Practical Help Library

  • Simple Backup

    Simple Backup

    May 21, 2015

    Simple backup – a reader asks… Can you give me the most uncomplicated way to backup my Windows computer please? I’d like to keep things simple without having all these online services and their complicated restore procedures. Backing up your computer is almost always uncomplicated, it’s the restoring part that gets complicated. So let me give you the simplest way to backup while keeping the restoral process simple as well (without using online services as you asked). First thing, you […]

  • What is Ransomware?

    What is Ransomware?

    May 20, 2015

    What is Ransomware? a reader asks… I’ve been reading about various types of programs hackers throw at us consumers. I know about malware, spyware, adware, and computer viruses, trojans and worms, but what the heck is ‘ransomware’ and how do I protect myself from it? The collective term for all the various bad programs that can get on your computer is ‘malware’ and most everything is a variant of that. Ransomware is a relatively new variant that you might have […]

  • Office Printer Password?

    Office Printer Password?

    May 19, 2015

    Office Printer Password? a member asks… Hi Chris, I was just wondering if there was a way to password protect the wireless printer here at our school, so only staff can print from it (we have public access available for students and families). Our printer is an HP 4500. Thanks! Password-protecting print jobs is all dependent on the brand and model of printer you have. Most consumer printers don’t have the capability to restrict print jobs with a password – […]

  • Hamburger Menu?

    Hamburger Menu?

    May 18, 2015

    Hamburger Menu? a reader asks… I’m starting to see this image of 3 horizontal lines on lots of websites more and more. Also on programs. What is it and what’s it for? It’s called either a hamburger or an airvent, and it’s a clickable icon that displays a menu of options, settings, or navigational links – whatever the designer wishes. Following the current trend towards flat design, it doesn’t look like much of anything by itself. Most people are used […]

  • What's a Trojan - program?

    What’s a Trojan – program?

    May 15, 2015

    What’s a Trojan – program? a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’m using your recommendation to protect my Windows computer, and that program keeps telling me that I’ve got a ‘trojan’ on my system. I clean it out each time, but it keeps coming back? What’s a trojan and can you help me get rid of it permanently? Besides the famous historical reference, the term trojan (in computing) refers to a malicious program that does things with your computer that you […]

  • Sharing my Laptop

    Sharing my Laptop

    May 14, 2015

    Sharing my laptop: a reader asks… Is there any problem with me sharing my laptop with someone else? I guess that depends on how much you trust the person with whom you’re sharing. You may have nothing to hide and won’t mind sharing your laptop with your spouse or other relative, or even a close friend. But you do need to be aware of pitfalls that come with sharing. For instance… Your laptop can be hacked. Not necessarily by the […]

  • What's Wrong with Public Wi-Fi?

    What’s Wrong with Public Wi-Fi?

    May 13, 2015

    What’s Wrong with Public Wi-Fi? a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve been following your Practical Help for awhile now, and thought I’d finally ask a question: Is it safe to use public wi-fi, like at Starbucks, a library, or school? Should I take any precautions? Any advice you’ve got to spare would be great, thanks! Thanks for asking a question! “Free” Wi-fi is everywhere – many businesses, banks, schools, libraries, airports, and even some parks and other open spaces have […]

  • iMessage Tips

    iMessage Tips

    May 12, 2015

    iMessage Tips: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’m new to the iPhone and am just starting to scratch the surface on how to use it. Do you have some tips for me? Especially on how to use text messaging, I already have the basics down. For a comprehensive how-to on using the iPhone, Apple has thoughtfully put together a guide, plus there are tons of Youtube videos and free guides just a google search away. So let me focus on some […]

  • Too Much Accessibility!

    Too Much Accessibility!

    May 11, 2015

    Too Much Accessibility! A reader asks… This world is moving too fast! Yesterday I accidentally turned on a voice-over feature on my new iPhone 6 and couldn’t get it to turn off – and my iPhone was frozen. I had to go to the nearest Apple Store to get it fixed, and had to wait an hour along with about 150 other customers. That after first trying the Verizon store – they were clueless on what to do and how […]

  • Noisy Hard Drive?

    Noisy Hard Drive?

