Search found 1255 matches

by southerndoc
Sat Dec 09, 2023 11:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Where do you buy glasses?
Replies: 70
Views: 8180

Re: Where do you buy glasses?

For those that buy online, how do you figure out size/pupillary distance?
by southerndoc
Sat Nov 25, 2023 8:47 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: How much tip is appropriate at highly automated restaurants?
Replies: 103
Views: 10516

Re: How much tip is appropriate at highly automated restaurants?

I went to an upscale hotel restaurant for Thanksgiving. The bill included an 18% tip listed along with all of the other line items we ordered. Then, it also had a TIP line in the usual place at the bottom. I had read previously here on the forum about this new "scheme" to get more from the customers who don't check the items on the bill but who go right to the bottom line. You need to check your bills closely since this seems to be the newest trick to double-dip folks on the TIPS. And, since it's a line item, it's also included in the tax calculation, so you're now paying tax on the 18% tip. This drives me insane. When we were in the Florida Keys last month, we ordered room service. They added a 25% gratuity and then had a line t...
by southerndoc
Sat Nov 25, 2023 12:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 911 calls from cell phones
Replies: 26
Views: 3517

Re: 911 calls from cell phones

rtt22 wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:02 am
RetiredAL wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:51 am I have the real phone numbers of 6 local 911 call centers (cities and Sheriff) programed as contacts in my phone. Due to my location, any 911 call from my cell at home goes to Calif CHP 911 dispatch, which means it has to be transferred to my city's 911.
How do you get the real phone numbers of local 911 call centers? My city web page lists 911 as the Emergency number, along with a Non-Emergency number.
You shouldn't call a non-emergency line as it's a standard phone line and doesn't queue up any location data. It's only a last resort.

We've had several Apple Watch notifications that have resulted in real emergencies being identified (broken hip, subdural hemorrhage, cardiac arrest).
by southerndoc
Fri Nov 24, 2023 11:43 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 911 calls from cell phones
Replies: 26
Views: 3517

Re: 911 calls from cell phones

We have e911, where you register your cell to your home address. How do you register for e911? Thanks. It’s done in the iPhone. System -> Cellular -> WiFi Calling -> Emergency Address. Although it’s buried in WiFi Calling, the sharing of your address occurs when calling 911 from home or not. This is only for WiFi calling and not for cellular calling. Most PSAPs (public safety answering points) are able to locate cell phones to within a few hundred feet of the location. GPS can improve this. As others have pointed out, the tower where you are connected will determine to which PSAP you are routed. As an example, the county where I serve as fire/911 medical director has several PSAPs (county, 4 cities). You may be an unincorporated area of th...
by southerndoc
Thu May 18, 2023 8:33 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: HSA contribution increases for 2024
Replies: 48
Views: 7299

Re: HSA contribution increases for 2024

I saw an article recently (can't remember where) that said you could contribute >$10k as a family. $8300 family contribution limit plus extra $1,000/year for those above age 55. That's $9300, or is it $1,000/year per family member over the age of 55? In other words, if a married couple are >55 years of age, is the limit $10,300?
by southerndoc
Tue May 16, 2023 10:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone have 5G home internet? Experiences?
Replies: 99
Views: 8621

Re: Anyone have 5G home internet? Experiences?

I have Verizon 5G Home Internet for backup WAN. I get about 50-150 Mbps down and 2-10 Mbps upstream. Wish upstream bandwidth was better, but I'm not near a Verizon 5G Ultrawideband tower. I think I'm actually connecting via LTE. It still is better than no internet at all when my primary WAN goes down and I'm in the middle of an important Teams meeting. That upload speed doesn’t affect your ability to get things done? When we had Xfinity, we had very slow upload speeds, and I noticed issues with zoom lagging and freezing (teams seems to handle bandwidth better, but most of the people I work with prefer zoom). When we switched to fiber, it has the same upload and download speeds, and those lagging problems went away. But of course, there are...
by southerndoc
Mon May 15, 2023 11:28 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone have 5G home internet? Experiences?
Replies: 99
Views: 8621

Re: Anyone have 5G home internet? Experiences?

