Facebook Account – Has Yours Been Hacked?

Posted on February 20, 2021April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Technology Tips

I read an article recently about how to find out if someone in a different location was logged into your Facebook account. I followed the steps and saw that someone in Dallas was logged into my account! Whoa! I logged out of the devices in those locations pretty quickly.

Originally posted on 13 February 2018.

There are several steps to follow to see if someone has hacked into your Facebook account.

The first thing to check on your Facebook account:

The first thing you want to do is to determine if you are logged into your Facebook account from odd locations. To check this, click on “Settings” and then on “Security and Login”. That screen will tell you all the places (and devices) that you are logged in. If something seems odd, then log out of that location. For example, did you use the library computer to check Facebook? Did you want to show your aunt that funny meme and logged into Facebook on her computer but forgot to log out.

Second thing:

Check your birthday and email to make sure they haven’t been changed. If they have been changed, change them back and then immediately check the recovery email. Is it still your email address, or was it changed?

Also, has anyone told you they received a second friend request from you? Or are there messages that have been sent, but not sent by you? Again, this is a good time to change your password and notify your friends not to open a recent private message from you. You should also notify Facebook that your account may be compromised.

You should also:

Now is a good time to change your password as well. It’s on the same screen as “Security and Login”. Click on “Change Password”, and choose a secure one! Here are some tips for creating a strong password.

Lastly:

Bump up your security settings. Ask Facebook to send you an alert when someone tries to log into your account. Now is also a good time to set up Two-Factor Authentication. You can access both of those settings from the same “Security and Login” screen.

You can also check out this recent post about Facebook Hacking too, for five easy tips to keep you safe.

ONLINE SECURITY:

We recommend ESET to keep ALL of your devices safe online.

Watch Out For Phone, Text, Email, and Other Scams:

Remember to stay well clear of shortened links unless you know without a doubt where that link will take you. That includes most bit.ly and owl.ly links. Here’s a recent article about short links.
Right now, there are a lot of scams out there. Read our article about Covid19 scams.

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 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.

Why do I need a VPN and What is it anyways?

Posted on May 22, 2018April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Privacy, Technology Tips, VPN

VPN’s

Many of our customers have been asking us about VPN’s lately. What is it? Do I need one? How do I set it up? With Internet privacy being what it is, more and more people are wondering how they can protect themselves. A VPN may be the answer. Let’s answer these questions one at a time:

What is a VPN?

A VPN or Virtual Private Network is encrypting software that masks your identity and internet activity by hiding your IP Address. (Your IP Address is the number associated with your computer or phone that identifies you to the network. It’s a string of numbers like 11.111.11.111 and uniquely identifies you. If you head over to What Is My IP Address, it will tell you what your IP address is, who your ISP is, and where you are located.) When you use a VPN, your computer sends your internet activity to a remote server which will then send your request on, but without your identifying IP address. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) will not be able to see or track your activity.

Do I need it?

If you are traveling in a country with less secure internet practices, you need a VPN. If you frequently use the Internet at coffee shops, you need a VPN. If you want to keep your internet activity secure for any reason at all, you definitely need a VPN. (Remember that just because a public WiFi is called Starbucks, doesn’t mean it is really being provided by the store you are in. It could also be someone in the parking lot monitoring traffic and collecting as much personal data as they can.)

How do I set up a VPN?

First, do some research to see which VPN provides the features that you want at an affordable price. You can expect to pay under $10/month for a good VPN Service. Most VPN’s allow you to connect multiple devices. When doing your research, look to see if the company saves your data and what the laws are in the country it operates in. Another feature that some VPNs have is to disconnect you from the Internet if their service stops working for whatever reason. That way you’re never using the internet without being encrypted.

Please note: We often recommend products, parts, and resources that we like. Some of these are affiliate links and we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.

Once you’ve selected the service, download the software on each device – computer, tablet, phone – and you are good to go! We like NordVPN.

Get NordVPN here!

If you need help setting up your VPN, contact us for an appointment.

Was this helpful for you? Let us know in the comments below!

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 been providing 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 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as 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. 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 I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to break your Smartphone addiction

Posted on June 13, 2017April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in iPhone, Technology Tips

I’ve read several articles recently about how hard it is to break your Smartphone addiction. Not to worry, it’s not your fault. The apps on the phones are programming you to:

Never.

Put.

Your.

Phone.

Down!

Take a look at some of these recent headlines:

When I started looking into this, I got a little freaked out. Technology companies really are trying to get us to interact more with their apps. They really are enabling our smartphone addiction. The more we interact with various applications, the more advertisements we’ll see, and that is the whole point. As Ramsey Brown, founder of Dopamine Labs says:

“You don’t pay for Facebook. Advertisers pay for Facebook. You get to use it for free because your eyeballs are what’s being sold.”

