Category: Tech News

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Fakespot.com finds the fakes! Makes Amazon so much better!

I don’t hate shopping, but I really don’t have the time to browse the brick and mortar stores. Just the other day I was in Target and it took me longer to walk the store then to grab what I needed and check out. I’m all about saving time and using my time as efficiently as possible, I guess this is why I’m such a proponent of Amazon Prime and Fakespot.com.

The one problem with Amazon is you can’t touch and feel the product, there are so many sellers sometimes its hard to distinguish which items are worth my time while which are just plan junk.

Amazon Reviews

Early on Amazon made a review system to help customers identify which items and sellers are worth their time. However, as soon as the review system was launched so were the fake reviews, paid reviewers and just plain deceptive tactics sellers take to make their products seem better.

Fakespot.com

Through the magic of the Internet Fakespot.com analyzes all the reviews for a particular product through their proprietary technology and  determines which reviews are real and which are suspect. Finally at the end a letter grade is given to the product reviews. Remember Fakespot.com is NOT reviewing the product, but making an attempt to verify the validity of the reviews for that given product. Continue reading “Fakespot.com finds the fakes! Makes Amazon so much better!”

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Post # 100 My Favorite Blogs

It’s been a while since I have written a blog posting. I guess you can say life sometimes gets in the way and things we enjoy doing get pushed aside. I have a few spare moments today to sit down and write so here goes nothing.

First and foremost Webcommand blog has just turned ONE! I started writing exactly one year ago today. When I built this server I was setting a goal to write 5 blog posts a week about 260 in a year. Well I realized its harder to come up with content then I thought. I also realized it is even harder to monetize the site as well (your donations are welcome)  However I did manage to write 100 blog posts in the first year and I deem that a success!

Today on the anniversary of Webcommands birth and 100th post I would like to pay tribute to my favorite blogs and give each of them a brief shout out.

My favorite Blogs

Continue reading “Post # 100 My Favorite Blogs”

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PDF files – Latest Target of Phishing Scam

Malware and viruses are always just a wrong click away, and to keep yourself protected you need to be on top of the latest trends that are targeting home and business users. This past month I have been noticing an increase in PDF attachment attacks around the office. As with previous email based attacks this is simply the latest attempt to infiltrate your network security by using the weakest link. YOU! Yes, in my opinion humans are the most vulnerable vector to attack and successfully enter a network.

How the latest PDF Phishing scam works.

A friend, coworker or client has already been infected with malware. At this point the attacker has taken control over their system and would like to spread his virus via email. The malware quickly enumerates the victims address book and fires off emails to unsuspecting targets with the viral payload attached as a PDF document. As the recipient you open the PDF, jump through a few hoops and the attacker now has control of your computer as well as your email credentials and more.

How to spot a bogus attachment, and prevent infection.

Continue reading “PDF files – Latest Target of Phishing Scam”

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Commodore 64 Mini – Looks Like fun!

Well folks here’s another retro gaming platform revitalized into a mini computer.  The C=64 was and still is my all time favorite platform and this Mini version may be on my purchase list once its released in March. First we saw the NES Classic Edition hit stores before Christmas 2016 and it was an immediate sell out, followed by the Super NES was released last year for $199.99 at Amazon The next logical step was to release the Commodore 64 Mini!

Commodore 64 Mini – will be released with 64 games!

Continue reading “Commodore 64 Mini – Looks Like fun!”

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Remote Desktop 2012r2 – Shadowing Unspecified Error

In an effort to combat the Specter/Meltdown vulnerability Microsoft has rushed a few patches out into the wild that have been creating some odd issues on workstations and servers alike. I want to address the Unspecified Error when attempting to shadow a session in Remote Desktop 2012r2.

This is what happens when you rush a patch into the wild:

Continue reading “Remote Desktop 2012r2 – Shadowing Unspecified Error”

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Remote Fix Your Parents Computer (from the comfort of your own home)

If your parents are like mine they are tech savvy enough to get by. What I mean by that is they know how to launch Fire Fox and surf the web, maybe play checkers or chess and print a few documents when necessary. The problem arises when something goes wrong with their computer. Maybe they click on something they shouldn’t and get a virus or malware infection. Then again a Microsoft update could change some setting they are not familiar with and causes stress and a phone call to you. These days you have your own family and live an hour away from your parents and really can’t make the trip back home right now. This is where a remote solution comes into play!

