There’s a particular hazard appearing on the internet right now that you need to know about. Please read this post and be ready, because this is an extreme hazard to you and your computer. Read on for how to watch out for fake CAPTCHAs: Real vs. Fake CAPTCHAs We deal with CAPTCHA messages all the … Read more
Remote control scams are still very common, and I get to help people everyday in recovering from them. It’s pretty straightforward, most of the time: I explain the scam. Before we deal with the computer, the client secures their finances with their banks. Next, we go over their PC or phone to uninstall the scammer’s … Read more
Everyone can make typographical errors and misspellings. But on the internet, you’ve got to be careful about typos in the address bar of your browser. Those typos can be dangerous! Typosquatting First, you’ll want to understand cybersquatting. Cybersquatting is when someone reserves a domain name in bad faith, in order to gain some benefit. A … Read more
Jo-Ann Fabrics stores are going away, since Jo-Ann Stores, LLC declared bankruptcy this year. Winding down their operations, they’ve stopped accepting their own gift cards, and they’ve ceased online ordering. Scammers have seen an opportunity in this. They are creating really good fake JOANN websites and trying to get people to use them. At the … Read more
The FTC has finally managed to bring the hammer down on one major player in the tech-scam department. Restoro and Reimage have been sued by the feds, and made to pay up! If you ever paid money to one of these companies, money may already be on its way to you. Here’s some more info … Read more
In the technology world, bitterants are used in various ways to keep people safe. A bitterant is an otherwise-harmless chemical that makes something taste really bad. Here’s some info and trivia about bitterants that you might find useful or interesting. Compressed Air Many of us commonly buy cans of compressed air, used for dusting and … Read more
Publisher users, take note! Microsoft retires their beloved Publisher app in October 2026. If this affects you, here’s what to know and do in preparation: What You Will See Happen For now, absolutely nothing changes. If you have MS Publisher installed on your PC, it will work as expected up until October 2026. In October … Read more
Today, Microsoft announced that Skype is shutting down in May 2025. Specifically, we can expect Skype to stop working on 5/5/2025. If you still use Skype, please consider moving over to Microsoft Teams. If you’re on a Windows computer, you probably already have Teams on your system. Microsoft has been proactive about pre-installing Teams. Check … Read more
The antivirus company known as Avast got in some trouble. They allegedly collected and sold customer data to other companies, without getting your permission. The FTC went after Avast, and there’s $16.5M to divvy up amongst Avast customers. So how do you get your piece of the 2025 Avast Settlement? First, please know that this … Read more
Many tech scams begin with “Thank you for your purchase” and I’ve blogged about many of them. Today’s Best Buy Purchase scam is possibly the best one yet. Let me show you all about it, so that you won’t be fooled by this. The Phishing Email The bogus email I received was very convincing. It … Read more