Tech Tip Tuesday:

Posted on by tampa pc consultants

How to Spot Spam 

  1. The sender’s address isn’t correct. If it’s a legitimate email the sender’s address should match the domain for the company they claim to represent. In other words, emails from PayPal always come from example@paypal.com and emails from Microsoft always come from example@microsoft.com. 
  2. The sender doesn’t seem to actually know who you are. Legitimate emails from companies and people you know will be addressed to you by name. Phishing emails often use generic salutations like “customer” or “friend.” 
  3. Embedded links have unusual URLs. Vet the URL before clicking by hovering over it with your cursor. If the link looks suspicious, navigate to the website directly via your browser. Same for any call-to-action buttons. Hover over them with your mouse before clicking. If you’re on a mobile device, navigate to the site directly or via the dedicated app. Text message spam often includes links to spoofed sites designed to capture your login. 
  4. Typos, bad grammar, and unusual syntax. Does it look like the email was translated back and forth through Google Translate several times? If so, it probably was. 
  5. The email is too good to be true. Advance-fee scams work because they offer a huge reward in exchange for very little work. But if you take some time to actually think about the email, the content is beyond reason. 
  6. There are attachments. In the world of email communication and marketing, attachments are a big no-no, and businesses generally don’t send emails with attachments. 

Tech Tip Tuesday:

Posted on by tampa pc consultants

Improve device security (Cell Phone)

You probably set up some kind of fingerprint ID or PIN code when you first set up your device, but that screen lock protection isn’t much use if someone manages to grab or access your phone before the lock is enabled—and that’s why you should pay attention to what your screen timeout window is (the number of seconds your phone waits without any screen input before locking the device).

Tech Tip Tuesday:

Posted on by tampa pc consultants

Give your eyes a rest (Cell Phone)

Blue light produced by the screens of our gadgets has been linked to reducing the quality of our sleep, so it’s probably not a good idea to watch hours of YouTube before bed. If you must check your phone late at night, you can at least change the display temperature so less blue light gets emitted.

Tech Tip Tuesday:

Posted on by tampa pc consultants

Save on storage space (Cell Phone)

Both Android and iOS come with built-in tools for clearing out photos and videos from your phone once they’ve been safely backed up to the cloud. Enabling these features can mean you avoid running out of room on your handset at the most inopportune times—like when you’re trying to take a new photo.

Tech Tip Tuesday:

Posted on by tampa pc consultants

Identify who’s calling (Cell Phone)

When your phone starts ringing from the other side of the room, it can be helpful to have an idea of who’s calling, as it’s probably a factor in whether you want to answer the call or not. To this end, both Android and iOS let you associate particular ringtones with particular contacts in your address book.