If you want cyber crooks to stalk your online activities, collect your passwords and sensitive financial information, hold hostage all your personal files or harness your computer for any number of nefarious activities, then you should follow these five steps. They’ll get malware on your computer in no time.
Of course, nobody wants any of these so read this and don’t do it!
Getting new computers for your home or business is exciting, but what happens to the old ones? Depending on the age, some people sell them, others throw them out. That’s the easy part. The problem is the sensitive data on them. There are passwords, account numbers, browser history, personal documents and pictures… If you run a business, you might also have license keys, customer details, medical information, tax returns… well, pretty much everything! Each computer, whether laptop, tablet or desktop, contains a treasure trove of sensitive information that cyber-criminals would love to get their hands on.
Microsoft Office has been THE office suite for more than a decade, whether it’s for business or students doing their homework. Other applications have come and gone, but it’s expected that most people will be doing their work in Word, Excel or PowerPoint. While you may have an older version of Office that you love, there are three good reasons you should upgrade to Office 365.
Maintaining your privacy while using the Internet has become more challenging over the years. The recent Facebook privacy scandal made that abundantly clear, with users shocked at how much information had been recorded about them. While it’s almost impossible to enjoy the Internet and leave zero digital footprints, there are things you can do to hide your online activities – some more effective than others.
You’re not alone! Most people use the same password everywhere – home, work, Gmail, Facebook… even for banking. Considering how many passwords we’re expected to remember and use on a daily basis, password exhaustion is a very real thing. It’s no wonder that when yet another prompt for a password appears, users enter easily guessed combinations like ‘abcd’ or ‘password’. And when it’s time to change the password, many just add number 1, 2, and so on to their previous password.
If your computer had a virus, you’d want to know about it ASAP, right? Your important files could become corrupted, you could lose your photos and your digital life is essentially destroyed. Even thinking about it is terrifying.
Tech scammers know we’d be lost without our computers, and that we don’t always know what’s going on behind the screen – which is why they’ve been able to swindle millions from every day people across the world.
Recently, I finally bought an iPad. I figured that a lot of my customers need assitance with one and while I’m often able to resolve their technical issues, I wouldn’t call myself a confident user and up until recently, didn’t even know how to switch between different apps without launching them again, how iCloud works, how to customize the interface, how to connect one to any other Apple device and so on.
New computers are whisper quiet, seeming to run on pure magic, but after a while computers can start making some pretty weird noises. Clicks, clunks, and about-to-take-off jet noises are the most common, but when should you worry? Your computer has a number of moving parts and even some stationary parts that can make noises. If you’re listening, your computer might be telling you about its current health and how you can help it run smoother, for longer.
