EQUIFAX - FUBAR.
I'll let you look up "FUBAR" yourself if you don't know it and are curious. But please do not lose sleep over this.
EQUIFAX has reported a massive leak and now the tool that they provide to allow you to check to see if your information has been compromised may have been hacked, as well.
The article from c|net (here) essentially states that EQUIFAX's solution, to use the ID protection tool (free for a year if you were affected) may have been hacked, as well, so Caveat Emptor or, in English, Buyer Beware.
What to do? Again, don't lose sleep. Don't hit your cat. Or your kids, or anyone else. You can yell at the dog or anything else that wakes you unexpectedly in the middle of the night.
Whatever you have been doing, do that. If you check your credit reports (not scores) from EQUIFAX, TransUnion, and Experian on a yearly basis, keep doing so. If you don't, then consider starting now thru the US FTC website's link. Or not.
I actually do not recommend signing up for the free credit protection for a year promotion. From what I have seen, you need to provide this 3rd party your name and account numbers on all of your financial accounts. That just doesn't sound like a good idea (i.e., common sense) to me.
BUT... if you are concerned about any of your accounts, change your passwords. Make them strong passwords (Google offers some advice on this). Consider using 2-factor authentication if it is available. Make your backup & recovery options more secure, too. Please note that the EQUIFAX breach did not release password information.
And please, no tin hats.
Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Friday, August 7, 2015
Not Ready for Windows 10? But You Reserved Your Copy?
So you saw the Get Windows 10 message on your computer and reserved your copy. But you really don't want to upgrade immediately. It's OK, you have a year to upgrade for free.
But you need to UN-reserve your copy. Consider that app and offer as advertising. But you still need to un-reserve that copy!
It's easy, and let me spell out the steps for you.
Un-Reserve Windows 10, Step-by-Step
1. Find the Get Windows 10 app:
Yes, that's it, the Windows logo since Windows 8, in my red magnifying glass, on the right-hand side of the Taskbar near the time & date. That section is called the System Tray, by the way.
Click on it (Left-click; only right-click when I specifically say, "right-click").
Not the Start Button on the left-hand side of the Taskbar (found on Windows 8 PCs).
The Get Windows 10 window opens.
2. Click on the Hamburger. That's the three lines now used in many programs and apps to hide a menu.
3. Click on View confirmation.
4. Now click on Cancel reservation.
5. Yes, really, click again on Cancel reservation.
6. For good measure, click on Close.
When you are ready, you can simply open up Get Windows 10 and reserve it again. Or contact me, I can bypass that and upgrade your computer manually.
Addenda - A Few Sorta-Brief Notes about Windows 10 and the Upgrade
FWIW, I had problems when I tried to upgrade my Windows 7 laptop. Not serious ones, but it took some time to find the solution. As well, the technical, detailed fix took some time to complete before the Upgrade would begin the installation.
Once resolved, I ran the upgrade overnight as I knew the laptop would automatically reboot a handful of times and the process could take an hour or more. And the download - before the Upgrade actually starts - is 3 GB, and it takes some time, too. Your mileage may vary.
When I looked at the laptop in the morning, Windows 10 had setup steps that required my input. These were similar to some of the Service Packs in previous Windows versions. All personal files, shortcuts, folders were right where I left them and almost all programs ran as before.
The Norton Security Suite (Comcast's version of Norton 360) was disabled and Windows Defender was enabled. Re-enabling Norton was not difficult.
Note that if you do not want a password-protected computer, then you may need some guidance walking through the Windows 10 setup. User passwords are still not required but, since Windows 8, Microsoft has been pushing their Microsoft Accounts to be the User ID on Windows computers. Their goal - similar to Apple and Android computers & devices - is to save and share information between different applications for your convenience.
Really, for your convenience! There are privacy & security concerns, certainly. But the goals have been and currently are to allow apps to work together. For example, I can click on my Calendar for an event at a friend's home. I can click on my friend's name, and I can either open up Maps or my GPS. With the GPS, the address is loaded. With this GPS, I can actually share my route (tracked in real-time) with my friend and perhaps someone whom wants to know that I arrive safely.
But I have the choice to share or not to share. And that is all with my Android smartphone. Microsoft wants to offer the same, friendly way for apps to share your data, to help you get from here to there and be in touch along the way. Microsoft needs these Microsoft Accounts to authorize apps to work together. OK, back to Windows 10.
