Computer Doctor

01/04/2025

Let’s welcome in 2025 with joy and excitement for a prosperous new year. Sadly, the bad guys are setting records scamming the population into losing billions of dollars exceeding last year‘s totals. Let’s reiterate some basic principles: never call or click on links in an email that you do not know who they are from and check the legitimacy of the FROM email address by clicking on it to see that it is valid… if you ever have any questions about the contents of the email, ALWAYS go DIRECTLY to the website (do NOT search for it, go there with it's web address...) and check your account to ensure all is safe and secure.

Also, having a good back up plan and updated antivirus and malware programs on every computer is essential for a safe experience.

Another critical element to keeping you secure is to CHECK your phone number and registered contact email address inside your online accounts - too many times the phone number and/or email address is NOT current

(you've moved, changed emails etc.) which can cause problems when trying to secure your account.

Finally, WRITE DOWN in ONE, secure location, your login account passwords and keep it in a secure location.. Happy computing! Ron

ComputerDoctor, 508-364-6939

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10/05/2024

Welcome to the Fall season here is New England.... I am still encountering people who are NOT backing up their data from their computers, and then get upset when their system fails beyond repair and those baby pics, graduations, wedding pictures et al are gone! Be safe and prepared for instances beyond your control! Most computer storage systems will last 5-7 years on average - don't be caught without a comprehensive backup; OneDrive and iCloud do NOT backup everything - take control of your computer environment and it's data! Call us if you need help! Ron 508-364-6939

09/10/2024

It seems that all the news is either about AI or Smart Phones…. Yikes! AI is here, in all it’s interesting forms – but is it nothing more than Google Search on steroids? It is scary now that your kids (or anyone) can ask AI to write a paper on some topic or give research ideas and results without the human doing any of the work! Not sure this is great for young people’s brain development!
On the Smart Phone front – make sure you have documented (on paper, in a book, in a secure file on your phone, or otherwise) you user name AND password for your phone’s account, whether it be Apple or Android AND make sure the password is complex enough to divert hackers and other propeller-heads from figuring it out! Same for the password for your Internet service…. Change the WiFi password that comes with the modem so it cannot be exposed to others. If you have Comcast service your tv can now easily show you, through a voice request, what your WiFi password is, so make your WiFi password as complex as you want it to be! Enjoy this great weather! Ron 508-364-6939

08/06/2024

As new technology evolves, faster than we can keep up with, the basics STILL come into play for a safe and secure technology experience. For example, use two-Factor authentication when it asks you; use different passwords for EVERYTHING! (aka, have a password keeper book or use a password manager on ALL your devices!), Backup your personal information to an external or personal cloud device to insure you do not lose anything [ those wedding, vacation and baby pictures are priceless!! ] - note Apple's iCloud, and Microsoft's OneDrive and the like may NOT capture it all! If you have a Windows computer make sure you ALSO have a password created IN ADDITION to a login pin, as a "pin" will not allow for data recovery in most cases.

A quick tip - when your printer is suddenly not printing, check to see that the computer AND the printer as ON the SAME network; if not, nothing will print! Call if we can help - 508-364-6939

Cheers, Ron

07/07/2024

Now be honest, how many DIFFERENT passwords do you use? Many of us use the same password across multiple websites – and this a ‘soup du jour’ for the hackers out there. There was recently uncovered by Cybernews a file containing 10Billion, yes Billion, passwords users have used. This file which is posted online on a popular hacking forum. is a compilation of multiple password breaches over the several years.
First and foremost, make EACH password you do use somewhat complex, mix letters and numbers and special characters, and NOT just add an “!” after your phone number!! Secondly, where ever you use the SAME password on a different site, change it to something else ASAP. Yes we have too many passwords to remember – either document them in a secure (password protected) file or use a password manager to help you keep track. Many password managers, once the content is created by you, will interface directly with websites so there’s no typing on your part. This is both handy and secure,
Changing just one letter or number in your password will continue to invite hackers to use and compromise your personal data.
To see if your password has been ‘leaked’ go to cybernews.com/password-leak-checker.
Be safe. Cheers, Ron

06/20/2024

If you are alive and listening to online news, tv news or any trade papers you will be inundated with AI !! In one sense it's scary - will AI take over my systems? my personal input? my communications? Will it "act" like me (or BE me!?) Well, in 2024 and the immediate future I'd say NO, BUT it can CONTRIBUTE to your thought process (i.e., ChatGPT), help you solve problems, and can get you started in writing that novel. New computer systems (specific ones, not all) are being loaded with "AI" engines to help this along, but it is FAR from perfect and far from a day-to-day reliance on what's important to you. We are FAR away from the 'machines' doing all the work PEOPLE do for thinking tasks... manual tasks (ie., assembly line stuff) are already automated [ to our benefit! ], putting people's minds on more difficult tasks.

