Computer Tips Archives - Page 3 of 232

Understanding the Datacenter Proxy for Better Internet Performance

Posted on January 27, 2026

A datacenter proxy acts as a fast intermediary using IP addresses that businesses, rather than ISPs, own between your computer and the internet. These tools run on massive servers, bringing incredible bandwidth and very quick response times to the users. Website owners categorize these IPs as being from a professional data center because they aren’t residential.

What are the implications for your everyday web surfing or business tasks? On one hand, they deliver power. On the other hand, their non-residential nature makes them traceable and blockable by security systems. This is the compromise in technical testing – the speed is usually accompanied by the lack of stealth.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Can I use an old external hard drive with my new MacBook?

Posted on January 24, 2026

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Question from Lawrence: Hi, Rick. I’m hoping you can answer a question for me about hard drives.

I have an older Seagate STHN2000400 2TB external hard drive that I used for several years to store photos and other files from my old MacBook. Well that MacBook finally died and I replaced it with this MacBook Pro.

The problem I’m having is the MacBook Pro won’t work with the Seagate drive because there’s no connector on the laptop that will accept the old-style USB plug on the drive cable.

If at all possible I’d like to keep using this drive with the new MacBook Pro because it contains thousands of photos that don’t exist anywhere else.

Is there any way I can use this drive with the new laptop? Maybe some kind of adapter? [Read more…]

How (and why) to force Windows 11 to show file extensions in File Explorer

Posted on January 15, 2026

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For whatever reason, the folks at Microsoft must have decided it’s a good idea to hide file extensions when using the File Explorer dialog in Windows 11.

I really don’t understand the thinking behind keeping file extensions hidden since they’re so useful for quickly determining a file’s type when viewing its filename.

Seeing a file’s extension can provide an important clue about which app you’ll need to use in order to open it, and there are other reasons as well. Here’s a great example (and it’s an important one). [Read more…]