viruses Archives - Page 4 of 12

Scam alert: Why you should never ‘Unsubscribe’ from SPAM emails

Posted on August 16, 2023

Like most everyone else, you probably receive SPAM and phishing emails all the time.

And despite the existence of the Can-Spam act, this scourge of the Internet seems to actually be getting worse instead of better.

If you ever happen to accidentally open one of these obnoxious messages you might be tempted to click the “Unsubscribe” link located near the bottom of the message to have your email address removed from their mailing list.

Whatever you do, don’t click that link! Read on to find out why… [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I tell if my computer has a virus?

Posted on August 3, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Question from Geneva: I keep reading about all the computer viruses going around and how they can cause you a bunch of problems.

I’m a complete dummy when it comes to this stuff, Rick. How can I find out if my computer is infected? [Read more…]

Why you shouldn’t send suspicious files to the Recycle Bin

Posted on June 28, 2023

If you’ve been using Microsoft Windows for a while you probably know that deleting a file doesn’t really remove it from the system.

Instead, it’s actually moved to a special folder called the Recycle Bin.

That’s generally a good thing because we all occasionally delete a file by mistake or wish we hadn’t deleted a file at some later point in time.

Having our deleted files go into the Recycle Bin makes it easy to restore one of them to it’s original folder in either of the above-mentioned cases.

But unfortunately some files can become problematic if we allow them to sit idly in the Recycle Bin.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to completely disable Windows updates?

Posted on May 7, 2023

Question from Michael: I recently bought a new desktop computer with to replace the one I’ve been using for the past six years.

It seems like the updates I’ve been installing on this new machine have all been filled with bugs because almost every time I install them something goes wrong.

The last time it happened my nephew had to completely reinstall Windows for me.

I’d like to completely disable the installation of updates on the new PC. Is it safe to do that? [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I completely remove Norton antivirus from my PC?

Posted on April 9, 2023

Question from Dagan: I’ve been using Norton 360 for years, but it recently let a bunch of viruses slip through and get installed on my computer.

Norton removes a bunch of viruses every time I run it but they just keep coming right back.

I want to ditch Norton and install a different antivirus app but I know you’re only supposed to run one antivirus app at a time.

The problem I’m having is I can’t seem to get all the Norton 360 files uninstalled so that I can install Malwarebytes. The Windows thingy that uninstalls programs gets rid of some of the Norton files but some of them come right back when I reboot the computer.

How can I completely uninstall ALL the Norton files from my hard drive? [Read more…]