Rick's Daily Tips

Review: HP 2019 14-CF0014DX 14″ Laptop

Posted on April 22, 2019

The new crop of 2019 laptops are here, and as expected there are a number of them to choose from.

The models that are getting the most attention are expensive business and gaming laptops, but there are several new general purpose laptops out there as well.

One case in point is the sleek new HP 2019 14-CF0014DX 14″ Laptop. (#ad)

This is a nice, compact laptop that’s about the perfect size for folks who travel frequently.

Its 14 inch screen is plenty large enough for easy viewing, yet the laptop itself is small enough to carry with you most anywhere. It’s also relatively light at about three pounds.

Before we get into too many details let’s take a quick look at the specs: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why did Microsoft skip Windows 9 and jump from Windows 8.1 straight to Windows 10?

Posted on April 22, 2019

Question from Juliana P.: I was talking to some friends the other day and someone asked why Microsoft skipped Windows 9 and jumped from Windows 8.1 straight to Windows 10.

None of us knew the answer to that question. Can you tell us why they did it?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Scam alert: Beware the dangerous ‘Nasty List’ phishing scam on Instagram!

Posted on April 22, 2019

As you surely know by now, scammers and hackers are always working overtime to take advantage of innocent Facebook users.

Unfortunately, scammers are quite active on other social media sites as well.

Right now there’s a very dangerous phishing scam being spread via instant messages on Instagram.

[Read more…]

1/4 of all PCs aren’t protected against viruses. Is yours? Are you sure?

Posted on April 19, 2019

For years now study after study has shown that about 25% of all PCs worldwide operate without effective protection from viruses and hacking attacks.

Most of those vulnerable systems have antivirus software installed, but that software offers little protection because the owners fail to take steps to keep the malware definition files updated.

Many people think that just having an antivirus program installed on a PC is enough to keep malware and hackers at bay, but nothing could be further from the truth. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why are our security monitors showing a ghost image?

Posted on April 19, 2019

Question from Carolyn L: A convenience store not far from where we live recently closed and the owners sold all the equipment at auction.

My daughter and I bought their very old, but working security system to monitor certain areas of our little craft store.

It came with two security cameras, two monitors and the cables to connect them to two VCRs for recording the video from the cameras.

A friend of mine hooked everything up for us and it all seems to work ok except for one problem. Both monitors have a ghost image that appears to show the convenience store’s parking lot from two different angles.

The images from inside our store are displayed on the monitors but the ghost images are displayed on top of them, making it hard to follow what’s going on inside the store.

Why are those ghost images on there and how can we get rid of them?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]