The Computer Exorcist Podcast

Hosted by Marc-Anthony Arena

Episodes

Language

EN-US

About the show

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, and we also do a little bit of scambaiting! We answer calls from phone scammers and torment them until they pop. Visit www.teknosophy.com or www.thecomputerexorcist.com to buy my book "How to Protect Yourself from Your Computer", and support the show by buying something ethical from my recommendations page! NOTE: I have obtained written permission from the bands to use their music!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

47 min

147 Epic Sweepstakes Scammer

Tonight on CEP! It's one big scam call! A scammer calls me asking for Foghorn Leghorn by name! Yes, I've been using the name so often, that the name is now reflected in the databases the scammers sell to each other! Wait til you hear how they pronounced Wisconsin! She tells me that someone from "Consumers Clearing House" is coming to give me a huge "cash awerd"! Her false attitude is so saccharine it's disgusting - but I turn it against her at so many points. The awkward laughs are abundant. I then twist the knife into her by thanking her over and over again for helping the helpless seniors. She then has the audacity to give me a sneaky survey to figure out if I own my home, and ask for the types and amounts of my investments! At one point, the "senior attorney" gets on, and warns me not to talk to other scammers! I told her I give money to anyone who calls, and that piqued her interest. I then told her some other guys called and offered me more prize money, so I might go with them instead! Thanks for telling your friends about the show, and stay tuned for the new book!

30 min

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!

36 min

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

30 min

144 Do you believe in Karma?

Tonight on CEP! I realized I haven't published a Torment a Scammer episode in a while, so here you go! Foghorn Leghorn gets a call saying he won $2.5M and a (used?) Mercedes-AMG! The scammer said he was "American Cash Awards" then said he was Bank of America. Our next perpetrator is Nancy, whom I call "Mancy". She sent me an email from "@pple Support", which is of course an attempt to get through spam filters. She told me I had a "security problem" where I clicked on an ad which allowed a hacker to connect to my computer. She's actually not far from the truth, but conveniently omitted that SHE'S the one making these ads that DECEIVE people into thinking they have security problems. She then told me about her "secure server" which is actually the tool she uses to break into people's computers. While waiting to connect to "senior technician", we got a chance to get to know each other. I commended her for her efforts and reminded her about karma. The last one sends me an email saying my "Appl Pay" has been used at an "Appl Store". Of course he couldn't tell me which product or store. When he asked me what browser I have, I described the Firefox icon in the best possible way. Toward the end he suspected I was a YouTuber... As always, hilarity ensues. Thanks for sharing this episode with your friends, and stay tuned for the book, coming out very soon at thecomputerexorcist.com

35 min

143 What Has Come to Fruition

This morning on CEP! We plow through more "ketchup" articles. We give thanks for some treacherous ones that never came true: The NTSB wanted to implement breathalyzers in all new cars. It would add massive cost and complexity, blow false alarms, and of course those who want to get around it will find a way. NY State wanted to implement "intelllligent speeed assistance" in cars, in other words auto-attack if it thought you went too fast. We also celebrate two really good ones that are still thriving: Toyota's hydrogen engine for semi trucks: Why reinvent the wheel when you can just make a new engine for preexisting trucks! The Fairphone - a phone that's not glued together and not designed to die ASAP. You're encouraged to repair it and use it as long as possible! and two of the usual: AI designing your next car. An article from 2015 that exposes how Microsoft tried to retrofit its nagware and legal spyware into its older products. The book should be coming out this month! Get the preview edition on PDF at thecomputerexorcist.com

23 min

142 Beating a Dead Seat

Tonight on CEP! Marc finds an article that explains the extreme disparity between backward, slow, reactionary government, and ultra-rapid Silicon Valley. Disaster will ensue. BMW's unpopular heated seat subscription service surfaces in South Korea. The delusional "recurring revenue" cult spreads to other automakers. What's going to save us? Laws that prohibit rentals? That would just create tons of chaos. So what's going to save us? I've got the answer. Unbeknownst to most of humanity, every picture you take is usually sucked into a cloud service. Lately, the cloud service is starting to peruse your photos and accuse you of things as it sees fit. Disaster ensues. The book, now titled "Don't Be Taken by Big Tech", is coming out soon, to a book retailer near you! Grab a preview at thecomputerexorcist.com

