Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
As you probably know by now, ransomware is an insidious form of malware that will encrypt the contents of your hard drive and then demand that you pay a ransom to a scammer in exchange for the encryption key.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to fall victim to ransomware, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to recover your files even if you pay the ransom as instructed.
Now, the scammers are planning to take this insidious threat to an even more sinister level! [Read more…]
There was a time when I built PCs from scratch and sold them at a profit, and I was able to generate a pretty decent side income from it. In total, I built and sold right at 200 computers before I moved on to other interests.
Today, computers are mass-produced commodities, and that makes it pretty hard to purchase all the individual parts required to build a PC at prices low enough to make a profit when selling the assembled unit.
After all, it’s hard for the little guy to compete with the big guys these days due to economy of scale.
That being said, there are still some benefits to be derived from building your own computer instead of purchasing one at retail. Here are a few of the reasons why some folks still build their own PCs: [Read more…]
Question from David K.: My computer has Windows 7 and there is a file named csrss.exe running according to Task Manager. Actually, there are two of them. They are in system.
Some websites say this file is a virus, and others say it isn’t. How do I know?
Rick’s answer: David, csrss.exe is a critical system file, not a virus. The filename is actually an acronym that stands for Client/Server Run-Time Subsystem.
It is perfectly normal to see this file listed in Task Manager (often twice) as it loads into memory every time Windows starts up. [Read more…]
Most people assume that their Wi-Fi connection is safe from hackers if it is secured with encryption and a password, but the sad truth is even a “protected” Wi-Fi connection can be broken into by a determined hacker using the right software.
If you suspect that someone might be piggybacking on your wireless network (and even if you don’t), I suggest downloading and running a free tool called WiFi Guard.
WiFi Guard is a small and lightweight utility that will scan your entire network and list all the devices connected to it including computers, tablets, smart phones, wireless printers and more. If it’s logged into your network, it’ll show up!
Using WiFi Guard is easy. Here’s how: [Read more…]
Question from Calvin T.: I use a Gateway DX4860-UB20P desktop computer at work and I just purchased a brand new Dell Ultrabook to use at home and while I’m out on the road.
I’d like your opinion on the best way to transfer large files between these two PCs.
I’d rather not use a large USB flash drive because I’ve had a lot of trouble with files getting corrupted on them in the past, and I really need something that’s more reliable.
I was planning to buy a 1TB external USB hard drive, but I happened to stop in at Office Depot yesterday and noticed that they now sell external USB Solid State Drives
It seems to me like an external SSD would be the perfect solution. Do you agree, or is there some reason why you’d recommend an external hard drive instead?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]