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My wife and I are buying a new home. The builder is a major national developer who not only builds the houses but also employs Realtors and offers financing. I was totally surprised when my mortgage application included requests for my bank and investment account numbers PLUS my online usernames and passwords! I declined, and the financing arm of this huge company said it was OK for me to submit 2 months worth of bank statements from each entity. Those, of course, are presented with partially redacted account numbers and don’t permit the lender unfettered enduring access to my information, but the notion that this is the way they TYPICALLY do business and that most of its customers apparently do not object to such privacy invasions and personal security overreaches just astounds me.
Another example: two summers ago, with Covid still a potential threat, my sister and I returned to the US through immigration and customs at O’Hare Airport, where we crept along a snaking line among hundreds of other passengers from all over the world, many of them coughing and sneezing while unmasked. At the same time, a very few incoming passengers walked up to unmonitored video terminals and smiled for a fraction of a second because they’d secured “Global Entry” screening privileges. We applied and obtained those same credentials, but now that I have them I cannot avoid some concern about the privacy implications. That screening is now available for domestic travel as well thanks to “TSA PreCheck,” and I’m grateful not to have to remove my shoes and undress at the check point, but the same sub-second instant identification is frankly creepy.
I don’t think I’m paranoid. THAT level of “concern” requires the same level of conspiracy theory subscription that engenders all-too-common claims such as (I’m not making this up) “the Covid mRNA vaccines contain nanobots that ‘change our DNA?,’ but only with assistance from government-issued ‘chemtrails’ in the sky that utilize a special form of facial recognition transmitted via 5G cell towers, but only if the subject hides half his or her face from the inquistors by wearing a Covid mask.” I have acquaintances and even relatives who believe such nonsense. Still, the balance between convenience and invasiveness seems to have shifted to an extreme for which we’re all at risk of paying the price. ___________________ ?Those of us who read honest journalism ARE aware that it IS now possible to “change our DNA,” but that it requires many millions of dollars of dedicated work by medical scientists gathered from all over the world at hallowed US educational institutions, using CRISPR technology to replace a defective gene with an adequate one in a single infant, and that the effort requires many MONTHS of labor by those scientists working together at NIH-funded institutions which our government is now threatening. How ANY of us can believe that’s a good thing is beyond me. ?
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Jim Robertson
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Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they aren’t out to get you.
(spoiler: they are)
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On May 27, 2025, at 9:52?AM, jimrobertson via groups.io <jimrobertson@...> wrote:
My wife and I are buying a new home. The builder is a major national developer who not only builds the houses but also employs Realtors and offers financing. I was totally surprised when my mortgage application included requests for my bank and investment account numbers PLUS my online usernames and passwords! I declined, and the financing arm of this huge company said it was OK for me to submit 2 months worth of bank statements from each entity. Those, of course, are presented with partially redacted account numbers and don’t permit the lender unfettered enduring access to my information, but the notion that this is the way they TYPICALLY do business and that most of its customers apparently do not object to such privacy invasions and personal security overreaches just astounds me.
Another example: two summers ago, with Covid still a potential threat, my sister and I returned to the US through immigration and customs at O’Hare Airport, where we crept along a snaking line among hundreds of other passengers from all over the world, many of them coughing and sneezing while unmasked. At the same time, a very few incoming passengers walked up to unmonitored video terminals and smiled for a fraction of a second because they’d secured “Global Entry” screening privileges. We applied and obtained those same credentials, but now that I have them I cannot avoid some concern about the privacy implications. That screening is now available for domestic travel as well thanks to “TSA PreCheck,” and I’m grateful not to have to remove my shoes and undress at the check point, but the same sub-second instant identification is frankly creepy.
I don’t think I’m paranoid. THAT level of “concern” requires the same level of conspiracy theory subscription that engenders all-too-common claims such as (I’m not making this up) “the Covid mRNA vaccines contain nanobots that ‘change our DNA?,’ but only with assistance from government-issued ‘chemtrails’ in the sky that utilize a special form of facial recognition transmitted via 5G cell towers, but only if the subject hides half his or her face from the inquistors by wearing a Covid mask.” I have acquaintances and even relatives who believe such nonsense. Still, the balance between convenience and invasiveness seems to have shifted to an extreme for which we’re all at risk of paying the price. ___________________ ?Those of us who read honest journalism ARE aware that it IS now possible to “change our DNA,” but that it requires many millions of dollars of dedicated work by medical scientists gathered from all over the world at hallowed US educational institutions, using CRISPR technology to replace a defective gene with an adequate one in a single infant, and that the effort requires many MONTHS of labor by those scientists working together at NIH-funded institutions which our government is now threatening. How ANY of us can believe that’s a good thing is beyond me. ?
--?
