Antivirus companies are hungry. They know that their home-use customer numbers are dwindling, as more and more people figure out that you can protect a modern computer for free. So, to maintain their revenue, they resort to sketchy tactics. Much of their poor behavior revolves around “auto-renewal”. If you still pay money for your security … Read more
Don’t get your knickers in a twist, or from the Victoria’s Secret website. It’s down, and has been since the weekend. So is their mobile app. Before the Memorial Day holiday, Victoria’s Secret suffered some kind of security incident, and they had to deactivate their site, apps and all customer-facing transactions. We don’t know more … Read more
Have you noticed that there are some really sketchy sales companies on Facebook? No? Follow me down a rabbit hole, because I have something for you to watch out for: Just Another Shirt Seller? Facebook ads & sponsored posts promote a lot of small companies as they try to sell their wares, and one popped … Read more
If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, you may have seen their significant price increase in January 2025. Oh, you didn’t notice? Microsoft 365 Personal jumped from $70/yr to $100/yr, while Microsoft 365 Family increased from $100/yr to $130/yr. If this came in below your radar, that’s because Microsoft did it on the QT. And that’s … Read more
If you shop on the Amazon website, I’m sure you’ve noticed many discounts and “good deals”. But those deals are often not that good. There are lies and manipulation afoot, to convince you you’re getting a bargain. You can dispel some of the illusion if you use an Amazon Price Tracking tool. Amazon Price Tracking … Read more
Just last month, I went on at length about traptops on this blog. I’m sorry to say that I have to return to this topic, as people are bringing to my attention some even sneakier traptops. Let’s pull open the drapes on these shenanigans, so fewer people get taken by this trickery. Here we go … Read more
There is a class of laptop that I refer to as a “traptop”. Buying this class of computer is akin to stepping in a trap, and I have warned my readers about these in past years. And here I am again, writing about Traptops in 2023, because they are changing and still causing harm to … Read more
Please avoid online piracy. And by piracy, I mean: Downloading movies/music/software from ersatz sources without paying for them. Just don’t do it. You’ll live to regret it. I won’t preach or get all moral about this. That’s for other people to do. And I can’t judge; I’m sure I’ve poached an album or two, back … Read more
Here’s a scam that you should know about, but not because it’s particularly dangerous. It’s just weird. But once you know the details about brushing scams, they won’t creep you out, and you can quickly move on from them. Surprise‽ When an unexpected item arrives at your doorstep, it may be part of a brushing … Read more
A couple of years ago, I blogged about Fake Flash Drives, and now I have to write a refresh article: You also need to watch out for Fake Hard Drives and Fake Solid State Drives. Please make sure you don’t buy these things! Good & Bad Examples First, some examples of legitimate, reliable storage drives: … Read more