Rick's Daily Tips

WiFi Guard – Find out if someone is piggybacking on your Wi-Fi network

Posted on September 2, 2016

wifi Most people assume that their Wi-Fi connection is safe from hackers if it is secured with encryption and a password, but the sad truth is even a “protected” Wi-Fi connection can be broken into by a determined hacker using the right software.

If you suspect that someone might be piggybacking on your wireless network (and even if you don’t), I suggest downloading and running a free tool called WiFi Guard.

WiFi Guard is a small and lightweight utility that will scan your entire network and list all the devices connected to it including computers, tablets, smart phones, wireless printers and more. If it’s logged into your network, it’ll show up!

Using WiFi Guard is easy. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Samsung has recalled all Galaxy Note 7 smart phones worldwide

Posted on September 2, 2016

galaxy-note-7 Have you taken the plunge and purchased one of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smart phones that recently hit the market?

If so, it has just been recalled due to what has been described as a very serious battery issue.

Apparently the defective batteries are subject to overheating, and some of them have actually exploded and caught on fire. Not a good thing to say the least!

Here is Samsung’s official statement concerning the recall: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there a way to make a sticky post in WordPress stop being sticky on a certain date?

Posted on August 29, 2016

Question from Brandon H.: I make some of my WordPress posts sticky, but sometimes I forget to go back and “unstick” them when they no longer need to be stuck to the home page.

I find it irritating to see a sticky post hang around after it no longer deserves to be sticky, and I’m sure my readers do as well.

Do you know of a way to make the “sticky” status of a post expire after a certain length of time or on a certain date? If you can tell me how to do this, my life will become a lot easier lol.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Keep your emails private and secure by encrypting them with Hushmail

Posted on August 28, 2016

The inherent insecurity of sending email messages over standard, unencrypted email systems has been dominating the news of late thanks to the baffling actions of a certain Presidential candidate.

As you probably already know, any information that’s transmitted over an unencrypted email system is wide open to anyone who might happen to intercept it while it’s on its way to the recipient’s computer or mobile device. And trust me, it happens all the time.

While maintaining our own personal email server and using it to encrypt our emails is probably not a realistic option for most folks, you can still easily send your emails to their intended recipients in secure encrypted form. [Read more…]

Q&A: Which is better for gaming, a more powerful CPU or a discrete video card?

Posted on August 26, 2016

(#ad)

Question from Eric P.: My dad is going to help me build a gaming PC. He’s already built one before so he knows what he’s doing, but we’re both confused about something.

The money I’ve saved is just enough to buy one of the following:

1 – An Intel Core i5 CPU (#ad) and a discrete video card

2 – A Core i7 CPU (#ad) with no video card

Basically, if I go with the i7 I’ll have to use the motherboard’s integrated video.

My question is which CPU should I buy for the best gaming performance given the fact that if I go with the i5 I’ll be able to add a stand-alone video card?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]