I just found out that a friend of mine is losing his job after twenty-one years. One of the company owners has passed away and the company is being closed. While my friend is extremely good at his profession, he's finding that prospective employers want someone who knows Microsoft Word and Excel. At the company …
Author: John Grubb
I've been working on computers since 1983! I love helping people resolve their computing issues and sharing preventative measures, as well.
Seminar Cancelled
Although the cone of uncertainty has moved East, we could still have some rough weather - thanks to the current tropical depression headed our way. Our next seminar will be October 12, 2019. We apologize for any inconvenience. John 772-408-4425
Apple Problem?
It seems like forever. Apple users were able to justify the cost of their Apple product, if for no other reason, because it was safer than a Microsoft device. Think about it. While there were tens of thousands of viruses for the Windows Operating System, there were, maybe, a hundred or so for the Mac …
Windows 10 Keyboard Shortcuts
In this post, let's learn a few easy keyboard shortcuts for Windows 10. Need to get to your files quickly? Just use the Windows Key plus the letter E combo and Windows Explorer will be on the screen in a jiffy! There are so many ways that search can help you in Windows 10! When …
Give Me A “V”
You're not going to believe this one! On my blog, I've posted about phishing and, hopefully, you understand what that encompasses. (If not, click on the word "phishing" in the previous sentence and have a look at the posts I've done.) Now, there's a new type of scam. It's call "vishing." It's like phishing except …
Bahamian Alert
An attempt to appeal to your willingness to help others. Warning! It occurs after every natural disaster. Whether it's a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, volcano eruption, mud slide or major flood, you can count on it happening. There will be crooks who will attempt to use Social Engineering and appeal to your willingness to help others. …
Online Dating – A Warning
We see ads about online dating all the time. These ads are on TV, online when we're shopping and on Social Media platforms. There are online dating apps for young kids, for "seniors" and for those "starting over." According to some sources, in the US, 40 million people have used online dating sites or apps …
Crisis Response
Although Social Media can sometimes take on a very negative, if not nasty, role in our lives, the various platforms often offer assistance during a tragedy or natural disaster. Many times, we can get messages through on Social Media when there is no other form of communication available. As an example, those of us in …
Class Action
"In September of 2017, Equifax announced it experienced a data breach, which impacted the personal information of approximately 147 million people. A federal court is considering a proposed class action settlement submitted on July 22, 2019, that, if approved by the Court, would resolve lawsuits brought by consumers after the data breach." That's a quote directly from …
I Heart You
Actually, it's iHeartRadio! Whenever there's a hurricane or some other natural disaster, authorities will tell you to have a battery-operated radio. And, that's a good thing to do. However, as long as you have cell tower coverage or Wi-Fi available, you can use an app (called "iHeartRadio") on your smartphone or tablet or you can …
Out Of Gas?
When there's an event like Hurricane Dorian, finding fuel can be a real challenge. If you have an Android or iOS device or if you can get to their website in a computer browser, help is just a click away. The app "GasBuddy" will turn on special alerts to let you know if a station …
FB – BD
I recently celebrated a birthday and I received a ton of birthday wishes on Facebook. It's fun having these greetings and I like to do the same for others. Unfortunately, I'm not always in Facebook and I sometimes miss birthdays which I'd really like to acknowledge. Does this happen to you, too? Here's the good …
This Is Getting Taxing!
