Holiday Phishing Scams? Here are Four Ways to Protect Yourself

The winter holidays are coming up fast. We’re stretched thin. We’re planning trips to relatives for holiday meals, planning a holiday party for our work buddies, checking out the kid’s plays and concerts at school, shopping for gifts, and on and on and on.

And the scammers know it. They’re planning Phishing Scams.

Screenshot of Phishing definition from NIST: A technique for attempting to acquire sensitive data, such as bank account numbers, through a fraudulent solicitation in email or on a website, in which the perpetrator masquerades as a legitimate business or reputable person.
             Definition of Phishing from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Four Ways to Protect Yourself from Phishing Scams:

PASSWORDS:

Change your password for ALL your online financial accounts (banks, credit cards, investment, Paypal, etc.), social media accounts, shopping accounts (Amazon, LLBean, REI, etc.), and ANY account where you have saved your credit card info. Do this before Thanksgiving. There have been many data breaches recently, and millions of email/password combinations have been “harvested”.  I know! Once you change your password, you must change it on your phone, tablet, computer, and anywhere else you use the app as well. It’s a hassle, but do it. (Here’s a recent blog on creating a secure password.)

PURCHASES:

When buying something from an individual online, double-check that they are who they say they are. If they are on Etsy or eBay, check their recent ratings. Do they have a 4.8 star rating overall, but are the recent ratings all ones or twos? Are you buying something from someone you know (or a good friend knows)?  Ask them clarifying questions to make sure they haven’t recently been hacked. (Yes, that’s how I got scammed.)

EMAILS:

Read your emails very carefully. Scammers know we get a lot of emails this time of year, especially from online shopping accounts. They can guess that we might be ordering from Amazon or Costco and may email us saying there is a “problem” with our order. They want us to click on this handy link they’ve provided. The email has an excellent rendition of the Amazon logo, and they have “spoofed” the URLs to make them look like the link will direct you to Amazon. Don’t fall for it! Go to your account and verify any problems there.

One especially tricky email is from Norton and other anti-virus/security providers. They email that they will process your “subscription renewal” on a future date for big buck$. If you don’t want to renew, just call the number in the email. Then, they ask for permission to access your computer to make sure you don’t have any viruses. If you let them, they’ll have fun. You end up with stolen data and malware on your machine.

TEXTS:

Texts and emails are the most common way to get pulled into phishing scams. By now, we all know that text messages from “USPS” or “FedEx” about delayed deliveries are scams. Read the message carefully. Is it coming from a number you’ve already saved on your phone? Don’t click on that link! Go to the app or website you already have to confirm there is a problem and correct it there.

Conclusion:

Use secure passwords wherever you log in, AND change your passwords frequently. Be incredibly diligent with Social Media and Financial accounts!

Good luck and….Screen shot from Youtube Video of Michael Conrad on Hill Street Blues. He says to his team: Hey, let's be careful out there.

“Hey, let’s be careful out there.” (Hill Street Blues)

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

I got Scammed

I’m careful. Really, I am. But this week, I was scammed. There was a Facebook scam, and I fell for it.

Scammed by Facebook:

Here’s what happened. If you know me (Gail), you know I’m pretty much off of Facebook, except for the random Reels that Chris sends me. When my sister sent me a link from her friend, I had no reason not to trust it. The description in the link said that this friend of my sister’s was putting her dad into a long-term facility and needed to liquidate his stuff. There was a long list of household items with photos and very attractive prices.

The post said she was out of town and would return in a few days, but “first come, first serve”. If we wanted something, we should put a 50% deposit on it, and she would hold it for us until we could look at it and pick it up. If we changed our mind, we’d get the deposit back. There was one item we were interested in. We sent the deposit and contacted her the next day about pick up.

The next day, rather than seeing the item and deciding if we wanted it or not and THEN paying the rest of the amount due, she now wanted 100% of the money upfront before we could look at it. I declined and asked for my deposit back. And I was assured that she would send it.

This is where my spider sense started tingling. It couldn’t tell me I was being scammed before I handed over the $200 deposit?

I contacted my sister at this point and told her that her friend was rude, but I was chalking that up to the stress of putting her dad into a home. I also mentioned that we decided against buying the item from her friend because the terms were changed, and I thought it sounded fishy.

My sister had sent this link to several people who she knew needed things. She contacted them and asked them to be careful. One of her friends texted back and said:

text message about scammed FB transaction: "I exchanged a few messages with her yesterday and was sure it was a scam. Reported it this morning to Facebook. I meant to tell you."

 

 

He “was sure it was a scam.” What did I miss? I fell for it. I got scammed, and I feel pretty stupid!

Lessons Learned (Don’t Get Scammed):

Just because a link comes from someone you trust does not mean they have thoroughly vetted the information. Because it came from my sister, and because she said this was a friend, I trusted the referral more than I should have. (I found out later that my sister hadn’t been in contact with her friend for several years.) So, first, do your own due diligence.