I have Verizon 5G Home Internet for backup WAN. I get about 50-150 Mbps down and 2-10 Mbps upstream. Wish upstream bandwidth was better, but I'm not near a Verizon 5G Ultrawideband tower. I think I'm actually connecting via LTE. It still is better than no internet at all when my primary WAN goes down and I'm in the middle of an important Teams meeting.
by southerndoc
Sun May 14, 2023 1:06 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Anyone Communicated Fidelity Time Frame for Implementing SECURE 2.0 Requirements for Solo 401(k)s?
Replies: 1
Views: 325

Anyone Communicated Fidelity Time Frame for Implementing SECURE 2.0 Requirements for Solo 401(k)s?

Have any Fidelity clients gotten word from Fidelity when they plan to implement SECURE 2.0 requirements in their Solo 401(k)s? Specifically interested in the Roth component (since high income earners are required to make catch-up contributions in the Roth component). They will also need to implement a sidecar component for the emergency savings account.

Someone from Fidelity commented that they are working on it, but I haven't heard further communication for a time frame.
by southerndoc
Sat May 13, 2023 2:26 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Amazon One Medical offer
Replies: 49
Views: 4829

Re: Amazon One Medical offer

These services are all based on the backbone of using the lowest, cheapest, and resulting bottom of the barrel trained "doctors". They're just peddling undertrained nurse practioners, physician assistants etc. You know it's a charade when you see the title DNP AAFP BLS..... Is it convenient? Sure. But what's the quality? Way to disparage two entire professions. It's not disparaging. It's misuse. These professions have their place in healthcare. The public deserves to know and understand who they're seeing and their level of training. Is that too much to ask for? "Bottom of the barrel" isn't disparaging? A "charade"? Please. Virtually every study ever done on quality of care for nurse practitioners versus medic...
by southerndoc
Mon Jan 16, 2023 4:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Surprised that my future Social Security Benefit Went Up.
Replies: 25
Views: 4230

Re: Surprised that my future Social Security Benefit Went Up.

I just checked online to see the change in my future Social Security benefit went up as much as it did. Last that I checked, my Feb 2022 statement showed a PIA of $3,379/month at age 67 and a max deferred benefit at age 70 of $4,202/month. I just logged on and the current estimate increased to a PIA at age 67 of $3,648/month with an age 70 deferred benefit of $4,524/month. This did not yet reflect my 2022 earnings in the statement. A 7.7% increase in a year surprised me. I am not yet 62 (I am 61 and turn 62 this year) so COLA has not kicked in yet for me yet. Did the recent inflation impact my AIME or Bend Points? Mine also went up. Somewhere on the SS website I saw something about future predictions saying that funding is projected to cov...
by southerndoc
Mon Jan 16, 2023 1:42 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Which 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) app is best?
Replies: 56
Views: 5056

Re: Which 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) app is best?

dual wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 4:45 pm I think the Symantec VIP hardware device is more secure than the cellphone app because I can keep it safe at home whereas I carry around my cellphone and the cellphone is subject to being lost or stolen.

Edit. Another advantage is that it is accepted by many financial companies like Schwab, Fidelity, and E*TRADE.
How do you get the hardware device?
by southerndoc
Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:39 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Lumber prices with futures approx 1/3 of 1 year ago
Replies: 13
Views: 2252

Re: Lumber prices with futures approx 1/3 of 1 year ago

Wonder how much longer I should wait before getting another quote to rebuild my deck? The last quote I got was last summer. I was told $40,000 for something that probably should never cost more than $10-15,000.
by southerndoc
Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:37 am
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Please review your passwords
Replies: 7
Views: 3321

Re: Please review your passwords

By all means, never reuse passwords on multiple websites.

It amazes me at the number of people who do this. One password for everything: email, financial institutions, forums, etc.
by southerndoc
Sun Jan 01, 2023 3:54 am
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Open Links in New Tab/Window
Replies: 23
Views: 7814

Re: Open Links in New Tab/Window

I'm using Chrome on macOS.

