Rick's Daily Tips

How to protect yourself against the insidious CryptoLocker ransomeware

Posted on November 11, 2013

CryptoLocker is an especially insidious form of “Ransomeware” – malware that basically locks up all the user data on your computer’s drives until you fork over some cash to a far-away crook.

What makes CryptoLocker so bad is the way it encrypts the user data on your hard drive using a super-strong encryption method. This makes it literally impossible to access your own data without forking over a bundle of cash in exchange for the unlock key.

The key to protecting yourself from CryptoLocker lies in prevention because even though there are several “cures” being hawked on the Internet, their effectiveness varies when they work at all.

Here are are a few things you can do to prevent your PC from getting infected with the CryptoLocker virus, and recover from it if you still end up getting hit: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why did the Wi-Fi stop working on my Dell Inspiron 1545 when I removed the screen?

Posted on November 9, 2013

Question from David G.: I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop that my sister accidentally sat on and broke the screen.

The computer still worked fine when it was plugged into an external monitor though, so I removed the lid to get it out of the way so I could use it as a desktop PC.

The problem is ever since the screen was removed I can’t connect to the Internet with the built-in Wi-Fi.

I reinstalled the drivers for the Wi-Fi adapter and checked everything I know to check, but it just won’t connect even though I can see the network in the list of available networks. Can you tell me what I need to do to fix it?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Internet Explorer 11 now available for Windows 7

Posted on November 8, 2013

When Microsoft released Windows 8.1, they released the brand new Internet Explorer 11 along with it. The IE 11 reviews that I have read have been very good overall, and my own testing shows that it’s definitely an improvement over IE 10 (which was already the best version of IE ever).

As of yesterday, if you’re a Windows 7 user who prefers Internet Explorer over the other major web browsers, you can download IE 11 onto your PC as well. Should you? In my opinion, the answer is yes. Every new release of IE seems to get a little faster and more stable than the one before it, and IE 11 continues that trend. [Read more…]

Blockbuster closes the last of its stores

Posted on November 7, 2013

Back in the days before Netflix, Redbox and streaming video, Blockbuster stood high atop the video rental market. But today marks the end of that era as Blockbuster’s parent company Dish Network has announced the closure of the company’s 300 remaining brick and mortar video stores.

Now that current movies can be ordered on demand and delivered within minutes right to your computer or television set, there is little need to purchase them on physical discs. And those who do still prefer to watch their videos from discs can rent them for just over a buck a day at their nearest Redbox kiosk. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I get rid of annoying Manycam pop-ups after I’ve uninstalled it?

Posted on November 5, 2013

Question from Demetrius A.: I used a program called “Manycam” for a while but then it started crashing and causing problems. I uninstalled it, but it still gives me pop-ups every time I boot up my computer. How can I get rid of it for good?

Rick’s answer: Hi Demetrius. The built-in Windows uninstaller does a poor job at removing all the bits and pieces of a program, and the remnants that are left over can be both annoying and dangerous. That’s why I recommend using Geek Uninstaller instead. This awesome free utility completely uninstalls any program, and cleans up all the garbage that’s left over too. [Read more…]