Chris says: “Trust is death in security.” Anytime you’re online, you must be extra vigilant about your security. You don’t have an actual person sitting in front of you, proving that they are who they say they are. If you know the person, ask questions to get them to prove themselves.

Ask multiple questions about the transaction before plunking down your cash. Are the answers you’re getting consistent? Are they getting impatient about your questions? Be doubly cautious when buying a digital product, like an event ticket.

Make sure you know everywhere you have provided your financial information.

Recommendations:

Know who you are dealing with.

Change your password on social media accounts frequently, at least once a quarter. Here’s my blog about creating a good, secure password.

Change your password on ALL accounts with access to your financial info monthly. This includes social media, like Facebook, if you’ve ever purchased something through Marketplace.

 

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.

Paypal Changes Legal Terms – What Should You Do?

Did you get this seemingly innocuous, totally ignorable email from PayPal changing their legal terms?

Screenshot of PayPal email. They're changing their legal terms so they can share more of your personal info.

This is the kind of thing that actively annoys me. I try to lock down all the apps I use so they don’t share information I don’t want them to. When a company changes its legal terms by sending me an email and then changes my settings without my permission … well … I get mad!

One of the reasons we use PayPal is because it provides us with a bit of a wall between our financial info and the store or person we’re sending money to. I don’t want to say I don’t trust all the Etsy or eBay sellers out there, but when it comes to my bank accounts, I want to keep things private. I’m guessing you do, too.

Did you receive this email from PayPal? I noticed that Gmail helpfully put it in my “Promotions” tab, making it harder to find.

Here’s how to turn PayPal marketing sharing off:

  1. Log into Paypal
  2. Click on Settings (it’s probably the gear icon near the top)
  3. Click on “Data & Privacy”
  4. Click on “Manage Shared Info”
  5. Click on “Personalized Shopping”
  6. Toggle the button to “off”
  7. While you’re on the Settings page, change your password too.
  8. If you have multiple PayPal accounts, follow these steps for each.

Screenshot of PayPal sharing turned off Screenshot of PayPal sharing turned on

 

 

 

 

Conclusion:

Just because you went through all the privacy settings when you downloaded a new app doesn’t mean your info will stay private. Companies change their legal terms often. Double-check the settings for your apps at least once a year.

 

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.

Secure Passwords

How to create Secure Passwords

Creating secure passwords is something of an art now. The days of easy-to-remember passwords are long gone. You can’t use your birthday, your kid’s names, “password,” or even “passw0rd” (with a zero) anymore. In many cases, you can’t use ANY of the passwords you have used before. As Chris says: “Complexity is your friend.” Here’s how long it takes to hack a password today:

Table showing how long it takes to hack a password depending on complexity and why you should use secure passwords
If the info is too small, open the image in a separate window. Thanks to Hive Systems for this resource (www.hivesystems.com/password)

Creativity is required! Here are some ideas to help you develop your own secure passwords. And, remember to change your passwords frequently, especially on Financial and Social Media sites.

Basic Rules for Secure Passwords:

  • No less than 12 characters
  • A mix of both small and capital letters, plus numbers
  • If the app allows it, add special characters too, like !@#$%^&*()+:’

Password Hack: Substitute Characters

You can use random words and change out some of the letters for numbers or special characters.

  • An “A” can become “@”
  • An “E” can become the number “3”
  • An “L” or “I” can become the number “1” or “!”
  • An “O” becomes the number “0”
  • An “S” becomes “$”

Password Hack: Random Words

Look around your office or whatever room you’re in. Pick a few things you see. Don’t forget items in art on the wall or fridge! Remember to substitute characters as mentioned in the first section.

Do you see a tree outside, a rainbow on a drawing on your fridge, a pelican on the postcard from your brother in Florida? Use it!

“Tree”, “Rainbow”, “Pelican” becomes “Tr3eR@1nb0wPe1ican”

Random Characters create Secure Passwords:

You can also tap random keys on your keyboard. Once you get to 30 characters, you can stop. Make sure it is sufficiently randomized. We don’t want to see “asdfghjkl;”! For example:

  • 3k5c9dl#8sx0e;4*fHeI3)%E c94

Hobby Hack:

Select several words related to your favorite hobby and create a password from that. I like using three words, but you can use more if you like. For example:

  • Sai!bo@tLifejacketTil11er
  • P@intingP1einAirLand$cape
  • W1neVintageC0rk$crew
  • H1kingTr@ilMapBoot$

Entertainment Hack:

Let’s say your favorite TV series is “House”. Now, House is only five letters; the minimum number of characters most apps require is eight. Hackers are more innovative and use better equipment these days. Today, the minimum number of characters we’d recommend is 15, but I think 25 is better. So, how do you stretch out your favorite TV series to at least 15 characters? Here’s how:

  • Name: House
  • Studio: Universal
  • Favorite Actor: Hugh Laurie

This brings us to “HouseHughLaurie” (15 Characters – fair) or “HouseUniversalHughLaurie” (24 Characters – better!) But, without numbers or special characters, it’s still not a good password.

