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Americans across all political stripes were understandably concerned when news broke that Elon Musk, the unelected head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), had gained access to the U.S. Treasury Departments payment systems. These payment systems are responsible for trillions of dollars in federal payments, including things like Social Security benefits and tax refunds. DOGE has felt fishy from the start, a blatant branding stunt that blurs the line between private investment and public interest by advertising Musk’s investment in Dogecoin. Knowing that Musk and his crew of DOGEbags are pursuing deep access to the Treasury Department and its troves of data has led to a number of questions (some, perhaps, a tad paranoid): What exactly do they plan to do with my private information? What personal data is stored in these systems and is any of it from my incognito browsing? Couldnt the worlds richest man find better things to do with his time? Musks ability to access personally identifiable information (PII) from the Treasury Department and other federal agencies is in flux, with the courts weighing in on the legality of that access. That doesnt mean your personal and financial information is necessarily safeeither from this current threat or from any data breaches in the future. Heres what you can do to protect yourself and your finances from the prying eyes of DOGE. Know what information is vulnerable The U.S. Treasurys payment system handles the outlay of federal funds, including federal grants, Social Security and Medicare payments, tax information, and payments to federal contractors. Anyone who has received any of these types of federal dollars (which is pretty much everyone) has their personal information stored on the database. Specifically, the database holds Social Security numbers, tax information, and bank account numbers (for direct deposit of tax refunds, Social Security payments, and other payments). To be clear, the U.S. Treasury Departments payment system is not the only place where this kind of personal information is storedso its prudent to protect yourself even if no classified material was accessed without proper security clearances, as the DOGE claimed on February 2, 2025. How to DOGE-proof your data There are several actions that will help keep you safe, even if any of your personal information falls into the wrong hands. Open a my Social Security account Most policy and financial experts are not worried about the possibility of a Social Security payment breach. If you are currently receiving Social Security benefits, there is no reason to believe your payments are in jeopardy due to DOGE access to the U.S. Treasury. However, a stolen Social Security number could allow an identity thief to open a my Social Security web account in your name and potentially steal your benefits. The my Social Security web portal allows you to check your earnings history, estimate future benefits, and manage current benefits (which includes setting up direct deposit). Its not exactly easy for hackers to access your Social Security benefits, even if they have your Social Security number. The my Social Security web portal takes data safety seriously and uses various tools to verify your identity, including information from your credit reports. So an identity thief would need to have that information, in addition to your SSN, to open an account in your name. But it is still prudent (and helpful) to establish your account now, as it will ensure that no one else opens an account in your name. One important note: If you have already frozen your credit (more on that below), you will need to temporarily unfreeze it to establish your account. Set up an IRS.gov account Scammers with your personal information may also attempt to file a fraudulent tax return in your name to claim a refund. The IRS has identified this as a growing problem over the past few years, with over one million tax returns flagged as potentially fraudulent during the 2023 tax season. Setting up an online individual account with IRS.gov can help ensure that you are the only person filing taxes in your name. This kind of account can also allow you to access your tax records, manage payments, and get virtual assistance. For further security, you can also request an identity protection PIN (IP PIN) from the IRS. This is a six-digit number assigned to you at the beginning of the tax season that you may use to file your taxes instead of your Social Security number. The IP PIN is only shared with you, and you will need to provide it when filing your tax return to verify your identity. The IP PIN is also only valid for one calendar year, so you must request a new one each tax season. If you have your IRS.gov online individual account set up, there is a link to request an IP PIN through that portal. Freeze your credit Freezing your credit means that no one, not even you, can open new credit in your name. (The fact that youre included in the freeze comes in handy when youre tempted by impulse credit. Youll actually be relieved when the cashier denies your Kohls credit card application, 20% discount be damned. Ask me how I know this.) With frozen