Again, the Microsoft Account is not required; but avoiding it takes some understanding on where to click, as the option to skip the Microsoft Account is not front & center.
Overall, Windows 10 looks ready to bring back the Desktop experience and also work with touch-enabled tablets, smartphones, as well as 2-in-1 laptops and PCs with touchscreens.
In my opinion, that was Microsoft's goal for Windows 8 - to bring Windows to touch tablets and phones. However, Microsoft was too eager to see everyone using the new touch features and user interface that they tried to force every user of Windows 8 onto those touch-friendly screens and apps. I don't understand why they overlooked their enormous user base of Windows 7 and Windows XP desktops & laptops (and Vista and other versions of Windows) that did not have touchscreens.
Many of these users needed new laptops or PCs but would not have touchscreens and needed to access their Desktop apps. They got a Windows 8 computer and in most cases users needed help for almost everything, including turning it off. Much frustration!
Fortunately, there were a few apps - even free - to bring back the Start Menu and keep the Desktop available or within easy reach. Not everyone knew that, though. So, IMHO, Windows 8 was a solid operating system with one flaw. But it was a doozy!
But you need to UN-reserve your copy. Consider that app and offer as advertising. But you still need to un-reserve that copy!
It's easy, and let me spell out the steps for you.
Un-Reserve Windows 10, Step-by-Step
1. Find the Get Windows 10 app:
Click on it (Left-click; only right-click when I specifically say, "right-click").
Not the Start Button on the left-hand side of the Taskbar (found on Windows 8 PCs).
The Get Windows 10 window opens.
2. Click on the Hamburger. That's the three lines now used in many programs and apps to hide a menu.
3. Click on View confirmation.
4. Now click on Cancel reservation.
5. Yes, really, click again on Cancel reservation.
6. For good measure, click on Close.
When you are ready, you can simply open up Get Windows 10 and reserve it again. Or contact me, I can bypass that and upgrade your computer manually.
Addenda - A Few Sorta-Brief Notes about Windows 10 and the Upgrade
FWIW, I had problems when I tried to upgrade my Windows 7 laptop. Not serious ones, but it took some time to find the solution. As well, the technical, detailed fix took some time to complete before the Upgrade would begin the installation.
Once resolved, I ran the upgrade overnight as I knew the laptop would automatically reboot a handful of times and the process could take an hour or more. And the download - before the Upgrade actually starts - is 3 GB, and it takes some time, too. Your mileage may vary.
When I looked at the laptop in the morning, Windows 10 had setup steps that required my input. These were similar to some of the Service Packs in previous Windows versions. All personal files, shortcuts, folders were right where I left them and almost all programs ran as before.
The Norton Security Suite (Comcast's version of Norton 360) was disabled and Windows Defender was enabled. Re-enabling Norton was not difficult.
Note that if you do not want a password-protected computer, then you may need some guidance walking through the Windows 10 setup. User passwords are still not required but, since Windows 8, Microsoft has been pushing their Microsoft Accounts to be the User ID on Windows computers. Their goal - similar to Apple and Android computers & devices - is to save and share information between different applications for your convenience.
Really, for your convenience! There are privacy & security concerns, certainly. But the goals have been and currently are to allow apps to work together. For example, I can click on my Calendar for an event at a friend's home. I can click on my friend's name, and I can either open up Maps or my GPS. With the GPS, the address is loaded. With this GPS, I can actually share my route (tracked in real-time) with my friend and perhaps someone whom wants to know that I arrive safely.
But I have the choice to share or not to share. And that is all with my Android smartphone. Microsoft wants to offer the same, friendly way for apps to share your data, to help you get from here to there and be in touch along the way. Microsoft needs these Microsoft Accounts to authorize apps to work together. OK, back to Windows 10.
Again, the Microsoft Account is not required; but avoiding it takes some understanding on where to click, as the option to skip the Microsoft Account is not front & center.
Overall, Windows 10 looks ready to bring back the Desktop experience and also work with touch-enabled tablets, smartphones, as well as 2-in-1 laptops and PCs with touchscreens.
In my opinion, that was Microsoft's goal for Windows 8 - to bring Windows to touch tablets and phones. However, Microsoft was too eager to see everyone using the new touch features and user interface that they tried to force every user of Windows 8 onto those touch-friendly screens and apps. I don't understand why they overlooked their enormous user base of Windows 7 and Windows XP desktops & laptops (and Vista and other versions of Windows) that did not have touchscreens.
