Rick's Daily Tips

Monthly Tech Giveaway – August 2026

Posted on July 31, 2026

Note: The links on this page are affiliate links.

August’s winner will receive a fantastic Ambient Weather WS-2000 Smart Weather Station with Wi-Fi Remote Monitoring and Alerts.

If you’re a weather buff like I am you’ll love this personal weather station. It’ll keep you up-to-date on what’s happening outside your own home in real time.

All subscribers to the Standard edition of my Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter have an equal chance to win.

Premium subscribers have two chances to win (their email addresses are added to the “pot” twice).

Not a subscriber? Just enter your email address in the sign-up form on this page.

Once subscribed you’ll be eligible to win each month’s drawing – starting with this month. Better yet, opt for a Premium subscription for double the chance to win!

The drawing for this month’s prize will be held on August 31 and the winner will be notified by email. The winner will be selected at random.

Good luck!

Q&A: How do I remove the PIN from my Android phone?

Posted on July 30, 2026

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Question from Angie: I started dating a guy a few months ago. I really liked him but he had an annoying habit of picking up my phone and looking at my called logs.

I think he was checking up on me to see if I was calling other guys. I didn’t like him spying on me that way and I told him so, but he kept on doing it.

I finally had my son put a sign-in PIN on my phone so the guy I was dating wouldn’t be able to get into it.

We recently broke up so I no longer need the PIN. It’s a real hassle having to put it in every time I need to use the phone. [Read more…]

Financial stability is part of trust

Posted on July 30, 2026

Trust is usually discussed as a matter of honesty, loyalty, and good communication. Those qualities matter, but trust also has a practical side. People feel safer when promises are supported by stable habits, clear information, and enough financial capacity to handle ordinary problems.

This is especially true when debt affects a household. Using a pay down debt calculator can help turn several balances into a visible repayment plan, but the deeper benefit is predictability. When people know what is owed, what is being paid, and how the plan affects other priorities, uncertainty begins to shrink. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there a way to connect a computer without WiFi to a WiFi network?

Posted on July 29, 2026

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Brittney: A couple of my friends and I just rented a house near campus together, and so far it’s working out ok (fingers crossed on that lol).

We had Xfinity cable and Internet installed and they placed the modem/router combo box in the living room beside the TV.

Since I can’t run a cable from the living room to my bedroom, I’ll have to connect my Dell laptop to the Internet over the WiFi network. The problem is the WiFi on the laptop stopped working a while back. [Read more…]

Q&A: Do you really have to fully charge a new laptop or phone before using it?

Posted on July 28, 2026

Want to get my easy to follow Tech Tips in your email?

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Brenda: I just ordered this new laptop for my son for his birthday. A friend of mine told me I need to charge the battery to 100% before I give him the laptop and let him start using use it.

In the past I have always just unboxed my new laptops and plugged them in and started using them immediately, and as far as I know there was never any problem. The same way with every new phone I have ever bought. [Read more…]