Facebook has discovered that millions of Facebook, Facebook Lite and Instagram account user passwords were being stored in plain text on Facebook servers. Just like we always tell you, our customers and friends, you should never store your passwords in plain text, without encryption. For a huge entity like Facebook to make this mistake is: …
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.
Mr. Watson, Come Here
Today, I'm adding a new feature to the blog. It will appear on the blog Home page, Product Specials page and Privacy page. You'll see it in the lower right-hand corner if you sit on one of these pages for twenty seconds or longer. What is it? It's a chatbot (definition: a computer program designed …
This Is Not A Short Joke
Shortened URLs are no joking matter! Although there are plenty of jokes around about short people (and even a pop song), today I want to talk about shortened URL addresses. There are a number of great services that will allow you to shorten a web page's address (more technically known as its URL - Uniform …
Tag! You’re It!
You may not have given it much thought but, perhaps, you have noticed that your photos are often sorted by date-taken on your computing devices. This organization is made possible by something called metadata. Metadata is information that is attached to every picture you take with a camera, tablet, webcam or smartphone. The capability of …
Learning Differences
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be a high school vo-tech teacher. I taught Graphic Arts, Electronics and Appliance Repair. I learned many things while teaching just by observing my tenth, eleventh and twelve grade students. One such lesson was that people generally learn better by one …
Irish You A Good Day!
Two things to note: 1) Joyce and I will be at conference Monday and Tuesday (18th and 19th) so KCC will be closed. There will be no in-home or business on-site service. If you are a Remote Technical Support customer and have an emergency, please call 772-408-4425 and leave a message. We will get back …
Update Week!
This week we celebrated Patch Tuesday. That's the second Tuesday of the month when Microsoft (mainly) and other software companies release updates for the month. Your Windows PC should automatically download and install these updates but you can always check for yourself, if you like. If you're a Remote Technical Support customer (www.4kcc.com/rts), you can …
I Got The T-Shirt!
Yesterday, the world came crashing down for those addicted to Facebook and/or Instagram. The apps, both part of the Facebook Social Media family, stopped working correctly. The outage affected people differently. For instance, I didn't have any problems logging into either platform but I couldn't "Like" any posts and I couldn't comment. As soon as …
It’s A Never-ending Story
Today is International Pi Day! Why? Because Pi - which is an irrational number - starts out with 3.14. Thus, March 14th (3-14) became Pi Day. Actually, the exact time for celebration is 1:59 pm so that the exact number 3.14159 (the first 6 digits of Pi) can be reached. What does Pi Day have …
4KCC Shortcuts
Using a computer is all about saving time! Did you know that we have a ton of shortcuts to get to various areas of our website and that these shortcuts will help you navigate our site faster? Instead of first going to www.4kcc.com and then using the menu to find things, you can go directly …
That’s 1
As I've often related to my customers, it's not always easy to go after a computer scam company. You know, the ones that call you on the phone and tell you your computer is infected. Or, the ones that cause those pop-ups that tell you your machine is infected and you shouldn't shut it off. …
It’s That Time Again!
https://youtu.be/gMoTjTYBrqg
Jump Right To It!
Today's post is only for users of Microsoft Windows. I apologize to all my Apple users! One of the time-saving features that I see customers ignoring is something called "Jump Lists." Jump Lists allow you to quickly open something you've opened recently and you can even pin something to the Jump List that you use …
Email Account Hacked?I received an email that says so! Recently, we've been deluged with emails to our different accounts saying that our email was hacked. Since I have our Spam filter turned off, I get the same email for accounts that don't even exist. Click on this picture to see one of these emails full …
Laptop Surge Protection
A customer who had just purchased a new laptop from me a few weeks ago, called me and told me that laptop was dead. He had used it in the morning but in the afternoon, nothing - no lights, no sounds, no image on the screen. I immediately suspected that the unit was not charging …
Creepy or Cool?
