Tech support from your bank is supposed to help, right? Why you should be wary if they call, in one minute.
It’s summer! Protect your tech from the heat
Tech is expensive, and there are endless ways to ruin yours. Scan this list of five ways you might be destroying your phone, laptop, tablet and TV.
While we’re talking money, I put together a list of tech freebies you can grab right now.
Now, some bad news: Your smartphone hates the heat. Smartphones work best between 35 and 95 degrees. Colder or hotter, you risk hardware damage and shorter battery life.
So, what can you do when there’s record-breaking heat?
Steps to protect your phone
You can keep your phone happy, no matter the weather, with a few simple steps.
Stick to the shade. Be careful not to set your phone in the sun. Aim for the shade if you’re outside — or even in the car. Don’t set it on the sunny passenger’s seat. That’s a one-way drive to overheating.
Take off your phone case. They trap heat, which can be more or less problematic depending on the material it’s made from. Just be extra careful not to drop it and crack your screen. I keep one of these screen protectors on for this very reason.
Stuck outside or in a warm room? You want to make your phone as lightweight as you can, process-wise. Turn off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and demanding apps. Games with lots of graphics, video streaming and other resource-intensive tasks can strain your phone’s hardware and cause it to overheat.
Your computer is at risk, too
This can happen any time of year, but the hotter it is, the more likely your laptop or even desktop can overheat. And like your phone, hot temperatures can do some real damage to the internal components. Try these steps.
Bust the dust: You’ll need a small screwdriver set, a can of compressed air (or an electric duster that never runs out) and some cotton swabs.
Tech help scam uses a name you know: the Geek Squad
Is your computer running at a snail’s pace? Before you drop a chunk of cash on a new one, clear out some space from the hard drive. Tap or click here to remove the clutter that’s slowing you down.
Sometimes, the problem runs deeper than that. Your computer might not even turn on, or it’s performing erratically. That’s when you may need to reach out for help.
4 common tech support problems you can fix at home
There’s a lot to be said regarding the feeling of empowerment we earn after tackling an annoying computer problem on our own. If you’re an independent computer owner who doesn’t need a thing from anyone, you will want to check out our best advice for fixing common issues.
Google’s Dark Side: 5 search terms to avoid at all cost
Ever Google search for coupons or promo codes? You’ll probably waste 15 minutes putting in codes that don’t work. At worst, you’ll end up on a malware-infected site. Use these proven tricks to save money instead.
Streaming is expensive, so you might be tempted to look up free TV shows or movies. Don’t do it. There are seriously sketchy sites out there. I put together a list of ways to get free movies and shows you can trust.
7 things to never search for on Google
You might consider yourself a tech-savvy individual who would never fall for an online scam. You regularly mark suspicious email messages as spam, and you never click anything that doesn’t seem legitimate.
Who do you think is the most vulnerable to online scams? Tap or click here to find out which age group keeps falling for them.
PC speed boost: You can disable these services without breaking anything
Is your computer stuck in sloth mode? It could run slowly due to programs you don’t even need.
Windows 10 comes pre-loaded with many unnecessary functions that can be safely disabled to boost your PC’s speed. Like your cell phone, unused programs constantly run in the background and drag down your processor.
Tech support' asking you to download an app to your computer? Here's a new reason to say no
Struggling with an application or website might prompt you to reach for the phone and call tech support. It’s not a bad idea, and that is why the helpful tech support is there. But it becomes dicey when you search for the number online.
This screen-sharing scam can have devastating consequences
Hackers are always coming up with new ways to get your information. You may think you can spot a scam or hack at first glance, but don’t be so sure.
Cybercriminals can hide malicious code inside apps to steal data and take control of mobile phones. Security researchers recently uncovered an updated banking Trojan embedded in Android apps downloaded more than 50,000 times. Tap or click here for our report.
Need to talk to a real person? 10 hard-to-find tech support phone numbers
Not all companies make it easy to find support phone numbers on their sites. They want you to fill out a form or use the chat function, but sometimes you might really need to speak to someone.
Want to contact one of the biggest retailers on the planet by phone? Amazon doesn’t openly advertise its phone number and prefers you go through other forms such as a chat window in your Amazon account. Do you still want to make that phone call? Tap or click here for more.
Revealed: Secret words IT pros use to describe YOU
I used to be in tech support. It’s a difficult, frustrating, and often thankless job that tests the limits of your patience. But it can also be gratifying when you fix what seems impossible to the user.
Some tech issues have simple fixes you can try on your own. Tap or click here for five easy solutions to everyday tech problems.
If you own one of these external drives, here's why you should update it ASAP
Considering all the components that go into making your computer work, one of the most important is the hard drive. And by extension, it can often be the addition of even more storage through an external drive.
Because if something goes wrong and you don’t have a backup either locally or in the cloud, you could lose important files forever. Tap or click here for three ways to save lost files from a failing hard drive.
Is Best Buy's $200 annual membership worth it? Here's everything you get
Any machine, device or gadget you buy is eventually going to need maintenance and repairs. The internet provides help in forums, expert videos and replacement user manuals. But people don’t always have the time or knowledge to fix their stuff. There’s always someone out there who can help, but finding the right person at the right price can be a challenge.
Why does rebooting your computer almost always fix it?
People and computers can be very similar in some ways. After a long day, energy runs low and completing certain tasks become more difficult.
Sometimes the best thing to do is shut down and rest. Computers are the same way. When a computer is in use, applications are starting and shutting down all the time. After a while, it can really overload your computer’s memory.
This support scam tricks you with a fake antivirus bill
We all can use a little support lately. There’s enough to worry about without pulling your hair out over the tech that currently drives careers, social engagement and education.
When something goes wrong with a device or service, you reach out to customer support. But what do you do if they reach out first, seemingly out of the blue? The truth is it’s most likely a scam. Tap or click here to see how to spot these types of crooked dealings.
The hidden iPhone setting that can eat up all your storage in a flash
Remember back when you had to lug around a DSLR camera to take decent photos? Now our smartphones have cameras capable of taking gorgeous pro-quality shots.
If you know just a few hidden settings, you can go even further than the defaults built into your iPhone or Android. Tap or click here for five of my favorite hidden tricks.
Done with Facebook? How to transfer your photos and videos before you ditch your account
Are you thinking about breaking up with Facebook? You’re not alone. Many people are fed up with Facebook’s policies along with the site’s pervasive data collection and tracking that doesn’t seem to stop.
You can take control back even if you want to stay with the site. Tap or click here for 10 critical Facebook privacy and security settings you need to change right now.
2 new scams Komando readers emailed to tell me about
Everyone hates scammers, but we have to give them credit for the effort. You can only fool people for so long with the same old tech support and phishing scams, which is why creative new scams deserve extra attention and scrutiny.
5 answers to common tech questions, revealed
A woman called her company’s tech support desk, and the technician asked for her password. She replied, “Snow White Cinderella Snoopy Dopey Pinocchio Harry Potter Ariel 5.” The technician said, “That’s a great long password.” The woman replied, “Thank you! I was told my password needs to have seven characters and one number.”
Insider trick to get help from Amazon when you need it - and not get scammed
If you’ve ever tried to contact Amazon’s customer service, you know how tricky it can be. The company doesn’t do a great job of promoting its phone number, so you end up clicking from page to page trying to find it.
Instead of dealing with this frustration, many people try to Google it. Bad idea! As we’ve seen in the past, doing an online search for things like customer service numbers or tech support can lead you down a bad path. Tap or click here to learn how tech support searches can lead to scams.