ER Computing

I'll be coming to the Chicago area the week of August 9th - 14th. If you or anyone you know need IT help, please let me know! https://mailchi.mp//er-computing-quarterly-trip-in-august- If you'd like to be notified of my trips, please subscribe to my quarterly newsletter. You can sign up for the newsletter on my Contact Us page: https://www.ercomputing.biz/contact

When you love what you do, it shows. I'm forever grateful for every review I receive!

ER Computing is closed for the next few days due to the loss of my wife's mother. The wake is today and the funeral is on Thursday. We'll re-open on Friday, July 3rd. Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time.

So, this happened today! Shout out to The T Shirt Shack for the awesome job with my van graphics!

Online survey for a free iPhone? What could go wrong? Read this to find out (It's not good)! https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com//anatomy-of-a-survey-sca/

It would be a good idea to avoid the hand sanitizers listed in this story: https://www.newsweek.com/fda-recommends-not-using-these-nin

If you are a Mac user, you should really check out this new Sophos post about Mac malware/adware. This should explain a lot. Stay safe! https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com//bundlore-adware-brings-/

I'm not surprised that cybercriminals are trying to take advantage of the BLM movement. Be safe. Protect yourself. Whatever you do, don't enable macros in random files!! Read more about it here: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com//crooks-hijack-black-liv/

The bad guys are still at it, even with a global pandemic. Don't let your guard down. Even if you are expecting a package, don't blindly click links in emails! Sophos breaks it down: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com//beware-the-dhl-delivery/

One IT term that often has people asking "What's that?" goes by the initials VPN which stands for Virtual Private Network. The good folks at Malwarebytes did a nice post about what a VPN is, how it works, and why you'd want to use on. Note that they also happen to sell a VPN product, but still, the article is worth reading. https://www.malwarebytes.com/what-is-vpn/

If you run Wordpress site, one of the biggest challenges is keeping your plugins up to date. You should audit your plugins at least twice a month at a minimum. Here's a perfect example of why that is so important: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com//flaw-in-defunct-wordpre/

If you are the type of person that uses the same 2 or 3 passwords for everything, now would be a great time to check out a password manager! Especially if you are stuck at home with nothing to do. I prefer LastPass. You can check them out at www.lastpass.com

I've posted about this before but in this age of people actually using their webcams, it's extra important. Sextortion scams are on the rise. Read about it here and stay safe! https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com//sextortion-emails-and-p/

If you are new to Zoom, check out Zoom's support page for enabling virtual backgrounds. Especially handy if you are in a cluttered room. Pro tip: If you don't like virtual backgrounds, turn on your camera prior to a meeting to make sure there is nothing in the background that you'd rather not have people see. https://support.zoom.us//arti/210707503-Virtual-Background