Fake AmEx emails: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I’m getting more suspicious all the time, thanks to you! Can you please verify that the email I’ve forwarded to you is a fake? It’s from American Express and warns me about a problem with my account. I don’t want to go someplace and find that my AmEx card won’t work, but I’m afraid to click on anything in the message. You are right to be wary, the email is a stone-cold […]
Make a boot USB: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I’ve got a problem. I have a Windows Ultrabook and want to wipe the SSD and install Windows fresh. I don’t have any system restore feature I can find. This was a former work computer that got re-imaged. I do have a valid, unused Windows 7 installation DVD, but the ultrabook doesn’t have a DVD drive. I’ve got a desktop PC with a DVD drive though. I’ve been looking online for […]
Mac Maintenance: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I have a 2-year-old Macbook Pro and the operating system is version 10.9.6. Since I got the Mac I have just been doing the usual, surfing the internet, online shopping, email (I use Mac Mail and a gmail account), along with a few other things I’ve installed over the years. I never really thought about maintenance, since when I switched over from Windows, the Apple guy said Macs don’t need all the work […]
Dead Laptop Display: a reader asks… Hi Chris, my laptop (a 2-3 year old Dell XPS 15) and the monitor stopped working. Can you give me some advice on what to do? Laptops are by design, engineered with specialty parts. The manufacturers have to do this in order to get everything to fit into the laptop form factor. So hardware repairs can be tricky. I would not suggest you do this yourself, but have it repaired by a reputable repair […]
AutoReply=Bad Juju: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I’m a small business that has a contact form on my website. I turned on my web host’s autoresponse so that anyone who uses the online form gets an email answer but then all hell broke loose. I started getting dozens of emails, non-delivery reports and such. Is there a way to do this so I can avoid all that mess? Actually, the best way to avoid that mess is to dispense with […]
Win10 Local Account: a reader asks… I’m starting the free upgrade to Windows 10, but the darn thing wants me to create a new Microsoft account online. Do I have to do this, and if not, how do I make a regular Windows account? Microsoft really, really wants you to create a Microsoft account online and use that to log into Windows. This is critical to the long-term success of Windows, now that upgrading the operating system is free (once you’ve […]
Unlock iPad Redux: a reader asks… Unlock iPad? I’ve read your instructions on the subject however I’m not feeling confident about being able to carry them out. If I take the iPad to an Apple Store can they unlock it for me? The Apple Support Community has plenty of horror stories about how Genius Bar people won’t help unlock a ‘bricked’ iOS device. That said, you should probably start off by using chat or telephone support at https://getsupport.apple.com/ and see what they […]
Horizontal Line in Word: a reader asked… Hi Coach, I use Microsoft Word 2010, and want to have a horizontal line to separate text in a manuscript I’m working on. I don’t see that command in my ribbon bar (it’s in the one in Outlook though). I’ve been using tables with the bottom border, but that’s kind of klugy to me. Got a better answer? I’ve got two for you. Since you already use Outlook and that horizontal line button […]
Bu-bye Windows 8: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I bought a new laptop PC in March 2013, with Windows 8. I haven’t bothered to upgrade it to the 8.1 update that Microsoft put out, and now I see a Windows 10 update being offered. My PC is working ok, should I upgrade or keep what I’ve got going? And if you say to upgrade, which one should I do? Houston, you have a problem. Windows 8 (for just about everyone besides […]
Facebook Privacy: a reader asks… Hi Chris, what settings do you recommend for Facebook to ensure my best privacy protection? The first thing you should do to best protect your privacy is to limit your list of ‘friends’ on Facebook. Unless you’re using Facebook as a public blog distribution platform, you should never be friends with anyone you don’t know in the physical world. And don’t be overly friendly even with people you know, but aren’t really friends with. Facebook […]
Windows 10 Wi-Fi Sense: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I upgraded to Windows 10 and for the most part am happy. But one thing bugs me: it automatically shares my wifi with everybody I know. How do I turn this so-called feature off? You’re talking about Wi-Fi Sense, a new feature of Windows 10 that automatically shares your Wi-Fi password with your contacts (Facebook, Skype & Outlook). It’s only activated if you’ve also taken Microsoft’s bait to create and use a Microsoft […]
FIOS outage: a reader asks… I have a Verizon FIOS connection at home. The router (with an Orange band) is connected to the FIOS service via Coax cable. One day when the internet connection failed, I found a yellow cable connected to one of the ports; other end was loose. I connected it to the port marked Ethernet. Is that correct? My laptop’s internet is still not working. We do not have any computer connected directly to the router. First, […]
Missing reply button: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’m having trouble with email in Outlook 2010. I’ve lost the button to reply to incoming emails, so the only way I can reply to an email is to close it and then use the reply button on the main Outlook screen. I also can’t delete an email when it’s open. It’s a time waster. Can you tell me what’s wrong and how to fix this? Normally, your Outlook message window has a […]
Ransom32 – Mac, Win & Linux: A new version of ransomware has popped up, and this hacker tool threatens not just Microsoft Windows computers, but also Mac and Linux computers. The bad actors who created this monster made it in Javascript so it’s out there affecting Windows computer users right now. It’s quite possible that the program has been or will be re-formulated into versions that will run on Mac and Linux as well. I wrote about this last November […]
LastPass 4.0: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I followed your advice and set myself up with LastPass awhile back. I just got an email saying that there’s a new version 4.0 out. Should i update to the latest version? Is there any downside to sticking with the version I have now (3.2)? I’m glad you took the step to protect your digital life and identity with a password manager. Products like LastPass are really the only way we can protect […]
