Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Is it safe to run my Sony Vaio Z laptop with a bad fan?

Posted on February 10, 2013

Question from Camille: I have a 2 year old Sony Vaio Z laptop that works great but I recently noticed that the fan never comes on anymore. It does seem to get hotter than usual but it never gets too hot to touch. Since it’s over 2 years old I hate to spend a lot of money on getting it fixed. Do you think it’ll be ok to run it with a bad fan?

Rick’s answer: Camille, if I were you I’d spring for the repair bill and have the fan checked out and replaced if it indeed turns out to be defective. My guess is that it is, but there are other problems besides just a bad fan that can cause it to stop spinning. [Read more…]

Q&A: If I upgrade to Windows 8 will I be able to go back to Windows 7?

Posted on February 10, 2013

Question from Elizabeth A.: I’m thinking about upgrading my computer to Windows 8 but I have a question first. If I try Windows 8 for a while and don’t like it will I be able to go back to Windows 7 without losing my files?

Rick’s Answer: Elizabeth, the short answer is yes, but you’ll have to prepare for the potential downgrade from Win 8 to Win 7 before you install the upgrade by creating a System Repair Disc and Backup Image for your current Windows 7 installation (click the link for instructions).

You should create this backup set right before starting the Windows 8 upgrade process to ensure that none of your user-created data files will be lost if you end up deciding to downgrade back to Windows 7 later. [Read more…]

How to “unsend” a Direct Message on Twitter

Posted on February 9, 2013

Have you ever sent someone a message that you regretted sending and wished you could take back? Well, if you had sent it via Twitter’s Direct Message feature you could have.

When you “unsend” a Twitter Direct Message, not only will the message be removed from your outbox, it will also be yanked from the recipient’s inbox as well, even if it has already been read!

Here’s how to “unsend” a Direct Message on Twitter:

1 – Click on the Gear icon located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

2 – Click on Direct Messages.

3 – Locate the message you wish to “unsend” and click on the Trash Can icon.

How to turn on SSL Encryption for your Yahoo Mail account

Posted on February 9, 2013

The proliferation of free Wi-Fi access points has made it a lot easier to stay connected with the online world these days. Now, finding a usable Wi-Fi hotspot is literally just as easy as finding the nearest McDonalds or other fast food joint.

But along with the convenience of free Wi-Fi comes a real and serious danger. Unsecured Wi-Fi signals make your unencrypted emails readily available to hackers and snoops, and guess where hackers and snoops just love to hang out? In establishments that offer free Wi-Fi access! [Read more…]

How to close all active apps on your Android phone at once

Posted on February 8, 2013

android-phone Smart phone users love their apps, and many of us have several apps running in the background at any given time. Occasionally a glitch with one of those active apps will cause the phone to freeze up and the only way to unfreeze it is to close the problem app.

But which app is the one that’s causing the problem? It’s often the one that you’re actually using at the time the freeze-up occurs, but not always.

The fastest way to clear up such a problem is to simply close all open apps at once, then reload them. Here’s how to quickly close all active apps: [Read more…]