The software problems and solutions on the PC Buyer Beware! website
PROBLEM: Why do some of my programs freeze for up to 2 minutes? Problem: Programs freeze for up to 2 minutes My desktop PC is experiencing a very annoying problem. Several times a day some of my programs freeze – Outlook, MS Word, the Firefox web browser, etc. – for between about 30 seconds and…
Does using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) protect your privacy from hackers and legal invasions such as the UK Snoopers Charter? A brief introduction to Virtual Private Networks – VPN The image above provides a simple illustration of how a VPN service works. A VPN tunnel is protected by data encryption. The Internet uses IP…
What data encryption is and what you need to know about it Data encryption is a system designed to encode (scramble) a transfer of data or a web connection so that if it is intercepted it cannot be read or viewed by anyone who doesn’t have the decryption key that unscrambles it back into its…
How to get Win10 free and use it free any time after the July 29 2016 deadline for the free offer Note that Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 product keys have always been able to activate Windows 10, You must use the standard activation process and the version of Win7/8.1 must match the version of…
Switch to free Linux Mint to enjoy a fast, secure operating system that has all of the free software that most users need A Linux distro that works out of the box During my investigations into computer problems, I came across reviews recommending the Linux Mint operating system (Wikipedia page) as a Linux distro that…
Samsung updates – Does Samsung update all of its Android phones and tablets to the latest version? The installation of Samsung updates of phones and tablets running on Google’s Android operating system is a hit-and-miss affair. It is simply impossible for Google to release a new version of Android that works on hundreds of different…
The security and privacy issues posed by Flash cookies – LSOs Interesting facts about Flash cookies – LSOs 1. – Flash cookies – also known as Local Shared Objects (LSOs) – remain in computer’s system for an unlimited period. 2. – Flash cookies are placed in a computer’s system by a web browser’s Adobe Flash…
Do Windows 7/8.1/10 Home Editions support Encrypting File System (EFS)? No workarounds or hacks to enable EFS in Home editions of Windows EFS support is not available on all of the Home editions of every version of Windows from XP to Windows 10. There are no workarounds or hacks to enable it in the Home…
Password recovery – Recover or reset passwords for Windows – OS X – iOS – Android and Linux devices The good news and the bad news about password recovery The good news concerning password recovery is that every operating system provides a way to recover or reset its login password. The bad news is that…
How to avoid and deal with the ever-growing threat of ransomware Future developments of ransomware Ransomware currently comes in three main types – fake malware scans, screen lockers and encryption that locks you out of your computer. Only the cyber criminals controlling the encrypting ransomware have the encryption keys. They all demand payment to put…
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