One day last week, I was on my computer and I searched "Creating a podcast." I wanted to get information on what it takes to start a podcast, i.e., what equipment you need, how do you build your audience, etc. I clicked on a couple of search result pages and quickly skimmed some paragraphs. I …
Recycle?
Recycle, Recycle!Computers and More Yesterday, we sent almost one hundred computers, printers, monitors and battery backups to the recyclers. Because we are a computer company, we are mandated by the state of Florida to use a state-certified computer recycler. The nearest company is in North Miami. In years past, we always had to transport all …
Finding The Control Panel
Yesterday, when I was helping a customer with his computer, he watched as I went to the Control Panel in Windows 10. I then went to Programs and Features and removed a program. My customer said, "I looked all over for the Control Panel and couldn't find it. I could always get to it in …
It’s A Process…Or…
In this, the third and final blog post on processors, I'm going to talk about threads. Understanding threads is not an easy task and there's really no reason for us to delve into the technical details. In the simplest of terms, a processor thread is where the highest level of code execution takes place. A …
Sock It To Me…
In our second blog post about processors, I want to explain processor cores. Pictured above is a processor socket. Originally, one single processor would fit into a socket like this. The result was a single processor per computer. Processor manufacturers wanted to find a way of increasing the abilities of a processor without using more …
It’s A Generational Thing…
Today, let's talk computing hardware. Nothing happens in a computing device without the CPU. Oh, I know - another techie acronym. CPU stands for Central Processing Unit. For short, we just call it the processor. Please note that people sometimes refer to the tower of their computer as the CPU but that is incorrect. The …
The Secret Service…
Computers and the devices which have followed were never meant to be just fancy typewriters and searching machines. Right now, I'm reading the Clint Hill book, Mrs. Kennedy And Me. Well, not actually reading it - I'm listening to it. If you're like me, finding time to read books is tough. Climbing into bed at …
Learn Windows 10
With the end of support for Windows 7 in sight, more and more Windows 7 users are looking at Windows 10 for the first time. Many users refused to upgrade for free from 7 to 10 because, well frankly, like most of us, they hate change. However, as Bob Dylan wrote, "The Times They Are …
Comic Book Hero?
As a kid, one of my favorite comic book characters was The Flash. I mean, who wouldn't want to be the fastest man alive? In the computer world, we have our own Flash - Adobe Flash. Adobe Flash has been around for a long time. It's software that works within a browser to present videos, …
Xfinity Customers – Missing Emails?
Did you know you might be missing important emails because they are being deleted before they ever get to you? We all know about Spam emails, right? Did you know that all email providers have Spam filters running on their servers? What happens to the emails after they are caught in the Spam filter depends …
Old Rule Out, New Rule In
Yesterday, I attended a security webinar presented by Lenovo and Intel with special guest speaker Vinny Troia. Vinny is a Computer Forensic Specialist and Certified Ethical Hacker, well-known throughout the computer IT world. Lenovo and Intel presented new ways they are improving hardware to make our computing safer. When it comes to software and user …
Hmmm Now What?
It's just an ordinary day in your email but something's not right! You've just opened an email with a link and when you click on the link, nothing happens. You try again...click, click, click on the link but to no avail. What the heck is wrong? Maybe something's not right with this particular email. You …
A Presidential Message
https://youtu.be/X1lz0SDJSbQ
Video & Snapshot?
Today, I'm sharing a little trick with your Android or iPhone. Did you know that when you're shooting video with your smartphone, you can also take a snapshot - without stopping the video? You absolutely can take a single picture while shooting video and it's easy! Just make note of the camera shutter button to …
When Our Blog Delivers To Your Email
If you receive our blog directly in your email Inbox (instead of having to come to the blog itself), one of our messages on Valentine's Day looked like the picture above. At first glance, it appears I didn't post any message. A number of people asked me about it. Here's what happens: when our posts …