Category: Uncategorized

Decaf And Computer Security

Get A Perfect Cup of Decaf When You Are Out

Going back a few years, it became cool to use the phrase “life hacks” to talk about an innovative or unique way of doing something.  I like a good cup of coffee and I don’t usually keep decaf in the house, but if I go out in the afternoon I want a decaf.  However, on multiple occasions I have literally been left with a bad taste in my mouth.  I have found various Dunkins putting decaf in a carafe just hoping it would stay warm, sitting there for hours.  Here is how to beat getting a stale decaf cuppa.  Go into Dunkin or Starbucks and ask for a “decaf Americano” in the size that you want.  Both places have decaf expresso beans.  You will get a custom made cup of coffee made just for you.  It’s fresh! I got a medium decaf Americano at Dunkin for 3.64. 

Computer Security Briefing – Current Events

Since I dealt with two of these in the past week, one more serious than the other — I have to put you on heightened alert. I helped a client on Thursday that had a browser hijack on her computer. It told her she had a “VIRUS.”  You will be on the internet, seemingly on a safe website and some security message will take over your screen.   This one was masquerading as Microsoft  -but Microsoft was not involved at all.  The phone number was a toll free number purchased by a scammer.  I traced it to a graphics design biz in upstate New York, but they could have just been a front for a real India based tech support scam. 

Remember my warning that I have sent out to you in multiple Decembers — Microsoft, Google, Apple, Pay Pal or Facebook  WILL NOT (repeat the WILL NOT in your mind) pop up with a phone number on your computer asking you to pay for support.  NEVER EVER. 

(I don’t see too many of you with those paper strips I sent out taped to the desk near your computer.  May want to reconsider.) 

Take a look at the attached picture.  It is a picture of a scam. (Totally safe to open as it’s just a picture)  The scenario depicted is as fake as a “Rawlecks” sold on the street in Chinatown. 

Song of the Week

Here is a 1988 performance of “From a Distance” by Nanci Griffith

It was the favorite song of my 4th grade class.  🙂

Our Leaders Failed Us

#NeverForget

All the warnings and information were readily available to anyone paying attention.

Big Announcement 2/22/22 – Change Is Coming

I’m going to lead with the Big Announcement here and not bury the lead — starting on March 20, 2022 I will no longer be wearing a mask at in person appointments.   That is almost 2 years to the date that this personal and national nightmare began. I was on board for that “30 days to slow the spread” right there on day one.   It’s time for a new era and a new beginning. The past 7 months have been a very difficult time for me.  It’s been difficult for me to function in a place like West Hartford, Connecticut.   It’s been difficult for me to be an American.  I feel like an outsider looking in and a stranger in a strange land.   A very small percentage of my clients, like 5% or so, were very hostile to me because they made judgements about me regarding my vaccination status.  This is really unfortunate and disgusting.  Some of these people may be your friends.  I’m calling them out.  I’m bringing light to the darkness.  I’m done letting discrimination control my life.

I don’t ask clients if they have had heart surgery, whether they are circumcised, whether they have had their tubes tied, or their breasts augmented.  It does not bother me whether clients have had 1 vaccine, 2 vaccines, 3 vaccines or no vaccines.  It is your private medical information.  It’s my private medical information.   I spent the bulk of 2021 doing vast amounts of research on Covid 19.   I’ve never told anyone not to get a vaccine.   You can make the best choices for yourself. I will make the best choices for myself.  Speaking for myself, I have found I personally have more trust in Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Ivermectin than I have ever had in any current vaccines. 100+ members of Congress have taken Ivermectin regularly as a preventative treatment.  It works for them. I have the research to back it up. Even if you have chosen another path, I’m just asking for respect.  I will not stand for a society that seeks to treat skeptics or people with vaccine regret as second class citizens, denying them work and cultural opportunities or just the chance to dine out.  It’s not the America I want to live in.  We can do better.

The way that some clients have treated me has caused me a lot of trauma and significant psychological impairment. I’m done punishing myself for the ignorance of others.  I am pursuing therapy to work on myself and sadly due to my new health insurance plan  — treatment comes at a huge cost.   So I am going to keep working serving you through VIP Computer Care.  I have to work to be able to take care of myself to be the best person, family member, and I.T. Guy that I can be.

The great MLK JR. said — Either we learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools.     That’s what we need to do as a society.  We need to respect our neighbors’ medical choices, the right to peacefully protest, and different views on governance.  We need to consider who is profiting off of official narratives.   We need sanity.  We need dignity.  We have to give people the right to try what works.   I can only speak for or take care of myself.   If your vaccine works for you — beautiful.  I have found what works for me and it is equally beautiful.

The Covid 19 era has torn America apart — the media, big pharmacy, Fauci, Trump, Biden, vaccines, narratives, agendas, science or political science……

I always keep it real for you.  Let this email be one small brick toward rebuilding the shattered foundation in our collective lives and in my life personally.   We can do better.  We can care for and do business with people in our community, even if we disagree about politics or medical topics.  If we fail to do that, we will perish as fools.