I wouldn't say this is standard behavior (at least for forums). This apparently isn't the default option of phpBB and requires an extension to do. Other forum software (vBulletin, Fora/XenForo, Discourse, etc.) have default settings to open in new tabs/windows.
by southerndoc
Sun Jan 01, 2023 3:44 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Secure Act 2.0 Signed
Replies: 164
Views: 22695

Re: Secure Act 2.0 Signed

Count If wrote: Sat Dec 31, 2022 11:49 pm Another sidebar of Sec.Act 2.0, it looks like 401K Catch-up contribution limits have been increased, but they will be required to be Roth Catch-up only (no more pre-tax). I switched my catch up from Roth to Pre-tax earlier this year in order to limit my year end taxable income (trying to stay within a tax bracket). I guess they wanted older workers to get into higher brackets as a revenue enhancer, otherwise why do that? :|
I believe the Roth catch-up contributions are only required if you hit a certain payroll threshold.
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 6:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Marseille07 wrote: Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:58 pm
mark_in_denver wrote: Sat Dec 31, 2022 3:24 pm Just as Mordoch says.

However between seeing your account drained and actually getting the money back can be extremely distressing, so take all precautions.
Any precautions we can actually take, other than not handing out routing / acct# unnecessarily and paying attn to suspicious transactions like the 2 micros to establish an ACH linkage?
Not everywhere requires the 2 micros to establish a connection. For instance, they could add your account to a credit card and pay off the balance (would be a lot easier to recover funds that way). I'm sure some foreign banks don't require officially linking.
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:48 pm
Forum: Forum Issues and Administration
Topic: Open Links in New Tab/Window
Replies: 23
Views: 7814

Open Links in New Tab/Window

Bogleheads is the only forum I visit where links open in the current window. Sometimes I like to open them and read them later.

Have the mods/admins considered changing the default behavior to opening in a new window/tab?
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Bitwarden usage process
Replies: 79
Views: 6678

Re: Bitwarden usage process

stan1 wrote: Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:28 pm I changed the vault timeout to a custom number of hours (larger than some would want to use).
I tried that (setting it to 7*24=168, 24 hours, 36 hours, etc.), but it still requires the master password anytime I restart the browser.
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 1:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

@mark_in_denver, if I called my bank to let them know, what would they do (Bank of America)? Change my account number (which would require me ordering new checks -- I have customized checks for a laser printer) or would they just monitor it? Would it help in a case of a fraudulent ACH withdrawal to let them know ahead of time or it really wouldn't matter? Your bank account and routing number aren’t exactly a secret, especially if you use checks that you then hand to strangers. I would not worry about that. That's what I was thinking, but it's probably harder to recover money from someone in a foreign country using ACH information to obtain a withdrawal than someone writing down the numbers here in the US before cashing a check. Then again,...
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 11:15 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Thanks @mark_in_denver and @lazydavid. That makes sense what you're saying. Would be nice if the vault was set up to require master password + 2FA to decrypt it instead of just requiring 2FA to have your vault sent to you. My master password was 20 characters with upper/lowercase letters, numbers, and several symbols. Not sure how great protection that will afford me, but as I mentioned earlier, I have already changed all of my passwords. If they got the master password, then they would be able to get my ACH information for my checking accounts. @mark_in_denver, if I called my bank to let them know, what would they do (Bank of America)? Change my account number (which would require me ordering new checks -- I have customized checks for a l...
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 10:53 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Thanks @mark_in_denver and @lazydavid. That makes sense what you're saying. Would be nice if the vault was set up to require master password + 2FA to decrypt it instead of just requiring 2FA to have your vault sent to you. My master password was 20 characters with upper/lowercase letters, numbers, and several symbols. Not sure how great protection that will afford me, but as I mentioned earlier, I have already changed all of my passwords. If they got the master password, then they would be able to get my ACH information for my checking accounts. @mark_in_denver, if I called my bank to let them know, what would they do (Bank of America)? Change my account number (which would require me ordering new checks -- I have customized checks for a la...
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 10:01 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Account Breached (and what I did about it)
Replies: 122
Views: 23481

Re: Fidelity Account Breached (and what I did about it)

I've clicked that every time I've logged into Fidelity on my home computer and it still doesn't remember it.
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 31, 2022 9:59 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

If you had 2FA enabled (Yubikey), is it even possible to gain access to your account without the 2FA method? As in even if they figure out your master password, they cannot open the vault without your 2FA method, right? Yubikey, authenticator app, SMS text, backup code, etc.?