Remote Solutions

Next time you are at your parents house, install one of these remote solutions and be prepared for the dreaded “my computer is broken” phone call.

Skype

Microsoft’s free video-calling software doubles as a very decent screen sharing program. Although you can’t directly interact with your friend’s desktop or take control of their computer yourself, you can view their screen as you both continue speaking, which makes the troubleshooting process more straightforward. And with the recent revamp of its appearance, Skype is easier to use than ever.
SKYPE.COM

Chrome Remote Desktop

This extension for Google Chrome can go beyond the web browser to share anything on a computer screen with someone else. Chrome Remote Desktop gives one user full control over the other computer for an experience almost like sitting in front of your mom’s  machine.
CHROME REMOTE DESKTOP

TeamViewer

Businesses use the professional TeamViewer tool, but it’s simple enough for anyone to use. And for personal,  use—like helping out Dad with computer problems, it’s also free. It allows full control of the remote system
TEAMVIEWER.US

 

Remember when installing any remote viewing tools to keep passwords safe and out of prying eyes. Other than its nice to visit Mom and Dad for a few hours and fix their computer, a remote solution can come in handy when time is short or distance is long.

Thank you for reading my blog,
Joe

 

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Apple buys Shazam for $300 Million!

Just like that, Shazam is now part of the Apple family! Rumors were churning yesterday that the deal was going down, and now it has been confirmed.  Apple released a statement saying they’ve acquired the music detection service.

I wish Shazam was still a super hero!
Umm.. wrong Shazam!

According to sources close to  the purchase Shazam was acquired for $300 million, a far cry from the $1 billion valuation obtained in 2015. It is unknown why Shazam decided to sell to Apply, however Apple has a huge hunger for any company with AI expertise. Continue reading “Apple buys Shazam for $300 Million!”

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8″ (200mm) Silicon Wafer With Amazing Chip Patterns

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if we never invented the micro chip? Micro chips and to that extent the micro processor should be hailed as one of the greatest inventions of all time. Most of our modern life would not be possible if we were not able to fit billions of  transistors in the space of a postage stamp silicon wafer. Just think about that statement for a moment! Your mobile phone would be the size of a car, your home computer the size of a room in your house. Constantly swapping out burnt vacuum tubes.

Micro chips to the rescue.

A Silicon Wafer Is Born:

Ever wondered how these chips are made? I never gave it a thought myself until I stumbled across these Silicon Wafers. For some reason or another these wafers were deemed defective so they were unable to continue the journey into computers, phones and other electronics. Some of the wafers were destined to become DRAM’s (memory) some designed to be micro processors, while others custom circuits for a specific job. Continue reading “8″ (200mm) Silicon Wafer With Amazing Chip Patterns”

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Vintage Surplus 1991 NASA Landsat Parts For Sale?

The Landsat program is the longest running satellite imagery program on Earth. The first satellite was launched on July 23rd 1972 and the most recent launch was February 11th 2013. With Landsat 9 to be launched in 2020.

The instruments on the Landsat satellites have acquired millions of images. The images, archived in the United States and receiving stations around the world, are a unique resource for global change research and applications in agriculture, cartography, geology, forestry, regional planning, surveillance and education, and can be viewed through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) ‘EarthExplorer’ website.  Landsat images are usually divided into scenes for easy downloading.

NASA Unloading Landsat Parts (New Old Stock)

Continue reading “Vintage Surplus 1991 NASA Landsat Parts For Sale?”

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Virus Email Reminder – Word Macros Are Bad!

I had a couple of users in the office this week attempt to enable word macros on a document they received in email. I try to give my users as much information as I can to avoid viruses and malware, but each week the hackers come up with additional methods to attempt unauthorized network access.

Exploit Vector:

This time around the hack was email based and the email came from a known  source.  The attacker has already gained control of the senders workstation and had sent the message as a reply to an earlier thread. Continue reading “Virus Email Reminder – Word Macros Are Bad!”

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