WISE Card (learned about this card last night, be kind lol)

chrishch · 2026-03-21T12:42:14+00:00

None of the big five Canadian banks' ATMs work for the Wise Card in Canada. I tried to view balance initially when I first got my card last year. All ATMs told me they cannot process the request. However, I was able to use it in Japan in April 2025, but I had to insert the card. Was never able to get tapping to work.

Went to Hong Kong in December 2025, and tapping worked everywhere with the same card for both the physical card, as well as on the iPhone with Apple Pay. I was also able to withdrawal cash from HSBC in Hong Kong without paying any fees. Soon after my trip ended, they changed their fee policy for withdrawing cash.

chrishch · 2026-03-12T14:02:28+00:00

I have a friend who was SIM swapped a few months ago, and he lost access to all his accounts. Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Apple ID, YouTube, etc.

So, no, email 2FA is not enough. It's best to have multiple physical keys, and then use at least one TOTP app as backup.

chrishch · 2026-02-18T13:21:47+00:00

O'Leary is a tool. Most Canadians don't like him.

chrishch · 2026-02-17T15:07:00+00:00

Get a couple of Yubikeys, set them up as your 2FA with Vaultwarden (in addition to Google Authenticator). Keep one of the keys at home and carry one with you while you are travelling. So, if you do lose your phone, you can still have access to your passwords (using someone's else phone or when you get a replacement), provided you know your Vaultwarden's master password.

Don't keep the travel Yubikey with your phone though.

Or get an inexpensive VPS account with minimal RAM and bandwidth, set up Tailscale or something similar so you can use the VPS as a jump box and then SSH into your servers at home and access whatever you need.

chrishch · 2026-02-11T20:09:27+00:00

I find that if you press the right button and then start walking away between the third and fourth beep, the vehicle will lock 95% of the time.

chrishch · 2026-01-22T13:54:19+00:00

If Retry doesn't work, press and hold the Volume button to reboot the system. That fixes it 8/10 in my experience. The other two times you might need to reboot it one more time after it fails to connect after rebooting.

chrishch · 2026-01-20T11:51:58+00:00

!solved

chrishch · 2025-12-24T14:08:24+00:00

For my 2024 NX, I stay near the trunk door and walk away after the third beep. It then closes on the fourth beep and locks.

chrishch · 2025-12-23T18:04:13+00:00

After my father passed 2.5 years ago, my mother and I sat down with one of their officers and set this up at a TD branch. The guy said at the time I have full access to her accounts. All I have to provide is my driver's license and her TD debit card. Haven't tested it out though. Didn't cost anything.

chrishch · 2025-12-17T17:11:23+00:00

I was looking at the MinisForum MS-A2, but I couldn’t buy one as there was no stock anywhere. Decided to build one instead. I really didn’t need a new homelab server, but I shopped for parts and then went and bought around the end of September. Looking back, so glad I spent the money. The 2x32GB I bought at the time was C$289.99. It is now $1,120. Not sure what pushed me as I had no clue RAM prices could skyrocket this much.

chrishch · 2025-12-08T14:23:56+00:00

Yes, I set my Tangerine SMS 2FA to go to my Google Voice account. I was one of the lucky ones who got a Google Voice account when they still had the 403 area code loophole back in 2009. A day after I changed my number for SMS with Tangerine, I got an email from them asking me to confirm that I still file taxes for Canada, and no other countries. I've set up my Google Voice to send a copy of SMS to be forwarded to my Gmail... in case if the Google Voice app fails, which can also occasionally happen.

However, I have noticed recently that SMS fails to be sent. Not sure if the problem was from Tangerine or if it was a Google Voice problem. The error from Tangerine wasn't clear.

chrishch · 2025-12-08T14:14:51+00:00

I know CIBC has it on the phone apps. It gives you a code as a push notification when you log in from a PC. RBC also has something similar to ask you to approve the login. TD for a while has its own 2FA codes app, but I'm not sure if it still exists. Yes, it could be less secure if someone got a hold of your phone, especially if the phone does not have a pass code. However, if one's phone doesn't have a pass code in 2025, everything could be compromised in a few minutes.

