Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How do I recover a hijacked LastPass account?

Posted on March 8, 2022

Question from Louise: I’m in serious trouble Rick, and I need your help ASAP.

Almost two weeks ago I heard my brother was in a car wreck and he wasn’t expected to live.

I grabbed a few things and threw them in a suitcase and flew out to Utah to try to see him before he passed away.

I didn’t make it in time to see him but I spent 5 days out there with my family and came back home the day after the funeral.

When I got home I saw that my house had been broken into and ransacked. They took almost everything of value including both of my computers and my iPad.

Can you help me with a serious problem I’m having with LastPass? [Read more…]

Scam alert: Use a dating app? It’s probably selling your personal info.

Posted on March 7, 2022

Do you use a dating app on your phone or tablet?

If so, it’s probably selling or otherwise sharing your personal info with dozens of other companies.

According to this ABC News report from 2020, the Norwegian Consumer Council has discovered that “serious privacy infringements” are being perpetrated by the companies behind several of the world’s most popular dating apps.

And guess what? Many dating apps are still doing it.

In short, the apps are selling or otherwise sharing the personal info from user accounts with at least 135 other third-party companies and services.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Will Windows let you change a file’s creation date?

Posted on March 6, 2022

Question from Gary: I’m getting ready to turn over a bunch of files to another party and I don’t want him to know exactly when these particular files were created.

Don’t worry, there’s nothing illegal or immoral going on here, we’re just doing a business deal and I don’t want the files’ creation dates to become an issue.

Is there any way to change a file’s creation date with a Windows computer? [Read more…]

How to turn an old smartphone into a metal detector

Posted on March 4, 2022

We Americans love upgrading to a new smartphone at every opportunity, and most of us have several of them stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

If you’re like me, you probably hate having a perfectly good portable computer (that’s really what a smart phone is) doing nothing more than gathering dust.

I’ve written several posts in the past explaining how to give an old smartphone a new life by turning it into something useful simply by installing an app. I have another such tip for you today. [Read more…]