Supporting You In The Storm

This week reminded me of the 2 storms in 2011 when many of us lost power from 3 days during the summer storm to more than a week in the “October Surprise.”  I’ll never forget driving completely blind in the snow one night trying to go the 3 to 4 miles from my apartment down the road where several family members lived.  I was lost in a blizzard, running on faith.

The big difference in 2020 was, I never lost power or internet.  I must be in a good location as far electrical reliability is concerned because in the 5+ years we have lived here, we have never lost power in any storm.  As much as I like to criticize Comcast, I got them to install a separate line in 2015 directly from my modem to the street.  Since then, my connection has been trouble free.

However, I have heard from some of you.  I know you are in bad shape.  You may have no power, no internet, or power, but are lacking internet. I want to support you in whatever way I can, possibly to help you to in the current crisis and to prepare for the future. 

Ideas

-Just as was the case back in 2011, I think some of you may want to have a hard line / POTS telephone line with the phone company.  This coupled with a corded phone can provide a real sense of security and companionship during a difficult time.  Part of the problem is so many of us have moved to internet based phone lines from the cable company  and even the phone company.  Internet based phones do you ZERO good during a power outage.  If you have a battery backup, that line may last you 8 hours.  An old fashioned telephone line will still work unless the line is damaged.   Your neighborhood may have had the traditional lines torn out. You may never be able to get that back, but you may.  Consider what helps you sleep at night.

-Do you have the right cell phone provider?  Have you been able to make and receive calls easily?  Have you had trouble getting cellular data?

-Would you like to create a “hotspot” from your smartphone or get a little hotspot box so that you can connect your other devices like your laptop and tablet to the internet when your hard wired internet is down?

-Would you be interested in a cellular iPad so you have a computer like device that connects to the internet even when you have no WiFi?

Warnings and Wisdom for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

I thought that there is nothing better I could do for you today than give you some advice for Cyber Monday, as you are snowed in and probably doing some online shopping. I also want to reflect on my Black Friday experience. I’m sure many stores will turn this week into a Cyber Week, so be on the lookout for deals.

Warnings and Wisdom: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

I want to give you my thoughts on these shopping holidays as they pertain to the items we care about — computers and items related to personal technology. As one of your favorite tech commentators, I went out on Black Friday to scope out the scene and report back. I will include photographic evidence below to make this a newsletter format, but just in case the five photos do not show up embedded with the text, I will reference them as BlackFriday1 through BlackFriday5 and then you can just click on them as you see fit. Various e-mail apps and programs display photos differently.

Here’s what you need to know at the dawn of Cyber Monday…
-Amazon will have a lot of deals, as will BestBuy.com, Dell.com, Walmart.com, and many other places you regularly shop at (in store and online. ) These deals may last all day or for a few days, but they could expire hourly or within a few hours. Do your homework if needed, but don’t second guess yourself. You may lose out on a great deal.
-Some Black / Cyber sales are junk, old, or otherwise inferior, especially items that seem like serious bargains. That can be totally fine for you. For example, there is nothing wrong with last year’s version of a Dell Optiplex or Latitude computer. Be leery of a product that seems tailor made for the big sale. It may not be what it seems. You may see a lot of unsold “base models” put out there.
-Google for reviews or look on the store itself. Wirecutter is a great review site, as are CNET, iMore, and other well established tech sites. There may be fake reviews on Amazon, but if a product has hundreds or thousands of reviews — they can’t all be fake!
-Be a little skeptical of cell phone carrier’s seemingly massive offers like $300 off a new iPhone either for an existing customer, adding a line or switching companies. These deals almost always entail “bill credits”. So for example, if you get $300 off a new iPhone, this means $12.50 a month for 24 months. It still amounts to $300 but it doesn’t feel like $300 off the phone. Seems like more of a service discount right? If it makes a difference to you, Costco sells phones and service for the major carriers and I’ve heard that they take the discount off the phone up front or send you some type of a prepaid credit card in the mail. That is more of a true deal.

Nerd on the Street Report — here is what I found by going to one of the nation’s largest sellers of electronics — Walmart — on Thanksgiving evening as the Black Friday deals were in full effect. This was not a Super WalMart which may have influenced what I saw, but none the less I was very disappointed with these “doorbuster” items for the most part. I think most of these offers were designed to fleece the sheeple and just get them to buy something.

First, we have a 58 inch ONN brand TV (Picture: BlackFriday1). That seems like a odd size to me. Most TV’s in that range are 55 or 65 inches. What is ONN? I didn’t know. It is a Wal-Mart, in-house brand. It was priced at $198. Wow! Wow! Sadly, this TV looked like it was tailor made for Black Friday. It does not have HDR – high dynamic range. TV’s that you buy nowadays should be 4K and have HDR. I saw plenty of models in the high 200’s – 300 to 400 range that had this important feature. This 58- incher did not turn me ONN.

