Tech Questions & Answers Archives

Q&A: Are today’s encryption methods so strong they’ll never be broken?

Posted on August 1, 2026

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Question from Carl: I was listening to talk radio the other day and I heard a guy say that the strongest encryption methods in use today are so strong that they will never, ever be broken.

The host didn’t challenge him on that. In fact, he seemed to agree with him. I have my doubts though.

What do you think? Is current encryption technology so good that no one will ever be able to break it? [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I remove the PIN from my Android phone?

Posted on July 30, 2026

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Question from Angie: I started dating a guy a few months ago. I really liked him but he had an annoying habit of picking up my phone and looking at my called logs.

I think he was checking up on me to see if I was calling other guys. I didn’t like him spying on me that way and I told him so, but he kept on doing it.

I finally had my son put a sign-in PIN on my phone so the guy I was dating wouldn’t be able to get into it.

We recently broke up so I no longer need the PIN. It’s a real hassle having to put it in every time I need to use the phone. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there a way to connect a computer without WiFi to a WiFi network?

Posted on July 29, 2026

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Question from Brittney: A couple of my friends and I just rented a house near campus together, and so far it’s working out ok (fingers crossed on that lol).

We had Xfinity cable and Internet installed and they placed the modem/router combo box in the living room beside the TV.

Since I can’t run a cable from the living room to my bedroom, I’ll have to connect my Dell laptop to the Internet over the WiFi network. The problem is the WiFi on the laptop stopped working a while back. [Read more…]

Q&A: Do you really have to fully charge a new laptop or phone before using it?

Posted on July 28, 2026

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Question from Brenda: I just ordered this new laptop for my son for his birthday. A friend of mine told me I need to charge the battery to 100% before I give him the laptop and let him start using use it.

In the past I have always just unboxed my new laptops and plugged them in and started using them immediately, and as far as I know there was never any problem. The same way with every new phone I have ever bought. [Read more…]

Q&A: If I replace Windows with Linux will I need to replace the hard drive too?

Posted on July 27, 2026

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Question from Marla: I have an older HP desktop PC that got really slow over the years so I bought a new laptop and put the old desktop in a closet. Well, the laptop’s screen just went bad and I don’t have the money to buy a new computer right now.

I took the old desktop out of the closet and hooked it up, and to my great surprise it still works. The problem is it has Windows 7 on it and I know it’s unsafe to use now. [Read more…]