Rick's Daily Tips

How (and why) to delete your DNA test results

Posted on December 16, 2023

It’s hard to turn on your TV anymore without seeing an ad for one of the commercial DNA testing services.

AncestryDNA, MyHeritage and 23andMe are all spending massive amounts of cash on ads to try to lure as many people to use their service as possible.

And it’s easy to understand why. Just about everyone we talk to these days has either already submitted their DNA for testing or are planning to in the near future.

But truth be told, there are very real and serious risks involved with allowing any commercial company to store your genetic information in their database.

[Read more…]

Q&A: What are the differences between a ‘Gaming PC’ and ‘Workstation’?

Posted on December 15, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Adrian: My dad is planning to buy me a new gaming PC to replace the one I got several years ago for my 11th birthday.

While I was researching the machines that are available today I saw that some of the more expensive ones are called workstations instead of gaming PCs.

I had never heard of the term workstation before. I’m almost shamed to ask about them because I like to think I’m pretty up-to-speed about tech things.

Anyway, here are my questions: [Read more…]

4 computer upgrades that I still recommend (and 3 that I don’t)

Posted on December 15, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

There was a time when most any upgrade you could make to a computer would pay great dividends in increased speed and/or enhanced capabilities.

But times have changed, and some once-popular upgrades that were no-brainers back in the day no longer provide enough “bang for the buck” to make them worthwhile.

With that in mind, here are three computer upgrades that I no longer recommend for the average computer user: [Read more…]

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

Posted on December 14, 2023

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…]