Last week, I published part 1 of this 2 part series on Avoiding Scams and Fraud. If you miss it, you can read it by clicking here. This week we continue with more scams and fraud tricks to watch out for and tips to keep you and your loved ones safe. Let’s jump right in: [Read more…]
Y-Not Tech Services’ Guide to Avoiding Scams and Fraud – Part 1 | Lethbridge, Alberta
Almost every day I hear about another person becoming the victim of fraud or a scam of some sort. Whether it’s Bank Fraud or Ransomware there are many risks out there. I hate seeing friends, family or clients fall victim. I’ve written a Basic Guide to Internet Security in the past, and over the next 2 weeks, I am happy to provide further advice to avoid scams and fraud. Let’s get right to the tips.
If It Sounds Too Good to Be True. . .
Chances are it is. [Read more…]
Windows 10 Has Added RansomWare Protection – Here’s How to Turn It On | Y-Not Tech Services Lethbridge, Alberta
Windows 10’s newest update added a feature to help protect you from a particularly nasty type of malware called RansomWare. However, the protection isn’t turned on by default. This post will show you how to turn it on and help keep your files safe.
What is Ransomware again?
Ransomware is a type of malware. It’s main purpose is to hold your files for ransom. It does this by encrypting them (making them unreadable) and then demanding money in order to unlock them and give them back to you. If losing your files – photos, business documents, music, and videos – sounds painful, you’ll want to have measures in place to avoid RansomWare. I’ve previously covered a Data Disaster plan to help fight against RansomWare, and I still recommend it, but Windows 10 has introduced another layer of protection and there is no reason not to turn it on!
Windows 10 1709
Windows’ RansomWare protection was introduced in build 1709 of Microsoft’s latest operating system so in order to use it you’ll need to have build 1709. To find out if you have it simply follow these steps:
- Click the Start Menu Button or press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
- Type “about” into the search bar without the quotes
- Click on “About Your PC”
- Scroll down to the “Windows Specifications” section and look at the Windows Version. As long as you have Version 1709 (or higher) you can follow the rest of the article to turn on the protection.
If you don’t have version 1709, head over the Windows Update and check for new updates. It should be rolling out to everyone soon. If you need help you can contact me.
- Open your start menu once more and type in “defender’
- Click on “Windows Defender Security Center”
- Click the Shield Icon with title “Virus & threat protection”
- Click “Virus & threat protection settings”
- Scroll Down until you see “Controlled folder access” and toggle the switch to On.
- Finally, click on “Protected folders” to see if any important folders you use are missed. I had to add my Downloads folder.
Hopefully, this guide and the pictures were easy to follow and you know have an extra layer of protection against RansomWare! If you’re having trouble following any of it, Y-Not Tech Services will be happy to assist you. If you already have build 1709 installed we can turn on Controlled Folder Access remotely. Contact us and mention this article to get a special price of $20 flat fee to enable this feature remotely. If you don’t have 1709 we can schedule an in-person appointment to take care of it.
Six Things You Should Know About Surge Protection and Your Tech Gear in Lethbridge, Alberta [Update: 2020] | Y-Not Tech Services
In a perfect world, our electrical power current would be perfectly even, never dipping or spiking. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that world and our power current is almost constantly dipping, surging or spiking. This has the potential to wreak havoc on our tech. That’s why we need surge protectors. Read on for six things you should know about surge protection and your tech gear. [Read more…]
Let’s do a Quick Computer Security Quiz | Lethbridge, Alberta – Y-Not Tech Services
Last week I was at a client’s house and through the course of my on-site work, I noticed a number of security red flags. As I discussed them with that client I found myself having a bit of déjà vu. You see, these same basic security issues pop up with many of my clients. Today, I want to ask you some basic questions about the computers you use. Don’t worry, I won’t be handing out grades for this quiz. I just want to get you thinking about how safe your computer system is. [Read more…]
Become a Google Ninja – Y-Not Tech Services in Lethbridge, Alberta
The internet is a wealth of information, ripe for the taking. If you can find it, that is. With search engines like Google and Bing make finding the information pretty easily. But have you ever found yourself typing question after question into the Search box and coming up empty-handed? You try wording your search a bit differently each time, but you just can’t seem to crack the code! I have some tips that will help you master your searches and find what you are looking for in no time. With these tips, you can become a Google Ninja. This article will focus on Google’s search engine specifically. What can you do to maximize your chances of finding the information you need quickly and painlessly?
