Tech Tips, Tricks and Tutorials
Question from Paula K.: I let my daughter play some games on my laptop last a couple of nights ago.
When I turned it on yesterday morning the entire background on the screen was completely white with bold, black text.
I asked her what she did to make it change like that and she said she doesn’t know.
I can use it this way but I absolutely hate it because it’s ugly!
Can you tell me how to get the screen back to normal? My laptop has Windows 10.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Deborah P.: I’ve been using my Dlink wireless router without a password on the Wi-Fi connection for several years.
My boyfriend told me I need to put a password on the Wi-Fi connection but I don’t think it’s necessary because I don’t have any neighbors living close by to piggyback off of it.
I like being able to let guests connect to my network without having to hassle with a password.
Do you think it’s ok if I leave it without a password, or is my boyfriend right?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Marge: I’m getting ready to buy a new Windows 10 laptop and I want to make sure it’ll be safe from viruses.
It seems like I remember reading somewhere that you don’t need to buy an antivirus program for Windows 10 because it comes with one built-in. Is that true?
I definitely want to protect my computer from viruses but I don’t want to pay for a program that I don’t need.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Lona F: Hi Rick. I have a really short question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
What does the term “Social Engineering” mean?
Rick’s answer: You’re right, Lona. That was a short question (and a good one).
In a nutshell, Social Engineering is basically the use of old-fashioned trickery in an attempt to persuade you into giving up personal or otherwise sensitive information that you would normally keep to yourself.
Fraudsters and hackers use many forms of Social Engineering on us, and many of them are difficult to detect and resist. These fraudulent tactics often work because they are designed to either instill fear in us or exploit our natural human tendency to want to get something for nothing.
Here are a couple of examples of what I’m talking about… [Read more…]
Question from Karen: I have several old computers in my basement that I want to recycle.
I’ve always heard that you need to destroy a computer’s hard drive before you recycle it to prevent someone else from maybe getting your files.
My question is will removing the hard drive from a PC completely eliminate any possibility of someone finding my old files.
What I mean is are there any other parts in there besides the hard drive that might have my files stored on them?
This is very important to me because when I was young and foolish I took some really personal pictures of myself and put them on a couple of my computers. I want to make absolutely sure no one will ever be able to find those pics.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
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