  • You can try: “H0useHughL@urie” or “H0useUn!versalHughL@urie”. With either of these, you’ve got upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters!

Trekkies have it easier. They just need the name of the show:

  • TOS becomes “StarTrekThe0riginal$eries”
  • TNG becomes “St@rTrekTheN3xtGeneration”

Get the idea? You can do this with favorite books, movies, famous people, etc.

Conclusion:

Remember to use Secure Passwords wherever you log in AND to change your passwords frequently. Be incredibly diligent with Social Media and Financial accounts!

Good luck and “Hey, let’s be careful out there.” (Hill Street Blues)

 

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.

Data Breach

US Dept of Energy Data Center
Data Center – Rawpixel.com

The news seems flooded with stories of a major data breach of National Public Data. This is significant because NPD is a consumer data broker. According to the Electronic Privacy Information Center data brokers:

“…collect and aggregate many types of personal information: names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, gender, age, marital status, children, education, profession, income, political preferences, and cars and real estate owned. Data brokers also collect information on an individual’s purchases, where they shop, and how they pay for their purchases.

“In addition, data brokers collect health information, the sites we visit online, and the advertisements we click on. And thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and wearables, data brokers collect and sell real-time location data.”

If you’ve ever wondered about Identity Theft, this is it. It’s essential to know with all that info, the hackers can sell your data. They may sell your whole file to a woman or man who can open accounts in your name, buy a car in your name, earn income in your name (that you will owe taxes on), or even get medical care, ALL IN YOUR NAME.

Consumer Data Brokers are an unregulated business. They can buy and sell your personal and private information without you even knowing they have it! Because they’re unregulated, there’s not a lot you can do about the data they already have. (Write to your Congressperson and Senator!) But there are things you can do to limit the damage.

Q: What is a data breach?

A data breach happens when hackers virtually “force” their way into corporate or government data centers. As hackers get more innovative, there will be more and more data breaches. Click for Wikipedia’s “List of data breaches“. (It is a little out of date.)

Q: What happened?

National Public Data had a security incident in December 2023. Brian Krebs states, “In April, a cybercriminal named USDoD began selling data stolen from NPD. In July, someone leaked what was taken, including the names, addresses, phone numbers, and in some cases email addresses for more than 272 million people (including many who are now deceased).”

You can read more on Snopes, Bleeping Computer, and UC Berkeley. There are many articles with sensational headlines and click-bait. Avoid those! In addition, a citizen in Florida filed a class action lawsuit.

Q: Does this data breach include my information?

The first thing you should do is head over to PenTester. Enter your name, state, and birth year to see your status. (The Data Breach includes my data.)

Q: Should I freeze my account? What does that mean, and how will it affect me?

Experian has provided a good explanation about freezing and thawing your account:

“A credit freeze is a free service, guaranteed under federal law, that can protect you from credit fraud by limiting most access to your credit report until you lift it, or “thaw” your report. When your credit report is frozen, any lender who asks to evaluate your report for purposes of issuing a loan or other credit is denied access to the report. A security freeze won’t affect your credit scores, but it will prevent lenders evaluating credit applications from obtaining your credit scores.

“A security freeze prevents criminals from opening new credit accounts in your name, but it also blocks your legitimate credit applications. So, if you have a credit freeze in place, you’ll need to thaw your credit reports before applying for a new loan, credit card or other consumer credit.

“Once your application is processed, you can reinstate the freeze. Alternatively, you can use a temporary thaw to lift the freeze for a set window of time, such as one day or one week, after which the freeze will be reinstated.

“Credit freezes must be activated and lifted separately at each of the national credit bureaus. Procedures differ somewhat with each bureau, but all three enable requesting and lifting of security freezes online, by phone, and via postal mail. There is never a fee for applying or removing a credit freeze.”

Q: What do I do next?

Freeze your account on all three credit reporting sites:
If you haven’t been on these sites, you’ll need to create a new account with a secure password. Remember your login information so you can “thaw” your account if you need to.

Q: What about my email?

Check whether your email has been compromised or “pwned”. Enter your email address into Have I Been Pwned to find out. If it has, the site will tell you where. Go to each site, and change your password to a new one. THEN, enter one of your other emails to find out if that has been compromised, too. For example, I have separate emails for work, personal, and social media. I discovered that my email was breached on Ticketfly, Gravatar, and Factual, among others. (Check out this article I wrote a few years ago.)

Q: Anything else?

You might want to consider a data removal service. The jury is still out on their effectiveness, and we haven’t had a chance to review any of them yet. The primary services available are Incogni, OneRep, or DeleteMe. Here are a few independent reviews:

Conclusion:

Be very cautious about how and where you share your data, and secure your data via account freezing.

 

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming, too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. If you’re a young adult or a student, you’re eligible for a 6 month free trial!  As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.

