Posted on 08/09/2024 12:10:32 PM PDT by Angelino97
Outlook is probably installed by default if you have MS Office on your computer, but you don’t have to use it.
Buy this laptop with 16GB RAM /Windows 11. With an until 2026 warranty for $337 https://tinyurl.com/jkpnhpyc
Buy a 24” external monitor for $80-$100. Connect them via HDMI.
Toss your relic Windows 7 computer into the trash. Or see if someone will accept it as a gift. Which is bloody unlikely.
“I dont know. I started using a crypto key that slides into my PC that acts as a 2 level authorization. No one gets into those accounts without the key.”
What happens to you if you lose this key or jump into the swimming pool?
You have to go through a manual verification process. Meaning, you have to submit ID and visually be verified by a person. Yeah, it’s a pain..but it’s worth the security. It’s not used on anything I “need” to get access to if I am leaving the country tomorrow. Haha.
You have to go through a manual verification process. Meaning, you have to submit ID and visually be verified by a person. Yeah, it’s a pain..but it’s worth the security. It’s not used on anything I “need” to get access to if I am leaving the country tomorrow. Haha.
My current laptop I bought in early 2016, while Obama was still president. 32 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD.
I always try to improve with every laptop. So my next one should have 64 to 128 GB RAM.
I still have two backup laptops, one running Win 7, one running Win XP (and several programs that won't run on Win 7).
I also have a Toshiba 1200xe LCD that I bought for $2,000 in 1990 (in 1990 dollars). A 286 AT chip, running DOS, with 1 MB RAM, a 40 MB hard drive, and two 3.5 disc drives. I never use it, but it works.
And I think I still have an old Toshiba I bought in 1996 running Win 95.
I also had five computers that died. I tossed them because I needed the space, but regret it now. One was a 486 SX gas plasma laptop. Remember the days of gas plasma screens?
Why would I let anyone else be my access to my emails?
All well and good. You are computer equipped, not stripped.
Then why are you using Windows 7 to get on the internet? You say Windows 7 might be the source of your problems w email programs.
I am typing right now on a 2017 i5-8400 desktop. I knew that it would be Windows 11 upgradeable.
My Win 7 was also upgradeable. I received many emails from MS to upgrade to Win 10 for free. I refused, because I’d heard horror stories of people upgrading, after which their computers didn’t work. I figured, I’ll stick with what works.
A quick primer on multifactor authentication (MFA). MFA works on the concept of having multiple ways to authenticate who you are through something you know (like a password), something you have (like a mobile phone), or something you are (like a thumbprint, facial recognition, or iris scan). Two passwords don’t count as multifactor, because it’s two of the same method of authentication. Same would be authenticating using a thumbprint and facial recognition. While difficult to compromise, they’re still two of the same factors.
Let me address your questions out of order a bit.
Can you have an authenticator app on your laptop? Short answer: no. Your laptop is something you have, yes, but it’s also the device on which you’re trying to perform the authentication, so a password PLUS the authenticator on your device are technically the same factor. Mobile phones are so ubiquitous that authenticator apps are an easy extension of the authentication library. Pro tip: it doesn’t matter which authenticator app you use, even if it says “Google Authenticator,” you can still use Microsoft or any other authenticator app with a private key stored and secured on the device that supports OATH.
You’re having trouble receiving verification codes from Microsoft, because Microsoft deprecated telephone-based authentication methods over a year ago. NIST, the de facto government agency for cryptographic standards, deprecated and urged government agencies off of phone-based authentication back in 2015! You should not rely on phone calls or SMS for verification. Why? There have been a number of articles in cybersecurity circles detailing how threat actors will go to local Verizon, T-Mobile, Boost, etc. brick-and-mortar stores, flash $1,000 cash in front of one of the agents for a SIM card programmed to your phone number, and boom, they now have your phone. Literally your phone. It’s happened in a number of recent very high profile breaches. You CAN configure Microsoft to text or call you, but it’s no longer the default. You have to go hunt for the setting, but it’s there.
I’d personally recommend Outlook, even if you just use Outlook web access. It’s available on all mobile platforms and works very well with all mail providers. Your mileage may vary.
Finally, if you’re running on Windows 7, please consider upgrading. I know, I know, “From my cold dead hands,” but as a cybersecurity practitioner, I have to warn you, there are numerous zero day escalation of privilege and remote access vulnerabilities in Windows 7. If your machine is so much as attached to the Internet, you’re at risk. As someone who works with security folks in agency secure operations centers (SOC), I can tell you first hand that threat actors are actively scanning your network daily if not hourly. It takes one bad ad delivered to your machine or a wrong click, and your Windows 7 box is one of the easiest to compromise still out there. And your VPN isn’t protecting you, it’s just obfuscating your endpoint IP address. It’s still a two-way communication channel.
If I drop Windows 7, would Linux Mint Cinnamon be as secure as Windows 11?
I have an exchange 360 account from the university I retired from some years ago. I was using Thunderbird to access my exchange account on a PC laptop I use for traveling, but it quit working a few years ago. I don’t use the account all that much so I shrugged it off. I primarily check mail with Apple Mail. Your post had me interested in why Thunderbird quit work with Exchange. I went to their tech site and it says Thunderbird is no long supported and to use a web browser..
I don’t know enough about that distro to answer that question authoritatively. Keep in mind that in the last 5 years of BlackHat, Linux distros were commonly some of the first to be compromised.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/pdp/spd/inspiron-15-3520-laptop
Its pros and cons >>>
https://slickdeals.net/f/17680470-dell-inspiron-15-laptop-15-6-fhd-120hz-i3-1215u-8gb-ddr4-512gb-ssd-280-or-less-free-shipping?src=SiteSearchV2Algo1
Dell 15.6” Inspiron $280 with IPS display / 1080p, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD (NVME)
If I bought this I would have to add 8GB RAM. The 8GB it comes with should be in one slot. Dell usually does it this way.
FWIW I have tried Linux Mint a few times. But I always liked Windows 10 and 11 better. There are more Windows programs that I like and need.
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