    May 8, 2015

    Noisy Hard Drive? a reader asks… My 3 year old windows computer is starting to make a funny noise, it kind of sounds like bacon frying. It goes off and on. If I turn the laptop over, I can tell it isn’t the cooling fan, the sound is not coming from any of the vents. Is my hard drive dying? Yes, it most likely is about to crash. Some data on your hard drive may already be corrupted or erased, […]

  • Printing Excel 2013 Column Titles

    Printing Excel 2013 Column Titles

    May 7, 2015

    Printing Excel 2013 Column Titles: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve been using Excel for many years, and was always able to get the column titles to print on each page from the Print worksheet options. I recently got upgraded to Excel 2013 and now that’s all greyed out, so I can’t print titles! Can you help me? Microsoft like so many other software developers has a penchant for changing things as they release new versions. Nobody seems to understand […]

  • Touchpad Disabled

    Touchpad Disabled

    May 6, 2015

    Touchpad Disabled: a reader asks… I’ve been using my Toshiba laptop with a USB mouse for a long time. Recently I had to go somewhere and didn’t take my mouse. When I turned on the laptop, my built-in touchpad wasn’t working. Do you have a quick fix? You might have disabled your touchpad awhile back, since when you use a mouse, an active touchpad can cause inadvertent mistakes while typing on the keyboard. For Toshiba computers, there’s a simple keyboard […]

  • Video Game Lag

    Video Game Lag

    May 4, 2015

    Video game lag: a reader asks… Hi Chris, my son is an avid video gamer. He’s got his game console hooked up to a big flat-screen TV in our basement. My son is complaining about “lagging”, thinks the internet is too slow, and wants us to fix the problem. Our wi-fi is upstairs, and my cable provider suggested either another cablemodem downstairs or a powerline access point. Can you help? The problem of internet speed may or may not be […]

  • Are you being tracked?

    Are you being tracked?

    May 1, 2015

    Are you being tracked? Should you care? a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve been reading about how my cell phone is tracking my location and am concerned about my privacy. Can you tell me about this and what I should do, if anything to keep unsavory creatures from tracking my whereabouts? There are a lot of technology reporters out there who are searching for eye-grabbing headlines. Frankly, I think most of the brou-ha-ha is just paranoia-mongering. And at least here […]

  • More on Phishing

    More on Phishing

    April 30, 2015

    More on Phishing: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve received an email from Paypal that says my account has been limited in service. It gives a transaction number but I don’t recognize any of the details. What should I do? You have been subjected to a phishing attempt by some nefarious hacker, and the email is a fake. You sent it to me, so I’ve pointed out the two areas where you can quickly tell that it’s a fake: The email […]

  • Bitdefender Foibles

    Bitdefender Foibles

    April 29, 2015

    Bitdefender Foibles: a reader asks… Hi Chris, last year following your recommendation I purchased Bitdefender Internet Security to protect my Windows PC. It’s been working great, protecting me without bothering me alot, so thanks there! But it just recently did an auto-renew of my subscription, which I didn’t even know I’d signed up for. And they charged me 80 bucks for a 1-year renewal! I know that I can buy Bitdefender fresh elsewhere for about 40 bucks. What should I […]

  • Does your password suck?

    Does your password suck?

    April 28, 2015

    Does your password suck? Is your password a combination of your kid’s birthday and your dog’s name? If so that’s not as bad as most people’s. The most common password is currently ‘123456’, closely followed by the word ‘password’. There are thousands of crappy passwords in use today. Here’s a list from Splashdata of last year’s 25 most common passwords. Is yours one of these? 123456, password, 12345, 12345678, qwerty, 123456789, 1234, baseball, dragon, football, 1234567, monkey, letmein, abc123, 111111, mustang, access, shadow, master, michael, superman, 696969, 123123, batman, trustno1 If yours is one of these or similar, you should […]

  • Anatomy of a Credit Card Hack

    Anatomy of a Credit Card Hack

    April 27, 2015

    Anatomy of a Credit Card Hack: a reader asked… My credit card information, but not the credit card was recently stolen. I never lost sight of my card, but somehow someone got enough information to make some fraudulent purchases. Fortunately, my bank called about suspected purchases and I was able to have the card replaced in one day. So my question is, how could something like this happen and can I do anything to prevent it happening again? Credit card […]

  • Norton Security 2015?

    Norton Security 2015?

    April 23, 2015

    Norton Security 2015? a reader asks… Hi Chris, can you please give me your opinion of Norton Security 2015 and Norton Backup? I’ve been using them for protection against viruses/malware/spyware, as well as to backup my Microsoft Windows computer. Hmm, let me first say that it’s the penchant for companies to start with something they do well, and then expand to cover other areas – often not-so-well. Norton is a big player in the computer protection field, and they enjoy […]

  • Change Windows Default Folder Locations

    Change Windows Default Folder Locations

    April 23, 2015

    Change Windows Default Folder Locations: If you’re planning on implementing a backup solution using Google Drive, Dropbox, or other cloud-based file storage system, then you might want to change the default location of your personal files. Normally Microsoft Windows has folders set up for your user account, Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, Downloads, etc. These are located in a particular place – C:\Users\Your username\… To move these into your local copy of the cloud-based file storage system, here’s what you do: […]

