Rick's Daily Tips

How to remotely erase a lost or stolen smartphone to protect your sensitive info

Posted on February 24, 2026

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Have you ever stopped to consider just how much of your digital life is stored on your smartphone?

First, there are the names and phone numbers of all your contacts (and possibly their email addresses and other sensitive info as well).

Then there are apps for accessing your bank account, your social media accounts and the accounts for all the other online services you use (and possibly the usernames and passwords to those accounts as well). [Read more…]

Q&A: How do you copy and paste text without the formatting?

Posted on February 22, 2026

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Question from Amber: Hi, Rick. I hope you can help me with something.

I write a blog about contests and giveaways, and I’m always copying and pasting snippets from other websites into my own blog posts.

The problem I’m having is when I copy a snippet of text with Ctrl+C and then paste it with Ctrl+V, any formatting (bold, italics, web links, etc.) are pasted into the document along with the text.

To get around that I’ve been pasting the snippet first into Notepad, then copying it again from there and pasting it into my WordPress editor window. Is there a better way? [Read more…]

How (and why) to stop mobile apps from tracking your location

Posted on February 21, 2026

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Did you know that at least some of the apps on your phone are probably tracking your location even if the app doesn’t need location data in order to perform the task it was intended for.

Of course a Maps app has a legitimate need to track your location, for obvious reasons.

So does an app that keeps you up-to-date on where to buy the cheapest gasoline in the area you happen to be driving through. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is a 6 digit PIN really all that much more secure than 4 digits?

Posted on February 20, 2026

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Question from Andy: My girlfriend and I have a bet that’s riding on your answer to this question:

Is a six digit PIN really all that more secure than a four digit PIN?

It don’t seem like just two digits could make that much of a difference. She says it makes a big difference if someone ever tries to break into my phone.

So who’s right? [Read more…]