Rick's Daily Tips

Should you completely drain your laptop’s battery before recharging it?

Posted on July 13, 2021

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

I’m often asked whether laptop batteries need to be drained completely before recharging them.

My answer? Well, it depends on the type of battery that it uses.

Early laptops used nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries which were subject to a “memory effect”.

If NiCads weren’t allowed to discharge all the way before being recharged they would eventually “remember” the level of charge they fell to before recharging and act as if they were completely drained every time their charge decreased to that level. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is ‘Runtime Broker’ a virus?

Posted on July 12, 2021

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Question from Garland L.: I recently noticed there’s a process called “Runtime Broker” always running when I load Task Manager.

My McAfee antivirus doesn’t flag it as a virus, but it still sounds fishy to me.

I called Office Depot and asked the tech guy about it but he refused to give me an answer about whether this is a virus or not. They said I’d need to bring my computer in and pay them to run a virus check on it.

I ran across your website on Google and saw where you answer people’s questions.

So what’s the deal? Is “RunTime Broker” a virus or not? [Read more…]

Are you a ‘Stay-At-Home Mom’ looking to work from home? If so, read this.

Posted on July 11, 2021

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Are you a Stay-At-Home Mom?

If so, rest assured that you are doing the most important job you will ever do in your entire life.

Trust me, you will never regret dedicating your time, talents and motherly love to your kids during the most impressionable times of their lives.

That being said, you can still use your time at home with your kids to earn a good home-based income while still doing everything you need to do as a mom.

All you need to do is start a blog!

I know what you’re probably thinking… [Read more…]

Apple has added a new (and awesome) ‘Account Recovery’ tool to iOS 15

Posted on July 9, 2021

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I frequently receive frantic messages from folks who have managed to get locked out of their own Apple devices because they’ve forgotten their Apple ID password.

I usually reply to those requests for help by sending them the link to Apple’s Reset Password page.

If the stars are aligned just right and the closest creek hasn’t overflowed its banks most password reset attempts end in success.

However, in far too many cases the forgotten password simply cannot be reset using the tools Apple provides on that page.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Does my iPhone need an antivirus app?

Posted on July 6, 2021

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Question from Lilly N.: Hello, Rick. I just have a very quick question.

Do I need to install an antivirus app on my iPhone?

One friend says I do and another friend (who I tend to trust more lol) says I don’t.

I’d really like to know for sure so I can make sure my phone is protected. I just don’t want to install another app if I don’t need it.

But if I do need to install one, which one would you recommend?

Thanks for your help.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]