The day to day ramblings of an IT Professional and Community Leader
I received this e-mail - apparently from myself - earlier this week. I have actually gotten many of these e-mails over the past few months. On the surface, my e-mail has obviously been hacked - after all, how else could the sender send an e-mail from my own account? Here's the problem... it was not... Continue Reading →
I am in Montreal this week, working on a friend's computer. After twelve incredible years of service, the laptop is being replaced. But before that happens I must transfer the data to his new computer... a task made infinitely more difficult by the utter and complete infestation of his computer with malware. Aside from being... Continue Reading →
Raise your hand if you hate CrapWare. Yes, CrapWare (or BloatWare) are those programs that come with your OEM-installed PC. Most of the time you don’t want it (or don’t even realize it is there). Depending on the variant, it can the OEM (original equipment manufacturer, such as HP or Dell or Lenovo, to name... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I started receiving resumés from what looked like legitimate job seekers. The only problems were a) I am not currently hiring, nor have I put out any feelers that might be misconstrued as I am, and b) There was no cover letter – just a quick note like this: Hi, my... Continue Reading →
There’s an old adage about a guy who takes his car to a mechanic. The car is coughing and banging and sounds like it is dying. The mechanic listens for a minute, then takes a hammer and takes a big whack at the engine, which then starts purring perfectly. That will be $200 please. ‘WHAT?... Continue Reading →
Wednesday morning I was sitting at my desk when a pop-up appeared on my screen. It was actually an Internet Explorer window, and although it was written entirely in Japanese, I suspected immediately that it was a scam, a fraud, malware, or something. Why? It had a very old Microsoft logo on it (from the... Continue Reading →
In my last post I told you about some free downloads which are being given away by the company that makes them. I have worked with this company’s software before, and there is nothing you need to be worried about. However most of the stiff offered ‘free’ on the Internet has a cost to it…... Continue Reading →