Fire Season – 5 Tips to Keep Your Tech Safe

Fire Season
James Peak during Fire Season

Yes, it’s Fire Season again. Even if there isn’t a fire nearby, the smoke blows far and wide. Sometimes, it’s hard to breathe; sometimes, we just get pretty sunsets. But, when you live in the West, you need to be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

Recommendations for Fire Season:

Here are our recommendations for preparing for Fire Season, keeping your data safe, and making sure your technology continues to work wherever you land.

Use a laptop or Macbook for your daily computer:

  • For most people, there isn’t a huge difference between a desktop and a laptop. Get the computer that ill allow you to grab it fast.  You can still have a large monitor and keyboard on your desk.  If you need to bug out, just unplug everything, grab the notebook, and go!

Get two charging cables for your laptop:

  • Keep one at your desk and the other in your laptop case.  This way you can just grab the computer and GO.

Fire Season or not – Store your files in the Cloud:

  • Make sure you use the Cloud to back up your data.  An external hard drive can accidentally get left behind.  Or worse, you may not even have time to grab your laptop. (One of our customers was evacuated during the recent Lake Shore fire west of Boulder. He didn’t have a chance to grab anything, but did have his files uploaded to Dropbox. And, yes, his house was ok, but it did have a lot of smoke damage.) I’ve been using Dropbox for years, and I like its ease of use.

Get a Hot Spot:

  • Talk to your cell phone provider about turning your cell phone into a hot spot.  As long as you have access to a good cellular signal, you can send a good wifi signal to your laptop from anywhere.
  • Speaking of “Hot Spots”, here’s a great video from Jefferson County Fire Department on what to do if you think you spot smoke or a wildland fire:

POWER!

  • Make sure you have several fully charged battery packs.  I recommend getting two of these Power Banks. Keep one in your laptop case and the other in your car. Make sure it’s kept charged!

More Tips for Fire Season:

  • Keep the Geek For Hire phone number handy.  We can talk you through most of the issues you may be having.  Remember, if you just have a quick question, we don’t charge for phone calls under 10 minutes.
  • During Fire Season, remember to keep your precious photos and other valuables in a bin by the door, ready to go in case you do get evacuated.
  • Keep your fuel tanks at least half full throughout Fire Season.
  • Grab your laundry basket.  All of your favorite clothes are already in there!

Keep Informed about Fire Season:

There are several websites I check on during fire season. One tells me where the smoke is, another tells me where the fires are, and another tells me about the winds.

AirNow.gov shows the smoke plumes:

Airnow.gov screenshot of smoke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inciweb shows where the fires are right now:

Screenshot from Inciweb on 8/21/24

Earth::Wind is one of my favorite apps. My only complaint is that there aren’t enough features to tell where you are. If you know your lat/long to 20 degrees and all the major rivers, you’ll do fine!:

screen capture of Wind currents over North America

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the bright side, we’ll be treated to some amazing sunrises and sunsets throughout fire season!

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. You can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.

When will the Global Chip Shortage End?

Buying a new computer or printer these days is getting more … challenging. Semiconductor chips are built into just about everything. In fact, in early September, we had a customer who needed more RAM in her machine. With Chris’ help, the order was placed with Crucial, the retail division of Micron Technologies. But, because of the chip shortage, they kept getting emails saying the order was delayed, then delayed again, and again. When they called to find out what to do, Chris urged them to sit tight. Sure, we could get the RAM from another company, but they’d likely have delays as well, and the quality wouldn’t be as good as Crucial. Boy, I really wish we were talking about a potato chip shortage…

(Many of our readers don’t know what semiconductor chips are or what they do.  From IQS: “A semiconductor is a physical substance designed to manage and control the flow of current in electronic devices and equipment.”  If you’re up to more reading, here are a couple of links: How is RAM made?, What is a Semiconductor?)

In case you’ve never seen one, here is a photo of a motherboard (Apple calls theirs a logic board) from an old Dell computer. I’ve noted the location of some of the many chips. Note that this motherboard is 15 or 20 years old and everything is MUCH smaller now.

The chip shortage will impact computer repair such as adding RAM or replacing a motherboard
Computer chips on a motherboard

The big question is “Why do I care that there is a chip shortage?”, i.e. WIIFM?

Some of the common items that depend on semiconductor chips include computers, smartphones, gaming machines, cars and trucks, TVs, radios, and even washing machines, refrigerators, and electric toothbrushes. (There is already a serious backlog with monitors. We’re seeing delivery delays of 2 or more months!) Your local phone company and electric utility depend on chips to provide reliable service. Just getting this blog onto the interwebs takes chips. If the supply chain issue doesn’t get solved, it could be a very serious problem.

Why is there a semiconductor chip shortage right now?

It starts with the transportation supply chain. As I write this, it’s mid-November 2021. I keep reading about shipping ports in the US and throughout the world that have huge backlogs with dozens of container ships anchored off the coast.

Sallie Hopper‘s friend Kana took this picture of her son Koji 13 miles south of Long Beach Harbor, CA. This isn’t even the end of the line. Talk about bumper-to-bumper traffic!

