Printing with VPN

I used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) utility to connect to my work network for many years. VPN has a tremendous security value, as it prevents other users on your local network (which could be a coffee shop, airport, or other highly insecure environment) from snooping or interfering with your computer's network activity. In recent years, I've been seeing a proliferation of VPN options for everyday users, even in security tools like Norton VPN, which is potentially a good thing. 

However, home users need to be aware that bringing up a VPN connection on one or more of your home computers has a downside, in that it isolates that computer from the other devices on your local network, which is normally a bad thing. That means you can't share files with other computers on your local network, and you can't even "see" or print to your local printer, without going through some additional steps. 

One possible option is configuring your VPN software to allow local connections where necessary, such as to your local printer.

Another option is remote printing. Some printer manufacturers are now providing support for printing to your local printer, by first sending your print job to their server on the Internet, and while this adds a small level of insecurity, I think it should allow you to print out from your computer using the VPN connection to the manufacturer's server in the Cloud, which will then send the print job back to your local printer, and get around that negative effect of the local network isolation inherent in a VPN connection. 

I haven't been using VPN myself, so I haven't had the opportunity to try any of these solutions, although I have tried enabling and using the remote print option on my HP multi-function printer, and it worked just fine. I didn't see the need for it at the time, but now with this VPN piece of the network puzzle, I can see how it could be very handy. 

Here's an article on printing over VPN.

Good luck out there!

Try thinking inside the box first

I’m so tired of people jumping straight to the approach of “thinking outside the box” for solutions to problems. Sure, that approach is quite valid, under the right circumstances - in particular, after first understanding what’s “in the box.” But too many people are completely onboard with short-cutting the process. I don't know if it's because they don’t want to put the energy into fully understanding the problem and the existing toolbox of solutions. But it kills me to see people implement new and flawed solutions, seemingly just because it's something different than the tried and true solutions that are already in place and readily available.

Armoury Crate...ugh

If you use keyboard and mouse synchronized RGB lighting on an ASUS computer, I'd recommend staying away from Armoury Crate. Shortly after I bought my ASUS ROG laptop, I customized the keyboard and mouse lighting to be synchronized, using the Aura app that came with the computer, and it's been working great for over a year. Recently, some eighteen months later, I got a popup that suggested I should be installing a piece of software called ROG Armoury Crate. It sounded like a manufacturer recommendation from ASUS, so I went with it. The installation went smoothly, and Armoury Crate had a cool user interface, with lots of interesting information on the home screen, including CPU frequencies and aura sync. However, I noticed the next day, that my mouse lighting was going wild - bright colors changing rapidly - and the color controls built into Armoury Crate only worked for the keyboard and not the mouse. The old ROG Aura color control app no longer worked for the mouse, either. I put up with that for a few days, and went searching for a solution. It seems that Armoury Crate can be a cool addition for gamers, but ultimately, it tends to be buggy, and has a reputation for breaking the aura sync feature. I uninstalled Armoury Crate, but that didn't fix the problem. I downloaded the latest version of Aura Sync from the ASUS website, and after installing it and rebooting, I got my keyboard/mouse color sync back! Too much trouble for me - I'd recommend stating away from Armoury Crate!

So many scams, so little time…

It seems like all the news outlets are talking today, about the scam purporting to offer Costco $75 online coupons, in exchange for forwarding the scam to your friends. I find it so sad, and so limiting, that they are publicizing this one specific scam warning... Especially considering that there are thousands of scams out there that sound equally juicy, but are equally fake and usually very malicious.

It might be wise, to remember the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!“ Maybe another good thing to remember, is that the Internet is a huge game-changer, because it allows anyone on the planet to contact you, bringing the criminals right to you, wherever you are.

Here are some articles from the Federal Trade Commission, and one from USA.gov, that may help you avoid being scammed.

• FTC's ten things you can do to avoid fraud
  
• FTC's list of most recent scam alerts
  
• FTC's list of online scams
• USA.gov's list of scams
• ScamSpotter's three golden rules
  

Y'all be careful out there!

Dropbox Available Storage

Here's how to see your available space on Dropbox, in case you've been wondering. It's worth knowing, that your total space used includes your own personal files and folders, but also the files and folders in any Dropbox shares to which you are attached.

The Internet and World Wide Web

Paul Gil at LifeWire posted this Beginner's Quick Reference Guide for the Internet and World Wide Web, which could have been written by some of my friends and coworkers, and some in my family, but it's still a nice write up, for anyone who could benefit from an overview or reminder of some of the major pieces used to host and access information out there "on the Inter-Webs." ;-)

A lot of the things I find on the web disappear after awhile, so I've copied / pasted the content of the above webpage below. Enjoy!

