Rick's Daily Tips

Review: Andget USB 3.0 External DVD-RW Recorder

Posted on May 15, 2014

andget-usb-dvd-burner A portable USB DVD burner can come in handy in lots of situations. For example, you might have a PC with a bad optical drive that you need to install a piece of software on. Or perhaps you want to listen to a CD on occasion.

As you know, there are still CDs and DVDs out there, and sometimes we do need to use them. Yes, even in this age of ubiquitous digital downloads, we still need access to a good optical drive from time to time.

That being said, in my opinion a portable DVD drive isn’t something that you need to spend a lot of money on. In fact, I believe that $30 or so is plenty. [Read more…]

Why you should ditch Microsoft Security Essentials and Windows Defender

Posted on May 15, 2014

microsoft-security-essentials If you’re trusting Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender to keep your PC free of malware, I strongly recommend replacing them with something more effective.

I applaud Microsoft for trying to do the right thing by providing malware protection to Windows users for free, but the protection they offer has been falling short of late.

Quite a few malware-laden PCs running either Microsoft Security Essentials or Windows Defender have found their way into my shop of late, and the number of infections found on those machines is nothing short of staggering. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I force my USB drive to use same drive letter no matter which PC I plug it into?

Posted on May 14, 2014

Question from Gary M.: I have my photos and Lightroom catalog on my USB drive and move them from my laptop to desktop. It would make my life easier if it presented as the J: drive every time it’s plugged into either machine.

How can I force my external USB drive to present itself as the same drive letter every time it’s plugged in no matter which PC I plug it into?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Beware the fake ‘Google’ email that’s currently making the rounds

Posted on May 14, 2014

scam Another day, another scam. This one is perpetrated via an email that claims to be from Google – but it isn’t.

The subject line of the scam email varies, but it usually is something like “Lookout Notice” or “Mail Notice“. If you happen to accidentally open the email, you’ll see text similar to this: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I delete a single text message from a conversation on my iPhone?

Posted on May 13, 2014

Question from Margie H.: Hi Rick. I have an iPhone 5s and sometimes I want to delete just one or two text messages from a conversation without deleting the rest of the messages. I just can’t figure out how to do it.

How can I delete just the messages I want to get rid of without trashing the whole conversation?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]