Computer Tips Archives - Page 47 of 233

NoSQL Databases Explained: What they are, how they work, & why they matter for everyday tech users

Posted on July 26, 2025

Apps and websites are expected to work instantly nowadays, respond to user behavior in real time, and handle everything from videos to social connections to shopping carts.

As of February 2025, it is estimated that 5.56 billion individuals worldwide are internet users, which amounts to 67.9% of the global population. Of this total, 63.9% of the world’s population is a social media user.

This is leading to an enormous amount of available data that can be used by companies and traditional databases, while reliable, they often struggle to meet these expectations at scale. That’s where NoSQL databases come in. [Read more…]

How (and when) to reduce Windows 11’s Internet data usage

Posted on July 24, 2025

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Lets face it, Windows 11 is a major data hog. By default, it’s constantly gathering various morsels of usage data and sending them to Microsoft over your Internet connection.

In addition to the obvious privacy concerns, this virtually constant transmission of usage data can really eat into your monthly data allotment if you are subscribed to an Internet service plan that has a data cap (i.e. the amount of data you can use every month).

Luckily, there are several things you can do to greatly reduce the amount of data your Windows 11 PC will collect and send back to Microsoft, while also enhancing your privacy.

[Read more…]

How to ask for a second opinion after a clean virus scan (and why you should)

Posted on July 16, 2025

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Over the years I’ve worked on lots of computers that exhibited all the classic signs of a malware infection.

And as you might expect, many of the owners of those machines insisted that the problem couldn’t possibly be malware because they regularly scan their systems with antivirus programs.

But when I ran my own scans on those systems, I often discovered that they were indeed infected, some of them with dozens of viruses, spyware objects, malicious toolbars and other digital nasties.

How could that be? [Read more…]

How (and when) to clear your YouTube ‘Watch History’

Posted on July 15, 2025

Did you know YouTube maintains a list of every search you’ve ever made via YouTube’s search box?

And did you know they also maintain a list of every video you have ever watched on their site?

This might not seem like a big deal to some folks, especially if the things they search for and the videos they watch aren’t controversial in any way.

However, you might consider it a huge deal if you go to great lengths to protect your online privacy.

[Read more…]

Scam alert: Why you should cancel all of your unused email accounts

Posted on July 14, 2025

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Email is a wonderful tool that allows us to correspond with family members, friends and associates all around the world in just a matter of moments.

Gone are the days of having to write a letter, address an envelope, buy a stamp and send it on its merry way through the postal system with no guarantee that the recipient will receive it in a timely fashion, if at all.

But as the massive Yahoo hack reminded us, all is not perfect in the world of email. [Read more…]