Digital Gurus

02/28/2019

New Phishing Scam targeting your email:
Found this in my in-box. The link it directs you to looks very official. The Big thing that stuck out is that it's being sent from an individual in Finland. Double checked it online and confirmed it's bunk.

03/19/2018

Something old and something new. Tax Tips & more from our friends at Malwarebytes:

It's tax time for the US, and the Internal Revenue Service has already issued two alerts about scammers. Here's how to protect yourself.

03/03/2018

I just had to share this link. A malware analysys of 2017 from the good people at Malwarebytes:

10/11/2017

With the threat of attacks on your PC and gaming systems via sites such as Netflix and Steam, I felt it prudent to add this to the page to the thread. It's just some tips on determining whether a web address is legit.

Staying safe on the internet is crucial. Here are 5 ways to determine if a website is fake, fraudulent, or a scam - plus 7 more safety tips.

10/11/2017

With October being named "National Cybersecurity Awareness Month," Our friends at Malwarebytes Labs has put out some securty tips that you might find interesting:

National cybersecurity awareness month was created to ensure that every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. And now Malwarebytes is doing its part.

02/04/2016

I came across something interesting in Microsoft Edge. Those of you with Widows 10 that are using may already know that if you do not close every tab before exit this new web browser, they'll still be there the next time you open it. Well some nasty folks out there have found a way to exploit this. They've got a site that will freeze your Edge on that tab and hijacked the tabs as well as the close (X) button at the top right of the browser.
Check out the screenshot attached. I couldn't help but dial the number. With a thick Indian accent, they will identify themselves as being with Microsoft and inform you that you will need to purchase a Cisco product to remedy the problem. This can be purchased anywhere and it retails between $700 and $800. The Good news is that if you purchase it with them then and there over the phone it will be only $300. What a steal? Exactly.
I declined and took a look at this thing. Bouncing between Edge and the Task Manager I realized something. This may not be possible for all PC's but to give you an idea, this one had 10 gigs of RAM. What I saw was a that Edge had took about a second form starting it until the page was loaded. All it took was to click on another tab before the page loads. No high-tech wizardry, just some good old eye-hand coordination. Once you've successfully opened an alternate tab, simply close the problem child.

FYI: the IP address is bunk. If you should want to find out what yours is, open the comand prompt window (search for "cmd" or available in your Accessories folder) and enter "ipconfig"

10/05/2015

Windows 10, to upgrade or not to upgrade?
I have yet to experience it personally but I have read a lot on Microsoft's newest and shiniest operating system. Seems that they've ditched the Windows 8 look (which is strangely similar to MS's X Box 360 Dashboard) and made a move back to something closer to the Widows 7 user interface.
So what's the problem?
Have you read the privacy statement? I ask because by agreeing to it's terms, you are consenting to have NO PRIVACY. From your programs to your emails, MS can gather all of your data to make your "Windows Experience" better. So instead of getting random advertising on sites, you will see ads that you might actually be interested in as determined by 10's data mining of your PC.
I don't know about you, but I find that rather frightening.
44% of the Windows 10 Home users on Amazon.com give it a single star rating. 29% give it the full 5. The Pro edition rates better with 38% giving it 5 stars and 32% giving it just 1. The good news is there are several thing you can do to minimize the intrusiveness of MS's latest and ... we'll see. Check the links below for more.

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/windows-10-violates-your-privacy-by-default-heres-how-you-can-protect-yourself/

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2015/08/windows_10_privacy_problems_here_s_how_bad_they_are_and_how_to_plug_them.html

Upon installation, Windows 10 defaults to some pretty serious privacy invasions. Here are some steps you can take to keep your personal data private.

09/01/2015

iPhone 7 Scam Alert:
I received a pop-up on my iPhone to let me know that I was a lucky winner of an iPhone 6 and would get to test the soon to be released 7 before it hit the stores. Wow! Too good to be true? Oh yeah.

One week from today, Apple is expected to unveil its next version of its flagship smartphone, likely to be called the iPhone 6S. As is often the case with a major event in the consumer tech world, ...

08/03/2015

Scam Alert:
You may have received calls from someone claiming to be calling from Microsoft. Well, most people have caught on to the fact that Microsoft does not call you regarding a problem. If you have an issue, you need to call them and most likely need to pay for their support.
As a result, this group has changed their name to "THE GEEK SUPPORT CENTER." They are running the same scam.
They way these calls typically play out: Someone (usually with a thick accent) will call you stating that they a representative of The Geek Support Center (sounds similar to BestBuy's Geek Squad) and tell you that they have detected problems on your Windows PC. They will ask you to open your command prompt window and have you bring up the PC's CLSID. What you should know is that this number is a universal registry entry. In other words, if you are running windows, the number is going to be the same as someone using a Windows PC on the other side of the globe. The CLSID is the registry entry that allows peripheral devices to identify your PC as one that runs Windows. The only true way to distinguish your PC from another is your MAC address that is burnt onto your NIC (network interface card). They will use this number to try to dupe you into believing that they know what they are talking about and that it is your computer that has issues. They will then have you open the Event Viewer from the command prompt. Once it compiles its report, you may get a few errors. Once you confirm that your PC has an error they will try to convince you to allow them to remotely access your PC.
DON'T DO IT!
If you allow them access, your firewall and AV program(s) won't matter- they are in and can upload whatever they want. In this case it is going to be something that they will charge you for removing.
If you are interested in learning more, I'm providing a link to a site where a guy played along using a virtual machine he had running:

The caller said “I’m calling you from Windows tech support.” The fake tech support scammers made the mistake of calling us today and we played along to learn their tricks just for fun. Here’s what happened.

05/07/2014

Had a good question come up this past week: do we buy used components?
Under normal circumstances, the answer is no. We strive to provide out clients with the best parts available (and under warranty).
Only when the PC is an older model will we seek out used parts and only from vendors who will guaranty their sales.
Our apologies to those seeking to sell parts. We are a small business and simply do not have the storage space to amass a collection of parts that may or may not be needed.
In addition, if you don't want them, why would we? Technology advances at such a rapid pace that by the time you get your new PC home, odds are that it's already obsolete.

01/08/2014

We now have a presence on the World Wide Web:
digitalgurus.biz