31 min

141 Visiting Joey's Garage

Today on CEP! We're coming at you from Cousin Joey's garage on the coast of Maine! We discuss: The 2022 prediction that electrification will make cars unattainable for the Average Joey. A real-world solution to BMW's unreal scheme to rent people features in their own cars. "Nothing controlled by software is safe." How Skynet is already here, it's just not run by the AI yet. The McLaren "Artura... has so much technology baked in," it's like a disobedient smartphone, at 1,000 times the price. Do TIRES pollute more than TAILPIPES? The Myers Manx "dune buggy" is resurrected as an EV - but is it out yet? What's the real solution to the complexities of life, and what should our real goal be? Thanks for telling your friends about the show! The new book is coming out SOON!

35 min

140 The Dash Grab

This morning on CEP! What is The Second-System Effect? Another scam arrives in the mail: DOMAIN LISTINGS is a scam organization that tells you your website is about to expire, then asks for $288 for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. More ways Amazon crushes its own sellers, and how incredibly ineffective Congress is to stop them. What's the only thing that can save us from them? The Light Bulb Conspiracy and other products designed to die. Should Full Self-Driving be banned? Should Waymo (ha!) be banned? How Instagram tracks everything you do, within its built-in browser. Australian courts discover the Google History Scandal, like 10 years after I broke the story. Learn how Google records EVERY SINGLE WEBSITE YOU GO TO, how 99% of users are COMPLETELY UNAWARE of it, and how Google confuses the rest of them into agreeing to it. Google and Apple make a CarPlay for your data, aka the Dash(board) Grab. It's nice to have information from your smartphone displayed on your dashboard, but at what cost? Remember: If for some reason you like listening to me, check out the Flyover Plates Podcast! It's a comedy podcast about food and corruption in Rochester. Preview editions of my next book are free, but for a limited time only! Download it at thecomputerexorcist.com

33 min

139 Grand Captain Speedy Dash

This morning on CEP! I interview rising star YouTube gamer "Grand Captain Speedy Dash" (best gamer name ever) Yes, rather than watch TV shows, young people now watch each other play video games We discuss the upstart Amico console, inspired by Intellivision and Wii We then explain the DRM scandal and read excerpts from my forthcoming book! Any music, movies, or video games that are infected with DRM mean they're completely dependent on their creators, and can be rendered useless at any time. Since it can never prevent piracy, logically, it can only punish those who were trying to do the right thing and support the authors. The Captain brings up two great quotes from Gabe Newell, founder of Steam: "Privacy is not a pricing problem, it's a service problem." "Does nothing, still wins." pointing out that doing nothing is sometimes the right thing to do! So what's the answer to DRM? We explore some of the solutions that will help make life easier for those trying to do the right thing. Finally, we discuss Denuvo, a DRM company whose technology is repeatedly bypased very easily. It is an excellent example that highlights the utter futility of it. Thanks for listening and grab a preview edition of the book at TheComputerExorcist.com !

29 min

138 Buy Them and Crush Them

This morning on CEP! We discuss the retirement of Microsoft's chronically insecure Internet Explorer, and what it was mainly used for. Volkswagen wants to set up EV battery recycling plants throughout Europe, and a comment from a techie that left us pleasantly surprised VW's 2026 ID.Buzz electric microbus takes a break - learn why I think they'll become collector's items! Microsoft created the Surface Tablet, an extremely thin and sleek laptop the size of a tablet. It was great, but brittle as a graham cracker. Then in the early 2020s, the KANO PC came along. It was fairly easy for kids to build and repair and learn on, was very rugged, and cost a fraction of the price of Surface. How do you think Microsoft reacted? Do you have home movies on video tape? Learn about Media Transfer Service and Kodak Digitizing How Facebook was caught sucking private medical information from hospital websites! I just realized I made this summary more intriguing instead of just giving away all the answers! We'll see if it brings in more views! Get a prevew edition of my book on PDF at thecomputerexorcist.com