A surfer with container ships lining up south of Long Beach, CA

These ships can’t unload until there is an available berth in the port and qualified people to unload and distribute each container. What is causing the chip shortage? It was like a perfect storm.

Covid

  • First, Covid limitations were put on employers throughout the US (and the world), closing facilities and/or restricting employee hours.
  • Then, because so many people were newly working from home, there was a huge uptick in ordering office equipment. This wasn’t on anyone’s forecasting list. Thousands of computers, monitors, video cameras, and printers were ordered and delivered within a very short period of time.
  • At about the same time people started getting sick with Covid and greatly reduced the number of qualified employees that could manufacture chips. This also limited people who are qualified to move shipping containers, drive trucks, and load cargo onto trucks or ships, or trains.
  • A resurgence of Covid in Asia shut down ports in mid-summer 2021. That has added to the shipping backlog throughout the world.

Ever Given

  • And then the Saga of the Ever Given. A container ship blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week in March, 2021. This caused a backlog of more than 800 ships and all their cargo waiting to get through. According to CNBC: “In 2020, more than 50 ships per day on average passed through the 120-mile long waterway, accounting for around 12% of global trade.” They interviewed Douglas Kent, EVP at the Association for Supply Chain Management. He noted that: “It’s definitely going to continue to backlog ports and other delivery mechanisms as a result, and then, of course, the chaos that disrupts thereafter.”  Image from Wikipedia:Ever Given stuck in Suez canal - image from Wikipedia

Trucking Industry

  • Also, there has already been a shortage of truck drivers for years. Seriously, who wants to drive day and night in all kinds of weather, with little mini-Coopers that you can’t see who cut you off? The answer is fewer and fewer people. In response, the entire trucking industry has raised its pay scale and added more benefits for drivers. That has helped, but not enough. Still, most truckers are paid by the mile, not by time. Sitting around waiting for containers to be moved from the ship is unpaid, but still on-duty time. In the past year, the situation has gotten more dire, with people staying home and ordering a plethora of items online. (This is another reason for the push towards autonomous vehicles.) Even the NYTimes says the trucking industry is the “biggest kink in the supply chain.”
  • California may be having more transportation issues than other states because of its strict emissions standards. Older trucks, available for loading, are not allowed to enter the state.
  • And let’s not forget about the weather. The interstate highways have already had several sections closed in October 2021 because of weather. This image from The Morning Call shows a Pennsylvania highway shut down during a snowstorm:

    Highway shutdown - trucks bumper to bumper - McAll.com

Semiconductor Industry

  • Why is there ever a shortage of anything? Supply. Demand. Inaccurate forecasting. Loss of control over basic materials.
  • For semiconductor chips, just like the trucking industry “even before the pandemic, demand for them exceeded supply. Earlier this year, economist Rory Green called semiconductors “the new oil,”  and says “Taiwan and South Korea are the “new OPEC”: supply, demand and bottlenecks to global growth will revolve around Taiwan and SK chip production. They will not hold effective monopoly power over production forever, but their technology lead, R&D spending and capex plans preclude any change to the duopoly in at least the next five years.”
  • And Popular Science notes that “while these chips were an American invention, the number of US manufacturers currently creating them has declined severely. In 1990, 37 percent of chips were made in America, says James Lewis, senior vice president and director of CSIS’s Strategic Technologies Program. By 2020, that number was only 12 percent.” Combine that with global transportation issues, and you can see where we’ve run into trouble.

When will the computer chip shortage end?

I’ve been hearing a lot about the silicon chip shortage all year and actively reading the news since September. Here’s what some of the experts are saying:

Fall 2021 Predictions:

  • 10/28/2021 – Arstechnica: “Earlier this year, the chip shortage seemed like it might ease sometime in 2022. Now, that forecast appears to have been optimistic. “The shortages are going to continue indefinitely,” Brandon Kulik, head of Deloitte’s semiconductor industry practice, told Ars. “Maybe that doesn’t mean 10 years, but certainly we’re not talking about quarters. We’re talking about years.”
  • 10/15/2021 – “The global chip shortage could persist for another two to three years before ending, the President of Hisense, one of China’s largest TV and household goods makers, told CNBC.” Sharp, Toshiba, and Hitachi are among the brands sold by Hisense.
  • 9/27/2021 – CNBC: “The global chip shortage will become less severe in the second half of 2022, AMD CEO Lisa Su said on Monday, though she warned that the first half of the year will be “likely tight.””
  • 11/2/2021 – Reuters: The AMD chip shortage seems to be almost non-existent. “Our supply chain team has worked to make sure that we have months and years of forecast ahead into our supply chain,” Chief Technology Officer Mark Papermaster said on the sidelines of the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Portugal. “Everybody has had to increase their focus on the supply chain but we did so from the very beginning of the pandemic.”

