I frequently write about the many scams going around, and what not to do, in order to avoid them. One thing I frequently say is to NEVER let anyone have access to your computer that isn’t sprung from your loins, or you are not sleeping with. That said, sometimes access is gained in very subtle, and sneaky ways.
 
I heard from a reader that told me of his experience, involving his wife buying something off Facebook. (Don’t get me started on my feelings about Facebook). There was a problem with the item and she attempted to return it. In doing so, the seller stated she needed to download something in order to receive her refund. In doing so, the person took control of her computer and her PayPal account, in addition to her bank account. The nightmare had begun. She has since contacted her bank, and PayPal, and whatever others, and is in the process of getting new accounts. But the work involved in recovering from a breach like that is no small matter.
 
This seems an extraordinarily elaborate trap; to create a website and sell things, and then ship intentionally wrong things to get the customer to contact you so they can take over your computer? Seriously, that’s a lot of work, why not just actually WORK to earn money. At any rate, that’s what happened. Lesson learned, and for all of us. Sometimes, the act of tricking someone into giving access to their computer can be extremely subtle. Being aware is great. Also, be suspicious, and be reluctant to share your info.
 
Here’s what the actual account of the incident is:
Some weeks ago ‘my wife’ ordered a clothing item from a so called company that advertised on Facebook. When the item arrived it was not what she had ordered at $50+. Instead it was some cheap item so she went online to the company name that was on the package. She called the customer service number and connected with a guy who said she had to download something called Supremo for him to be able to give her a credit. Unfortunately she went along and downloaded it. Immediately after she did the guy took control of her mouse cursor and started taking over her laptop, so she shut it down. When she later started her computer again and checked PayPal she found out that the scammer had ordered things from eBay and via PayPal had charged her bank account and also that the scammer still could take control of her computer.

I deleted supremo.exe from the download folder but that did no change, the fact that he still could take control. I found that Supremo was among the hidden taskbar icons on the right bottom of the screen. I closed it several times but it came back immediately.  After many hours of research and effort I found that Supremo.exe was sitting among hidden small programs that I could see, and I deleted it via the Task Manager (Ctrl Alt Delete).

Supremo is a Remote Desktop program that, when you download it, allows someone with a Supremo account to control your computer.

From Lifehack.org

You can use a smart phone for telephone calls, email, and/or texting. But it is also a powerful tool that can make your professional life easier in many other ways. Here are some tips and tricks:

• Use your phone’s unique ring-tones or signals for different events. Want your phone to remain silent unless a key client or family member phones? You can set your phone to do this.
• Want to get a discrete signal that your meeting hour is almost up? Set your phone’s clock or timer to vibrate at a certain time.
• Want to remember where you parked your car at the airport? Take a snapshot of the area with your phone’s camera.
• Record voice memos when you don’t have the time to write a note
• Calculate tips or bill splits at lunch.
• On some smart phones you can now find an address or retrace your steps using built-in GPS.
• You can store and update shopping lists, check out movies playing in your neighborhood, and access Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter on your phone.

Remember, this is just a list of activities and solutions that I have found useful in my own practice or in the work of my clients. It isn’t even close to exhaustive. If you want to know more about some of the things I have mentioned, or wonder if technology can solve a particular problem, feel free to contact me!

Daily Zoom meetings can be a drag. At least you can look your best by turning on Touch Up My Appearance.

It’s free to use, so there’s no need to upgrade to a paid Zoom account. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Open Zoom on your desktop and click your profile picture. Then, click Settings.
2. Click the Video tab.
3. Under Video Settings, click Touch Up My Appearance.
4. Use the slider to adjust the effect. Zoom will remember your preferences the next time you log in.

You can also turn on Touch Up my Appearance in the Zoom iOS app:

1. On your Zoom app, tap Settings.
2. Tap Meetings.
3. Tap Touch up my appearance.
4. Toggle this option to display your video with and without the touch-up.

If you don’t use Zoom for your video calls, you can still use this trick. Snap Camera from the makers of Snapchat that lets you apply filters to Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet calls. Tap or click here for instructions and a direct download link.

I sometimes get asked to recommend a computer, which I don’t generally do. I tend toward specs more than brand names. Carol has always liked Dell computers, my boss at Ghost Ranch liked Lenovo. As I’ve said before, I bought the motherboard for my current computer at Goodwill for $10, so I clearly am not that picky.

Any big name computer manufacturer will have both high and low end computers, except for Apple, which only has high end computers. I’m not an Apple lover, mind you, but to do a fair comparison requires a high end PC with just about any Apple computer. That said, you won’t be buying a new Apple desktop for $300.

I do like Apple products, so that should definitely be on the board when considering a new computer. I just don’t prefer any particular manufacturer. So, what I generally suggest in this day and age is to buy the most computer you can afford, particularly the most processor. Desktops are generally upgradable where laptops may or may not be. Buy a solid state drive; I much prefer having a 256Gb SSD over a 1000Gb mechanical. I won’t use a terabyte of data, so bigger isn’t better, but an SSD is noticeably faster.

Apple has the new M1 processor, which sounds like it’s a better choice than Intel, though there may be some sales now on Intel Apples. AMD seems to have taken the lead over Intel too, so do a bit of homework and compare the processors you are considering. I suggest AMD Ryzen 5000 series, but Intel is fine too, preferable a Core i7 or i9. Don’t go less than 8Gb of ram.  

That’s about it for me, but I did find a good review from RollingStone Magazine that’s worth perusing HERE that talks about their faves.
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Last week I was writing about computers I liked and I mentioned the Mac Mini M1. I found a Linus review today that was really interesting, about that very computer. If you like Macs, or are thinking about a new Mac, or are considering switching from a PC or expanding that world, the M1 may be just the ticket. A link for the review is HERE.

 
PC Memory
 
Memory on a PC is the work space. Storage, or the hard drive, is exactly that, storage. They are really completely different (sort of), and you generally don’t interchange the terms, as they are two very different things. A great way to speed up a slow computer is to add memory. That will only get you so far, but in terms of price/performance, it’s the easiest and cheapest place to start if your computer will take more memory.
 
A video about memory is HERE.
It’s by Linus again, a guy I do like, and appreciate his humor. It is usually pretty easy to upgrade memory, but there are some things to be careful about, like if you can upgrade, how many slots do you have to put memory in, and if you can add to, or have to replace the existing memory. Of course, you have to buy the right memory for your computer, and that’s not always obvious.
 
Storage
 
The “hard drive” isn’t always a hard drive. I always refer to it as such, but it may be an SSD in the shape of a hard drive and interchangeable, or, it may be one of several kinds of storage cards that fits into its own slot. Sometimes they are quite small and look like some of the other components on the motherboard. I recently worked on a laptop and it had an empty slot for a hard drive. I kept looking and finally found a small one inch square “chip” that was the storage, or “hard drive”. I was quite impressed. At any rate, if your computer is still using an older mechanical hard drive, consider buying an SSD drive and cloning your old drive onto it. It’s relatively painless and it really makes a noticeable difference in responsiveness. A 500Gb drive costs about $60 these days.