Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
In today’s connected world, taking a vacation doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to forgo using the Internet while you’re enjoying some tropical paradise or hiking some wilderness trail.
In fact, there aren’t that many places left in the world where you simply cannot find a way to get your laptop or mobile device connected to the web.
Unfortunately, using the Internet while you’re away from home is risky business unless you know how to do it safely.
Question from Melanie: I read an article about Windows 11 SE and they said it was meant to be Microsoft’s alternative to Chromebooks.
That sounds exactly like what I’m looking for because I don’t need anything more than a way to get on the Internet.
I checked on Amazon and a couple of other sites and I couldn’t find any computers that come with Windows 11 SE on them.
There are plenty of machines with Windows 11 on them but none with Windows 11 SE. Why not? [Read more…]
Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter
I’m often asked if viruses and other forms of malware can infect Apple Mac devices.
Although these machines are far less susceptible to malware and attackers than Windows, they can still be attacked. That is why malware can infiltrate macOS Monterey as well.
Once you purchase a new computer, it’s tempting to overlook the risk. However, the repercussions of catching malware are always unpleasant, ranging from intrusive pop-up advertisements to having your data taken hostage.
Do you suspect that someone might be using your WiFi network without your knowledge and permission?
If they are, you really need to know about it so you can boot them off and lock down your network ASAP!
“Piggy-backers” can slow down your network and make your devices appear sluggish and unstable.
Even worse, they could potentially cause you some pretty serious legal problems if they’re using your network to break the law in some way. [Read more…]
Question from William: Every time I check for new Windows Updates on my Windows 10 Lenovo laptop it tells me there are a couple of driver updates available as “optional” updates.
Should I go ahead and let Windows Update install those optional updates or should I just skip them?
I’ve been confused by this for a long time.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]