Beware People (Be Aware)
There’s a new development in the world of cybercriminal scammers everyone needs to be aware of.
* Tech support scams gain sophistication, now using malware
“Tech support scammers are upping their game, actively using malware to cause computer technical issues— effectively holding devices for ransom and forcing consumers to call a fake support number, which opens them up to identity theft and future credit problems.” Read more..
Remember: “Malware” is viruses, trojans, cryptolockers.. anything bad.
And to lightening things up a bit (as I don’t you to think I’m nothing but a downer).. something completely unrelated to tech:
Today’s quote: “Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.” ~ Jim Rohn
Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
It’s Identity Theft Season: How To Protect Yourself
Folks, here is another article containing advice we all need to be doing — particularly now.
* Identity scams are up this tax season: How to protect yourself
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Today’s quote: “The best thing to do when you find yourself in a hurting or vulnerable place is to surround yourself with the strongest, finest, most positive people you know.” ~ Kristin Armstrong
Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Can you tell the difference between a safe email and a scam?
* Can you tell the difference between a safe email and a scam?
“Gone are the days that you could easily spot an email scam by poor grammar or a suspicious email address. Email scams have become more sophisticated, use smart tricks and often appear to come from large companies such as your bank, UPS or Paypal.
A shocking 45% of people are fooled by email scams and face consequences such as financial loss or identity theft at some point in their life. Here’s what you need to know to guard yourself against the top scams going around today.” HOW TO SPOT A SCAM
Today’s quote: “Okay, I cannot say this without being very direct. If you are looking for a spouse or even a romance through social media, you are looking for trouble.” ~ John Patrick Hickey,
Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
A few items, and some FF
It was a non-interesting week in the tech headlines, IMHO. But you may want to be aware that I’ve seen some really good tech bargains in this “back to school” sale season — if you’re considering a purchase. And here are a couple articles a few of you may find valuable.
* The Microsoft Store: A wretched hive of scams and fake apps
“It appears that Microsoft’s online app store is suffering from a serious infestation of scam and fake apps turning up with discomforting regularity in popular searches.” Read more..
* How to hack Gmail 92 percent of the time
“Impossible? Apparently not, as US researchers have discovered.” Read more..
* AOL announces that it does not follow ‘Do Not Track’ requests
“AOL amended its privacy policy this past week and elaborated on its decision not to respond to web browsers’ “Do Not Track” (DNT) signals.” Read more..
[I’m pretty sure that’s because the websites ignore such request anyway.. it’s a toothless, ‘feel good’ idea.]
Friday Fun Video:
I love that dog!
Today’s quote: “We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men.” ~ George Orwell
Copyright 2007-2014 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
And please, never forget – one person can make a difference.
Find a way to make someone’s day today.
(Best advice I ever heard? Don’t sweat the small stuff.)
A List of Active Scams (to be wary of)
Yesterday’s article prompted a reader to ask,
Seen on Litigation Digest
Q: “Do u know of any good sites that list all latest known scams?”
A: I don’t think there is any one particular “master list” of the latest fraud, rip off, scam, bogus websites, etc., fly-by-night companies, etc., but there are resources the smart consumer should be aware of. Here are just a few: (not necc. in order of import.)
1) Snopes
The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.
2) Current Top 10 List of Scams and Frauds
Find out what the latest scams are on the internet, in your mail or on your phone.
There is loads of free fact sheets, guides and links to reporting authorities.
3) Consumer Frauds and Scams | USA.gov
Tips to help you avoid scams and fraud. … How to Protect Yourself Against
Consumer Frauds and Scams. Banking and ATM Frauds Protect your money
from
And to give you some idea of just how GIANT a task compiling such a list would be … (as well as being perhaps the main ‘bookmark this’ page offered here today..)
There are many internet scams including career, employment, unemployment,
education, business, visa, and other scams. Here’s an A – Z of the most common …
I’m going to have to look into this more.. and I welcome any reader suggestions for answering the reader’s question.
Oh. Yes. Almost forgot. The Better Business Bureau maintains a list of scams.
Don’t get hooked by a scam. Check our list of scams from across North America.
I have to go sulk now. Microsoft just switched my “classic” Hotmail to the new “Outlook.com” mail, and I absolutely hate it. Trouble is.. I’m not aware of any good webmail to switch to.. they all have issues. The day where I go off the grid may be coming sooner than planned.
Hey, Microsoft? *Thank* you!
[ In case you didn’t know the lingo.. when you see an * asterisk before and after a word, it signals that the author cannot print the word they really want to use.. so use substitution. Example: “*Rats*. I just stepped in some dog *stuff*!” ]
Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
Questions Answered (Rewind)
This past few days, the questions people asked me, well, they seem to keep coming up. (And one I have not heard before would be rather refreshing.) So, some of this is review.
Several people expressed interest in why it seems so difficult printing the information found on webpages — ONLY the information (or map) they want, and not in a minuscule font size, please.
(Seems an awful lot of people think webpages are sheets of paper… they are not. They are strings of code, expressed as 1’s and 0’s. And the items on the page often come ‘glued together’ from several different places (aka “sources”, aka “servers”).
Frequently, you need the aid of a special “web printing” utility to get what you want and only what you want. Such as the one mentioned here:
“Have you ever noticed that when you go to print out a web page, what you see is not what you always get? “
Hopefully you are already familiar with that website; but if you are not, do yourself a favor and click the link and take a look. The blogger is one of my few remaining “daily reads”.
* And, I was further reminded, what is old to us is new to someone else. Elephant Is Bigger Than The Moon (video) Did you hear about Kathy Evans on the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Supposedly the dumbest human ever, right?
Hate to tell you, but that email is a hoax (see this Snopes article) as are most “forwarded” emails. But, apparently enough people believe this one.. I am kind of glad it isn’t true… ‘cuz if it was? What would that say about the American public education system?
Oh. Yeah. The same thing everyone’s been saying for decades…
* And once again, the top (aka “number one”) My Most Asked Question proved to be one loyal readers will remember..
Q: Every time I sit at my computer, it says there’s an update available!
I understand. Really I do. Please see my, Why Are There So Many Updates?
(And learn about Secunia)
Today’s quotable quote: “The secret to true happiness is a combination of low expectations and insensitivity.” ~ Olivia Goldsmith
Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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