Harmon Computer Services

06/01/2025

Everyone needs to see this and share the information within to help fight this heinous crime!

www.shamrockfoundation.org

05/08/2020

For those with Windows 10, try this:

Press +V, then click "Turn on"

Presto-changeo: you now have a clipboard history!

If it doesn't work for you, be sure you are updated to at least build 1809.

10/24/2018

Think you're getting a really good deal when you buy a license key online? Think again and think differently.

Microsoft charges $200 for a Windows 10 Professional product key. But, with a quick search online, you can find websites promising Windows 10 Pro keys for $12 or even less. That’s a huge saving—but don’t fall for it.

10/21/2018

Today's Internet often seems like the Wild West - lawless and dangerous. Threats appear from every possible direction and some are very compelling. Most of them, however, have the same goal - they want to get your money!

One relatively new method used to accomplish this has been called sextortion. This can take the form of a text message, but is more commonly seen as an e-mail. Here's how it works: the extortionist looks for an e-mail address and password on a website that specifically lists accounts that have been compromised, such as found at https://haveibeenpwned.com/. After finding the this information, they carefully craft a threatening e-mail that uses the discovered password to convince you of its authenticity. This e-mail threatens that they have images or videos of you performing some illicit and embarrassing activity, such as watching videos from an adult website that they claim uses your password. Finally the e-mail offers to send this information to people on your e-mail contact list if you don't submit an anonymous payment, which can be several thousand dollars - usually in bitcoin currency.

The most important thing to remember if you have this attempted against you is that this is a SCAM and they don't have anything to back up their threats. DO NOT PAY or click on any links in the e-mail and do not respond to it. Simply delete the e-mail. If you have any further concerns, contact me and I'll be happy to discuss this with you.

09/21/2018

Have you ever thought that malware on your PC is only an inconvenience? Ever think that you should just hold off on calling in a professional when something odd is going on? Well, let me tell you a story that might change your mind...

A few years back, I was called to service a customer's computer that was operating sluggishly. I started by checking some of the usual causes of such an issue, such as a lack of disk space and an excess of temporary files. While going through the computer's hard drive, I came across something appalling - child po*******hy. I had worked with the customer, who owned this company, for years and really didn't suspect that he was the cause. I ran malware scans and ultimately found that a type of malware called a remote access trojan (RAT) was present on the system. A RAT, just as you might expect, permits a person to remotely operate a computer behind the scenes so there is no obvious evidence to the computers' rightful user. The intruder had installed a type of file sharing software to permit the uploading and downloading of child po*******hy on my customer's computer.

My customer was wise in reaching out to me as soon as he did, because it's likely that if he had delayed much longer the outcome could have been much more grim. It's quite likely that he would have had a visit from the FBI asking him why he was trafficking in child po*******hy. They would have seized all of his office computers, including his server, as part of the investigation. Even if he had been exonerated of any charges, his entire business would have been shut down for possibly weeks while the investigation was conducted. His employees would have to go without pay, possibly forcing them to find other work. Ultimately, such an extended shutdown could cause a company to completely fail.

It was suspected that the RAT found it's way onto my customer's computer through the installation of a gaming cheat program. The customer permitted the installation and - by extension - permitted all that the cheat program would do, such as install a hidden RAT.

The moral of this story is: Don't download and install software from unknown sources on your PC and do not hesitate to get professional help when your computer is not operating properly. After all, you never know when something much more serious is going on...

06/13/2018

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03/27/2018

This is something really cool that's just now coming out of beta.

Windows 10’s Anniversary Update added support for Linux environments to Windows 10 back in 2016. But don’t be deceived: this is more than just a Bash shell. It’s a full compatibility layer for running Linux applications on Windows.

01/18/2018

I hate those notifications wanting to send you alerts, etc. Here's how to deal with them!

11/07/2017

Here's a useful tip to block or whitelist wireless SSIDs. Very handy!

Does your neighbor have an obnoxious Wi-Fi network name? You can hide it from the Wi-Fi menu on your computers, preventing it from showing up. You could go even further and block all other Wi-Fi networks, too, only allowing your PCs to see and connect to the Wi-Fi networks you allow.

08/18/2017

If you use someone else's Wifi, especially in public, you really should read this - before it's too late.

You may think you're safe in that busy café or big-name hotel, but public WiFi is a major liability, writes Kim Komando.

08/12/2017

For those in network security, the videos at www.youtube.com/hak5 are pure gold! Check them out!

Put together by a band of IT ninjas, security professionals and hardcore gamers, Hak5 isn't your typical tech show. We take on hacking in the old-school sens...