Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
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.
Question from Lois: Hi, Rick. I need your help with a Facebook issue.
I just noticed that people can see my birthdate when they look at my profile page.
I really don’t want strangers (or even Facebook) knowing when my birth date is. I don’t even want my friends to know when it is.
How do I completely remove my birth date from Facebook? [Read more…]
Question from Alma: I have a computer with Windows 11 on it and I’m hoping you can answer a question for me.
Every time I use my computer I start by accessing the files in one specific folder and I keep that folder open at all times.
It’s a hassle having to open File Explorer and navigate to that folder every time I turn on the computer.
It would be wonderful if I could have Windows start up every time with that folder already open so I can get right to work.
Is that possible? If it is, how do I set it up? [Read more…]
Question from Lona: 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? I keep hearing it but I don’t have a clue what it is.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Kelly: After reading your articles about taking part of a house off-grid and going solar, I took the plunge and converted the game room in my basement to solar.
I installed several new lights and outlets and connected them to my inverter and everything works great, but the 12V 100Ah LifePo4 battery runs out of juice before morning.
The only things I have running off the battery at night are a refrigerator and a dehumidifier, both of which keep shutting off at some point during the night.
What can I do to make the battery charge last until the sun comes up the next morning and starts charging the battery again? [Read more…]