BrokenPC Herts

28/05/2026

A few of my customers have seen this notification on there PC and found it a bit worrying. This is what I have explained to them. A BitLocker recovery key is a 48-digit numerical password required to unlock a drive during security alerts or hardware changes, with data access permanently blocked without it. The key is automatically generated during PC setup and can typically be found by signing into a personal Microsoft account. You can find your recovery key on the Microsoft Account website.

28/05/2026

Support for Windows 10 ended on 14 October 2025, unless you extended updates for one extra year until October 2026. After that, Microsoft will stop providing security updates, leaving PCs more vulnerable to hackers.

Some Windows 10 PCs can upgrade to Windows 11 for free, but older devices — especially those originally running Windows 7 or 8.1 — may not meet the requirements.

As a short fix individuals can extend support until October 2026 giving time to decide on a new laptop or desktop PC.

03/01/2023

The speeds are amazing!

Despite fast internet and cheap cloud storage, nothing beats a good external hard drive. Whether you’re backing up data or taking your gigs on the go, one of these brilliant storage devices is sure...

03/01/2023

According to Computer Active Magazine Issue 647 (3rd January 2023) Windows 7 Users are advised to upgrade or lose support.

05/03/2021

I visited a customer today who had a problem connecting to her Wi-Fi with a number of her devices. In the list of Wi-Fi networks that were showing, either the identity of her router did not show up, or the device was connected, but with a weak signal.
This is a common occurrence, and the reason why this happens is because the security of the Wi-Fi signal is very high risk. The router that she currently used is at least 8 years old and the software had not been updated. Usually, broadband providers send to their customers new routers every 3 or 4 years, and so these routers have the new software installed. I found out that day, the customer’s broadband provider had completely stopped delivering the replacements. The result being that the older routers contained archaic software that affected the security of her Wi-Fi.
From a technical point of view, the name of the protocol for the updated software is WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), the versions that is at risk are WEP, WPA and WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access).
The way round this problem is to connect a device via ethernet cable to the router and reconfigure the router to the WAP version. Job Done!

08/02/2021

You may have heard of Ransomware, or you have or someone you know has been stung by this nasty procedure of extorting money from you. If you think that you won't be caught out by these evil thieves, think again. They lead you into thinking that you are dealing with a genuine department of Microsoft or similar and before you know it they have robbed you of £300 and upwards.
In the past few weeks I have had at least 4 customers that have come to me saying that they have been attacked by this malicious process. For a start they login and takeover your system, either encrypting your files or installing viruses. PLEASE BE ON YOUR GUARD!

Ransomware is a malicious software that seeks to encrypt files and hold them for ransom. Users must pay the hackers to regain access to files like picture, videos or important documents.

Infections can spread via spam e-mails, by downloading attachments, or by visiting infected websites and installing malicious applications without letting the user know what is happening on his system. Ransomware can have one of the following behaviours to prevent the user from accessing his system:

• Encrypts sensitive and personal files without giving the possibility of decryption until a ransom is paid by the victim.

• Locks the computer’s screen and displays a message asking for money. In this case, no file is encrypted, but the user is forced to proceed with the payment.

• Blocks applications from running.

To help protect yourself from this scenario, Bitdefender has it's own remediation software.

07/02/2021

I have been receiving many Windows 10 devices with Wifi problems, unresponsive or slow apps, printers not connecting, the list goes on. This could be down to one thing: Windows 10 is not up to date. The myth is, that ‘Windows 10 automatically updates’. I have news for you: WINDOWS 10 DOESN’T ALWAYS AUTOMATICALLY UPDATE!!!!
The advice is to check it yourself, or you could have real problems.
Process for updating Windows yourself:
1. Click on the cog(settings) icon, which appears when you click the start menu button.
2. The settings menu appears. Click on Update & Security
3. Then click on Check for Updates.
4. Accept the updates
Your device may have to be restarted a couple of times. It’s that simple.

05/02/2021

This set of Devolo Magic devices contributed to a Home WiFi/Broadband network that I created last week at a large house in the local area. The broadband provider was a company called Three UK that enables clients to receive an Internet service from the mobile phone network. The house in question had previously received only a broadband speed of 11mbps. The speed that enters the house is now almost 80mbps.

The WiFi network that we setup allows the residents to watch from any of 3 smart TVs(Netflix, Amazon Prime, BritBox etc.) without buffering. In the office upstairs meetings can be seamlessly held via Zoom or Skype. Mobile phones can tap into WhatsApp, Facebook and so on, via WiFi. The residents are also looking forward to the better weather where the can use their iPads and Galaxy Notes in the garden on WiFi. This is a very cost effective method of going online and accessing your information, entertainment and working schedules. Oops! I almost forgot, the school children can access their Zoom classes always, so there are no excuses.