Con artists have created a new method of deceiving Chrome users by freezing their browsers and displaying a security notification with bogus tech-support contact details. Their ultimate goal is to scare potential victims and trick them into dialing the fake hotline number on the screen.

Contrary to what you may believe, cyberthreats don’t only target Windows computers. Even small-business users can click a seemingly harmless link and become a victim of a cyberattack. If you don’t want this to happen to you, there are a few simple things you can do.

No matter how valuable your cloud subscriptions are, each new set of login credentials users are forced to create and memorize adds another level of inefficiency. With something called Single Sign-On (SSO), you can create one user profile that logs you into all your online accounts.

How much are you willing to give to retrieve your stolen smartphone? According to Lookout’s Phone Theft in America, half of theft victims are likely to pay $500 to get their phones back, and about one-third will go as far as paying $1,000 to retrieve their device.

With Cortana following you around — from spamming helpful suggestions based on what you’re typing to displaying extremely precise and personalized ads based on your online search — Windows 10 can often feel intrusive. Here are a few tips you can follow to leave Microsoft’s watchful eye behind.

Despite security being one of Microsoft’s top priorities, it has been recently discovered that there are two vulnerabilities in computer chips, named Meltdown and Spectre, that put private data in jeopardy. As a solution, Microsoft has released an update to fix this vulnerability.

Installing security patches is usually such a humdrum task that even the most inexperienced users handle it. Unfortunately, that has not been the case with the Spectre and Meltdown fixes. This time around, we recommend you skip installing the update and let an IT professional handle it for you.

In the first week of 2018, security researchers announced that modern computer processors have a fundamental flaw called Spectre. If exploited, hackers could gain access to systems that store confidential information. And the most vulnerable to these attacks are outdated web browsers like Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox.

Bloatware, junkware, trialware, third-party apps — whatever you call it. There’s now yet another reason to get rid of these annoying pre-installed programs and plugins indefinitely: security threats. Learn more about the other risk that might do more than slow down your computer.