Category: blog

I am preparing to give a seminar on computer basics and it occurred to me that most people never think twice about what they plug their electronics into. It’s a wall outlet and it provides power; but, is it the right power? Just as I was working that out, I get a call and it is someone who has been caught by a browser internet scam.

So, first off, computers come with one of three kinds of plugs. I refer to the 3-prong, the 2-prong polarized, and the 2-prong unpolarized. The 3-prong is a grounded plug and the ground pin provides protection for the user of the device as well as guaranteeing the polarity of power provided is correct (assuming the outlet is correctly wired). The 2-prong polarized is used for equipment that requires correctly polarized power (hot vs common) while the unpolarized plug is usually reserved for devices that work just as well with or without correctly polarized power.

Over the years I have repaired quite a few power supplies that had been operated over time with reversed polarity power. In the early days that meant replacing the diodes and a few capacitors. In the later years, it was simply easier to replace the power supply and not worry about which components failed. That is the way with our society now, a failed component outside warranty doesn’t really concern us, we simply replace and get on with our lives.

Earlier I mentioned a scam. There are so many now and some are quite hard to detect; but, let me offer a few tips to help you recognize a scam. None of the computer manufacturers and none of the operating system providers watch your system to spot viruses, so, if your computer pops up any kind of message (other than one from the anti-virus package you have installed) that is an attempt to infect you and it (the code behind that message) is trying to get you to do things to allow the infection. And, none of the current products will suggest you call in to a “special” number to remove the bug. Microsoft will NOT call you and alert you to an infection. Lenovo will not call you and IBM business services will not call you alerting you to some issue with your computer. All of the manufacturers have automated their update services and switched to passive support of clients.

What do you do? If you suspect a scam or viral activity (or malware of any kind), try updating your anti-virus and then run a full scan. Then, if you are still suspicious, try running a second opinion malware scanner (Microsoft has one on their website as does Sophos and Malwarebytes). Lately, I have had the best luck with the Malwarebytes free version; but, all three are excellent. If the scam has disabled your ability to navigate or get to your anti-virus, turn your computer off and try restarting, this will disable 50% of the browser-born phishing attempts. In all cases, don’t operate on the internet without an up-to-date anti-virus or net-based protection of similar function.

Technological advances in automobiles and particularly in aides for the driver have enjoyed some significant advances of late. While many advances may have been aimed at making a driverless car possible; some could also improve the safety and ease of driving. Take, for instance, a cruise control that can be set to follow the car in front of you and a lane maintaining system that can keep your car centered in a specific lane. Combine these two and it sounds like you could get in position, set the controls, and take a nap on your way to a destination.

We may still be a bit away from the time when auto-driving cars are common let alone dominating the morning commute, but the technologies to make that possible are real if not matured. By setting up cars to form a network so they can exchange data: relative position, speed, obstacles, and planned path, the future seems attainable. The fly in the ointment would be older cars in the “pack” that can’t share and agree upon who goes where. Oh! And let us not forget the unanticipated factors of weather, animals, landslides, rocks in the road, etc. All of that will take some serious development to manage.

Back to the current advances. I have seen advertisements for cars that have “following” modes for the cruise control; presumably, that would maintain a preset distance between your vehicle and whichever vehicle happens to be directly in front of you. I have also seen advertisements for cars (same brand and others) that have a lane holding system (keeps the car centered in a given lane). Finally, a system that would let you set your cruise control on your RV and ease back to grab a beverage. I am not certain our current level of sophistication will allow such features to be used safely. Admittedly, both could make driving considerably safer if the driver remains alert and in a position to override the automatic features; but, how alert will a driver remain if their continuous input is not needed?

It looks to me like a lot of computer power and sophisticated programming will be required to take the next steps in semi-automation and full automation of vehicle operation. I believe the computer power is available and can be made small enough and rugged enough to survive vehicle operation; but, getting the software matured sufficiently to hand all (or almost all) possible situations safely is going to take some time and some changes to our highways, streets, and our expectations. I also look forward to improvements in the various sensors, locating devices, and cameras to help bring us through the next steps.

It continues to amaze me that supposedly learned folks will vilify comparatively safe modern conveniences when others which have a far greater potential for impacting health are ignored.  For instance, the power meter or water meter that transmit a very short distance (very low power) only occasionally when compared with your cell phone which is in continuous contact with a tower 1-5 miles away (higher transmit power).

