Computer Tips Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

How to block adult-oriented videos on YouTube

Posted on August 12, 2022

As you probably know, YouTube hosts billions of videos on pretty much every topic under the sun, and the vast majority of them can be viewed at any time for free.

This is why I wrote a post a while back explaining why YouTube is one of the best sites on the Internet for helping you quickly learn how to do something you’ve never done before.

As you also probably know, many of the videos on YouTube contain some type of “adult” subject matter that you might not want to see – or allow your kids to see.

(Yes, as a Google property YouTube has a minimum age requirement but we all know how well those work in practice.)

Luckily, YouTube has a “Restricted Mode” setting that will block the vast majority of videos containing adult subject matter to prevent them from being viewed on any device that you have it enabled on. [Read more…]

Q&A: Will a regular 2-button mouse work with a Mac?

Posted on August 11, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Tammy: I’ve used nothing but Windows laptops all my life but I decided to try a MacBook Air this time around.

I think I’m going to like the laptop ok but I hate the Magic Mouse that I bought to go with it. I just can’t seem to get used to it.

My question is can I use a regular 2-button mouse like the ones you use with a Windows computer with it?

[Read more…]

What (and where) is the ‘Windows’ key?

Posted on August 8, 2022

A while back I published a post listing all the keyboard shortcuts available in Windows 10.

Almost immediately I began receiving messages asking me where the Windows key is.

Over the course of the next few hours I ended up receiving several such messages.

I guess I just took it for granted that Windows users would know about the ‘Windows’ key, but I really shouldn’t have.

After all, no one knows everything about the behemoth that is the Windows operating system, and not everyone has the same level of experience with using it.

After reflecting on it a while I decided it might be a good idea to write a post explaining what the Windows key is – and just as important, what it looks like and how to find it. [Read more…]

How to delete your entire Google search history

Posted on August 6, 2022

Did you know Google keeps a record of every search you’ve ever made?

Well, they do. And they’ll keep it forever unless you tell them to delete it.

As you can probably guess, there are many reasons why you might not want a record of every Google search you’ve ever made hanging around year after year.

Luckily, it’s quite easy to delete your entire Google search history in one fell swoop. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I completely disable my laptop’s camera?

Posted on August 3, 2022

Question from Callie: I bought a new Acer laptop that has a camera built into it.

I don’t ever plan to use the camera for anything and I’d like to completely disable it.

Everything I’ve read so far just explains how to prevent apps from accessing the camera, but I’m wanting to disable it completely.

Can you tell me how to do that? [Read more…]