Rick's Daily Tips

‘Flash On Call’ alerts you with a bright flash when you receive a voice call

Posted on October 28, 2016

Do you often miss incoming calls because your Android phone is on mute and you don’t realize that someone is trying to call you?

Sure, the screen will come on and let you know there’s a call coming in, but unless you’re relatively close to the phone (and happen to be looking at it), it’s very easy to miss the visual alert – and hence you miss the call.

Well, there’s a simple way to ensure that you never miss the visual alert for another incoming call. All you have to do is install a handy free app called Flash On Call. [Read more…]

Scam alert: Weebly has been hacked. Change your password ASAP!

Posted on October 26, 2016

scam Popular website creation service Weebly has been hacked, and the hackers were able to steal the usernames, email addresses, passwords and IP addresses belonging to over 43 million customers.

Weebly claims that the stolen passwords were in encrypted form, but if you have an account with them I strongly recommend that you log in to your account and change your password immediately. As they say, “better safe than sorry”.

They also claim that no credit card or bank account information was stolen, but I recommend that you monitor any accounts that are connected with your Weebly account for unusual activity anyway. Again, “better safe than sorry”.

Unfortunately, this Weebly breach is just the latest in a long string of successful hacking attacks, and I don’t see that string coming to an end any time soon. Therefore, I have a few suggestions for protecting all of your online accounts:
[Read more…]

How To Use Facebook Marketing To Promote and Improve Your Business

Posted on October 25, 2016

If you’re struggling to promote and grow your small business, you have probably recognized the awesome potential of marketing on Facebook to their 1 billion or so active users.

It’s very true that Facebook offers some amazing potential for helping you grow your business, but you’ll need a clear, effective strategy if you want to take full advantage of it.

Facebook Marketing is simple in concept, but I can tell you from personal experience that there are countless ways to do it wrong and end up spending a ton of money with little in the way of tangible results to show for it. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I find out if my computer has a 64 bit CPU?

Posted on October 24, 2016

Question from Bobby E.: I bought a computer at an estate sale a few days ago. The lady told me her dad had built the computer himself a couple of years ago but she didn’t know anything about it. I think I got a good deal because it only cost me $30.

Apparently there’s no operating system on the hard drive, and I’d like to install Windows 10 on it and use this PC as a backup Internet-only computer.

What I’d like to find out is if the CPU is a 32 bit or 64 bit chip. If it has a 64 bit CPU I’d like to install the 64 bit version of Windows 10. How can I find out?

I really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Have you ever thought about building your own computer? If so, read this.

Posted on October 22, 2016

There was a time when I built PCs from scratch and sold them at a profit, and I was able to generate a pretty decent side income from it. In total, I built and sold right at 200 computers before I moved on to other interests.

Today, computers are mass-produced commodities, and that makes it pretty hard to purchase all the individual parts required to build a PC at prices low enough to make a profit when selling the assembled unit.

After all, it’s hard for the little guy to compete with the big guys these days due to economy of scale.

That being said, there are still some benefits to be derived from building your own computer instead of purchasing one at retail. Here are a few of the reasons why some folks still build their own PCs: [Read more…]