Rick's Daily Tips

Skip those irritating voice mail instructions and go right to the beep!

Posted on April 26, 2017

If you’re like me you probably hate calling someone who doesn’t answer, especially if you need to leave a message.

Before you get to that magic beep, you first have to wait while the voice mail system plays the recipient’s personal greeting, and then you have to listen for another eternity while it tells you how to leave a message.

If you’re wondering why all the major cell carriers require us to listen to the same boring voice mail instructions over and over again before allowing us to leave a simple message, it’s because it makes them a ton of money! [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I add the www to my WordPress blog’s URL?

Posted on April 23, 2017

Question from Chuck F.: Rick, I followed the instructions in your guide to creating a self-hosted WordPress blog and created my very first blog over the weekend. Everything went well with no problems whatsoever.

I was wondering though if there is a way to change the blog’s URL to include the www part? Right now my blog is at http://example.com and I want it to be http://www.example.com.

Rick’s answer: Hi Chuck! By default the WordPress installation script creates the blog URL without the www, but most bloggers prefer to have it included. Here’s how to add the www to your blog’s URL: [Read more…]

Take your iPhone photography to a new level with an off-camera flash

Posted on April 20, 2017

The most recent iPhones are notorious for taking outstanding photos that rival those taken by expensive point-and-shoot cameras. And I must say that I have seen some pretty spectacular images that were captured with them.

But as most any professional photographer will tell you, it’s difficult to take professional quality photos in low-light situations using just the camera’s built-in flash unit. To get a truly magnificent image under those conditions, one must use an off-camera flash.

Photographers have been using off-camera flash units with their expensive DSLR and high-end point and shoot cameras for years, and now iPhone users have that option as well.

The awesome Nova Off-Camera Wireless Flash for iPhone will provide that all-important flash of supplemental light to give your iPhone photos a crisp and bright professional look. [Read more…]

Scam alert: Don’t fall for the ‘he is a kidnapper’ hoax on Facebook

Posted on April 18, 2017

Well, yet another scam is making the rounds on Facebook right now, and it seems to be spreading fast. I know, you’re probably shocked (not)!

This one is called the “he is a kidnapper” scam, and you’ll see why in just a moment.

As with most Facebook scams, this one varies a bit in its wording.

The scam is being spread primarily via instant messages from your already-scammed friends, and the fraudulent messages look something like this: [Read more…]

Scam alert: Beware the new “Cerber” ransomware that’s hitting so many devices right now

Posted on April 17, 2017

Like other forms of malware, ransomware constantly evolves to ensure that as many unsuspecting victims can be attacked as possible before the word gets out about the latest threat.

A new ransomware strain called Cerber is hitting people hard right now, and this one is especially insidious because many victims are paying the ransom only to discover after payment is made that their data wasn’t encrypted, but deleted outright.

As you can see, it definitely pays to avoid falling victim to a Cerber attack. Luckily, it’s actually pretty easy to avoid this threat altogether because it’s being spread via phishing emails and malicious text messages. [Read more…]