Use Quotation Marks to Find Exact Phases
Placing quotation marks around a search phrase will yield results for only those words in that exact order. This is helpful when searching for multiple word phrases. For example, if you searched for Cute Cat Video you would get results for pages that have all three of those words on them, even though they aren’t in that order and could be completely unrelated to what you want. If you search for “Cute Cat Video” instead, you force Google to only search for the words in that order and you can enjoy your cat videos.
Use a minus sign to exclude a word
Let’s say you want to search for Mustangs. You head to google and type in Mustangs AND you get nothing but car results, but you wanted horses. There are a few ways you can further refine your search. You could add a word to your search and try Mustang Horse but then you end up with results for cars and how much horsepower they have. So instead we can take a term out and search for Mustang -cars. Now Google will search for Mustangs and remove and results that also have the word car in them.
Use an Asterisk as a Wild Card or Fill in the Blank
This can be useful when you don’t know one or two words of the phrase you want to search for. For example, if you know some of the words to a song, but aren’t sure of a few words, you can use an asterisk in place of the words you don’t know. It’s a * big * tomorrow should you bring up results for a certain Disney classic.
Search Only a specific site
If you know that the results you are looking for are on a specific website, you can force Google to only search that site. As an example, you can find all the times virus is mentioned on this site by googling for Virus site: and find all my tips and warnings about viruses. This can apply to any site and makes it easy to find things on sites that don’t have a good search function built in.
Use Google like a Dictionary
You can use Google to quickly find definitions of words. You can learn more information about a word by clicking the arrow under the definition. Try this search term out: define:gruel
Google can do math
You can type in a mathematical equation and Google will solve it for you.
Why Google?
There are many search engines out there. Bing and Yahoo are somewhat popular, but Google is easily the most popular. I’ve tried to use Bing a number of times. Every time I try it, I find myself going through page after page of search results. When I type in the EXACT SAME search terms on Google I find the results I want on the first or second page. Google just seems to find what I need. That’s why I always recommend using Google over other search engines. Often times your Web Browser will default to using Bing or Yahoo. If you need help setting Google as your default search engine so you can take advantage of these tips, I can help you. Contact Y-Not Tech Services today.
Fun With Google
Google has programmed a number of fun easter eggs into its search engine. Try searching for do a barrel roll and see what happens. Or use Google Voice Search on your smartphone and tell it Make me a sandwich or try can you sing? These are just a few fun things you can find. Leave any more you find in the comments.
If you want to learn more about Technology Contact Us to set up an appointment for private lessons.
SPYWARE VS. ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE | Y-Not Tech Services – Lethbridge, AB
So many of my clients think that because they have antivirus protection, that they are protected against spyware. This is so far from the case I can’t even tell you about the horror stories I have seen in the past few months. [Read more…]
Defrag – Is it needed? – Lethbridge, AB
Many of my clients will call and say “I defragged, but it isn’t faster”…
Defragmenting a computer or “defragging” will seldom make a noticeable difference in the speed of your computer. It’s still a good idea to regularly defrag your hard drive. In fact, most recent operating systems are set up to do this automatically. (Special note: If you computer is equipped with a Solid State Drive you should not run defrag on it) But in these days, a computer running slow can be from many other issues. [Read more…]
When Should You Get Your Computer Repaired Vs. Buying a New One? – Lethbridge, AB
“Should I get my computer fixed or just buy a new one?”
This is a common question. And it’s a hard one to answer because there are so many factors involved. The question can really only be answered on a case by case basis. However, I’ll outline the factors I take into consideration when making a recommendation to my clients. [Read more…]
A Friend of Mine Was the Victim of Bank Fraud in Lethbridge, AB
Bank Fraud. We all know it happens. It’s never happened to me. Hopefully, it won’t. Hopefully, it hasn’t and won’t happen to you either. Below, you’ll find some tips to prevent it. It happened to a friend of mine. This is a true story. He woke up and found his bank account was overdrawn. He went from having money and knowing how his bills were getting paid to having negative $250 and stressing about paying rent. As he started to unravel the trail, he discovered just how devious these criminals are. They had gained access to his online banking with Scotia Bank. Then they sent an E-Transfer to someone already on his transfer recipient list (in this case, his roommate that he had sent money to for concert tickets). They sent all the money in his account, plus his overdraft in an E-Transfer and gained access to the roommate’s email to accept the E-Transfer and send it to the criminal’s account. Poof! All of my friend’s money was gone. He’s filed a fraud report with the bank and hopefully will get the money back. I doubt the criminal behind this will be caught though. And even if the money is returned, my friend is in for a very stressful time. All his day to day expenses are currently being put onto his emergency Credit Card. The longer it takes the bank to finish up their investigation and place the lost funds back in his account, the more debt he will incur and the more interest he’ll need to pay. He’s so stressed out about it, he can hardly concentrate at work.
