Biggest Computer Mistakes

Responding to bogus telephone calls from “Microsoft Support” or “Symantec Norton:”

No one is monitoring your computer for malware or other problems. If you get a phone call from out of the blue, IT IS A SCAM.

Never allow access by anyone who’s identity you can’t verify. Once a scammer has access, you can never be sure what they may have done. It is pretty easy to steal personal data or install monitoring software or a remote access “back door” they can use any time to get in.

Certainly never pay them anything. You are wasting your money and giving away your financial information.

However, allowing remote access from someone you trust is fine. Just make sure you know who you are talking to. Get the phone number from your bill, user manual, or the actual company web site. Do not use search results. They are very misleading.  

Using remote access to get help can be a convenient time-saver. If you call me for support, I will use a remote access tool which is perfectly safe and totally under your control. It only allows access when you run the program and grant access.

Not having a full system backup:

It is very rare these days that you get software installation or “Factory Recovery” disks with a new computer. However, Windows 10 includes the ability to make a recovery drive. Even if your computer is 5 or 10 years old, it’s not too late. Make your recovery media now.

Mobile devices usually have a way to restore to factory defaults.

Not backing up user data on a regular basis:

Reloading the operating system is sometimes the only way to fix problems. However when this is done, all user-installed applications and personal files are deleted.

Files can also be accidentally erased. File systems can get corrupted Ransomware can render data inaccessible. Storage devices can physically fail.

USB flash drives and hard drives are cheap and easy to use. You can get a few gigabytes of free “cloud” storage from DropBox , Microsoft, and many other places. iCloud and Google drive are ideally suited for iOS and Android devices, respectively.

You can simply copy important files to backup storage, or you can automate backup using tools built in to the operating system, or by using a third-party backup program. Backing up to at least 2 other locations is recommended.

Installing junk software:

“Potentially Unwanted Programs” get installed in Windows either by tricking you in to thinking they are actually useful, or as “drive-by downloads” when installing some other program or program update. Be careful what you download and install. Most of the “free” driver updaters, system optimizers, bargain finders, toolbars, and similar programs do more harm than good.

Problems tend to accumulate until the computer becomes slow or actually unusable. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Apps on mobile devices eat up memory. There are many questionable apps that are spyware, just like on the PC. Be careful.

Head off problems with a periodic professional computer checkup and tune up. I can usually do a basic check and tune by remote access. Call me at 315-376-8879. 

Original newspaper column published January 2019

Keep Track of User Accounts and Program Installers

When helping customers, I frequently run in to the problem of unknown account names, passwords, and license keys and unavailable program installation media or files.

If you forgot your password I can usually get you back in to your computer or at least recover data. It is not so easy on mobile devices or on-line accounts.

Mobile device security is generally much tighter on the assumption that a tablet or phone is easily lost or stolen. Be particularly careful about repeatedly trying different passwords, because some devices will permanently lock you out after a number of incorrect entries.

The only way to make the device usable again may to do a full reset. This will erase all apps, settings, and stored data. If you don’t have your pictures and other files backed up somewhere else, they will be permanently lost.

If you have an on-line account associated with the device, and you have used that account to back up everything, and you have access to that account, it may provide a way to recover without permanent data loss. Typically this involves connecting the device to a computer, running a program, logging in, resetting the device, then restoring from the backup you hopefully created.

The key is that you still need to back up and to know the credentials to log in to the on line account.

Most computing device problems are software problems. Some problems are easily found and fixed, but in other cases it’s like looking for needles in a haystack in the dark.

Many times the only practical method is to reload the operating system from scratch. This means all installed application software must also be reinstalled.

If you are using Linux, this is probably not an issue, since it is likely you are using all open source applications. They can be downloaded and installed directly from the program repositories using the built-in software manager or appropriate commands.

The same is not true on Windows or MacOS, or your mobile device. You may have downloaded and installed some free programs, but chances are you have purchased others. They may have been downloaded and installed, or on a computer installed from physical installation media such as a CD. Either way, you need to have the installers and the activation keys.

If you have the install media or file but no key, you are out of luck. If you have the key but no actual installer, you are out of luck. If you have purchase records that are only in email or a digital file you can’t access, you are out of luck.

Key point one is that you must have adequate records of all your user accounts, passwords, purchases, and product keys. This means write the information down and keep more than one copy of it in safe places.

Key point two is that you must save installation media or files. You must also do regular backups of any other important files. This means copying them to at least one other place, whether it is another computer, a flash drive, or on-line storage.

If you need assistance in sorting out your records and creating backups, you can call me at 315-376-8879. 

Original newspaper column published January 2019

User File Cleanup

A customer asks:

Morning Peter – I have a question, do I need this file? [CNET_TechTracker_2_0_1_51_Update] I am committed to cleaning up my file space in 2019. I have just begun. I found the article below on Tech Tracker, which states some say YES keep it others NO.