Jim Robertson
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That is the name of the developer, and the names used by the reality and financing?
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On May 27, 2025, at 06:52, jimrobertson via groups.io <jimrobertson@...> wrote:
? My wife and I are buying a new home. The builder is a major national developer who not only builds the houses but also employs Realtors and offers financing. I was totally surprised when my mortgage application included requests for my bank and investment account numbers PLUS my online usernames and passwords! I declined, and the financing arm of this huge company said it was OK for me to submit 2 months worth of bank statements from each entity. Those, of course, are presented with partially redacted account numbers and don’t permit the lender unfettered enduring access to my information, but the notion that this is the way they TYPICALLY do business and that most of its customers apparently do not object to such privacy invasions and personal security overreaches just astounds me.
Another example: two summers ago, with Covid still a potential threat, my sister and I returned to the US through immigration and customs at O’Hare Airport, where we crept along a snaking line among hundreds of other passengers from all over the world, many of them coughing and sneezing while unmasked. At the same time, a very few incoming passengers walked up to unmonitored video terminals and smiled for a fraction of a second because they’d secured “Global Entry” screening privileges. We applied and obtained those same credentials, but now that I have them I cannot avoid some concern about the privacy implications. That screening is now available for domestic travel as well thanks to “TSA PreCheck,” and I’m grateful not to have to remove my shoes and undress at the check point, but the same sub-second instant identification is frankly creepy.
I don’t think I’m paranoid. THAT level of “concern” requires the same level of conspiracy theory subscription that engenders all-too-common claims such as (I’m not making this up) “the Covid mRNA vaccines contain nanobots that ‘change our DNA?,’ but only with assistance from government-issued ‘chemtrails’ in the sky that utilize a special form of facial recognition transmitted via 5G cell towers, but only if the subject hides half his or her face from the inquistors by wearing a Covid mask.” I have acquaintances and even relatives who believe such nonsense. Still, the balance between convenience and invasiveness seems to have shifted to an extreme for which we’re all at risk of paying the price. ___________________ ?Those of us who read honest journalism ARE aware that it IS now possible to “change our DNA,” but that it requires many millions of dollars of dedicated work by medical scientists gathered from all over the world at hallowed US educational institutions, using CRISPR technology to replace a defective gene with an adequate one in a single infant, and that the effort requires many MONTHS of labor by those scientists working together at NIH-funded institutions which our government is now threatening. How ANY of us can believe that’s a good thing is beyond me. ?
--?
Jim Robertson
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On May 27, 2025, at 12:13?PM, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
That is the name of the developer, and the names used by the reality and financing?
Brent, did you mean “WHAT” is the name…?
That’s not needed to confirm or refute a claim that my concerns are justified, but I’m not averse to providing them. It appears to be relatively common practice in the industry, given that BOTH the financing company (owned, of course by the builder/developer) and the screening company that will provide information to our landlord while we rent a house for the six months it will take for the new one to be built are requesting that information.
The screening company used by the landlord offers to skip evaluating our banking history if the landlord is willing to review our bank statements.
The screening company responded to my protest by stating “We utilize 128 bit encryption for any information exchanged between our customers and our server” as well as “Our security certificate is provided by Thawte.” So, perhaps my limited understanding of how web developers inform users of the security of their sites is the issue there. I thought that the use of ssl security was denoted by a padlock in the URL window and the “https” prefix to the URL itself, but clicking on a whole BUNCH of sites (that are not asking for any of my personal information), I don’t find that little padlock icon on any of them, nor the “https” prefix. I HAVE occasionally seen warnings from my browser (I typically use Safari) about sites that don’t employ ssl, but I still don’t know what triggers that or for that matter just HOW a user is supposed to maximize his or her own confidence that a site is not “leaky” now that I’ve been made aware my previous understanding was inaccurate. I think a general reminder or clarification to the macsupportcentral user group would be welcomed by me and many others.
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Jim Robertson
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Yes, that should have been what.?
They should not be asking for _any_ of your usernames, and especially not ANY passwords. That is why I ask. That would give them access and control of your finances. If they want to check your credit standing, have them use the credit bureaus. If they want to know your assets, have them check your banks and investment advisors. Otherwise tell them to go whistle.?
Spell check is getting out of hand, even in Numbers. I was creating a new spreadsheet to track recipe testing, and it kept changing abbreviations into errors.?
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On May 27, 2025, at 14:07, jimrobertson via groups.io <jimrobertson@...> wrote:
? On May 27, 2025, at 12:13?PM, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
That is the name of the developer, and the names used by the reality and financing?
Brent, did you mean “WHAT” is the name…?