Y-Not Tech Services can’t be sure how the criminal gained access to my friend’s account. But we have some guesses.
- Keylogger – A keylogger on the device used to log into the bank account would send the account number and password straight to the criminal. Perhaps a shared device also gave the criminal the roommate’s email password.
- A weak password – The criminal may have been able to guess or use a brute force method to find the password used on the account.
- Using the same or similar password – It’s doubtful in this case that Scotiabank’s servers and files were compromised. However, if my friend used the same password for his banking as he used on other, less security minded websites, and one of these were hacked, the criminal could simply apply that compromised password to the bank account.
- Easy Security Questions – Most Accounts have security questions you can set up to gain access to your account if you forgot the password. Questions like, “What was my mother’s Maiden name?”, “What elementary school did I attend?”, or “What was my first pet’s name?” Do you know where I can find the answer to most of those questions? Your social media accounts.
- Poor Email Security – This is related to the others, but if a criminal gains access to just your email account, they can wreak havoc on your life. Not only can they see all the accounts you’ve signed up for, but some accounts will actually send your password in a welcome email in plain text. Now if you have a habit of doing number 3, the criminal has a great starting point to reverse engineer the passwords to your other accounts, like your bank. Additionally, your bank and other accounts may offer to email you a link to reset your password, so if the criminal has access to your email, they will get the link.
- Social Engineering and Phishing – It’s possible my friend was the victim of a phishing attack, having entered his account details in a fraudulent site without realizing it.
Now let’s look at each of these possible attacks and examine how we might be able to avoid them.
- A good Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware should take care of any keylogger lurking on your computer. In Y-Not Tech Services experience and research we’ve come to trust Emsisoft. You can get a FREE 30 Day Trial here.
- Coming up with and remembering good passwords can be a challenge. This is why so many people end up using simple passwords. Some of the most popular passwords out there include 1234, password and football. It’s important for us to use strong passwords. It’s a good idea to include both capital and lower case letters, numbers and symbols in your password.
- OK, I’ve created a strong password. Let’s say it’s 3x@mP1e – I’ll just use this strong password on every site I visit! That’s not a good idea. If you do, all it takes is one site to be compromised and have their user data stolen. Now the criminals behind the attack on the site could have both your email and the password you used. Then it’s just a matter of typing them into other sites and gaining access to your accounts. We should use a different password for different sites.
- We want to pick obscure questions when choosing our security questions. Don’t choose anything that the answer can be found on your Social Media profile. Even if you have locked down the privacy on your own social media account, criminals may gain access to your information through a friend who has their account compromised.
- Keeping your email account safe, mostly comes down to focusing on the other aspects we’ve mentioned. Use a strong, unique password for your email account. Choose your security questions carefully. If available, you might consider using 2-factor Authentication for your account. Change your password frequently and use a good Anti-Malware software.
- To avoid Social Engineering attacks you need to familiarize yourself with the tactics they use. You can start with Y-not’s Internet Security Basics article. Once again, a good security software will often detect and alert you to fraudulent sites.
I hope that these tips will help you avoid identity theft and fraud. I know that many of them are inconvenient to stay on top of. Using strong passwords and remembering many different ones, but it can be compared to the inconvenience of locking your home’s door. It takes extra time and it’s annoying to unlock it while juggling 17 grocery bags, but you do it because burglary is all too common. It’s the same with our digital security. It might be annoying, but if want to avoid financial loss and stress we should take the time to review our online security.
Why not let Tony help you audit your security measures?
UPDATE: About a month after this happened, the bank concluded their investigation. They determined that this wasn’t something they could prove was fraud (or something like that) and they aren’t able to return his money.
Contact us today to set up an appointment.