credit, even if identity thieves have your personal information, they cant open an account in your name. Credit freezes last indefinitely, which means you dont have to worry about renewing the chill. However, you do need to unfreeze your credit anytime you want to open a new line of credit. The credit bureaus allow you to thaw your credit for a specific time frame, after which point the freeze goes back into effect. These time frames can be as short as a day. To freeze your credit, go to each of the three nationwide credit bureau websites and follow their prompts: Equifax Experian Transunion Practice good password hygiene If youve been using Bandit1993 as your password for everything,its time to change itwhether or not the U.S. Treasury Department has access to your bank account. Passwords that use pet names, important dates, your mothers maiden name, or the name of your favorite Toad the Wet Sprocket album (Dulcinea, of course!) are just too easy to guess. And though reusing passwords may feel like a timesaver, it leaves all your accounts vulnerable to any sketchy characters lurking among real TtWS enthusiasts. Good password hygiene requires a unique, strong password for every account. Passwords made up of a random string of 16 or more characters are the most secure, but it would be literally impossible to remember such passwords for every account. Cybersecurity experts suggest creating passphrasesa memorable phrase made up of several unrelated wordsto use as passwords. These can be especially secure if you replace some letters with numbers or symbols. For example, you might choose the words watch, mirror, eclair, and limb, and create the following passphrase: W@tchMirr0rEcl@irL!mb. If you want to hit the easy button on password security, you can ensure unique and strong passwords with a password manager. Just dont use Bandit1993 as your master password for the manager. Death, taxes, and security breaches The particular security threat posed by DOGE may be novel, but its a good idea to remember that our information is always vulnerable in one way or another. Some proactive strategies can protect your Social Security number, tax information, and bank account from a variety of threats. Specifically, opening accounts with my Social Security and IRS.gov can prevent fraudsters from accessing benefits and tax refunds in your name, while requesting an identity protection PIN (IP PIN) from the IRS every tax season offers further protection from identity thieves. Freezing your credit prevents anyoneincluding youfrom opening new credit in your name. The credit bureaus make it easy to freeze and unfreeze your credit on their websites. And using strong, unique passwords on all your accounts is the best way to keep your information secure. Since remembering random strings of characters is impossible, use a password manager to handle the recall for you. The fact that, via DOGE, an unelected billionaire has access to our sensitive data is rage-inducing, but we do have the power to protect ourselves.
Category:
E-Commerce
Inside a cavernous production plant in Spain, people from 62 nationalities work side by side to keep a food company humming as millions of legs of ham travel on hooks along conveyor belts. Foreign workers have helped to make Spains economy the envy of the industrialized world, even as anti-immigration sentiments grow elsewhere in Europe and in the United States. Bonrea would not be possible if it werent for the people from other countries who have come here to work. We should be eternally grateful to them, the companys head of human resources, Xavier Moreno, told the Associated Press during a recent visit. Tapping into foreign labor helped Spains economy grow by about 3% last year, smashing the eurozone average of 0.8%, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That also beat the U.S. growth rate of 2.8%, according to OECD projected figures, where President Donald Trump has pledged to close borders and deport immigrants who are in the country illegally. Spains ministry for social security and migration says 45% of all jobs created since 2022 have been filled by around half a million new foreign-born workers. Nearly 3 million foreigners now represent 13% of the countrys workforce. We had two ways to deal with the challenge, the minister, Elma Saiz, told the AP. That Spain be a closed and poor country or an open and prosperous one. Pedro Aznar, professor of economics with the Esade Business School in Barcelona, said the influx of foreign workers has helped Spain fare far better than Germany, the traditional motor of Europes economy, whose manufacturing industry is in crisis. Spain is driven by services, in particular its buoyant tourism sector. Foreigners do typically lower-wage jobs that many Spaniards dont want. And while Spain takes in fewer asylum-seekers than other European countries, its in the rare position to attract millions of economic migrants from Latin America who swiftly incorporate into Spain’s job market and social fabric thanks to the common language. Practically all of Spains population growth since the COVID-19 pandemic is due to immigration, with 1.1 million people arriving in 2022, according to the Bank of Spain. It credits the newcomers