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What To Do When Your Kindle Or Kindle Fire Is Lost Or Stolen

Hey, Thief Who Took My Son’s Kindle Fire: Think you just got a free tablet you can use to order all kinds of stuff on MY Amazon account? Not so fast. When you lose your Kindle or Kindle Fire, believe it or not the loss of the device is not the worst part. No, that would be the fact that your Amazon account is now vulnerable to wrongful charges from anyone who finds your missing gadget. There is a tiny bit of good news, though: as always, Amazon’s exceptional Kindle customer service reps stand at the ready to prevent this from happening. Note: if you’ve already gotten your lost or stolen device back, see this follow-up post: What Happens If You Get Your Lost Or Stolen Kindle / Fire Back? The Thief Not Only Gets A Nifty E-reader Or Tablet, But Full Access To Charge Stuff To Your Amazon Account, Too Remember when…

WannaCry Ransomware Attack: Run Windows Update NOW

I’ll keep it short and sweet today, because this is VERY important for Windows users. The WannaCry ransomware attack you’ve been hearing about lately is not limited to big companies. This nasty little program can be unleashed on virtually any Windows computer, going all the way back to XP.     Microsoft became aware of the security hole in March of this year and quickly released a patch, so if you’ve been keeping up with your Windows Update “critical” patches, you’re in good shape. If not, you could be victimized by this malware, which encrypts every file on your hard drive and demands payment in Bitcoin to unlock them. To avoid that horrible fate, turn on Windows Update and let it run all “critical” updates.

DMM’s 5/12/17 Freebie Friday: Android Utility Apps

Welcome to DMM’s 5/12/17 Freebie Friday! Today, I’ve got ten free utility apps for Android that are tried and true. Remember that free apps may include in-app purchase (IAP) options or be ad-supported, but given that these apps have been given very high ratings by MANY consumers, where IAP links or ads are present they must be pretty unobtrusive. Descriptions below are from the apps’ product pages.

5/8/17 Movie Monday: Films of John Cusack

Welcome to DMM’s 5/8/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week I’m shining the spotlight on the films of John Cusack. Here are three movies that, taken together, show Cusack’s impressive range as an actor. Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil (R) The most important party of the Savannah Christmas season ends with a bang! When affable host Jim Williams shoots a man to death. The party is over, the investigation begins. A movie that proves truth can be every bit as riveting as fiction. John Cusack plays magazine writer John Kelso. Kelso has come to Savannah, Georgia to cover the glittering, annual Christmas bash thrown by local art collector, antiques dealer and “confirmed bachelor” Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey). It seems everyone in this town has a…

DMM’s 5/5/17 Freebie Friday: Android Apps

Welcome to DMM’s 5/5/17 Freebie Friday! This week’s Freebie Friday offers a cornucopia of mobile game apps for Android. Here are 10 of the most downloaded AND highest-rated FREE apps (4/5 stars or better) from Amazon’s Android App Store as of this writing. Remember that free apps may include in-app purchase (IAP) options or be ad-supported, but given that these apps have been given very high ratings by MANY consumers, where IAP links or ads are present they must be pretty unobtrusive. Descriptions below are from the apps’ product pages.

Which Apps Gather Your Gmail and Facebook Data, and How To Disconnect Them?

If you’ve been using Gmail or Facebook for a while, chances are good you’ve purposely or inadvertently granted at least a few apps permission to connect to those accounts, “Login with Facebook” or “Login with Gmail”, and if that’s true, you’ve also granted them permission to gather certain data from you. Here’s how to find out which apps gather your Gmail and Facebook data, and how to disconnect them.   How To See Which Apps Are Connected To Your Gmail & Disconnect Them Go to the Google Security Page for your account. Click the link for Connected apps and sites (it’s in the left-hand sidebar, as of this writing). All apps and services you’ve granted permission to link to or access your account will be shown. Click on each app to see what permissions it has, and if desired, to disconnect it.

Movie Monday: Fun Movie Musicals That Are Perfect For The Season

Welcome to DMM’s 5/1/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. It’s springtime, and that’s the perfect time to enjoy some fun movie musicals. These feel-good fantasies may be a little silly at times, but with their bright colors and foot-tapping songs, their cheerful enthusiasm is hard to resist. Xanadu (PG) The Greek muses incarnate themselves on Earth to inspire men to achieve. One of them, incarnated as a girl named Kira, encounters an artist named Sonny Malone. With the help of Danny McGuire, a man Kira had inspired forty years earlier, Sonny builds a huge disco roller rink. – IMDB, Written by Randy Goldberg This one aims to be a throwback to the glamorous, big-budget musicals of the 1940s. With a musical score and songs written by Jeff Lynne and…

DMM’s 4/28/17 Freebie Friday: Audiobook Shorts

Welcome To DMM’s 4/28/17 Freebie Friday Today I’ve got two shorts from Audible: nonfiction dealing with the Bernie Madoff scandal and a horror story. First up, it’s Ponzi Supernova. Ponzi Supernova is an original audio series that profiles Bernie Madoff, the Wall Street financier sent to prison for orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history. The series, hosted by journalist Steve Fishman, includes hours of unheard conversations with Madoff behind bars, as well as interviews with law enforcement and the victims. In a review, Lulu Miller, of NPR’s Invisibila, wrote: “At times alluring, at times disgusting, it’s the push and pull that makes the magic of this series. You experience non-consensual bouts of empathy for Bernie, and moments later find yourself repulsed by his seeming lack of remorse for his victims, not just their financial ruin, but even their deaths. This is a needed listen for anyone curious about what actually…

4/24/17 Movie Monday: Future Shock

Welcome to DMM’s 4/24/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, the spotlight is on futuristic thrillers. These movies imagine future worlds in which humanity has found different methods to conquer death and disease—each sinister in its own way. Vanilla Sky (R) A successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a jaded lover. This is the type of film with a third act twist that makes you re-evaluate everything that came before. Multiple viewings are rewarding not only for the sake of connecting the dots that lead up to the big reveal, but because the script raises interesting questions about identity and what it means to live a fulfilling life. Tom Cruise does a self-aware take on his own ultra-rich,…

4/21/17 Freebie Friday: Android Apps

Welcome to DMM’s 4/21/17 Freebie Friday! Here are ten of the most downloaded AND highest-rated apps (4/5 stars or better) from Amazon’s Android App Store as of this writing. Remember that free apps may include in-app purchase (IAP) options or be ad-supported, but given that these apps have been given very high ratings by MANY consumers, where IAP links or ads are present they must be pretty unobtrusive. Descriptions below are from the apps’ product pages. Two Dots – CONNECT one Dot to another, sink anchors, make a line, create bombs, extinguish flames, and much more. Tetris Blitz – The Tetris® game you know and love, is now lightning fast, bite-sized fun for today’s players. Alice in the Mirrors of Albion – Get ready for a Lewis Carroll inspired hidden object game that takes you to a mystical Victorian-era London known as Albion, fraught with intrigue, crime, and danger. Rummy 500 – Challenge yourself…