Rick's Daily Tips

HP reverses course on their new third-party ink cartridge ban

Posted on September 29, 2016

hp-officejet-pro-8610 A few days ago I wrote a post explaining how a new firmware update for some HP printers effectively banned the use of third-party printer cartridges.

Well, it appears that they received so many complaints that it prompted them to reconsider the move and even apologize for it in a post on their corporate blog.

Of course they worded the apology in a way that frames the issue as a “communications” problem, but the real problem is the ban itself in my opinion, not the way they chose to “communicate” with their customers about it. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is csrss.exe a virus?

Posted on September 29, 2016

microsoft-windows Question from David K.: My computer has Windows 7 and there is a file named csrss.exe running according to Task Manager. Actually, there are two of them. They are in system.

Some websites say this file is a virus, and others say it isn’t. How do I know?

Rick’s answer: David, csrss.exe is a critical system file, not a virus. The filename is actually an acronym that stands for Client/Server Run-Time Subsystem.

It is perfectly normal to see this file listed in Task Manager (often twice) as it loads into memory every time Windows starts up. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can my wireless router be upgraded to make it an AC router?

Posted on September 29, 2016

Question from Rhonda P.: I’ve heard that you can upgrade a router’s software to make it more up to date.

I have a Netgear RangeMax WNDR3700 that still works great and I was wondering if it can be upgraded to make it work like an “AC” router? That way I wouldn’t have to buy a new one.

Thanks for your help!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

New update makes HP Officejet printers incompatible with third-party ink cartridges

Posted on September 26, 2016

hp-officejet Do you currently use third-party ink cartridges in an HP Officejet printer?

If so, your non-HP cartridges might no longer work after you install your printer’s latest firmware update.

A few days ago HP released a new firmware update for several Officejet models that force the printer to display an error message when it detects that you have installed a non-HP ink cartridge. [Read more…]

Twitter: Photos no longer count against the 140 character limit when tweeting

Posted on September 21, 2016

One of the most frustrating things about using Twitter has always been having to limit the total number of characters in a tweet to 140 or less.

Simply put, it’s often pretty hard to get your message across in just 140 characters!

Even worse, photos and various other “extras” that are often added to a tweet can make that job harder still.

Although users have complained about the 140 character limit for years, Twitter has always resisted making any changes to the iconic, but frustrating limit. [Read more…]