One of the top antivirus programs for Windows 10 is Microsoft’s free Windows Defender, which is surprising to many who feel that free programs are less capable. The independent IT security institute AV-TEST found that Windows Defender was one of a few programs to attain top scores across its testing criteria. One of the least capable was Webroot’s SecureAnywhere 9.0.
Signs of a scam computer support call will often include the following:
• The caller paints a dire picture of all the bad things that will happen to your computer if you don’t immediately pay quickly to resolve the issue. They often want you to pay with gift cards.
• Often, they will ask to gain control of your computer to help you “fix” the problem and then show you the very scary-looking Event Viewer. Even on a brand new computer, Event Viewer (which tracks all sorts of results from tasks/events happening in the background) can show many errors but they are not at all critical.
The more they threaten you, the sooner you should hang up.
With more Windows 10 computers trying to update to the latest version, numbered 1903 and called the Spring or May 2019 version, some people are having problems. Make sure you have the latest updates from Check for Windows Updates, and ensure you have at least 20 to 30 GB of free space. Then double-check at the support website for the latest drivers for your computer, especially graphics drivers and BIOS updates. The update is not critical yet, as even version 1803 will still get security updates until November. You can check your version by clicking on the Windows logo/icon in the lower left corner of your screen and typing “about” in the search box to find and click on “About your PC.” Scroll down to find the version number. If you have version 1809, don’t worry until May 2020.
“Confirm your Unsubscribe” emails are a great way for email spammers to find if you really read your email. You should only trust such emails if you have just initiated an unsubscribe at a website—and even then, most of those don’t require a confirmation.
One of the top antivirus programs for Windows 10 is Microsoft’s free Windows Defender, which is surprising to many who feel that free programs are less capable. The independent IT security institute AV-TEST found that Windows Defender was one of a few programs to attain top scores across its testing criteria. One of the least capable was Webroot’s SecureAnywhere 9.0.
Signs of a scam computer support call will often include the following:
• The caller paints a dire picture of all the bad things that will happen to your computer if you don’t immediately pay quickly to resolve the issue. They often want you to pay with gift cards.
• Often, they will ask to gain control of your computer to help you “fix” the problem and then show you the very scary-looking Event Viewer. Even on a brand new computer, Event Viewer (which tracks all sorts of results from tasks/events happening in the background) can show many errors but they are not at all critical.
The more they threaten you, the sooner you should hang up.
With more Windows 10 computers trying to update to the latest version, numbered 1903 and called the Spring or May 2019 version, some people are having problems. Make sure you have the latest updates from Check for Windows Updates, and ensure you have at least 20 to 30 GB of free space. Then double-check at the support website for the latest drivers for your computer, especially graphics drivers and BIOS updates. The update is not critical yet, as even version 1803 will still get security updates until November. You can check your version by clicking on the Windows logo/icon in the lower left corner of your screen and typing “about” in the search box to find and click on “About your PC.” Scroll down to find the version number. If you have version 1809, don’t worry until May 2020.
“Confirm your Unsubscribe” emails are a great way for email spammers to find if you really read your email. You should only trust such emails if you have just initiated an unsubscribe at a website—and even then, most of those don’t require a confirmation.
If you are worried about a human listening to your smart speaker or smart phone voice commands, do a web search for how to disable companies from occasionally passing your voice commands onto humans to improve their recognition accuracy. It is not hard, but the instructions vary by device.