Imagine 25 years ago and you wanted to buy something.. anything.... a car, a sweater, a vacation spot... remember the process? Today, it's (sometimes) a few clicks away using this thing called "the Internet".. but YOU are still doing the reviews, the analysis and purchasing... AI can (and will) assist you with these tasks as AI gets smarter, the question is what will OUR personal involvement be (because we do NOT want the machines to run everything without our input, right?)...

There really is too much talk and emphasis on AI right now because we do NOT know HOW it will impact us, impact our work and in our daily lives. Stay positive! Cheers, Ron

05/29/2024

We all know that technology Is changing all the time, like it or not! The introduction of AI “everywhere” can be quite annoying since most of us do not “ask for it” when doing our online searches. And those additional search results may not be meaningful to you. You can remove the “AI influence” on your Google search results but, sadly, it is not an easy task since it is so new to our online world. To remove “AI generated search results” from your Google efforts contact us – we can help!
Cheers, Ron 508-364-6939

05/04/2024

What part of your technology do you love the most and care about the least
no it’s not your phone charger. It’s your bookmarks! Bookmarks is where you keep a link to your most favorite websites and with the click of one button you can get to that site and login and be on your way!
We have recently seen a rash of "lost bookmarks" in the browsers and even though Chrome or Firefox or Edge are supposed to back them up - if they don’t, you will have lost literally years of favorite links / places.
However, there is an easy solution! Once in a while, say once every six months, you should export your bookmarks through the tools available in your browser, so that they are saved into a file on your computer outside of the browser.
Assuming you back up your computer, those valuable bookmarks are now saved forever and ever, and easily retrievable! (put back into the browser when needed if they are lost.)
There is also an alternative method to get your bookmarks from one browser into another very easily by exporting the existing bookmarks from one browser, and then importing that saved bookmark file into another browser.
Contact if you need help. Cheer, Ron 5083646939 hashtag

05/04/2024

What part of your technology do you love the most and care about the least

no it’s not your phone charger. It’s your bookmarks! Bookmarks is where you keep a link to your most favorite websites and with the click of one button you can get to that site and login and be on your way!

We have recently seen a rash of "lost bookmarks" in the browsers and even though Chrome or Firefox or Edge are supposed to back them up - if they don’t, you will have lost literally years of favorite links / places.

However, there is an easy solution! Once in a while, say once every six months, you should export your bookmarks through the tools available in your browser, so that they are saved into a file on your computer outside of the browser.

Assuming you back up your computer, those valuable bookmarks are now saved forever and ever, and easily retrievable! (put back into the browser when needed if they are lost.)

There is also an alternative method to get your bookmarks from one browser into another very easily by exporting the existing bookmarks from one browser, and then importing that saved bookmark file into another browser.

Contact if you need help. Cheer, Ron 5083646939

04/23/2024

As we use our computer systems, whether a PC or an Apple, you DO want to keep it updated. Having a reliable backup is very important before venturing into the realm of an operating system update. Make sure your backup is current BEFORE doing ANY OS update, regardless of the system. Alas, not all Apple computers CAN be updated to newer versions, especially if the Apple system is made before 2015 (9 years or older) ! The idea of an update on ANY computer should revolve more around the ‘resident’ hard drive in addition to the model year. Industry averages of hard drive life expectancy is 5-7 years for traditional SATA drives, meaning it’s performance will decrease more and more over time, slowing down your system, and will eventually stop working completely (a sad day!). As your computer approaches the 5-7 year age window, replacing it may be a better initial option than the OS upgrade for continued, optimal performance. Cheers, Ron 508-364-6939

04/11/2024

As you can imagine, Windows keeps updating it's OS.. but right now another significant update is now available for Windows 11, with more than a hundred security fixes included in the package.... security is always a concern SO if the pop-up appears to DO the update, please do.. but FIRST, make sure you have a good and complete backup of your system just in case! We are seeing with Apple also several new OS updates - do those too as long as it is not a "major" update change (within 12.x or 13.x or 14.x is OK...) BUT going from OS 10.12.x to two levels up (say to 12.x or higher) may not be good idea as they system will (probably) not be able to handle it.. check with us first ! Cheers, Ron

03/20/2024

you don’t expect problems. you are going along everything is working great and then the inevitable happens. Your service provider asks you to update your password or you’re using an alternate device and it wants you to sign in with your password…. and these processes ask you to verify that it is really YOU! now the problem begins because the phone number in your account is either your old home phone, a dead cell phone or your brother’s cell phone and he’s out of the country!! The bottom line lesson here is that you need to go into ALL of your online accounts to manually review and verify your profile - phone numbers and addresses that are associated with your account - so that you do not get “held up” should a problem arise. It will take some time, but well worth it in the end.. good luck!