Tech Q&A: Installing spy apps on a phone, making money with your truck

Illustration photo. (REUTERS/Kacper Pempel)

Facebook settings post-divorce

Q. I went through a horrible divorce but Facebook seems to want to show me every happy memory from my married past. How do I block these hurtful posts?

A. “On This Day” shows you memories to look back on from a particular day in your Facebook history. Memories include things like your posts and others' posts you were tagged in, major life events, and when you became friends with someone on Facebook. To see your memories, log in to your Facebook profile, click Apps in the left column and click “On This Day.” You can turn on notifications to see when you have memories to look back on. You can also filter memories by date and by person. Click here for these steps as well as how to block your ex on Facebook.

Signs of malware on a tablet

Q. How do you know if there is malware on your tablet? I used to know the signs when I had a computer but this has me really concerned!

A. If you suddenly start getting pop-up ads or your tablet runs slowly, you might have malware. These are just symptoms. What you need is a dose of prevention. Bad apps are loaded with malware that can infect your gadget with viruses and steal your information. Newer ones even hijack your contact list to spam your friends and infect their gadgets. Install only trusted apps. But there is more for you to do. Click here to learn how to stop advertisers from tracking you, enable remote location and wiping and how to stay safe on public Wi-Fi.

Make money with my car or truck

Q. I was listening to your great radio show and I learn something new every week! You were talking about ways to make money with a car or truck. I want to do that!

A. Millions of people are in desperate need of a ride or need to haul some oversized load that doesn't fit in their current vehicle. Your vehicle plus their needs offers a wide variety of neat ways to turn this classic supply-and-demand equation into cold, hard cash. Turo lets you rent your car out to others per day, week or month. It insures every car up to $1 million. Before people reserve your car as a rental, you correspond with them and meet them if they're local. You rate renters in the app, so if they cause problems, they get weeded out of the system. But you can also help people move large items, haul junk and wrap your car in advertisements for money. Click here for details and the links you need to sign-up.

Spy on a phone

Q. I want to spy on my teen. I need to know what he does on his phone. I want the texts, photos, apps and more. How do I do that?

A. You could ask him to show you his phone. If the requests for information to my national radio show are any indication, spy apps are gaining in popularity. You could install an app on his phone or give him an Android or iPhone with built-in spying capabilities. These programs capture and report every single thing done on the phone. Whatever he does on his phone, you’ll know and have proof of it. Often, these spy reports are saved to the cloud, so you access them all online. Once the spy app is installed, there is no need to have access to your son’s phone. Click here for details about five spy smartphone apps you might want to use.

Closed captioning on a tablet

Q. I like to watch shows on my iPad in bed. I don’t like keeping the volume up because that bothers my wife. Does the iPad have closed captioning?

A. Closed Captioning is extremely useful if you're hard of hearing, or if you want to enjoy a TV show or movie while everyone else is trying to sleep. Captioning, or Subtitles, is available on most Apple devices using the iOS 9.3.2 operating system. It's easy to set up: Go to Settings >> General >> Accessibility. Then, turn on Subtitles & Captioning. You can customize the caption's font, size, type and color.

Kim Komando hosts the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show as she takes calls and dispenses advice on today’s digital lifestyle. Visit Komando.com for free podcasts, videos, product reviews, shows, tips and advice.