Dating back to the 1930’s and 1940’s the Navy was doing research on exposure to high-frequency signals.  They were concerned that putting radar on ships and smaller craft would put crew members in danger or that perhaps RADAR could be used as a weapon against enemies.  Fortunately, they were unable to develop an efficient weapon; but, they also determined that exposure to radiation in the mid bands (700mhz to 1ghz) had little to no impact on skin, internal organs, or brain tissue.  One of their findings (since repeated) was that high power transmissions at close range could warm the skin and, if continued, the internal organs as well.

In order to protect us, the FCC has restricted the amount of power that handheld devices and household devices (cellphones, wifi routers, IOT devices) may transmit with an eye to preventing the type of exposure that could warm the skin even in contact.  The potential for trouble begins when you start to expose living tissue to higher frequency signals like the 2.4ghz, 5ghz (high-performance routers), and the 100ghz and higher used in the newest 5G devices.  Sadly, the further above 1ghz (1000mhz) the signal gets, the more energy it carries, and the less we know about the long-term effects of exposure to it.

The higher energy in the signal (5G wideband for instance) greatly enhances its ability to carry data (speed and reliability) making its use a highly sought-after practice as demands for ever faster and more reliable internet dramatically increase.

I was setting up a couple of new computers this last week with an eye towards how I will go about explaining computer basics in the current computer world. Setting up machines from scratch (or from commercially installed windows or Linux, or macOS) has become much more time consuming than I remember it being just 8 years ago when 40 minutes was more than sufficient time to get to the GUI (graphical user interface) and start using the computer. Now, the updates can take forever (1.5 hrs on a fast Debian system to 28 hrs on a fast windows 10 system) and the wait for initial setup simply adds to that (okay, the Linux setup time is very fast if you ignore updates).

So, is the first thing we should discuss when talking about computer basics the need for updates, security, network connectivity, and data security? That could take hours and wouldn’t have the user any closer to typing their first letter; but, they are necessary topics, particularly for those new to using a computer. Perhaps it would be good to back up even further (along the lines of basics) and discuss power sources with an eye to user safety and good long term operation of the computer, protection from power surges, brownouts, and all the other issues that can befall any device connected to the outside world.

Thus let me get on my soapbox and rant a bit. Yes, good clean power and well-grounded data sources are important (some computers do not use a grounded power cord – laptops mostly) and the ground is the preferred route for any high voltage (lightning) events to use instead of the computer or you (so, it might not be a bad idea to disconnect that laptop from everything during a thunderstorm). Yes, updates really are necessary because the threat posed by malware, viruses, hackers, and a host of other sources requires constant improvements in system security. In addition, many new devices coming out on the market require additions to the Operating System in order to work with your computer.

On the topics of malware, viruses, and hacking, a multi-pronged defense is what I currently recommend. First, keep your OS up-to-date (so you are less of a target to known threats). Second, keep a firewall between you and the outside world (either built into a router or running locally on your system). Third, keep and maintain (more updates) an anti-virus product running in the background. And Fourth, choose a “second opinion” malware scanner to use when anything suspicious occurs (because the first target of many hacks is the installed anti-virus)(Malwarebytes, Sophos, and Microsoft all provide reliable such products).It helps to have a very basic understanding of how your network connectivity (access to the internet, wireless printers, scanners, etc.) works. No, I am not suggesting you want to learn about transfer protocols and the like; but, are you connected by wire? Or, are you connected wirelessly by WiFi or Bluetooth? Does the device that connects you to the internet provide an adequate firewall? And, roughly what kind of data speed (bandwidth) does it provide. Generally, your ISP can provide this information either when they connect you up or upon being asked about your LAN (Local Area Network).

Data security, at its basic level, hasn’t changed in 30+ years. Storage devices fail (fact) and when they do, your photos, documents, etc. can be lost if you do not have backups or synchronized copies (perhaps in the cloud), or just plain copies on some other device (a second computer, thumb drive, USB drive, or other backup devices). The same applies when you are working on any project, document, spreadsheet, etc. you need to save early and often and even create multiple copies on occasion. The use of encryption is up to the user in most cases and prevents data recovery attempts in the case of equipment damage or failure while making it very difficult for a successful hacker to get anything useful from you.

Clear as mud? Like operating a vehicle, there is a lot to understand in order to do so safely and efficiently. Various service providers can be quite helpful if asked (they might well assume you don’t need help with the basics). Duplicating important data remains a necessary if inconvenient step.

