Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Keith: Hello Rick. I recently noticed a new icon in the notifications area of my task bar when I use the Chrome web browser. When I hover my mouse over the icon it says “Chrome Notifications”.
I don’t need this icon in my task bar and I want to get rid of it, but I can’t figure out how to do it. Can you help?
Rick’s answer: Keith, you can indeed remove Chrome Notifications from your task bar. Here’s how: [Read more…]
Microsoft recently announced that a future update to Windows 8.1 will return the missing Start Menu (that should have never been removed in the first place IMHO) to the new Windows.
While this a very welcome change of heart on Microsoft’s part, who knows when the update heralding the return of the Start Menu will actually be coming down the pike?
If you really miss your Start Menu, you’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to wait for the guys and gals in Redmond to finally get around to sending it to you. Thanks to a handy free download called Start Menu Reviver, you can add an awesome Start Menu to your Windows 8.1 installation right now! Here’s how: [Read more…]
If you’re trusting Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender to keep your PC free of malware, I strongly recommend replacing them with something more effective.
I applaud Microsoft for trying to do the right thing by providing malware protection to Windows users for free, but the protection they offer has been falling short of late.
Quite a few malware-laden PCs running either Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender have found their way into my shop of late, and the number of infections found on those machines is nothing short of staggering. [Read more…]
Google’s Chrome Operating System is a huge hit among users who simply want to use their computers to access the Internet and Internet-based services. In fact, the number one selling laptop on Amazon right now is a Chromebook.
But as popular as Chromebooks already are, Google plans to widen their appeal even more by adding features that will allow them to do many of the things that Windows machines can do when they are offline. For example, the latest version of Chrome OS allows you to watch entire movies offline. And by the way, you can even edit video on a Chromebook now. [Read more…]
Microsoft’s abandonment of Windows XP means you’re now on your own when it comes to protecting your XP-based machines against security threats.
Although they have already broken their promise not to release any more security updates for Windows XP, Microsoft likely won’t release more of them unless they feel pressured to do so.
In my opinion, the best move for XP users is to simply move to another operating system, but I realize that doing that is simply impractical for a lot of folks, especially small business owners.
If you feel that you really need to keep using Windows XP, there are several things you can do to keep your PC(s) as safe from security threats as possible: [Read more…]