That’s not needed to confirm or refute a claim that my concerns are justified, but I’m not averse to providing them. It appears to be relatively common practice in the industry, given that BOTH the financing company (owned, of course by the builder/developer) and the screening company that will provide information to our landlord while we rent a house for the six months it will take for the new one to be built are requesting that information.
The screening company used by the landlord offers to skip evaluating our banking history if the landlord is willing to review our bank statements.
The screening company responded to my protest by stating “We utilize 128 bit encryption for any information exchanged between our customers and our server” as well as “Our security certificate is provided by Thawte.” So, perhaps my limited understanding of how web developers inform users of the security of their sites is the issue there. I thought that the use of ssl security was denoted by a padlock in the URL window and the “https” prefix to the URL itself, but clicking on a whole BUNCH of sites (that are not asking for any of my personal information), I don’t find that little padlock icon on any of them, nor the “https” prefix. I HAVE occasionally seen warnings from my browser (I typically use Safari) about sites that don’t employ ssl, but I still don’t know what triggers that or for that matter just HOW a user is supposed to maximize his or her own confidence that a site is not “leaky” now that I’ve been made aware my previous understanding was inaccurate. I think a general reminder or clarification to the macsupportcentral user group would be welcomed by me and many others.
--?
Jim Robertson
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On May 27, 2025, at 18:10, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
They should not be asking for _any_ of your usernames, and especially not ANY passwords. That is why I ask.
That was pretty much my whole point. The landlord’s response was that the general public has gotten good enough at fake editing of PDF statements that lending institutions are getting reluctant to believe them. I do hope someone will address the issue of website privacy/security protection.
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On May 27, 2025, at 18:10, Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Spell check is getting out of hand, even in Numbers.
It’s a special problem for us old f*rts who’ve mastered swipe to type in iOS, where the spell checker is especially aggressive at substituting entire words, with sometimes hilarious but often embarrassing consequences
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jimrobertson wrote: Brent via groups.io <whodo678@...> wrote:
Spell check is getting out of hand, even in Numbers.
It’s a special problem for us old f*rts who’ve mastered swipe to type in iOS, where the spell checker is especially aggressive at substituting entire words, with sometimes hilarious but often embarrassing consequences
I never seem to have that problem.
Maybe it is because I NEVER have autocorrect turned ON !
Auto-SUGGEST is on, to call my attention to typo’s, but I type in any needed corrections.
--? Jim Saklad jimdoc@...
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Jim S, thank you, I had forgotten that auto correct and auto suggest are two separate things.?
I guess that got overlooked when I jumped from 10.7.5 to 10.15.7 I was overwhelmed by the other changes that I missed that. Auto correct is now off. I just hope I can see the red underlining often enough, but I doubt it.?
Brent ?
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
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On May 27, 2025, at 6:16 PM, Jim Saklad via < jimdoc@...> wrote:
jimrobertson wrote: Brent via <whodo678@...> wrote:
Spell check is getting out of hand, even in Numbers.
It’s a special problem for us old f*rts who’ve mastered swipe to type in iOS, where the spell checker is especially aggressive at substituting entire words, with sometimes hilarious but often embarrassing consequences
I never seem to have that problem.
Maybe it is because I NEVER have autocorrect turned ON !
Auto-SUGGEST is on, to call my attention to typo’s, but I type in any needed corrections.
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Jim R, you're are kidding, you want online privacy and security. As soon as they set a standard, someone will try to either break or abuse it.
That you are dealing with 3 interlinked companies, tells me that all the decisions made by them will lean in their favor, not to mention that they will be making profits from you 3 times and not one. Then they ask for your username and password. I would run, not walk away from that interaction.?
I just helped the son / executor of a friend, close the friend’s estate. The son lives out of state, so I was the one to dig through the piles of hoarding to find the important papers. Amongst the trash and stuff, there were all his mail going back to 2011, with some from as far back as 2008. While my friend was brilliant, he held 11 patents for silicon chip manufacturing. He had been over medicated to the point of damaging his brain. I see why he was so confused about things like his mortgage, his mortgage insurance, and home appliances systems repair insurance. His current mortgage holder used at least 3 DBAs, and the prior mortgage holders, found him to be a sucker and kept him on the junk mail (postal) list for 10 years after they either sold the loan. Even the 40 year old executor got confused by all the unsolicited lies, and the fine print
Like I said, run don’t walk away, from everything other than the builder, if they ask for that kind of information from you.?
Brent ?
On my late 2012 Mac mini running?10.15.7?
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My wife and I are buying a new home. The builder is a major national developer who not only builds the houses but also employs Realtors and offers financing. I was totally surprised when my mortgage application included requests for my bank and investment account numbers PLUS my online usernames and passwords! I declined, and the financing arm of this huge company said it was OK for me to submit 2 months worth of bank statements from each entity.?
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todhop
Brent
Jim Saklad