Hello, and welcome…
Rick’s Daily Tech Tips Update for Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Topics covered in this issue…
• How to give your phone a temporary ‘burner’ number
• How to stop ads from following you around the Internet
• Q&A: Can counterfeit RAM damage a laptop?
• Why looking down might help lower your grocery bill
• April’s Tech Tips Giveaway: Anker 521 300W Portable Power Station
Today’s issue is sponsored by…
You deserve success without the crippling pressure of trying to be perfect. Life coach Lisa Oglesbee will show you that your dreams don’t have to be perfect to come true.
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Monthly Tech Giveaway….
We have a winner for March…
Congratulations to Teresa G. from McKinney, Texas for winning the HP Pavilion 17.3″ HD+ Laptop in March’s Tech Tips Giveaway.
April’s winner will receive an Anker 521 300W Portable Power Station (click for details).
The prizes featured in my Monthly Tech Giveaways include a combination of the best items I have received for testing and review and brand new items provided directly by partner companies.
All winners are selected at random. All Standard subscribers have an equal chance to win. All Premium subscribers have double the chance to win (their email addresses are added to the pot twice).
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Today’s featured tech tip….
How to give your phone a temporary ‘burner’ number
Have you ever signed up for a one-time or short-term event of some kind only to start receiving an avalanche of irritating text messages after giving them your number?
Many contests, raffles and other types of one-off events require you to provide your phone number before being allowed to participate in them.
All too often, the entire purpose of whatever you’re signing up for is to get your phone number on their list so they can call you send you promotional texts of various sorts in the future.
Even worse, many of those companies and organizations will sell your number to other marketers (and even scammers).
I’m sure you can imagine how this usually ends up. In fact, it might have already happened to you at some point in the past.
Luckily, there’s a simple way to participate in these types of things without having to hand over your real phone number. Give them a ‘burner’ number instead.
There are apps you can install on your smartphone that will let you give out a temporary ‘burner’ number instead of your phone’s actual number.
When someone calls the burner number your phone will ring the same as if they had called your real number. But your real number remains hidden from the caller(s), and therefore stays off of their list. And the same applies for SMS text messages.
Yes, the temporary burner number will end up on their list along as well as the lists of the companies they end up selling it to, but since it’s just a temporary number it won’t really matter.
There are several ‘burner’ apps available for both iPhones and Android phones, some of which will supply you with a temporary number at no charge (at least for a trial period).
Our friends over at MakeUseOf have put together a list of five of their favorite burner apps. Any one of those apps should suffice if all you need is a short-term temporary ‘burner’ number.
Bottom line: There is no need to hand over your real phone number for a one-off or short-term event and have it end up on dozens of marketing lists as a result. Give them a burner number instead.
The latest from Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog…
• How to stop ads from following you around the Internet
Put a stop to the creepiness in minutes.
• Q&A: Can counterfeit RAM damage a laptop?
This post has my answer.
• Click here to see today’s ‘Picture of the Day’.
Every morning I post a new photo that I find inspiring, intriguing, or just plain beautiful to look at. Jumpstart your day by checking it out.
Rick’s Daily Pick…
Ecoflow RIVER 2 Solar Generator 256Wh LiFePO4 Battery and 110W Solar Panel
Looking for a great way to keep your most essential gadgets powered up (and charged up) during power outages and/or camping trips? Well, you’ve found it.
Today’s post from ‘My Daily Smile’…
Why looking down might help lower your grocery bill
It all boils down to marketing.
Tech news that caught my eye…
• Samsung to invest $24 billion in new chip factory in the US
• There are new options from Hulu for bundlers and cord-cutters
• Google announces improved Find My Device network for Android devices
• New Windows driver blocks software from changing default web browser
• Subscription creep hit two-thirds of US consumers, as some fight back
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Thanks so much, and have an amazing day.
Your tech buddy,
Rick Rouse
https://www.RicksDailyTips.com