Letter: COMPSEC Warning on Windows 10 Updates

Dear Editor: I used to have respect for Kim Komando, but after reading her article about the recent Windows 10 update, I have moved her to my “don’t trust” list. Let me explain: For my own COMPSEC I only connect to the internet wifi while I am actively using it and even then I monitor the data and CPU usage in real time using task manager. That way I know which program(s) are active. About 10 days ago, I detected the Windows 10 update in progress. It eventually took Four Hours of machine time (6X the usual time) and ate …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at investing in reloading components. (See the Tangibles Investing section.) Precious Metals: At Zero Hedge: “Everything Has Changed” – Gold Is At An All-Time High In 73 Countries o  o  o Gold, Silver Up Amid Risk Aversion Worldwide Economy & Finance: Audio from Wolf Richter:  …



Preparedness Notes for Sunday — August 18, 2019

August 18th is the birthday of Meriwether Lewis, an American explorer, soldier, politician and public administrator that is best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. An interesting side note is the Girandoni Air Rifle carried by Lewis during that expedition. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 84  of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at the ongoing Hong Kong protests. Hong Kong Protests: It’s Now a Revolution By way of Whatfinger.com, comes this: In Hong Kong, It’s Now a Revolution. The article begins: “Defying stern …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.  In all things shewing thyself …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — August 17, 2019

While salmon fishing near the Klondike River in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 17th, 1896, George Carmack reportedly spotted nuggets of gold in a creek bed. His lucky discovery sparked the last great gold rush in the American West. His two companions later agreed that Skookum, Jim–Carmack’s brother-in-law, actually made the discovery. — The Philadephia police have fessed up to what really happened, in triggering a shootout and lengthy standoff earlier this week. They now admit that while exercising a court-issued warrant at one address, they decided to do a so-called “safety sweep” on a different house in the neighborhood, …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready! Jim Reports: I now have just two weeks …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. He that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord: but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him. In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride: but the lips of the wise shall preserve them. Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox. A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies. A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — August 16, 2019

On August 16th, 1841, President John Tyler vetoed a second attempt by Congress to re-establish the Bank of the United States. In response, angry supporters of the bank gathered outside the White House and burned an effigy of Tyler. — By way of Claire Wolfe’s blog, I just heard that her co-author Kit Perez had fairly major surgery for melanoma. She was caught without medical insurance on this, so donations would be greatly appreciated. Claire reports: “The pathology and prognosis are unknown at this point, but it’s frighteningly likely Kit’s going to need long-term medical follow-up. Friends of Kit’s have …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we again look at investing in Nickels. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: We’ll start off with this piece over at Lew Rockwell’s site: The History of the World is a History of Gold o  o  o Gunmen steal $2.5M in gold coins from open vault at …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — August 15, 2019

On August 15, 1961, two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities began building a wall–the Berlin Wall–to permanently close off access to the West. For the next 28 years, the heavily fortified Berlin Wall stood as the most tangible symbol of the Cold War–a literal “iron curtain” dividing Europe. The wall has now been torn down for longer than it stood, but the scars in memory are still there. — All of the major stock indices were down dramatically on Tuesday (August 14, 2019), with the S&P 500 down …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at Zapping Fake Power Grids. Gun Sales Surge — Mostly for Pistols Gun sales surge fueled by first-timers, mostly for ‘concealed’ pistols. Zapping Fake Power Grids to Help Us Survive an …