Tech Valet

09/29/2023

I do not post here often… But I need some help from the collective minds. Last night, I received an email from a client who I knew had been hacked. It was an email asking for help buying Amazon gift cards. I immediately contacted the client, and logged into her email, and change the password. I thought that was all I needed to do to secure the account. The account is a free Microsoft Hotmail account. I sat and watched as emails disappeared, and rules were set. I went through all of the security settings, and had every device logged out. unfortunately, Microsoft says it can take up to 24 hours for a force logout to take affect. As a result, I continued to watch as the hackers erased emails, and redirected things. This morning, it looks like they are successfully out of the account, but the damage has been done. has anyone had any experience with this? How do I get someone out of an account that they are already logged into? I am totally disappointed in Microsoft as there are no tools to get rid of this, nor is there any way to contact Microsoft if it is just a free account.

07/27/2018

I have already had several people get these disturbing emails and ask for help. Please know this is a scam, and don’t get immediately scared if you receive an email like this.

The newest "sextortion" phishing scam circulating online is targeting victims with threats of exposing their use of p**n and actual passwords.

03/24/2017

If you are an iCloud user, it would be extremely wise (and HIGHLY recommended) to turn on 2 factor authentication right away! At the VERY least change your password to a SECURE password!
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3184476/security/leaked-icloud-credentials-obtained-from-third-parties-apple-says.html .rss_all

The iCloud credentials that the Turkish Crime Family hacker group claims to have weren't obtained through a breach of the Apple's services.

03/16/2017

Exciting things are in the works here at Tech Valet! Look for an expansion of resources! Will post more as things come to fruition!

02/24/2017

So yesterday Google had a problem with their OnHub wireless access points. The problem was with a host-based control system, and the result was that a lot of OnHubs did a factory reset. This left many users without a reliable wifi system. There are many elements about this that disturb me. One - how can I be comfortable installing OnHub in a client's home or business if the system can be brought down by a host-based event? This leaves my clients high and dry, and requires an on-site visit to re-set the access points and get things running again. And this isn't exactly an event I can charge my clients for. Two - there should be no host-based activity that can bring an installed access point down. This makes me worry about what Google is doing monitoring and interacting with these devices.
I have two OnHubs in my house and I will be replacing them today with Apple Airport Extremes. At least they will only notify me when there is an update and won't be remotely factory reset.
Shame on Google for this most embarrassing problem.

12/16/2016

I was happy to read this morning that Evernote has decided that user privacy is more important than previously indicated. Earlier Evernote had indicated it was going to change its privacy policy to allow machine learning to help in system utilization and features, and that employees would be reading snippets of users' notes in order to help with that endeavor. Users revolted over the change, many saying they would drop the service if such a major change were made. It appears that that change will not happen. We are now waiting to hear more from Evernote about what the next privacy policy change will entail.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3151153/security/evernote-backs-off-from-privacy-policy-changes-says-it-messed-up.html .rss_all

Evernote has reversed proposed changes to its privacy policy that would allow employees to read user notes to help train machine learning algorithms.

10/28/2016

So Apple had their MacBook announcements yesterday, and I for one have to say I am disappointed.
They did nothing for the iMac, and they continue to remove ports on devices at a staggering rate.
So the new MacBook pro has no: SD card slot, magsafe charging port, standard USB (2 and/or 3) ports, ethernet port. The new MacBook Pro DOES have: 4 USB 'C' ports, as USB 'C' charging adapter, a headphone jack.
So how am I supposed to plug my new iPhone 7 into my new MacBook Pro? The iPhone comes with a standard USB connector - the new MacBook pro doesn't have one of those.
Confusion reigns supreme in the Mac world right now.
And the poor old iMac? It needs an update.

10/27/2016

This morning Apple announced that it is delaying the shipment of its new Airpods - its new bluetooth headphones designed for use with iPhone 7 - the phone with no headphone jack. I am sure there are lots of customers out there who purchased their iPhone 7s knowing they would have to buy the new Airpods also. And now there is no expected ship date.
Frustrating.

10/25/2016

One more tidbit for the day..... I have witnessed a disturbing trend with Microsoft Windows the past few days. It seems there is a new update going around that is causing systems to appear as though they have hung.... They system reboots after the update and then shows a spinning wheel for what I have had one client tell me is HOURS. I got the first report last Friday. The second was on my own computer at home on Saturday night. And the third came in this morning.
And then I had to reboot my own personal Windows laptop while at a client today and it did a FORCED update on me, causing me a great deal of wasted time.
Come on Microsoft.... Please stop with all the unwanted FORCED updates that are causing people a lot of lost productivity!

10/25/2016

For anyone not tuned in to this yet - Apple has a product unveil announcement this Thursday. It should be for a new MacBook. I am also hoping for news on the iMac front, and hopefully some leading information about MacBook Airs (rumor is they are going away). Stay tuned, and by all means if you are in the market for a MacBook do NOT buy one until AFTER this announcement!