Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Is it safe to keep using an antivirus that has expired?

Posted on March 1, 2023

Question from Jimmy: A few months ago I bought a new laptop that came with McAfee Antivirus pre-installed on it.

I thought it was the real McAfee program but apparently it was just a trial version because this morning I got a notice saying the trial subscription had expired.

I tried to uninstall it so I could install Avira but I can’t get it to uninstall. It gives me an error every time I try to remove it.

My question is would it be safe for me to keep using the McAfee program that’s installed on my laptop even though it’s expired? [Read more…]

Warning: Don’t let your WiFi security camera(s) get hacked

Posted on February 28, 2023

Have you installed one or more WiFi security cameras to protect your home and family from intruders?

If so, it’s extremely important to protect your camera(s) with a password that’s both strong and unique.

If you’ve been watching the news of late you know there have been several very disturbing reports of hackers using compromised passwords to access cameras made by Ring and other manufacturers. [Read more…]

How (and when) to reset your PC’s network adapters

Posted on February 28, 2023

Does your Windows PC keep disconnecting from the Internet at random times?

Or perhaps your web browser frequently slows to a crawl or completely freezes up even though it appears that you still have a normal connection?

Or maybe you just get the feeling that your Internet or local network connection just isn’t working as well as it should?

These types of issues are often due to a glitch or an incorrect setting in your PC’s network adapter settings. If you’re experiencing any type of connectivity problem a simple Network Reset just might fix it in a jiffy. [Read more…]

How to make sure your downloads aren’t infected with a virus

Posted on February 27, 2023

Regular readers of this blog know I’m a huge fan of free software because I routinely recommend the use of freeware whenever possible to accomplish whatever the task at hand may be.

But as you probably also know there can be hidden dangers lurking behind the scenes every time you install a piece of free software.

The dangers range all the way from the installation of unwanted add-on software to installing viruses and other forms of malware right along with the programs themselves.

[Read more…]