Go Tech - Your Tech Sorted

10/07/2026

Joel's Tip of the Day - Insurance Excess Scams

Another one to be aware of and warn particularly your older friends and family about it. Apparently some people will try and run scams usually over the phone but not always. They claim that you damaged their vehicle somehow, and threaten action against you unless you agree to pay their excess so their insurance will cover it. Obviously such claims should never be taken on blind faith. Cease communications with them immediately. If they are legitimate, you will soon hear from their insurance company.

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16/06/2026

Joel's Tip of the Day - Efficient Blocking on Gmail

Gmail's spam filtering is generally pretty good. However, if you keep getting spam from one particular email address, you can very quickly block them permanently using the option hidden in the three dots (aka Hamburger) menu on the top right. See the screenshot below for a visual reference.

20/05/2026

Joel's Tip of the Day - Protective Plastic and Paper

I frequently find protective plastic and paper that is intended to be removed still on customer's devices. People seem to either be too scared to remove it, or think it will protect the device better to leave it on. But that is not true. The adhesive will usually eventually fail, often leaving a sticky and difficult to remove residue. In the process of degrading, it ends up looking quite terrible as well. But this example below is particularly bad - the protective paper on Lenovo laptop power cables. These adapters do heat up. Fortunately it is very unlikely to cause a fire; it will shut itself down before it gets to that point. But what it will do is worsen the AC adapter's ability to dissipate heat and shorten it's lifespan.

13/05/2026

Joel's Tip of the Day - For Those Donating Phones

This applies to anyone giving away an old phone to a friend, family member or worth cause - sign out of your Google account (Android Phones) or Apple account (iPhones) first. Even after a hard reset, these accounts remain bound to the phone rendering them unusable for your intended recipient. If you are not sure how to do this, make an appointment with me. Only takes a minute.

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30/04/2026

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/593966/one-nz-issue-causing-widespread-internet-outage-across-entire-south-parts-of-north-island

Customers across the entire South Island and parts of the North are reporting problems.

30/04/2026

Joel's Tip of the Day - No, You Are Not Late Paying a Parking Fee (Probably)

A customer just sent me the following scam text.

"NZ Police: Final Notice – Overdue Traffic Infringement

Failure to pay by the due date may result in referral to the District Court and enforcement action, including driver licence suspension or vehicle clamping.

Make payment immediately:

https://policepublic-govt.top/NZ?vxz=SszFb2

New Zealand Police"

As always, the clue is in the domain name. policepublic-govt.top is not a legitimate New Zealand government department domain name which follow the pattern of name.govt.nz. If you get a message like this, but the domain name does not make sense, it is a guaranteed scam.

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15/04/2026

If you are running a really old Kindle (2012 or thereabouts and older) you need to read this.

The Amazon change will come into effect on May 20

08/04/2026

Samsung is discontinuing it's text messaging app and recommends people switch to Google Messages. Thanks to Mark Larsen for confirming the original app will cease functioning. If anybody needs help transitioning, feel free to make an appointment with me. Will not take long to do it.

NEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is saying goodbye its namesake texting app.

18/03/2026

Worth resharing. I often say to customers when it comes to computers look, listen and feel. If something changes about how it sounds, how it feels when you worth with it (eg: a sloppy hinge on a laptop), or how it looks (eg: case movement), don't ignore it. Make an appointment with me and get it checked out - no cost for a quick assessment, and no obligation. Ignored problems tend to become big problems.

Joel's Tip of the Day - Listen to Your Computer

Much like a car's engine, a change in how your computer sounds can indicate a problem. A cooling fan that is filled with dust and needs a clean might sound louder and whinnier. One that is damaged and needs replaced might sound harsher. Do not ignore these changes. And in the case of laptops, it feeling noticeably hotter can be indicative of a fan in need of assistance. Failing to act on such is issues will likely shorten the life of the computer, particularly if it's a laptop.

This tip was inspired by the computer I am working on this morning. The customer thought it finally died as a result of old water damage, but this badly clogged fan is a more likely culprit.

12/03/2026

Joel's Tip of the Day - Another Scam Variant

I just had a guy call me claiming to be from Spark, but rather than the usual there's something wrong with your internet routine, it was "we've detected a problem with your speed". Same logic applies. Spark (nor any other provider) will ever do this. They do not monitor your connection like this. Immediately hang up on anybody making such claims. This one was particularly clever as it was being routed through an Auckland phone number, so do not immediately assume that just because it's a New Zealand phone number that it's safe.

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