Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How much should I spend on a set of headphones for my laptop?

Posted on November 10, 2018

Question from Denise R.: I just bought a new Dell laptop because my old Acer stopped working. The Acer came with a great pair of headphones bundled with it, and I’d like to get a new pair that’ll work equally well with the Dell.

I’ve seen headphones priced anywhere from $5 to $400, and I don’t really know how much I need to spend to get a good pair. I’ll be using them mainly to watch Netflix in my dorm room. I’d appreciate your advice. Thanks.

Rick’s answer: Hi Denise. If you like the headphones that came with your old laptop, you can always just use those with your new laptop instead of buying a new set. That’s assuming they still work well of course. [Read more…]

How to bypass the Lock Screen and go straight to the Login Screen in Windows 10

Posted on November 8, 2018

If your PC is running Windows 10 and have your user account protected with a password, you are no doubt familiar with the Lock Screen.

That’s the screen with the pretty picture on it that loads right before you get to the Login Screen.

Some people like the Lock Screen for its aesthetic value, but I happen to find it irritating because it’s simply an extra screen that I have to get past in order to log in to my Windows account. Therefore, I have disabled it.

If you’d like to disable the Lock Screen on your computer as well, follow the steps listed below. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I uninstall Internet Explorer from my Windows 10 PC?

Posted on November 7, 2018

Question from Nolan R.: I just bought a new laptop with Windows 10 to replace my old one that had Windows 7 on it.

The new laptop came with Internet Explorer 11 installed but I don’t need (or want) IE because I use Chrome all the time.

The problem is IE doesn’t come up in the list of programs to be uninstalled. If it’s there, I can’t find it.

I’d really like to uninstall it if I possibly can because I’ve heard that it’s a security risk and a drag on system performance.

Can you tell me how to remove IE 11 from my PC? Thank you.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to enable Two Factor Authentication on your GoToMyPC account

Posted on November 7, 2018

If you use the popular GoToMyPC remote access service you probably already know they were hacked big time over the past weekend.

To help protect the security of your account, you’ll be required to reset your password before you can log in again.

Before you choose a new password however, you might want to read this post for tips on choosing a good one.

After you have successfully changed your password and logged in to your GoToMyPC account, I strongly recommend that you enable Two Factor Authentication on the account. (Note: GoToMyPC calls it “2-Step Verification”) [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent WordPress from automatically installing updates?

Posted on November 6, 2018

Question from Edwin G.: I’m really upset Rick. I checked my email this morning and found that both of my WordPress blogs had been updated to the latest version during the night without my knowledge or consent. I don’t like that!

I’ve had problems in the past with WordPress core updates breaking my blogs so now I always update my blogs one at a time, then check to make sure everything still works before updating the next blog.

Is there a setting in WordPress that I can change to prevent it from installing updates automatically? If there is, I can’t find one.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]