PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST

FACEBOOK HACKED APRIL 2, 2021!!

[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Facebook HACKED – 500 Million users affected! (https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Half-a-billion-Facebook-users-may-have-had-their-16074940.php) This morning I got a call from one of my clients. They could no longer access their Facebook and worse yet, they could no longer reset the password using the email that…

Apple Avoidance (Rant), Black Friday and up to Four Years of Warranty from Costco!

It’s this time of year that many clients ask what to buy and what minimums they should get when replacing their computer hardware.

Black Friday is in another three weeks and the sales will be advertised…many of the laptops on sale are bare minimums with 4GB of RAM and older hard drives that will be slow…The best bang for the buck? A good 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB or 1TB SSD are the minimums for a…

End of Life January 14, 2020

In just about three months, Windows 7 will have it’s “End of Life” event, Microsoft announced this earlier this year.

What this means is that between the time you read this newsletter/blog post and January 14, we need to have some concept of an upgrade path to Windows 10 and implement it ASAP.

For most of my clients, a new computer will be purchased.

(Man…

Sextortions...criminal botnet

Some of use have been getting these every day, every hour or even weekly:

“Hi, I know one of your passwords is: ____________ Your computer was infected with my private malware…..” and it goes on to threaten that you have been recorded “SATISFYING YOURSELF”.

Of course my comic mind wants to know if they saw me drinking coffee or eating a protein bar…

The “sextortionists” are demanding…

Microsoft & NSA ADVISORY

[vc_row][vc_column][dt_fancy_title title=”Microsoft & NSA ADVISORY”][vc_column_text]RUN WINDOWS UPDATE NOW!

During the last two weeks, the NSA has joined Microsoft in issuing an alert to all users of Windows operating systems from XP to Windows 7.

On May 14, 2019, Microsoft actually released patches for Windows XP, Vista and 7, Server 2003 and 2008 in an effort to mitigate the threat to…

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!! THANK YOU to those who have served our country!I am driving with the heater ON in my car. Huh? Usually at this point in the MAY I am looking at the ramp up in heat to being human jerky even with the A/C at full blast. I don’t think it’s ever been this cool this far into the month of May since I got to the desert in 2004. It may not be A/C time yet – I even had to replace my…

It has been so busy between new websites and fixing computers that I have barely had time to write about anything since last December!

Anyways, here is an article regarding…

11/26/18 – Cyber Monday Deals and New Computer Specs…

[vc_row][vc_column][dt_fancy_title title=”Cyber Monday Deal and New Computer Specs” title_size=”h1″ separator_color=”accent”][vc_column_text]Cyber Monday Deal and New Computer Specs

At this time of the year, especially today, Cyber Monday, I get tons of calls from clients asking what specs they should be looking for in a new computer.

I wrote about specs a few weeks ago here:

“What I recommend is…

Holiday Warnings, Phishing, WiFi & Public Charging Stations

[vc_row][vc_column][dt_fancy_title title=”Holiday Warnings, Phishing, WiFi & Public Charging Stations” title_size=”h1″ title_color=”custom” separator_style=”thick” custom_title_color=”#1e73be”][vc_column_text]Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving again!

Yesterday I sent out an email with some information for Black Friday sales (https://mac-pc-assist.com/nordvpn-privacy-and-black-friday-deals/) and…

NordVPN, Privacy and Black Friday Deals!!

[vc_row][vc_column][dt_fancy_title title=”NordVPN, Privacy and Black Friday Deals!!” title_size=”h1″][vc_column_text]Happy Thanksgiving!! Happy Black Friday Hunting!!

Well thanks to a great deal on Samsung TVs at Sam’s Club, I am no longer watching the wall mount. It now has a huge TV attached to it…I can say that 4K with 240 motion rate makes the old James Bond movies from the 60’s and 70’s look…

BLACK FRIDAY – What you need to know!

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I am still watching the wall mount since my Plasma TV died in September. So far I have not had to change channels. However, Star Trek has does look a bit different… The sound of doorbells ringing, kids…

ELEVEN YEARS!! Thank YOU!!!

September 2007…

I had just finished two years in another industry and saw my computer business growing while I was handling it part time. Handling calls before and after the job in the other industry I realized that I needed to make the change and open PC-ASSIST/MAC-ASSIST as a full time business.

Around the 13th or the 14th, I took a trip to the Recorder’s office and got my FBN registered;…

New Help Desk System

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Ahh the heat of August…who wants to go outside? It’s only 100 today with 22% humidity… Well since I have been indoors working on streamlining a few things, cleaning up some clutter, I thought, “hmm, I seem to forget things sometimes…” SOOOO…. A NEW Help…

Blackmail Scams – Really?

[vc_row][vc_column][dt_fancy_title title=”Blackmail Scams…”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Well, it’s been a hot summer and I can’t imagine how much hotter it can get…I hope you are all enjoying some level of cool comfort!

Blackmail Scams – Really?

On a Friday in July, I started getting emails from clients with phone calls, “Scott, someone wants me to send them $4,000.00…

So the last email I sent suggested you reboot your router based on the warnings from the F.B.I.

Today’s news states that just a reboot might not be enough.

Honestly, I don’t know how they are getting the statistics unless they are tracking the router malware globally themselves.

However, to be on the safe side and to err on the side of caution, it would be prudent to rest your router back to…

Disaster Avoidance 109 – Antivirus Software & Testing

[vc_row][vc_column][dt_fancy_title title=”Disaster Avoidance 109 – Antivirus Software & Testing” title_size=”h3″ title_color=”title” separator_color=”accent”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Anti-virus programs – What to use?

Over the past 31 years, I have watched as the infection possibilities have grown from simple hits that Mcaffee and Norton would clean up rather…

Disaster Avoidance 108 – Routers

[vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As you have all probably heard, there are now issues with routers that can become infected with malware. The FBI has recommended that users of certain versions and brands of routers reboot them. NOW.