Recent Comments
Comment by Mat on Geekly Update - 04 February 2025 (February 4, 2025 09:19 PM)
I have been using PIA and LibreOffice for years with zero problems..... ...
Comment by Jonathan on Geekly Update - 04 February 2025 (February 4, 2025 08:53 PM)
Microsoft 365 subscribers may also like to check out LibreOffice while looking for a replacement VPN. They may find that this app does almost all th...
Comment by Pete on Geekly Update - 04 February 2025 (February 4, 2025 07:29 PM)
Thanks Bob! I was just looking for a VPN! Thanks again!! You always come through!...
Comment by Leprechaun on 12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?) (February 4, 2025 02:28 PM)
This happened to my wife just this last weekend. A charge from Walmart.com that she did not make. She got a hold put on her card and will get a new ...
Comment by Steve on 12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?) (February 4, 2025 09:52 AM)
Anything that arrives in the mail I tear off the name & address label before recycling, the address label is then separately shredded. I don’t use F...
Comment by Ian on 12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?) (February 4, 2025 08:37 AM)
For two factor authentication with a mobile use a second profile with a different PIN. That means if someone does get access to your unlocked mobile, ...
Comment by Renaud Olgiati on 12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?) (February 4, 2025 08:11 AM)
I find it interesting that the two countries most affected by identity theft are the US and the UK, both countries that steadily refuse to issue compu...
Comment by JP on 12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?) (February 4, 2025 12:46 AM)
And now that Musk and his crew has access to all of our private information, who knows what will befall us in the U.S.?...
Comment by Ernie (Oldster) on 12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?) (February 3, 2025 11:19 PM)
To start, the actions I've taken to protect myself from malware and Identity Theft include freezing all six of my credit bureau accounts (as recommend...
Comment by bev on [RECOMMENDED] 10 Free Software Programs (February 2, 2025 08:31 PM)
I recently switched browsers from Chrome to Duck Duck Go. I'm very happy with it and like the easy way it deletes history, cookies, and tracking. The ...
Geekly Update - 04 February 2025
Is your favorite video game getting Smell-o-Vision in the near future? Should your web browser be reminding you to breathe? Is Mark Zuckerberg leaking oil from a loose neck bolt? And is it time to get serious about the Windows 10 end-of-life deadline? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on February 04, 2025 | Category: Tech-News
12 Identity Theft Mistakes (how many have you made?)
According to a report produced by Javelin Strategy & Research, identity theft affected over 15 million U.S. consumers in 2023, with losses over $23 billion. Spikes have been noted in 'new account fraud' and 'account takeover fraud' -- two of the most damaging types of ID theft. I haven’t found stats for 2024 yet, but we can assume they’re equally dismal. Read on for my tips on avoiding fraud and identity theft, and see if you've made any mistakes that can make it easier for scammers to victimize you...
Posted by Bob Rankin on February 03, 2025 | Category: Privacy
Geekly Update - 29 January 2025
Has Siri predicted the winner of the 2025 Super Bowl? Is a powerful new Chinese AI chatbot a threat to the rest of the world? Will the Blue Triangle of Death be showing up on your electronic device? And what happened to those mystery drones? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 29, 2025 | Category: Tech-News
[ALERT] ATM Skimmer Scams On The Rise
A teenager and his parents were arrested this week, charged with running a scam involving ATMs and card skimmers that impacted over 900 people. And that's just one recent example. The biggest threat to financial networks is not ransomware, phishing, or denial-of-service attacks. It’s “ATM skimming,” the illegal capture of debit card data and PIN numbers by a “skimmer” device inserted into an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Here's how to spot a skimmer and how to protect against this type of scam...
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 28, 2025 | Category: Finance
Geekly Update - 23 January 2025
Has the new U.S. president unveiled an interstellar teleportation device? Will artificial intelligence cure cancer in 2025? Should naughty robots be punished with pushups and squat thrusts? And how does one take a good photo from the window of a space craft that's moving at 17,150 miles per hour? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 23, 2025 | Category: Tech-News
Is This a Fake Virus Alert?
