the ability to see who's calling and either answer it or dump an unknown call to Voice Mail with the touch of a button, all right there on my wrist without having to chase down my cell phone, although the bulk of the convenience is used to dismiss garbage calls. One thing that particularly stinks about unrecognized numbers is that doctors' offices often make patient calls on lines other than the main office one, so these are legitimate calls that I dump to Voice Mail, solely due to the risk of Spam. Perhaps it's a first world problem. Heck, I not only got my first answering machine well into my adult life (with a micro cassette tape in it), I grew up with party lines. And now I can dump Spam calls through my car's phone system while driving down the road without taking my hands off of the wheel. I guess it's progress. edit to add: This phone stuff is tied to online privacy because there is no other way for spammers to get my cell number. What angers me is that I pay for a land line solely to use that number on my accounts. Amazon, Walmart, etc. do not have my cell number. When websites offer status notifications, I always do it via email, not text. I cannot imagine where my security leak is. Maybe Verizon is making some bucks on the side...
That is pretty much my philosophy too. I give my cell phone number to no one except family. When I receive calls from anyone not in my contacts, I don't answer. I assume that is someone who has purchased my number from AT&T. My senator responds to the cell number because his office has purchased the number and his office responds to my questions on the cell number, not the landline which I provide with any questions or comments. Very aggravating! The landline is used for our little farm business and my wife's church business, so I only answer it if I recognize the caller ID. I usually let it go to the answering machine, and if it is an important call, they will leave a message. Since you have a SmartWatch, I don't think you would want to go back to payphones.
Spam Shield on our phones thru Metro PCS/ TMobile... 99 percent ofthe time only letd our contacts trhu. Will geta silent notice a call has been block as probable spam. You have opitions of sending voicemail if you like. Our home phone has only been used for spam and telemarkerts for years. Even on the do not call list we get some calls. I have found if I do not use a greeting, but just let it ring it cuts way down on any calls. The robo calls and even others are based ona pick up from the other end. What really fumes me are the calls using peoples names or businesses you may be familiar with, yet it is not. .
@John Brunner or someone who can help.. how do i stop tabs opening such as Mozilla extensions,getting started etc. when I open browser. Thought i had it fixed but don't.
Try resetting your Home Pages: -Close those tabs you do not want -Open the web pages you want to see when you start Firefox -Go to Settings/Home -Click on Use Current Pages Then close & reopen Firefox to see if that fixed it. I've not had that issue, but it might happen with fresh installs versus upgrades.
yes that seemed to fix the issue. I think I saw what happened originally that caused that. Thank you1
I mostly have that watch as my "Help I've fallen down and can't get up" device in my home and out on my property...I don't keep my cell phone on me unless I'm off the compound. With the way this nation world is, I don't like being tracked. I guess I could shove my phone in a Faraday bag to have for emergencies and leave my watch at home. Of course, having a modern car with a NAV system defeats the purpose...
Going off the topic and pardon me for noticing it. Its interesting you use the term "compound" meaning "property" in your post, JB. This was used extensively in the home country, never heard it used in the place i call home, now, NA. There was a lot of British influence, back then, with the English we spoke.
I already went off topic when discussing browser issues. I use compound because the American connotation is one of being off-the-grid, although I am far from it. But my primary influences were likely my British (WW2 bride) mother and her friends here, and a childhood diet of Kipling, Fleming, Charteris, Christie, etc. Perhaps "compound" intersects the topic, connoting offline privacy, huh?
I think most cellphone "spam" is simply broadcast junk like emails. The spammers generate lists of possible working numbers and send the messages out thousands at a time. Most of the time individuals are not targeted; they are simply part of that list. I get zero spam on my cellphone with a combination of privacy settings and Verizon's filter. As far as online security, I do take precautions and I always have. Before I retired I was head of the computer security department for a major corporation so it was always important to me to keep a low profile online. I do shop online so there's always the possibility of a data breach but that's a risk I'm willing to take. I closely monitor my credit cards and have them set to alert with every purchase made, even $1. I NEVER use a debit card online.
I had a coworker who had a bank account with a few hundred dollars in it and ONLY used a debit card attached to that account. She never used a credit card online, even though she realized she probably wouldn't be responsible for bad purchases. She felt she would be harder to track that way. What do you think?
If the debit card info was hacked, the thief could only spend what was available in the account so she is smart to keep only what she can afford to lose in the account. (And it would likely be reinstated by the bank but not without a hassle.) Her personal information would still be available on the account for identity theft. I know some people buy those pre-loaded Visa cards or other gift cards to use when shopping online. I prefer to simply receive alerts and if there's an attempt at a purchase I didn't make I contact the card company to report it. This has only happened to me once; the account was closed immediately and a new card issued. I'm not worried about identity theft because we have our accounts on all major credit reporting agencies frozen. No new credit can be opened in either of our names/soc. security numbers unless we "unfreeze" those accounts.
I, too, have my bank's credit card alerts set to $1. I have a Verizon credit card that only alerts at $100 and above for some reason...I've sent emails recommending that they change it to help mitigate fraud. Regarding phone spam: like many people who relocate and retain their cell phone#, my cell's area code is not the same as the geography in which I reside. But I get spam calls from numbers spoofed (I assume) to appear that the originate from both regions: some from my cell phone's area code, and some from the area code in which I reside. They are never spoofed to seem as though they originate anywhere else, excepting the occasional (800) number.