Rick's Daily Tips

How to use a wired Ethernet connection with a newer MacBook

Posted on February 24, 2025

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Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

These days wireless Wi-Fi connections are the norm, but there are still situations in which we need to connect our computers to a router with a wired Ethernet connection.

In fact, just last month three different people asked me how they can connect a recent MacBook Pro or MacBook Air that doesn’t have an RJ-45 Ethernet connector to their router via an Ethernet cable.

It can be certainly be done, and it’s actually quite easy to do… [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I block websites from asking to send me notifications?

Posted on February 23, 2025

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Question from Helen: Several times a day my web browser will pop up a little box on my computer telling me the website I’m visiting wants to show notifications.

I always answer no because I don’t want to receive notifications from ANY website.

It makes no difference whether I’m using Chrome of Firefox. It happens with both of them.

Is there a way to prevent those browsers from asking me if I want to receive notifications from ANY site?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Which is faster, the fastest hard drive or the slowest SSD?

Posted on February 22, 2025

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Question from Rod: My friend and I were discussing the advancements that have been made in technology when an interesting question came to mind.

Are the fastest hard drives made today still slower than the slowest SSDs?

I say no, but my friend says yes. [Read more…]

How to check for skimming devices on ATMs and gas pumps

Posted on February 21, 2025

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There’s a very dangerous scam going full force right now that puts every penny in your bank account at immediate risk.

Scammers have been installing skimming devices on the card readers that are built into ATMs for years, and now they have branched out to the card readers on gas pumps.

Truth be told, there are probably skimmers in use on some of the gas pumps in your own town at this very minute. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I combine several short videos into one long one?

Posted on February 20, 2025

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Question from Tina: Our church hosted a gospel music festival this past weekend and I videoed the performances of eight groups, each of which sang several songs each.

There was a considerable gap between the performances so I stopped recording after each group had finished singing their last song.

That left me with eight relatively short videos instead of just long one.

How can I combine all of those short videos to make one long video? [Read more…]