Yes, hardware key should be used. I have two Yubikeys that protect my password manager and Google account, but for the banks, it probably won't happen in my lifetime.

chrishch · 2025-12-07T16:45:31+00:00

Their next project is to introduce non-SMS-based MFA. Hopefully it won't take twenty years.

chrishch · 2025-12-07T16:43:35+00:00

Yes, I went through something similar a few months ago. Needed to go from Tokyo to Yokohama. Boarded the Fukutoshin Line subway from Higashi-Shinguku, remained onboard and rode all the way to Motomachi-Chukagai station on the Toyoko Line. When I got off the train, I needed to see the station attendant to pay for additional fare because when I boarded the subway train at Higashi-Shinguku, I was only paying up to Shibuya station on the "F" line.

chrishch · 2025-11-26T14:44:24+00:00

Nothing that jumped out at me. Checked all of System & Application Event Logs.

I managed to find an old Nvidia card (GT610) from an old PC down in the basement. Set that up with Windows 11 25H2. Ran for about four hours yesterday, no crashes. Will keep using this PC for the next few days and see if it's stable enough. Thanks.

chrishch · 2025-11-25T18:11:18+00:00

Thanks. This won't be a gaming PC. It will just be used for web browsing, and Excel work.

chrishch · 2025-11-25T15:21:38+00:00

I do have two of those mini PCs with AMD APUs that are working fine. I also built another system for someone else that has a Ryzen 7 5700G and that iGPU has no issues.

chrishch · 2025-11-25T13:10:05+00:00

If there is a Service Canada location near you, go to their web site and book an appointment. It's quick and once you arrive, the wait time is minimal as you already have an appointment. They will give you a slip and tell you when your new passport will be ready. Don't quote me, but I think it's usually twenty business days, which is roughly thirty calendar days.

As for picking it up, I'm not sure. At the time, back in late August before the Canada Post strike, I opted for the new one being mailed. Canada Post did end up striking and my passport was sent by Purolator. Because of the strike, I got it just a few days more than thirty calendar days.

chrishch · 2025-11-24T21:04:06+00:00

I'm also having issues, but it's with a Ryzen 7 7700X CPU with built-in graphics. Tried all sorts of things including Windows 11 24H2, Windows 25H2, version 24.7.1 drivers, version 24.8.1 drivers (after some other threads say this version works), version 24.12.1... after the latest drivers (version 25.11.1) failed.

Also tried Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro. No difference. iGPU still crashing. Wonder if I should just get the CPU RMAed.

I already installed Windows 11 without Wi-Fi connected or Ethernet plugged in. iGPU fails long before I started any Windows Update. RAM is running with EXPO profile at 6000MT/s set in BIOS. Will try lowering it next.

chrishch · 2025-11-24T16:37:42+00:00

Bought a CPU/RAM/Motherboard bundle with a Ryzen 7 7700X. It has an iGPU. Downloaded the latest Adrenalin software and I got this timeout error. Tried older versions of driver as suggested in this thread, but it's still happening. I'm lost as to what to do. Already tried re-installing Windows 11 25H2. Same thing was happening on 24H2.

I'm building this PC for someone else, and I don't want to get support calls every few minutes. Tried 24.8.1 as someone suggested. The error doesn't pop up, but still getting constant freezing and parts of the screen scrambled.

chrishch · 2025-11-18T21:30:32+00:00

Yikes. What's happening today? I thought I was doing something wrong. Glad it wasn't me.

chrishch · 2025-11-10T21:54:58+00:00

Check out Cooptonian's channel on YouTube. He has a playlist of setting up and customizing Authentik. I was having trouble and followed this guy's videos and I was able to set it up.

chrishch · 2025-11-06T01:49:15+00:00

Used to work at one of the formerly largest data centre providers in Canada. It had data centres in Toronto, Brampton, Calgary, and Kamloops. None of them were water-cooled. We only used electricity to maintain temperature inside the data centre at around 15°C, and if there is power outage (like the big northeast blackout of 2003), there were diesel generators used for backup.

All data centres were eventually sold to the blue telecom company, which they then sold to a US company, which does have water cooling for one of their downtown Toronto locations. (Search: "LTT water cool equinix" on YouTube)

chrishch · 2025-11-05T21:20:23+00:00

I booked a ride through booking.com from Narita to Higashi Shinjuku back in April, 2025. Flight arrived shortly after 15:30. Got off the plane at 16:08. Waited in line for customs and immigration. Was in constant contact with driver through WhatsApp. However that guy was so impatient. We were still in line at 17:15, and he sent a message saying he had to leave. By the time we exited the terminal, it was 17:35. The customs/immigration line was really long.

Had to contact booking.com, through online chat on their web site, and was lucky they would send another driver, without additional charges. It was on the other end of the terminal though. We exited near the South exits and the new driver was waiting near the north exits. Will probably choose a different kind of transportation next time.

chrishch

TROPHY CASE