Since 2003, helping you use technology with more confidence by answering questions in language you can understand.
Sep 30, 2020 β’ 4 tweets β’ 1 min read
Even after all this time printing problems are not uncommon in Windows 10. π¨ There's a simple way to "start over" with your printer that can clear up many of the more common problems. π 1/4
Use the Windows 10 settings app to remove π₯ your printer from Windows, and then add it back again. π Doing so re-initializes much of the printerβs configuration information. 2/4
Sep 28, 2020 β’ 4 tweets β’ 1 min read
Can you resist the dancing bunnies? π΅ Social engineering is all about promising something tantelizing or scarey and then not delivering as they slurp up your login credentials, deliver malware, or worse. π± 1/4
Hackers count on users circumventing any and every protection π« the system might have in place if they've been promised "Click here to see dancing bunnies". Bypassing all that allows the bad guys in. π΅οΈββοΈ 2/4
Sep 22, 2020 β’ 7 tweets β’ 2 min read
The thinking on password length has changed. 8 if random & complex was once "good enough". NO MORE. π« Any 8 character password is asking to be hacked. π± 1/7
TL;DR: At least 12, ideally 16 or more. I use 20. β Ideally random characters, but words and patterns are OK if the password is LOOONG. π Use a password vault to remember those long complex passwords for you. π 2/7
Sep 18, 2020 β’ 6 tweets β’ 2 min read
Malware can slow down your machine several different ways. It can even impact you before it shows up! π± Here are three ways malware can slow you down, two of which happen even without malware on your machine. 1/6
1οΈβ£ Too many anti-malware or security tools. π³ Running too much software on your system can slow it down, but too many anti-malware packages can be even worse. They can also cause conflicts & problems. Pick one & run with it. π 2/6
Sep 17, 2020 β’ 8 tweets β’ 2 min read
Ransomware is not going away any time soon. Even though it's just malware, it's particularly destructive π₯, and lucrative π²π²π² for hackers. Here are five reasons it'll be around for a while. 1/8
1οΈβ£ Nobody thinks they will be the next victim. "It won't happen to me." "I have security software." "I know what to look for." All of which leads to letting down your guard, and π₯ you have ransomware. Always be on guard. πββοΈ 2/8
Looking for someone's email address? Good luck! π There's no central database like there (used to be) a phone book for phone numbers. β There are a few things you can try though. 1/6
Silly as it sounds, often the best strategy is a simple internet search with as much information as you have. π Name, location, maybe employer sometimes uncovers published information including the email address. 2/6
Sep 11, 2020 β’ 7 tweets β’ 2 min read
Slow Computer? Here's the #1 reason computers slow down over time π: Too. Much. Software. π± Particularly all the stuff that runs constantly whether you need it or not. π 1/6
Installing software should be benign, but will often add run-all-the-time components whether you end up using the software or not. π Lesson #1: don't install software you don't need. 2/6
Is Microsoft Office really FREE in Windows 10? π΅ Well, no, but then again YES! π€ There's a free version of Microsoft Office for anyone on any operating system, not just Windows 10: the online version. π Don't scoff! It might be all you need! 1/6
Office Online (at office.com) is amazingly capable β and by definition documents it creates are compatible with traditional Microsoft Office applications. All you need is a web browser, an internet connection, and a Microsoft account. π₯ 2/6
Sep 7, 2020 β’ 5 tweets β’ 2 min read
Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables -- you probably have many installed on your system. Do you need them all? Β―\_(γ)_/Β― Probably not, but there's a real risk that deleting one or more will break other things. β 1/5
Visual C++ Redistributables are libraries of software that multiple applications can share. π Unfortunately there's no useful record kept of exactly what programs you have that rely on which version of the redistributables you have. π 2/5
Sep 4, 2020 β’ 5 tweets β’ 2 min read
You get the message βDo You Want to Scan and Fixβ one of your removable drives. How are you supposed to know what to answer? Β―\_(γ)_/Β― Regardless, there's absolutely something you'll want to do first. π² 1/5
