Today’s topic: Slow computer?
Hah, I’ll have a lot of fans of this post. Is your computer SLOW? Did it run hella fast when you bought it, but now you’ve had it for a year or two and now it runs so slow you can turn it on, go have breakfast and come back and it’s ALMOST done loading? If so, I can help. 
Again, I say if it was hella fast when you bought it, there is hope. If it’s just slow because you have 10 year old hardware, go get a new computer.
Today’s topic: Protecting yourself from viruses
One of the biggest (and time-consuming) challenges I face at work quite often is when a computer gets infected with a virus, adware, or spyware. We’ll call all of the above, collectively, “malware”.
This is a always a huge inconvenience for me primarily because of the time it takes to resolve the issues. 2 things being able to resolve the issue depends on: (1) how long the malware has been on the computer. Yes, people wait until they simply CANNOT WORK ANY MORE to tell me about a virus message that has been popping up for the past 2 weeks. Usually, by that time, the malware has basically done all the damage it intended to do. (2) How much damage the malware actually intended to do. Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s topic: “Security Questions”
Many websites that we go to and create logins for… banks, e-mail accounts, etc. And we must create “security questions” to confirm that we are indeed the owner of the account. Common security questions are “What was the name of your elementary school?” or “What is your mother’s maiden name?”
In my opinion, these security questions are, at most, easily guessable… Most of this information can be obtained online! If someone was really head-set on breaking into your account by guessing your security questions, they could go to a “background information” site that has information about you… former addresses, relatives, and so on and so forth. Read the rest of this entry »
Today’s topic: E-mail forwards
Yes, I’m talking to you. Yeaaaaaa, you. The person who sends out the *amazing* offers to all of your friends when you receive an e-mail saying that if you forward it to 70 people, you will win the lottery, or something. Or you’ll see something “neat” happen on your screen.
Or, those of you that receive forwarded e-mail from your friend that have some profound message on it that you feel compelled to send to 80 of your friends.
No, I’m not trying to diss you for wanting to share important information with your friends, send a family member encouraging words or passages, or to share a prayer for the day. My tip comes from an IT standpoint. My Tip: Remove ALL header information from your e-mail when you forward it. Or just copy and paste the part of the e-mail that people really need to read. Why? Because everybody who had the e-mail forwarded to them before you has their E-MAIL ADDRESS on that e-mail you’re getting ready to send to all of your friends. Some even show real names, too. Sure if you only send to 1 or 2 people, doesn’t seem like a big deal, does it? Well, what about the 4 people those two send it to after that? And the 8 people that they send it to after that?
Additionally, after you read the e-mail and you go to forward it, instead of entering all the e-mail addresses you are going to forward it to in the “To:” field, type them in the “Bcc:” field. Bcc stands for Blind Carbon Copy. With Bcc, the e-mail addresses you typed in do not show in the e-mail that the people receive. Then, nobody can see who all you sent the e-mail to, and there is not a “paper trail” for the e-mail message.
Until next time, be safe!