Tech Spot

Identity theft is a popular buzz word that many use. But I do not feel is taken as seriously as it should be. The  2017 Identity Fraud Study , written by Javelin Strategy & Research, found that $16 billion was stolen from 15.4 million U.S. consumers in 2016.  If you do not think you are at risk think again. Identity theft is rising and it will continue to rise until we can learn how to protect ourselves.  Hear are four proactive ways to begin protecting yourself.  1. Monitor your credit  This is a fairly common buzz word. However its true. You can get your credit  report for free at annualcreditreport.com  . I recommend  a proactive approach by purchasing an identity theft insurance and monitoring product. It's simple and most banks and insurance companies carry this product. 2. Lock your phone and computers To often I see my friends and families phones without a pass-code  on their devices. I have even done some experimen...

Social media is the largest phenomenon of the modern era. never before have you been able to connect with your world in this way. You can look up anyone anytime these days like never before. You can stay in touch with your cousin in Tulsa or in Sidney. Social media has changed geography in people minds. No one is thousands of miles away they are yes a finger tap away. All this has been fantastic, however on May 18th 2012 something major changed in social media. For the first time Facebook the largest social media platform ever needed to make money. Because their were investors involved. And while its not true that Facebook did not make money prior to may 2012 it was not something they tried to do. Much of the work before 2012 was getting people on the platform. I joined in 2007, and many of the "younger" generation joined in the time before 2012. That was a different time for facebook. There were no paid ads or fancy algorithms like today. It was a very simple. Turn the cl...

Last years launch of the Iphone X and the Samsung S8, Note 8 ushered us into a new era of facial recognition software. Computers are smarter now, they can recognize our faces. Many of the advances in tech in recent years have been in the mobile phone market because of the portability of phones that is about to end. Phones have hit their peak. However the technologies in them are going to show up in many other places. And for many reasons the phones have just been an audition for the other machines. Facial recognition is about to completely change how we interact with the world. Do you go to the mall? Retailers will be working hard to get you back there soon. Even Amazon is investing in brick and mortar stores. How are they going to do it better or different than the old boring way? Facial recognition, walking into a store will be like shopping online in reality. Digital signs will change near you to advertise products that interest you. How do they know it's you? Small cameras w...

There is one thing you can do to head off most malware, ransomware, update your computer Updating your computer is the single most important thing you can do to keep your computer from being attacked! However this is not something that is often practiced. Common misconceptions about updates 1. Its inconvenient  Yes this is true when it decides to update in the middle of the report you are writing or just as you get into the office after the long holiday weekend. However thank you to Microsoft's development team, windows 10 software watches when you are working and will not update until you are not working. Furthermore you can actually set the time you would like the computer to update. 2. It won't help anyways I am not sure where this comes from, but it is not true! I cannot believe how often I see computers not updated. Its almost disgusting! Since the software is not perfect ever, there are continual needs that are addressed by updates. If you intend on keeping...

2018 marks a new season for me. I am no longer fixing phones. This was not a departure I wanted to do but rather one I felt I had no choice. Repairing smartphones is what defined me as a business owner, it is what I left my corporate job to do! Now I have left that behind. Now you are asking why? Let us review 2017 and the major blows to the phone repair industry. A Letter is sent to Lydia Brasch Nebraska state legislator from the CTIA. This letter states that a bill presented in Nebraska that would allow the release of documents to 3rd party repair centers, would in fact endanger consumers. The release of the Samsung S8 and note 8, which are both highly complicated and highly expensive phones to fix. Sourcing parts are very difficult and unreachable in price by the average consumer. The release of the Iphone 8, Iphone X and IOS 11. These devices and the upgrade to IOS 11 began an era where you had to use OEM parts or the software locked the device and did not allow it to work....