Boosting your laptop's WiFi signal is a good idea, no matter where you are. Away from town and cities, wireless Internet hotspots can be few and far between. But even in urban areas where WiFi hotspots are plentiful it's good to have more networks from which to choose. Here's how to get a stronger wifi signal…gain antenna

Are you ready for Windows XP on your iPad? Why are scientists making Moon dust on Earth? How many mushrooms must die to make a luxury Cadillac? And would you trust a self-driving vehicle without a steering wheel? 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!

A few days ago, three armed men entered a Verizon phone store in a Cleveland suburb. After restraining an employee with zip ties, they grabbed some cash, merchandise and left. One suspect was quickly captured. And then, the real robbery began. Or perhaps I should say, it continued. Read on to see why Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile retail phone stores are not a great place to buy a phone...

Every mobile phone buyer knows the ritual of inserting a SIM card into his or her new purchase. It’s become more of a challenge as the size of SIM cards has steadily shrunk. But the latest phones don’t need a SIM card to connect to a cellular service carrier such as Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T. Instead, they can use a hardware format called “eSIM” which stands for “embedded subscriber identity module.” Let’s examine how eSIM works, what new features it enables, and whether eSIM capability is something you want to use in your smartphone. Read on...

What does radio static have to do with lottery winners? Should you ditch your antivirus software if it's not made in America? And is your password floating around on the dark web? 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!

The smartphone has replaced dedicated digital cameras amongst all but professionals and photography hobbyists. Here are some tips for taking great photos with your iPhone or Android smartphone. (Actually most of them apply to those old-school digital cameras as well.) Read on...

Philosophers have pondered the nature of evil for centuries. Perhaps you also have wondered how a medium meant for information sharing has become a minefield of privacy and security risks. Spam, viruses, ransomware, identity theft, data breaches, phishing, malicious links and other cybercrimes have become commonplace. Who does this stuff, and what the heck is wrong with them? Let's take a look at what motivates the bad guys who lurk in the dark corners of the Internet...

On July 4, 2024, a hacker known as "ObamaCare" released a compilation of nearly 10 billion plaintext passwords on a popular hacking forum. This leak, dubbed "RockYou2024," is an updated and more extensive version of the infamous "RockYou2021" leak, adding approximately 1.5 billion more passwords to the already vast database. This massive repository significantly increases the risk of brute-force attacks on various online accounts. Should you be worried? Here's what you need to do...

If you think the online world gets more dangerous every day, you’re not wrong. The AV-TEST Institute reports over 450,000 new malware samples are discovered DAILY. Thousands of social media accounts are hacked every day; and untold millions of consumer records compromised in data breaches are used by hackers in increasingly clever attacks. Your defense systems must be kept in tip-top shape. Here are nine ways to harden your system against hackers. (Don't worry, you won't need a screwdriver or soldering iron!) Read on...

Did you know? MIT grad students are growing “bonsai kittens” in glass jars. AI-powered robots killed 29 Japanese scientists. And yikes... Russian hackers have infiltrated your Amazon account! Read on to find out how (and why) nonsense like this spreads like wildfire online...

Since the Dark Ages of personal computing, Microsoft Office has been the standard for home, school, and office productivity suites. But it's always been a rather expensive software package. Today's prices range from $249 for Office Home & Business, up to $439 for Microsoft Office Professional. The subscription-based Microsoft 365 Family product costs $100/year. Fortunately, there are plenty of good, compatible (even free) alternatives to Microsoft's word processor, spreadsheet, and related office tools. Here are some of the best free and low-cost office suites to replace Microsoft Office...

The Web is a window to a world of wonder and wisdom. But as the amount of online information grows, finding what you want in search engines is getting harder. A casual search for a keyword or phrase can produce millions of hits, but they are not always ordered by relevance. On the other hand, search engines can quickly tell you things that you wouldn’t expect a search engine to know. Here are some tips to get more out of search engines, or less if that’s what you need. Read on...

A frustrated AskBob reader says: “My Internet connection is usually pretty fast, but sometimes it slows down to a crawl, for no apparent reason. Do I have a virus, is it a WiFi problem, or are there other possible explanations for the slowdowns?” Yes, several! Read on for my advice on diagnosing (and fixing) a slow Internet connection...

Researchers estimate that about 46 percent of all email traffic is spam. But I rarely see any spam in my inbox. That's because my spam filter blocks 99.9 percent of all spam, phishing and malware emails. Read on to learn how you can get near-perfect spam filtering, and declutter your inbox...

Occasionally I hear from AskBob readers who say a virus “destroyed” their hard drive and they had to buy a new one. But are there actually viruses that can physically damage a hard drive? Is it possible for a virus to damage computer hardware, or is this an urban legend? Read on to find out the truth...