QC Rent a Geek

08/14/2024

After relocating to Baton Rouge I have been struggling with my home internet. I started with Cox Internet because, well that’s what you do here. I considered switching to AT&T fiber but after watching them install neighbors and then leaving cables unburied for over two month now I decided not to get into that fight. I just set up T-Mobile Home Internet and it’s interesting. First it’s faster than I expected it to be. Faster than my Cox plan. Plus there are no data caps which my Cox plan has. Oh, and T-mobile is less costly. So, downsides? Well I can’t really use my own router. I can but it creates its own set of problems due to limitations in the control I have over the T-Mobile gateway. The gateway is easy to set up and use. Basically it works from the moment you plug it in. You can create multiple WiFi’s but they are all on the same network so there’s no real benefit except that one of my TVs couldn’t connect. So I made a wifi that is strictly 2g and it connected. So that’s the run down on T-Mobile home internet for now. Let’s see how it handles our streaming needs!

-I am,
Your Geek!

04/10/2024

Before this website goes away, I wanted to share with everyone the website that I built for an eye doctor in South Carolina. This was a temporary website for them to sell eye protection for the 2023 and 2024 eclipses. Before taking the site down, I made a short silent video so everyone can see a sample of my work. This was a fun project and I look forward to the next one!

-I am,
Your Geek!

This is a video of a website designed, built, and managed by QC Rent a Geek for EclipseSunglasses.com. The website's purpose was temporary, to provide a plat...

04/10/2024

We've moved! I am back in Baton Rouge, LA so QCRentaGeek is also now located in Baton Rouge. To all of my lovely NC and SC customers, I am still available to help you offering remote services to help with your computers and, of course, still available to do your websites. For all of my Baton Rouge contacts, I am now offering onsite services available in the Baton Rouge area. I am and I remain, Your Geek!

02/24/2024

For years I have been encouraging customers to remove Avast and other free antivirus programs from their computers. These free programs have always bothered me. Look, if it’s free there’s a reason. They have to make money off of you in some way or else it’s just not a viable business. Remember that any data collected on users is a commodity so what are you giving up when you use free antivirus? Well, here’s and example of the problem. Avast got fined by the FTC for collecting and selling your data! Geeze. This is the opposite of what we expect when installing something that we perceive to be for our security benefit. Please just bite the bullet and purchase a reputable antivirus. I use Emsisoft and it has served me well. Here’s the story: https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/tech/ftc-avast-cybersecurity-company-fine/index.html

-I am,
Your Geek!

Cybersecurity software company Avast faces a $16.5 million fine from the Federal Trade Commission after the agency filed a complaint Wednesday accusing the company of selling consumer data to third parties.

09/25/2023

I can't believe how long it's been since I have posted on this page! Oh my have I been busy. But enough of that. I wanted everyone to know about a new website that I built and we just launched. EclipseSunglasses.com is your place to buy solar eclipse sunglasses to view the next Eclipse. Did you know that there is an Annular Eclipse in October 2023? And another Total Eclipse in April 2024! You don't want to be left out of your chance to view these eclipses and protect your eyes! So take a look at my latest creation and help to support another local small business.

-I am,
Your Geek!

https://EclipseSunglasses.com

Buy your eclipse sunglasses here and get the best view of the next solar eclipse while protecting your vision.

01/17/2023

I've been spending a ton of time lately helping customers mitigate hacks, both passwords that have been compromised and social hacks. I need to take a minute to stress how important it is to get your passwords secured and turn on multi-factor authentication for your accounts. Norton Lifelock was hacked. Chrome has been compromised. LastPass data is constantly being compromised. The only one I can recommend is the one that I personally use, 1Password. All you need to remember is a single password to have access to all of your passwords on your computer and mobile device. PLEASE SECURE YOUR ACCOUNTS. Don't find yourself scrambling because you have lost access to an account that has been taken over by a hacker. Use my link to sign up now for 1Password for business and get yourself 25% off your first year! https://1password.grsm.io/tvqnqgh65eow-zvmhcv3

I am,
-Your Geek!

Attention all you spammers that are commenting on this post. I'm glad it's getting traction. Thank you for that. And also, I will promptly delete all your spammy comments and block you. Go advertise your stuff on your own page.

It looks like your browser (or a browser extension) is blocking JavaScript. 1Password requires JavaScript to function, so you’ll need to allow JavaScript for at least this domain.