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Internet 101: Beginners Quick Reference Guide

Start using the Internet with confidence

by Paul Gil
Updated on March 10, 2020
Tim Hale Photography / Getty Images

The Internet and the World Wide Web, in combination, form a worldwide broadcast medium for the general public. Using your desktop computer, smartphone, tablet, Xbox, media player, GPS, or car, you can access a world of messaging and content through the Internet and the web. This guide will fill in your knowledge gaps and have you fluent on the Internet and the web quickly.

How the Internet Differs From the Web

The Internet is a massive hardware network. The Internet's most extensive collection of readable content is called the World Wide Web, a collection of several billion pages and images that are joined by hyperlinks. Other content on the Internet includes email, instant messaging, streaming video, peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing, and downloading.

The Internet, or net, is a term that refers to the interconnection of computer networks. It is a conglomeration of millions of computers and smart devices, all connected by wires or wireless signals. Although it started in the 1960s as a military experiment in communication, the Internet evolved into a public free broadcast forum in the 1970s and 1980s. No single authority owns or controls the Internet. No single set of laws governs its content. You connect to the Internet through a private Internet service provider in your home or office or a public Wi-Fi network. 

In 1989, a growing collection of readable content was added to the Internet—the World Wide Web. The web is the HTML pages and images that travel through the Internet's hardware. You may hear the expressions Web 1.0, Web 2.0, and the invisible web to describe these billions of web pages.

The expressions web and Internet are used interchangeably by most people. This is technically incorrect, as the Internet contains the web. In practice, however, most people don't bother with the distinction.

Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Invisible Web, and Dark Web

When the World Wide Web was launched in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, it was filled with plain text and rudimentary graphics. Effectively a collection of electronic brochures, the web was organized as a simple broadcast/receive format. This simple static format is called Web 1.0. Millions of web pages are still static, and the term Web 1.0 still applies to them.

In the late 1990s, the web started to move beyond static content and began offering interactive services. Instead of only seeing web pages as brochures, the web began to offer online software that allowed people to perform tasks and receive consumer-type services. Online banking, video gaming, dating services, stock tracking, financial planning, graphics editing, home videos, and webmail became regular online web offerings before the year 2000. These online services are now referred to as Web 2.0. Websites such as Facebook, Flickr, Lavalife, eBay, Digg, and Gmail helped make Web 2.0 a part of our daily lives.

The invisible web, also called the deep web, is the third part of the World Wide Web. Technically a subset of Web 2.0, the invisible web describes billions of web pages that are purposely hidden from regular search engines. These web pages are protected by passwords or hidden behind firewalls. They are private, confidential pages, such as personal email, personal banking statements, and web pages generated by specialized databases such as job postings in Cleveland or Seville. Invisible web pages are either hidden entirely from casual eyes or require specialized search engines to locate. 

In the 2000s, a cloaked part of the World Wide Web spawned the darknet, also called the dark web. Darknet is a private collection of websites that are encrypted to conceal participants' identities and prevent authorities from tracking users' activities. The dark web is a black market for traders of illicit goods and a sanctuary for people who seek to communicate away from oppressive governments and dishonest corporations. The dark web can only be accessed through complex technology. You won't accidentally stumble across the dark web. Most Internet users never go there.

Internet Terms for Beginners

Beginners should learn basic Internet terminology. While some Internet technology is complex and intimidating, the fundamentals of understanding the net are doable. Some of the basic terms to learn include:

• HTML and http/https
• Browser
• Web page
• URL
• Email
• Social media
• ISP
• Downloading
• Malware
• Router
• E-commerce
• Bookmark

Web Browsers

A web browser is the primary tool for reading web pages and exploring the larger Internet. Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari are the big names in browser software. Each of them offers solid features. Other browsers include Opera, Vivaldi, and Tor browser. All Internet browsers are free on computers and mobile devices. You open a browser and enter a search term or a URL, which is the address of a web page, to reach any web page you are looking for.

Mobile Internet: Smartphones, Tablets, and Laptops

Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are the devices people use to surf the Internet as they are on the go. Whether you are riding on a bus or sitting in a coffee shop, at the library, or in an airport,  mobile Internet access is a revolutionary convenience. Dealing with mobile Internet connections requires some basic knowledge of hardware and networking.

Email: How It Works

Email is a subnetwork inside the Internet. People trade written messages along with file attachments through email. Over time, email provides the business value of maintaining a paper trail for conversations.

Instant Messaging: Faster Than Email

Instant messaging, or IM, is a combination of chat and email. Although often considered a distraction at corporate offices, IM can be a useful communication tool for both business and social purposes.

