Alerts

A Howling Good Time Warning

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Sounds like the coyotes are in the area again. They were howling late last night (Monday 11/2), the sound appeared to the Web Guy to be coming from the little forested area between Heritage and the lower end of Timber Ridge. Sounded like a small pack, maybe 3-4 of them.

This is the time of year that they get a bit hungry, and they aren’t above snatching small pets. So, a reminder to keep your pets close and on leash. And to ensure that you don’t have any pet food dishes outside. They like that, as do the bobcats and bears that are also around here.

Road Work on Timberton Drive

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Jefferson County Public Works has confirmed that they have contracted to have asphalt replaced in four separate sections of Timberton Drive, beginning on Tuesday, September 22, 2015.

The work is expected to progress quickly and one lane will remain open at all times. Little or no disruption of traffic is expected.

Rich Durbin, TVHA Vice President

(If you look carefully, there are small white L-shaped marking on the road that indicate the road work locations – Rick, the web guy, who know a lot about a few things, but not much about everything.)

Yogi Alert

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A Timberton neighbor reports a “Yogi sighting”:

Please spread the word that we have a bear in Timberton. He hopped up on our deck at 44 Leighbrook Lane this morning. Walter said he was “big”. I was upstairs at my computer, heard a noise and caught a glimpse of a large brown body. Walter did his grizzly bear act and the bear scurried off into the woods.

Keep an eye on loose pets. And make sure that you don’t have any outside feeding dishes…bears like pet foot too, and it may want to return for its next meal.

Information on co-existing with bears? One source is here; there are many others if you ‘ask the googles’: http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/bears.html

Stay safe!

Computer Safety Quiz and Hints

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Here’s a little quiz about computer safety at home or while traveling. http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2015/wireless-network-security-quiz.html .

Your Web Guy’s Simple Steps for Computer Safety

1. Make sure you have your latest updates. This is for Windows and Apples – Apple systems have vulnerability problems too.

2. Make sure that you update the Adobe products, especially Flash (which is used to view lots of videos on web sites, and is a favorite attack point). Only get your updates from Adobe at www.adobe.com/downloads . When installing, make sure you uncheck the ‘additional software’ box, or you’ll get things that you don’t need. It’s OK to enable auto-updates, though.

3. Make sure your anti-virus is current. Update it if needed, and set up a anti-virus scan weekly. It takes a while, so let it start and wander away from your computer until it is done. If you need a free one, use Windows Defender from Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/protect ); it’s included in Windows 8 and 10.

4. Make sure that you don’t install software from ‘pop-ups’ that you might see while wandering around the Interwebs. If you need an update, go directly to the vendor’s web site. (Don’t rely on links that the googles might tell you; sometimes, the first results you will see are not ‘nice places’).

5. Don’t use the same password on all sites. Especially on banking sites. There are some great password managers out there to help you keep track of things.

6. Consider upgrading to Windows 10 for your Windows 7 or 8 systems. (I’ve been using it for a week, and it’s good!). If your system is Windows XP, it might be a good time to replace it if you can.

Any questions or helpful hints?  Use the comments below.