A concerned reader asks: “Bob, I'm worried that I might have a computer virus. My computer will sometimes stop and a warning says I have a virus, and I must call a number on the screen. Then supposedly they will walk me through the process to fix it. Is this true? I have antivirus installed but still, it pops up now and then.” Is this virus alert real or rogue? Here's my diagnosis...
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 21, 2025 | Category: Viruses
Geekly Update - 15 January 2025
Has the arrival of way-too-cute robots lulled us into a false sense of security? Will AI make it way too easy for cybercriminals to trick us? Is Microsoft pretending to be Google? And why are mice wearing virtual reality goggles? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 15, 2025 | Category: Tech-News
[RECOMMENDED] 10 Free Software Programs
So, you got a new computer, or maybe you're looking to spiff up your current model. It's a good idea to remove all those non-essential programs that came preloaded, and then install the best freeware for everyday computing. Here are some of my top free software recommendations for your computer. Read on!
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 07, 2025 | Category: Software
AskBob's Best of 2024 - Part Two
Did you catch Part One of my “Best of 2024” series? Well, buckle up, because today I’m serving up another round of ten wildly popular AskBob articles! These gems were carefully curated with assistance from a network of quantum robots, secret nodes on the blockchain, clandestine satellite feeds, and some AI software I may or may not have 'borrowed' from a guy named Vinny who works at the Large Hadron Collider. I hope you'll dive in, leave your own comments, and share them with your email buddies and social media contacts. Let's go!
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 06, 2025 | Category: Reference
AskBob's Best of 2024 - Part One
I want express my sincere THANKS to YOU and the 130,000+ others who have subscribed to the AskBob newsletter since 2005. This year I celebrated the 19th anniversary of this newsletter, and there are over 3000 articles here now. Many of you are regular readers and contribute comments, which I love. And since I love numbers almost as much as words, I asked my robot to scan the server logs to find the most popular articles of the year. Here are ten of the top articles for you to review. I hope you'll check out each one, leave your own comments, forward this to a friend, and tell them to sign up for more AskBob in 2025!
Posted by Bob Rankin on January 03, 2025 | Category: Reference
[WOW] ASCII Artwork - An Internet Treasure
Have you experienced ASCII art? Long before the graphical World Wide Web was invented in the early 1990s, people were creating computer images that required no special hardware or software to view. ASCII art is composed only of plain text characters, and can be sent by e-mail without attachments. Take a stroll into Internet history, enjoy some ASCII art, and learn how to make your own…
Posted by Bob Rankin on December 20, 2024 | Category: Cool-Stuff
The Click That Could Cost You
Your mouse hovers over a link... your trembling finger is poised to click... but then you stop to think. Is there danger lurking behind that link? Do you know how to tell right away if a website (or link) is going to lead you into a world of hurt? A single click can trigger an unwanted download, a malware infection, stolen login credentials, ransomware, or identity theft. Here are some practical tips and tools you can use to click smarter...
Posted by Bob Rankin on December 19, 2024 | Category: Security
14 Computer Facts That Are Not True
Hey... did you know? At midnight on March 31st, the Internet will be temporarily shut down for the annual Spring Cyber Cleaning? Read on to get the scoop on this, Abraham Lincoln's opinion on fake news, and other dubious “facts” about computers and the Internet...
Posted by Bob Rankin on December 18, 2024 | Category: Reference
The Best Time to Buy a Car is...
Is December the best month of the year to shop for a new or used car? Are chip shortages still affecting auto prices and inventory? Today I have some some tips for car buying that will help you save money and get the car you want. You may not even have to set foot in a dealer showroom. Read on...
Posted by Bob Rankin on December 16, 2024 | Category: Auto
Is This a Better Alternative to Windows 11?
Recently I wrote about the Windows 10 "end of life" situation, and gave some tips on how to move forward. One of those ideas was to move on to Windows 11, but many PCs don't meet the strict hardware requirements that Microsoft has imposed. Now they say you CAN install Windows 11 on your older PC, with a few caveats, of course. Let's look at that, and another idea that might work even better for you. Read on!
Posted by Bob Rankin on December 11, 2024 | Category: Windows-11