Rick's Daily Tips

What I Wish I Knew Before Soundproofing My Apartment | Tips & Mistakes

Posted on February 11, 2026

I used to love my apartment. Great location, reasonable rent, solid layout. Then my upstairs neighbor got a subwoofer. And a girlfriend who apparently wore heels indoors at midnight. Within two weeks, I was sleeping with earplugs and losing my mind. So I did what any desperate person does. I went straight to Amazon and started throwing money at the problem.

My first purchase was a 12-pack of those egg-crate foam panels. You know the ones. They come in black or charcoal gray, cost about $25, and promise “professional studio quality.” I stuck them on my bedroom wall with command strips, stood back, and waited for silence. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I make my Desktop icons bigger?

Posted on February 10, 2026

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Question from Andreas: Hello, Rick. I hope you can help me.

I recently replaced my ancient Windows 10 computer with a new Dell with Windows 11 on it. It came with a 24 inch flat panel monitor and I love the enhanced sharpness and clarity.

The problem is I’m used to using an older monitor that had large icons (I know, I’m WAY behind the times) and at 72 years of age my eyes aren’t what they once were.

Thanks to one of your tips I found out how to increase the font size in Google Chrome which was a tremendous help, but I really need to know how to make the Desktop icons bigger. Windows 11 is an enigma.

Can you help me with this? [Read more…]

Scam alert: Beware this very dangerous ‘Windows Defender’ scam

Posted on February 9, 2026

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This should come as a surprise to no one but another dangerous recurring scam is making the rounds yet again.

It’s being spread via both email and SMS test messages, and unfortunately lots of innocent people are falling for it.

As usual, there are several variations of this scam, but luckily they’re all very easy to detect and avoid once you know what to look for.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Does my WiFi network really need a password on it?

Posted on February 8, 2026

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Question from Deborah: I’ve been using my wireless router without a password on the WiFi connection for some time.

My boyfriend told me I need to put a password on the WiFi 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? [Read more…]

How (and when) to boot Windows 10 and Windows 11 into Safe Mode

Posted on February 7, 2026

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If you’ve been a Windows user for any length of time you probably know that there are times when it helps to boot Windows into Safe Mode.

In a nutshell, booting into Safe Mode forces Windows to load just the most basic Windows files and hardware drivers.

This helps a great deal when trying to remove stubborn viruses, track down faulty hardware drivers and resolve a wide range of software issues.

[Read more…]