Am I helping?

Am  I  Helping?

My internet blog here is one of the oldest blogs extant, having been started in 2007 under Blogger, and actually initiated two years earlier when there was no Blogger and I had to write my own HTML code.

The idea was to keep a record of what I was doing to help others, both for their benefit and for others with the same problems. It also documented solutions for my own later review and reference.

During all this time I have been more and more aware of hazards to seniors and the need for avoidance of the same.

If there is one trend in hazards it is often failure of monitoring and/or quality control. Some of these biggest exposures are in Windows itself, Internet services, and Wi-Fi.

Windows has always had serious security problems. Internet service has always varied too much in reliability. Wifi has some built-in exposures.

Just this week Microsoft revealed a problem with their Internet Explorer browser which makes it unsafe to use until they get around to fixing it. This is unacceptable.

Problems are largely avoidable. There are alternatives to Windows. There are Internet services which are highly reliable. Wifi can be managed. For example, my Android Nexus 5 smartphone is pretty much immune to the problems I have described, using data services.

But for those with Windows it is really essential to know how to monitor and support Windows or have somebody else do it f you. Or you can just choose an alternative to Windows.

Windows is especially vulnerable to internet and to wifi problems. There is really no safety with it for most seniors unless these are closely monitored by the service provider.

Internet is especially subject to all kinds of variations in speed and reliability, based on the complexity of the process. One of the most prevalent problems is that the provider is simply not providing enough bandwidth to avoid traffic jams.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to help anyone solve these problems other than the service provider and his conscientiousness about monitoring what you are paying for.

For most seniors I recommend an alternative to Windows. I recommend a reliable internet service which provides a safe installation of WiFi.