Since 2005, I have written the weekly column titled ‘COMPUTER SENSE’ that appears in the Business section of the Sunday Norman Transcript newspaper. I hope you find it to be helpful, informative and entertaining. Please email your opinions about the column to the Norman Transcript editor at editor@normantranscript.com, and the Publisher at publisher@normantranscript.com. They need your ideas and feedback. Be sure to include your name and location in your email.
Turning off Grandpa’s Internet
by Dave Moore, CISSP 09/24/2023 When used safely, a computer is a wonderful thing, whether it's a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet computer. A computer is also a "power tool," and, when used properly, can be a wonderful help. When used improperly, it can be like a...
Celebrate: Happy National Preparedness Month
by Dave Moore, CISSP 09/17/2023 September is National Preparedness Month. Come to the Norman Public Library Central Location next week, September 20, 2023, at 6:30pm, and take my free one-night class, "Fight The Internet Bad Guys & Win." There, I will teach you...
You, the Internet private investigator
by Dave Moore, CISSP 09/10/2023 Have you ever wanted to track down someone’s whereabouts, but didn’t know where to start and you didn’t want to pay a high-priced private investigator? To the rescue comes the Internet, which is brimming with ways to find long-lost...
How to build your Internet safety “onion”
by Dave Moore, CISSP 09/03/2023 Come to the Norman Public Library Central Location September 20, 2023, at 6:30pm, take my free one-night class, "Fight The Internet Bad Guys & Win," and I will teach you how to build you Internet safety onion. Open to all ages,...
Artificial Intelligence: not ready for prime time
by Dave Moore, CISSP 08/27/2023 There I was, two weeks ago, in sunny Las Vegas, attending my most unusual set of meetings yet: the annual artificial intelligence conference called AI4 2023. Over 2,000 of the world's top artificial intelligence (AI) brainiacs from 40...
The Number One antivirus program
by Dave Moore, CISSP 08/20/2023 Computer virus. According to Lexico, "powered by Oxford," (yes, the world-renowned Oxford English Dictionary), "a piece of code which is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or...
Internet safety: what’s it going to take?
by Dave Moore, CISSP 08/06/2023 Want to learn how to be safe on the Internet? Have I got a deal for you: come to the Norman Public Library Central Location September 20, 2023, at 6:30pm and take my one-night class, "Fight The Internet Bad Guys & Win!" Free and...
Who’s in charge of managing your human risk?
by Dave Moore, CISSP 07/30/2023 Want to learn how to be safe on the Internet? Have I got a deal for you: come the the Norman Public Library Central Location September 20, 2023, at 6:30pm and take my one-night class, "Fight The Internet Bad Guys & Win!" Free and...
Hackers love Facebook’s new “Threads”
by Dave Moore, CISSP 07/23/2023 "It sees you when you're sleeping. It knows when you're awake. It knows when you've been good or bad, so be good for goodness sake." Those lyrics adapted from "Santa Claus is coming to town" are easily applied to Twitter wannabe...
Real news or fake news: how to tell
by Dave Moore, CISSP 07/16/2023 10 things should know about Kim Kardashian! Insane card offers 0% APR! 26 hot moms you can't unsee! The best bacon in America! In the class I teach about Internet safety called "Fight the Internet bad guys and win," (coming again...
Tired of scam phone calls? How to fight back
by Dave Moore, CISSP 07/09/2023 Did you get a phone call alerting you to your car's warranty expiring? Some callers want to help with your student loan debt, or get you to help the Policeman's Support Fund? Maybe you got a call from "your local taxing authority,"...
Is your computer really clean?
by Dave Moore, CISSP 07/02/2023 The war against malware (short for "malicious software") like viruses, spyware and rootkits is a constant cat-and-mouse game between malware writers and distributors (the "bad guys") and those who write, update and use antivirus and...
AI robots go to court
by Dave Moore, CISSP 06/25/2023 In the Continuing Education course I'm taking, "When Ethics Meets Artificial Intelligence," taught by Ric Messier, the question arises as to whether "artificial intelligence" can even be defined. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be...
Life with no computers? What?
by Dave Moore, CISSP 06/18/2023 Could you live without your computers? Most individuals could live without their computers, but life would be difficult, at best. Remember, your cell phone is a computer, too, so you’d have to live without it or any of the phone numbers...
What’s your cyber-risk score? Answers
by Dave Moore, CISSP 06/11/2023 Last week, you took my cyber-risk assessment test, covering the two extremely powerful and potentially dangerous technologies that everyone needs to know how to use: computers and the Internet. Let's see how you fared. Q1. What is a...
What’s your cyber-risk score? Part 2
by Dave Moore, CISSP 06/04/2023 Last week, we looked at cyber-risk assessments, and how they are used to decide if your behavior is too risky to be allowed. It sounds harsh, to be sure, but somewhere, somehow, somebody has to decide if your behavior on the Internet is...
Time to check your cyber-risk score
by Dave Moore, CISSP 05/28/2023 It is no longer OK to not understand how the Internet works. The lame Internet practices Uncle Harry was able to get away with 20 years ago (weak, 8-character passwords, clicking on anything that pops up, etc.) simply won't cut it...
Is Caller ID lying to you?
by Dave Moore, CISSP 05/21/2023 Have you ever received a phone call from a telemarketer who became rude and abusive when you refused to listen to their sales pitch? Who hasn't? Have you ever tried to report them to their superiors by calling the number that appeared...
Are search results rigged? Part Three
by Dave Moore, CISSP 05/14/2023 Columns of the past two weeks have been prep work for what you read today. Knowing what search engines, Internet searches and browsers actually are and how they function is critical to staying out of trouble on the Internet. Today: how...
Are search results rigged? Part Two
by Dave Moore, CISSP 05/07/2023 We looked last week at the technology and background of searching the Internet, with a warning that the search results you get from Google, Bing and Yahoo could actually get you in trouble. This week, we’ll look at some of the things...