In my June 8, 2019 post, IRS Scams, I told you about two scams for which the IRS gave us a warning. Well, guess what? There's another IRS-related scam and another warning. The current IRS alert is about an email scam. Here's how it works: you receive an email from a spoofed (fake) IRS email …
A Touch Is Just A Touch
Or is it? There are so many computer tools available to us and yet, we totally ignore many of them. In some cases, it's not ignorance it's lack of training. In this post, we'll see if we can educate you about one of the most popular items on a laptop computer - the touchpad! Yes, …
Game Over – Instagram
Back on November 18, 2018, I wrote the post "R.I.P. Facebook." I explained how I got birthday notices from Facebook for five people that day but two of them were deceased. I shared a Facebook link which explains how to use the settings to allow someone to take care of your Facebook account after you …
Delayed Gratification
In this post, we're talking about delayed grati... no, actually, we're talking about delayed emails. And just for the fun of it, I'm going to throw in another subject - lost emails. If you read my previous post, But First, you are aware that there are many hardware components to the Internet. When those pieces …
But First…
Recently, I had an inquiry regarding delayed emails. I want to address the issue in depth. But first, I want to give everyone a simple but thorough explanation of the hardware components that make up the Internet. Here is a fairly complete "parts list" of the Internet hardware: Cable (wire)Fiber Optic CableDense Wavelength Division Multiplexers …
There’s A New Browser In Town
For some time now, Microsoft has been working on a new browser - Microsoft Edge. Wait, I know what you Windows 10 users are thinking: "We've had Microsoft Edge since the first version of Windows 10!" Yes, that is true. But, this is the new Microsoft Edge built on the Chromium architecture. That's the same …
Get Rid Of Bing? Google?
One of the questions I hear often is "How can I get rid of Bing?" If not that question, then this one: "How can I get rid of Google?" Before I can explain how to get rid of them, I need to talk about what they are. Bing and Google are search engines provided by …
Not Spam
I've talked about spam in a number of my posts yet I continue to get questions about it. When I try to help someone reduce the amount of spam they receive (you can never really eliminate it), I often find that they aren't handling legitimate email correctly when it goes to spam. (Just a reminder: …
Don’t Use My Photos!
Here is something that people are seeing posted in Facebook and Instagram. (In Instagram, the word "Facebook" is replaced by "Instagram." Don’t forget tomorrow starts the new Facebook rule where they can use your photos. Don’t forget Deadline today!!! It can be used in court cases in litigation against you. Everything you’ve ever posted becomes …
Worth Repeating + A Deal!
Back on March 5, 2019 (Laptop Surge Protection), I wrote a post about the importance of using a surge protector with your laptops, tablets and smartphones when they are plugged into electricity. I gave you an example of one of my customers who had purchased a new laptop from me which wasn't that old but …
YouTube Features
In my last post, I talked about educational and entertainment possibilities on YouTube. In this post, I want to share a video showing you how to use some of the features of YouTube. Remember, you really need a Google account to get all of the benefits of YouTube but the account is free and you …
Knowledge Is Power
Oh, how I wish we had computers and the Internet back in my high school days! There are so many opportunities to expand your knowledge simply by going online. One of my favorite places to go is YouTube. There's a cornucopia of "How To" videos plus lots of entertainment, history-related, too. Are you using YouTube? …
Don’t Fly With This Mac
In my June 25, 2019 post, I relayed information about a MacBook Pro recall because of battery problems. (Battery Recall) If you own a MacBook Pro laptop which was manufactured between September 2015 and February 2017, that computer is now banned from US airplane flights. It doesn't matter if it's a carry-on or in luggage, …
CP, Where Have You Gone?
If you're a Windows user who has been used to working with the Control Panel, you might want to know how to find it in Windows 10. Here's a two-minute video to show you the procedure: https://youtu.be/nJ80KYLdniE
Disappearing Icons?
In my video about changing your Windows 10 password, some people asked, "What happened to your desktop icons?" In response, I've created a brief video explaining how my icons were gone and how I could get them back. Just click below! https://youtu.be/VB_mCNvemqQ
Windows 10 Password
People often visit our Remote Technical Support page (https://support.4kcc.com) to ask how to change the password they use to log-in to their computer. Or, they never have used a password but want to start using one now and they need to know how to set one up. In response to these requests, I've created a …
Local Or Worldwide?
Mac users have understood this for a long time. If you really want to use a Mac machine, you have to have an Apple ID. For Windows users, it started with Windows 8 and continues with Windows 10. You need a Microsoft account to get the most out of your device. On Windows machines, there …
Cornucopia of Caution
For this post, I'm going to highlight some of the words of caution I've given customers over the last few weeks: Warning Phone Messages * Neither Apple nor Microsoft will call you on the phone to tell you that there's an issue with your computer or it's not up-to-date. They will try to convince you …