This blog post was written as a follow-up to my post on the widely-advertised teeth-whitening scam.
The following techniques may not enable you to sniff out every possible kind of scam — you’d need a much more sensitive “scam-meter” to sniff out the typical investment fraud, for example — but in many cases, especially those similar to the one mentioned, these checks can be really useful.
And any legitimate business should pass the first four tests. If it passes all five, that’s even better.
Scamming "white teeth" ads seem to be everywhere. Once they get your credit card info, they'll repeatedly charge you large amounts. Similar scams are based on work-at-home schemes, acai berry supplements, and other products.
If you do much web surfing, you’ve almost certainly seen the ads. They’re EVERYWHERE.
“Learn the trick, discovered by a mom, to turn yellow teeth white for under $5,” they say.
Get really white, beautiful teeth for less than $5? Now if you’re interested in improving your appearance (aren’t we all?), that sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn’t it?
Get ready to get scammed.
"Click here for the scan you computer."
I just got off the phone with a woman who told me she had a computer that was probably well-infected with viruses and other malware, and she wanted to know how much it would cost to fix it.
When I told her the likely cost, she said, “Okay, thank you,” and hung up.
Now I’m sure that Tina will find somebody to do the job (sort of) for less than I typically charge for a job of this type.
And she’ll probably get about what she paid for.
Or, maybe not.
Any good professional knows that sometimes customers shoot themselves in the foot by skimping to try and save a few bucks, and sometimes they come out really well by actually calling the professional for some help.
Recently one of my customers purchased a new computer when her old computer died. She asked me to rescue the data, if possible, from the old computer. continue reading…
One of this year’s big adware scams has been redirecting search engine results to advertising sites.
For example, you do a Google search for “cell phones.” The first search result provides a link for a major cell phone company.
Only when you click on the link, you get an advertising site instead, trying to sell you something. After all, buying some Viagra was what you really had in mind when you searched for info on a cell phone, isn’t it?
Three things.
First, if you’re thinking about buying a new computer, I’d wait for Windows 7, which is due out 6 weeks from the date of this post. This new version of Windows arrives on store shelves on October 22, 2009.
Yes, you can buy a Vista system right now with a free upgrade to Windows 7. But why go through the hassle of the upgrade process? If you wait just a few weeks, you won’t have to.
Second, you’re going to have a choice between a 32-bit system and a 64-bit system. About half of the systems currently on the market right now are one; about half are the other.
Our kids in front of the "Jolly Green Giant," Missouri's largest geocache container
“Dad, would you have any time today to do some geocaching?”
That’s a question I’ve been asked a lot lately. Unfortunately, I too often have to say no, I’m sorry but I can’t today, I’m too busy at the moment helping customers and earning a living. But whenever I can, I do make the time.
This past Sunday the entire family went geocaching.Now if you’ve never heard of this activity, you’re wondering what it is.
On May 1, 2000, the US government turned off the signal scrambling that limited the accuracy of global positioning systems. (This move paved the way for the GPS receivers that are now widely used by drivers to navigate the road.)
One of my customers had a wireless router die, so she got a new one from AT&T and tried to set it up herself.
After fiddling with it a bit, she called me, I went over and got it set up. In the process, I noticed an odd thing. Years after the arrival of uncrackable encryption, AT&T is telling their customers to set up their wireless networks in such a way that they can easily be cracked in a matter of just minutes… continue reading…
Today I had one of those strange experiences.
I was called in to look at a computer that had recently been upgraded by one of the more prominent IT shops in town.
They had upgraded Bill’s hard drive (which had previously been a tiny 20 GB), and his memory — all at a very reasonable price.
Except… now the computer would suddenly and spontaneously reboot after running for about 8 to 10 minutes. Like clockwork.
Odd…