By Kevin / Alerts / / 0 Comments

Equifax Data Breach

A few days ago one of the largest credit reporting companies, Equifax, had a major data breach. Below is an article from the password storage company Last Pass. In the article you will find a link to a website Equifax created for this issue.
If you have any concerns you should follow Equifax’s instructions as well as recommendations from companies like Last Pass. As always if you have any concerns regarding the safety, security, or privacy of your computer please email KES Tech Services to schedule an appointment!

Last Pass
What the Equifax Breach Means for You

By Kevin / Tech News / • • / 0 Comments

It’s iOS Release season again

It is that time of year again. Apple is planning on a mid September release of the new iOS 11 operating system for iPhone & iPad. There are a lot of new features as always. From drag and drop to enhanced features for the pencil. There is a link below to the TechRadar report and info on the new iOS as well as the link to the official Apple website. Email KES Tech Services to schedule an appointment if you need any assistance upgrading to this new operating system!

Tech Radar Link

Apple iOS Page

By Kevin / Alerts / / 0 Comments

Google Account Scam

Hi Everyone,
If you happen to get an email that looks like the picture below know that it is a scam and delete it immediately.
Do not click on any of the links or download any of the files that are associated with this email.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to KES Tech Services anytime!

By Kevin / Tech News / • / 0 Comments

Intel i9 & i7X Processor Family

Coming soon to a computer supplier near you…. The new Intel i9 and i7X series processors. These new processors can have up to 18 cores (36 threads). Definitely looking forward to their release to get some good honest reviews. Of course with all new Intel products they will not be cheap. Prices can be up to $2K for the biggest processors in the family. They are still cheaper than some Xenon server processors which is good. The only downside I see right away besides the expected prices is that they require a new motherboard. To use these new processors you will need to purchase a Socket R4 (LGA2066) motherboard. Surprisingly the prices were not too bad looking online. Link below to the PC World article for more info. Can’t wait to see one of these in action!

PC World Intel Core i9

By Kevin / Alerts • Tech News / • / 0 Comments

Vulnerability in Windows Defender

Yet another reason to make sure you have up to date commercial anti-virus software!
Granted all anti-virus software has vulnerabilities from time to time, but paid companies like McAfee and Norton have teams of people dedicated to constant testing and zero day patches (getting vulnerabilities fixed and patched as soon as they are discovered). Microsoft seems to be working quickly to get this hole in their system resolved since it was discovered by Google’s Project Zero. As stated in the article linked below, Defender is on most Windows operating systems that are out there these days. If you are someone that is running only windows defender (not recommended) Microsoft will be releasing a patch soon. If you are running commercial anti-virus such as Norton or McAfee, you should be fine. As always if you have any concerns regarding the security of your computer please feel free to reach out to KES Tech Services anytime!

Click Here for the Arstechnica article on the issue.

By Kevin / Tech News / • / 0 Comments

Android 7.0

Android’s new operating system version 7 aka Nougat is being rolled out to supporting Android devices. It looks a bit different and like all major Android releases they moved things around in places like settings and the top menu bar. It’s not bad so far on my Samsung Galaxy Note 5. There are a few bugs with some apps that haven’t been updated by their developers properly and I have run into a battery issue or two, but that’s about it. See below for for a link to the official Android page!

Android 7.0 Nougat

By Kevin / Alerts / • • / 0 Comments

Windows Vista End of Support

Hi Everyone,
I have been getting a lot of emails recently regarding Windows Vista support ending next month. Unfortunately Microsoft did not do as well of a job letting users know of the end of life status of Windows Vista like they did with Windows XP in 2014. If you still happen to have a computer running Vista it is time for an upgrade. After April 11, 2017 Microsoft will no longer be supporting Vista which means if there is a security problem they will not be releasing fixes and your operating system could become compromised. I saw this happen a lot with Windows XP when many people decided to keep running the operating system.
Please reach out with any questions or help if you are looking to upgrade your computer!
Link below for more info from Microsoft.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/22882

By Kevin / Alerts / / 0 Comments

Beware the scammers 2

The second scam I’m posting is one I ran into very recently for the first time. This scam targets users of Apple products. Now days to fully utilize an apple product you need an Apple account or (Apple ID). The goal of this scam is to hijack your Apple ID. This scam emails or calls you saying that there is a problem with your Apple ID and you need to call them back ASAP to fix it. When you call them back they ask for your Apple ID sign-in information. Once they have it they will steal your credit card information that is on file with that account and may lock you out of it. They will also look through your apple account for any other things they can take such as Pages documents, other files in your Apple Drive, etc.
Apple will never contact you in this way! Apple uses direct messaging through their devices. The direct message box looks like the pop up you see if you have ever downloaded an app and is asks for your password.
If you fell for this scam you will need to go to an Apple store or contact Apple directly to freeze your Apple ID and report what happened. You will also need to contact your credit card company and have them freeze your card that is on file with that Apple ID. Beware the scammers! As always, please email me anytime if you have questions!

By Kevin / Alerts / / 0 Comments

Beware the scammers 1

Hi Everyone! There are a lot of computer scams out there right now and I’m going to start posting the most popular ones so you can avoid them. Hopefully I can help steer you away from getting nailed by one of these nasty scams.

The first one is the classic “tech support” scam. This one has been around for a while. You get a email, call, or pop up on your computer screen saying you have a virus. You call their number, let them into your computer to “fix it”, they show you a bunch of fake problems, and charge you money for a subscription of their fake virus software. They take all of your personal documents and look through your entire computer when you let them in. If you do not keep renewing the subscription to their service or get impatient with them, they will lock you out of your computer and erase everything. Never call a number that pops up on your computer and only use name brand virus protection products. If you ever have a doubt that your computer is not running 100% or you may have a virus, call me asap! The only fix if you let them in is to wipe out your computer and start over. Plus you need to notify your bank and the credit reporting institutions because now the scammers have your payment information and any private/banking/financial information that was in your computer. Beware the scammers! Please email me anytime if you have any questions!