The Computer Tutor

Every once in a while I get a phone call from a frustrated computer user.  Their complaint?  The volume icon has disappeared!  Which means they can’t use the on-screen icon that normally allows them to raise or lower their speaker volume.  Where does it go?  And more importantly, how do you get it back? [...] Read more »

When you create a Word document, you know exactly what you are typing.  So, you are obviously in full control of what appears on the pages of that document.  But did you know that Word “hides” some information in the document that doesn’t actually appear as text on any of the pages?  And this might [...] Read more »

You’re on the internet, maybe doing some research, and keeping track of a few different things in various tabs in your browser of choice (probably Chrome or Firefox, maybe even Internet Explorer).  You go to click on one of the tabs, and you accidentally click the little “X” at the right edge, and of course [...] Read more »

Update: Unfortunately, since version 2 was released, Malwarebytes is no longer working properly. In fact I have seen on several computers where it is messing up other programs, including my clients’ online file backup software. I am recommending that Malwarebytes be uninstalled. The security software we now use and recommend is here. “What’s the best [...] Read more »

The Heartbleed bug has been in the news for about a week now so you have probably heard about it, even if you don’t know exactly what it is or what it means for you and your computer security.  Today we’ll break it down into simple terms, as well as some recommendations about what action [...] Read more »

If you have a program on your computer that you don’t want to have on it, what do you do?  You just uninstall it, right?  Sure sounds simple enough.  Just go to Control Panel, to the list of Programs, find it in the list and uninstall it.  That would be nice if it always worked [...] Read more »

I fix my clients’ computers just about every day.  I either do it remotely (which is what I prefer to do, since it is easier to schedule and more cost-effective for the client), or I do it in person.  If I physically do the repair, it is usually done here in my office.  But regardless [...] Read more »

One of the (several) things that people don’t like about Windows 8 is that it seems to force you to have a user account with a password just to log into your own computer.  Many home users don’t even want to bother with a Windows password because security is not really considered an issue.  Even [...] Read more »

There’s a video on YouTube that has been getting a lot of attention lately.  A few of my clients have sent me the link to watch it, because it seems to fit right in line with the kinds of topics I cover here in this blog and on my podcast; specifically, privacy and security. [...] Read more »

It’s kind of funny how we’ve been trained by our computers to do things in a way that don’t always make a lot of sense.  If you want to turn off your TV, you hit the power button.  If you want to turn off your car radio, you hit the power button.  Just about any [...] Read more »