Dale has problems with his text messages: He doesn't get the entire long message, and it's all chopped up out of order. Leo says it's the carrier that is limiting, or "truncating" his SMS text message to 160 characters, chopping it up, and sending it out in multiple bursts. It's an issue with Sprint, unfortunately. If he can start using a messaging app and convince everyone in the family to do the same, he won't have this issue.
Joey wants to know if the new Net Neutrality bill will pass. Leo says probably not. The Senate is controlled by one party that isn't in favour of Net Neutrality and the president wouldn't sign it if it did. Their view is that the government shouldn't regulate the internet. But Leo says that while that's true, it's a good idea to have a check and balance on the internet service providers.
Should you use 2-factor authentication? Leo says yes, but Leo isn't a fan of 2FA over SMS text messaging. It's too easy to spoof, but it's better than nothing.
Jeanine wants to know how to retrieve text messages from an old phone. Leo says that there are several ways to do it. Sometimes they are stored up in the cloud with the carrier. She can ask the technician at the phone store to transfer all the data over. There are also apps that will enable her to do it, including Android apps like SMS Backup and Restore. She can put it on the old phone and it will back up all the messages to the cloud.
Carmine has 2 factor authentication on most of his systems, but some use SMS, and he thinks that's not very secure. Leo says that there will always be a trade-off between security and convenience. But SMS is far easier to crack than independent authentication through an authenticator. Leo says to contact the cellphone company and have them put their additional layer of authentication on her phone.
Chip has trouble texting to radio stations using Google Voice. It keeps getting bounced back. Leo says it's likely because the service that the radio stations use doesn't support it. Until they do, there's not much he can do.
Peter upgraded his iPhone to the latest version of iOS 12, and ever since then, his text messages haven't been sending right away. Leo says the first thing to do is call his carrier. There are two ways messages get sent on an iPhone, however. It's either being sent with iMessage which uses his data, or as an SMS. He's only having this problem with the built-in Messages app, and it's with everyone. Leo thinks it has to do with his wireless carrier.
Karen has a ZTE Android phone and she wants to save her text messages. Leo says there's an app called SMS Backup and Restore and it can save text messages for him. If that doesn't work, she should keep looking in the Google Play store.
(Disclaimer: Carbonite is a sponsor)
Scott is an independent author and he says he's worried about data protection requirements under the EU's GDPR rules. Leo says that requirements for data protection is different for an individual than they are for a company with 250 or more. One can use MailChimp to do GDPR and protect the client's data. If he/she has a website that's log enabled then they would also have requirements. It's also not completely clear what the EU's GDPR requirements are, especially for small businesses. The EU is more interested in larger companies than the little guy.
Chuck needs an option to be able to grab an image of his text messages and produce a PDF of it. Leo says that's easy on a Mac because he has access to Apple Messages, but he doesn't have the ability to include Android text messages. Leo says that a Google Voice number may be the ideal option using Hangouts.
Larry wants to know if sending messages via Facebook affect his data caps. Leo says it's a data only program, so that would be yes. But it's probably not going to affect his data usage by much. Messages from Facebook aren't SMS. They are data based messages. SMS messaging is on the way out. This is why carriers are readily offering unlimited texting plans.
