The Computer Exorcist Podcast

Tonight on CEP!

• We finish our adventure with the scammer who claims I've won the lottery, but wants me to pay him an advance fee first.
• This time, though, he says the other caller is bad, and I'm supposed to send the money to him instead.
• He first asks for my credit cards, so I dig up an old one and drive him wild. Later on he asks me to go buy him some gift cards, and I willingly oblige.

The book is OUT! Buy "Don't Be Taken by Big Tech" for everyone you know for the holidays!

Tonight on CEP!

• A scammer calls and says I've won second place in the Mega Millions!
• I in form him that I already won it in the past, which gets him salivating.
• He then tells me that in order to obtain my winnings, I need to drive to the store and buy BBQ rib gift cards.
• When he claims he follows the Lord, I turn the screws and keep reminding him that the Lord is looking down on his good work "helping" vulnerable seniors.

My new book is now available! Buy it wherever books are sold!

This morning on CEP!

• Facebook is sued for $1.6B in Kenya because its algorithm blindly kept pushing hateful content
• Why people are turning to cassettes, and why they're superior to current streaming services
• Companies FINALLY realize that recommending updates isn't going to protect anyone, and finally starting to teach people to use their own good common sense when opening emails.
• What is AirDrop? It's cool, but it has two fatal limitations.
• One guy bought an Apple router at a thrift store, and discovered that particular model came with a whole lot more.
• "Top Tech Deaths of 2022" - what happens when a tech product is discontinued.
• Why the SLATE EV could be the Model A for our generation.

Buy my book at thecomputerexorcist.com or wherever books are sold!

This morning on CEP!

• What one airport did with some old Dodge Neons to save a bundle
• Enough VW owners complained about those horrible capacitive touch buttons that the board got involved and actually did something about it!
• Hackers found a way to unlock and start cars thru SiriusXM - the real news here is that people were surprised by this.
• Amazon fired a ton of people from its Alexa department - not because it didn't work, but because of its business model.
• "One of the leading intellectuals of the digital age" thinks that laws are going to help us against Big Tech.
• Ransomware affects a hospital system, showing yet again that IT professionals have no clue how to protect against this very preventable issue.
• Rugged computers vs graham crackers
• Why the first minute of every phonecall is now torture
• AI in connected cars eased congestion
• Finally - an alternative to Photoshop!

Buy my book for everyone you know at: thecomputerexorcist.com

Tonight on CEP!

• The EU strongarms Apple into using USBC jacks on its iPhones. Yes I like universal standards, BUT, the Lightning connector was physically more resilient. It's a multi-edged sword. Apple's VP is refreshingly candid about it.
• Marc writes hate mail to a company and gets a nice reply.
• Why are they trying to ditch AM radios from cars? There IS a physical issue, but it's really about deprecation. Marc invents a new idea to bring back 8 track players to our dashboards.
• The new BMW i7 is a joy to drive, but a pain to use.
• Akio Toyoda is also refreshingly candid, and his predictions come true.
• GM's autonomous Cruise randomly slams on its brakes and/or becomes immobile.
• EVs are SUPPOSED to be more reliable than combustion cars, but why are they less reliable? Longtime listeners can guess the answer.
• Lastly, Mercedes tries to RENT you a one-time speed tweak.

THE BOOK IS OUT!!! Buy it at thecomputerexorcist.com or any bookstore in the world!

Tonight on CEP! Fascinating special guest Ben Albert shows up to give me perspectives I hadn't thought of.

• Learn how he went from "Business Ben" to "Music Ben" to a "Grow Getter"
• Who is collecting data from your car?
• Mozilla's newsletter flub and how it might be a good thing in this "Post-Trust Era"
• Maybe we should have an AI stamp, or a "made without AI" stamp?
• Replika is an AI "friend" - but what is it, really?
• Appeasement vs. True Purpose
• Zoom-style speed dating
• What is Mastodon?

Join his group at WeAllGrowTogether.com or RealBusinessConnections.com and get my book at TheComputerExorcist.com

Tonight on CEP: More phone scammers!

• First, a typical Support Scammer called me claiming she was Microsoft and that my computer was downloading viruses from the Internet. She urged me to check the activity logs on my computer, so I told her all about the last time I chopped logs as a kid. I took her for a ride that drove her batty until her boss intervened.
• Next, a scammer tries to sell me diabetic test strips. When he asks how often I test my blood sugar... well, I tell him my plan. When he asks for my address, I start eating some soup and drive him up a wall.
• Finally, another Jamaican-style lottery scammer calls me up and informs me I won $2.5M. Of course, I have to pay him 3% "taxes", which he calculates as $25,000. We do a dance for a while and then it gets wild.

Thanks for sharing these episodes with your friends! Get the book as a holiday gift at thecomputerexorcist.com

Tonight on CEP: We torment some scammers! I have a recording of a Jamaican-style scammer who called me and said I won a new car! I told him I don't want another BMW because, frankly, I had one in the past, and it broke down on me all the time. Wait til you hear his explanation!!

The guy told me that before I can obtain my winnings, I NEEDED TO PAY HIM 10% for "tax obligations"! A...ha.

We did a little tango regarding the proper percentages and bargained over amounts. I take them on a most beautiful dance that leaves him stewing in disbelief.

So I hope you love the episode, and feel free to keep sending in the love letters and hate mail. Get the book at thecomputerexorcist.com

Today on CEP! Retired car dealer, author, and talk show host Dom Genova joins us to wrap up our conversation on avoiding crooked car dealers.

• Having experience as a Big 3 exec and later on owning small-town car dealerships, he's sat on both sides of the desk, and his book shares his insight with you. This parallels my career, where I come at the IT industry from the consumer's perspective, being on your side of the desk.
• Some of them have a "bug zapper" business model! Attract people to the dealership and then zap em!
• Dom's thoughts on Tent Sales: If putting them in a tent down the street lowers their prices...
• Fake Monroney stickers!
• What is an "ad car"?
• When an automaker promises to donate money to some charity, whose pocket does that money come from?
• FREE TV or FREE CRUISE?
• What's the #1 mistake made during a car deal?
• Dom's 4 Corners
• Finally, we read an article exposing what information your car is collecting about about YOU. That data is sold to third parties, who "package" them into "data products" and resell them.

Buy Dom's book at dontbetaken.com and my book at thecomputerexorcist.com !

Today on CEP! I interview very special guest Dom Genova. He's a retired car dealer and currently the host of The No-Nonsense Roundtable Show on WYSL. He exposes crooked car dealer sales tactics and teaches people how to avoid them. We discuss:

• The Agricultural Model - rather than trying to get what you can from people in the moment, ideally you cultivate a lifelong relationship so your clients bring their kids and grandkids to you.
• A hugely scummy tactic where they write "Your Payment is $299" - but is it monthly?
• No-nonsense car dealer means removing all the shady invoice padding. It also means not accepting nonsense from customers!
• Dom's "7% Rule" - now it all makes sense!
• People out there are suffering unnecessarily, at the hands of crooked car dealers and incompetent computer guys. Dom taught me: You can't save ALL the ducks, but you're called to save the ones you can.
• Article: During the chip shortage, Toyota went back to real mechanical keys - and people didn't mind because they're overwhelmed by senseless technology anyway.
• When you open the door, some cars now shine a light onto the asphalt proudly displaying the brand... in case you forgot.

Get his book at: dontbetaken.com

Special thanks to our musicians: Opening theme is Departure by Egzod and closing theme is Cannibals by Youth Medium.