Thanksgiving is fast approaching, quickly followed by the rest of the holiday line-up. For a lot of us, that means "to grandmother's house we go!" If we're lucky though, we may not actually have to stay with grandma or Uncle Bert or at any other private residence ... and we can enjoy some respite from the relatives in the sanctuary of a hotel.

Do you have a smart phone or a tablet? Of course you do! So, let's pretend that you leave one of these devices on a plane or at a coffee shop-never to be seen again. Now what?

Can you wipe your device remotely? Do you have the serial numbers handy so that you can tell your employer/insurance/device manufacturer? No? That's too bad.

With Halloween just around the corner, we at SynchroNet are thinking about tricks and treats. While this can be an especially fun time of year for kids, vigilant parents know how important it is to check kids' bags of candy for suspicious or outright dangerous treats.

Now that kids across Western New York are back in school, we've been thinking about kids and technology. You know, there's a running joke (based somewhat on reality) that if a parent needs to learn how to use a newfangled computer gadget, just ask the kid.

Computer geeks aside, most people are intimidated to some degree by technology. They learn to run just the apps needed to accomplish the task at hand; master whatever procedures are necessary to get through the day; become acquainted with a few terms to sound like they know what they're talking about ... and cross their fingers that nothing goes wrong.

If you're a Facebook user, you may have noticed (and been bothered by) ads that eerily match your online browsing habits and conversation topics. But even if you aren't into Facebook (yes, such people DO exist!), you may have minor children who are, and the fact that a giant company is tracking their social media moves and bombarding them with sales pitches might cause you alarm.