Mr. Brown’s tool, the dopamine api, allows any app to become addictive. Brown explains:

“The premise is really straightforward… people don’t just love that burst of dopamine they get from a notification, it changes the wiring of the brain.”

The whole premise is rather ingenious, and pernicious. It very slowly pulls you in, all the while giving you those dopamine hits. When you don’t get that hit, you start feeling anxious and reach for your phone. It’s hard to break your smartphone addiction.

If you’re looking for more background, Anderson Cooper did an in depth report on smartphone addiction. In the meantime:

What can you do to break your Smartphone Addiction?

Be very conscious each time you pick up your Smartphone. What is the specific thing you want to accomplish? I can’t tell you the number of times I have picked up my phone to make a call or look up a quick fact. Unfortunately, when I unlocked the screen, Facebook was already on. I then spent 15 or 20 minutes scrolling through my Facebook feed before remembering what I needed to do.
Close any apps before you put down your phone. That way, when you turn it on again, you’ll be presented with your home screen and won’t get distracted. (See #1 above.)
Keep your charging cord away from your bedside for overnight charging. And, whatever you do, don’t get a Mophie Charging Base. That one little device has made it so much easier for me to grab my phone in the middle of the night to check email (or Facebook!), then place it back on the pad to keep charging without having to fuss with cords.
Pledge to use only your computer to check social media, and to use your Smartphone for email and phone calls.
Get a “dumb phone” for everyday use, and only use your Smartphone when you’re traveling. (This article talks about a dumb phone that can make this process more seamless.)

If these tips are helpful, please pass them on!

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

Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.

Here’s a link to our Covid19 Policy.

This article was cross posted on Medium.

Tech Terms Decoded – Computer Memory

Posted on January 17, 2017April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Computer Memory, Hard Drive, Mac's, Solid State Drive, Tips, Windows

Decoding Tech Terms

Are you as confused as I sometimes am about common Tech Terms? When Chris talks about RAM and Memory and gigs of storage, I’m not sure what he is saying. I’ve done some digging to see if I can help explain Computer Memory in non-Tech terms.

Computer Memory Storage

Computer Memory is defined by the techies in two ways. First of all there is Primary memory or RAM which is highlighted in a previous blog. Next is Secondary Memory. And now we all know why we get confused talking about Memory. The Geeks think Primary storage or RAM. Normal folk think about where you put your files, which is referred to as “secondary”.

Computer Memory or Secondary Memory: The amount of storage you have in your Hard Drive or Solid Sate drive (or even your SmartPhone) is what we’ll talk about here. (Read this blog for the difference between a Solid State Drive and a Hard Disk Drive.) Computer Memory is where you store your files, your photos, and your music. The more storage you have, the more music you can play!

And, yes, computer memory makes a difference on your SmartPhone too. One year when I was on vacation, I had to bring my computer to the beach to take the sunrise photos. My phone had so little storage, that I had to download them to my computer if I took more than 15 pictures! Needless to say, I could not take videos with that phone.

How Much Storage do I Have?

To find out how much storage your Windows machine has, first click on the Start Menu. Next click on “Computer”. Here it will show how much storage you have, and how much is free or available.

Computer Memory - Windows — Computer Memory – Windows

If you want to find out how much storage you have on your Mac, first click on the Apple in the top left corner. Next select “About This Mac”. Then click on Storage. You should see something like this with a breakdown on where you are using your computer memory:

Computer Memory - Mac — Computer Memory – Mac

How Much Memory Should I Have?

If you’re constantly having to delete photos or files, you need more! In general, if you’re buying a new machine, you should have double the amount that you are currently using. If you need help ordering and installing more computer memory, then click here.

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fifteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more on our website. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet. I’ll try that next! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial (Yes, we’ll get a small commission when you sign up.)

Virtual Reality

Posted on April 19, 2016April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Facebook, Holodeck, Oculus, Virtual Reality

“The promise of virtual reality has always been enormous. Put on these goggles, go nowhere, and be transported anywhere.”

(source)

Virtual Reality is starting to get hot, again. I remember a trip to Toronto about twenty years ago. We went to the CN Tower and there was an arcade there that offered a “real” VR experience for about $20. Chris couldn’t pass that up and thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in a totally different world. Things sure have changed since then. It’s getting closer and closer to a Star Trek Holodeck experience. (Although I still don’t understand how Picard can ride a horse in the holodeck without bumping into the walls!)

But first, what is Virtual Reality? The website “How Stuff Works” describes VR as:

“using computer technology to create a simulated, three-dimensional world that a user can manipulate and explore while feeling as if he were in that world. Scientists, theorists and engineers have designed dozens of devices and applications to achieve this goal. Opinions differ on what exactly constitutes a true VR experience, but in general it should include:

Three-dimensional images that appear to be life-sized from the perspective of the user
The ability to track a user’s motions, particularly his head and eye movements, and
correspondingly, adjust the images on the user’s display to reflect the change in perspective”

From what I’ve been reading the new Oculus Rift is essentially just for playing games. When you head to their website, you can watch a video of the user interacting with some of their games. Although new games are being added all the time, it makes me wonder if there really is an future in VR beyond games.

