Old Computers: a reader asks… Do you have any information on computer recycling? I have a half-dozen old personal computers (mix of Mac and PC) that I’d like to safely recycle. I don’t care what happens to the computers themselves, but don’t want the data on the hard drives to get possibly compromised – there might be credit card or other sensitive information. I live in Northern Virginia. I’ve written about this before, but it’s time to update things. New […]
Bluetooth Shortcomings: a reader asks… I just got my iPhone 7 and am anxiously awaiting the release of AirPods so I can go wireless. Till then I’m using the EarPods with Lightning cable the iPhone shipped with. Can you tell me what to expect using wireless earbuds with my iPhone? Let’s get our expectations set correctly up-front – don’t expect perfection. While I expect the Airpods to have good connectivity and reasonably clear audio (both incoming and outgoing, but don’t […]
Mac Keyboard Woe: a reader asks… I have an almost-new iMac with a wireless keyboard, their “magic keyboard.” It’s nice, but I notice that when I’m typing, sometimes the letters I typed go missing. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it, random keys just don’t work. When I try typing those keys again, they work. I am a fast typist, but never had this problem with my old keyboard. Any advice? Anytime you switch from one […]
Webcam Panic: a reader asks… I just read about the big internet outage a few weeks ago, and how it was perpetrated by hackers who took over webcams. I have a few webcams around my house and am wondering if they were hacked. My cameras are all from Smarthome.com and are the Insteon HD 720P IP Camera model 2864-222. Any thoughts? As part of the outage research, it was found that one company’s webcam products were a major source of the […]
Pixel Wi-Fi Problem: a reader asks… I recently got a new Pixel smartphone from Verizon and really like it. There’s only one annoying problem that I have: the Wi-Fi goes in and out a lot. Seems like my phone is switching from Wi-Fi to data and back again really often. Is this by design or is there some setting I need to change? Both, actually. Google’s design for the Pixel included the ability to maintain a strong internet connection even […]
Smartphone Moving Day: a reader asks… I give up, my days with the iPhone are over. I just bought myself a Google Pixel from Verizon, and now I want to move everything over from my iPhone to my new smartphone. Can you help? I can, but you need to recognize that the apps you have on your iPhone are iOS-specific. You can’t move those over. You’ll have to install new apps on your Pixel from the Google Play Store. Fortunately, […]
Quick Tech Fix: a reader asks… I remember reading somewhere on your website, but I can’t find it. Can you tell me the quickest and easiest way to fix my computer, smartphone or tablet? Or any other electronic device. Yes, I previously outlined my 80/80/20/20 rule in my article: Windows PC Fixes. Let me give you a slightly different version. Here’s what you should try anytime you have a problem with your technology: The first thing you should try is […]
Google Drive Access: a reader asks… I was sent an invitation to a google drive folder. I have a google account with a gmail address, but the invitation was sent to my yahoo email address. Is there a way I can get access to that folder without having to create another google account tied to that yahoo address? Yes there is. Google allows you to have alternate email addresses tied to a single google account. The person who sent you […]
Mac/Win Thumb Drive: a reader asks… I use a Macbook Air (running Sierra) and want to get a thumb drive to use with it to store some files. Do I have to get one formatted for the Mac or will any thumb drive work? And will I be able to use that same thumb drive on my Windows PC at work? Generally, thumb drives come formatted either as FAT32 or NTFS. Such thumb drives can be read by your Mac, […]
Bitdefender 2017: a reader asks… I took your advice last year and purchased a subscription to Bitdefender Total Security. It’s working just fine, but I read somewhere that Bitdefender had issued a new version. My subscription is still active, but the program hasn’t notified me there’s a new version available. I have version 2016. Should I wait for the program to prompt me, or what? This is one of my biggest complaints to Bitdefender – the crappy way they [don’t] […]
Extend laptop: a reader asks… I have a 3 year old Dell laptop (Inspiron) that I really like, but is starting to show its age. I don’t want to buy a new one, so are there any ways I can extend the life of my laptop? Yes, you can do a few things to extend the life of your laptop. At some point though, you might find that doing all these life-extension fixes will run you several hundred dollars (more […]
iOS 10 Home Button: a reader asks… I updated my iPhone 6s to iOS 10 recently, and have noticed a change in how I unlock my phone. Before, I just pressed the home button and rested my finger on the home button for a second, and the phone unlocked. Now the darn thing tells me I have to press the Home button a second time. What a time-waster this is! Is there a way to reset my iPhone back to […]
