What to believe, checking reliability monitor, check Google activity and what they know

How you can trust fast-breaking news on the Internet so that you don’t repeat wrong information? From OnTheMedia.org and their handbooks series, they advise: in the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong; don’t trust anonymous sources; don’t trust stories that cite another news outlet as the source of the information; there’s almost never a second shooter; pay attention to the language the media uses – “We are getting reports” … could mean anything – “We are seeking confirmation” … means they don’t have it – “[News outlet] has learned” … means it has a scoop or is going out on limb; look for news outlets close to the incident; compare multiple sources; big news brings out the fakers, and photoshoppers.; beware reflexive retweeting.

When some menu or option has disappeared in a program you are not used to, always look at and click on triangles, angle brackets, triple dots, triple lines, double angle brackets and anything that points left or right or up or down, and move your mouse pointer over some of those symbols to reveal a help hint. Explore these “hidden” revealers before you actually need them.

Reliability Monitor in Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows, like Windows 8.1, will help you gain insight into what failures might be occuring over and over on your computer that are affecting performance. Check it every few months by searching your Windows computer for Reliability Monitor. You can search your computer by pressing the Windows Key, lower left on the keyboard, and tapping the letter s (for search) and then typing in your search term in the search box that opened up. You can use this search feature for finding many things on your computer without having to dig through control panels and settings windows.

There will be a new feature in Windows 10 Anniversary update out on or after August 3 that will let you set active hours to prevent your Windows computer from restarting in the middle of the day due to updates from Windows. If you have gotten a honking big update from Microsoft, see if you can:
Search for “updates” in your Start menu and choose “Check for updates.”
Under “Update settings,” click “Change active hours.”
Set your Start and End time for your workday.

If you are a Google user with a Google account, check their new My Activity tool to review everything Google has tracked about you. You will find it at myactivity.google.com and look under the three bars menu for activity control to check and adjust what you like Google to keep for you.

Mini-habits to solve tech problems in life include: improve security on one service or account each week; clean a cluttered desktop by removing one item each time you reboot; pair a computer activity with a small exercise; unsubscribe from one newsletter each week; or delete and organize photos on your smartphone each time you go to the bathroom.


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