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Targeted by a Scam? Here's How to Fight Back!

Have you been scammed? You're not alone. A whopping 60% of Canadians reported being targeted by fraud in 2023 . These scams are often run by sophisticated, well-funded criminal organizations, frequently operating overseas. Don't feel ashamed. Scammers are experts at manipulation. Here's what you can do to take charge: Disconnect: Immediately shut down and disconnect any devices that may have been compromised. Power off your phone, or put it in airplane mode if compromised. Stop all communication with the scammer. Protect your money: Contact your bank or financial institution immediately to halt any unauthorized transactions and cancel credit cards. Get some help: Get technical advice from a trusted cybersecurity organization (like Tech Defense ) to ensure your devices are clean and secure. Bolster your defenses: Change all sensitive account passwords (email, banking) using a secure device. Choose strong, unique passwords for each account. Report the crime: File...
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Turning Off Chrome Notifications

  Photo by  Mark Duffel  on  Unsplash Google Chrome has a built-in feature that allows websites to send pop-up notifications to your screen. The intention of this feature was to alert you about new information on your favourite websites. The problem is that it's a nuisance, and is often abused by unethical websites to pop-up spam or harmful messages. Our recommendation -- turn it off!  Here's how: On your computer, open Chrome. Paste or click on this link -  chrome://settings/content/notifications Turn off  Sites can ask to send notifications . Scroll down to the  Allow  section. Click the three dots and delete any site entries, except the mandatory Google Apps

Getting Started with RealVNC

Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash RealVNC is a great alternative to TeamViewer or AnyDesk for small business owners and professionals. It provides similar functionality and security at a dramatically lower price.   Here is how to get started: Sign up for the 30 day free trial. Access the RealVNC Sign Up page and choose a Professional subscription. Write down your email and password.  Need more help? Visit the RealVNC Getting Started page. Download and setup VNC Server on computer you wish to access remotely. Download and setup VNC Viewer on the computer you will use to access the remote computer. Connect to the VNC Server from the VNC Viewer. Make the following changes to the VNC Server computer for better performance. In Display Settings, turn off animations, transparency and background. Purchase a license before the trial period expires and then apply the license to your VNC Server . Need more help setting up and securing RealVNC?  Contact Tech Defense .

Checking Windows 10 Backup (File History) without Having to Restore

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash File History in Windows 10 is a helpful part of an effective data preservation strategy. Leave a large external USB drive plugged in to your computer and setup File History to effortlessly get a constantly updated backup of your important information. Since this all happens behind the scenes, it's important to occasionally check that everything is working properly. Perhaps, File History was never setup on your computer. Or you were impacted by a Windows Update that may have interrupted or even reset the File History settings. But how can you tell if File History is working? In an ideal world, you would recover one or more files from the backup and then check that they are restored effectively.  However, this is time consuming, somewhat technical and disruptive to do.   Here are some quick checks instead: Check for Versions of an Active File 1. Locate an active file in File Explorer 2. Right click and choose.....