βDo You Want to Scan and Fixβ means Windows found what it thinks is an error on the drive. π± You DO want to "scan and fix", but I STRONGLY πππ recommend you back up the data on that drive first. 2/5
Sep 3, 2020 β’ 4 tweets β’ 1 min read
Sure, you can delete that setup file πΎ you just downloaded, but you might not want to. Downloads have become the new installation media, and if you can you might want to treat them as such. What's that mean? π€ 1/4
Delete them off your machine, sure, but perhaps archive them somewhere else first. π¨βπΌ If you ever need to reinstall it'll be a time saver, and perhaps a life saver. Why? Well, what if you need THAT SPECIFIC VERSION? 2/4
Sep 2, 2020 β’ 5 tweets β’ 2 min read
Do you know the difference between CHKDSK /F and CHKDSK /R? β If not, let me share. /F is for "fix" and /R is for "repair". Wait. Aren't those the same thing? Well, not according to CHKDSK. π 1/5
CHKDSK /F fixes the β informationβ on your hard disk, if it can. Kinda like a book making sure the table of content is in order, and that all the chapters are listed and can be reached. π 2/5
Aug 31, 2020 β’ 6 tweets β’ 2 min read
Ransomware! π± The most important thing you can do to avoid ransomware is realize it's just malware with particularly destructive behavior. π£ You avoid it like you avoid any other malware, which you're hopefully already doing. 1/6
That means run up-to-date anti-malware tools, keep your system and software up-to-date, and use common sense. π Most important is being skeptical π€ about emails with attachments you're not expecting. That seems to be the most common vector. 2/6
Aug 26, 2020 β’ 4 tweets β’ 1 min read
Ever find your SHIFT (or other modifier) key "stuck"? Irritating, right? π I've pounded my own keyboard into that state. Yes, it could be a hardware issue, but it could also be something else. 1/4
"Sticky Keys" in Windows "Ease of Access" settings makes the key a toggle (off/on) rather than a state (hold down). β¨ The shortcut to enable it? SHIFT key five times in a row. Which can happen. Out of frustration. I know. π 2/4
Aug 21, 2020 β’ 5 tweets β’ 2 min read
There are many tools and techniques claiming to keep you safe from keyloggers -- malware that records your keystrokes. β¨ Most will claim to somehow "bypass" them. There's a problem: keyloggers can log more than keystrokes. 1/5
While simple keyloggers might be easily fooled or side-stepped, it's important to realize keyloggers are malware, and can do just about anything π± once they've made it onto your machine. 2/5
Aug 20, 2020 β’ 5 tweets β’ 2 min read
Has your computer been hacked? β It's surprisingly difficult to know for sure. To begin with "hacked" is a pretty vague term that could mean many things - usually unauthorized access to data or your machine. 1/5
Some clues π include: suddenly slow internet, suddenly slow π computer, suddenly hot π₯ computer, unexpected and heavy disk activity, new pop-ups, new or unexpected crashes and reboots, and of course unauthorized online activity. 2/5
Aug 19, 2020 β’ 7 tweets β’ 2 min read
FAT32 oir NTFS on that Flash Drive? πΎ As usual "it depends" -> this time on what you plan to do with it. 1/7
Filesystems such as FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT control just how data's placed on the disk. Most of the time Β―\_(γ)_/Β― it doesn't matter what you use, you can just use the default. Most of the time. π² 2/7
Aug 17, 2020 β’ 4 tweets β’ 1 min read
You get spam but you're not on the "To:" line. Howzat possible? ββ Easy, actually: you've been BCC'd. BCC hides the true recipients of a message from all recipients of the message. π 1/4
You cannot tell who was BCC'd. That's THE POINT of BCC. Anyone can use BCC, even you. The message may have been to you along, or a broadcast to a whole shotgun list of emails. π« There's just no way to know. 2/4
Aug 14, 2020 β’ 4 tweets β’ 1 min read
On occasion you'll want to run a full anti-malware πΏ scan using your anti-malware tool. If that tool is Windows Defender, here's how: ββ 1/4
Windows Defender Full Scan: 1οΈβ£ Click on Windows Security icon in notification area; 2οΈβ£ Click on Virus & threat protection; 3οΈβ£ Click on Scan options; 4οΈβ£ Click on Full scan; 5οΈβ£ Click on Scan now. π€ Wait. 2/4
