Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why can’t I log in to Google Play after enabling Two Factor Authentication?

Posted on February 9, 2014

Question from Angelia C.: Hi Rick! Thanks so much for your tips, but I’m having a problem with one of them. I took your advice about enabling two factor authentication on my Google account but now I can’t log into Google Play on my Samsung phone.

It keeps telling me my password isn’t right even though I know it is. Can you tell me how to fix this? I really need to get into Google Play to update my apps! Thanks!!!

Rick’s answer: Hi Angelia. The problem you’re having is happening to lots of folks. I even ran into it myself after enabling two factor authentication on my own account.

It seems that some Android devices aren’t capable of dealing effectively with two factor authentication. But luckily, there’s an easy fix. All you have to do is create an Application Specific Password. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why is my computer not using all the installed RAM?

Posted on February 6, 2014

Question from Mark C.: I upgraded the RAM in my computer from 2GB to 8GB but Belarc Advisor says it only has 3.49GB installed.

Do you think I might have bought the wrong kind of RAM? I bought what the Memory Advisor at Crucial recommended for my laptop. Or maybe they just sent me some bad memory? How do I find out what the problem is?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I close my Gmail account?

Posted on February 6, 2014

Question from Glenda L.: Hi Rick. I recently made the switch from Gmail to Outlook.com and I no longer have a need for my Gmail account. I need to keep my umbrella Google account though because I use other Google services besides just Gmail.

I have two questions for you:

1 – How do I transfer all of my old Gmail messages to my Outlook.com account?

2 – How do I close the Gmail account once the messages have been transferred?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Adobe issues emergency Flash Player update

Posted on February 5, 2014

Abobe has just released an emergency update to their ubiquitous Flash Player software to plug a serious security hole that could easily grant hackers total control of your computer.

It’s obvious that Flash has become a favorite target for hackers in recent years, and the engineers at Adobe have their hands full trying to combat the nearly constant threats. [Read more…]

How to pin the ‘PC Settings’ screen to your Windows 8.1 Start Screen

Posted on February 2, 2014

pc-settings The PC Settings screen is one of the most useful screens in Windows since it allows access to a wide range of important tweaks and settings.

There are several quick ways to get to this screen in Windows 8.1, but if you find yourself using the Start Screen a lot, why not just pin it there?

Windows 8.1 makes it really easy to pin the PC Settings screen to the Start Screen. Here’s how: [Read more…]