iPhone Slo-mo: a reader asks… I have an iPhone 6 Plus, and would like to capture video, but in slow motion. How do I do this? This is really quite easy to do. Just launch your Camera app. Near the bottom you have a set of labels for type of capture. Just to the left of Video is Slo-mo, so slide that entry to the middle. Tap the record button to start recording, and then tap it again to stop. When […]
Mac Sierra Slow Wi-Fi: a reader asks… I have a 2-year-old iMac and upgraded to Sierra a few weeks ago. I have to say that ever since, I’ve noticed my Wi-Fi seems really slow. Is there something I can do to get my normal speed back? It’s unfortunate that you’ve been caught by the slow Wi-Fi bug, but fortunately there are a few things you can try to restore your Wi-Fi speed. The first thing you should try is to […]
Fake BSOD: a reader asks… I have an HP laptop with Windows 10 and recently got this error message. It lists an 800 number that I should call for help with the error. Before I grab my phone, is this legit? In a word, no. This is a scam. Likely you were attempting to get the Microsoft Security Essentials program to protect your computer, but clicked on a link that wasn’t really from Microsoft. Instead of getting the official program, you […]
New Apple? A reader asks… I have an iPhone 5s which is still working. The battery doesn’t last as long, but I’ve adjusted my charging habits. I also have a 2011 11″ Macbook Air but the battery expanded so my trackpad doesn’t work right anymore and it’ll only work when plugged into electric. But I generally use it only at my desk. Do you think it’s time I upgraded my stuff? I’ve come into some money (a small inheritance), so […]
Bitdefender & Malware: a reader asks… I just got a new Lenovo laptop PC with Windows 10 on it. Taking your advice, I purchased Bitdefender (the Total Security 2017 version). Do I really need the other two products you recommend? That’s Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium and Anti-Exploit Premium. The website says that Bitdefender protects against malware as well as viruses. Protecting your new computer is really a combination of software product(s) and taking care to use your computer safely. At this […]
Look for https://: a reader asks… I’ve been reading about how Google is trying to force all websites to start using SSL and encrypting all data between my web browser and the website I’m visiting. Do you think this is important and why? Yes, I think it’s very important that webmasters (those who craft and create websites for you to visit) take steps to protect you. Foremost is encrypting information passed between your web browser and their servers. This has […]
Vista Age: a reader asks… My aging Dell desktop PC has Windows Vista on it, and I don’t see many updates coming anymore from Microsoft. Is it time for a new computer? I think it’s about time. You’ve got maybe six more months of basic security support coming to you from Microsoft, and then they’ll pull the plug on Vista (on April 11, 2017). Every Windows product has a lifecycle. The lifecycle begins when a product is released and ends when […]
Snopes Facebook: a reader asks… I recently saw on Facebook a notice from someone that we now have to post some legal language in order to protect our status updates from being made public, even the one’s we’ve deleted. the posting starts “Everything you’ve ever posted becomes public from tomorrow….” and goes on for awhile. Someone told me to check Snopes.com to see if it’s real, and they say it’s an old hoax from several years ago that’s continuing to […]
Is Blogging Hard? a reader asks… I’ve been thinking about starting a blog, but really don’t know where to start. Is it difficult? Can you give me a quick primer? Blogging is a great way to share information. Anyone with something to say can blog, and it’s how many of the new standard information outlets started (such as The Huffington Post and The Drudge Report). Getting started can be quite easy, or more involved. While it may seem a little […]
One thing: a reader asks… Quick question: if there’s only one thing I can do to secure my digital life, what would it be? Quick answer – exercise good password management. I’ll try to keep the answer as short as I can, although I’ve written extensively about this subject in many past articles. You need to use strong and unguessable passwords that are unique to each and every online entity you deal with. There’s no way a human can really […]
Bye Yahoo: a reader asks… I’ve been reading about all the problems with Yahoo, them snooping all my email, losing all our account details to hackers, and now it seems like at least once a week the email service is down. I’m ready to leave for another email service provider. Do you have any recommendations, and can you give me some hints on making a seamless transfer? Let me start off by saying that Yahoo, like most free email service […]
Am I protected? a reader asks… I have a 1-year-old HP laptop with Windows 10 (I upgraded last year from Windows 8). Everything runs fine and I took your advice and have Bitdefender Internet Security as well as both Malwarebytes’ programs. But sometimes weird things pop up on my screen and I’m not sure if there’s something wrong. A friend told me that some malware can disable your protection programs without any indication that they’re really not working. Is there […]
