How Nvidia LHR Graphics cards will work. Are they even worth it?

Paul
Someone from Ebay selling their 2070 super for that much!

All over priced GPU’s

Well you can see that there are several different types of people who are trying to sell cards.   Those who get them out right and buy them and then turn around and sell them on sites like this for even more money.   I really can’t blame people for doing this after all the demand is high for really good Graphics cards.  The problem right now is the crypto miners are using them to get bitcoins and even dogecoins.   It is a constant problem because of how much people can make with mining rigs to get bitcoins or even dogecoins.  Although right now the Bitcoin, and other crypto miner coins are dropping in value rather fast, we really don’t know if it will keep going down or go even higher in the future.

Nvidia Announced Low Hash Rates

A few weeks ago, Nvidia announce the LHR Graphics cards that is being made in the future.  The low hash rates will go into effect when the gpu thinks it will is being used to mine and will drop the hash rates to half to discourage miners from buying gpus to crypto mine for coins from all the most common miners.    There are some really big problems ahead for those who might want to bit mine.   So now that they made this announcement what is the likelihood that they find a way to get around this bitcoin limiter?

Will it work?

Many people wonder that, and I am also really curious about it.  I can only surmise what it will likely be like and we can then go ahead and see when the finally release it.   I am hopeful that it will be hardware locked, meaning that no one can change with any possible way.   This should make the miners go somewhere to get their hardware.   I have heard of miners trying to unlock this feature but I think I’ve heard it because of the firmware updates.   This isn’t a hardware but a software lock and those can easily be hacked and changed.    Hardware locks are those that are not able to be modified or changed and thus should make it far less likely for the miners to even try to use them for their mining rigs.

Will it make any difference in gaming?

This part is also something I really don’t know much about but Nvidia has said that it will not make any difference in speed and use of the GPU for gaming since most of them don’t use hashes to run games and when it does is just to check a file is correct and that is far and few between.  I can surmise that if it does make a difference it will be so slight and not even hardly be seen by the gamer.   The frame rates and speed of the games I can’t see that creating any problems in the game play.

When will it be released?

It is due to happen sometime at the end of this month or at the beginning of next month.   Don’t expect too much to happen at first launch and I don’t know what the prices will be.   I’ve been looking all around to see when they will start selling but Amazon, NewEgg, and Even other stores around the internet have yet to show any signs of selling those cards yet.   You’ll know when you see the box, I am sure it will say something like low hash rates or will have the LHR on the box somewhere to make sure to let the crypto miners know that it isn’t something they may want.   This is just one of those steps we will have to watch and see how that will evolve in the future because I am sure the crypto miners are going to try to find way to get past the hash limiter and make it to where it will work just like normal.

Will you use it?

Now here’s the ultimate question, will you use it when it get released just to because you’ve been waiting for that GPU to put in the system you’ve built or are you going to just wait and see what people say about it?  Why not leave a comment and tell me what you think will happen and is this a good idea or a bad idea?

How IP Cameras are watching us all

Paul

Megapixel IP Camera Testing 3

 

Malware at a global scale can be daunting to say the least

We can do everything possible to protect ourselves from this but there is no real way to Mitigate it and there is not real way to prevent it.   Hackers are always going to find holes and white hats are always going to fix those holes as quickly as possible.  I could document millions of ways a hacker could do damage to your system, car, or even your tv and there is no real way to prevent it.    A good exploit that I would like to talk about is IP camera exploits, where all you need to do is just connect to the IP that a camera is using through a web browser.

IP Camera Tools

There are several tools around the world to help you find these IP Cameras for example Shodan.io. As you can see people can be watching without you even knowing  it.  The problem that is so prevalent is that people are paying for this service and watching people take off clothes or even having sex and you wouldn’t know it because these are private residences who are trying to make sure there isn’t any people going to rob them.  The only way to mitigate this is to not have cameras that can be easily found or even make the camera require authentication and also change the default passwords and default usernames for these types of cameras.   It will also be a problem until the manufacturers change how they make these cameras.

Exploiting Knowledge

This isn’t really a software malware but more of people exploiting the knowledge of trying to connect to ip’s and knowing about sockets and ports.   Anyone who knows how the IP camera is used knows that all you need is a certain socket and port to go to scan for to find cameras that are available on the internet.   It has gotten to the point of people recording you and then making you pay with ransoms to keep from releasing it online to embarrass you or your name.  There isn’t any real estimate as to how much the damage is in way of ransom because most people will keep quiet because of the stigma of having someone watch them doing something private.

How to Save Money on plane tickets!

Paul
American Airlines Chicago Airport!

Track the Prices!

If you are looking for the cheapest possible tickets that you can buy. You will want to track the prices of the tickets through some website or app. I figured I’d give you a few that will help you in the future:

  • Flights.google.com — I’ve always used this to track flights from one airport to the another. It’s been a really good help for me to see which airports are the cheapest and it even emails you if the prices is going down or up.
  • Hopper — I’ve used this from time to time to find the cheapest tickets also. They have a nice tracking app but it can be spotty at times.
  • Cheapflights — Another website I like to use to check out if I can find a cheap flight to make it less hard on my wallet.
  • SkyScanner –  Is an excellent way to check out prices across multiple airlines and websites.
  • Expedia —  another good one which is Microsoft’s little website.

