The Megabytes part of Money and Megabytes! Joe usually posts about computer repair, internet freedom, and robotics. But every once in a while there’s something about the great outdoors.
It’s … been a while since I wrote here. I’m sorry. But hey, good news, Megabytes is coming back to Money & Megabytes! And since Joey needed a well-deserved break from posting this week, I figured now’s as good a time as any. It’s been a busy few months, with some personal computer projects, speccing … Continue reading "Keeping Private Data Private: The Art of [REDACTED]"
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In this series, we’re talking about some specific types of malware that I dealt with during my time at the IT Help Desk. Today’s post is about Ransomware. Sounds pretty scary, right? Well don’t worry, it’s just as scary as it sounds, and it is easily my most hated form of malware. What is Ransomware? … Continue reading "Beyond the Virus: How a Ransomware Infection Will Cost you $500+"
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Nothing quite strikes fear into the hearts of computer users quite like the word “Virus”. But viruses are only a small subset of malware. In this series, we’ll take a look at the lesser-known but far scarier types of malware. Today, we’re talking about the type of Malware that turns your computer into a mindless … Continue reading "Beyond the Virus: How Botnets can Wreak Havoc on the Internet"
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I hate using broken things. But I’m too stubborn to just not use something that’s broken. The only other option is to fix it. So I never leave the apartment without a couple basic tools. #1: Folding Knife. Need to cut some rope? Open a package? Strip electrical wires? Pry something open? A nice sharp … Continue reading "What’s on my Flash Drive?"
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Today’s Wildcard Wednesday is a cautionary tale, and one that doesn’t have an ending just yet. About a year and a half ago, I picked out a laptop for my sister who was just entering undergraduate college. The research I put into that was pretty much verbatim what went into the Computer Buying Guide I … Continue reading "Wildcard Wednesday: Don’t buy computers from Amazon!"
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I’ve been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately, and I’ve been seeing a lot of videos sponsored by different VPN (Virtual Private Network) providers. And in every one of those sponsored spots, I hear the same kind of things: “Protect your online banking with a VPN!” “Without a VPN, your internet traffic can be … Continue reading "What is a VPN?"
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I spent a lot of time thinking about backing up my data yesterday. Luckily, it’s not because I had a drive failure and I lost data. No, actually the opposite. I’m running out of space on one of the services I use for my backups. Since it’s on my mind, I figure this would be … Continue reading "Backups"
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So this question came from Joey: Why does restarting a computer fix so many problems? If you’ve got a question about anything computer related, ask in the comments! Hello, IT, have you tried turning it off and back on again? – Roy, The IT Crowd When a computer isn’t working right, most people know that … Continue reading "Why does rebooting a computer fix problems?"
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Last week, I talked about my Primary Laptop, and alluded to how it’s note-taking job has been outsourced to a new computer. Today, we’re taking a look at my dedicated notes laptop, my 2010 Fujitsu Lifebook T-730. “Now hold up, why do you have another computer? Didn’t you just say that you should use your … Continue reading "Joe’s Computers: Fujitsu T-730"
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All the advice in this computer buying series has been centered around one key assumption: you will use the laptop you’re about to buy for at least 8 years. For many, this sounds like an unreasonable assumption. After all, isn’t your computer outdated as soon as you walk out of the store? Doesn’t Moore’s Law … Continue reading "Joe’s Computers: 2012 Sony VAIO"
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