My main concern with LP is I had bank routing/account numbers stored as notes. I'm reading mixed things on the internet about whether notes were contained in the vault or not. If they are not encrypted, then it worries me that someone might initiate an ACH withdrawal.
by southerndoc
Fri Dec 30, 2022 10:04 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Will Fidelity Self Employed 401k now allow Roth contributions?
Replies: 3
Views: 535

Re: Will Fidelity Self Employed 401k now allow Roth contributions?

They would have to redo their prototype plan. That will require IRS approval. Looking at a few years at a minimum.

Maybe they'll finally start allowing electronic contributions. If they add a Roth option, I'll probably move my money back to them (currently at Vanguard).
by southerndoc
Fri Dec 30, 2022 10:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

fetch5482 wrote: Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:45 pm Hypothetically, if the same breach happened with Bitwarden, i.e. somehow attackers get hold of our encrypted database of passwords - would cracking an average 12 character master password be just as easy on bitwarden as it would be on LastPass?
Also would like to know the answer to this. I assume it would be the same?
by southerndoc
Fri Dec 30, 2022 5:27 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Uncle Morris wrote: Fri Dec 30, 2022 11:11 am
southerndoc wrote: Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:03 am I was tempted to reset all of my passwords again when I moved to Bitwarden today. However, I doubt that having my passwords in the LastPass vault for one week will be a huge problem (especially with my 25+ character master password). I've since deleted all data from LastPass including my account.
I'm not a security expert, but I think the experts would recommend that you do change your passwords over on the Bitwarden side. I would assume that the bad guys can get to your passwords that you had over in LastPass. They have your vault.
Does LastPass not delete your vault when you delete your account?
by southerndoc
Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:35 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Secure Act 2.0 Signed
Replies: 164
Views: 22695

Re: Secure Act 2.0 Signed

Someone posted this in another thread. It's a great summary: https://www.kitces.com/blog/secure-act-2-omnibus-2022-hr-2954-rmd-75-529-roth-rollover-increase-qcd-student-loan-match/ Regarding 529 and Roth IRAs, I imagine the states will need to adopt tax law changes to accommodate the new law. Georgia, along with many other states, allow donors to deduct contributions from their taxes. Will the beneficiary be taxed on any Roth conversion? I imagine many states will be greedy and want the beneficiary to pay taxes on contributions that are converted. This can definitely get messy if states start trying to do this. The article linked above mentions that if an employer does not have a Roth option in their retirement plan (401k, 403b, etc.), then...
by southerndoc
Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:03 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I was tempted to reset all of my passwords again when I moved to Bitwarden today. However, I doubt that having my passwords in the LastPass vault for one week will be a huge problem (especially with my 25+ character master password). I've since deleted all data from LastPass including my account.
by southerndoc
Thu Dec 29, 2022 4:57 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Broken Man 1999 wrote: Thu Dec 29, 2022 4:45 pm
TravelGeek wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 9:50 pm
mark_in_denver wrote: Wed Dec 28, 2022 9:17 pm
It doesn't matter. They're not going to crack your password if you've got a decent password. And the system uses PBKDF2 that reruns the SHA hashes thousands of time....
There are reports that the number of iterations was defaulted to a much lower number in the past, and then not updated for existing customers when they increased the default in 2018 or so. Might be worth checking what it’s actually set to if you have been a long time user of LP.

https://infosec.exchange/@WPalant/109587868460331940
Mine was set at 100100, now at 310000.

Broken Man 1999
I set mine at 350,000. Not sure if the extra 40,000 is going to help that much, but that's the number I randomly chose. :)
by southerndoc
Thu Dec 29, 2022 4:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

The LP encrypted database will have some value at first but the value diminishes as those easy password protected accounts get cracked I would suspect. If there are a million accounts in the LP database you can certain there is some low hanging fruit in there. But at a certain point, after the common password protected accounts are cracked, it becomes much more difficult to impossible. Yes. So if the goal is to break every single vault, the hackers are not likely to succeed. But that seems to be an unlikely goal. If the goal was to target specific individuals, their success will depend on how careful those individuals were. If the goal was simply to break a lot of vaults to then gain control over other accounts, they will likely succeed. T...
by southerndoc
Thu Dec 29, 2022 3:48 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I spent all afternoon reading about this. After stating I was going to stay with LastPass, I've chosen not to. The amount of details from other websites how many areas are not encrypted, the number of security incursions, etc. made me change to BitWarden. Was easy to export/import. Set up another family account (which is cheaper) and shared necessary passwords by creating collections. Moved all of my authenticator information to MS Authenticator. Took a while to do all of this, but I feel more secure.

