Fake order confirmations. I’ve seen a lot of these the last couple of weeks. Particularly repeated email messages claiming to be from Costco (Walgreens, etc.) with “Order Confirmation” as the subject. Of course, I never placed any such order(s). Examination of the messages (without actually opening them in an email app) revealed various sender addresses… Continue reading Fake order confirmations — another email scam
Rankings of antivirus software
PC World’s September 30, 2014, “Free is good: No-cost Panda Software tops AV-Test’s rankings of antivirus software” article summarized rankings for antivirus software by AV-test.org and AV-comparatives.org. Antivirus suites are only as good as their latest tests. And in AV-test.org’s latest roundup for July and August, the usual suspects—BitDefender, Kaspersky, McAfee, and Symantec—came out on… Continue reading Rankings of antivirus software
Malicious email — warning signs
So, you’re careful when looking at your email inbox’s message list. You delete messages from strangers. You delete obvious promotions and ads. Yet, some messages appear okay. You open those messages. Here’re some things to check, as noted in a recent PC World “Three warning signs that email is malicious” article: 1. Dear customer 2.… Continue reading Malicious email — warning signs
Phony Computer Support Calls — A Common Scam
So, one day you’re really busy. You get an unsolicited call from someone claiming they’re “Microsoft Support” or a company associated with Microsoft or your PC manufacturer (like Dell or HP). They claim that there’s a problem with your PC: “Your PC is infected!” They use technical terms. They’ll help. They ask you to use… Continue reading Phony Computer Support Calls — A Common Scam
Best Practices — Personal Computer Configuration
Here’re some standard recommendations that I discuss with my clients: 1. Use a password for your computer account. In other words, when you start up your computer, you’ll need to enter a password to access your desktop. While you may be able to change settings so this step is not required, remember that such a… Continue reading Best Practices — Personal Computer Configuration