Scobie.Net

Category: Advice

  • Tech Updates for July

    Windows 10 always wants to market new ideas, and anew one is called News and Interests. As part of May’s Super Tuesday update, Microsoft put in a new widget to “surface news, sports scores, and stocks based upon your interests,” and it may show up on your taskbar. To get rid of it, right-click on…

  • No More Passwords?

    Apple, Google, and Microsoft are working to end passwords. Before you cheer too loudly, review what they are trying to do. This does not mean that there will not be a need for some type of authentication. Have you ever tried to login to a website and had to get a one-time code sent to…

  • Tips for Backups

    The only backup you will ever regret is the one you didn’t make. Though World Backup Day was the last day of March, you shouldn’t think about it only once a year. The point of a backup of your electronic data—a DVD, thumb drive, or a syncing service like iCloud, Dropbox or Backblaze—is that you…

  • Gmail Changes; Saving Space

    Did you finally get used to the last round of changes to Gmail’s website? More changes are coming, slowly rolling out, primarily to better incorporate Google Chat (to compete with Slack) and Google Meet (to compete with Zoom.) There will be another sidebar with these options, and Google has said that by summer 2022 this…

  • Chrome, Cold, Crypto and More

    Chrome 97 can now delete all the data that sites have stored on your device, not just cookies. Make sure you have this version. To get it, click the three dots in your toolbar, hover over Help, then choose About Google Chrome. Once you have this version, go to Settings > Security and Privacy >…

  • Starting Your Year Securely

    If you’re hearing security tips this time of year, it’s good to realize what you do and don’t have to do. You don’t have to change your passwords frequently, as it often leads to similar passwords. You are allowed to write down your passwords; just don’t put them near or on your computer. Two-factor authentication…

  • Working from Home, Ad Blockers and Making PDFs

    Working from home, social distancing and adjusting to how we use the Internet all are topics of concern right now. When using video conferencing software, turn off the video to improve your audio quality or at least reduce the video quality (aka bitrate—usually some number with bps or just p after it.) Schedule who needs…

  • Facebook Info and Google Tips

    Facebook is revealing more information about what they track across the Internet, and they also have options available to control how they track you. Their new tool is called “Off-Facebook Activity,” and you can find it under “Settings” then “Your Facebook Information.” You can even cut down on future tracking, but all that really does…

  • Tips for Phone and Computer Security

    The iPhone has a reputation of being hard to hack, but how can you know for sure? There’s an app for that. Although Apple has strongly limited access to data that security tools would like to access to tell if the phone has been compromised, a new app called iVerify includes a series of detailed…

  • Tips for Holiday Wishlists and More

    For the coming holiday season computer purchases for Mac or Windows, look for desktops or laptops that have 8 GB of RAM, ideally a solid-state drive, and at least two USB ports (you might want to buy a USB hub to expand that number). And avoid the lower end and slower processors like the i3…

  • How to Help Older Computer Users

    Providing computer help for older friends or someone in your family can be a challenge. The biggest issue is that older people may not have the knowledge base you have or may not want to learn all of the tricks you think they would benefit from. I find it best to have them give me…

  • Headphones, Updates, and Recycling

    Apple wants you to think plug-in headphones are passé, as they no longer will include that headphone dongle with new iPhones. You will need to own or buy Bluetooth headphones or a Lightning-to-headphone-jack converter. Microsoft Updates You may have heard that Microsoft will extend support for Windows 7 beyond January 2020, but that is only…