Tag: tech support

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Cloud Storage is Full

This is a topic that keeps coming back to me. I get calls and emails about this all the time. Usually the first question is “Is this real?” Followed up by, “Do I even use this and do I need this?” Of course, the answer to these questions is different depending on who is asking.

First of all, there have been a number of scams based on “your cloud storage is full.” So, the first thing to know is if you do use cloud storage and if so, which cloud storage you use. In the scams the emails are usually very vague about the actual name of the cloud service so that is always the first give away that it is a scam.

In case you are not sure what a cloud storage service is, the major players are Microsoft with OneDrive, Google with Google Drive, Apple with iCloud, and Dropbox. There are others but most people have one or more of these if they use a cloud storage service. They all work very similarly. They all give you a small amount of online storage for free in the hope that you will put more in these accounts and then they can charge you for excess use. Basically, cloud storage is just someone else’s computer where your data is stored and with the correct credentials you can access it from any computer, browser, tablet or phone.

How do you know if you use a cloud service and which one you use? If you look at File Explorer on a Windows computer or Finder on a Mac, you should see your cloud listed in the left column. You can then open that folder to see what you have stored in the cloud. Both OneDrive on a PC and iCloud on a Mac could easily be installed without you really being aware of it. It takes more effort to install Google Drive and Dropbox onto a computer. Any of these can easily be set up on a phone. Based on all of this you might need to do a little research to figure out what you use, where you use it, and what is actually stored in it. When you get a legitimate email about full storage from Google or Apple it is usually pointing to photos on your phone since that is the largest use of space for most of us.

If you are not sure if you have a cloud service or if you need one, I am happy to discuss this with you. For some it is necessary or a great convenience and for others it is not needed at all. With a few simple questions we can figure this out.

Now getting back to that email you received about your cloud storage being full. The first thing is to look at who it is coming from. All of the cloud services mentioned above will send an email from their company name so if the sending email address is some random name, you can be sure it is fake. Next, don’t click any link in the email. Instead look for the account on your device and log into it from there. If your storage is full, you will be told about that as soon as you open their app. 

If you are using their free version and your storage is full you will need to make a decision about paying for more storage or removing the service from your device. If you are not sure, I can help you make that decision also.Finally, some of these services call their service a backup. They really are not a backup but a sync. Here is a video I made a couple of years ago that explains the difference. https://youtu.be/wzqLy-6cJWQ

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Multifactor Authentication

I have talked about the ways to protect yourself from having your accounts taken over before but this month I want to take it further and tell you how to ensure you don’t lose any account access when you get a new phone.

Recently I ran into a customer of mine that just got a new phone and he was not able to get into his business email account with Microsoft. He knew what the password was but since he had a different phone his Microsoft Authenticator app didn’t work for this account. This also happened to me about six months ago when I got a new phone except I was locked out of a few accounts for some companies that I manage email.

The problem is that you can’t automatically move your authenticator entries to a new phone. Microsoft says all you need to do is back up your authenticator into your Microsoft account and then restore it onto your new phone. This is technically true but only works for entries that are connected to your personal Microsoft account. Not for other accounts like your work or business email.

Since this was my customer’s business account the entry was not backed up by his personal account and he was locked out. Luckily, he knew his password, and he was able to contact Microsoft since he is a paying customer, and they helped him reset his authenticator for his business email. He works for himself and is the admin on his account so reaching out to his company admin was not an option. When this happened to me, I was also able to get my authenticator entries back because I set up every option available when I initially set up each account in my authenticator. So, I was able to receive text messages or  codes to alternate email addresses.

Why am I telling you this? The simple fact that I didn’t stop with just the authenticator app and decided to also set up texting or alternate email options for the accounts I manage made it easier for me to get back into those accounts after getting a new phone.

This is an option when initially setting up a new account, but it is also available in your Microsoft account so you can add other options at any time. This is also good if you initially set up your account with an old phone number or email that you no longer have access to because you can login to your account and update with the new phone number or email account. Do these things now instead of waiting until you have a new device and it is too late.

If you are not sure how to update this information or even how to set up an authenticator I can help with this also.

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Hey Google, Is This A Scam?

(Reprint from Email Scambuster Monthly Report)

You can Google to verify scams. This works with phone numbers that are in questionable emails, but you can also Google certain phrases as well to check for scams.

Most people are aware of the “Nigerian Prince” scam. This is when you receive a long letter from a supposed Nigerian prince who is hiding from his government and just trying to get his fortune out of his country and needs your help. He will pay you handsomely for just using your account to transfer his money into. If you receive this letter or any other potential scam letter you can copy the first few sentences and drop them into Google search. When you do this, you will usually find many similar versions that others have posted about the scam. It is a quick and easy way to verify a scam.

As I mentioned before, this can verify if it is a scam but if you don’t find any information don’t assume it isn’t a scam. It might just be too new to be searchable yet. This is just another tool to spot scams.

Years ago, I was watching a talk show that was about Romeo scams. This is where a lonely senior, male or female is having an online relationship with a hot young single from another country. They connect romantically by writing love letters and even having long loving conversations and eventually asking for money and usually lots of it.

In one of these cases, they took one of the love letters and ran that through Google and it came up with multiple versions and talked about all of the scams it was used in. They were actually able to get the victim to believe it was a scam due to all of the sites that had the same letter word for word. Scammers don’t invent something new if they can steal a scam from someone else.

Some of you know that I write another newsletter every month in addition to this one. It is called Email Scambuster Monthly Report. The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight current scams and educate those that are most vulnerable to scams.

I charge an annual fee of $30.00 for this newsletter because it has been proven that if you give someone information for free, they are less likely to read it and see the value of it. The information in these newsletters is too important for people to ignore.

This article is from that newsletter. I hope you see the value in it and if you know of someone who would benefit from this on a monthly basis, please click the link below and sign them up for it.

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Windows on Snapdragon: Great Battery, Broken Apps

There is a new choice when purchasing laptops. For years your choice of processors on your computer was either Intel or AMD. Over the years one or the other would exert their dominance and make the fastest processor and then lose that title the next year. It didn’t really matter which you chose because they both were fairly similar and comparable in terms of speed and either one would run all available software that was made for the PC.

Since 2018 there has been a new contender in the processor field called snapdragon. These were initially made for things like tablets and phones and their claim to fame was longer battery life. This made the jump to laptops noteworthy since battery life is very important in the laptop world but the 2018 chips were not very powerful so there were not a lot of early adopters. That changed in 2024 when a newer, more powerful version of the Snapdragon processor came out. The newer processors were powerful enough to gain attention and the laptops made with them were inexpensively priced.

Why am I telling you about this? This is a warning. I purchased a couple laptops for a company before I knew much about these processors and once I found out the truth, I quickly returned them swearing I will never again purchase another snapdragon processor laptop.

The laptops I purchased needed more storage, so I purchased 2 new 2 TB drives to add to the laptops. I have done this many times. I just needed to install Windows on the new drives, and everything would be fine. That is when the trouble started. Snapdragon processors need a different version of the installation, or they will not work. I did a little more research after that and discovered some of the programs that this company needed won’t work with the Snapdragon processors. This seemed like too much trouble, this is why I decided to never buy one again.

Yesterday, I was at a customer’s house setting up a computer they purchased without consulting me. I really didn’t pay any attention to the specs of the computer because I was busy setting everything up. While installing software for them I found a few programs that would not install and there were weird error messages. Finally, one message said something about not being supported. I quickly checked the processor and found that it was a snapdragon. I could not install the scanner for their printer; they had a few older games that would not install and the version of office they had also did not work.

They decided to keep the laptop, and I found work arounds for most of their installation issues but some of the things just would not work. This is why I always offer to find a computer for my customers or at least have them send me the specifics, so they don’t buy too much, too little or just the wrong computer.

So, my offer still stands. I am happy to help when you are looking at a new computer to make sure you end up with what you need.

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Horror Stories from Business Owners that did DIY IT services.

Half of my business is supporting small companies. Many times, when I am contacted by a small business owner it is because they have been trying to handle everything themselves or worse, they just have each employee set up their own stuff. In the past 13 years I have seen many issues that these scenarios can cause. I thought I would share some of the scarier issues to hopefully prevent others from going down the same road.

  • Allowing everyone to set up their own computers/technology. Sometimes when new entrepreneurs are just starting out, they will go and buy a new computer for their new employee and hand them the box and tell them to go ahead and get it set up and start working. In theory this might seem to be very efficient. The employee can set it up just how they feel it needs to be set up, and it also saves the owner the time it would take them to set it up. I have actually been called many times to help a business owner break into a computer because the employee that set it up and used it is no longer working for them, and they don’t know the password and can’t reach the ex-employee. I have a disk that allows me to delete the password so we can get into the computer and reset the password.

