Scams, Recalls, Confusion
by Cate Eales
Appeared June 6, 2011 on castanet.net
Avoid the Fake Microsoft Technical Support scam! Is your HP or Compaq
laptop overheating? Maybe your battery has been recalled. Cut through
the confusing new “look and feel” in Firefox 4 and Internet Explorer 9.
Honestly, I am not making this up
At the end of April I wrote this
column warning about a scam involving telephone calls from people
pretending to be Microsoft technicians ready and willing to clean your
computer. This scam has been around for a couple of years in the UK, and
it is now showing up in Canada. Last week another one of my customers
received a call from one of these people. Do not fall for this! (She
didn’t.)
Microsoft confirms on its website that their technicians don’t make
these calls, and that this is a scam. (More
here) If you receive such a call, don’t be tricked into letting a
stranger take control of your computer. Read
more about this scam here and
here.
HP recalls more laptop batteries. Yes, again.
Last year HP issued a recall
notice for some HP and Compaq notebooks with faulty batteries. This came
a year after the initial recall of some of those machines. This week,
they recalled another 162,000 units that were missed during the first
two rounds of recalls. The batteries are fire hazards. If you have an HP
or Compaq notebook that you bought between July 2007 and May 2008, you
should check the HP site to see if your computer is on the recall list.
Check
here and
here.
Firefox 4 and Internet Explorer 9 confused the
heck out of me
And I’m not the only one! Several customers contacted me to say they’d
upgraded and couldn’t find anything. I can see why.
I wrote a little about Firefox 4
here and I suggest you take a quick look at the explanation of the
new
orange Firefox button here.
According to Microsoft, “Fast is now beautiful” and they are out to
prove it with Internet Explorer 9. IE9 is meant to integrate nicely with
Windows 7. The
official Internet Explorer 9 website is here. You can get IE9 if you
are using Vista, too. If you are still using XP, forget it. You won’t be
able to run IE9. IE9 may be fast and beautiful, but it takes some
getting used to. I installed it and I couldn’t find anything.
Once you know how to get to the menus and the Favorites, you should be
able to figure out the rest. I played with IE9 for a couple of weeks and
went back to the sparse interface that it comes with. The key to the
whole thing is knowing to right-click on an empty space near the top of
the window. That will get you started. There is a
helpful guided tour from our friends at 7tutorials
here.
I made some screen shots of Firefox 4 and Internet Explorer 9 to help
you figure out how to turn on the Menu Bars and get to some of the
options. You’ll find
that here.
(click to enlarge image)
Have you installed Firefox 4 or Internet Explorer 9?
What do you like? What do you dislike? Send your thoughts on this or any
tech subject to me at
help@computercarekelowna.com and I will try to help you and your
computer get along!
Links
Let’s Be
Careful Out There
http://rlis.com/columns/column297.htm
Avoid Scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently
http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/msname.aspx
BBB Warns of Microsoft scam (Victoria Times Colonist)
http://www.timescolonist.com/business/warns+Microsoft+scam/4130955/story.html
Virus phone scam being run from call centres in India
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/phone-scam-india-call-centres
Four Fast Facts
http://rlis.com/columns/column249.htm
HP Expands Recall of Notebook Computer Batteries…
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11234.html
HP Notebook PC Battery Pack Replacement Program
http://bpr.hpordercenter.com/hbpr/M14.aspx
Firefox 4: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
http://rlis.com/columns/column294.htm
Tour Firefox 4:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/
Internet Explorer 9 website
http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/Internet Explorer 9: Finding Your Way
Through the Main Interface Elements
http://www.7tutorials.com/internet-explorer-9-finding-your-way-through-main-interface-elements
Firefox 4 vs. Internet Explorer 9 Gallery
http://min.us/mvjpTCI
Computer Care Kelowna
http://computercarekelowna.com/
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives
http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
RSS Feed:
http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
--
Do you need help with your computer? I'm here to help you and your home
or business computer get along!
Cate Eales runs Computer Care Kelowna, a mobile service helping home users
and businesses get along with their computers. To arrange an appointment
phone her at 250-764-7043. Cate also welcomes your comments and
suggestions. Send email to help@computercarekelowna.com.
You can read previous
columns here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by
email, please visit this link It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the
RSS Feed, click here.
©
Cate Eales 2011 – All Rights Reserved
-30-
