👍 #867 – Someone Has My IP Address – Should I Be Scared?

This week's articles & videos

One of the most common questions on some of my YouTube videos is from someone, usually a child or teenager, who's been threatened by someone claiming to have their IP address.

It's an empty threat. So what if they have your IP address? No big deal.

They're just trying to scare you. Someone Has My IP Address - Should I Be Scared? goes into the details.

Also this week:

• It's the most common way accounts are compromised. Would you recognize phishing?
• Your machine's been infected. Do you know how to back it up safely?
• A program misbehaves and can't be uninstalled. Now What?

TEH Podcast

After I rant a little about character encoding, Gary and I talk about "FREE" -- what it means, what it doesn't mean, why things might be free, and why it's critical that you set your expections appropriately. TEH 137: Free? Why and why not?

7 Takeaways

It has a small following right now, but I keep getting feedback that people are finding my little pet project -- 7Takeaways.com -- interesting and thought provoking. Every day (in theory) I read something substantial, and identify a "takeaway". Once a week those get published and emailed to a select set of subscribers. Take a look. become one of those select subscribers if it sounds interesting.

Windows 11

By now you've heard Microsoft announced Windows 11 this week. I've got an article on at least one aspect of the announcement coming up, but I also took a few minutes to editorialize a little in the newsletter summary video above. If you've not watched that, and Windows 11 has piqued your curiosity, you might want to see what I have to say about it.

Stay safe,

This Week's Featured Article

Someone Has My IP Address - Should I Be Scared?
What your IP address does and does not reveal, and to whom.

If someone threatens you because they know your IP address, it's an empty threat.

https://askleo.com/133963

Also This Week on Ask Leo!

Phishing: How to Know It When You See It How to avoid the #1 cause of compromised accounts.
Phishing is a way scammers trick you into providing personal and financial details. Phishing opens the door to identity theft and more. https://askleo.com/16491

How Do I Safely Back Up an Infected Drive? Backing up is easy. It's what happens next that matters.
Once your machine is infected, system backups are likely to include the infection, but are still important. I'll look at what steps to take. https://askleo.com/130295

A Program Crashes and I Can't Uninstall It. What Do I Do? Make it stop . . . or go away.
Problems with a program that won't install can be tricky. It's important to capture the exact wording of any error messages you are receiving. https://askleo.com/6400

Ask Leo! on YouTube

Subscribe to Ask Leo! on YouTube to get the latest on YouTube.com. Your subscription (and "Likes") help others find Ask Leo!, and the the answers they're looking for.

A Program Crashes and I Can't Uninstall It, What Do I Do? Problems with a program that crashes that won't uninstall can be tricky. It's important to capture the exact wording of any error messages you are receiving. https://youtu.be/tRD5GAM7yeY

How Do I Safely Back Up an Infected Drive? Once your hard drive is infected, a full back up is likely to include the infection as well. I'll look at what steps to take when that happens. https://youtu.be/IoINdATCGNo

Someone Has My IP Address ' Should I Be Scared? If someone threatens you because they know your IP address -- it's an empty threat. https://youtu.be/b2vj8n45qEs

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