The Computer Exorcist Podcast

Marc-Anthony Arena

We're increasingly dependent on technology. Our business and personal lives rely on it, but as you've probably noticed, it's unreliable. They promise it'll get better, but it usually gets worse. Our computers are slow, so we end up squinting at smartphones. We live in constant fear that something's going to happen to our personal data. So we're scared into paying for fake protection that proves useless when disaster strikes. The jokers we pay to fix our stuff have no clue what they're doing, so they wipe out our precious photos and tell us to buy a new machine.If we only had someone to explain it all in Plain English, so we can start protecting ourselves. If only, we had... The Computer Exorcist Podcast, with your host, Marc-Anthony Arena! This show is for intelligent people who are intimidated by technology, and think it's somehow their fault. Once people learn what the industry is doing to them, they're ready to get torches and pitchforks. We expose Update Attacks, Fake WiFi, Cloud Control, and many more industry scandals that are designed to keep the gravy train flowing. Oh yeah, we also do a little bit of scambaiting! We torment phone scammers so you know how they operate. Visit www.thecomputerexorcist.com to buy my books or check out the recommendations page! NOTE: I have obtained written permission from the bands to use their music!

  1. Aug 21

    148 15,000 Download Celebration Pt.1

    Tonight on CEP! Dr. Mike joins us to celebrate 15,000 downloads, and we slay some articles. Shout out to Every1Camp.com, a new camp in Rochester for kids with disabilities.We discuss the new horror called "ambient computing" - where gizmos all around your house monitor your every move and then collaborate. Most of it will result in preemptive suggestion attacks, in other words the tech makes assumptions about what you want, and then starts doing things you never told it to do.Cars that display video ads on their evil dashboard screens.We call it "The False Promise of Technology" - the utopia never happens, but instead we see a decline in the quality of life, chaos, anti-empowerment, control, and helplessness.Rumor has it, New Orleans just replaced 911 dispatchers with AI dispatchers, which will result in a plethora of miscommunication."We've already seen how restrictive and insanely incompetent ALL of this technology is. Just wait until it controls more of your life. More helplessness is coming.""A third of all actions performed by Alexa, it does proactively." In other words, presumptive auto-attacks, or helicopter parenting.Of course, all of this will be subjected to the eternal cat and mouse battle of cybersecurity, and your tech will blow false alarms against you. More fear and uncertainty."DARE to keep kids away from technology." What's the antidote to this dystopia of tech-addicted braindead kids?80s dystopian movies like "Chopping Mall" were prescient: They SAW where this was heading.What will save us? Smallternatives and good old human apathy. Let the big guys dry up.Check out my tech tip videos by searching for "the computer exorcist" on your favorite social media site!

  2. Aug 5

    146 We're All Jaded

    Today on CEP! Companies using zero-trust are still hacked, claim it's because they're not using enough zero-trust. Paranoia ensues, and employees are even more infuriated than ever before. (As if they didn't have enough stress already!) The great irony is, we're so jaded from all the trillions of confirmation popups, so scammers are taking advantage of that.The Spectrum Loop Story - Wait til you hear what happened when my client tried to cancel Spectrum.When a Tesla's accessory battery dies, you can't roll down the windows, or open those silly electrically-actuated doors. Real physical door handles are there, but they are UNLABELED, so if you aren't a mind-reader, you won't be able to get out of the car. Many people worldwide are stuck in their cars, often in extreme temperatures.The AAA finds that Automated Emergency Braking sort of works, but isn't reliable. Designers can't get it right, but they've already moved on to developing full autonomy, because Jenga.The "Matter" protocol is developed to allow all of these new cloud-controlled gizmos to be controlled more simply. Hopefully this means the end of each gizmo being controlled by a totally different ultra-proprietary app and password.Finally, in good news, a lady invented a Rotary Un-Smartphone. It's a cell phone with nothing but voice call capabilities, protecting you from the frustration of using a touchscreen.Thanks for telling your friends about the show! If for some reason you like me, check your favorite social media site for my new Mini Tech Tips!

  3. Jul 17

    145 Karl, Take The Wheel

    My apologies to Karl for not being able to fit him in last week's episode, so because of that, today's episode is All Karl All The Time! What follows can only be described as performance art, the likes of which we haven't seen since Pee Wee Herman. In his first call, a scammer called Karl Mailchimp and said he had a fraudulent charge on his apple account. Karl said it might've been his grandson playing farming games. absolute gold.He then tried to get Karl to connect to "apple secure server", which of course really means some tool used to hijack people's phones. (Warn your friends!)This week's tool is called "Awesun Remote Desktop". When the scammer tries to get him to search for his remote control tool, Karl tells him that his grandson set his phone to Spanish.Hilarity ensues as Karl takes him on a beautiful journey through the Spanish language. Eventually the guy goes on google and looks up instructions on how to change the language back to English!Some instant-classic Karl lines include: "Holy friggin' cow!" and "I don't even know what he bought!"When it comes time to download the App, of course the app store attacks for a password, which Karl doesn't have on hand. He thinks on his feet, and more hilarity ensues. Even the scammer is holding back a laugh at one point. He then gets a scam email urging him to call "Robin Hood Tech Support". So of course he invents a new persona on the spot: "Pastor Cal Ripken Jr.", and promptly takes him for a ride. The scammer tried to scare him into thinking there was a withdrawal happened from Hong Kong. When he questioned Cal's name, Cal gave a most indignant speech that had me in stitches. Then the scammer really gave himself away by asking if he had any money in any other crypto accounts! When asked for the name of his church, Cal came up with another subtle cultural reference on the spot. So thanks to Karl for making my podcast way funnier than it usually is, and stay tuned for more mischief! thecomputerexorcist.com

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About

We're increasingly dependent on technology. Our business and personal lives rely on it, but as you've probably noticed, it's unreliable. They promise it'll get better, but it usually gets worse. Our computers are slow, so we end up squinting at smartphones. We live in constant fear that something's going to happen to our personal data. So we're scared into paying for fake protection that proves useless when disaster strikes. The jokers we pay to fix our stuff have no clue what they're doing, so they wipe out our precious photos and tell us to buy a new machine.If we only had someone to explain it all in Plain English, so we can start protecting ourselves. If only, we had... The Computer Exorcist Podcast, with your host, Marc-Anthony Arena! This show is for intelligent people who are intimidated by technology, and think it's somehow their fault. Once people learn what the industry is doing to them, they're ready to get torches and pitchforks. We expose Update Attacks, Fake WiFi, Cloud Control, and many more industry scandals that are designed to keep the gravy train flowing. Oh yeah, we also do a little bit of scambaiting! We torment phone scammers so you know how they operate. Visit www.thecomputerexorcist.com to buy my books or check out the recommendations page! NOTE: I have obtained written permission from the bands to use their music!