Why we're doing what we're doing

Startups aren't easy. Bootstrapping them is harder. Especially when it's your first. Mornings can feel extra slow, Fridays are extra distractible. This often screws with my head and my motivation. Sometimes enough for me to say, "Why do we do this?" This is when I have to step back and do something fulfilling. This Saturday it was sorting books to be distributed to underserved communities. No connections to SAFE Portal, Encryptiest, or even the internet. It was just a bunch of people in a warehouse sorting books. Yet, I walked away with the story I'll share now.

Technical support knows what they're doing.... Right?

I was picking up boxes of books when I had a moment of downtime. I paused and started chatting with a nearby volunteer, for the purposes of the story we'll call her Jane. Jane asked me what I did for work, so I explained the startup. She was interested in the work we were doing, and told me its importance. I chuckled, as the founder of a small startup I've heard "that's so important", "that's so cool", "that's so necessary." All mom-test stuff. She then told me her horror story.

She had wanted to sign in to her email on a bunch of her devices. She went to technical support at a big box store for help. They informed her that her email was private information they couldn't work with, but that they could give her the phone number for Microsoft, whom she could call for additional support. Jane took the number home, dialed it up, and began working to unknot her online accounts. She asked if there was a charge, and she was reassured that this was a complimentary service. She was impressed by the quality of the service as they continued to help her remotely.

Then came the first red flag. "Microsoft" asked her to access her banking information. They tried to explain it as an additional helpful service they could help her with while she was on the line. Jane was concerned about this strange update and immediately hung up. She likely saved herself hours of recovery and possibly hundreds if not thousands of dollars. She returned to the technical support that had given her the number. They rushed up to Jane. They were white in the face.

Jane explained her experience, and tech support apologized profusely. They proceeded to explain that they had googled for the Microsoft number and clicked the first link. A malicious, sponsored ad claiming to be the reputable tech giant. Humans of every technical level make mistakes. Phishing attacks are becoming so common we're numb to them and they're such perfect carbon copies even technical support can't help us.

A site like this one is likely one tech assistance passed Jane's way This would've been avoided with SAFE Portal. SAFElist Microsoft and the next time you see a "Microsoft" link you'll be given assistance in identifying its reputability.

SAFE Portal is free to download and takes about two minutes to set up — no IT team required. Get it at SAFEPortal.to.