Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why is my wireless keyboard not working?

Posted on August 23, 2025

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Question from Elliot: A year and a half ago I bought a wireless keyboard/mouse combo to make it easier to use my laptop. I hate those trackpads and small keyboards!

I was typing an email this morning and all of a sudden the keyboard just stopped working. I figured the batteries needed to be replaced, but new ones didn’t fix the problem.

The mouse still works fine and a wired keyboard I plugged in works too. I rebooted the laptop but that didn’t help.

What do you think might be the problem? [Read more…]

How to use YouTube’s “Picture-In-Picture” feature

Posted on August 23, 2025

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Did you know YouTube has a handy ‘Picture-In-Picture’ feature that allows you to watch a video in the corner of the screen while you’re doing other things with your machine?

For example, let’s say you’re busy catching up on your email but you also want to keep up with what’s happening at an event that’s being livestreamed via YouTube.

Or maybe you simply want to watch a regular pre-recorded YouTube video while you’re working.

Either way, you can easily watch the video in the corner of your screen with YouTube’s handy ‘Picture-In-Picture’ feature. Just follow the steps below: [Read more…]

SPF Lookup Tool provides insights for better protection against forged sender addresses

Posted on August 23, 2025

Email is now a highly reliable and commonly utilized method of communication for both personal and professional interactions. Nevertheless, it has also become a key target for cybercriminals who take advantage of weaknesses to execute attacks such as phishing, spoofing, and business email compromise. A powerful defense mechanism against these threats is the Sender Policy Framework (SPF).

Utilizing an SPF lookup tool offers organizations essential information regarding the usage of their domain, enabling them to defend against fake sender addresses. By consistently employing an SPF lookup tool or SPF Tool, companies can protect their brand image, enhance email deliverability, and bolster their overall cybersecurity efforts.

[Read more…]

Streaming unlocked: How VPNs allow access to geo-restricted content

Posted on August 22, 2025

Streaming services offer loads of TV shows, movies, and live sports events. However, most of us will face annoying geo-blocks that prevent us from accessing the content we want.

Apart from that, some platforms are only available in certain countries. Luckily, there is a way to bypass these invisible barriers and enjoy streaming services to the max.

In this post we’ll discuss how geo-blocks work and how streaming services use them to restrict content. Moreover, you’ll discover the best tool against curbs – a VPN. Not to mention, I’ll explain how to choose the best one and how to use it to punch through geo-blocks. [Read more…]

How to easily add an optical DVD drive to virtually any computer

Posted on August 21, 2025

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Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

If you’ve been checking out the latest laptops and desktop computers you’ve probably noticed that most of them no longer come with an optical (DVD/CD) drive.

There are three primary reasons why computer manufacturers have started skipping the optical drives when designing new computers: [Read more…]