When a client tells me a scammer got into “one of” their computers, the obvious move is to look at whichever machine they were sitting at during the call. Most techs would stop there, of course. In this case, that would have resulted in my finding the scammer’s remote-support session on the laptop, removing it, … Continue reading
Another month, another fresh circumvention of the draconian Microsoft Account login requirements upon fresh Windows PC setup. This one’s incredibly quick and easy too: That’s it! This is the easiest one yet, especially after you commit it to memory.
Preliminary note: the detection and removal steps below will get a confident, technical user most of the way through cleaning one of these machines. What they will not do is tell you whether anything was taken, or close the account exposure that follows. If this happened to a business machine, or if money or email … Continue reading
I’m writing this blog post in response to a growing pattern of completely isolated account hacks of Yahoo! (and, consequently, Bellsouth.net/ATT email, which is downstream from it) that began years back, but has accelerated notably in recent months. The common thread connecting most of these hacks is that the users do not have 2FA (two-factor … Continue reading
A client recently brought in their laptop for a routine tune-up — the kind of visit that happens when it’s been a few years and things just feel a little sluggish. They mentioned some printer issues in passing, but the machine was otherwise “fine.” No complaints about data, no mention of backups, no sense of … Continue reading
A client recently brought me a laptop with what seemed like a simple problem: persistent notification spam. What I found underneath was a textbook example of why the endless pursuit of system optimization and reactive third-party security products so often ends up being a net negative—and why I’ve been warning clients about this for many … Continue reading
When an enterprise business, government-adjacent client recently contacted me about a completely failed RAID array, I initially expected another somewhat straightforward RAID-5 recovery. What I discovered instead was a RAID-6 configuration with multiple drive failures that would push both my equipment and expertise to their limits—and showcase exactly why professional data recovery equipment makes all … Continue reading
Advanced GPU voltage tuning as a diagnostic tool and workaround for marginal hardware Here’s a case that perfectly illustrates why methodical, evidence-based diagnostics can mean the difference between a catastrophic repair bill and an elegant engineering solution. Sometimes the most sophisticated problems require the most sophisticated solutions—and this particular Lenovo Legion Pro 7 gaming laptop … Continue reading
When a client recently brought me a completely non-functional TRIPP-LITE RAID enclosure, I knew I was in for an interesting afternoon. What started as a routine data recovery job quickly turned into one of the more technically exotic cases this month—and a perfect example of why RAID-0 arrays can be both a blessing and a … Continue reading
If you’re installing Windows 11 24H2 from scratch and want to use a local account instead of being forced into a Microsoft account, you’ve probably hit this roadblock. Microsoft has made it increasingly difficult to avoid their cloud-connected ecosystem during setup, but there’s still a straightforward workaround. What Changed? Starting with Windows 11 22H2 and … Continue reading