01/13/2023

I'm playing around with some of the new AI tools on the Internet. I found this synthesia.io website. It uses artificial intelligence to create videos for you. Sounds pretty cool! So I tried it and it made me laugh so hard. Use case: I'm working on building out a website to teach people how to build websites. So I typed in some text that I might use to promote the new website, provided my name and email address and hit the GO button. About 2 minutes later it sent me the video the website created. Now, remember, these aren't real people. I thought the person speaking in the video felt very "robotic" to me. And, no, I'll never use the video, but it was an interesting test case.

I'm always trying to stay on top of new technologies that may help my business and yours!

I am,
-Your Geek!

Click to watch the AI video "Your AI video" generated with Synthesia STUDIO.

12/15/2022

Security Update! Look, tis the season. I hope that everyone is enjoying their holidays, but you also know that crime increases during the Holiday Season. And this Holiday is no different. Remember hackers are criminals too! So, if you haven't updated your passwords yet, YOU NEED TO. I'm working diligently to mitigate hacker attacks for clients who have not updated their passwords. Easy passwords are passwords made up of regular words, passwords that include any name, birthday, or any other item of significance to you. Hard passwords are 20 characters long and are comprised of a RANDOM set of characters, numbers, and symbols that have no meaning to you. I know you don't want to do it, but you just gotta or it could be you next.

I just spent 30 minutes on with support from GoDaddy. It took a hacker less than 10 minutes to gain access to a client's GoDaddy account and change the user's password. Now my client is locked out of the GoDaddy account. While it took only minutes for the hacker to get in, it will take several days for the account owner to regain access. In the meantime, the hacker has free range to wreak as much havoc as they desire.

I'm telling you this because my client was using an easy password because.... well... it's easier. But let me tell you, just imagine yourself in this scenario. How much time and expense would you have to deal with if you had to spend days, weeks, or even years to undo the damage done by a hacker? How much money could a hacker bleed out of your account on any website if they had access? Which is easier for you? The easy password and trouble that comes after the hacker gets you? Or the hard password that likely prevents the whole thing in the first place?

I just want you to see what GoDaddy said to me when I complained that they are taking too long to address this situation. In this conversation, he tells me to wait 24 hours. That's because I submitted the request for help 2 days ago and they take 3 days to provide an initial response. So in 24 hours when we get a response, the problem won't be solved. The solution will start being worked on.

11/16/2022

I was just made aware of a neat must-have app called What Three Words. Everyone needs this app. If you are ever in an emergency situation and need help you can use it to pin point your location for emergency services to find you. Or perhaps use it if you get separated from your group in a crowd! Every inch of the globe is separated into tiny squares. Each square is assigned a unique three word identifier so with three words you are able to give you location to anyone who needs it. Very cool. Very handy. Could even be life saving to have this app installed on your phone! For instance ///twine.widely.packaging is the three words for the trail head at one of my favorite falls in NC (High Shoals Falls). So go ahead and get it What Three Words for you! (Yep, it’s free.)

I am,
-Your Geek!

11/12/2022

Unveiling my logo!

09/19/2022

After spending lots of time looking at the best ways to manage lots of complicated passwords, I've finally decided on one. I have tried a few online password managers and kept a notebook on my with all of my passwords handwritten in it. Ultimately, the best thing is 1Password. I have it installed on my computer and cell phone. That way my passwords are entered for me on either device. Plus when I change a password in one spot it is updated in my master list so that when I'm on the other device the new password is there. No more weak passwords. No more fumbling around to figure out where that password is. And, there's the benefit of being able to share a password - securely - when I need to give the information to someone else. (Please stop texting and emailing your passwords to people.) I know I've said it before, but you just really do need to have complicated passwords. One of my clients who had not yet had a review of their passwords, had an email hacked and soon after found that $176,000 was transferred out of their bank account to an account in another country. Just don't let that be you! Sign up for 1Password for business and change all of your passwords. Set up a password policy so that people can't use Buffy87$ as a password anymore. Passwords should be random, long, and contain complications. And, yes, they can still be hacked. But not as easily. And there's more that we can do to help you secure your systems. Passwords are your basic line of defense. It's something you can take into your hands now. So do it. 1Password for Business is just $7.99 per user per month. If you have 10 or more users, contact me and I will get you all set up, trained, and deployed on 1Password. If you have less than 10 users, sign up for 1Password for Business here - now: https://1password.grsm.io/snxzlx0q1yh4

-I am,
Your Geek!