Performancing Metrics

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Over the Phone Fraud

So, I helped someone the other day who had recently been scammed by a company into paying for a copy of Microsoft Security Essentials, and who then used remote desktop to install it.

But that wasn't the worst of it.  They had also installed a key logger to capture his passwords, compromising his email account, which is a secondary mess this customer will now have to deal with.

Now, there are a lot of computer problems that can be solved by technicians and software, but nothing is more power or helpful at keeping your computer and personal identity safe than keeping yourself informed.  If someone calls and starts telling you how badly your computer is infected, ask yourself, "how does he know how many viruses my computer has?"  And if someone you didn't hire starts telling you you need to let them install a new program, question that, too.  Hop on Google real quick and look up the name of the company, or even the software they are peddling,  it may just save you a lot of money and heartache in the end.

Monday, February 16, 2015

New Galaxy Alpha

So just picked up a new phone the other day after my temporary disposable smart phone crapped out on me.  And, as you see from the title, it's a Galaxy Alpha.  It was a toss up originally between the Alpha and the S4 Mini, but after a debate over cost, size, and computing power, the costlier, slightly larger Alpha won out.  And I'm glad it did.

Usually, size is my first issue with a phone.  Bucking current trends, I don't like a massive smart phone, preferring something that can easily hide within a shirt pocket and not be noticed.  The Alpha really pushes this envelope for me, being closer to a standard smart phone in size.  But only five days later, I'm hooked.

The features that did win out kind of surprised me, too.  The screen is amazingly crisp and vibrant, the best I've ever seen on a phone.  The sound quality is awesome, too, making entertainment features fantastic.  And at 32gb of storage space, there is 0lenty of room for games, video and music.

Needless to say, I'm sold on the Alpha, and may just be a devoted fan of Samsung in general.