Character Typing: a reader asks… Hi Chris, when I get or see emails, documents, news articles and other online publications, they sometimes have special characters in them that aren’t on a standard keyboard. Can you tell me how to type those things in please? There are a ton of special characters that you can display, such as the registered symbol ®, copyright symbol ©, and the inverted question mark ¿. Characters like this are part of the extended ASCII character […]
Undisclosed Recipients: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I get these emails that are addressed to “Undisclosed Recipients”. They’re mostly newsletters and blast emails that go out to lots of people. Is there a way I can send email like this? I’d like to email everybody in my addressbook with a new phone number. First let me warn you that this method of sending email is a popular way that spammers send out their junk email, so you should use it carefully. […]
Your resume in 2016: While technically not a consumer technology subject, I often get asked to look at someone’s resume. Students, seasoned professionals, and even executives have had me give their resume a once-over or a more extensive fix-up job. Over the years I’ve refined a tight set of tips for how to make your resume sing to that recruiter or potential boss. Without further ado, here’s my top 10 list for the new year: Brevity is King/Queen: No matter how […]
Fix my Windows 7! A reader asks… Hi Chris, my Windows 7 computer suffered a hard drive failure. Before the system failed, I followed your advice and created a system image of my drive, and also created a System Repair Disc. I replaced the hard drive, booted to the repair disc and used the system image to bring my computer back up to what it was before. It worked! Windows and my installed programs and my personal files all came […]
Mac OS X El Capitan: A reader asks… Coach, my 2011 Macbook Pro has been working fine with OS X 10.9 (Mavericks). I see that the current version is 10.11 (El Capitan), so I’m now a few versions behind – apparently I missed 10.10 (Yosemite). Do I need to upgrade to the latest version or can I just update to 10.10? Should I even bother since my Mac is working fine? One thing about Apple, they have been diligent about […]
Slow Internet Fix: a reader asks… Hi Chris, my Windows 7 computer seems to be having a problem – the internet is really slow. I have a Cox/Cisco cablemodem and a Linksys router with an ethernet cable running from the router to my computer. Do you have a quick fix? It’s easy to attribute slow internet to your service provider (in this case Cox), and it may very well be that their service is having problems. But before you give […]
iPhone Battery Life: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I have an iPhone that’s less than a year old, but won’t last a day – my battery life sucks. Can you tell me what I can do to get more life out of my battery? Regardless of which model iPhone you have, the problem of battery life is going to rear its ugly head from time to time. For many people, the answer is to plug it in every chance they […]
Windows 10 Go/No-go: a reader asks… Hi Chris, my Windows 7 desktop computer is working, but not well. I had a hard drive that was failing, so I followed your instructions to swap it out for a new SSD. My computer boots up a lot faster and programs do load quicker, but I’m still getting lots of errors, things like ‘script‘ errors, low virtual memory, the computer crashes with a blue screen, and slow operation sometimes. What should I do? […]
Wireless keyboard fix: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I’ve got a desktop computer and have a wireless keyboard and mouse. Everything’s been working great for awhile, but all the sudden the keyboard stopped working. The mouse is still working though. What can I do to fix this? Let me first suggest that you replace the batteries on the keyboard, since that’s the most likely reason why it stopped working. Some wireless keyboards have a physical power switch that can be […]
No Conversation View: A reader asks… I recently dumped my Blackberry for an iPhone (not my choice, my employer’s). It’s been a pain getting used to all the differences, but one thing really bugs me – the email display of messages. All the related emails show up on the list just as one item. You tap that and see another list of emails. I hate this, both on my iPhone and in Gmail! Can I turn that off and see […]
App Picker Android: a reader asks.. Hi Coach, I have a Droid Turbo smartphone and really like using Android. But my friends with iPhones have a quick way to find an app on their phone by searching, whilst I have to swipe across screen after screen to get to an app I want to run. Heck, they can even use the same search feature for contacts, emails, and the web! Is there something I’m missing with Android to more quickly […]
Pricy SSDs: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’m planning on upgrading my 2+ year-old Lenovo Thinkpad T440. It has a tiny 160gb SSD in it now, and I want to upgrade to a terabyte SSD now that the prices have come down. Can you give me a recommendation? I’ve been looking at the Samsung 850 EVO, do you think that’s a good choice? Probably the biggest factor affecting your choice of an SSD is the drive controller hardware in your older […]
Camera USB Cable: a reader asks… Hi Coach, I have a digital camera and want to get the pictures I’ve taken from it to my Windows computer. I’ve got several cables and am not sure which one I should use. Can you give me some help? Digital cameras often come with software designed for unloading pictures, but that’s generally not necessary. All you need to do is connect your camera to the computer with a USB cable and you should […]
Chrome Process Hog? a reader asks… Hi Coach, when I look at my Windows Task Manager I see well over a dozen processes running, even if I only have one or two tabs open in Google Chrome. What gives, is Chrome just a memory hog, is it malfunctioning, or what? When you take a look at your Windows Task Manager, you can see the list of processes that are running on your PC at any point. Click on the title […]
Small Biz Email: a reader asks… I own a small business and have been using my gmail account for email services. Someone told me that’s a bad thing. I just do local plumbing services – I don’t even have a website. Do you think it matters? These days not having an online presence (even a simple one) can be hard on a small business. Think about it: when someone wants to find a plumber, they used to look in the […]
"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.
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