The Computer Tutor

You may have noticed something new recently if you use Google Chrome as your web browser.  Whenever you open a new tab, that new tab page displays the Google search field.  And right below that, there are a bunch of icons representing the websites you have recently visited.  A lot of people don’t like that [...] Read more »

An important part of a comprehensive data backup strategy is having a reliable, consistent backup to an external drive.  Today I’ll show you how I recommend doing this.  I’m using a small program for Windows called Second Copy.   First, a quick recap: Last Monday I told you about CryptoLocker, a new ransomware virus [...] Read more »

There’s a new type of malicious software in town.  It’s called CryptoLocker.  It doesn’t fool around.   CryptoLocker falls into the category of “Ransomware”.  Ransomware programs take over part or all of your computer, and offers to return it to you when you pay money.  You have probably heard about the popular “FBI Virus”, which [...] Read more »

If you use Facebook (and most of you do), you know that Facebook likes to display their pages the way they want.  They don’t really care much what the users think.  How many times have you seen friends post something like “I HATE the new Facebook layout!”.  Well, I’m happy to tell you that you [...] Read more »

If you use the iGoogle service as your home page on Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome (or whatever web browser you prefer to use), you are probably aware that it will be discontinued on November 1, 2013 – less than 2 months from now.  Some people don’t care, and others are in a panic about [...] Read more »

A lot of us suffer from a particular affliction.  It’s called distraction.   I might notice this more than some people because I work from a home office.  I can be completely focused on doing something, such as building a website or diagnosing a computer that isn’t working properly.  Then something happens.  Usually it’s [...] Read more »

Not too long ago, Gmail made a change in the way they display your email.  Instead of just having all of your new mail come into the Inbox, they divided the Inbox into a few categories: Priority, Social, Promotions, Updates. At first use, I didn’t like it.  But my dislike was not really based [...] Read more »

There’s a key on my Windows keyboard that I never use: Caps Lock.  I think probably the majority of people don’t use it.  And those that do use it regularly, shouldn’t!  When you type in all caps, it is considered the equivalent of yelling.  It’s rude.   Yet there it is on the keyboard. [...] Read more »