Common Tech Questions, Answered.

Wi-Fi is the internet connection from your home, a coffee shop, or a library. It's usually free once you're connected. Cellular data is the internet that comes through your phone's signal, the same signal you use for calls. Cellular data is what your phone uses when you're out and about, and it counts against your monthly plan. The simple rule: when you're at home, use Wi-Fi to save your data.

Pause before you click. Three quick checks: Did you expect this email? Hover your mouse over the link without clicking, does the address that appears match what you'd expect? Does the email pressure you to act fast? If anything feels off, don't click. Go directly to the company's website by typing the address yourself.

Updates fix security holes and add new features. Skipping them leaves your phone more vulnerable to scams and bugs. When your phone asks you to update, plug it in, connect to Wi-Fi, and let it run, ideally overnight. Your phone needs to update to stay safe.

“The cloud” just means a company's computers storing your information instead of only your device. Photos backed up to iCloud, Google Photos, or Dropbox live in the cloud. Reputable companies use strong security, but you still want a strong password and two-factor authentication turned on. The cloud is convenient, but treat it like a bank vault: lock it well.

Scammers almost always want one of two things: money or personal information. They create urgency: “Your account is locked,” “Your grandson is in jail,” “The IRS is coming.” Real organizations don't pressure you to act in 30 seconds. If you're unsure, hang up and call the organization back using a number you find yourself, not the number the caller gave you.

A password manager is an app that remembers your passwords for you, so you only need to remember one master password. It also creates strong, unique passwords for each account, which makes you much harder to hack. We recommend Bitwarden or 1Password. Yes, you need one. Writing passwords down on paper is not as safe as people think.

Two-factor authentication, sometimes called 2FA, adds a second step when you log in. Usually a code texted to your phone or generated by an app. Even if a scammer steals your password, they can't get in without your second factor. Yes, you should turn it on for your email, bank, and any account that has your money or personal information.

Most of those pop-ups are themselves the scam. Real virus warnings come from the security software you installed, not from random pop-ups in your web browser. If a pop-up tells you to call a phone number or pay money to fix your computer, close the browser. Do not call. If you're worried, close your browser, restart your computer, and run a scan with software you trust.

Three different things people often mix up. A browser is the app you use to get on the internet, like Safari, Chrome, or Edge. A search engine is what you use to find things, like Google or Bing. A website is the destination, like cnn.com or your bank's site. You open a browser, type a question into a search engine, and the search engine helps you find the right website.

Phones break. They get lost. They get stolen. Backing up your photos means a second copy lives somewhere else automatically. On iPhone, turn on iCloud Photos. On Android, turn on Google Photos backup. Once it's on, every photo you take is saved to the cloud within a few minutes. You don't have to think about it. If your phone dies tomorrow, your photos are still safe.