Many of these users needed new laptops or PCs but would not have touchscreens and needed to access their Desktop apps. They got a Windows 8 computer and in most cases users needed help for almost everything, including turning it off. Much frustration!
Fortunately, there were a few apps - even free - to bring back the Start Menu and keep the Desktop available or within easy reach. Not everyone knew that, though. So, IMHO, Windows 8 was a solid operating system with one flaw. But it was a doozy!
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Don't ... FREAK OUT ... about RANSOMWARE
If your PC is critical to your daily life, then it makes sense to avoid
ransomware at all reasonable costs.
The simple truth is that common sense and a few ounces of prevention are all you need.
Leo Notenboom, from AskLeo.com, states quite nicely in his blog/newsletter on ransomware that there are two reasons not to pay the ransom. I would add a third. On the only PC that I recovered where the owner paid the ransom, the PC had more adverse settings than those where the ransom was not paid.
All but one PC, where the ransom was not paid, I was able to recover control and restore complete functionality to the pre-infection settings.
In other words, from my seat, paying the ransom removed the initial block but that made anything less than a complete factory reset unreasonable at best and incredibly time consuming and difficult at worst.
By the way, I subscribe to Ask Leo. He is one of the best bloggers for helping the tech-ignorant and tech-adverse; it is not ironic that I find he writes in a clear, concise, understandable tone.
 |
| borrowed from askleo.com |
The simple truth is that common sense and a few ounces of prevention are all you need.
- a firewall - preferably a fairly up-to-date router
- anti-malware: I recommend Norton for many reasons but, for free, Microsoft Security Essentials will provide decent real-time protection
- common sense: only click on attachments, links and pictures that you KNOW are safe; if not sure, find someone trustworthy to help - and of course, feel free to call me
Leo Notenboom, from AskLeo.com, states quite nicely in his blog/newsletter on ransomware that there are two reasons not to pay the ransom. I would add a third. On the only PC that I recovered where the owner paid the ransom, the PC had more adverse settings than those where the ransom was not paid.
All but one PC, where the ransom was not paid, I was able to recover control and restore complete functionality to the pre-infection settings.
In other words, from my seat, paying the ransom removed the initial block but that made anything less than a complete factory reset unreasonable at best and incredibly time consuming and difficult at worst.
By the way, I subscribe to Ask Leo. He is one of the best bloggers for helping the tech-ignorant and tech-adverse; it is not ironic that I find he writes in a clear, concise, understandable tone.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Moving Forward - Touch Me!
So when will we stop buying PCs and laptops and use tablets, smartphones & that-next-big-thing?
I've started advising users of email and web surfing to resign their PCs entirely. Go, get an iPad or Android tablet ... or a Microsoft's Surface RT while it's still on sale. They're all great!
Even if you need Word & Excel, the Surface RT comes with slimmed-down versions of the Office favorites. I do recommend either of the cover/keyboards. The built-in kickstand is as clever as the removable keyboard.
If you're running legacy or Windows specific programs, then by all means stick with laptops and even desktops. I would not bother to compose these blog posts on anything but a full-sized keyboard and a mouse.
Now, there is an app for the iPad called Parallels Access that stretches the concept of the iPad as THE mobile device, as an addition to your Macs and PCs. Here's a hands' on video to whet your appetite (click the Parallels icon):
Again, not a replacement but an addition. Maybe a replacement for the laptop, though! Citrix - are you watching?!
I've started advising users of email and web surfing to resign their PCs entirely. Go, get an iPad or Android tablet ... or a Microsoft's Surface RT while it's still on sale. They're all great!
Even if you need Word & Excel, the Surface RT comes with slimmed-down versions of the Office favorites. I do recommend either of the cover/keyboards. The built-in kickstand is as clever as the removable keyboard.
If you're running legacy or Windows specific programs, then by all means stick with laptops and even desktops. I would not bother to compose these blog posts on anything but a full-sized keyboard and a mouse.
Now, there is an app for the iPad called Parallels Access that stretches the concept of the iPad as THE mobile device, as an addition to your Macs and PCs. Here's a hands' on video to whet your appetite (click the Parallels icon):
 |
| From Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2013/08/27/parallels-access/ |
Again, not a replacement but an addition. Maybe a replacement for the laptop, though! Citrix - are you watching?!
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