I know these are just a few. There are a ton of websites out that I occasionally use also to find the cheapest flights. You should start there and work you way around the web and see what other sites might work for you.

Fly on Tuesday or Thursday!

If you are looking to find the cheapest flights, it seems to be a common thing to find the cheapest flights on Tuesday or Thursday. So buying your tickets on Tuesday for a Tuesday flight in the future might give you the best results for cheap flights. Although I’ve seen low price flights on Fridays and Mondays but I find Tuesday and Thursday to be the best time to fly!

Notifications

Depending on which apps you use to monitor flight prices, you should always find apps to notify you if there is a change in prices.   There are many apps that will do that, I like Googles way of emailing you daily if the price goes up or down so you can decide when the right time to buy that ticket.   Kayak and other sites will also notify if you are registered with them so that you can also find the cheapest flight possible.   I already did one blog post about finding cheap flights but I wanted to update it and give you some more information on how to find those cheap flights.

Philippines will probably open up Late this year!

Paul
Dallas/Ft Worth International Airport Photo By Paul Sylvester
All Rights Reserved!

When’s the borders going to open up

This will be a speculative post about when I expect the Philippines to start allowing tourist into the country.   I’ve been seeing some stuff that I wanted to talk about.   I know this might not come true but I wanted to give people some hope in this evolving situation.   I’ve been talking to a few people left these last few days about this possibility.   Take what I say as you wish but who knows.

I’ve found some interesting stuff!

Now onto why I think it will be opening up in the coming months.   I predict it might be early fall to  fall.   I wouldn’t be surprised if it isn’t close to the Christmas season.   I’ve found flights that I haven’t seen before going into the country.   I’ve found Direct Flights going into the country from other areas other than Manilla.

These types of flights make me think that it will open up in the fall but they have yet to post any new flights to their flight timetable.   Even though these are just the summer schedules, I would love to see the fall or winter timetables and know what they are planning.

Twitter People

I seems that someone is asking the question we are all wondering about.  When do you expect the Philippines to open up to allow foreigners to come into their country.  I agree it is probably going to be later this year.   I however wanted to allow you the chance to see the results and or vote for when you think it will be available:

I really don’t see the Philippines opening up until November or December at the latest because of how the Government is handling the problem at hand.   I however could be wrong but I still wanted to share with you my thoughts on the matter.

Cebu to Open up?

There have been talk about Cebu opening up in the coming weeks to anyone who has a 9a existing visa.   This is something that also makes me really think if it will actually happen in the coming months.  Cebu also seems to be trying to make it easier to get into the country by not requiring you to do the 7 days in quarantine.   The Mayor even seeks to allow entry into cebu if your were vaccinated, I’ve not heard much else about this but the Cebu opening up might be just that.

Vaccinations

According to what I’ve heard they will have mass vaccinations in the 3rd Quarter.   So this means that they will potentially open up in November or December.   These are the reasons that I think the philippines will open up late this year.  I expect the IATA pass to start either just before this or just about the same time.    I just hope they start to open up the app so you can download and register with them so you can get your information in the system for that flight that you might be taking in the coming future.

I know this is just a little bit of the evidence that I think we see more flights and more chances of people getting into the philippines.   What’s your thoughts? Will it be open this year?  Do you think it will open sooner?

 

Is there a Difference between AntiMalware and Antivirus?

Paul

Photo By TheDigitalArtist

Is there a Difference?

In any system, we’ve all asked that question once or twice. Even I’ve asked that question at least once and I am sure it is a really slippery slope when it comes to defining if there is or isn’t a difference. We can analyze each one in parts but still come back with a question because each has its benefits in today’s economic atmosphere.    According to Wendy Zamora:

A virus is a piece of code that is capable of copying itself in order to do damage to your computer, including corrupting your system or destroying data.

So we can see a virus is specially designed code to copy itself and to do some really nasty things in your system but is that all it does?  Let’s dig a little deeper on this topic.

AntiMalware Vs AntiVirus?

When you hear Antimalware?  Does it bring anything to your mind or give you any ideas of what it is that they are doing or is it just a word you’ve heard?  According to Panda Security:

Antimalware and antivirus are not the same. They complement one another to act as the highest level of defense against malicious software, along with healthy online habits.

As you can see both of them aren’t the same and yet they do a lot to help each other out because they make what most people would call a layered security.   They help prevent some of the low profile infections that we seldom hear.    These programs create what I call a layered security.  Each one works to prevent all sorts of infections in a computer system and also helps keep your data safe from ransomware.

What should I do?

This is a common question when it comes to how to protect your system from all these different threats.   I personally use AVG Internet Security for my Home system and Malwarebytes also to help protect my system.   I really like AVG because it was simple to use and they have a great free version of it to download and use.  Another good one that I like to use is Superantispyware as a way to check my system from time to time and make sure it doesn’t see anything that those other two might miss.  Even if you only use one of each, you are far better off than just waiting for that infection to happen or that data loss to happen.   It can be quite troublesome if you don’t protect yourself and your data and keep the antivirus and antimalware up to date.

Do you have a favorite Antivirus or Antimalware?  Why not leave a comment and tell me why you like your choices?  I’d love to hear what you think of AVG, Malwarebytes or even SuperAntiSpyware?