The only thing worse than calling India for tech support is when India calls you.

There’s a long running scam going on. I was fortunate enough to be at a client’s residence a couple of years ago when she got a call from someone claiming to be responding to a Microsoft Windows generated error on her computer. The client handed the phone to me as I was already working on her computer.

The gentleman on the phone, with a heavy Indian accent, claimed that he was calling on behalf of Microsoft to resolve some system issues that had occurred. He had me click “start” and then in the Run box, type in “eventvwr” (this opens Windows Event Viewer).

He then pointed out the “critical errors” in the system and offered to repair them for a fee if I would allow him access to the system. I had fun with him for a while, asking him what certain errors meant (he didn’t know). Often, critical errors are common and of little consequence to the overall health of the system (of course, there are exceptions to this).

Ultimately, if you allow the person on your system, he’ll download some software that will persistently tell you that there’s something wrong with your computer and you need to pay a substantial amount to fix it. This, of course, is all a scam – a “trojan horse” virus delivered through social engineering means.

Remember:

• Microsoft will never call you about a problem on your computer.

• Never download anything that claims it will fix your computer (unless instructed by your known technician).

• The Televised ads for software like “doublemyspeed.com” are horribly misleading and will not solve your problems.

• No software can “speed up” or “double” your internet connection speed.

• The cost of having a live technician come out to look at your computer for an hour is cheaper than these scams.

Feel free to email me through the Contact page if you have any questions about an ad or an unsolicited phone call regarding your computer. Also, if you have any experiences with something like this, feel free to share.

Comments are open.

I’ve enabled comments on future posts. Flame away. – JG

So this is happening…

UPDATE: CA Pest Control Realtime Protection is another one that gets installed alongside existing antivirus (saw this happen today, thought I’d share). Avoid this one as well. If you see this program in your “Add/Remove” programs and you have another antivirus in place (and your computer is likely running slowly at this point if you do) just uninstall CA Pest Control Realtime Protection from your system.

Original Post:
While you may have an antivirus in place, fully functioning and updated, you may suspect that a bug is on your computer. Common practice is to download and run the venerable “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware” for a free third party scan of your system. Malwarebytes ( a while ago now) has begun to offer a free trial of their real time antivirus software bundled with their ubiquitous and often downloaded free scanner.

DECLINE THE FREE TRIAL!

If you have a fully functioning antivirus running real time scanning in the background, a second real time scanner will cause your computer to run slowly and possibly crash. Never, ever run more than one real time virus scanner on your computer. It’s like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters. It’s bad.

Antivirus recommendations: If you have Comcast, then the free Norton they offer seems to work pretty well; I’ve installed it quite a few times without any complaints. If you don’t want all of those bells and whistles, or you’re on an older computer, Microsoft Security Essentials is a free-but-good antivirus that I’m currently running on my office computer.

Sawing frantically at the cord…

I’ve been a “cord cutter” since it was called “too cheap to pay for cable.” I enjoy television, particularly movies. We watch a lot of movies at our house. I used to pay around $200 a month for cable (Comcast) internet and television. This included a high definition television receiver with DVR and a cable modem.

I used to think of television options as simply two choices: cable and satellite. Neither option is optimal for anyone. When I say “optimal,” I mean the programming plans are designed to force you to buy programming that you don’t want. I remember going over Comcast plans with my Mom who wanted two channels aimed at women (Hallmark and Lifetime… something like that) and the two channels were placed on separate plans. She would have to buy two packages filled with channels she didn’t really want in order to watch what she wanted. For someone like my Mom who really cares for maybe four channels, cable got expensive pretty quickly.

She tried satellite, a cheaper alternative, but a tree was in the way of her signal. Regardless, there aren’t that many options to choose from for any sort of “premium” programming. The “ala-carte” programming plans for which pay television consumers have been clamoring for years don’t serve the profit maximizing motive of the pay television companies.

Before I go any further, let me qualify everything by stating I’m not an “activist.” I’m 100% for free market, market forces, supply and demand, etc. I’m of the opinion that the cable and satellite companies have pricing in place that only exists because of a dearth of consumer options. I understand that television isn’t a human “right,” but I do feel that free market forces are not at play – that there is gouging in the form of regional duopolies.

Digital antennas to receive an over the air signal are great. If you buy the right antenna and install it properly, you can receive high definition channels and digital sub-channels broadcast from the local network affiliates. For half the cost of one  cable bill, you can watch The Superbowl, Oscars, popular network shows, etc… you can still stay relevant during water cooler conversations. You can also buy a standalone digital video recorder to record your network shows. The high definition from the over the air signal is actually better than what you receive through Comcast (and the same quality via satellite).

What about movies? If you didn’t have an internet connection, you could simply visit Red Box kiosks ($1 a day rental) or buy a DVD/Blu-Ray (if you think you’ll really like the movie). Also, there are still some venerable independent video rental places around.

