The Anker Connection Incorporated

The latest version of Windows is now being released to the public. It is being released on a rolling basis with the newest computers receiving it first, with the rest coming at scheduled intervals over the rest of the year.

To ease the installation make sure you have updated your PC and laptop to the latest updates through Settings>Security and Updates>Check for Updates.

It is a long installation. I suggest that you start the update and than go to dinner and a movie. Than finish the update.

Coronavirus online scams: 3 things to watch out for

You will likely receive an email or spam call asking for your credentials or a link to a website selling phony cures for Covid-19.

Don't open the email or answer that unknown call.

For more insight go to:

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/coronavirus-online-scams-3-things-to-watch-out-for/?ftag=CAD1acfa04&bhid=18971877965436475586378891678993&mid=12744711

Microsoft's February 2020 Patch Tuesday fixes 99 security bugs | ZDNet

Microsoft's February 2020 Patch Tuesday fixes 99 security bugs.

Check your updates.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-february-2020-patch-tuesday-fixes-99-security-bugs/?ftag=TREc64629f&bhid=23025834313733178177593144793303

Need help?
Contact Cliff Anker at 817-729-8284 (leave a message) or text at the same number. Email to [email protected]

Microsoft's February 2020 Patch Tuesday fixes 99 security bugs | ZDNet This is one of Microsoft's biggest Patch Tuesday known to date.

Windows 7 bug prevents users from shutting down or rebooting computers
Another major bug hits Windows 7 after the January 14 end-of-life (EOL) deadline.

If you are still using Windows 7, it's time to upgrade to Windows 10.

These subject lines are the most clicked for phishing emails

The "in-the-wild" email subject lines were gathered from actual user emails, which were then reported to their company IT department.

Here are the most popular
(Also with original capitalization and spelling):

SharePoint: Approaching SharePoint Site Storage Limit

Microsoft: Anderson Hauck has shared a Whiteboard with you

Office 365: Medium-severity alert: Unusual volume of file deletion

FedEx: Correct address needed for your package delivery on [[current_date_0]]

USPS: Your digital receipt is ready

Twitter: Your Twitter account has been locked

Google: Please Complete the Required Steps

Cash App: Your Account Has Been Closed

Coinbase: Important Please Resolve Error Now

Would you mind taking a look at this invoice?

Windows 10 updates.

Microsoft has released updates:

Affecting the upgraded version of Windows 10 as an optional update with version 1909. You will by necessity have to visit Settings/Update and Security and select download and install on the page.

The January automatic update includes a fix found by the NSA and reported to Microsoft as reported in the media.

Along with that Microsoft released a new Edge browser on January 15, 2020. There has been a few reviews done as yet, but personal use shows good responsiveness and no errors.

Contact Cliff Anker at 817-729-8284 (leave a message) or text at the same number. Email to [email protected]

Here's what will happen to your Windows 7 PC on January 15, 2020 | ZDNet

Here's what will happen to your Windows 7 PC on January 15, 2020

Here is an article describing how it will affect Windows 7 PCs.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/heres-what-will-happen-to-your-windows-7-pc-on-january-15-2020/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=23025834313733178177593144793303

Here's what will happen to your Windows 7 PC on January 15, 2020 | ZDNet Microsoft is ready to push a full-screen warning to Windows 7 users who are still running the OS after January 14. The nag-screen payload is part of the December 10 Patch Tuesday monthly rollup.

Facebook and Instagram are experiencing outages on Thursday, leaving some users in the United States unable to post photos or answer messages on Thanksgiving.

"We're aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook's family of apps, including Instagram. We're working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible," a Facebook spokesperson told CNN Business.

A scam targeting Americans over the phone has resulted in millions of dollars lost to hackers. Don't be the next victim.

This is good article about phishing scams that are going around with credible sounding calls that make you want to respond. Any cold call you answer could end up costing big dollars.

