Computer Talk 5-9-26 Hr 1

In this episode of Computer Talk with Tab, hosts Eric Semel and Dennis Halnan address a range of technology issues and societal concerns. They begin with a major outage affecting Canvas, an educational SaaS platform, caused by the ransomware group Shiny Hunters, who use social engineering tactics like vishing and exploit data from past breaches. The hosts emphasize that no legitimate company will call you to fix a problem, urging listeners to hang up on unsolicited calls and avoid clicking links in suspicious emails. They also highlight a growing trend of children bypassing facial recognition age checks by drawing mustaches, exposing flaws in automated verification systems. The conversation shifts to Microsoft’s recent Windows update issues, including a corrupted File Explorer view and sleep mode problems that keep computers from truly sleeping—likely due to forced background updates. The hosts critique Microsoft’s declining user trust, citing Nadella’s acknowledgment of customer dissatisfaction and repeated software vulnerabilities. Apple is also called out for 'vaporware,' with AI features promised in ads but not delivered on many devices, leading to a $250 million class-action settlement. A listener reports a browser issue with Firefox and Safari redirecting searches to Yahoo’s homepage, which the hosts suspect may be due to malware or browser hijacking. Another caller shares a scam experience where scammers impersonated Amazon and accessed her computer, prompting a bank to block her IP address. The hosts advise resetting the modem, using a VPN, and recommend wiping and reloading the system for full security. The episode closes with a preview of an upcoming interview with Greg Leroy of Good Jobs First on how states are hiding the true cost of tax abatements for data centers, potentially creating a tech bubble.