ISP Equipment: Rent Vs. Own

If your ISP requires you to have a modem, then you may have an important choice to make. ISP Equipment: Rent Vs. Own — it’s worth thinking about! Some people rent or buy their equipment (modem, WiFi router or combo device) from the ISP. Others go out to a store to buy something they like. … Read more

Shentel Email Best Security Practices

Many of my clientele are in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the home territory of an ISP named Shentel. And like many ISPs, Shentel provides free, courtesy email addresses to its subscribers. It’s like a mint on your pillow, except this mint needs some extra warnings on its wrapper and may give you some indigestion… … Read more

Don’t Panic: Pegasus Spyware

There’s a lot of news about the powerful spyware named Pegasus. And it is some nasty stuff, being able to infect a phone without anyone clicking anything! You can read about some basics about Pegasus here. Unfortunately, this is one of those news topics where the media can be more inciteful than insightful. For example, … Read more

Defending Against Misinformation

You can call it misinformation, false news, alternative facts or misleading journalism. The internet is home to countless lies & fraudulent stories, promoted by real people and bot accounts, alike. It’s awful out there, folks. And it’s not just the news. Forwarded emails of photos and videos dupe people into believing inaccurate science. Ads and … Read more

MS Publisher Unavailable for MacOS

If you use Microsoft Publisher, you might be interested to know that Publisher is not available for Apple users. Anyone using an iMac or MacBook is free to buy and install Microsoft 365, like anyone else. But after the install, the Apple computer will offer Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., but NO Publisher. It’s not such … Read more

The Google Voice Verification Scam

Are you selling items on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist? Then watch out for the Google Voice Verification scam! The Setup A potential buyer contacts you and asks for your cellphone number. Once you share your contact info, a text comes in from Google Voice. It contains a 6-digit verification code, and your would-be buyer quickly … Read more