Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Is it legal to install third-party firmware on a router?

Posted on November 16, 2020

Question from Scott: I have a relatively old Linksys router that my son recently installed DD-WRT on, and it works really well.

Last night I heard a guy say that it’s illegal to replace a router’s firmware with third-party firmware. I love DD-WRT but I don’t want either myself or my son to get into trouble over it.

Can you tell me if it’s really against the law to replace a router’s factory firmware with open-source firmware like DD-WRT? It seems to me that if it was you wouldn’t be able to download it.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

This little device will let you carry an Internet connection around in your pocket!

Posted on November 15, 2020

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Do you ever find yourself out and about and in need of a Wi-Fi hotspot, only to be disappointed when you can’t find one?

Does bad weather frequently knock out the Internet service at your house and you have to go without using the Internet for days while waiting for service to be restored?

If you really hate going without Internet service even for a day or two, there’s an easy way to make sure you have a backup Internet service available at a moment’s notice…

All you have to do is get yourself an inexpensive Verizon Jetpack Mobile Hotspot. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there a way to boost the weak cellular signal in my home?

Posted on November 14, 2020

Question from Deneen L.: My husband and I recently moved into a new home that’s located in a very hilly area.

We both have iPhones but the Sprint/TMobile signal inside the house is very weak.

We sprung for Xfinity Internet when we moved in, but we’d rather not have to install a landline phone if we can help it.

Is there any way we can boost the weak cellular signal to a usable level?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to automatically add the same text before or after every post in WordPress

Posted on November 14, 2020

Have you ever visited a blog and noticed that every post has the same block of text before and/or after the post content?

For example, some bloggers include a message asking the reader to subscribe to an email newsletter or share the post they are reading on social media sites.

If you have a block of text that you’d like to display before and/or after the content of each blog post, all you have to do is edit your WordPress theme’s functions.php file and add one or both of the following code snippets at the bottom. This post will tell you how to do that. [Read more…]