Summer 2021 Predictions:

  • 7/23/2021 – From CNN: “While I expect shortages to bottom out in the second half [of the year], it will take another one to two years before the industry is able to completely catch up with demand,” Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger told analysts on Thursday.”
  • 7/29/2021 – Reuters“The global chip shortage that is hindering production forecasts of giant companies like Apple Inc (AAPL.O)and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) is here to stay until the first half of 2023, the chief executive of STMicroelectronics (STM.BN) said on Thursday.”

Bottom line:

It looks like the chip shortage may start to ease somewhat in 2023, but we’ll still see supply issues for the next 2-5 years.

Conclusion: What should I do?

First, take care of the electronic equipment you have that may be using chips. Call your appliance person and have them give your washers, furnace, and other appliances a good once over. Make sure you do regular oil changes and tune-ups for your car or truck. And, yes, make sure your Mac or PC gets an annual tune-up. Chris can tell you what you can do to lengthen its life.

If you do need to purchase something right away, be prepared to:

  • Choose a different option
  • Wait longer than normal, in some cases several months longer. (We have a customer who needs a specialized motherboard for their security gate. The part comes from China. Current estimated delivery date is 30+ weeks from now!)
  • Pay more than you would have in 2019 or 2020

If you can, wait until 2023 or later to purchase a new car, household appliance, or computer. This way, you should be able to get exactly what you want.

Information About Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a free report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. He’s the geek for you! Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

More Tips Here:

  • Are VPNs worth it? More here.
  • Are you interested in learning more about Extreme Privacy?
  • We have seen a lot of Facebook hacking lately. Here’s what you should do ahead of time to keep your account safe.
  • And here are the 10 Password Mistakes you don’t want to make!

What To Look For When Buying A Computer

In the past few weeks, we’ve had more than a few people ask us what to look for when buying a computer. Is it pent-up demand after a year of hanging out at home? Was it for Back-to-School? Is it pre-planning for Black Friday? Is it the regular paycheck again and can finally afford to replace that old Windows 7 machine? (If you’re looking for a new MacBook or iMac, check out this article for Chris’ recommendations.) Whatever your motivation, if you’ve been wondering what to look for in a computer, here’s our advice.

Computer Purchasing Tips:

Laptop or Desktop:

We live out west where “fire season” is almost the same time as “hurricane season”. It starts in early summer and lasts through October or November. Because we never know when we’ll be evacuated, we lean towards laptops. We’ve found that there is not a whole lot of performance difference between desktops and laptops anymore. When someone says “Your next computer should be a desktop”, we respectfully disagree.

If you do prefer to have a computer on your desk, get an external monitor or two, a docking station, a wireless keyboard, and a mouse. With this setup, it will work just like a desktop.

What to look for when buying a computer - image of laptop, 2 monitors, wireless mouse and keyboard

Here’s my setup with the laptop and two monitors.

Because laptops are more portable by design, if you do get evacuated, you can just toss the computer in your laundry basket and head out to your vehicle. (More advice on how to keep your tech safe during fire season.)

Do you want a Touchscreen: 

We find that touchscreens add extra complexity and end up making the total cost of the machine more expensive without useful functionality. Unless you have a real need for a touchscreen, we’d advise against getting one. (My current laptop has a touch screen which I almost never use. Partly because the lid is always closed!)

How much Storage:

Choose a Solid-State Drive over a traditional Hard Drive. SSDs are much faster than a physical hard drive. In addition, they are more robust because they have no moving parts. Check to see how much storage you are currently using, then double it or more for your new machine. You’re not going to take fewer photos in the future! And, as technology changes, those photos will be larger. I have a 2 TB SSD which seems to work well for me. (More information about storage, SSDs, and hard drives.)

How much RAM:

I always get confused between “memory” and “storage”. RAM is memory. When you’re buying a computer, get at least 8 gigs of RAM as two separate sticks, not one. If you’re the type of person who opens a bunch of windows and tabs, you’ll want to bump that up to 16 gig or more of RAM.

What kind of Keyboard:

Do you want a 10-key Keyboard? (A 10-key is the number pad generally to the right of the rest of the keys. Accountants and anyone who works with numbers use them.) I once got a USB-connected 10-key accessory because my computer didn’t have one. It worked, but it was cumbersome. If you think you’ll want one, make sure it is a part of your ordering process. Do you ever work in the dark? Think about getting a backlit keyboard. Do you like the clickity-clack of an old-style typewriter?

The size of the keyboard can also dictate the size of the laptop. If you’re an expert typist, a smaller keyboard may work well for you. If you tend to make a lot of typos, look at a larger machine.

Do you want a Video Camera:

If you do a lot of Zooming, Facetiming, or Google Meeting, think about getting a video camera. There is not as much of an ordering backlog as there was six months ago. Most laptops come with a camera already built-in. A higher quality external camera can be added later.

What size Battery:

One of the things to look for in a computer is battery life. Get the largest battery offered for the machine so you can continue working a long time without being plugged in.

Also, order a second power brick. Keep one on your desk and one in your laptop case to simplify travel. (And, if one of them stops working, you’ll already have a spare.)

