Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why are my Internet download speeds so slow?

Posted on January 29, 2024

Question from Kellie: I have Xfinity Internet and the plan I’m on is for 200 Mbps download speed.

I used SpeedTest.net to run several speed tests yesterday and again this morning. The fastest speed I got was around 65 Mbps.

I called Xfinity this afternoon and they ran some kind of test from their end and said I was getting all the speed I’m paying for.

Is there something I’m doing wrong when I run the speed test or is Xfinity just blowing me off? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to use an online password checker?

Posted on January 27, 2024

Question from Charise: I read that with all the hacking going on we need to check the strength of our passwords with an online password checker.

I did a Google search for the term “password checker” and a bunch of them came up. The thing is, I’m wondering if it’s safe to use them.

I’m a little leery of typing my passwords into a form on a website that I don’t know anything about.

Are those password checker websites safe to use? [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I replace a 4 year old SSD just to be safe?

Posted on January 26, 2024

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Kendra: Hi, Rick. I really love your blog, especially the section where you answer questions from your readers.

If you don’t mind I’d like to ask a question of my own.

Back in March of 2020 the tech guy I used at the time installed a Crucial 500GB SSD in my Acer laptop and it really made it run a lot faster.

I recently read on another site that all SSDs wear out over time because they can only be written to a certain number of times.

That has me sort of worried because this drive is now about four years old and I have a lot of personal files on it that I don’t want to lose.

My question is do you think this drive is likely to fail at some time in the near future? [Read more…]

How to choose ‘unguessable’ answers to security questions

Posted on January 26, 2024

Have you ever forgotten the password to one of your online accounts and clicked on the “Forgot password?” link in order to reset your password?

If so, you might have been prompted to input the answer to the security question(s) you created when you opened the account.

Security questions are intended to identify you as the legitimate account owner in the event that you forget your password and need to reset it.

What’s more, they are also sometimes used as a second level of security to augment the security provided by the password. If you can’t answer the security question(s), you won’t be allowed to log in to the account, even if you know the password. [Read more…]