Rick's Daily Tips

Scam alert: Don’t fall for the ‘Lets Start a Prayer Chain’ hoax on Facebook

Posted on January 4, 2018

As I’m sure you know, Facebook is a favorite playground for scammers and hoaxers thanks to it’s massive 2 billion+ person worldwide user base.

I despise scams and hoaxes in general, but the ones that really bother me the most are the ones that target Christians.

A while back I wrote a post about the insidious “Amen scam” that scammers use to profit off the good will of Christians.

That scam never ends because it’s so lucrative for the scammers, but others seem to come and go as the seasons change. [Read more…]

Apple apologizes for forcing older iPhones to run slower (and offers $29 battery replacement)

Posted on December 30, 2017

A few days ago I wrote a post explaining how it came to light that Apple has been intentionally causing older iPhones to run slower via software updates.

As you might expect, the company was quickly hit with a couple of class-action lawsuits over the practice.

Well, it seems they’ve now come to their senses because they’ve published a blog post apologizing for the way they handled the situation. [Read more…]

Do you have an account with Ancestry and RootsWeb? If so, change your passwords!

Posted on December 29, 2017

Well, it’s another week, and another online service has reported a data breach.

This time it’s Ancestry.com – or more specifically, the server that hosts their RootsWeb genealogy information sharing tools. [Read more…]

Google Chrome to start blocking deceptive and irritating ads by default on February 15

Posted on December 26, 2017

Do you hate it when you click what looks like a link to an interesting article only to discover that it’s really just an advertisement?

And how about those ads that prompt you to to click by using a title that ends up having nothing to do with the product or service they’re hawking?

Or maybe video ads that start playing automatically just as soon as you load the page?

And perhaps worst of all are ads that “pop up” or “slide in” over top of the content, usually with the little “X” you click to close the ad located way off in the distance. I hate having to search high and low for a way to close an ad just so I can read the article!

If you despise deceptive and irritating ads like these as much as I do, you’ll finally find some relief come February 15, 2018. [Read more…]

Apple hit with multiple class-action lawsuits for intentionally slowing down customers’ iPhones

Posted on December 22, 2017

Yesterday I wrote a post discussing Apple’s admission that they intentionally release software updates to cause older iPhones to run slower.

I expected some users to sue over the practice, and it sure didn’t take long for that to happen!

According to Business Insider, at least two class-action lawsuits have been filed against Apple over the practice.

I won’t go into the details about who actually filed those suits (you can read about that at the above link), but I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to see more lawsuits filed in the days and weeks to come.

I’m always amazed when a company like Apple allows itself to fall into a trap like this. After all, you know they must have scores of outstanding attorneys on their payroll to help them avoid these types of situations. [Read more…]