How long of a Warranty:

When you’re buying a personal computer, don’t forget about the warranty. We’ve noticed that computers tend to have issues with their component parts at about the 3 ½ to 3 ¾ year mark. Get at least a four-year warranty from the manufacturer. Don’t get a warranty from the store. Sometimes, when you buy a new computer at a store, like Best Buy or Costco, they won’t offer a manufacturer warranty. In that case, get the longest warranty the store offers.

Against our advice, a recent customer got a one-year standard warranty on an inexpensive machine. They had a lot of questions that the warranty covered, but if they spill coffee on the laptop next year, they’re out of luck.

Read the fine print! Not all warranties provide coverage on liquid spills or falling off the rooftop of your car while driving. Don’t sign until you ask a ton of questions!

What kind of Processor:

The Core I3 processor is pretty slow. Chris recommends the Intel Core I5 or I7. (The I9 is also available. It’s smokin’ fast and a lot more expensive.) There’s more info about the Intel processors here. We’ve found that in most cases the AMD processors tend to perform poorly.

How much will a new computer cost:

Expect to spend at least $1000 on a machine that will still serve you and that you’ll still like in three years. Like most things, computers are a “you get what you pay for” kind of thing. There are “cheap” machines which are, unfortunately, sold for more than they are worth. Do your research and let us know if you need help. Also, most of the major manufacturers (Dell, Lenovo, HP) have payment plans. Ask! If you purchase a new computer for less than $800, expect to be disappointed.

What else do I need to know?

How long do laptops last?

Computers are still pretty robust. Expect to get four to ten years out of a good laptop or desktop, with more and more problems occurring after the four year mark. (FYI, we have a 2008 iMac that is still going strong.)

I really don’t know what to look for when buying a computer!

Need help? One of the services we provide is to work with different manufacturers to get the best machine possible for our customers. Chris will listen to your requirements and design a machine that will work for you. Because of our long association with Dell, Chris is generally able to get a 30-50% discount on those machines. He gets less of a discount with other manufacturers. We have a one-hour design fee for this service. If you’ve already done some selecting, schedule a consultation with us. Chris can review the design and make suggestions before you actually purchase the machine.

Information About Geek For Hire, Inc.

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

More Tips Here:

  • Are VPNs worth it? More here.
  • Are you interested in learning more about Extreme Privacy?
  • We have seen a lot of Facebook hacking lately. Here’s what you should do ahead of time to keep your account safe.
  • And here are the 10 Password Mistakes you don’t want to make!

9 Tips For Keeping Your Data Safe during FireSeason

Fire Season
James Peak during Fire Season

Note: I originally wrote this post about Prepping your Tech for FireSeason on 1 May 2018. It’s been updated to add more information.

I woke up this morning to a hazy, smoky view and I am reminded that it is FireSeason again.  In this case, the fire is two states away, but the smoke is pushed hundreds of miles by the jet stream. Even though the fire is so far away, it is a reminder that when you live in the west, you need to be prepared to evacuate, at a moment’s notice. Here are our recommendations to be prepared for FireSeason, to keep your data safe, and to make sure your technology continues to work wherever you land.

Recommendations for FireSeason:

Use a laptop for your daily computer:

  • There is not a lot of difference between a laptop and a desktop anymore, so get the computer that will allow you to grab it fast.  You can still have a large monitor and keyboard on your desk.  If you need to bug out, just unplug everything.

Get two charging cables for your laptop:

  • Keep one at your desk and the other in the laptop case.  This way you won’t need to grab anything extra.

Use the Cloud:

  • Make sure you use the Cloud to back up your data.  An external hard drive can accidentally get left behind.  Or worse, you may not even have time to grab your laptop.   I like Dropbox because I can log onto the Internet from anywhere to easily access my data.

Get a Hot Spot:

  • Talk to your cell phone provider about turning your cell phone into a hot spot.  As long as you have access to a good cellular signal, you’ll be able to send a good wifi signal to your laptop from anywhere.
  • Speaking of “Hot Spots”, here’s a great video from Jefferson County Fire Department on what to do if you think you spot smoke or a wildland fire:

POWER!

  • Make sure you have a bunch of fully charged battery packs.  I recommend getting two of these Power Banks. Several months ago I purchased two and was constantly using one or the other until I gave one away to someone who really needed it.  It’s in my laptop case, so if I run low on charge, I can easily get recharged again.

More Tips:

  • Keep the Geek For Hire phone number handy.  We can talk you through most issues you might be having.  Remember, if you just have a quick question, we don’t charge for phone calls under 10 minutes.
  • During Fire Season, remember to keep your precious photos and other valuables in a bin by the door ready to go in case you do get evacuated.
  • Keep your fuel tanks at least half full throughout FireSeason.
  • Grab your laundry basket.  All of your favorite clothes are already in there!

On the bright side, we’ll be treated to some amazing sunrises and sunsets until that fire is under control!