The axiom "Don't answer an unknown number on your phone, if it's a legitimate call the caller will leave a message."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/27/business/phishing-bank-cam-trnd/index.html

A scam targeting Americans over the phone has resulted in millions of dollars lost to hackers. Don't be the next victim. A whopping 26,379 people reported being a victim of some sort of phishing scam. Together they reported nearly $50 million in losses.

As of 10/2/19 Microsoft has issued 3 updates to Windows 10 in the last 7 days. 2 of the updates were security updates and the other one is for Windows Defender for scan errors.

Along with that Apple has released iOS 13.

This might be a good time to check your phones and PCs for your current status.

apnews.com

If you still have Windows 7 on your computer this article will affect you.

https://apnews.com/0391d06ba1c74e64af0d42de9ca05e93

apnews.com WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft said Friday it will offer free security updates through the 2020 election in the United States — and in other interested democratic countries with national elections next year — for federally certified voting systems running on soon-to-be-outdated Windows 7 software...

2 items of note:

Windows 7 reaches end of life on January 14, 2020. If you are still running Windows 7 or older operating system, it is time to consider upgrading to Windows 10.

Microsoft issued an update on September 10, 2019, with updates to 80 updates over 15 platforms. This is a large update at first glance, but installed in a short amount of time.

Along with the updates in cycle, there is a supplemental update that shows up in the settings, update and security page of the settings menu. It is a good idea to check your settings, update and security page and install it. If it shows up on the page.

Windows 7 reaches end of life on January 14, 2020. If you are still running Windows 7 or older operating system, it is time to consider upgrading to Windows 10.

As experience has shown for my customers, this will include a new PC or Laptop which will come with Windows 10 preinstalled.

Along with that, you will have to move your personal files to the new computer and update to new versions of programs that will run on Windows 10.

If you need help or advice contact the Anker Connection, Inc. on Facebook, email @ [email protected] or call/text 817-729-8284.

Microsoft is warning Windows 10 users to update their operating system immediately because of two "critical" vulnerabilities.
The company said the vulnerabilities are potentially "wormable," meaning affected computers could spread viruses and malware without any action on the user's part.
There are "potentially hundreds of millions of vulnerable computers," Simon Pope, Microsoft's director of Incident Response, wrote in a blog post Tuesday.
"It is important that affected systems are patched as quickly as possible because of the elevated risks associated with wormable vulnerabilities like these, and downloads for these can be found in the Microsoft Security Update Guide,"

A different robocall?

A customer of received a robocall identifying themselves as Microsoft. The caller said "that they needed access to the customers computer to remove a program in order to give them a $600 refund."

This was cold call to the customer, NOT a customer initiated call.

The customer did not allow them access to their computer and promptly hung up on them.

A call from any company, that you did not initiate, is a spam call. The top 10 spam (robocalls) are:

Microsoft, PayPal, Netflix, Facebook, Bank of America, Crédit Agricole, DHL, Apple, Dropbox, CIBC.

If you get an e-mail or a phone call (cold call) identifying themselves as any of the above companies. The best advice is hang up without responding/delete the e-mail as spam and report it to your e-mail provider.

Microsoft is the most impersonated company today.

Microsoft starts pushing Windows 10 version 1903 to automatic updates on your PC's. This is a time consuming update with long download and install time,

This may be the one time you leave your PC on overnight to allow the update process to work during inactive time on your machine.

If you need assistance with your PC contact the Anker Connection here at Facebook or by calling 817-729-8284.

When the update is completed, it is a good idea to check for updates in settings again,

There is Windows updates for Adobe and Net Frame Work in conjunction with Windows 10 version 1903.

For those using the Firefox browser, there is a browser update to work with Windows 10 version 1903.

Microsoft released an update today in preparation of their Windows 10 May Update. It is a good idea for you to check that the update is installed on your PC. The Windows 10 May Update is now rolling out to PCs starting this week and promises to have a number of enhancements,

Windows 7 is reaching the end of its life.

