I’ve mentioned it before but it bears repeating – the chip shortage will not wrap up anytime soon, with all major players like Nvidia, Intel and Toshiba predicting shortages lasting well into 2022 if not into 2023. Seeing as semiconductors are in everything from autos to Zambonis and everything between, production has slowed if not halted in most major industries on manufacturing and delivering goods. Couple this with the major supply chain issues we are also facing world-wide and it’s a safe bet that your holiday shopping (or end-of-year budget spend-down) may be pinched by a Grinch that won’t be stopped by seasonal vibes.
What this means for you
All the more reason to get out there on Black Friday or Cyber Monday to do some shopping now, right? Don’t think it Scrooge-ish of me if I offer some words of caution when you brave the crowds (or virtual queues) in search of technology deals. I’m certain there will be good deals to be found on both fated days. Retailers are up against shortages, inflation and the pandemic – they will likely not pull any punches to wash the red out of their ledgers this year, but it’s not like the chip shortage or the pandemic is something new. The most sought-after holiday gifts are typically technology items, and things like the latest generation of video consoles have been notoriously hard to find since their launch, especially since the internet and online shopping has made scalping an extremely profitable side hustle. Retailers are barely able to keep stock on hand for the high-demand items, and even the less-popular stuff is selling because there is literally nothing else to buy. This goes for work technology items as well. Our wholesale sources are getting down into single-digit availability on the core workplace desktops, laptops and printers, and they are even selling out of the models we normally avoid recommending because of sub-par performance or quality issues.
This brings me to my warning: Beware of buying something – whether for entertainment or work – just because it’s available and “on sale”, especially If you haven’t done the research on it. We are in the most scarce technology market I’ve seen in my professional lifetime, but I don’t think we are at the point of choosing “any port in a storm” just yet. Do you really need a slightly bigger flat screen or slightly faster smartphone, or could you scrape a few more months out of a working device that is in your hands right now. If you need additional equipment because you are expanding or hiring, buying something on discount that you might not have normally purchased may not be optimal use of your resources. Definitely get into the spirit of the holidays, but don’t let FOMO of Black Friday impair your judgement! We’ve found that retailers know that people are in the buying mood, and the deals aren’t necessarily any better than what you might find throughout the year, and given that we know the good stuff is already in short supply, the deals might be more glitter than gold.
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay
It’s become a tradition here for many folks to do some technology shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The savvy shopper can often find great deals on otherwise expensive items, and if they are willing to brave the insanity of brick-and-mortar shopping on Black Friday, can sometimes get an amazing deal on the year’s hottest technology. Tablets are up at the top of everyone’s gift list, and cheap Android-based tablets are popping up everywhere, including a batch of sub-$100 tablets made by lesser-known (or unknown!) manufacturers that are flying off the shelves of discount retailers like Walmart and Walgreen’s. Unfortunately, these cheap tablets are shipping with a variety of security flaws that could pose a serious threat to you or your business.
What this means for you:
A detailed analysis performed by Bluebox Security walks through the flaws of 12 sub-$100 tablets, but I’ll simplify: if you’ve bought one of the tablets on their list, you should absolutely not access any of your important email, banking or business-service accounts with this device. The age-old rule of thumb applies here: you get what you pay for, and paying less than $50 for a tablet gets you a very unsecure device that should only be used for the most casual entertainment purposes. It is also highly unlikely that these devices can be made secure, as many of the flaws come from older versions of the Android operating system. Due to the limitations of the low-cost hardware use to build these tablets, upgrading the OS is highly unlikely without some serious hacking, and should only be attempted by a trained professional. At that point, you should really question whether the overall cost was really worth the initial savings. Long story short: these sub-$50 tablets should only be used as toys and never for serious business or personal use.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The new tradition of Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) shopping online has not only caught on with bargain hunters hoping to avoid crowds and early-morning lineups, it has also caught the eye of the digital criminal element as well, who will be counting on naive (and not so naive) shoppers clicking on links to dodgy sites that instead of delivering amazing deals, will end up costing unwary shoppers hunters more than they bargained for.
It is believed that various cybercriminals will attempt to lure victims into clicking links promising deals too good to pass up, either delivered via email, or posted on the various bargain/coupon code websites that are scattered across the internet. Once you click a link to a site that is handing out malware instead of savings, your machine is likely to get infected with one of the hundreds of variants of malware, all with the express intent of, wreaking havoc on your holiday weekend (and beyond), extoring money out of you via ransomware demands, or worse still, lying dormant and undetected on your computer until you start typing in sensitive information, like the password to your banking website and email account. Once that happens, you are only clicks away from identity theft and probable financial damage.
What this means for you:
Common sense and caution are your best defenses, but you should also observe the following:
- Have updated and working antivirus software from a well-known manufacturer.
- Only click links to websites that you recognize – make sure the link you are clicking isn’t being spoofed.
- Can’t confirm a website, or not familiar with the source? Google the domain name – the real domain name, to see if virus/hoax reports have been associated with that domain.
- If the deal sounds too good to be true – it probably is. Call the store to confirm the deal if in doubt. Talk to a human.
- Still can’t confirm? Proceed with extreme caution at your own risk. Is the deal really worth the risk of your security being compromised?
Image courtesy of “digitalart” / FreeDigitalPhotos.net