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

INFORMATION ABOUT GEEK FOR HIRE, INC.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website, or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

If you’d like to receive our newsletters in your email, please click here.

Hacked Email? Check your “Rules”

This past week, we received hacked email messages “from” several different customers indicating that their email account has become compromised. I have “from” in quotes because the emails weren’t actually from those people.

Each email was similar, in that they all started with a benign and short email message saying “Checking in” or “Favor to ask!” or “Hey there?”. The request said something like “I wonder if I could ask your help?”. All the messages were received within the past 7 days. This indicates an active and fruitful attack that is going on right now.

HACKED EMAIL – CHECKING IN:

Here’s a screenshot of one of the first hacked email messages we received:

Hacked email example - need a favor

Chris replied with a quick email that said “Yes, I will call you later today”.  Our “Spider-Sense” was tingling about this message – because this is not something that this customer would do via email.  A few minutes later, we received this message:

email hacking example - Apple card for neice

We noticed that the “reply from” address was slightly different from his actual email address. (An “R” was added to the end of his name.) I called the customer a few minutes later, and he said he had not sent either of the messages. We talked for a while, and I recommended that he turn off his computer, and wait until I could arrive later that day.

Super-Geek To The Rescue:

The first thing was to review his MSN account security information, such as the cell phone and alternate email addresses on file which can be used for account recovery, and to change his password.  I enabled a feature to disconnect all already connected email programs which might still be connected. We wanted to make sure the hacker did not still have access to his account, to possibly seize back control.  I looked through his past login history and found that there were several recent attempts from Nigeria using Exchange.  This was a smart and sneaky attack.

Hacked email - unusual activity from Nigeria

I scanned his machine, and found the machine was not infected – but there was something wrong with his MSN email account. His Inbox showed that it had not received any new email messages for the past several days. (He could send email messages just fine.)

I looked through his account configuration within MSN, and found that a Rule (which did not have a name) had been added. It was applied to every new email message.

Hacked email - account rules changed and archive message

  • Mark the message as Read
  • Move the message to the Archive folder
  • Forward a copy of that email message to a different email account. This looked like the customer’s email address but with very subtle differences.

I found that all of the customer’s recent email was indeed in the Archive folder, and moved them back to the Inbox.  I deleted the Rule added by the Hijacker.

HEY THERE?

Here’s another hacked email we received:

Hacked Email Example - slick get back to me asap

 

This was a sneaky one too with multiple Rules added to their email. In this case, their Comcast email account had been modified to have a similar Rule added, which was forwarding a copy of all email messages to a similarly named email address under the Hotmail.com domain that did not belong to the customer.  The password was changed, the account recovery information was reviewed, and the silent email forwarding Rules (there were two) were found and deleted.

FAVOR TO ASK!

For another customer, we received this “Favor to Ask!” message:

Hacked email example - another Favor to Ask

We contacted them with a different email to let them know. They sent an email blast to their contacts announcing that their email address had been compromised, which is good. But they didn’t BCC everyone so we:

  • saw their complete list of contacts, and
  • so did everyone else.

Remember, if you need to send an email message to many contacts, follow good Netiquette and don’t use CC. Using BCC will hide all contacts that you are sending to. (Who remembers “carbon copies”, “blind carbon copies”, and getting their fingers all inky?!)

FAVOR TO ASK?

We also received this similar message from a hacked email:

example - favor to ask - AmazonAgain, the hacker changed the rules within their email account.

GREETINGS

And, last but not least, we received this convoluted request:

Another example requesting a Home Depot card

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN YOUR EMAIL INBOX:

If you get an email like this, it’s important to let the person know, WITHOUT using the email address that was used to send the original message! The best option is to call or text them. If you don’t have their phone number, see if you have another email for them. You can also contact a family member and ask them to pass on the message. I’ve even resorted to sending the person a message on Facebook.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE DEALING WITH A HACKED EMAIL ACCOUNT:

If you find out that your email has been compromised there are several things you should do right away:

  • Change your password on your email account.
  • Double-check that your “reply to” address is really your address. Look for an extra letter. Is the domain correct? (Comcast? Gmail? Outlook? etc.)
  • Check your email account “Rules” to see if any new emails are forwarded to a different address?
  • Let people know that your email is compromised. Make sure they know you’re fine and don’t need a gift card for Amazon or Apple. If you send one email to a bunch of people, please use BCC.

As always, if you need help, give us a call. In most cases, we can help you remotely.

CONCLUSION: 

Scammers, hackers, hijackers, and spear-phishers are getting more sophisticated in their attacks. Here’s a recent article about a big-time Nigerian email scam. Today is a great day to run your virus scanner, change passwords, set up two-factor authorization, and back up your data!

 

I’ve created a Free Report to protect you from “phishing” scams. Click here to receive it!

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Macs and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly.  You can find more on our website or give us a call at 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years.  We like the free and fast shipping.  With Prime, we have access to online streaming too. Prime is usually $119/year, but you can get a free 30-day trial by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

More Tips Here: