May 9, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

How to Browse Privately if You Don’t Want Relentless Advertisements

How to Browse Privately if You Don’t Want Relentless Advertisements

Have you ever looked at a product on an e-commerce website and noticed that, later, an advertisement appears for that same product on another website? 

This is the work of advertising ‘cookies’ and other tracking tools, which monitor your online browsing activities to present you with relevant, targeted advertisements. 

This can be a great thing. Targeted advertisements can help you to discover new products and makes the browsing experience feel more personalized. 

In line with this, 71% of consumers prefer ads to be targeted to their interests and shopping habits, and 3 out of 4 consumers prefer fewer, but more personalized ads. 

However, while some people enjoy targeted advertisements, many also feel like their online privacy is being invaded. A different research study found that 79% of Americans on the web worry about companies infringing their online privacy.

It’s easy to see why. Personal ads can make you feel a little like you’re living in the world of ‘big brother’. Not everyone wants to be monitored 24/7 – and that’s ok. 

Moreover, let’s say you are researching birthday gifts to buy for your partner. Targeted ads mean that your partner could end up seeing an ad about the proposed gift – which would ruin the surprise! 

As people have become more aware of their online privacy, the leading web browser players have released private browsing options. 

Below, we’ll explore how private browsing sessions work – and how you can set one up on your computer.

What is a Private Browsing Session? 

A private browsing session is a feature available in most popular web browsers. When you switch on private browsing mode, your browser creates a one-time, isolated session that is kept separate from your main browser.

While your main browser collects your browsing history and data, the private browser essentially only has a short-term memory. It won’t save any of the data about the websites you visit or things you buy. Once you finish the session, the data is gone for good. 

Going back to the birthday use case, you can see why private browsing is useful! It ensures that no one else who uses your computer can see what you’ve been looking at online. 

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April 25, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

Avoid Online Surveys If You Don’t Want to Be Profiled

The next time you’re browsing on your computer, and you see a quiz on Facebook or another social media site that looks appealing, think before you click.

With the political season back upon us, you need to be aware of how the data you share in these quizzes might be used. 

You might not think that a quiz about your favorite foods or personality type will be beneficial to political parties but, these days, you never know. Any data you share could ultimately be used for political profiling.

What is political profiling?

Profiling is a method of analyzing individuals’ data to classify them into groups or sectors. Political parties have used profiling techniques for decades, but it has entered a new realm in light of the internet.

With tools like artificial intelligence and data analytics, political parties can create detailed profiles about individuals and groups, which could even be used to unethically manipulate their political choices through fake news and social media advertisements.

It sounds scary – and it is! Most of us may remember the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018. 

In this event, Cambridge Analytica collected the data of millions of people via an app called This Is Your Digital Life. The app was an online survey that asked users questions about their political preferences and personality traits. All of the answers given in this quiz were then used for data analysis during the 2016 presidential election campaign. 

As a side note, if you’re worried about third parties having access to your data, contact us. We can help you improve your online data privacy and reduce unwanted advertisements. 

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April 11, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

What Is a QR Code Used For?

Updated 5/6/24:

QR is an acronym for quick response – which makes sense as QR codes respond very quickly to requests to use them. Essentially, a QR code is a square-shaped barcode that you can scan with your smartphone to load a website, application or setting. It’s quick and saves time vs. typing a long web address, searching for an app or setting, or typing a long password. QR codes can also be used to load phone numbers, passwordless login pages, and Wi-Fi details. 

In a restaurant your server may ask you to use scan a QR code to load the menu on your smartphone instead of receiving a physical menu. In supermarkets QR codes are used to give you more information about a product or load a specific page in their app where you can “clip” a digital coupon. At a concert, public event or at the airport a QR code may be used in place of a paper.

While QR codes are really useful, they can seem daunting if you don’t know how to use them. In fact, a YouGov study found 14% of Americans find QR codes to be challenging to use, with adults over the age of 65+ especially are likely to say so (20%). 

Below, we’ll explain how to use QR codes. We’ll also help you to understand which QR codes are safe to use – and which you should be wary of. 

How do I use a QR code? 

All smartphones with a camera can scan a QR code. If you have an older smartphone, your camera app might not come with this capability. In this case, you should be able to download a QR scanning app from the Apple Store or Google Play. If you’d like assistance with this, let us know, and we can help. 

Once that’s done, it takes just a few simple steps to scan a QR code. 

  1. Open the camera or QR code application on your phone.
  2. Point your camera at the QR code. Line up your camera so that all four corners of the code are in view.
  3. Click the link that’s presented on the screen.
  4. Your phone will now do the work for you! It should automatically take you to the website, application or setting specified by the QR code.
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March 30, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

An Antivirus Will Not Protect You from User Error

Cyber security graphic

It would be pretty great if antivirus protected us from all the online security threats out there. Unfortunately, though, this isn’t the case.

Often, customers come to us asking if they should purchase a third-party antivirus software rather than use the basic one that comes with their operating system. Our answer to this question always tends to be: stick to the antivirus that comes with your computer. 

Let’s take a look at why below.

What antivirus can and can’t do

Antivirus software works by scanning your devices, applications and files for traces of viruses or malware. Viruses are a type of malicious computer program designed to alter how your computer operates. It can, for example, steal sensitive data or lock you out of accessing your files.

Viruses are scary stuff – and antivirus is vital for defending against these types of threats. However, antivirus isn’t a holy grail. It only protects against one type of cyber security threat. There are a whole plethora of other threats out there that you need to watch out for. 

Human error is the biggest security threat out there today 

Recent research found that a massive 85% of data breaches can be traced back to human error. This means that it’s not viruses or malware responsible for most successful cyberattacks; it’s people. 

As humans, we all make mistakes – and this is what today’s cybercriminals count on. Many of today’s cyberattacks focus on manipulating victims into clicking suspicious links or sharing financial information with a fraudulent entity. Here are some examples:

  • Phishing emails: Phishing emails are fraudulent emails criminals send to their victims. Typically, the email will impersonate a trusted brand. It will ask the victim to either click a link, download an attachment or share sensitive information. There were 241,342 victims of phishing in the US in 2020 – and those are just the ones that were reported. 
  • Clicking on dodgy online advertisements: Malvertising is a type of cyber attack technique where hackers inject malicious code into advertisements. When you click on the ad, the malicious code launches on your device, enabling the hacker to steal your data or even take it for ransom. 
  • Replying to texts from unknown senders: Similar to phishing is what’s known as SMishing. SMishing happens when a cybercriminal sends a fraudulent text to your mobile, pretending to be a trusted entity. The text will usually contain a link, which takes you to a page where you’re asked to share sensitive information – like your bank card information.

The best protection is education

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March 28, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

What Is the Cloud?

"the Cloud" graphic

Once upon a time, the cloud referred to something you’d look up and see in the sky. In the age of technology, though, the cloud is something wholly different altogether. Essentially, the cloud offers a secure way to store and back up your data – things like your documents, files, photos and contact details. 

Before the cloud, you’d store this data on your computer hard drive. While you can still do this, it’s also wise to use the cloud too. This is because if your hard drive fails, then you can still access your data. Also, more of us now use computers and mobile phones. If you use the cloud, then you can access your information from multiple devices. 

In the same way that different companies sell different brands of phones – like Nokia, Samsung and Apple – there are a number of companies that sell cloud storage. The main ones in the consumer space are Apple, Google and Microsoft. 

Below, we’ll dive into each of their cloud offerings, so you can get a better idea of what solution is best for your needs. 

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March 1, 2022 By Mark Computer Techs

Why you should never unsubscribe from certain emails

If you think the way to get less spam email is to click the “unsubscribe” link – not so fast. While legitimate email senders often will remove your email address from their list, spammers use unsubscribe links in emails to track people that take the time to open email and click the link. They then target you for even more junk email.

Some methods that you can use to help identify legitimately sent emails include:

  • Have you knowingly given your email address to the sender?
  • Look to see if the “from” email address closely matches the company that it says it came from. For example if you get an email from “JCPenney” promising $10 off, but the email address displays something@bestdeals.biz or someone@gmail.com – that’s not an email from JCPenney.
  • Does the grammar, spellling and punctuation in the email make it seem as if it was professionally written?

These points above can also be used to help identify phishing and fraudulent emails. When in doubt, never click a link or reply to an unsolicited email.

You should only unsubscribe from emails that you are absolutely sure that they came from a legitimate company that you have given your email address to or conducted business with. Otherwise, just mark the email as Junk/Spam to help train the computer programs that filter your emails to the Inbox or Junk/Spam folders.

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February 1, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

6 reasons why you probably don’t need a VPN

6 Reasons You Don’t Really Need a VPN

One of the applications that you may hear about to keep your online connection more secure is a virtual private network (VPN). This is a service that basically takes your internet connection and reroutes it through its own servers before connecting you online.

Many VPNs are advertised using FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) tactics. These companies make promises of encrypting your online connection and keeping your data safe. However, some of them have been found to be not very private after all.

What Is a VPN?

A VPN is a service that will route your online traffic through one or more of its servers. These servers can be anywhere in the world, and at times, you may be using different ones.

The VPN is designed to encrypt internet traffic and make your online connection secure by being a middle man between you and the internet. 

Before you get scared into thinking you need a VPN, you’ll want to check out our list below of the reasons that you may not really need one after all.

Icon Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Used with permission from VPNCrew

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January 17, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

Search Gmail like a pro

Search Gmail Like a Pro

Email has become one of the main ways we communicate both for work and personal conversations. It’s estimated that a person sends and receives an average of 126 emails per day, and that’s just for work.

We all know that it doesn’t take long for an inbox to get unwieldy and fill up with older messages that are no longer needed or spam that can be deleted. But in between those unnecessary messages are emails that you need to keep. Trying to balance the two can be a challenge.

Some users even get so many emails, they begin having computer issues and have to call in a technician because their email program is no longer working properly due to being overloaded.

If you’re one of the many Gmail users out there, we have some great tips to help you search Gmail like a pro to find what you need and declutter your inbox.

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January 14, 2022 By Contributor Computer Techs

How Did My Password End Up in a Data Breach?

Data Breach graphic

Updated August 2024:

Most of us will have experienced a data breach at one point or another. Maybe you’ve received an email from a identity monitoring service telling you that one of your passwords has been compromised. Or perhaps your password manager has notified you that one of more of your passwords has been detected in a data breach of a website that you’ve registered with.

It can be worrying to receive these notifications. You’ll likely wonder how your password ended up in a breach and why. More importantly, you’ll want to know how you can fix the issue as quickly as possible. 

Below, we’ll explore how data breaches happen and how you can best protect yourself in the event of a worst-case scenario. 

How Data Breaches Occur

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December 31, 2021 By Contributor Computer Techs

Why You May Still Need a Computer Even If You Have a Tablet

using mobile devices

Updated August 2024:

Tablets have become a popular mobile device that fits a gap between the personal computer and the smartphone. It’s not always convenient to go to your computer to look up a website, and smartphone screens are so small that the experience just isn’t the same.

When lounging on the sofa or traveling, tablets can provide a good experience for shopping online, browsing certain sites, or accessing social media. But, they do have limitations and aren’t a full replacement for a desktop or laptop PC.

Statistics seem to back this up. While the iPad was first introduced over a decade ago (in 2010), tablets still only represent about 3% of devices used on the web. In comparison, smartphones make up 61% and desktop computers make up 36%.

If you’ve been wondering if you can just get by with a tablet and leave your computer behind, here are some things you’ll want to take into consideration.

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