As I work with my clients who have a Windows 7 operating system the response is slowing down. Along with slow response, programs are not updating to run on Windows 7.

The program publishers are publishing programs to run on Windows 10.

Those who still run Windows 7 still have time to upgrade to Windows 10 on their current PCs (if the PC has the disk space, memory and processing power) or the other choice is to buy a new PC with windows 10 preinstalled.

Windows 7 support will end on January 14, 2020.

Hackers impersonate Microsoft more than any other brand in phishing attacks.

Either by e-mail or phone, hackers are phishing for your response with the ultimate goal of obtaining your access to your credit card or bank credentials.

The 10 most impersonated brands in North America are:
Microsoft
PayPal
Netflix
Facebook
Bank of America
Crédit Agricole
DHL
Apple
Dropbox
CIBC

If you get an e-mail or a phone call (cold call) identifying themselves as any of the above companies. The best advice is hang up without responding/delete the e-mail as spam and report it to your e-mail provider.

Microsoft is the most impersonated company today.

Downloads for Graphics Drivers

Windows 10 graphics: Intel warns, patch 19 severe driver flaws now

Intel is warning Windows 10 users that old graphics drivers are riddled with security flaws that need to be updated with new updates that the company has released over the past year.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/80939/Graphics-Drivers

Downloads for Graphics Drivers Download new and previously released drivers including support software, bios, utilities, firmware and patches for Intel products.

Newly discovered Google Chrome security flaw requires immediate update

Google regularly delivers a new version of the Chrome browser roughly every ten weeks, but sometimes flaws are discovered that require something even faster. And today is one of those days, according to The Hacker News, who spotted an ominously-worded update on Google's Chrome Releases Blog indicating that Chrome users should update their browser as soon as possible.

To manually check for an available update for the Mac and Windows versions, click the three-dot menu in the upper right, then Help (near the bottom of the menu that pops up), then About Google Chrome. This will open a new window where the browser will automatically begin an update check, which should only take a few seconds.

From article by: Tom McNamara Senior Editor for CNET's Download.com

I like Windows 7: Why should I pay to move to Windows 10? | ZDNet

I like Windows 7: Why should I pay to move to Windows 10?

An article from ZDNet with insight about upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7. There is about a year life in the Windows 7 life cycle.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/i-like-windows-7-why-should-i-pay-to-move-to-windows-10/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=23025834313733178177593144793303

I like Windows 7: Why should I pay to move to Windows 10? | ZDNet With Windows 7 security upgrades about to go p**f in less than a year, there are still some Windows 7 diehards who refuse to upgrade. Here we explain that free Windows 10 upgrades are still available, counter some upgrade objections, and provide a great list of resources for upgrading your machines....

I am dealing with more of these scams and others trying to get you to respond. Best advice, DON'T.

"Microsoft says it received 153,000 reports in 2017 from customers who'd come in contact with tech-support scammers via a cold call, spam, or the web." Liam Tung | April 23, 2018 | ZDNet.com

If you receive a call, e-mail or web site from Microsoft, Apple, or any other internet provider and you did not contact them first. It is in all likelihood a scam which can cost you between $200 and $400 each time you respond to the contact.

The pictures represent what I have run across in helping clients remove them. Read the entire message to check for what actions they are requesting. For web messages that popup without you going to a website and appearing to lock your machine, I have found that turning off the PC manually with the on-off button and restarting it breaks the connection to the message. If that does not remove the contact window, time to call in The Anker Connection or your local computer help to remove it.

If you get an e-mail, don't respond to it. SPAM IT!

If you get a cold call, don't talk. HANG UP.

Microsoft's new status update on the Windows version 1809 update history page notes that as of 17 December "Windows 10, version 1809, is now fully available for advanced users who manually select "Check for updates" via Windows Update." By Liam Tung | December 18, 2018 -- 10:25 GMT (02:25 PST)

This is a large update and will take 1-2 hours to download and at least an hour to install. Get a drink or go to dinner once you start it.