Social Networking

Social networking is about starting and maintaining communications with friends and family through websites. It is the modern digital form of socializing, done through web pages. Users choose one or more online services that specialize in group communications and gather their friends there to exchange daily greetings and regular messages. Although not the same as face-to-face communications, social networking is popular because it is relaxed, playful, and motivating. Social networking sites can be general or focused on hobby interests, such as movies and music.

Acronyms and the Internet

The world of Internet culture, social networking, and messaging is filled with jargon that has expanded into a language dominated by acronyms such as LOL, BRB, and ROTFL. You may feel lost without a guide to this cryptic terminology. Whether or not you choose to use these communication shortcuts, you need to understand them to know what others are talking about.

Search Engines

With thousands of web pages and files added every day, the Internet and the web are daunting to search. Although sites like Google and Yahoo help, even more important is the user mindset. Knowing how to approach sifting through billions of possible choices to find what you need is a learned skill.

Winter Driving Tips

Someone who had recently moved to Colorado, asked on our Word of Mouth group, about classes on snow/ice driving. My feedback was: Glad you're looking for advice! 👍 There’s no substitute for good judgment, and that comes from training and experience, and you can get some of that in a winter driving course, so definitely find and take one. In the meantime, here are some tips:

• An All Wheel Drive (AWD) car will get you going in slippery conditions, which is awesome, but it won’t help you stop any faster - all cars have four wheel brakes. 
• Front wheel drive (FWD) cars are more controllable when slightly accelerating (foot barely on the gas), and rear wheel drive (RWD) cars are more stable when lightly decelerating (foot off the gas). The operative word here is "lightly" since any big changes can cause you to lose control. 
• Locking your brakes will take away all your steering, so be really gentle, when trying to brake in loose traction. Gently reduce your braking, if the car starts sliding sideways. Keep your front wheels turning, so you can use them to steer. 
• Anti-lock brakes (ABS) will help you maintain directional control, but they won’t slow you down any faster.
• Tight (or sometimes any) turns at speed can easily get you off the road. Snow tires with good tread depth can help with that. Studded tires are amazingly helpful, but they tear up the roads, so get them changed back to regular tires, after the snow/ice season ends.
• Plan way ahead in slippery conditions. Time and distance are your friends here. 
• Black ice is just a description of frozen water on the road, which is extremely slippery. The light reflects off it differently, so that the road, which normally looks grayish in headlights at night, looks black. Brakes have almost no effect in these conditions, so all you can do, is try to maintain control as best you can, until you get to better road conditions ahead.
• Sometimes when conditions are really bad/slippery, like when fresh dry snow has fallen over a layer of frozen rain, the smartest decision is to stay where you are for awhile. 
• Never forget, one of your biggest risks is from other drivers who are not as experienced and careful as you. You can help them out, by anticipating their poor choices, and not being where they are heading, when they get there. One thing that helps with this, is a safe following distance. Never use car lengths - it’s a terribly obsolete method to judge a safe distance. Use timing, which compensates for speed - stay at least two seconds behind a car in front of you in dry conditions, and increase that to 3-4 seconds or more, in slippery conditions. 
• There is such a thing as going so slow as to be a risk to other drivers, even if they’re going too fast to be safe. If you find yourself having difficulty staying in control while keeping up with traffic, that’s a red flag that you may be beyond your own capabilities at the moment, or they may all be going too fast for conditions. Regardless of the reason, you might want to get out of that particular traffic flow as soon as you safely can. 
• If it snows before you get a chance to take a winter driving class, you might consider going to an empty parking lot, and trying to drive quickly in tight circles (donuts), to get a sense of how much easier it is to lose traction in those conditions, but watch out for the location of islands and light posts, to avoid damaging your car and ego while practicing. 
• Leave early to allow for slower traffic and accidents. 
• Look at Google Maps to get a sense of traffic conditions before you go. It may help you determine how much earlier you need to leave, and show you alternate routes that may work better.
• The CDOT website sometimes has a good depiction of road conditions.
• Don’t drive with obscured vision. Get one of those cool long brushes to get the majority of the loose snow off your windows and mirrors before you start moving. If you leave a thick layer of snow on top of your car, be aware that it could slide forward over your windshield the next time you stop quickly, blinding you. If you park your car outside, consider leaving an extra 10 minutes earlier, so you can sit in your car and let the ice on the windows melt, after you knock the loose snow off with your cool new brush. You really don’t need to be out in the cold, scraping your windows clear, so just sit comfortably in your car with the defrosters going, and let it melt, until you can just brush it off.
  
• And here is a link to a Google search result for winter driving - with lots of other resources.
  
• Welcome to Colorado, good luck and be safe out there!