Inetum Computing Inc.

01/20/2022

Purolator

Wow! Great service Purolator!!!
On Dec. 14, 2021, I ordered $500 worth of RAM from a Vancouver tech distributor. My package left their warehouse on Dec. 14 and then disappeared within the "Purolator network" (natural disaster). No worries; I was in no rush.
Fast forward almost 4 weeks and several calls to Purolator, only to be told "the package has been lost".

One day short of 5 weeks, the package showed up on my door step today. To shave a few seconds off the nearly 5 week delivery time frame, the local Purolator driver decided to throw my $500 of RAM the last 8 feet to my front step / front door (as the attached video will show).

Thanks Purolator for shaving off those extra few seconds and treating my package like crap!

09/14/2021

Apple Security Flaw:

Apple has released an emergency security patch for iOS and macOS. You can read up on the issue everywhere but here is a CBC News link:

Apple released an emergency software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect Apple devices without any user action.

07/19/2018

I have had a few calls and email messages today regarding a new Bitcoin extortion SCAM (known as "sextortion"). Seems that hundreds of thousands of email messages were sent out yesterday and today. The bulk of the message might seem bogus but seeing one of your usernames / passwords in the subject of the message may be concerning.

Definitely DO NOT pay if you receive one of these email messages. If you receive an email like the one shown below, and one of your usernames / passwords are listed, ensure you change that password where ever you use it.

The article in the link below explains that your username and password were most likely harvested from a website hacked months or years ago. I you still use the same password from years ago, on all the websites you have a password, then that old password is still current.

A very good article about the SCAM can be found at Krebs On Security:
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/07/sextortion-scam-uses-recipients-hacked-passwords/

The email message sent looks much like text below. I have hidden the username, password, and the recipient of the email message in the sample message below.

------ sample sextortion scam start -------
From: Oralle Glazebrook
Date: Thu, Jul 19, 2018, 3:22 AM
Subject: -
To: ****************@**********.com

Lets get straight to the purpose. You don't know me and you're most likely wondering why you're getting this e mail? Not a single person has paid me to check about you.

In fact, I actually installed a software on the X streaming (adult p**n) site and do you know what, you visited this web site to experience fun (you know what I mean). While you were viewing video clips, your web browser started functioning as a Remote Desktop having a keylogger which provided me with access to your screen and also cam. Just after that, my software obtained your entire contacts from your Messenger, Facebook, and e-mail . After that I made a double video. First part shows the video you were watching (you have a nice taste lol), and second part shows the view of your web cam, and it is you.

You do have a pair of possibilities. We are going to check out these possibilities in particulars:

Very first option is to just ignore this email message. In this case, I most certainly will send your actual tape to each one of your contacts and thus consider about the awkwardness you will definitely get. Furthermore if you happen to be in a committed relationship, just how it will eventually affect?

Other alternative should be to compensate me 3000 USD. We will call it a donation. In this scenario, I most certainly will quickly discard your video. You will continue on with your way of life like this never happened and you never will hear back again from me.

You will make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search "how to buy bitcoin" in Google search engine).

BTC Address to send to: 16VXvL7MdZ4wfoQzrNfXbdfVdRHt7oVm6w
[case sensitive copy and paste it]

In case you are planning on going to the cop, very well, this mail can not be traced back to me. I have dealt with my moves. I am also not trying to ask you for money so much, I wish to be rewarded. I've a specific pixel within this mail, and at this moment I know that you have read through this message. You now have one day in order to pay. If I do not get the BitCoins, I will, no doubt send your video recording to all of your contacts including relatives, co-workers, etc. Nonetheless, if I receive the payment, I will destroy the video immidiately. This is the non:negotiable offer so do not waste my personal time & yours by responding to this mail. If you really want proof, reply Yes! then I will certainly send your video recording to your 5 friends.
------ sample sextortion scam end -------

Here’s a clever new twist on an old email scam that could serve to make the con far more believable. The message purports to have been sent from a hacker who’s compromised your computer and used your we**am to record a video of you while you were watching p**n. The missive threatens to release t...

04/12/2018

Over the past few years, I have experienced many clients scammed in similar manner. Originally it used to be scammers cold calling phone numbers and saying "Your Windows computer is infected and I am here to help". (A little funny when the household is only using Mac's).

