Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Kindle Fire HDX

Posted on September 28, 2014

Amazon’s new Kindle Fire HDX is the most advanced Kindle tablet ever released. I recently had an opportunity to check it out, and it’s an exceptional machine.

In addition to its super-sharp 1920 X 1200 HDX 7″ display, it also features the fastest processor you can get on a 7 inch tablet (2.2GHz quad-core) along with 2GB of RAM for fast, efficient multi-tasking, gaming, and video rendering.

The base model comes with 16GB of flash storage, but you can opt for up to 64Gb if you wish. Battery life is a very respectable 11 to 17 hours, depending on how the tablet is used. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to reset a PC back to its factory state without using Recovery Discs?

Posted on September 26, 2014

Question from Anthony: I have no discs for windows 8.1, so is going back to factory mode a safe and easy way to restore my computer without the use of discs, and then just download the programs I had back on to my computer?

Rick’s answer: Anthony, you can certainly restore your Windows 8.1 computer back to its factory state using the Recovery Partition on the hard drive. [Read more…]

Beware the insidious Gameover Zeus virus. Find out instantly if your PC is infected.

Posted on September 24, 2014

malware It seems like a new virus or trojan pops up every day, and they tend to get nastier as time goes on. The latest super-threat is the insidious Gameover Zeus virus.

Gameover Zeus is a particularly nasty form of malware. In addition to allowing other viruses (including the equally insidious CryptoLocker) to break into your system, it harvests every scrap of financial information it can find from your computer’s hard drive.

Approximately a quarter of a million people and institutions have fallen victim already, and the combined financial losses are staggering – and growing. [Read more…]

Review: HP 15-d097nr TouchSmart laptop

Posted on September 23, 2014

hp-15-d097nr-touchsmart-laptop It seems that laptops are getting cheaper by the day, but most of the models on the lower end of the price scale are bare-bones machines that don’t have the power for serious computing tasks.

I recently had an opportunity to check out a great laptop that perfectly bridges the gap between low-cost entry-level PCs and the more powerful and more expensive ultrabooks. It’s the HP 15-d097nr TouchSmart laptop, and I really like it. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I stop Windows from automatically rebooting after it installs updates?

Posted on September 23, 2014

windows-7 Question from Sean G.: I hope you can help me. Twice now I have lost work because my computer automatically rebooted after installing Windows Updates. It always catches me off guard and I don’t have a chance to save my work.

This is really driving me up the wall! Is there any way to keep it from happening? My computer has Windows 7 Home Premium.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]