Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Do the tiny nano USB WiFi adapters work as well as larger ones?

Posted on September 10, 2025

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Alexis: Hi, Rick. I need to buy a USB WiFi adapter for my computer and I’d really like to use one of the small “nano” adapters like this one.

I really like those because they don’t stick out from the computer very much. I’m always afraid I’ll catch it on something and break it.

The thing is, I’ve heard that the small size might keep it from working as well as a full size adapter. This is important because I often use my computer in my basement rec room where the WiFi signal isn’t all that strong. Is that something I need to worry about? If so, can you recommend one? [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I see which websites can see my location with Chrome?

Posted on September 9, 2025

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Question from Marcus: I know that some websites can see my location when I visit them with Chrome.

I know there are some sites that need to see my location (like Google Maps, for instance) but I’d rather keep my location hidden from the ones that don’t.

Is there a way to see which sites can see my location?

Also, is there a way to stop the ones that don’t need access to my location from seeing it? [Read more…]

Warning: Your smartphone photos can put your security at risk

Posted on September 8, 2025

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Did you know that by default, every photo you take with your smartphone has the location where the photo was taken added to the photo’s metadata?

That means anyone who manages to view one of your photos can easily find out exactly where that photo was taken.

For most people this isn’t a concern because they only share their personal photos with family members and friends. After all, most of those folks will likely know where you live and work anyway, right?

The above being said, here are some things to consider… [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you recommend a really cheap, but reliable SSD for an older laptop?

Posted on September 8, 2025

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Ari: The hard drive in my 6 year old Dell laptop died a few days ago. This has been a great machine and I don’t want to just trash it.

I’d like to replace the bad hard drive with an SSD, but I’d rather not spend a lot of money if I can help it.

After reading your post about replacing Windows with Linux, I’d like to install Linux Mint on this laptop and use it as my primary Internet computer. I won’t need a lot of storage space so a fairly small SSD should be ok.

What I’m looking for a really inexpensive SSD that’s large enough to hold the new Linux installation and maybe a few Chrome extensions. But I’d like the SSD to be as reliable as possible. [Read more…]

3 ways to quickly identify your PC’s CPU type

Posted on September 8, 2025

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Most computer users have no idea what type of CPU is inside their machine, and that’s fine.

As long as your computer works properly and gets the job done, its CPU type is rarely a concern.

That being said, there might well come a time when you’ll need to know what kind of CPU is inside your PC.

Here are three ways to discover the CPU type in a Windows PC without having to open the case: [Read more…]