Rick's Daily Tips

Verizon boosts upload speeds for FiOS customers to match their download speeds

Posted on August 4, 2014

It has always been a sad fact of life that your broadband Internet upload speeds were a lot slower the speed at which you could download Internet content such as web pages, emails, photos, videos and such.

But if you have a Verizon FiOS fiber Internet connection, you can now kiss that annoyance goodbye.

Effective immediately, all new and existing FiOS customers will be able to upload data to the web just as fast as they can download it. This is a major development if you back up your computer’s data to the cloud, play interactive online games, or do just about anything else that requires the uploading of tons of data. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why can’t Internet Explorer load websites after viruses were removed?

Posted on July 29, 2014

Question from Annika T.: During the last virus scan Norton found a couple of viruses and removed them. Now Internet Explorer won’t load any websites. All I get is a blank screen and a message saying the site might be down or something.

I know it’s not my Internet connection because Firefox still loads pages just fine. I really need to get IE back working again because I use it and Firefox together to use two Gmail accounts at the same time. Can you help me?

If it matters, my computer is running Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 11.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Bloggers beware: The MailPoet plugin is letting hackers take over thousands of WordPress sites

Posted on July 25, 2014

If you’re a blogger and you use the popular MailPoet plugin on your WordPress blog, you need to update it to the latest version immediately.

MailPoet adds several useful features and capabilities to a blog, but an extremely serious issue has arisen for its users.

A previously unknown vulnerability in the plugin allows hackers to access full control over your WordPress installation, including the ability to add malicious code to your WordPress core files, theme files and plugins. They can also alter your posts and pages. [Read more…]

ATTN Firefox users: Update your browser now to patch several critical security holes

Posted on July 24, 2014

Mozilla has just released a new update to Firefox that patches several critical security holes in the popular browser.

The most critical flaw allows hackers to infect your PC with viruses and install malicious software when you simply visit an infected web page. You don’t even have to click on anything! [Read more…]

Scam Alert: Beware the latest Facebook virus scam

Posted on July 23, 2014

Well, the Facebook hackers and scammers are at it again (as if they ever take a break).

The latest scam tries to entice users to click on a fake video of a scantily clad lady who is apparently in the process of taking off her clothes.

But this is no video. It’s actually just a photo that links to a virus-laden web page. If you click the link, your PC can become infected with an insidious piece of malware known as Trojan.Agent.BDYV. [Read more…]