Rick's Daily Tips

Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!

Q&A: Is it really dangerous to keep using Windows 7?

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Question from Luisa:  I’m hoping you can clear something up for me.

I’ve heard some people say we need to stop using Windows 7 now that Microsoft has stopped updating it because it’s no longer safe.

Others are saying it’s perfectly fine to keep using it as long as the computer has an antivirus on it.

This is really confusing to me.

My HP laptop is old but it still works fine even though it has Windows 7 on it. I really hate the thought of having to replace it, but I will if it’s really unsafe to use.

Rick’s answer:  [Read more…]

Scam alert: Beware hackers stealing Facebook passwords via malicious video links in IMs

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If you use Facebook you’re probably used to receiving cute and funny videos in instant messages (IMs).

And of course there are political videos and a wide variety of other types of videos being shared via IMs as well.

Truth be told, we all get them on a regular basis.

Dozens of videos land in my IM inbox every day, but I never click on any of them. And I strongly recommend that you avoid clicking on them as well.

Many of these seemingly harmless videos are actually quite dangerous because they have viruses attached to them. If you take the bait and attempt to watch one of them, your computer or Android device could become infected. And that could easily ruin your entire day. [Read more…]

How to make sure a file is safe before you open it

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Do you ever receive files in your email inbox that you’re pretty sure are legit, but you’re still leery about opening them?

Well, with all the hacking, spoofing, phishing and malware distribution going on these days, you should be!

Folks send files to me all the time via email (after we discuss it in advance), but even if I trust the sender completely I still check the files out to make sure they’re safe and malware-free. [Read more…]

Yes, free antivirus apps really are just as good as the ‘paid’ ones

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I’m often asked if free antivirus apps are as effective at protecting a Windows PC from virus infections as their “paid” counterparts.

And I must say, that’s an excellent question.

Back in the early days of home computing my answer would have been a huge NO because the free antivirus programs available at the time were indeed inferior to the commercial programs.

But that has changed over the years…

[Read more…]

Q&A: Do I need to scan my Smart TV for viruses?

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Question from Deidre: I have a Smart TV and my mom told me she heard on the news that viruses can infect smart TVs and we need to run virus scans on them.

I didn’t even know a TV could catch a virus.

Is that true? And how do I run a virus scan if it is?  [Read more…]

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