with sustaining the aging countrys social security systema challenge common in other European nations. The bank said 85% of the 433,000 people who found a job last year between January and September were foreign-born. Bucking the anti-migration trend Across Europe, the rise of anti-migrant sentiment has spurred far-right political parties. Spain also has seen the rise of anti-migration political forces that focus on unauthorized migration from Africa and Islamic countries, but they haven’t been able to impose their narrative as deeply. Mohamed Es-Saile, 38, arrived from Morocco illegally when he was 16, crossing into Spains north African exclave of Ceuta. He now works legally as an electrician and repairman at bonrea. I dont feel any hate toward migrants here, Es-Saile said. From my point of view, a person (from abroad) can adapt to situations in a new country, even sometimes better than people from that country. Latin Americans have made up the bulk of immigrants who arrived legally. According to the most recent census, more than 4 million Latin American immigrants were living in Spain legally in 2023. Víctor Razuri was brought over by bonrea from Peru last year as a mechanic and electrician. The 41-year-old said he has had little problem adapting. In Peru, you dont see many people from other parts of the world. When I got here, I was working with people from Ukraine, from Morocco, and with a few other people from Latin America, he said. It was a little tough at first, but I think I have adapted. To help integrate newcomers, bonrea offers classes in Spanish and Catalan, help with work permits, and finding homes and schools. Representatives of workers from different countries meet regularly to discuss issues related to cultural differences. Our future prosperity Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has defended legal migration, drawing attention to its economic benefits. Spain added an estimated 458,000 authorized immigrants last year, according to the National Statistics Institute. While 31% come from other EU countries, leading countries of origin also include Morocco, Colombia, Venezuela, China, Peru, and Ukraine. New arrivals often take service jobs, construction, farming, fishing, and home care and cleaning. Welcoming those who come here looking for a better life is not just an obligation, it is also an essential step to guaranteeing our future prosperity, Sánchez told Parliament in October. An aging Spain requires workers Social changes in Spain have opened the job market for newcomers without creating dramatic social tensions, despite chronic high unemployment at 10.6%. The Bank of Spain estimates that an aging Spain will need 30 million working-age immigrants over the next 30 years to sustain the balance between workers and retirees-plus-children. In Barcelona, café owner Jordi Ortiz said there is no way he could keep his business going without his staff of mostly Latin Americans. It is basically 80% of people from abroad, 20% from here, Ortiz said. Spaniards just dont want to work in the service sector. Emily Soto, originally from the Dominican Republic, serves tables at the cafe. She and her family emigrated in 1998. Since then, things have changed. When I got here there was nobody else from my country, I mean we could count them on our fingers, Soto said. But now they just keep coming. Contractor Víctor Lisbona in Barcelona said fellow Spaniards no longer follow in their parents footsteps, and estimates that around 80% of the carpenters, electricians, and construction professionals he has worked with are foreigners. Young Spaniards dont want to do the hard jobs, the construction work, driving trucks, carpentry. They want to study to be lawyers, doctors, Lisbona said. New work permits for migrants Spain has struggled with unauthorized migration across the Mediterranean Sea and has backed European Union deals with Morocco to try to stem flows. Meanwhile, the stream of migrant boats journeying from Africas west coast to Spains Canary Islands has created a humanitarian crisis. Countless die in the attempt. Sánchez toured Mauritania, Senegal, and Gambia last year to promote a temporary work scheme whereby African workers could get legal and safe passage to Spain. Results have yet to be seen. The governmnt also aims to bring unauthorized migrants already in Spain into the system. In November, Sánchezs left-wing coalition announced it would provide work permits and papers to some 900,000 foreigners already in the country illegally over the coming three years, with hopes they will work and pay taxes. Bonrea will be waiting to give them jobs, Moreno with human resources said, with some 700 posts likely available. By Joseph Wilson and Suman Naishadham, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Most of us are used to using internet chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek in one of two ways: via a web browser or via their dedicated smartphone apps. There are two drawbacks to this. First, their use requires an internet connection. Second, everything you type into the chatbot is sent to the companies servers, where it is analyzed and retained. In other words: the more you use the chatbot the more the company knows about you. This