At 8/16/2021 11:16 AM, AK Schnozz wrote:
>I've had the same cell phone number for over 20 years now and the spam
>calls are so extreme that I finally decided enough is enough.
>Unfortunately, with all of the two-factor security things and accounts
>tied to phone numbers, this is a task so arduous that I've put it off
>for years. As a benefit to working for the company I do, I get my
>cellphone service paid for. As I no longer need to have a family plan
>that supports lower-48 residency and I don't spend much time anywhere
>near civilization, I'm converting away from Verizon. Unfortunately,
>the coverage areas here in Alaska are always going to be spotty no
>matter what carrier you use, so it's really a matter of making sure
>that whatever carrier you go with happens to work at your house and
>office. I can see a tower from my house, and there's an antenna on the
>roof of the building I work. Everywhere else is going to be hit or
>miss once you leave the Anchorage area.
>
>I moved to Alaska 4 years ago this last week. It's been a wonderful
>adventure and it's like living a paid vacation. Granted, the earth
>shakes once in a while, and winter lasts for 18 months of the year,
>but it's simply a mind-boggling place to live. I've done the
>unthinkable living here - I've actually worn out a couple of cameras!
>I've filled up my 5TB drives!!!!
>
>As to obscurity, I decided that if I was going to go through the
>hassle of changing phone numbers, that the new number would have to be
>really really cool. As it turns out, the number itself isn't all that
>cool, but the location is. Mine is only the 10th phone number in use
>in the entire area and the population is somewhere around 100 people.
>And they all literally can see Russia from their houses. (no, not
>Wasilla). I'm pretty certain that if I get a phone call from this
>exchange, it's guaranteed to be a spam call. (The only way to this
>location is by helicopter or occasionally boat).
>
>Anyway, it's been an incredible 4 years and I'm hoping for many more 4
>years here.
Congrats on being in AK and continue enjoy it. Perhaps show some more photos
out of that 5TB.
A painful process to change one's phone number.
I too have the same phone number for as long as I have had a cell phone. Having
moved to AZ form MA I can mostly tell the spam as only a few people call from
the MA area code. I can't imagine how to change the number without first
getting a new phone number, keeping the old one until I can make the change.
But the number of two-factor sites that use that old number I can't remember
them all.
I think it would be best to start logging all the places that use them.
medical, government, banks, credit cards, adobe, google .... One thought is,
using my password manager, start logging in to all the sites stored there and
see which ones require the two factors. SMS was never intended as a secure
communication channel. There must be a better way.
I sill have my wife's phone and number. My son suggested, rather than getting
rid of the number, transfer/convert it to a google voice number. That way you
keep the number but don't have to pay (at least for now).
WayneS
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