Fake LinkedIn Profiles

I use LinkedIn quite a bit, I do my best to keep my profile updated and spend time in the groups I’m a member of.  Over the last few weeks I’ve been getting quite a few new requests to connect and normally I accept as I am a LION (LinkedIn Open Networker) however I rec’d a few that were identical except for the image.  The profiles were identical:

• xxx Company
• Since January 2000 (13 years and 4 months)
• Skills & Expertise: Project Management, Marketing Strategies, Risk Management, and Human Resources
• Education: USM Bachelor’s Degree.  Human Resources Management and Services

The image is always impeccable – smart looking business man, or women.  But it got me thinking – whose image is this, really?

Quite simple to find out.

Here is one of the dozen or so I’ve received over the last few weeks for Mitchell Hunter a Team Lead at Globussoft in Malaysia who is employed in Staffing and Recruiting.  Hmmm…

Right-click on the image and select COPY IMAGE URL.

Next head on over to Google or any reverse image search engine (like TinEye.com) and search for that image – showing Google.  You want to search Google Images, once you’re at the correct page (https://www.google.ca/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi) click on the CAMERA ICON in the search field and paste the URL you just copied:

Then click SEARCH BY IMAGE and you will be amazed at what you find…

So this is a very high probability that the image on LinkedIn has been “lifted” and is not Mitchell Hunter.

Next step – you could still accept the invitation knowing that some internet marketer is going to exploit your connections since many people leave their connections open to be viewed by anyone.  You could IDK them, or simply report as SPAM.

I know what I will be doing with this fake profile.

 

Brother TZE-111 TZ Tape for P-Touch Electronic Labeling System

Why is this:

less expensive than this:

 

…by 100%

Blackberry Z10 – Review

So I’ve had the phone for about 2-weeks now, had a chance to play around with it and am definitely not feeling ANY remorse over choosing this instead of an iPhone or another Android phone.  Here are my thoughts on the phone…

BB Z10 Phone Construction

Overall I like the construction of the phone.  It is solid, and it’s light.  Feels heavier than the iPhone 5 but not like I’m going to be leaving it in a shirt pocket for the entire day.  I like the edge-to-edge screen, the top half of the phone houses the ear piece and near the bottom you can see where the microphone is to speak into.  The only other things noticable behind the glass are the LED, front-facing camera and sensor and of course the BlackBerry logo at the bottom.

NO HOME BUTTON or anything else on the front that is obstructive!

Right side of the phone has volume up and down, along with a button that can be programmed – right now it is set-up to activate voice control.  I haven’t used this a lot so am not sure at how accurate it is or how well it works.  The few times that I have used it, the female voice is quite “robotic”.  These types of voice controls are great, but I’m still “old school” and don’t use them as much.

Top of the phone has the power button, along with headphone jack.

On the left side you have HDMI and mini USB for power or connecting to your PC to download data, back-up your phone, restore etc.,

The back has the flash, along with the 8mp camera all encased with a rubber back — which I initially hated, but have gotten used to now.  It is thin and feels flimsy, but you probably won’t be opening and closing the back cover often.

Open up the cover and inside you have room for a micro-SD memory card, SIM card and the LS1 battery – I’ve managed to get over 8-hours on without having to charge it.  I recharge it every night out of habit, but probably don’t need to.  I’m not a heavy phone user, so it doesn’t drain down to nothing very often unless I’m on a conference call in my car but then I’ve also got in-car Bluetooth enabled so that does end up draining the battery much quicker.

Construction wise, I’m really happy with the phone – I had the BB Torch previously (one of the first versions) and though I did not mind the slider, I like the Z10.

Using the BB Z10

Honestly I can’t keep my hands off of the phone!  I fiddle with it whenever I have the opportunity.

Once the phone has gone into standby mode, a simple swipe up awakens it or you can click the power button.

Move between screens by swiping right, or left.

Need to make some quick changes, like turn Bluetooth on/off, or WiFi on/off swipe down from the top of the screen to get access to six common functions:

1. Settings
2. Rotation Lock
3. Bluetooth on/off
4. WiFi on/off
5. Alarm
6. Notifications

The only odd swipe I found was up and to the right to put start-up another application or restart one that’s been “suspended”, but you get used to it after a while.

The screen layout is similar to iPhone or Android — all icon based with a short description underneath.  The text is very clear, and easy to read.

I like the improved Hub where you can see all your notifications on one screen and select what you want from there, I do use my BB for Facebook  and Twitter though personally I don’t check it that often on the phone, I prefer to use my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7″ tablet) for Facebook and Twitter.  It also seems like Facebook on BB does not seem to sync very well with my FB account – I can see newer posts on FB when I log in from my PC or tablet but on the BB they are about 2-3 days old.  Perhaps it is just a setting that’s not correct, but not something that really bothers me as I’m not a huge fan of accessing social media on the phone – much prefer to use my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.0 7″, an iPad or on the PC.

I also make use of Foursquare on the BB, I also used this on a regular basis on my Android phone it’s one of the few social media applications that I really enjoy using.  I have not set-up my Google account on the phone so that I can use Google+.

There are a bunch of other apps include on the BB such as Story Maker, and Docs to Go.  You’ll also find Maps and YouTube, not to mention Newsstand and the essential Adobe Reader.  You also get some of the standard items like Weather, Clock and Calculator plus Compass , File Manager.  A couple of other new items are Box and Dropbox.  There are not any junk apps loaded onto the phone – no bloatware at all!

For the most part virtually everything that I would use on a phone is included, there are some notable items missing such as Pulse Newsreader – which unfortunately may not make it to the Blackberry.

Replying to e-mails, or texts is easy and the flick keyboard is superb and works very well!  It does take some getting used to especially if you are used to simply typing out words.  The one complaint I had with my Torch was that the keys were too small and the touchscreen was not very friendly to use – on the BB Z10 I have no complaints with the virtual keyboard – it’s very responsive, and easy to work with.  I’ve got big fingers so will frequently get a D when I meant to tap S or get an S when I meant to tap A.

I’ve read that a few people have complaints with the camera but it’s worked fine for me, and I’m pretty happy with the quality of the images.  A cool feature added is time shift mode

A few complaints – battery.  I need to charge it daily, I can get through the day provided I don’t take too many calls or am not on long calls which is generally not avoidable.  If the boss wants to talk to me, I’ve got to be available.  As a result I keep charging cable everywhere (one in the car, one at work, and one at home).  The phone must be charged every night.

The other complaint I have is with the brightness control, even at the lowest setting it’s too bright at night.

Overall I really like the look and feel of the phone.  It looks much more modern than many of the other phones out there.  Sturdy construction, great looking screen that is easy to look at for long periods at a time and gesture control that actually works.

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