Answer:

Good for you. File maintenance is a very important task that most people avoid doing and end up with user folders so cluttered and unorganized they can’t find anything.

The screenshot you sent shows Windows indicates this file is an ‘application.’ It appears to be a 2010 update to CNET TechTracker. It is ancient and not needed. Delete it.

CNET Tech Tracker may or may not be installed on your computer. It is a non-essential ‘free’ program that helps keep software on your computer up to date. Other than that I do not know anything about it. CNET is a fairly reputable outfit, but I am skeptical of supposedly free helper programs like this. CNET is making or hopes to make money somehow. Either by delivering advertising, collecting data,  or trying to convince you to pay for a premium version or to download some of the updates.

If you were to set Windows to show file extensions, you would see that full name is CNET_TechTracker_2_0_1_51_Update.exe This indicates it is an executable file, in other words a program.. “Application” or “app” is the in-vogue name for a program.

You should look very closely at any ‘application’ in any of your user data folders because it is not a document, picture, etc. it is a program which will execute when you ‘open’ it. This means it can install itself or do virtually anything else. This is a primary way that computers get infected with malware and other junk programs.

In particular, there should be no ‘applications’ in your Documents folder unless you put them there for a very specific reason such as to save an installer for some program that you purchased.

Another folder you should clean up is your Downloads folder. It is very typical that all kinds of program installers, updates, and a lot of other junk accumulates here. If you have actual ‘documents’ or pictures that you want to save (maybe downloaded as email attachments or from some web page link), move them to the appropriate place. If there are installers for program you purposely downloaded, you should make a special folder for them so you don’t delete them accidentally. Delete all the other accumulated junk.

No legitimate program should be permanently installed or running from Documents or Downloads, so deleting anything there should not screw up the computer.

There are many other hidden folders that should also be checked and cleaned up. Some of the places questionable programs install themselves are the application data folders because it is easier for junk programs and malware to get themselves ‘installed’ in to these folders compared to a proper installation in the Program Files folder. So any time I do a diagnostic and see something is running from an appdata folder I am suspicious of it.

Describing how to do a thorough check and clean up is beyond the scope of this column. If you need help, call me. I can do routine clean up by remote access. 315-376-8879.

Original newspaper column published January 2019

Facebook ‘Legal Notice’ Privacy Hoax

Facebook can be very useful but it is also a source of misinformation.

There is outright fake news promulgated by people and organizations with an agenda. In other cases it is just incorrect information that is picked up and shared, but it can also be something that was purposely started as a hoax.

The latest hoax, appearing conveniently around the end of the year, is a dire warning that “Everything you’ve ever posted [on Facebook] becomes public from tomorrow” because “Facebook is now a public entity.” The post contains some wording that is supposedly a legal notice you should post to prevent this, citing laws “UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute.”

Another variation of this hoax starts out with the supposed legal notice and then adds a note that “all members must post a note like this.”

It appears very convincing, particularly in light of recent allegations of less than completely trustworthy behavior on the part of Facebook.

Although this is the first time I have seen it, this is in fact an old hoax, apparently first appearing in 2012.

There was a related hoax that tries to convince users they can (or have to) pay Facebook “to keep the subscription of your status to be set to private.” But supposedly “If you paste the [hoax] message on your page, it will be offered free…” 

Facebook explicitly states “Our terms say clearly: You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it’s shared through your privacy and application settings. That’s how it works, and this hasn’t changed.”

You can read the entire notice and find out more by going to https://www.facebook.com/fbfacts/1573108242983244.

Social media has made spreading hoaxes and misinformation really easy. Before social media, email was also very effective.

The thing is that the Internet has also made it relatively easy to check on the validity of information. Although we know that there are many sources of “fake news” and others that are heavily slanted in one direction or another, there are certainly enough reputable sources that can debunk outright hoaxes like this one.

Just pick some of the key words or phrases and do a search. In this case if you use the search on “Facebook UCC 1-308- 1 1 308-103 and the Rome Statute” you will get a ton of results including articles from major news outlets.

Speaking of search, you should be careful what search engine you use. Google is the undisputed king of search engines but I try to avoid it because Google tracks everything. I use DuckDuckGo.com because it doesn’t track you personally.

You can set your web browser to use any search engine. The problem is that this setting can also be hijacked without your explicit consent. Your start page and default search provider can be changed to some fake search engine that gives only results they want you to see. This could be to only their advertising partners or worse, to infected web pages.

I see this all the time on computers that come in for service. Please make sure you are using a reputable major search engine when you search.

Call me if you need help. 315-376-8879.

Original newspaper column published January 2019