There’s a scenario: For free plus the cost of ala carte video purchase/rental, you’ve achieved probably 80% of what you were watching on cable.

What if you have internet? You know, like everyone? You’ve got more options.

A lot of newer televisions come with the ability to connect to your home network via wireless or wired connections in order to utilize services like Netflix, Vudu, Amazon, and other video on demand services. If your television does not have this ability, you can buy a device like Roku Box or Apple TV to “bridge” your television to these services. If you have a Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, or an XBox, you have at least the ability to access Netflix and stream its video through your game system. There are other video services, also digital music channels you can stream through your game system. Services vary by device.

Another scenario: You watch a handful of network shows and older movies/documentaries; you have a PS3 and an internet connection. You can subscribe to Hulu Plus and Netflix. Hulu Plus makes network shows available the day after they air originally and entire seasons are available. You don’t need a DVR if you miss a show during its initial airing. While Netflix Streaming doesn’t offer the latest movies, it does provide a significant collection of TV shows, documentaries, movies. Both of these options can be viewed on your TV or on your computer via the web.

My scenario: I returned my cable equipment and modem about a year ago. I wanted to cancel all of my television services but keep my internet. The Comcast staffer stated that I could receive Comcast’s “over the air” equivalent for $16 and receive a $15 discount for bundling. So, for a dollar more, I could run the cable coax directly to my televisions and use the TV’s digital tuner to watch network (and cable access) channels. Instead of ~$200 a month, I’m now paying $~65. I have two Playstation 3 systems and watch a lot of Netflix Streaming through them (one in the living room and one in the bedroom). In addition, I’ve started ripping DVDs to my computer and use media server software like TVersity or Windows Media Streaming (included with Windows 7) to stream to my TV via my PS3.  This is done over a standard called DLNA. I’ve seen newer TVs and Blu-Ray players with the DLNA logo on their packaging. Quite frankly, if you pirate movies over peer-to-peer services, you can keep all of your pirated video on a folder on your computer and stream those videos through your DLNA compatible device to your TV.

I, of course, don’t condone media piracy of any kind.

I recently purchased an Apple TV. This little device connects to your network via WiFi or wired connection and to your TV via HDMI cable (not included). With iTunes Home Sharing, you can stream video, music, and pictures from iTunes on your computer to your TV. If you have an iPhone, you can use the Remote app to control the Apple TV (you can use the same app to remote your iTunes on your computer) and you can stream any video on your phone to the TV. If you’re used to the iTunes interface and way of doing things, this device provides less of a learning curve than the methods I’ve previously described. You can take any video files you’ve ripped or downloaded and convert them to a format compatible to iTunes using free software like “Handbrake” and move them into your iTunes library. You can also access your Netflix as well as many different services through the Apple TV interface. One of the casualties of cord cutting is live sports, as these are often broadcast on premium channels available only through cable or satellite. Major sports leagues are offering pay services through online services that are accessible through devices like Roku, Apple TV, PS3, and other devices.

Short answer: If you have high speed internet and use iTunes, get an Apple TV. If you are not an Apple person at all, get a Roku Box.

Video rentals are available through iTunes with the Apple TV and through various sources on Roku (Vudu is a good service for new rentals).

So, we’ve went from two options to many, based on what you want to accomplish. I realize that the devices and services available make this an exponentially huge topic to tackle. If you take anything from this, just know that there are options out there. It takes a little planning and research, but you can save quite a bit if you think really hard about what you’re really watching and decide on alternative means on which to deliver that programming to your TV screen.

Links:

Crutchfield: Installing an HD antenna

Apple TV

Roku

Netflix

Hulu Plus

NHL GameCenter

MLB TV Premium

Google Cord Cutting

Don’t throw your money away on unnecessary services!

I’ve come across a few customers’ new computers and they’ve either paid $50-$60 for a software install or been offered and declined (excellent).

In a recent case, an “Office” store sold a laptop and a license for Office 2010 to a customer. They offered to “install” Office on her computer for $50. She was planning on having me out to setup a wifi network and migrate her data, so she declined this service.

Almost all new computers/laptops come with Office 2010 preinstalled. She would have paid $50 to have someone enter in a code and sit back while the software configured itself… a ten minute process (most of those 10 minutes are spent watching the task bar).

• Software installation is a service that most hardware retailers provide. This is their profit center… they don’t make anything on $400 laptops. They need to squeeze easy/quick profit where they can.

