Rick's Daily Tips

How (and when) to boot Windows into ‘Safe Mode’

Posted on September 21, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

If you use a Windows PC there will likely come a time when you need to start up Windows in Safe Mode for trouble-shooting purposes.

Which brings up a question you might be asking…

What is Safe Mode?

When you boot up Windows into Safe Mode only the bare essentials of the operating system are loaded.

Only the system’s basic hardware drivers are loaded, and no programs listed in the Startup folder are allowed to load and run.

In a nutshell, Safe Mode makes it much easier to troubleshoot and fix software problems such as bad drivers, corrupted Windows files, really viruses and a lot more.

How to boot Windows into Safe Mode [Read more…]

How to get photos of minors removed from Google’s search results

Posted on September 21, 2023

Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog

As you probably know, Google search results often include photos of people who are relevant to the search query in some way, and that does include minors.

If you’re the parent or legal guardian of a minor (below the age of 18) whose photo(s) are included in Google searches you can request that Google remove those photos.

Minors themselves can also request the removal of their photos if they’d prefer not have an adult involved in the process. [Read more…]

Warning: Your smartphone photos can put your security at risk

Posted on September 20, 2023

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

Posted on September 20, 2023

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…]

Q&A: Why do they still bother with making desktop computers?

Posted on September 19, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Ben: Everyone I know that recently bought a computer ended up buying a laptop instead of a desktop computer.

Since no one is buying desktops anymore, why are they still bothering to make them?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]