Friday, March 29, 2024
Miles from the Mainstream
D. R. ZUKERMAN, proprietor
Thank You Alex at the Genius Bar
of the Apple Store in Manhattan at
Ninth Avenue and 14th Street for
Making This Posting of Lonely Pamphleteer Review Possible

October 5, 2022 --

In mid-September, LPR got hacked -- at least for its email function. LPR's MacBook Air was still linked to the internet -- and thus LPR could still connect with music videos via YouTube, but the email function, sending and receiving, was frozen. And so, LPR went to the Apple store on 14th Street, to be told that the problem was the server and was advised to speak with the server, Outlook. LPR is not certain it was Outlook that was reached, because the person at the other end of the line said that the Russians were responsible for the hacking, and no work could be done about the hacking unless I agreed to a security contract, at $649 for one year, $1533 for three years, and $2399 lifetime. The terms appeared on the LPR computer screen.

LPR asked if payments at $50 a month would be acceptable. and was told payments must be by lump sum. LPR protested that the amounts demanded were not affordable, adding, "and how do I know the FBI didn't hack me?" At which point the line went dead.

Whereupon, LPR returned to the 14th Street Apple store on September 30, and made an appointment for October 3rd. The Apple person, shown my computer screen bearing the "security terms" immediately informed me that the terms were a scam.

Finally, at 12.30 p.m., October 3, or thereabouts, Alex, at the Genius Bar of the 14th Street Apple store returned my email to operational service in very few minutes, and without me needed to reformat and get backup, also pointing out that the "security" terms on my computer screen were a scam, indicating that this happens not infrequently.

So, thank you Alex of the Genius Bar at the Apple store on 14th Street, on Manhattan's west side, for making the posting of Lonely Pamphleteer Review, for October 5 possible. If there is a moral to this true story it is -- for problem-solving, make sure you reach the experts. Corollary: should any LPR visitor experience a similar problem, just insist on reaching the expert appropriate to your computer.