by Dave Moore, 05/31/2020 With the realms of computers, the Internet, and technology in general changing all the time, people often ask how I keep up with it all. Of course, nobody can keep up with everything, but I work hard to keep up with enough to run a computer...

by Dave Moore, 05/24/2020 Often I am asked to perform some basic computer forensic analysis for clients who want to know if their computers have been used for "illicit" purposes. One client, the owner of a popular hairdressing salon, needed to know if her employees...

by Dave Moore, 05/17/2020 Smart phones, iPhones, Windows phones, Blackberry phones, cell phones, Android phones, it seems that everyone has some sort of a mobile phone. No longer just a "phone," though, your cell phone is actually a powerful computer that just also...

by Dave Moore, 5-10-20 If Cox is your Internet service provider (ISP) and you use their "Panoramic Wifi gateway" equipment, Cox is going to start giving away the service coming to your home to other Cox customers in the neighborhood, for free. Cox customers recently...

by Dave Moore, 5-3-20 Want to know what Apple knows about you, and is willing to admit to? Visit privacy.apple.com. Sign in. Enter any codes they may send you. Go to "obtain a copy of your data." Choose to download your data, and then, sit back and wait. "At Apple, we...

by Dave Moore, 4-26-20 The wise sage once told me, "Dave, nobody will believe you until they feel the pain." They were right; problem is, way too many people are feeling the pain. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. Take no comfort, though, in the fact that New York,...

by Dave Moore, 04/19/2020 Over the years, my garage has turned into a sort of computer salvage yard and recycling center. Numerous shelves are stacked with all sorts of bits and pieces salvaged from otherwise dead machines. If you need a replacement thingamabob for...

by Dave Moore, 4-12-20 Every springtime, I reassess the electronics communications gear that is available to help Oklahomans prevail in difficult, severe weather situations. Electronics manufacturers change, replace and discontinue things all the time, and so, every...

by Dave Moore, 4-5-20 Never ones to miss opportunities to run a good scam, the Internet bad guys are leveraging the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage, repackaging old scams in new scam clothing, tricking countless social distancers out of...

by Dave Moore, 3-29-2020 Continuing our education in recovering from identity theft, we pick up where we left off last week, beginning with Step 12. 12. Ask the Internal Revenue Service to mark your account to identify any questionable activity by completing Form...

by Dave Moore, 3-22-2020 Taking measures to prevent scams and identity theft, as covered in preceding columns, is the best route to take in your digital life. What do you do, though, if you've never taken any precautions at all, and wake up one day to discover your...

by Dave Moore, 3-15-2020 Last week's column covered steps one through seven in identity theft prevention. We continue the list this week, starting with step eight. 8. Get a cross-cut shredder and use it. Do not put anything in the trash that can be connected to you...

Scams and Identity Theft, Part Three: prevention by Dave Moore, 3-8-2020 Recovering from identity theft scams is a tremendous amount of work. It's like playing a game of whack-a-mole. You whack one problem down over here, and three more pop up over there. The cycle...

by Dave Moore, 3-1-2020 Last week, we looked at how a local couple struggling with identity theft scams was robbed by crooks using an Internet-based banking tool called Zelle. This week, we'll look at another way the Internet bad guys ripped them off: cell phone...

by Dave Moore, 2-23-2020 Lately, I've been helping a local couple climb out of an identity theft hole. It is a serious, full-on identity theft situation, with the bad guys making off with many thousands of dollars. Since this column is all about helping you stay out...

by Dave Moore, 2-16-2020 Have you ever wanted to track down someone’s whereabouts, but didn’t know where to start and you didn’t want to pay a high-priced private investigator? To the rescue comes the Internet, which is brimming with ways to find long-lost relatives...

by Dave Moore, 1-9-2020 What is this delusional insistence by many political leaders that everything be done using some type of Internet-connected technology? Even worse, why do people insist on being able to do everything, including banking, bill paying and unlocking...

by Dave Moore, 02/02/2020 The changing of the year is my reminder that it's time to change my passwords, if I haven't already. No matter what, January of every year is password changing time. Are you in the habit of regularly changing the passwords for your online...

by Dave Moore, 1-26-2020 I recently received an email from my bank, notifying me that they were upgrading their security systems, and that my account information needed to be updated. The email included a convenient link which took me directly to my bank’s website. No...

by Dave Moore, 1-19-20 The war against malware (short for "malicious software") like viruses, spyware and rootkits is a constant cat-and-mouse game between malware writers and distributors (the "bad guys") and those who write, update and use antivirus and antispyware...