Ask Bob Rankin http://askbobrankin.com/ Need tech support? Go ahead... Ask Bob Rankin about computers, viruses, spyware, search engines or almost anything about the Internet. en Copyright 2008 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:06:07 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.21 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss External Hard Drive Security "I want to backup my home comptuers to an external hard drive, but I'm worried about security. If the drive is lost or stolen, all my sensitive personal and financial data goes with it. Is there a way to password protect a hard drive, encrypt it, or protect it with some other security device?"

Continue reading External Hard Drive Security
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/external_hard_drive_security_.html http://askbobrankin.com/external_hard_drive_security_.html Hard Drives Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:06:07 +0000 Vista ReadyBoost What exactly does Vista ReadyBoost do? Is it the same as adding RAM, or is it more like a disk cache? I've read varying reports as to whether or not it really boosts performance on Vista. What do you know about ReadyBoost?

Continue reading Vista ReadyBoost
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/vista_readyboost_.html http://askbobrankin.com/vista_readyboost_.html Vista Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:12:43 +0000 Accessing Blocked Websites If you are a student, employee, or part of the military, you've probably experienced the frustration of not being able to access certain websites or even your webmail. Fortunately there are some things you can do to access these blocked sites. Here's how...

Continue reading Accessing Blocked Websites
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/accessing_blocked_websites.html http://askbobrankin.com/accessing_blocked_websites.html Software Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:30:25 +0000 Five Geeky Gadgets 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 your computing experience or find a great Father's Day gift...

Continue reading Five Geeky Gadgets
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/five_geeky_gadgets.html http://askbobrankin.com/five_geeky_gadgets.html Gadgets Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:52:46 +0000 Defrag Your Hard Drive If you have noticed your computer running a little sluggish and slow lately, it might be time to defragment your hard drive. Your hard drive does need to be cleaned out regularly and defragmented in order to keep everything working better. Here's the why and how of defragging...

Continue reading Defrag Your Hard Drive
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/defrag_your_hard_drive.html http://askbobrankin.com/defrag_your_hard_drive.html Hard Drives Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:11:28 +0000 My Favorite Software In the course of doing my job, I use certain programs on a regular basis. On any given day, I might be doing word processing, web design, programming, image editing, trouble shooting, and of course email and web surfing. Here are some of my favorite software applications to get the job done...

Continue reading My Favorite Software
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/my_favorite_software.html http://askbobrankin.com/my_favorite_software.html Software Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:08:25 +0000 Do I Need a Registry Cleaner? "My computer seems to get slower and slower. A friend told me I need a registry cleaner. Will that really help? If so, where can I get a good free registry cleaner to do the job?"

Continue reading Do I Need a Registry Cleaner?
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/do_i_need_a_registry_cleaner.html http://askbobrankin.com/do_i_need_a_registry_cleaner.html Windows Thu, 29 May 2008 17:18:00 +0000 Samsung Instinct Review Samsung recently introduced the Instinct at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association Wireless 2008 show. The Instinct was rated the top cell phone presented at this year's show by CNET. But how does this slick mobile device compare to the iPhone?

Continue reading Samsung Instinct Review
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/samsung_instinct_review.html http://askbobrankin.com/samsung_instinct_review.html Gadgets Wed, 28 May 2008 18:06:03 +0000 Password Protection for Windows XP "How can I password protect a file on my Windows XP system? I want to add a password so that nobody can open the file without knowing the password. I tried the Sharing and Security option, but there was no place to enter a password. There must be a way..."

Continue reading Password Protection for Windows XP
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/password_protection_for_windows_xp.html http://askbobrankin.com/password_protection_for_windows_xp.html Security Thu, 22 May 2008 21:13:42 +0000 Search Privacy "I've heard that Google keeps a log of everything that people search for. If this is true, can I delete my search history? Who else is keeping track of what I search for?"

Continue reading Search Privacy
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/search_privacy.html http://askbobrankin.com/search_privacy.html Privacy Fri, 16 May 2008 21:48:42 +0000 iPhone Accesories There's no shortage of accessories out there when it comes to the iPhone. So I've compiled a list of the coolest and most useful add-ons to complement your iPhone.

Continue reading iPhone Accesories
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/iphone_accesories.html http://askbobrankin.com/iphone_accesories.html Gadgets Thu, 15 May 2008 20:46:29 +0000 Bonzai - It's a New Puppy! I know I'm supposed to write about computers, the Internet and nifty gadgets, but life is more than all that electronic stuff. I'm so happy with my new puppy that I've just got to show him off...

Continue reading Bonzai - It's a New Puppy!
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/bonzai_its_a_new_puppy.html http://askbobrankin.com/bonzai_its_a_new_puppy.html Whimsy Mon, 12 May 2008 20:06:24 +0000 Is Privacy History? What information about you is publicly available on the Web? In the past, only government agencies and businesses with a 'need to know' were able to access personal information. Today, Internet search engines allow almost anyone to find information about friends, co-workers, job applicants, etc. What information that YOU thought was private is available online?

Continue reading Is Privacy History?
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/is_privacy_history.html http://askbobrankin.com/is_privacy_history.html Privacy Fri, 09 May 2008 17:22:52 +0000 Upgrade to Windows XP SP3 "I've heard that Microsoft just released a new service pack for Windows XP. Is SP3 going to make my XP machine run faster and jump higher? Or should I avoid it? I remember the SP2 hassles... What's your take on XP SP3?"