  • Barebones Microsoft Windows Security

    Barebones Microsoft Windows Security

    April 22, 2015

    Barebones Microsoft Windows Security: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I have a computer with Microsoft Windows, and I’d like to ask you for a brief list of what programs I should install to protect myself. Thanks! Ok, here’s a barebones quick list: If you’re using Windows XP or Vista, upgrade to Windows 7. If you’re using Windows 8, upgrade to Windows 8.1. Upgrade from Windows Update to Microsoft Update (so you get updates for Windows and other Microsoft software) and […]

  • Anatomy of a Malware Attack

    Anatomy of a Malware Attack

    April 20, 2015

    Anatomy of a Malware Attack: after watching a recent episode of CSI:Cyber a friend asked me if malware attacks were really that easy to accomplish. That got me thinking about how easy it is for malware to bypass any software protections we use, and how easy it is for us to ignore warnings and neglect to take action because we’re so focused on our work deadlines. Here’s a possible scenario for a malware attack on a computer user. Please, this […]

  • Pay for Stuff Safely

    Pay for Stuff Safely

    April 17, 2015

    Pay for Stuff Safely: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I just received a new credit card with a microchip embedded in it. Can you tell me how this makes for safer purchasing? Are there other options that are safer? Thanks! These new credit cards are rolling out in the US to meet an October 2015 deadline by the major credit card issuers for increased security. This is similar to the EMV smart card that’s been in use for many years outside […]

  • The Mysteries of Wi-fi

    The Mysteries of Wi-fi

    April 14, 2015

    The Mysteries of Wi-fi: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’ve got Verizon FIOS and the router they gave me has an antenna on it. My router is in my basement nearest an outer wall, and I have a pretty small house. But I can’t get a good signal everywhere in the house. Can you tell me which way I should point my antenna to get the best signal throughout my home? Wi-fi can seem to have some pretty mysterious properties, […]

  • Comcast Modem Upgrade

    Comcast Modem Upgrade

    April 13, 2015

    Comcast Modem Upgrade: a reader asks… I have to upgrade my modem for Comcast to a DOCSIS 3.0. I have two questions: 1) What’s your recommendation for the easiest to install/configure 3.0 modem (because I’m not a patient tech guy) or perhaps a combo modem/wireless router? and 2) I’ve been using an older Linksys 2.4 Ghz router. Do I need to upgrade that to be fully compatible with the new modem—or doesn’t it matter? Many thanks! Assuming you don’t need a special gateway […]

  • 16gb iPhone Strain

    16gb iPhone Strain

    April 10, 2015

    16gb iPhone Strain: a reader asks… I have an iphone 5 with 16 gb of memory. I use it for work and play. The largest amount of memory is used for music (about 6gb), the second largest for email and documents (about 3.5 gb) and the rest for apps and the operating system. I don’t have any photos. I have started getting repeated messages that the storage is almost full. I only have about 10 added apps on the phone, […]

  • LastPass Secure Notes

    LastPass Secure Notes

    April 9, 2015

    LastPass Secure Notes: a reader asks… I’ve read your article on using a password manager, and think I’m going to go with LastPass. Can you tell me if it helps you save other security information, like your credit card info, memberships and insurance stuff? Couldn’t this help me be more secure than having a paper notebook of all this info? Thanks! I think you’re making a good decision, and LastPass offers a great secure notes feature that includes templates for […]

  • Tech Refresh Tips

    Tech Refresh Tips

    April 7, 2015

    Tech Refresh Tips: a reader asks… Hi Chris, I’m a small business owner (one person shop) and I think it’s time to refresh my technology, can you give me some pointers? I currently have a Lenovo laptop with Windows XP, am using MS Office 2010, have an old iPad and iPhone. I use Outlook a lot and hate the 2013 version, so I’d like to stick with Outlook 2010 for as long as possible. And I have a website, but […]

  • Recycle Your Old Computer

    Recycle Your Old Computer

    April 6, 2015

    Recycle Your Old Computer: a reader asks… Hi Chris, can you tell me how to recycle my old computer? I want to be ‘green’ but I also don’t want to let go of any of my personal files on my old computer. So I guess I’m asking two questions: how do I destroy all my personal files from my old computer, and where can I take it for recycling? I previously wrote about this subject in this article which focuses […]

  • Smartphone Switch?

    Smartphone Switch?

    March 31, 2015

    Smartphone Switch? A reader asks… Hi Chris, I have an iPhone 5 and am now eligible to upgrade to the new iPhone 6 without having to pay full price. But I’m reading reviews of the new Samsung Galaxy S6, and it’s looking like that is better than the iPhone. Should I make the switch? You certainly could, but let’s take a look at some factors to consider before you decide. I previously wrote about the subject of switching in this […]

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