    When I set up computers for my customers, I first set up an admin account and only the business owner and I know the password. I then set up an account for the user, and I don’t give them admin rights. This way they can’t download and install any unauthorized software. This helps prevent viruses and malware along with pirated software issues which could cost a small business thousands of dollars. I also add antivirus/antimalware and monitoring software to make sure this computer will continue to work seamlessly for business.
  • Business Owner uses their personal accounts to set up employee’s computers. I have had a few instances where the business owner has used their personal Microsoft account to set up computers in their office and by doing this, they were inadvertently sharing all of their personal documents and even their personal accounts (banking and credit cards) and passwords with all of the office computers.

    Imagine the business owner’s surprise when they realize that all of their employees have access to their personal Amazon account, bank account and credit cards. They also have access to their personal documents which include some of the business financial data. This was discovered because he saw a picture of his child as the desktop background on an employee’s computer. The same picture he had on his. This employee’s computer was mirroring his personal computer.

    When I set up computers for businesses, I never allow people to share accounts. This keeps everyone’s information separate so that no one can see information they shouldn’t, and no one can read other’s email or worse, respond as someone else. The list goes on and on with potential problems when accounts are shared.

These are just a couple of the potential issues of being your own IT person. Many of the things I do and suggest to my business customers actually save them time, money, and productivity. My processes can also keep their information safe and confidential. If you are currently doing it yourself, I would love to help.

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Anti- Virus Protection

October 2025.2 Blog Graphic- Anti- Virus Protection

I get asked about anti-virus protection a lot. Questions like “do I really need anti-virus?” “What anti-virus is best?” Also, I get questions about specific anti-virus products and my opinion of them. So here are my thoughts on various types and brands of anti-virus.

  1. Do I really need an anti-virus program? Yes, every computer, whether it is Windows or Apple, should have an antivirus installed on it. Even people that are very cautious about using their computers can still accidentally click the wrong thing or accidentally allow something harmful onto their computers. I know Apple used to claim their computers don’t get viruses, but I have removed many viruses from MACs, so this is not true. Windows computers all come with Windows Defender preinstalled. If you don’t have another anti-virus installed this will give you a little bit of protection. After spending several hundred dollars or more on a computer that holds all of your precious documents, why wouldn’t you spend a few dollars a month to protect all of it?
  2. Are the free versions enough?  No, there is only one reason that a company gives you something for free. They give it free so they can then sell it to you in the future. All of the “free” products are really just marketing companies that constantly try to upsell you more products based on fear. I always feel like these companies have become the thing they should be stopping. They just keep popping up with new scary things and offer more products to protect you from those scary things. Most of those scary things are not real or needed. I have also installed a paid anti-virus on many computers that have a free version and during the initial scan the paid product finds things the free one never found. If your antivirus keeps telling you about new scary threats and offering to fix it for a price, give me a call and I will tell you if the threat is real or not. Many times, starting with a free version can end up costing hundreds per year if you fall for the scary pop-ups they use.
  3. What anti-virus is the best?  That is not a completely straight forward question. It really depends on whether you are using a personal computer or a work environment computer. Sometimes it makes sense to use a product with an add on if you were going to purchase that add on from someone else. For instance, if you want a VPN because you use public wifi a lot you can get an anti-virus that has a built-in VPN. For personal computers I like two different A/Vs. My go-to products are ESET and Webroot. They both do a good job, and they don’t constantly try to sell you more stuff. For business machines I recommend endpoint protection. The difference between endpoint and traditional A/V is that the endpoint version is managed by a console where all company machines are monitored and remotely fixed if there is a threat present. Another great feature is that an employee, or a bad actor, can’t even uninstall the endpoint. It can only be done from the console. If you have a couple of computers in your company, I can help you get this important coverage, and I will handle the monitoring for you. The actual cost is a lot less than you would think for this type of coverage.
  4. My computer came with a free trial from McAfee, should I just keep that one? I call McAfee the virus of the antivirus world. Their biggest marketing move was offering this free trial to all computer makers. They get a kickback from McAfee for adding this to their computers and whenever someone purchases from this trial. In a few instances I have pulled a computer out of the box and while setting it up I could not access the internet. After trying to fix it in the McAfee settings I ended up removing McAfee and then I could access the internet. They are probably the worst at pop-ups, trying to scare you and sell you more unnecessary stuff. They also give Adobe and a few other companies a kickback for allowing their product to download with the real software that you wanted. When downloading anything, watch out for check boxes to avoid getting things you don’t want. This extra product can slow down your system. It is always best to only have one antivirus on your computer. If you have more than one, they can cause issues for each other. More is not better.

