Rick's Daily Tips

App Lock – Secure your Android phone’s apps and settings with a password

Posted on June 29, 2013

app-lock Have you ever loaned your smart phone to a friend and then spent the day wondering if he was reading your emails or looking at your pictures? Have you ever let your child play a game on your phone only to find out later that the settings had been changed? Do you refuse to let anyone else touch your phone because of concerns like these?

Thanks to a free app called App Lock, you can now let someone else use your Android smart phone without having to worry about them accessing your personal information and photos or changing the phone’s settings. [Read more…]

How to make Windows 8.1 boot directly to the Desktop

Posted on June 28, 2013

windows-8-1 Microsoft released Windows 8 with some changes that quickly proved to be extremely unpopular with seasoned Windows users, and as a result the sales of both Windows 8 itself and new PCs that come with it pre-installed never even made it out of second gear.

But to the company’s credit, they listened to their customers and reversed a couple of the most bone-headed decisions in the Windows 8.1 update.

The first and most appreciated change was putting the Start button back in its rightful place. The second (and to me at least, even more important) change was giving users the ability to bypass the reviled Start Screen and boot directly to the Desktop. The instructions that follow explain how to set Windows 8.1 to do just that: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I set my default search engine back to Google?

Posted on June 27, 2013

Question from Anita W.: Hi Rick. I recently read your post letting everyone know that I.E. 10 is now available for Windows 7 so I downloaded it and gave it a try. All in all, I think it’s a major improvement over I.E. 9.

I’m having one problem however. When I installed I.E. 10 it changed my default search engine from Google to Bing. How do I change it back? Thanks a bunch!!

Rick’s answer: Anita, I also think I.E. 10 is a major improvement over I.E. 9, but as you found out the switch isn’t always hassle-free. Unfortunately, it’s standard procedure for Microsoft to stealthily replace your default search engine with Bing. Luckily, it’s very easy to change it back. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Lockscreen Pro – A better way to lock down your PC while you’re away

Posted on June 25, 2013

Microsoft Windows allows you to lock your computer when you need to step away from it for a while, and it works quite well. But a free download called Lockscreen Pro locks your screen plus does a whole lot more.

Lockscreen Pro has a number of cool features that make it a very worthwhile download, but these two are my favorites:

1 – Once your PC has been locked with Lockscreen Pro you can unlock it either by entering your password or inserting a USB thumb drive. Being able to insert a thumb drive to unlock the PC is awesome because it’s so fast and convenient.

2 – If someone tries to unlock your PC by entering the wrong password, your webcam will snap his/her picture so that you can see exactly who tried to break into your computer. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why doesn’t Windows Update install all available updates at once?

Posted on June 24, 2013

Question from Eric: Rick, I have a question about Windows Update. I just got back from a business trip, and when I turned my PC on it had 11 updates waiting to be installed. After they were installed the computer rebooted, then informed me that there were 4 more updates that needed to be installed.

Why didn’t Windows Update just install all of the available updates at once? Just curious…It’s a hassle having to wait through two update procedures (and reboots) when it seems that one should have been sufficient. If it makes any difference, I have a Lenovo desktop PC running Windows 7.

Rick‘s answer: Eric, the Windows Update process can be a real head-scratcher sometimes. There are a couple of possible reasons why the Windows Update process is sometimes split into two events: [Read more…]