Technically Computers

Black hat hacking group promises to release decryptors for ransomware to, and not attack any hospitals or other medical infrastructure during the Covid-19 pandemic, in a rare show of good faith from the criminal extortionists. https://www.facebook.com/120189635022/posts/10163176176495023/?sfnsn=mo

I'm excited to announce I'm beginning to build inventory now, refurbishing and locally reselling toughbooks and other rugged, drop rated laptops specialized for mechanics, businesses, and tradesmen in Fort St. John looking for extremely durable systems for the field or shop. Today I have a Panasonic Toughbook CF-53 available, details on my page in a previous post, and other unit types will be announced as they become available.

Scammers send out phishing links through email or through text, always be careful when getting a notification like this. Never open links from random numbers. If it says your bank or the government has an update for you, then close it, and go directly to that website by typing in the address or searching it like you normally would to get there. Fake links like the one in the picture open a "phishing" website that looks like the real one, but just steals your account details.

The internet continues to evolve for better or worse. Recently Google officially announced they will be cutting back functionality of their APIs for extensions in the name of security - at the cost of users and developers, it will effectively neutralize all of the most effective adblockers online. Adblockers will be significantly less effective and the best of them will be wiped out of chrome altogether like uBlock Origin will. This is no surprise from a company that profit...s so heavily from ads. It's also no surprise to see Mozilla, a company that makes a significant amount of money from Google, and its partnerships with major news outlets online, is now teasing the idea of an "ad free experience" $5 a month subscription. This is just a poll testing the waters now, but it could very well lead to an end of adblockers in Firefox soon as well, to incentivize the subscription service if they go ahead with it. The pitfall of Mozilla's program proposed, is that websites have to partner with Mozilla and actually support their ad-free program. It won't remove ads from every website. I take issue with this because web advertisements are too often used by malicious people as an easy angle of attack against common users targeting them with phishing scams or promoting malicious software. Most antivirus and internet security software don't keep up with all the new websites used by these attackers and adblockers end up being the best defense against them. https://www.zdnet.com//mozilla-want-ad-free-news-on-firef/ https://www.zdnet.com//google-chrome-could-soon-kill-off-/

What's the difference with all these cables for your computers video output? The basics... So you can pick the right one for you. VGA supports high resolutions but its picture quality is low because it is a converted analog signal. DVI is digital, and supports high resolutions and great quality image. It also supports high refresh rates at 1080p, desirable for gamers looking to improve their reaction time.... HDMI supports the same as DVI, and also supports audio. But it doesn't support higher refresh rates that PC gamers want. DisplayPort is a bit more advanced... It is fast enough to support audio, and 4K resolutions or higher refresh rates (both, on newer graphics cards). DisplayPort is also capable of splitting its signal strength using an adapter or hub, your operating system can connect and expand your desktop to multiple screens with only one port, and not just mirrors of the same image on multiple screens like with an HDMI splitter. That means you don't need additional graphics cards anymore to run 2-3 additional monitors at your workstation, or your laptop, improving your productivity. This feature however is not supported on MacOS software at this time, unless Apple later updates it in a new release of MacOS. Sorry MacBook users.

With the recent power outage we saw in #FSJ, a number of computers were damaged, failed hard drives and etc. If your workstation or server has been knocked out by the power bumps, email me at [email protected] or call me at 250-261-0995 and I can help you out this weekend.

Ever heard of the "rice trick"? The idea is with a water damaged phone or computer you can dry it out by leaving it in rice overnight. DO NOT DO THIS! If it has ever worked for someone it is probably because the damage was never that severe in the first place and they got lucky. Rice will NOT save your phone or laptop, and you will do more harm than good.... The water works it's way inside where vacuums and rice can't reach, and while you leave it overnight that water corrodes the components and connectors, permanently damaging your device. Bring it to a professional right away, so we can disassemble the device, and clean the internal components properly, before corrosion spreads, or anything is short circuited because of moisture. It is a time sensitive issue, so don't let it wait overnight either, it could make the difference between your device's life and its death.

#Gaming #PC builds are much more complicated than they were 10 years ago, and many people in #FSJ have brought me their builds with incorrect hardware configurations asking for help. I've built and repaired tons of gaming and business desktops, and I can build yours or troubleshoot any hardware failures that are giving you headaches, so you can get back to doing what you do best.

I am available weekends and some evenings for service onsite or for pickup/dropoff, do professional work with detailed service invoices. I am still a small sole proprietor so there is no taxes on my labour! I work primarily in the #FSJ region.... Email me at [email protected] for a quote, or with any questions you have =) Visit my page for more information

For any inquiries about repairs and service contact me at 250-261-0995 or email me at [email protected] Tell me about your issues, we will arrange the time to get you back in business, or back in the game.

Another tech tip! Sometimes deleted files aren't always deleted, for better or worse. The data is usually left intact, and your hard drive sort of "forgets" it is there, in a way, marking that space with your files in it for deletion instead of actually deleting it. True deletion often takes time. An experienced technician can recover lost data if it hasn't been physically overwritten yet.... This can save you in a pinch, but it can also be a bad thing, if you recycle or sell a used PC and someone gets a hold of your personal data you thought you deleted.

Almost every day I have people come to me for help with "the Microsoft scam". You're browsing the internet and all of a sudden a window opens and voices start talking and you're barraged with messages about viruses or hackers and it's telling you to call a number. You call, and they get remote access to your PC and ask you for your credit card. They get verbally abusive if you hesitate. This popup originates from a banner ad, and it can happen on any website you visit, ev...en trusted websites. You don't even have to click anything. And yes, there is an Apple Scam for Mac users doing the same thing. Your antivirus and internet security software won't stop these pop ups! You *need* an adblocker. A trustworthy one. They are usually free, and I strongly reccomend "uBlock Origin" on Google Chrome or Firefox. If you've been victimized by these people, bring your computer to an expert like me to secure your data, remove the scammers connection to your PC or Mac, and prevent it from happening again.