Monday, November 14, 2022 – Can a cell phone damage a credit card or key fob? – Does a PC with no Internet connection need an antivirus app?

Hello, and welcome…

Rick’s Daily Tech Tips Update for Monday, November 14, 2022

Topics covered in this issue…

• Q&A: Does a PC with no Internet connection need an antivirus app?

• Q&A: Can a cell phone damage a credit card or key fob?

• Q&A: How do I bypass the 5000 friend limit on Facebook?

• Video: Here’s an adventure you’re sure to love (or maybe not)

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Today’s quick tech tip….

Rick’s answer:  Sandra, even computers that aren’t connected to the Internet can catch a viral infection simply by plugging an infected USB drive into it or using an infected CD-R or DVD-R disc.

That means if you ever plan to connect a USB drive or insert an optical disc at any time in the future, you really do need to install an antivirus program on it and keep that software updated by occasionally connecting the machine to the Internet and downloading the latest antivirus definition updates.

Now, I’ll say this…

The above is the generic advice that I give almost every time someone asks me a question like this (and I get these questions fairly often).

However, your case is one of the rare exceptions in which I don’t recommend installing an antivirus app.

Why? Because the risk involved even if this PC were to become infected is extremely small.

As long as you only use this machine to store your recipes and play offline games, there is really nothing horrible that can happen as a result of a virus infection.

Of course this is assuming that you haven’t stored any sensitive personal or financial information on the computer at some point in the past. If you did, you really need to either remove that sensitive info or install an antivirus app (and keep it updated).