I hope this has been helpful. Antivirus should not be expensive, and it should run in the background and not bother you too often. You should know what antivirus you are using so that if you happen to see another one on your computer you can quickly get rid of the extra one. I am always happy to help with questions about this topic.

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Overrun with junk emails!!

I often get questions from customers about how to cut down on the flood of unwanted emails they receive every day. Many hope there’s a magic button to stop it but unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

The right approach depends on the type of email you’re dealing with. Here’s a quick guide to the most common kinds of messages and how to handle them:

1. Legitimate Companies (Retailers, Restaurants, etc.)

These are emails that clearly come from a business you recognize, such as “sales@target.com” or “marketing@tacobell.com”. By law, these companies must include an unsubscribe link. Using that link is safe, and within 7–10 days you should stop receiving their promotions.

2. Affiliate Marketers and “Deal” Sites

These come from sketchier addresses like “jayne@yourbestdealsnow.com”. Technically, they’re supposed to follow the same unsubscribe rules—but often don’t. Be cautious: some “unsubscribe” links simply redirect you to more ads. Before clicking, hover over the link to see where it actually goes. A safer option is to use your email provider’s block or report button. This often pushes future emails straight to spam and, in some cases, can even get the sender shut down.

3. Fake or Spoofed Emails

These are the trickiest—and most dangerous. Examples include fake purchase receipts, antivirus subscriptions, or alerts from banks you don’t even use. These messages often come from throwaway or stolen email addresses. Never click “unsubscribe” on these. Doing so could add malware to your computer and tell scammers your email is active, which will only get you more junk. Instead, delete them or mark them as spam.

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it covers the majority of junk mail you’ll run into. If you’re ever unsure, you can forward a suspicious email to me, and I’ll verify whether it’s real.For small businesses, I also offer tools that automatically block scams and spoofed emails before they ever hit your employees’ inboxes. In the past year alone, my system has stopped nearly 1,000 scam emails for my customers. It’s affordable protection that could save your business thousands in lost time and money.

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Potentially Unwanted Programs

If you know me, you know that I swear by Malwarebytes. I use it on all computers – Mac or PC for initial clean up and to get rid of obvious malware. One of the categories of items that Malwarebytes finds and deletes is what they call PUP files, or potentially unwanted program files.

What are these files and why am I mentioning them? These are programs that you probably don’t want and did not download and install on purpose. You might have clicked on the wrong thing or didn’t see a checkbox when doing another download but now you have this new “junk” on your computer, and you don’t know how to get rid of it or even how it got there.

There are many different programs that fall into this category. A few I have dealt with are OneLaunch, Wave Browser and Shift Browser.

This is why I always tell people to make sure they know what is installed on their computers. If you see any of these icons on your desktop, get rid of these programs immediately!

These all work the same. They take over and become your default browser. They try to look similar to either Chrome or Edge hoping you won’t notice. What they really do is force you to use their search engine to build up their numbers and force you to go to websites you wouldn’t normally go to. I saw a customer just yesterday and he told me that Edge opens up every time he logs into his computer. He demonstrated this for me, and it turns out it was Wave not Edge. Since the colors were similar, he didn’t notice. Once we uninstalled Wave, he didn’t have a browser pop open each time he logged in.

I have seen these redirect you from a real site to a fake site. As I said before, I don’t know exactly how they get installed, but I know it isn’t from people going out and looking for them. If you see these on your computer, you should immediately uninstall them and make sure your preferred browser is set up as your default and your preferred search engine is also your default.

If you are not sure how to uninstall these, or you just need help identifying if you have these or similar “pup” files on your computer let me know and I can help get rid of them. It will probably improve your computer speed.

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System Restore

I have talked about this many times before, but last week it happened to one of my customers again. His computer would not boot up after a restart and it kept going to the repair options. He Googled where to go from there and tried to fix this himself.

One of the options is System Restore. Your computer has the capability to periodically create restore points so that if there is a problem and the computer fails to start you can restore to a point in the past where it was still working.

When my customer tried this option, the computer said that System Restore was not turned on. The default used to be that it was automatically turned on and you had to go in and turn it off if you didn’t want it. That is not how it is now. If you want to have this safety feature ready for you it has to be turned on. If my customer had been aware of this, it would have saved him a lot of time and money. After he tried all of the Google ideas, he called me, and I had to reinstall Windows to get his computer working again.

If you want to make sure this is turned on on your computer, it is pretty easy to do. If you have the search bar next to the start button –

 A close up of a sign AI-generated content may be incorrect.