I have since canceled my subscription to LastPass and permanently deleted my personal/business accounts with them.
by southerndoc
Thu Dec 29, 2022 1:17 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I changed all my passwords. Took >4 hours to do so, but it gave me more security. If LP employees were targeted to get this information, then LP users can be targeted in the same way. Will just have to be hypervigilant about fishing emails and such. Have a feeling the phishing emails won't have the usual typos and grammatical errors like most do as this is more sophisiticated. I'm staying with LP for now. Thought of switching to Bitwarden, but decided not to. Hoping LP changes its practice to have more independent audits, encrypting EVERYTHING in the vault, etc. going forward. I can't do anything about what LP may have exposed, but just so you know, everything I exported from LP to Bitwarden was received seamlessly. I haven't changed all o...
by southerndoc
Thu Dec 29, 2022 12:09 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I changed all my passwords. Took >4 hours to do so, but it gave me more security.

If LP employees were targeted to get this information, then LP users can be targeted in the same way. Will just have to be hypervigilant about fishing emails and such. Have a feeling the phishing emails won't have the usual typos and grammatical errors like most do as this is more sophisiticated.

I'm staying with LP for now. Thought of switching to Bitwarden, but decided not to. Hoping LP changes its practice to have more independent audits, encrypting EVERYTHING in the vault, etc. going forward.
by southerndoc
Wed Dec 28, 2022 11:42 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity Account Breached (and what I did about it)
Replies: 122
Views: 23481

Re: Fidelity Account Breached (and what I did about it)

Can you sign up for Symantec VIP online or does it require a phone call?
by southerndoc
Tue Dec 27, 2022 4:23 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I think LastPass is going to have to have a bunch of third party audits (2-4/year) going forward. That's the only way they will maintain confidence to keep customers.
by southerndoc
Mon Dec 26, 2022 8:08 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Employee + Independent Contractor -- Solo 401(k)
Replies: 4
Views: 550

Re: Employee + Independent Contractor -- Solo 401(k)

Thank you. That's what I was thinking. My IC income will allow me to max or be near max for IC employer contributions.
by southerndoc
Mon Dec 26, 2022 5:20 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I'm sure all will be a successful target from time to time. You can't completely eliminate human error, which is what seems to have caused the last LastPass attack.

I just checked out Bitwarden. It seems doable. I don't feel like moving all of my authenticator codes over to another authenticator app at present, although I've heard good things about Twilio Authy.
by southerndoc
Mon Dec 26, 2022 2:52 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Employee + Independent Contractor -- Solo 401(k)
Replies: 4
Views: 550

Employee + Independent Contractor -- Solo 401(k)

I'm currently an independent contractor for several jobs. One of my part-time contracts is considering making me a full-time employee. Regarding my Solo 401(k), I was wanting confirmation on a few things: I believe I can continue operating the Solo 401(k) and continue making contributions as an employer (since I will max out contributions as an employee for the company that will be hiring me full-time). If I contribute $22,500 as an employee of the full-time company, can I make an employer contribution of up to $66,000 (minus the usual self-employment deduction) or is the most I can contribute $66,000-$22,500 contributed by company I'm working for = $43,500 for my clinical work as an independent contractor? Does the employer matching contri...
by southerndoc
Mon Dec 26, 2022 1:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Didn't think about that... I also have security freeze PINs in a note. So the note was unencrypted? How can you change your PIN with Experian and Equifax (those are the only two I had listed)?
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 12:45 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

Not sure if this should be a separate thread, but what is a reasonable frequency to enter the master passcode on a device? Every time, daily, weekly, monthly, etc? This is assuming there is an authentication step on the device, such as FaceID or a PIN on a phone and TouchID, password or PIN on a laptop. I'm not quite at the point where I'm going to enter a 25 character passphrase using a virtual keyboard every time I need to log into a site from an iPhone so there will be some level of compromise. You can store it on a laptop for 30 days. If you ever lose your laptop, just reset your master password. It will automatically log out of the laptop requiring the new master password to be entered in order to access the vault. The vault gets re-e...
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 11:13 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

