Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How do I capture a screenshot on my Nook HD and email it to a friend?

Posted on February 21, 2014

Question from Cassie: Hello Rick. I have a Nook HD and I like it pretty well. I’d really like to buy a Kindle Fire HD but it’ll be a while before I can afford one.

In the meantime I really need to be able to take screenshots on my Nook HD every once in a while and email them to my friends. I’m pretty sure this can be done but I can’t figure out how to do it. Can you tell me?

Rick’s answer: The Kindle Fire HD is a fantastic tablet Cassie, but the Nook HD is a good one as well. I hope yours continues serving you well until you’re ready to buy your Kindle. When that time comes, you might want to check out the Kindle Fire HDX as well as the regular HD model.

To answer to your question, it’s actually pretty easy to capture a screenshot on your Nook HD. Here’s how to do it: [Read more…]

Scam Alert: Do not install ‘Profile Visitors for Facebook’ extension

Posted on February 20, 2014

Another insidious scam is making the rounds on Facebook. This one is perpetuated by a “free” browser extension called Profile Visitors for Facebook.

The website that’s hawking this fraudulent extension (I will not publish the URL for obvious reasons) claims that it will add a new menu option to your Facebook page that, when clicked, will tell you who has been looking at your Facebook profile. [Read more…]

Scam Alert: Don’t fall for the [Shocking Video] scam on Facebook

Posted on February 16, 2014

If you’re a long-time Facebook user you’re surely aware by now that plenty of scams make the rounds on there. The latest scam involves a fake video with a title that begins with the words [Shocking Video].

In most cases there really is no video to see at all, just a photo of some unbelievable scene with a YouTube-style Play button Photoshopped onto it.

If you click through to watch the video, you’ll be redirected to a fake site that looks like Facebook and asked to take a survey. That survey earns cash… for the scammer, not you! [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I stop all auto-updates in Windows 8.1?

Posted on February 13, 2014

Question from Alan J.: Rick, I travel frequently and I use my mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot via “tethering” for my laptop. The problem is I’m only allotted 2 GB of data transfer per month.

2GB would be enough but something on my laptop is constantly checking for updates and downloading them. I need to put a stop to the auto-updates because they’re using up my paltry supply of monthly data.

I’ve already turned off automatic Windows Updates. How can I prevent ALL auto-updates from my laptop with Windows 8.1?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]