You can type “system restore” and it will give you the option to create a restore point. Click on that and it will tell you if System Restore is turned on or off. You only need it for your main drive, not any others since they don’t have the operating system on them.

This one simple thing can help make sure your computer keeps working. If you need help with this, I can walk you through it. Here is a video that explains this and another big issue that can make you lose access to your computer:

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To AI or Not To AI?

It seems like everywhere you turn lately some kind of AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being talked about. Some tout it as the next big thing, while others, in the words of mama from The Waterboy, see it as “The Devil.” I am sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

While I was researching my second book – The Higher Education Scam, I interviewed many people. One of them mentioned to me what they heard about AI from a supposed expert. This expert said, “you will not lose your job to AI, but you will lose your job to someone who knows how to use AI.”

Based on all of this, I thought this would be a good topic to write about, so I decided to ask ChatGPT to write an outline for me. Here is the conversation:

I asked:

“I am writing about how to get started using AI in my monthly newsletter this month. Can you give me an outline and a few pointers?”

ChatGPT said:

Absolutely, Duane — that’s a great topic for your monthly newsletter. An article like this can position you as both helpful and forward-thinking for your clients. Here’s a clear outline and key pointers to get you started:

Newsletter Title:

“Getting Started with AI: What You Need to Know”

Outline:

1. Introduction: Why AI Matters Now

Briefly define AI in simple terms.

Mention how it’s already changing the way small businesses and individuals operate (e.g., chatbots, automation, content creation).

Reassure readers: you don’t need to be a tech genius to get started.

2. Real-Life Examples of AI You May Already Be Using

Voice assistants (Siri, Alexa)

Auto-correct or predictive typing

Spam filters in email

AI in photo editing apps or customer service chats

3. Easy Ways to Try AI for Yourself

Break down 3–5 beginner-friendly tools:

ChatGPT – Ask questions, generate emails, summarize info.

Grammarly – Writing assistant with AI-powered suggestions.

Canva’s Magic Tools – AI image and design generation.

Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot – For document help or web search.

Otter.ai or Fireflies.ai – Automatically transcribe meetings or calls.

Include a tip: Try using AI to write your next social media post, respond to a tricky email, or create a to-do list.

4. Do’s and Don’ts for Using AI Effectively

✅ DO start small—experiment with one tool at a time.

✅ DO fact-check—AI can sound confident but still be wrong.

❌ DON’T share sensitive client data with AI tools.

❌ DON’T expect it to do your job for you—use it as a helper, not a replacement.

5. How Duane’s Reliable Computer Services Can Help

Offer help choosing and setting up AI tools.

Offer a 1:1 intro session or group demo.

Mention any AI tools you’re integrating into your own service (e.g., EDR with AI-driven detection, automated maintenance alerts, etc.)

6. Final Thoughts / Call to Action

Encourage them to give AI a try this month.

Offer a quick consultation to help them find the right tool.

Example: “Reply to this email with ‘AI HELP’ and I’ll send you my top tool recommendation for your business.”

Pointers for Writing:

Keep it conversational and non-technical.

Use real-world analogies (e.g., “Think of AI like a really smart assistant that doesn’t sleep.”)

Include a screenshot or short demo gif if possible.

Keep it short and skimmable—use bullet points, bold key ideas.

Would you like help drafting the full article based on this outline, or do you want to write it and have me review it?”

This took about ten seconds for ChatGPT to give me this outline and some pointers. I don’t normally just copy and paste the response into a document. I usually use it as a starting point, but I wanted to show you a real-life example of what it can do and how it works.

I have been using AI for a couple years now. I regularly run emails through it if I want them to sound more professional, less threatening, or more concise, for example. I also use a program called Otter.ai when I am in meetings. This program will listen to the entire conversation and then transcribe it for me. It then creates an outline and lists any action items. I do pay for this tool, but it saves me hours per month, so it is well worth it.

If you haven’t tried AI yet, you can go to chatgpt.com and create a free account. It is best to create an account because over time ChatGPT will learn more about you and become even more helpful. Just don’t share sensitive information with it. In other words, AI could possibly help you do your taxes, but since it searches online you don’t want to input your social security number. 

It is also important to verify any information that AI finds because sometimes it is wrong. I heard about a jr attorney that used AI to prepare for trial, and he found a case that was very similar to his current case, and he used it as an example in the opening statement which a senior attorney had to read. As he read about the other case in the courtroom the judge looked it up on his computer only to find it did not exist. I am sure someone lost their job over that one.

If you are interested in learning more about AI or trying it for yourself, reach out to me. I can help you set up an account and get you started.

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