Explorer STILL won’t refresh? Use Brute Force…
One year ago, I said this: "If you’re having trouble with files/folders not appearing until you refresh the folder view with a tap on F5, then you’ve been hit by the dreaded Explorer Doesn’t Refresh Automatically bug Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to fix. Behold: Three...
The #1 piece of computer advice that no one ever takes
Well, okay, that's not entirely correct. It would be more accurate to say it's the #1 piece of advice that no one ever remembers to take - at the right time. I'm talking, of course, about the Almighty Restart. But I don't just mean rebooting Windows... Or linux, or...
Another reason to skip WiFi and go Full Ethernet
These days, WiFi is everywhere. Even your washing machine probably has it. 😉 I typically don't recommend using WiFi due to the huge amount of evidence indicating that it's probably not the best thing for your health. But there's another reason to go back to cables......
PayPal and AliExpress slow? It might be CloudFlare’s DNS
In May 2018, I posted this article: Speed up your browsing with CloudFlare’s public DNS In that post, I recommended CloudFlare's DNS, 1.1.1.1. At the time, it was quite fast, and worked perfectly. Fast forward to today, and I'm afraid that's no longer the case. If you...
Just how BIG is Big Data? Some fun internet facts
Ah, the internet... It's big. Really, really BIG. We don't often think about these things, but just how much storage space is needed for the internet to go? What kind of power is needed to make Google googley? How on earth does YouTube store and process all that crazy...
Is Firefox Content Blocking screwed up?
Recently, Mozilla introduced a fabulous new feature to Firefox: Content Blocking! The idea is that Firefox will automagically block the tracking processes of web sites to increase your privacy. By default, this tracking should only be enabled in Private Browsing Mode,...
Big Data, spying, & 5G pushers: Who are THEY??
We hear a lot of about "THEY". Big data violates our privacy, new potentially dangerous tech like 5G is pushed by "them", and so on. But just who is this "they", anyway? It turns out, the answer is: It's complicated! The best place to look is the big data/spying...
Roll your own Router with OpenWrt – but not with a Turris
Everyone has a home router, whether they know it or not. For most of us, our router is the DSL / Cable / Fiber "box" given to us by our ISP. You can, of course, add your own home router in between your home network and your ISP's box. This provides an extra level of...
GPS vs Smartphones: Which is better?
These days, everyone just uses their smartphone for GPS navigation. GPS is also present in most cars. In the olden days, we had dedicated GPS gizmos for navigating. You can still grab a GPS-only device these days - and for fewer bucks than you might think. But is it...
How to wipe old hard drives before tossing them out
When the time comes to upgrade your puter, you may end up with a leftover hard drive or SSD. Obviously, you're going to need to recycle the drive... But what about the data on it? There are a million ways out there to erase a drive before sending it to the great bit...
Just how EVIL is Chinese tech?
We hear a lot these days about China and the E-vils of their techie toys. Obviously, there is also a lot of political nonsense going on here given China's economic rise on the world stage. But how bad are Chinese toys - really? I mean, everything is Made in China...
How to manually Shuffle music files on your not-fancy MP3 player
Bluetooth speakers are pretty popular these days. Unfortunately, I don't carry a smartphone around with me. That means my "wireless speaker" is actually an Anker SoundCube Mini - complete with microSD card for storing and playing all my MP3 files. No smartphone or...
How to use Ethernet for your Smartphone or Tablet
Many people have asked me how to use ethernet instead of WiFi with their tablet or smartphone. While the idea is simple enough, getting ethernet to actually work with your gizmo can be anything but easy… Some devices simply won't work with certain USB-Ethernet...
VICTORY! Reactivate Windows 10 after a hardware upgrade
Regular readers are aware that I have been doing battle with re-activating Windows 10 after performing numerous major upgrades on various puters. I had another opportunity recently to upgrade yet another machine... This time, the entire computer was replaced - except...
Is a microwave oven a good smartphone Faraday cage?
Ever since I made my Stylish Smartphone Faraday Box videos, countless people have told me to just use a microwave oven, or just use an empty potato chip bag. Well, no… And yes! It depends. The truth is that Faraday cages don't block signals - they attenuate (or...
Windows 10 1809 Update: What you need to know
It's that time again! A new update to Windows 10 was re-released a few weeks back, and it appears that it's FINALLY rolling out to end users. You may have heard that this update was the October 2018 update. It was, but then there were "a few problems" like people's...