1. 256-bit AES encryption would take 1 billion billion years for the fastest supercomputer in the world to brute force attack. Can it be done quicker if there is a flaw in the way it was implemented? Sure, but currently we have no reason to believe that there was a flaw in the way it was implemented. No, that's not what that means. It will take a maximum of 1 billion billion years. It could also take ten minutes. It is very very unlikely to take ten minutes. Those phrases/charts mean it would take that long to exhaust all possible combinations to hit a match on a brute force attack. Yes, you are correct. If someone has their password as "password" or "qwerty" it might be broken in one minute. The more complicated, the m...
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 10:00 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: "Quality" LED bulbs
Replies: 114
Views: 13977

Re: "Quality" LED bulbs

I really love the GE LEDs that are soft white. They look pretty close to halogens and don't have that blue tint to them. I've not had a problem with them burning out prematurely.
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:55 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Fidelity bill pay: What does the envelope look like?
Replies: 9
Views: 2504

Re: Fidelity bill pay: What does the envelope look like?

That "payment enclosed" statement seems inviting for someone to steal it. The amount of trust we put in our USPS workers, but occasionally there is a rotten apple.
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:53 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Vanguard still for me, warts and all
Replies: 111
Views: 14915

Re: Vanguard still for me, warts and all

If Fidelity ever offers Roth components in their Solo 401(k), I plan to move mine from Vanguard to Fidelity even if I can't contribute electronically. Vanguard just isn't what it was many years ago. I feel like the investment options are inferior.

I'm tempted to may mysolo401k.net the annual fee to set up a self-directed Solo 401(k) and move everything back to Fidelity.
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:50 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Trouble logging in to social security: fraud? UPDATE and thanks
Replies: 15
Views: 2446

Re: Trouble logging in to social security: fraud?

This sounds like you have malware on your computer. Might be worth downloading Malwarebytes and seeing what it reports.
by southerndoc
Sun Dec 25, 2022 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

1. 256-bit AES encryption would take 1 billion billion years for the fastest supercomputer in the world to brute force attack. Can it be done quicker if there is a flaw in the way it was implemented? Sure, but currently we have no reason to believe that there was a flaw in the way it was implemented. No, that's not what that means. It will take a maximum of 1 billion billion years. It could also take ten minutes. It is very very unlikely to take ten minutes. Those phrases/charts mean it would take that long to exhaust all possible combinations to hit a match on a brute force attack. Yes, you are correct. If someone has their password as "password" or "qwerty" it might be broken in one minute. The more complicated, the m...
by southerndoc
Sat Dec 24, 2022 8:00 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: PSA - LastPass breach!
Replies: 718
Views: 64244

Re: PSA - LastPass breach!

I think this is a lot of overhype about it. Password managers by default are subject to nefarious people wanting access because they store passwords and user logins. A couple of points: 1. 256-bit AES encryption would take 1 billion billion years for the fastest supercomputer in the world to brute force attack. Can it be done quicker if there is a flaw in the way it was implemented? Sure, but currently we have no reason to believe that there was a flaw in the way it was implemented. 2. The biggest threat is someone who uses a common word for their master password or who reused their master password on another site that was hacked. If that's the case, then the vault is in jeopardy of being opened by the threat actors. 3. If you had 2FA enabl...
by southerndoc
Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:40 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Anyone recently get a US Passport for Minors?
Replies: 40
Views: 4116

Re: Anyone recently get a US Passport for Minors?

We did our post office visit 6/8. We paid for expedited services. We're still waiting on my daughter's passport.
by southerndoc
Sun Jul 03, 2022 4:37 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Hospital Standard Charges vs. Emergency Room: Are these Supposed to be Different?
Replies: 4
Views: 766

Re: Hospital Standard Charges vs. Emergency Room: Are these Supposed to be Different?

Everything in the ER is done stat. That usually means a much higher charge. Just showing up in the ER will get you a $2500-5000 bill even if nothing is done (the "facility fee").