Never fear – Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook and Oculus is all over that like white on rice. At the F8 conference last week they introduced new ways of using VR. Huffington Post reports:

“Facebook hopes to one day connect the world through virtual spaces. It owns Oculus, perhaps the world’s best-known virtual reality company, and its intent is to use the technology to break down barriers separating people from one another. (You know, things like space and time and oceans.) In the not-too-distant future, you and a friend could don virtual reality glasses, create avatars of yourselves and meet up in digital environments to play games or just hang out and chat.”

Want to learn more? Check out these links:

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fourteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more at http://www.GeekForHireInc.com Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area.

We’ve been using Amazon Prime for the past few years. We like the free 2-3 day shipping and the online streaming. I haven’t tried the Kindle lending library yet, but I’m tempted! Prime is normally $99/year, but you can try it for 30 day for free by clicking on this link: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Need a new part?

Posted on March 29, 2016April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Mac's, Windows 10

For Geek For Hire, last week was all about installing new parts for our customers. Chris replaced (or added) parts on new and older computers. If you have a non-working part on your computer, don’t think you need to get a whole new computer just to get it to work!

For example, one customer had a non-functioning keyboard on his laptop. Chris ordered a new keyboard from the manufacturer and installed it. Another option is to get an external keyboard – either wired or Bluetooth. Although your laptop is not quite as portable when you have to lug around a keyboard too!
Another customer got a new desktop computer but it came without a DVD drive. Chris ordered a very high quality DVD drive for this customer. He took the desktop apart, put the Drive in the right place and securely attached it to the inside. Then he tested it to make sure it worked properly – both read and write functionalities. (I wonder what movie they watched!)
A third customer needed more RAM which Chris was able to install.
Another customer ordered a new soundbar and asked Chris to install it for them.
Another customer woke up to a black screen. Chris determined the problem was the monitor and not something internal to the machine. A new monitor was ordered – problem solved! (Sometimes there is a problem with the video card inside the computer which causes the monitor to not work. Chris can replace those too.)

Other miracles Chris performed last week included bringing a MiniMac back from the dead, removing several hundred viruses from a MacBook Air, removing viruses from a Dell Windows 10 machine, and uninstalling Windows 10 and reinstalling Windows 7 on yet another machine.

Laptop Trivia (Portable and lug-able computers)

Posted on September 29, 2015April 29, 2024 by Gail Eddy in Computer History, Laptops

I’m up next for a new laptop at Geek For Hire, so I’ve been thinking about all the computers I’ve had. Here’s some laptop trivia.

HP Luggable:

I remember carrying my first laptop through the Pittsburgh airport. At the time it was called a “portable computer”, and technically it was, although Chris called it a “luggable”. The computer was made by Hewlett-Packard, had a separate disk drive, a separate printer, and may or may not have had an internal battery. (We can’t remember.) It had a very small (5″?) black & white screen and ran on DOS 2.11. Of course, I needed to bring all of this with me on my business trips. All together they probably weighed 25 or 30 pounds and I would have deep indentations in my shoulders when I arrived at my destination!

The HP 110 laptop used the MS-DOS 2.11 operating system — The HP 110 used the MS-DOS 2.11 operating system

My new laptop will weigh about three pounds and will be a gazillion times faster.

More Laptop Trivia:

First Portable Computers – a precursor to the Laptop:

The portable computer was first imagined by Alan Kay of Xerox in 1968. He wrote a paper at that time and called it a “Dynabook”. A commercially available portable computer didn’t appear on the scene until 1975 when IBM released its SCAMP 5100. (For you acronym junkies, that’s Special Computer APL Machine Portable, and it was based on the PALM processor or Put All Logic in Microcode.)

Those first portable computers weighed around 24 pounds, had a 5″ CRT screen and a 5.25″ floppy drive for storing your data. Following Moore’s Law, laptops became faster and lighter relatively quickly.

Moore’s law:

The observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years.

Zeos 386:

Chris’ first portable machine was a Zeos 386, which he got when he was a consultant for Chase. It ran the DOS 5.0 operating system, had a backlit screen, and a battery that lasted for two hours! And, at only 9 pounds, it was light as a feather compared to my HP. Of course, we still have it:

All of the Utilities for the machine were kept on the boot disk:

Today you can get all that processing power and more in the new iPad! (Note: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases with no increase in price to you.)

When did you get your first laptop or portable computer? Which operating system did it use? What other laptop trivia can you share with us? Let us know in the comments below!

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 been providing 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 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.