Continue reading Upgrade to Windows XP SP3
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/upgrade_to_windows_xp_sp3.html http://askbobrankin.com/upgrade_to_windows_xp_sp3.html Windows Thu, 08 May 2008 18:41:22 +0000 Voyager Versus iPhone "Some people are calling the new LG Voyager a potential iPhone killer. I'm considering buying the Voyager so I'd like your take on how it stacks up against the Apple iPhone."

Continue reading Voyager Versus iPhone
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/voyager_versus_iphone.html http://askbobrankin.com/voyager_versus_iphone.html Gadgets Tue, 06 May 2008 23:07:50 +0000 What is Hulu? "I checked out Hulu and was impressed by the amount of popular TV shows available for free there. Almost seems too good to be true, so… is it?"

Continue reading What is Hulu?
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_hulu.html http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_hulu.html Television Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:33:01 +0000 Disable Vista UAC "I'm getting popups on Vista saying "Windows needs your permission to continue." Is this spyware or something I need to deal with? If it's part of Vista, can I turn this annoying 'feature' off?"

Continue reading Disable Vista UAC
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/disable_vista_uac.html http://askbobrankin.com/disable_vista_uac.html Vista Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:39:26 +0000 Ubuntu Hardy Heron "I'm hearing good things about the latest Ubuntu Linux. Is there anything compelling enough in the latest release to save me from installing Vista on my next machine? Kinda hoping so..."

Continue reading Ubuntu Hardy Heron
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/ubuntu_hardy_heron.html http://askbobrankin.com/ubuntu_hardy_heron.html Linux Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:30:43 +0000 Automatic Backups "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?"

Continue reading Automatic Backups
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/automatic_backups.html http://askbobrankin.com/automatic_backups.html Backup Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:46:00 +0000 What is Google Sky? Google Sky is a virtual planetarium that is a part of the Google Earth software, which allows you to explore the cosmos from the comfort of your own PC. Read on to learn what you can discover with this and other astronomy software tools...

Continue reading What is Google Sky?
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_google_sky.html http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_google_sky.html Astronomy Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:52:37 +0000 Converting FAT to NTFS “A tech support guy told me my system is running FAT, and advised me to convert my hard drive to NTFS. I didn’t really understand his explanation… can you explain the difference and when it makes sense to convert FAT to NTFS?”

Continue reading Converting FAT to NTFS
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/converting_fat_to_ntfs.html http://askbobrankin.com/converting_fat_to_ntfs.html Hard Drives Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:41:57 +0000 iPhone Jailbreak Applications "I've heard that there are a bunch of really cool programs that will run on my iPhone, but it requires something called a jailbreak. How is that done? Is it safe, and will it void my iPhone's warranty?"

Continue reading iPhone Jailbreak Applications
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/iphone_jailbreak_applications.html http://askbobrankin.com/iphone_jailbreak_applications.html Gadgets Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:59:21 +0000 DRM-Free Music "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 buy DRM-free music, or remove the DRM code?"

Continue reading DRM-Free Music
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/drmfree_music.html http://askbobrankin.com/drmfree_music.html Music Thu, 20 Mar 2008 22:16:16 +0000 What Is My House Worth? "I'm worried about the worth of my house in today's economy. The mortgage crisis is wreaking havoc on property values. What online tools can you suggest to help determine the value of my home?"

Continue reading What Is My House Worth?
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_my_house_worth.html http://askbobrankin.com/what_is_my_house_worth.html Search Engines Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:23:28 +0000 Vista SP1 - Do You Need It? "I've heard that Microsoft just released Vista SP1, a package of updates that will make Vista run faster. Should I install it? If so, how do I get Vista SP1?"

Continue reading Vista SP1 - Do You Need It?
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/vista_sp1_do_you_need_it.html http://askbobrankin.com/vista_sp1_do_you_need_it.html Vista Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:30:10 +0000 10 Ways To Boost Your WiFi Signal You finally got that wireless router, but the wifi signal is not so great in some parts of the house. Here's how to boost your wireless signal strength...

Continue reading 10 Ways To Boost Your WiFi Signal
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/10_ways_to_boost_your_wifi_signal.html http://askbobrankin.com/10_ways_to_boost_your_wifi_signal.html Wireless Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:47:04 +0000 Content Management Systems If you maintain a website, a content management system (CMS) can make it easier to add or update information, whether it has 10 pages or 10,000 pages. Read on to learn what a content management system can do for you, and which CMS is right for your site…

Continue reading Content Management Systems
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/content_management_systems.html http://askbobrankin.com/content_management_systems.html Webmaster Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:13:55 +0000 Video Hosting If you've already decided that you want to find stardom on YouTube, good luck with that. With over 100 million videos watched every day, chances are mighty slim that you will be a star on that site. Let’s explore the good, the bad, and the easily accessible of video hosting sites...

Continue reading Video Hosting
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/video_hosting.html http://askbobrankin.com/video_hosting.html Video Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:45:44 +0000 Low Disk Space Warning "Windows is giving me a warning that says 'You are running out of disk space on Local Disk (C:).' My friend told me this is not important and offered to disable the warning popup for me, but I'm not sure. Can I safely ignore these 'Low Disk Space' warnings?"

Continue reading Low Disk Space Warning
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/low_disk_space_warning.html http://askbobrankin.com/low_disk_space_warning.html Hard Drives Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:05:06 +0000 Free Online Word Processors "Microsoft Word is so expensive... are there free alternatives? I'd really like a full featured web-based word processor that allows me to access and store documents online, instead of my hard drive."

Continue reading Free Online Word Processors
Computer Questions? Ask Bob Rankin! for Free Tech Support
Free Newsletter - AskBobRankin Updates direct to your inbox.

]]> http://askbobrankin.com/free_online_word_processors.html http://askbobrankin.com/free_online_word_processors.html Software Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:30:18 +0000