is a particular worry surrounding DeepSeek that American lawmakers have expressed. But thanks to a few innovative and easy-to-use desktop apps, LM Studio and GPT4All, you can bypass both these drawbacks. With the apps, you can run various LLM models on your computer directly. Ive spent the last week playing around with these apps and thanks to each, I can now use DeepSeek without the privacy concerns. Heres how you can, too. Run DeepSeek locally on your computer without an internet connection To get started, simply download LM Studio or GPT4All on your Mac, Windows PC, or Linux machine. Once the app is installed, youll download the LLM of your choice into it from an in-app menu. I chose to run DeepSeeks R1 model, but the apps support myriad open-source LLMs. LM Studio can run DeepSeeks reasoning model privately on your computer. Once youve done the above youve essentially turned your personal computer into an AI server capable of running numerous open-source LLMs, including ones from DeepSeek and Meta. Next, simply open a new chat window and type away just as you would when using an AI chatbot on the web. The best thing about both these apps is that they are free for general consumer use, you can run several open-source LLMs in them (you get to choose which and can swap between LLMs at will), and, if you already know how to use an AI chatbot in a web browser, youll know how to use the chatbot in these apps. But there are additional benefits to running LLMs locally on your computer, too. The benefits of using an LLM locally Ive been running DeepSeeks reasoning model on my MacBook for the past week without so much as a hiccup in both LM Studio or GPT4All. One of the coolest things about interacting with DeepSeek in this way is that no internet is required. Since the LLM is hosted directly on your computer, you dont need any kind of data connection to the outside world to use it. Running LLMs like DeepSeek in apps like GPT4All can help keep your data secure. Or as GPT4Alls lead developer, Adam Treat, puts it, You can use it on an airplane or at the top of Mount Everest. This is a major boon to business travelers stuck on long flights and those working in remote, rural areas. But if Treat had to sum up the biggest benefit of running DeepSeek locally on your computer, he would do it in one word: Privacy. Every online LLM is hosted by a company that has access to whatever you input into the LLM. For personal, legal, and regulatory reasons this can be less than optimal or simply not possible, Treat explains. While for individuals, this can present privacy risks, those who upload business or legal documents into an LLM to summarize could be putting their company and its data in jeopardy. Uploading that [kind of data] to an online server risks your data in a way that using it with an offline LLM will not, Treat notes. The reason an offline LLM running locally on your own computer doesnt put your data at risk is because Your data simply never leaves your machine, says Treat. This means, for example, if you want to use DeepSeek to help you summarize that report you wrote, you can upload it into the DeepSeek model stored locally on your computer via GPT4All or LM Studio and rest assured the information in that report isnt being sent to the LLM maker’s servers. The drawbacks of using an LLM locally However, there are drawbacks to running an LLM locally. The first is that youre limited to using only the open-source models that are available, which may be less recent than the model that is available through the chatbots official website. And because only open-source models can be installed, that means you cant use apps like GPT4All or LM Studio to run OpenAIs ChatGPT locally on your computer. Another disadvantage is speed. Because you are using your own hardware (your laptop or desktop) to power the AI, the speed of responses will be generally slower than an online server, Treat says. And since AI models rely heavily on RAM to perform their computations, the amount of RAM you have in your computer can limit which models you can install in apps like GPT4All and LM Studio. As online servers are usually powered by very high-end hardware they are generally going to be faster and have more memory allowing for very fast responses by very large models, explains Treat. Still, in my testing of both LM Studio and GPT4All over the past week, I dont think the reduced speediness of DeepSeeks replies is a dealbreaker. When using DeepSeeks R1 reasoning model on the web, the DeepSeek hosted on servers in China took 32 seconds to return an answer to the prompt Can you teach me how to make a birthday cake? When asking the local DeepSeek R1 model stored in LM Studio and GPT4All, the response time was 84 seconds and 82 seconds, respectively. Ive found that the benefits of running DeepSeek locally on my device using LM Studio and GPT4All far outweigh the extra waiting time required to get a response. Without a doubt, being able to access a powerful AI odel like DeepSeeks R1 locally on my computer anywhere at any time without an internet connectionand knowing the data I enter into it remains privateis a trade-off worth making.
Category:
E-Commerce
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