Over one hundred motion-blurred people crossing a large pedestrian crossing.

Why do we call Black Friday, “Black Friday”?

Have you ever wondered the origin of the term “Black Friday”? The day after Thanksgiving in the United States is widely known as “Black Friday”, a term that has become synonymous with frenzied shopping, massive discounts, and the start of the holiday/Christmas shopping season. The name has spread around the globe, with retailers in countries […]

Looking up at four hands overlapping from four people in a circle. Blue sky in the background.

Get yourself out of debt – Simple guide to financial independence

Advice on plotting your way out of debt through good financial management to minimise the impact debt has on your life and gain financial independence. Getting control of your financial situation requires motivation and discipline.

Cyber security awareness training: Protecting yourself and your organisation

I’ve spent my career advising on, and implementing, information technology at everything from multi-national corporations to small businesses. I’m regularly confronted with the need to step up the knowledge of an organisation (not just the IT department) to protect against cyber attacks. I know it’s difficult for small businesses in-particular to find cost-effective ways to […]

An iPhone being held in our hand

When is the right time to replace your smartphone?

In today’s fast-paced technological landscape, smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. They are our communication hubs, personal assistants, entertainment centers, and more. However, with the rapid advancement of technology, it can be challenging to determine when it’s time to bid farewell to your trusty old device and welcome a new smartphone into […]

How to remove fleas from your home – my experience

Some years back, I had the misfortune to get fleas into my house. This was a horrible experience to go through, and despite common belief, simply being clean and tidy isn’t enough to prevent this. I had 2 house cats at the time that didn’t go outside at all, and I used the standard FrontLine […]

The inside of a hard disk drive, showing the head sat over the disc

How to securely wipe a computer (when selling or disposing)

When it comes to selling or disposing of an old computer (desktop or laptop), it isn’t always easy to be sure that your data cannot be recovered by the new owner. I’ve spent my career working in the IT industry, so this is my guide on how to securely wipe a computer that is running […]

What is my Wi-Fi password? Extracting Wi-Fi passwords from Windows

How to extract a previously saved Wi-Fi password from Windows Wi-Fi settings. You just need to have administrator rights on the device.

A single cartoon cloud on a blue background, with a blue rainbow of lines converging towards the cloud

Is it safe to use cloud file storage?

It used to be the case that I, like many others, would snap up any offer of free cloud storage, as digital photography and general data hoarding created a seemingly endless need for data storage. Fast-forward to today, and data breaches are something you don’t have to work in technology to recognise are a very […]

A cartoon image of someone holding a tablet that is displaying five yellow stars

Genuine user review of Hostinger Premium Web Hosting

Having struggled to find one myself, this is a genuine review from a real Hostinger customer. As at 17th November 2019, BeachyUK.com is now on the Hostinger Premium Web Hosting package. In November 2019, I decided BeachyUK.com needed to move off free/near-free web hosting. Site performance had been slow, and free hosts kept disabling the […]

An old rotary-dial phone

Useful shortcodes when diagnosing UK phone line issues

This week I found myself looking into a phone line issue. I used to deal with a lot of these. This post aims to provide a reminder of useful numbers to use when diagnosing a UK phone line issue. For these events, I always try to have a small analogue phone handy to test the […]