"Recently I lost my phone, and along with it, all my contacts, music, text messages and apps. It's been expensive and time consuming to reconstruct everything, so I'm looking for a way to back up all the data on my...
"I'm using cloud-based services like online backup, web-based email and document sharing. But I really don't know much about the safety and security of cloud computing. How vulnerable am I?"...
If you listen to talk radio, you've probably heard online backup services like Carbonite, Mozy and iDrive advertising incessantly. Let's take a look at each of them, to see what they offer......
If you do everything just right, you'll end up with a perfect hard drive. Your operating system will be bug-free; your applications will play well together; your data will be neatly organized in folders; everything will be just perfect. And...
"My hard drive was making a clicking sound, and now it won't start up at all. Should I try to fix it myself, or send it to a hard drive repair service?"...
"A huge chunk of my life social life is stored on Facebook and Twitter. What would happen if I could no longer access that information? Is there a way to backup my social network postings?"...
Here's your Geekly Update for the week of July 13th, presented in small bytes. Get the scoop on gadgets & hardware, security patches, browser news, social networking, web tech and search engines. Read on......
"I'm running out of storage space on my hard drive. On a tight budget, I'm considering using a free online storage tool to offload some files. But which ones do you recommend?"...
"I know I need to backup my computer, because I've experienced a hard drive failure in the past. But I don't have a lot of money to spend on backup software. Are there any good FREE backup software programs, or...
"I've been thinking about buying a terabyte hard drive. Right now I have a 500GB drive. Are the terabyte drives as fast and reliable as smaller drives?"...
"I have pre-teen children who are just starting to get interested in the Web. What parental control software do you recommend?"...
Aside from actually drop-kicking it or smashing it with a sledge hammer, it's fairly difficult to actually "break" a computer. That said, there are a number of ways to render your computer just slightly more useful than a doorstop. Certain...
"I'm hearing the term Cloud Computing more and more. One friend told me that it means computers will soon not need a hard drive. Is that correct?"...
Anyone can plug in a computer and attach a printer. But that's not all there is to being a serious computer jockey these days. Are you ready to get your geek on? Check out these five must-have gadgets to enhance...
"My hard drive failed last week, and my latest backup was a year old. So I lost pretty much ALL of my important files. Can you recommend an AUTOMATIC backup that just works?"...
"I've run into problems trying to transfer my iTunes music to an MP3 player. I am told that the problem is DRM, some sort of copy protection built into the songs. Are there ways to get around this? Can I...
"I'm looking for a basic entry-level desktop computer to give to a high-school student as a Christmas gift. What do you recommend in the budget category that can handle web surfing, email and word processing?"...
If it hasn't happened yet, be sure that it will... you're working away on an important project and the computer freezes. You reboot, but instead of the familiar startup screen, you black screen with one of these ominous messages: DISK...
"I'm thinking about switching from Outlook Express to a webmail service. What are the trade-offs? Are some better than others? Is webmail secure?"...
Periodically creating a backup of your computer files is critically important to the preservation of your work, your entertainment and your memories. In the event that your system is corrupted by a virus, natural disaster or hardware malfunction you must...
"I have a big music collection on CDROM discs. I'd like to get all this music on my computer and burn my own mix CDs. Can you help me get started?"...
"I've heard you can change BIOS settings to affect performance and startup options, but I've always been hesitant to poke around in the BIOS setup screens. Can you demystify this for me?"...
"I switched to FireFox because I like some of the unique features it offers. I've heard people talk about Firefox extensions that sound really cool, but I'm not sure if they are safe to use, given all the concerns about...
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