For home use, I don’t worry too much about people purchasing laptops from box stores. If you go in and don’t pay a dollar more for that laptop or computer, you’re doing well. Things to look out for:

• Extended warranties – The manufacturer’s warranty should suffice. Box stores charge too much for this and they’re often more of a hassle than calling the manufacturer directly.
• Recovery discs. Best Buy told one of my customers that her new laptop wouldn’t boot unless she spent $100 on recovery discs for her laptop. This just is never the case. Recovery discs serve to restore your computer to the state it was in when you purchased it (factory restored). You can create these discs yourself with (free) software preinstalled on the computer.
• Make sure you don’t get a display/floor model. You don’t want a laptop (or any machine for that matter) that has been on and plugged in for months on end. The battery will likely be shot and I question the reliability of a hard drive that has been handled by apathetic customers and store staff. Factory sealed is the only way to go.

Local shops are ideal when it comes to purchasing hardware. A lot of the “add on” services the big boxes provide quickly add up and you end up getting an inferior machine for the same price. Local shops generally provide all purchased software preinstalled, activated, and updated as a service provided with your purchase at no cost. Also, if something goes wrong with your computer, the extra money spent on a locally built system will be worth it when you compare the time lost dealing with a chain store. If you’re buying computers for a business, you certainly want the reduced down time that comes from a local store.

No matter where you buy your machine, I’ll be happy to install, upgrade, repair it for you.

These are fun:

Everything is so complicated.

This is what I think about when I see movies with technology incorporated into the plot.

Happy Monday,

JG

The original iPad. Sort of.

I bought this and realized that I’ve exceeded my gadget allotment. I had so many planned uses for this but the exponential integration options into my home automation and network systems made my head explode. It’s a neat device with WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, USB 2.0 connections, VGA out, SD card reader, analog video out… lots of stuff. I just need to purge. I have a few other things that are super cool but I’ll just probably not use. If I list them, I’ll post a link to the auction here.

ASUS R2H Ultra Mobile PC (eBay)

The Root, The Root, The Root is on Fire.

 

I received a Kindle Fire for my birthday this week. The Kindle Fire is basically an Android tablet with a heavily modified version of Google’s Android operating system. I usually encourage people not to buy me anything in the realm of technology. Before I use any gadget, I’m very likely to spend hours days tweaking, modifying, rooting… basically voiding any warranty that might have applied to the item when it was purchased. I find such technological violations of gifts to be rude. However, it’s what I do.

The Kindle Fire is popular for hackers because its hardware is very powerful and Amazon priced the device very low, assuming profit would be realized through book and app purchases.

However, before I even read a book or an article on the Kindle, I’d ripped the original operating system out and placed a modified Android (phone) operating sytem. The advantage to doing this is that you have full access to the Google Play app store (if you have an Android device and purchased apps through the Google Marketplace or Play store, you won’t be able to download them through the stock Kindle Fire sytem). Features like the ability to sync with Exchange, FTP server (wireless data transfer), are also reasons to cross over.

I’ve had my device in both Android and Kindle Fire environments. While I like the Android, the Kindle Fire is a much more pleasant experience. It sits on the coffee table, ready to present you news, books, Netflix, etc. People complain that the Kindle Fire doesn’t provide a lot of features, they’re missing the point. It’s meant to be a fluid, easy to use interface closed off from external apps that may deter from the experience. It’s the philosophy behind the iPad, but $300 less.

Water Safety

A business for whom I consult recently acquired a few hundred aluminum water/coffee mugs. As I set up a new laptop for a new employee, her alloted mug (new and assumed to be empty) apparently had tipped over. I only realized what had happened when a small waterfall started rolling from under the new laptop. Nothing got wet (except for my shirt sleeves), thank goodness.

I’d recently stumbled upon and was more recently gifted a Contigo coffee mug (thanks, sweetheart). You squeeze a button to simultaneously open the drinking spout and the air hole. Otherwise, this thing is so sealed that you can fill it with liquid and throw it into your bag and nothing will get soaked. It’s become the only mug I’ll allow at my desk, which is currently covered with i-devices, universal remotes, a bike computer, my favorite wireless keyboard, and magazines yet to be read. None of these things are waterproof. The dirty cereal bowls are waterproof, but shouldn’t be here in the first place.

Product Site: www.gocontigo.com

Speaking of liquid: I’m a big Leo Laporte fan and was intrigued by a product review he did for Liquipel, an iDevice water repellant system. (Spoiler Alert: Fail). Actual review starts at ~29 minutes.

Breaking up is hard to do. Plan first.

Before you terminate the employment of one of your employees, contractors, or anyone that has access to your network, let your I.T. provider know ahead of time. You do all parties involved a favor by cutting off access by an employee immediately after his or her dismissal.

Tasks include:

• Disable user accounts.
• Forward/disable email accounts.
• Retrieve any company property (cell phones/laptops/hard drives/projectors, etc.) checked out by the employee.
• Change any common or shared passwords (a bad practice, all accounts and passwords should be unique to employees).

Think through your own situation and come up with a pre-termination plan/checklist to execute. You know, before you execute.