On the Importance of Computer Backups – My iMac Adventure Co-Starring Time Machine and Dropbox Professional

My iMac is now fully restored. Hundreds of files started disappearing in many folders. I restored a few missing files and they disappeared again in the next few hours. These spontaneous mass deletions were happening for 2 days before I noticed it. An anti-virus program said no viruses. An apple rep and a friend who repairs Apple computers said beware of problems stemming from the use of iCloud Drive. I am using auto-update on OS, but the latest (Ventura 13.2) hadn't kicked in yet..

Bottom line is that I am perfectly good now and the problem has stopped. I rotate 3 separate external drives for my backups. I also put all of my data into Dropbox Professional which has an excellent "rewind" feature that comes with diagnostic charts that let you see where and when activity is happening, also allowing selective or global restore. To make sure there were no remaining vestiges of the problem, I ended up tearing down my machine to bare metal and building it back with brand new OS, manually updating the most recent safe-seeming backup, then restoring 2.5TB of data. Then the tedious task of installing and configuring a dozen apps. I also disabled iCloud Drive. Take-aways: A) Big problems can occasionally happen even with an Apple computer. B) This was a major problem and I was prepared with ample backups, C) Dropbox Professional is worth every penny, and D) Constantly back up your computer with Time Machine, an incredibly sophisticated and easy to use program!

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EFF: Internet Free Speech Depends Upon Many Weak Links

Tonight I tried to watch two shows on Rumble.com, but all I could see was this:

This might simply be an innocent technical issue. I hope so. When I see the entire network go down, however, I am concerned. Is this the result of an attack on Rumble.com?  I hope that things get fixed and that we are advised about what happened and why. In the meantime, I find myself thinking about this article by EFF:

I'm very much aware that if the Internet Hosts decided that they would exclude certain types of information, many websites, such as mine would disappear. That is one vulnerability of many. Here are the others:

Here is an excerpt from the EFF article:

Speech on the Internet requires a series of intermediaries to reach its audience. Each intermediary is vulnerable to some degree to pressure from those who want to silence the speaker. Even though the Internet is decentralized and distributed, "weak links" in this chain can operate as choke points to accomplish widespread censorship.

The Internet has delivered on its promise of low-cost, distributed, and potentially anonymous speech. Reporters file reports instantly, citizens tweet their insights from the ground, bloggers publish to millions for free, and revolutions are organized on social networks. But the same systems that make all of this possible are dangerously vulnerable to chokeholds that are just as cheap, efficient, and effective, and that are growing in popularity. To protect the vibrant ecosystem of the Internet, it's crucial to understand how weaknesses in the chain of intermediaries between you and your audience can threaten speech.

Each of the links above represents a link in the chain of intermediaries that directly facilitate or indirectly support speech on the Internet.

Website are also vulnerable as a result of "Shadow Regulation"

Shadow Regulations are voluntary agreements between companies (sometimes described as codes, principles, standards, or guidelines) to regulate your use of the Internet, often without your knowledge.

I don't like the fact that I have so little control and that my website could be quickly erased but for the willingness of all of these entities the cut backroom deals with each other, but that is a sad fact.

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Perseverance Mars Landing: Here is a Front Row Seat for You

The Perseverance Mars Landing was such an incredible feel good moment. Now we have access to several camera angles so we can see how it really looked. It's so good to be reminded that there are so many intelligent highly focused scientists and engineers out there who can inspire us with their painstaking work.

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