Gilluly It Services, LLC

01/11/2026

With Microsoft ignoring blatant issues with Windows 11 to push AI use and an online-only computing experience, I'm seriously thinking about adding Linux migrations to the services I offer.

The issues:

- Hard TPM2 requirement turns otherwise fully functional computers into e-Waste.

- File Explorer performance issues, "fixed" by keeping an extra instance of it in RAM (not proper, nor performant): https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/11/22/microsoft-says-it-will-always-run-windows-11-file-explorer-in-the-background-to-load-it-faster/

- Instead of looking at fixing it properly, they may add CoPilot to it: https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/01/09/copilot-could-soon-live-inside-windows-11s-file-explorer-as-microsoft-tests-chat-with-copilot-in-explorer-not-just-in-a-separate-app/

- Closing offline account bypasses, this is hostile to people living in rural areas like ours because fast internet is not a guarantee: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blocks-more-tricks-to-skip-microsoft-account-setup-in-windows-11/

- Forcing OneDrive Backup, again, hostile to users on slow or metered internet: https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsoft-now-forces-automatic-onedrive-backups-feature-enabled-during-clean-windows-installs-users-surprised-with-desktop-icons-and-files

I can keep listing stuff, but yeah, in the next month or two, don't be surprised if Linux migrations are now a service that we offer.

12/01/2025

Microsoft: "You are no longer allowed to use a local-only account on your own computer, and CoPilot is taking over your Notepad experience."

Also Microsoft: "We allow scammers to host fake virus notifications on our Azure platform unhindered."

(Don't navigate to URL unless you know what you're doing.)

07/29/2025

To the scammer who called (again) claiming to be from both Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa, you really pi**ed me off with the "we will call you back" comment after I explicitly told you to stop calling.

You may not know my history, but back when I was underemployed and bored, I would shut down scammers' ability to call people by figuring out who their carrier is and working with them.

So to that, the bulk rate supplier your VOIP carrier uses has been identified, I sent a report to them. They'll either feed me information on who your carrier is. Scammers typically forge a "certified" lead, which allows me to learn who the scamming DBA or LLC is. I then pick the lead apart and after that the VOIP company will blacklist their PII for future contracts. If you live in a country that publicizes the name and information of the business entity, I will find that too.

I have a 92% success rate in doing this.

I'll also convey any information I find in this process to both Google and Amazon. They have good lawyers and if you catch their attention, God help you, because nobody else will be able to.

Stop preying on small businesses and not taking me seriously when I demand you to stop calling instead of asking you to. There's a reason why I'm as confident as I am, in stating it that way.

Are you going to leave me alone now?

05/30/2025

04/30/2025

This is the header of a sophisticated spoofing attempt which someone tried to make an email look like it came from my address and domain.

To email and domain admins: This is why you want to make sure your DKIM, SPF, and DMARC email server settings are on point. This would have went out successfully hadn't I set mine up and I would have never gotten this failed delivery notification.

And to the scammers trying to spoof as me: Stop it. I'm collecting as much information as possible. If you slip up once then I will personally see to it to report your scams to whatever authorities will arrest you.

Consider AOL banning your account as a shot across your bow which should happen in the next few days.

03/14/2025

PSA from the technician who accidentally repairs computers:

Don't use these cheap magnetic strips to mount components to the insides of the computer. The adhesive on these do not hold up over time.

And yes, they weren't sticking much better when they were holding the SATA SSD in. Causing it to just flop out when the side panel was removed.

I was able to secure it to the mounting plate using the two screw holes which were left on the SSD in this instance.

But if screws aren't doable for some reason, industrial grade Velcro branded stuff holds up a heck of a lot better. And isn't that MUCH more expensive than these magnetic ones.

01/17/2025

Just some tips for identifying scams in this crazy world. If you don't feel like watching the video:1. Don't listen to panic: Most of the times, scammers wil...

01/04/2025

https://www.gillulyit.com/articles/2025/01/windows-upgrade-faq/

After talking with several people I realized that there are a lot of questions regarding the Windows 11 upgrade. For those of you who don’t know, Windows 10 will no longer receive security updates after October of this year (October 14, 2025). It is recommended to upgrade to Windows 11 some time b...

08/02/2024

Might get some mousepads printed.

05/11/2024

Bitlocker is a full disk encryption service, that makes it more difficult for device thieves to retrieve sensitive files off of a computer without knowing the user's password.

As cool as that sounds, Microsoft plans on enabling it for more users in an upcoming update (most users which are on online accounts should have it enabled already, and we've seen issues causing permanent file loss as a result).

If you don't already, please start keeping your files backed up to a flash drive, external hard drive, or OneDrive. We cannot restore files for you if Bitlocker has an issue requiring a recovery key and that key is not saved anywhere.

There are some instructions in this article on how to do so, or reach out if you don't know how or can't figure it out. Setting up something like FreeFileSync is something which we can assist with during a one or two hour on-site call.

One of the major turns Microsoft is making in an upcoming update is to turn Bitlocker on by default. Even if a user has bypassed the requirement for an online account while installing Windows. If Bitlocker doesn’t engage correctly with the computer’s TPM chip during the enabling and encrypting p...

03/12/2024

Currently have a brand new NVMe drive that's ready to sell or install. Details below:

Model: Crucial P3 Plus
Generation: PCIe 4.0 NVMe
Capacity: 500GB
Condition: New
Price: $60 delivered (Belmont or Wellsville or surrounding towns), $180 installed

Link to full size picture and information page:

This is one that’s available currently due to me ordering it for a computer which only takes M2 SATA and not NVMe. This was received brand new from supplier on the evening of March 11th, 2024. Ready to sell or install.