Rick's Daily Tips

Review: SanDisk Extreme PRO 240GB SSD – A super-fast drive at a great price

Posted on June 17, 2016

You are probably already aware that a Solid State Drive (SSD) is a LOT faster than even the fastest spinning hard drives, and they are getting cheaper all the time.

But did you know that SSDs vary in speed from model to model?

Well, they do, and they’re getting faster all the time. And SandDisk has one of the fastest consumer grade SSD’s out there, SanDisk Extreme PRO.

Without a doubt, this is one of the best SSDs I have ever tested. [Read more…]

Clean up and simplify your Facebook experience with the Flatbook Chrome extension

Posted on June 17, 2016

Does it seem that your Facebook page is all cluttered with ads and tons of stuff you never use?

If so, there’s an easy way to remove most of the junk and enjoy Facebook without all the distractions.

The awesome (and free) Flatbook Chrome extension will streamline your Facebook experience by removing ads and making your newsfeed and messages a lot easier to read. It even speeds up Facebook by greatly reducing page lag! [Read more…]

How to prevent keyloggers from stealing your passwords and financial information

Posted on June 15, 2016

Keyloggers are an especially insidious form of malware that work in the background as you use your computer.

They do their nasty work by stealthily monitoring your keystrokes as you type. They then send a digital “copy” of your keystrokes “back home” to a hacker.

Once he has your stolen info in hand, the hacker can easily use it to steal your identity or log in to to your financial accounts and steal your money.

A thorough malware scan and removal process like the one detailed in this post can remove most keyloggers from your system, but some of the newer keylogger malware out there can be very hard to detect and remove.

That’s why it’s always good to have a second layer of protection against this insidious form of malware running on your PC at all times. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why won’t my computer recognize my new RAM chips?

Posted on June 9, 2016

Question from Mandy F.: I have a HP desktop computer that only came with 2 gigs of RAM.

I read that adding more will make my computer run better so I took the cover off and noticed that it had 2 empty RAM slots with 2 more already filled.

Best Buy had 4GB RAM chips on sale so I bought 2 of them and put them in. But the computer still only shows that it has 2GB of RAM instead of 10GB. What could be wrong? Thanks.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]