Next I came across a $28 ONN tablet (BlackFriday2). Seems like WalMart was really promoting their own brands for Black Friday. If your looking for a cheap tablet with basic browsing, e-mailing, and Amazon Kindle book reading capability — get a Kindle Fire. If you want something just a little better, the standard iPad is discounted to $229-249 for Cyber Monday. The $28 tablet was 7 inches, which is pretty small by today’s standards. It did run a nearly pure version of Android 9, but it had a VERY slow processor and on top of this — had a 4 hour advertised battery life. Kids (likely the target customer) will be very disappointed. Guess you will have to go back to sing alongs on those long car rides. Raffi, anyone?

There were some printers that were just screaming BUY ME. A $19 Canon multi-function model caught my eye (BlackFriday3). While it does copy and scan, this model would only be appropriate for very light print volumes. The ink is going to cost a fortune! Keep in mind the rule with ink jet printers — you have to use them or they can go stale. You should be printing SOMETHING at least every 2 weeks. You know I am a fan of Black and White laser printers. WalMart did not disappoint. They had what was advertised as the world’s smallest laser printer for $59, the HP M15a (BlackFriday4). Not bad! Would be good for travelers. This model seems like a WalMart exclusive. It is just a printer. And the ink costs more per page than better laser printers, but if black and white printing is your thing, this model might be OK if you are directly connected to the computer (no WIFI).

Finally, I came across a Roku SE (BlackFriday5) streaming media player. We are all becoming streamers. Whether you use a live TV streaming service like Hulu Live TV or You Tube TV, or just supplement with services like Netflix, regular Hulu and Amazon Prime video — you are part of a growing trend that’s not going away. As I have said before, Roku is one of my favorite players. Not everyone needs to pay $150+ for an Apple TV. I like the Roku over the Amazon Fire devices because who knows when Amazon will get into another fight with Google and block You Tube for a year. The Roku SE is the most inferior of Roku players and does not support 4K TV’s. It is just a re-badged older Roku. I would much rather see you get a Roku Premiere or Roku Streaming Stick + (reg. $40-50), which will support your 4K TV now and in the future.

3 Thoughts For You This Week

I have three things for you this week:  A little iPhone 11 commentary based on my experience thus far, an addendum to my briefing on updates from last week, and a Business Note which covers a service that you may not know I offer. 

iPhone 11 Commentary

The iPhone 11 has been working out well for me.  I was happy to get a very fair trade in offer from Apple on my iPhone 8.   One of the nice features of the 11 (and actually 2018 models and later) is that the phones support 2 numbers, on multiple carriers if needed, as long as your carrier is willing to play ball.   Based on my experience, I would only recommend buying the iPhone through Apple (online or in store) because most of the time, the phone is going to be unlocked.   I also chose Apple’s payment plan but you can do carrier interest free financing through Apple as well.

An Update On Updates

I mentioned that delaying the new macOS 10.15 is appropriate for some users who are running older Mac software (32 – bit apps).  In general, I believe its appropriate to wait a few weeks or months to install a new version of macOS.   If you are not tied to old apps, waiting until 15.1 arrives might be  good time.  With this said, 10.15 represents a serious improvement in Mac security.  The system files (targets that hackers love to attack) are placed in a hard to reach “enclave” that even the user will not be able to mess with.  Mac OS 10.15 represents Apple really locking things down.

Furthermore, another new version of Windows 10 will be coming shortly.  It will be known as Windows 10 1909 – November Update.   And maybe this will be a new trend from Microsoft.  This new version won’t require heavy lifting.   It will install like a normal Windows update.  It’s been said that your computer won’t even need to restart.  Perhaps — Microsoft is going to make the Spring release of Windows a big upgrade and the Fall one a tiny update.   I can live with that but it should still be just one new version per year.   You should all be on Windows 10 1903 by now — the version that came out earlier this year.  The best way to ensure you get all of the Windows updates and upgrades is to leave your computer plugged in and sleeping at night.  I’m hoping 1909 comes to you as disruptively as possible. 

Business Note

I don’t really talk about it a lot but I have helped clients block unwanted websites for years.  Sites blocked may include adult websites, games, or other time wasting websites.  Bad websites can be just as addictive as drugs or alcohol.  I am not here to shame you.  I am here to help.  It may be a personal issue — or it may be related to kids or visitors to your home.  I can institute blocks on both the network, computer, and mobile device levels (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android).   If necessary — reporting systems can be set up as well.  (Good tip for parents out there — it’s easier to set up apps that report on device activity with Android devices than iOS).  You don’t have to feel guilty or bad — you can just tell me — I want to block _____ kinds of websites.  I will come up with a practical solution for you.  And of course, I will regard what I do for you with the utmost in confidentiality.