PC Moving Day: a reader asks… I’m in the middle of swapping out my old Windows laptop for a new one. My old one has Microsoft Office (I have a 365 subscription), but I use Gmail in my web browser for email (not Outlook), as well as the Google Calendar and Contacts. I use Google Chrome (logged in to my Google account), and have a few programs I’d like on the new computer (like iTunes). Mostly though I want to […]
Securing the cloud: a reader asks… I use Dropbox for storing files online as a backup to my computer. I’ve been reading about cloud-based storage and hacking, and I’m a little worried about the safety of my files. I know that the files are encrypted during the upload and download process (from Dropbox servers to my computer), but what about the security of those files while they’re on Dropbox servers? I’m looking at a third party encryption tool: Boxcryptor. Do […]
Good Video Editor: a reader asks… I have a fairly powerful Windows desktop PC with an Intel i7 processor, 16gb of RAM, a dedicated graphics card and 2 monitors. I’ve been using Windows Movie Maker but would like to step up to something more powerful, yet not too difficult to learn. Can you recommend a video editing program? There are a lot of good video editing programs out there, some are approaching the power of professional-grade programs such as Avid […]
MacMail Password Woes: a reader asks… This message pops up on my Mac when I tried to send an email last night. I tried one password but it was rejected. My Mac Mail program has been working fine for years, just last night this started and I keep getting the pop up message every few minutes. Any thoughts? I’m doing some guessing here, but it’s possible that your Keychain (the Mac’s database of remembered passwords) didn’t work right when your Mac’s […]
Ghost Music: a reader asks… When I woke up my PC this morning, it was playing music. There was a window listing titles of songs, but when I closed the window, the music kept playing. I wish I had taken a picture of the window, but I didn’t. I would love to figure out which app it was (I actually like the music) and why it started overnight, but the only clue I see is “Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation” […]
Fix Win10 1607 Update: a reader asks… I’ve got a Lenovo desktop PC with Windows 10 on it. My computer has been trying to get the latest Windows Updates (aka the Anniversary update or version 1607) for a few days now, and it keeps failing and reverting my system. My computer then tries again the next day and repeats. This has been going on for a week now. What should I do? The simplest solution is to bypass the Windows […]
"I'm all about helping you deal with our 21st century high-tech digital world so you can enjoy a healthy and secure digital life!"
Hi! I'm Chris Gardner, Your Tech Coach giving you Practical Help for Your Digital Life® since 1996. My job is to translate geek-speak into clear and concise advice and give you easy-to-understand how-to's and instructions about your consumer technology products and services.
Browse my library with over 1,000 of the types of questions and answers we all have about our consumer technology. Better yet, use the search bar above or pick a subject or keyword below to see a list of related posts you can read. And please sign up for my free weekly digest and occasional email alerts!
If you don't find the answer to your question in my library, ask me a question - anything about consumer technology. I answer questions large and small, from how to use Siri on an iPhone to how to protect your computer, tablet or smartphone. I take arcane language from manuals and translate that into easy-to-follow instructions. This gives you better ways to use your consumer technology - helping you get more out of the gadgets and services you already own and use.
I provide all the above, supported by my readers who find my answers valuable (patronage model). Please consider supporting me by sending any amount via 
(send to @PosiTek), or via 
(send to Support@PosiTek.net), or via 
using any credit card (no Paypal account required), or by mailing a check or cash to PosiTek.net LLC 1934 Old Gallows Road, Suite 350, Tysons Corner VA 22182.
I am not a non-profit, but your support helps me to continue delivering advice and consumer technology support to the public.
If you need more immediate or direct support, please see my 1-on-1 Tech Support page. I don't profess to know everything about everything, but I'm great at finding and giving you exactly the right answer in the way you need to hear it. Give me a try and let Your Tech Coach help you get your technology working for you, not the other way around!
Need more help using this website? Click here!
The information presented on this website and referred to in various social networking channels are the considered opinions of the authors. We accept no advertising, kickbacks or any sort of remuneration for any commercial products or services that we recommend or suggest. Furthermore, posts or links to external websites or other content do not imply endorsement, unless explicitly stated.
Any elements on this website that may be linked to or displayed, including trademarks and product/service images, are for educational purposes only under fair use copyright law. PosiTek.net LLC purchases licensing for commercial imagery used on this website via Shutterstock.com and any other imagery is licensed for our use via:
