Fake IRS Calls & More: a reader asks… I don’t get a lot of calls on my landline, but most of what I do get sound like scams. For instance, I get this recorded message from the IRS saying it’s my last notice before they take legal action. Now I’m starting to get these types of calls on my cell phone (I have an iPhone). Is there any way to stop this stuff from happening? I last wrote about this […]
Teeny Screen: a reader asks… I’m 82 and my son got me a smartphone (an iPhone 6s Plus). He’s been really nice about taking the time to show me how to use it. I’m thrilled with it in most ways, but one. The screen is just so small! Even with bifocals it’s hard to see what’s on the screen, most times I can’t even read the teeny-tiny print. What can I do? Your son was very thoughtful in that he […]
Mac Missing Pictures: a reader asks… On my new iMac, the Finder window is missing a folder on the left-side for Pictures. I’m using the Photos app to manage pictures, but don’t see the actual picture files in Finder. I used to see this on my older Mac. When Apple came out with the new Photos app (in OS X Yosemite 10.10), Apple decided that all users were only going to use the app for dealing with their photos instead […]
Mac Name Change: a reader asks… I’ve been trying to change the name of my Macbook Pro, and it doesn’t seem to be working. When I go to the System Preferences, Sharing app, I see the field for the name and have overwritten that with a new name. But when I go look on my other Mac or iPhone or iPad, the computer that shows up still has the old name. Am I missing something? There are two things you […]
Backup Software: a reader asks… I’d like to use an automated backup service for my Windows laptop computer. What do you think about CrashPlan? I’ve previously looked at other automated solutions like Mozy and Carbonite, and a quick perusal of CrashPlan shows much of the same sort of capabilities and usage. Where CrashPlan comes out in front though, is that they keep backup copies of files even after you’ve deleted them from your computer. So if months go by and […]
Mac Backup Change: a reader asks… Both me and my SO have Macbooks, and we share an external hard drive we use as a Time Capsule. We each plug it in once a week and run Time Machine to back up our Macs to the drive. Recently I sent my Macbook in for service to replace a failing graphics adapter. When I got it back, everything was working fine. Except when I plugged in the Time Capsule drive and got […]
Vacation Phone: a reader asks… I have a Verizon iPhone and am heading for a vacation overseas. Should I get one of those airport rental phones, or buy a SIM card for my iPhone to use while I’m on vacation, or ??? Any suggestions you have are appreciated! While you can certainly do either of those options, there is another option for you. Verizon has a phone loaner program, click this link: https://www.verizonwireless.com/archive/mobile-living/network-and-plans/mobile-phone-abroad-verizon-rental-loaner/ For vacations less than 3 weeks, Verizon […]
Wipe iPad: a reader asks… Is there a way to wipe all personal data from an Ipad2 and still have it be usable? It’s actually very difficult to make an iPad unusable. In order to complete the process of resetting your iPad to wipe all your personal data, you restore it back to factory conditions with the iOS operating system intact (whatever version you had running before the reset), and the default apps that every iPad comes with. Resetting the […]
Wipe my data: a reader asks… I have several older laptops that I’d like to donate, they’re still working and run Windows 7. I’ve found a local place that will take them, but I want to clear off all our personal files and data before I give them the laptops. Is there an easy way to do this? When you donate a computer, you lose control over the device, so it’s always best to wipe your personal information and data […]
Wireless Earbuds: a reader asks… I’m going to get the new iPhone 7 and I’d like to get some wireless earbuds. Other than the new AirPods that Apple’s going to start selling in a month or so, is there anything else on the market I could or should buy? As soon as the headphone jack-less iPhone rumors firmed up, wireless headphone manufacturers started gearing up with new offerings. Of course, Apple announced the AirPods which will be available in late […]
Fake Zeus Popup: a reader asks… We just setup a new Mac Mini 2 days ago. I was surfing around in Safari and must have accidentally clicked on something I shouldn’t have. My screen went black with a warning message and then a popup came that told me I was infected with the Zeus virus (screenshot attached). A couple of minutes later a voice started coming telling me to not ignore this warning and to follow the instructions. What should […]
Webcam Woes: a reader asks… I have a Dell all-in-one PC with a built-in webcam. It works just fine when I’m using Google Hangouts, Facebook Video, but when I sign into a GoToMeeting as a participant, it won’t show my video. I can hear and talk to the participants but they can’t see me. What can I do? If you’ve been trying to use GoToMeeting’s web app (using a web browser), you should know that the company has pretty much […]
Mac Startup: a reader asks… My 2011 15″ Macbook Pro (with El Capitan) has been giving me trouble for about a week, and it just got a lot worse. It was crashing and restarting a few times over a few days, and then it went into endless restarting loop where the initial grey screen with the bubble line filling up to halfway, and then the screen going black and it repeating. Before I take it in to see the geniuses […]
Massive Malware: a reader asks… I have a 6+ year old Dell laptop that is running very slowly and weird things are happening. I have Avast free antivirus on it for protection, and my Windows 7 has all the available updates. What should I do? Ok, the first thing you should do is recognize that computer viruses are very much old news in the world of threats to your digital life these days. Hackers who develop attacks are hard at […]
iPhone 7 buy? a reader asks… I have an iPhone 5s, and an iPad 2 mini and a Macbook Air, so I’m pretty much a Mac girl. My iPhone battery no longer lasts me too long, and I’m constantly looking for a place to charge up. So I guess it’s time to get a new iPhone. Can you give me some advice on what to get? I’m on a fairly tight budget, and the thought of spending over $500 on […]
Siri Voice Training: a reader asks… I have an iPhone and a car with Bluetooth for hands-free phone and such. While I’ve figured out how to make and receive calls and play music from the phone, I’ve encountered a real problem with getting Siri to understand me. When I say for example “Play Fleetwood Mac” it always gives me a list of other names and asks me which I want to play instead of just playing what I want. Is […]
Harden against Hackers: a reader asks… Can you give me a quick list of the things I should do to make myself and my computer/smartphone/tablet harder to hack? Sure, here’s the abbreviated list (my top 6) of what you can do to keep hackers from easily getting into your digital life: don’t use an Admin user account on your computer for daily use. Create a Standard user account on your Mac or PC to use for daily work, and only […]
Chromecast Tip: a reader asks… I have a Chromecast connected to my TV, and I’m often seeing problems with my Wi-Fi connection, even though my Verizon FIOS router is nearby. Like right underneath the TV in the cabinet the TV sits on. Is there a way I can get better Wi-Fi reception on my Chromecast? I get good Wi-Fi coverage for my laptop everywhere in my apartment, it’s just the Chromecast device. Whether you have the older version of the […]
TGIF-Amazon Prime: a reader asks… Happy Friday! Should I pay for Amazon Prime? Amazon Prime costs $99 a year, or $10.99 a month. Shipping charges for stuff you buy online can easily be as much as that, depending on how much you shop. Add to the fact that you can buy just about anything on Amazon.com, and I think many people can consider it a good value – I certainly do. The benefits of Amazon Prime are many, here’s just […]
Dropbox Hack: a reader asks… I read about how Dropbox got hacked and lost 70 million user logins. I use Dropbox, do I need to worry? Actually, you can spend your worry-beads on something else. Had your account been at risk, Dropbox would have asked you to change your password. This hack is worrisome for a certain subset of Dropbox users: those who’ve had accounts since 2012 or before, and those who’ve never changed their password since about mid-2012. And while […]
Microsoft Account: a reader asks… I just got a new Windows 10 computer. Microsoft wants me to create an online account with them and tie my user account to it. Should I do this or follow your previous instructions and just create a local account? My last article on this subject, Win 10 Local Account showed you how to create a Windows 7-style local account on your computer. Microsoft would much rather you create an online account with them, and tie […]
Dead Mouse: a reader asks… I have a new Lenovo all-in-one desktop PC with Windows 10. Sometimes when I try to wake it up, my wireless mouse and keyboard won’t work. Restarting the computer doesn’t make any difference. I’ve tried replacing the batteries, but they still go out from time-to-time. I’ve used your trick of unplugging the USB button and plugging it back in – that fixes the problem temporarily. But it still happens, often at odd times. Can you […]
Video Chat: a reader asks… I’ve got a new Windows 10 laptop with a webcam and an Apple iPhone 6s. I would like to do video chat with my friends. Is there one best app or service I should use? I’m on a fixed budget so I don’t want to have to pay a lot for this privilege. I previously wrote about this in my article Easy Video Phone Calling, but it’s time for an update. When deciding on which […]
Mac Drag-n-Drop: a reader asks… My Macbook Air has lost the ability to drag and drop files. I tried your tip of dragging photos from my Apple Photos app to a Finder window open to my Dropbox folder, and it didn’t work. I have El Capitan and my MBA is only a year old. Can you help? A common problem that affects your ability to drag and drop is a matter of file permissions. It’s quite possible that your User […]
Smartphone Frustration: a reader asks… I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 I bought online almost a year ago, and I use Consumer Cellular phone and data service. A few months ago I noticed two problems start to happen, but not all the time, just intermittently. First, my cellular service is nowhere near as good as it used to be, especially in my home. Before June I had rock-solid cell service just about anywhere in my house, now I have […]
No Win10 Update: a reader asks… I have Windows 10 on my Lenovo IdeaCentre K330 desktop PC. I upgraded from Windows 7 last year. I read that the Windows 10 Anniversary Update has been released, but my Windows Update shows there aren’t any updates available. My About System screen shows I’ve got version 1511 installed, and my system is activated. Is there some reason why I’m not getting the latest updates? The Windows 10 Anniversary Update was released to the […]
Fake Infection: a reader asks… Help! I opened an email and clicked on a link in it, and got a big warning on my screen saying that my computer (a Macbook Air) had been hacked. It gave me an 800 number to call, which I did. The tech support guy had me install GoToAssist so he could help me. He showed me some screen and said that a hacker was trying to take over my IP address (whatever that is), […]
New Windows Won’t Update: a reader asks… I’ve been trying to get my Dell laptop fixed. The hard drive crashed, so I bought a new SSD (thanks for that tip!) and installed it. I didn’t have a Dell System Recovery disk, but I did have a Windows 7 64-bit SP1 installation disk, so I installed Windows. I then got and installed a bunch of Dell drivers from their support website – even followed the order of install. So now I […]
Fingerprint Reading: a reader asked… I recently switched from a Blackberry to an iPhone 6s, and am having trouble with the fingerprint reader. I’ve enrolled several fingers and both thumbs, but I can’t get the reader to unlock my phone reliably. Any advice? That’s a common problem with folks who’ve transitioned from a device that has physical keys to one with virtual keys – muscle memory has you using the tips of thumb and fingers to tap the teeny tiny […]
Old VHS tape recycle: a reader asks… In trying to clean out/declutter the house, I unearthed what appear to be 10 unused VHS tapes. Since they are obsolete (or almost so), how do recycle or dispose of them safely? I looked in your library but didn’t come up with the answer. More and more municipalities are going towards single-stream recycling which makes it easy to drop just about anything into the recycle bin. Sometimes this can actually cause more problems, […]
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