I hate to sound unsympathetic, but most computer problems are caused by careless users. There are a few basic steps you can take to avoid malware infections, data loss, and performance issues. But too many people try to save time or money by cutting corners, and they end up paying the price…
Bob Rankin: Have You Made These Five Computing Mistakes? Read More »
“I’m shopping for a new PC, and it’s difficult to get an overall rating for how fast a computer is, under real world conditions. Some benchmarks show raw CPU speed, but I’m looking for more than that. Can you recommend any free software to measure system performance?”
Bob Rankin: How Fast is Your PC? Read More »
The 90’s are over, and you still don’t have a webcam? Lots of laptops come with built-in webcams, but if you have a desktop computer, it’s pretty simple to install and use one. If you’re not convinced, read on for some fun and practical uses for a webcam…
Bob Rankin: Time to Buy a Webcam? Read More »
We’re buried in paper, despite all the things we have digitized. Letters, bills, receipts, and other paper documents keep piling up. Some must be kept for years as tax records. What can we do with this growing mountain of paper, besides buy another filing cabinet?
Bob Rankin: Digital Scanners To The Rescue Read More »
“I can’t believe how many professional offices still insist on sending and receiving documents by fax. It’s like they’ve never heard of email or the Internet. I’d love it if you could give me a list of reasons why people should stop using old fashioned fax machines. I’ll e-fax it to my accountant!”
Bob Rankin: 5 Good Reasons to Trash Your Fax Machine Read More »
Are you running out of space on your hard drive? Maybe you’re getting that annoying “low disk space” message. Don’t ignore it, or your computer could soon begin to malfunction. Here’s how to clean your hard drive and make sure your computer is running smoothly…
Bob Rankin: How to Clean Up Your Hard Drive Read More »
“I’m buying an external hard drive for my backups, as you have often recommended. But I’ve bogged down in the details – capacity, transfer speed, USB vs. Firewire, etc. Can you give me some tips on choosing an external drive for backups?”
Bob Rankin: All External Hard Drives are Not Created Equal Read More »
Last week I heard from a friend who thought she might have been infected by a virus. When she visited her own website, it was redirecting her to another web address. It sounded like a simple Javascript redirect, so I assumed it would be safe to visit her site and see where the problem was. Turns out that was a BIG mistake! Find out what happened to my computer, and how I finally managed to recover from the damage…
Bob Rankin: How I Got Hacked… & Why You MUST Have a Backup! Read More »
“I notice that my Internet connection seems to slow to a crawl at certain times, for no apparent reason. Is it likely that I have a virus, or are there other possible explanations for the slowdowns?”
Bob Rankin: Why Is My Internet Connection Slow? Read More »
Do you feel like you’re slowly being buried under a pile of unread, unanswered email? Are you starting to run out of free storage space in your Gmail account? It’s time to go on an email diet and shed a few gigabytes…
Bob Rankin: Are You Drowning in Your Inbox? Read More »