Vote for your candidates November 6th!

What's new in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update | ZDNet

Microsoft's Windows 10 April 2018 Update rollout begins today.

This is a large update to Windows 10, adding enhancements to what you see as well as expanded settings apps and giving you an more Cortana flexibility.

To read more on the update https://www.zdnet.com/article/whats-new-in-windows-10-spring-creators-update/

If you need assistance with your PC contact the Anker Connection here at Facebook or by calling 817-729-8284.

What's new in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update | ZDNet The latest Windows 10 feature update includes the first public release of the Timeline feature as well as dozens of smaller enhancements to the Windows 10 user experience. Here's what you can expect.

"Microsoft says it received 153,000 reports in 2017 from customers who'd come in contact with tech-support scammers via a cold call, spam, or the web." Liam Tung | April 23, 2018 | ZDNet.com

If you receive a call, e-mail or web site from Microsoft, Apple, or any other internet provider and you did not contact them first. It is in all likelihood a scam which can cost you between $200 and $400 each time you respond to the contact.

The pictures represent what I have run across in helping clients remove them. Read the entire message to check for what actions they are requesting. For web messages that popup without you going to a website and appearing to lock your machine, I have found that turning off the PC manually with the on-off button and restarting it breaks the connection to the message. If that does not remove the contact window, time to call in The Anker Connection or your local computer help to remove it.

If you get an e-mail, don't respond to it. SPAM IT!

If you get a cold call, don't talk. HANG UP.

Securing Facebook: Keep your data safe with these privacy settings | ZDNet

With Facebook in the news about data sharing, here is a good article on making your account secure for sharing data or not. www.zdnet.com/article/facebook-private-data-settings/?bhid=23025834313733178177593144793303&ftag=TREc64629f

Securing Facebook: Keep your data safe with these privacy settings | ZDNet Facebook privacy settings explained: Don't let your personal information get in the wrong hands.

Here are the top 20 worst passwords of 2017:
1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. letmein
8. 1234567
9. football
10. iloveyou
11. admin
12. welcome
13. monkey
14. login
15. abc123
16. starwars
17. 123123
18. dragon
19. passw0rd
20. master

Windows: This sneaky cryptominer hides behind taskbar even after you exit browser | ZDNet

Another way for data mining on your devices, hidden under the task bar. Sneaky. Read the article here http://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-this-sneaky-cryptominer-hides-behind-taskbar-even-after-you-exit-browser/?loc=newsletter_featured_related_listing&ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid=23025834313733178177593144793303

Windows: This sneaky cryptominer hides behind taskbar even after you exit browser | ZDNet Closing your browser won't stop this JavaScript cryptocurrency miner.

Microsoft released their Fall Creative Update for Windows 10 this week. This is a large update with a number of enhancements to the system.

This update is essentially full program update and will, from experience, take about an hour and half to download and install.

It is also being released on a rolling basis with newer computers receiving first and older computers receiving it over time.

It will install through the automatic Windows update in settings.

If you would like further information or need assistance, give me a call, or text, at 817-729-8284 or e-mail me at [email protected].

Patch now: These "critical" security bugs affect all versions of Windows

This months Microsoft updates to Windows 10 includes updates for all supported operating versions of Windows. There are 46 patches involved in the updates, 2 patching security vulnerabilities in Windows.

To read the article click here http://www.zdnet.com/article/critical-security-bugs-affect-all-windows-versions/?loc=newsletter_large_thumb_related&ftag=TREc64629f&bhid=23025834313733178177593144793303

Using the settings check your updates for the latest installations.

If you would like further information or need assistance, give me a call, or text, at 817-729-8284 or e-mail me at [email protected].

Patch now: These "critical" security bugs affect all versions of Windows Microsoft patched 46 separate vulnerabilities — the majority of which were the highest "critical" rating.