Page 4 The Comfort News Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020

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Notice to Creditors

Computer scams: how to recognize them and what you can

do to avoid them

Legal Notice

amazing things.

My work with Celestron puts

me into contact with the

principles of almost every

telescope manufacturer, both

domestic and international.

From this unique perch I have

marveled at how during the

ongoing pandemic, thousands

of people have turned to

astronomy as an alternative

activity during the period of

Covid 19 isolation. This

massive public shift toward

astronomy has caught the

telescope industry off guard.

Around this time of year, the

manufacturers traditionally

have plenty of their popular

items in stock for the holiday

season. This year, everyone is

virtually sold out before the

holiday rush!

It is not the lack of

manpower or manufacturing

ability that is limiting product

availability, although there are

some shipping delays due to

the pandemic. It is an

unprecedented surge in

demand for ast ronomy

products that have cleaned out

telescope equipment stocks

that normally service the

holidays with ease. As people

seek activities that do not

expose them to the pandemic's

harm, the astronomy industry

has been cleaned out as if a

plague of locusts swarmed

their warehouses.

The demand for astronomy

equipment reached such a

fever pitch several months ago

that the Wall Street Journal

ran a story detailing this

unusual surge. For instance, as

part of Celestron's celebration

of 60 years in business, the

company released a limited

60th Anniversary Special

Edition of their most popular

telescope, the Evolution 8.

Only 600 of these special

edit ion telescopes were

manufactured. Astronomy

equipment demand has been

so fierce lately that every one

of the Special Edition

telescopes was sold BEFORE

the full page magazine ad

p ro mot ing t he m eve n

appeared in the October, 2020

issue of Astronomy Magazine.

Stunning!

Along with this surge in

astronomy product demand

comes the many astronomy

novices who need a little help

master ing a computer -

controlled telescope. Thus, my

invo lve me nt wit h t he

company grows as I help

guide the newcomers to this

hobby. To my delight, about

half of the requests for help

come from lady astronomers.

For years I have been

promoting they sky as a refuge

and place of exploration for

everyone, not just the good

old boys’ club of half a

century ago. Now there are

almost as many girls entering

this hobby and science as

there are boys.

It is a shame that it took a

health crisis of this extreme

ma g n it ud e t o in s p ir e

thousands of people to look

upward for refuge from the

uncertainty and loneliness of

the pandemic. The friendly

night sky has always been

there to amaze and teach us. If

there is any silver lining to

this crisis it is that thousands

of additional people are now

becoming interested in the

mother of all sciences:

astronomy. These people will

influence others and a

scientifically literate society is

one of the first lines of

defense against a future

pandemic becoming as tragic

as the current one is. I am

proud to be a small part of

helping this next wave of

future astronomers.

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from 13)

I have been doing astronomy

for 62 years, literally a

lifetime. During that period, I

watched in awe as the Space

Age came to life when

Sputnik was the sole man-

made satellite in the sky,

watched breathlessly as Neil

Armstrong uttered the words

“One small step for man...'',

and watched with delight as

amateur astronomy blossomed

from a science followed by a

few to one enjoyed world-

wide by millions. Science,

astronomy, and the world have

changed remarkably in the

past six decades.

After all these decades, I

have been blessed to have

become associated with the

largest telescope manufacturer

in the world; Celestron. My

invo lve me nt wit h t he

company grew from being a

sponsored lecturer and

promoter of astronomy to a

representat ive fo r t he

company at ast ronomy

gatherings around the country.

S a d ly, t ha t t yp e o f

representation has faded

recently as the Covid-19

pandemic has curtailed all

mass gatherings, including

science and ast ronomy

conventions.

However, amazing things are

still happening. As my “day

job” slowly disappeared due

to the pandemic, astronomy

has blossomed and now

commands much of my time.

Sometime ago, Celestron

asked me to be part of their

tech help team, primarily

answering questions about

celestial photography from

their product users. As the

p a nd e m ic e r a s e d m y

t radit iona l career , t he

Celesatron job has enlarged to

take its place. As this new

facet of my employment has

grown, I have noticed some

Classifieds Work!

Comfort Skies by Robert Reeves

Astronomy and a pandemic make strange bedfellows

Computer scams are an ever-

present, and intrusive, part of

the online landscape and

becoming more sophisticated

all of the time. Amy Sinclair

of Comfort recently provided

The Comfort News with the

following primer on what they

are and how we can all avoid

them.

First, an explanation of how

scammers operate, from

actual Microsoft support:

“Scammers may call you

directly on your phone and

pretend to be representatives

of a software company. They

might even spoof the caller ID

so that it displays a legitimate

support phone number from a

trusted company. They can

then ask you to install

applications that give them

remote access to your device.

Using remote access, these

experienced scammers can

misrepresent normal system

output as signs of problems.

Scammers might also initiate

contact by displaying fake

error messages on websites

you visit, displaying support

numbers and enticing you to

call. They can also put your

browser on full screen and

display pop-up messages that

won't go away, essentially

locking your browser. These

fake error messages aim to

trick you into calling an

indicated technical support

hotline.”

Watch a brief video about

this topic at (address is case-

sensitive):bmicrosoft.com/en-

u s / v i d e o p l a y e r / e m b e d /

RE4GzST

Do a search for “Microsoft

Protect yourself from tech

support scams” and do some

reading.

Now, here are a few ways to

avoid getting scammed.

1. Beware of fake “tech

help”: Scammers have call

centers, websites, and emails

that look legitimate, and once

they have you on the phone,

they can be very convincing,

get you to let them into your

computer, and use scare

tactics to trick you into paying

for "cleanup / protection

services." While they're in

there, they may gain access to

your saved passwords, email

accounts, lock you out of your

system if you don't pay them,

or try to get your bank account

& credit card info, spending

your money while on the

phone with you! Be cautious

and read on!

2. Don’t give anyone remote

access to your computer if you

can’t go talk to them in

person! If you need the kind

of computer help that requires

remote access, use a local tech

support company whenever

possible, so there is some

personal accountability. If

you are not sure who to call,

try asking your internet

service provider.

3. Phone call scams: If a

random caller claims to be

Microsoft / Windows Help

Desk, or says there’s a

problem with your Apple ID

(for instance) and wants to

gain access to your computer,

don't talk to them, just hang

up. Microsoft and Apple will

never call you out of the blue.

4. If you’re positive you have

a scammer on the line and are

feeling like making the world

a better place, tell them you’re

so glad they called, ask them

to hold a moment, set down

the phone and go take a walk

or wash the dishes. The

minutes they waste eagerly

awaiting your return are

minutes they’re not attempting

to defraud another potential

victim.

Pat yourself on the back.

5. Full-screen message

insisting you call a “help”

number: If you see this

message don't call the number.

On a Windows computer, just

hold down the CTRL and

ALT keys and tap DELETE

(or DEL) once. This should

open a screen with several

options; click on sign out or

log off. Then sign back in and

the message will be gone. If

your browser offers to “restore

your session,” decline, as that

will return you to the fraud

website.

6. Email (phishing) scams:

Never open attachments or

click on links in email

messages from unknown

senders, or even from some

that might look legitimate!

Scammers can make their

messages appear to be from

valid entities like your bank,

or PayPal, Netflix, etc. They

might say there is a problem

with your account and to click

on a link in their email to

confirm some account /

payment details. Don’t click

that link! See # 7 below.

7. If you’re concerned that

any of your online accounts

may be compromised, open a

new browser window

(Chrome, Edge, Firefox) and

go to the website like you

normally do, not by clicking a

link in a suspicious email.

Once there you can safely log

in and check your account

history and details. Following

a link to a website is like

being led somewhere by

someone you do not know. If

you know the way, go your

own way.

8. If you need technical

support, don't do a search for

"HP printer tech support" (for

instance) to find their phone

number. You might end up

calling one of the fake call

centers. Instead, as in #6, go

directly to the manufacturer's

webs it e , i. e . HP.co m,

Samsung.com, Brother.com,

etc., and look for a Support /

Contact Us link there.

Fraudsters spend much of

their ill-gotten gains to show

up fir st in searches.

9. If system seems stuck /

f r o z e n , t r y

CTRL+ALT+DELETE as in

#5 above. If it brings up the

screen with the options, click

on the Power symbol at

bottom right (circle with

vertical line in top) and

Restart. If this doesn’t work,

t r y # 1 0 b e l o w .

10. As a last resort, you can

do a hard shut-down by

holding down the power

button for 5-10 seconds or

unplugging the power cable.

If using a laptop, close lid,

disconnect power & remove

battery to force shut down.

Then start up again & see how

it does. These methods are

not recommended, except in

emergencies.

11. Whenever you have any

problem, before calling for

tech help, RESTART the

computer. Restart is normally

found by clicking the Power

Symbol in the Start Menu.

Computers sometimes get

confused, just like we all do,

so allowing the system a fresh

start resolves a variety of

issues. And it’s free!

Application has been made with the Texas

Alcoholic Beverage

Commission for a Mixed

Beverage Permit and a

Brewpub License by Cravey

Distilling, LLC dba Stagecraft

Brewing, to be located at 523

Seventh Street, Comfort,

Kendall County, Texas.

Owner of said corporation is

Russell S. Cravey.

From the Texas Water Development Board

Notice is hereby given that

original Letters Testamentary

for the Estate of HARA

SAFFORD PUE, Deceased,

were issued on November 19,

2020, in Cause No. 20-160-

PR, pending in the County

Court of Kendall County,

Texas, to: CHARLOTTE A.

KOCH and DAVID L. PUE,

JR.

All persons having claims

against this Estate which is

currently being administered

are required to present them to

the undersigned within the

time and in the manner

prescribed by law.

c/o: Charlotte A. Koch

234A FM 1621

Comfort, TX 78013

DATED the 23rd day of

November, 2020. Signed by

Chris Wallendorf, Attorney for

CHARLOTTE A KOCH and

DAVID L. PUE, JR.