Alert, the bad people are back at it again. If all the new scams weren’t enough, ransomware has a new twist and it is booming. Instead of the authors deploying ransomware in its latest incarnation, they have gone to contracting it out, designing it to be custom configured by middlemen and deployed by ghosts, who collect their money and disappear only to reform under new names, identities, you name it.

This new style of ransomware comes with some really clever new techniques to avoid detection and some new approaches to maximizing the income potential of holding someone’s data hostage. And, this new incarnation of ransomware also steals data while encrypting it.

First, a hint of the new techniques. Since the ransomware is sold as a configurable suite of exploitative modules, it isn’t easy for anti-virus software, devices, or even behavior watching protections to recognize. Second, one of the features is a really slick module that can funnel disk requests to the operating system’s cache manager and then use (Windows or Apple) built-in operating system components to encrypt the data while in the file cache, tag it as new, requiring synchronization with physical storage and let the operating system finish the dirty work as part of its normal duties.

Surprisingly, the ransom for most of these attacks is very affordable; because they (the bad people) really want folks to pay the ransom. This identifies for them the people and companies whom they can then apply further (virtual) blackmail upon with an expectation of getting further money. So, you pay the $150 ransom and are contacted by a representative of the ransomers who often sets up and performs the decryption of part of the files only to be told that your data was also stolen and will be publicly posted if you don’t pony up lots more money. And they aren’t bluffing, there have already been a few very embarrassing cases where they did just that (posted the “secret” data, identified the source, and advertised it on the open web).

So, how do you protect yourself against this kind of assault? Keep your operating system up to date, your antivirus and antimalware up to date, do regular “full” scans of the data holding machine, and all machines that have access to that machine. Keep your firewall on and as restrictive as possible (in an office consider an adaptive firewall appliance or gateway server). Honest, if you don’t get occasional firewall violations and refusals, your firewall is not restrictive enough.

Having good, current, and disconnected (not available to be “live” updated and thus also corrupted) backups is the best way to recover from most ransomware attacks and many other forms of exploitation. Also having company-wide policies in effect (no alien machines, no disks or drives introduced without proper verification of safety, no gaming, no use of unsecured email services, etc.) can go a long way to reducing your risk and attractiveness to the bad people.

Finally, if you do become a victim of hackers, or scammers, or ransomers, please do not pay the ransom. Instead, seek the assistance of law enforcement, your data insurance provider, IT security professionals, and other professionals as appropriate (each will likely have important insights to help you get through the event with a minimum of damage and cost).

For those who have had some strange behavior with your Microsoft apps over the last few days (Sept 26 – 29), yes there have been some issues with the Microsoft servers. Microsoft admits to a multi-hour outage over the weekend. I suspect that they were hacked and Microsoft brought the services down to protect users. Evidence? Monday morning I attempted to load MS Edge onto a machine and the antivirus stated that the update was being abandoned because it contained a virus. Also, a number of cloud and email users of 365 and outlook products had the passwords from their products and Microsoft password storage purged during this same period.

If you are one of those impacted, it looks like Microsoft has cleaned up the mess and you can return to using those services. If your password(s) for one or more services was purged, go ahead and supply your passwords manually (as requested by the service in a pop-up) and then look into changing any affected passwords at your earliest opportunity. As always, it is very important to verify which service is requesting a password; if it is for a web service, look carefully at the address and make certain it matches the address for the appropriate service.

There are so many scams in operation out on the world wide web right now that it is likely you have seen or been called by one of the scam operations. There are several places you can look for help recognizing a scam; I can recommend fcc.gov and the many resources they maintain. In addition, a simple google search or bing search will often highlight what others have already encountered and identified. Your favorite neighborhood computer consultant or technician is likely to have already encountered and dealt with any but the very latest of scams and can be an excellent resource before and, sadly after you get involved with a scam.

A few tips, Microsoft is not monitoring your system (well at least not to spot scams or viruses) and will not call you to help you, will not put a full-screen popup on your computer, and will not email warnings to you. Any of these things are evidence that someone is trying to scam you. Generally, these scams are aimed at getting money from you, getting useable information about you or your financial footprint. It is extremely important that none of us give out this information to the scammers, no matter how harmless or helpful it or they may seem, and of course, do not give money in any form to anyone you do not already have a business relationship with.

Another tip, if the nice people who sent you a message or popup or warning offer to install McAffee products for you, or Symantec products, they are quite likely scammers. Why? Symantec owns both families of products and makes them available in bulk for at virtually no cost so they are easy choices for scammers trying to look legit.