However, now the scammers have websites that hijack your web browser and generate popup warnings, such as "Your computer is infected. Call this number and we will help!!!' The most recent example was +1-833-889-1888 Pop-Up (https://www.removeallvirus.com/remove-1-833-889-1888-pop-virus-pc). The client loaded the remote access software but the scammed was stalled when they demanded a credit card number. On the downside, it took a few hours to ensure the remote access software was completely removed and the client had to change many of their passwords.

Best course of action is the tips included in the Dell web article. The article is focused on U.S. computer users so another great resource is the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre (CFAC) at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm.

If you ever have a pop-up asking you to call a number, jot down the number, go to another computer (or use your smartphone) and Google the phone number. In most cases, the scammers phone number is well documented and you will find plenty of posts about the scam and the type of issue that caused the pop-up (aka "Fake Alert").

And don't be embarrassed to ask someone who knows more about computers. The majority of IT support people hate these scams and are willing to help others to ensure the scammers' efforts are fruitless.

For the past several years, we’ve highlighted to customers the technical support scams plaguing companies around the world, including in the IT industry. These scams are not new. Fraudsters continue to design ways — from fake websites to phishing emails— to steal personal information for crimi...

04/03/2018

If you look closely at this story, Tim Horton's Point of Sale terminals are running Windows XP. Windows XP support was officially dropped by Microsoft on April 8, 2014. Why is ANY retailer using Windows XP after it is no longer supported? I guess I will only use CASH at Tim Horton's until they upgrade to a secure Point of Sale. I would strongly suggest any consumer use "cash only" if a retailer is using Windows XP to process payments.

A group representing a large cohort of Tim Hortons franchisees is threatening legal action against the coffee chain’s parent company after a computer virus knocked cash registers offline at an unconfirmed number of stores.

11/29/2017

I used to recommend Avast Free for home users for antivirus protection. Recently I have found that the free products available (AVG Free, Avast Free, Avira Free, etc) are now so overloaded with advertising, they seriously impair computer performance. Second issue are the free products often lag 24 to 48 hours in their virus protection.

Inetum Computing mostly deals with corporate networks and therefore we implement paid, subscription-based antivirus products. However, many of our corporate clients also have home computers. Since these computers are typically are not used for commercial purposes, free antivirus applications used to be the norm. But given the reasons above, I can no longer recommend any free antivirus products for home or personal use.

For most corporate clients, I recommend using ESET security products (https://www.eset.com/ca/home/for-windows/). The ESET product line, based on NOD32, are small, fast Antivirus & Internet Security applications, which seem to have minimal impact on overall computer performance.

For most Home or Personal use, I would recommend ESET NOD32. If you want a little bit more protection, you could go with next level up ESET Internet Security. I know both products are drastically reduced this week. You can get 3 years protection with ESET Internet Security for $59 CAD, which works out to $20 a year (Cheap!). I rarely endorse products online, but at that price, I am posting this on Facebook instead of mass emailing clients.

Please feel free to email or message me if you need help securing your home computer.

Download ESET antivirus, virus scanners and internet security solutions for Windows. Protect your PC with award-winning and proactive virus protection. Try now for free.

06/08/2016

Microsoft Edge Browser - Windows 10

With many people upgrading to Windows 10, or purchasing new computers with Windows 10 pre-installed, I have heard many complaints from clients about Microsoft's new web browser, Edge. Seems the problems with Edge is it's more secure than old Internet Explorer. While security is important, many sites that use Microsoft's ActiveX or Java will fail to work with Microsoft Edge.

It is possible to reconfigure Edge to work with ActiveX websites but there is a much easier solution. Internet Explorer still exists in Windows 10 and it will work with your older websites that still use ActiveX. Unfortunately, Microsoft has made finding Internet Explorer in Windows 10 a little tricky.

If you click on the Cortana Search field, just to the right of the Start button, and type "Internet Explorer", it will show as a Desktop app. Right-click on this and you can choose "Pin to Taskbar". Now the old familiar Internet Explorer icon will appear somewhere to the right of your Start button.

Click on this new icon and Internet Explorer 11 will open. I know, not very exciting but if you have a website that relies on ActiveX, this is one way to get Windows 10 to co-operate.

Of course, if you just hate Edge and don't want to make the switch to Chrome or Firefox, use this method to revert back to Internet Explorer 11.

I included a couple images to help show the process.