malware Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Are today’s encryption methods so strong they’ll never be broken?

Posted on August 1, 2026

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Question from Carl: I was listening to talk radio the other day and I heard a guy say that the strongest encryption methods in use today are so strong that they will never, ever be broken.

The host didn’t challenge him on that. In fact, he seemed to agree with him. I have my doubts though.

What do you think? Is current encryption technology so good that no one will ever be able to break it? [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I create a Restore Point for a time that’s already passed?

Posted on July 21, 2026

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Question from Barry: Rick, I desperately need to create a System Restore Point for last Monday.

What happened was I downloaded a couple of torrent files last Tuesday and now my Windows 11 PC is all messed up.

I tried doing a System Restore back to the previous Monday, but the oldest Restore Point I see is from over 2 weeks ago and I have some really important files that were created since then. Is there a way to create one for last Monday? [Read more…]

Prevent hackers from spying on you via your PC’s microphone

Posted on July 6, 2026

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A while back I wrote a post explaining how hackers are using rogue apps and other forms of malware to spy on folks via their computers’ webcams.

That post also explains how to prevent it from happening.

As it turns out, some miscreants have been spying on us via our machines’ microphones as well. And in some ways that’s just as bad as having them spy on us via webcam. [Read more…]

Q&A: Do I need to run manual scans with my antivirus app?

Posted on June 30, 2026

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Question from Curtis: I have my antivirus program set to run automatic scans on three nights each week (I read somewhere that three times a week is the best schedule to follow).

My question is will those three automatic scans be enough to protect my computer from viruses or should I run manual scans too just to be safe? [Read more…]

5 ways to get a second opinion after a clean antivirus scan

Posted on June 22, 2026

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Do you always get a warm, fuzzy feeling after your latest malware scan responds with “Scan complete. No malware found!“?

Most folks do, and I must admit that I feel pretty good about those “all is well” reports myself.

But I’m going to share a little secret with you…

[Read more…]