What Is Your Most Trusted Method of Backing Up?

Redundancy.

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Trust in your backup is critical; so critical that I don't fully trust any single approach. Instead, I layer backup types so that losing something important is nearly impossible. I'll describe my system works and why the key step is simply starting.
A laptop tumbles playfully through the air above three or four colorful safety nets stacked one below the other, each labeled with a simple icon: a hard drive, a cloud, a padlock, a folder. Bright primary colors, circus-tent stripes in the background. A Corgi looks on from below.
(Image: Gemini)

I love how this question is phrased, because it made me examine backing up — a topic I write about frequently — in a different way. Instead of only looking at tools and techniques, it made me consider trust.

In so many ways, all the tools and techniques are secondary to your ability to trust a backup. And trust can mean several different things.

Spoiler: I don’t trust any single method completely. Instead, I trust a combination of several methods.

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Why Doesn’t My F10 Key Act Like F10?

Different keyboards act differently.

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If F10 doesn't act like F10, maybe blame the Fn key. Keyboards handle it differently, and some flip it without telling you. Here's how to tell what yours does, how to change it, and the Windows setup trap to watch for.
A Corgi looking quizzically at his keyboard in front of a Windows PC displaying "Press F10". A thought bubble above the Corgi says, "But I did!"
(Image: Gemini)
Question: I want to press Esc without having to press Fn all the time. Is there a way to change this? Please help.

I changed the title to reference F10 instead of Esc because this is a confusion I encounter regularly. It can apply to many other keys besides those two.

It’s simple enough to deal with, but you have to know how first.

Let’s look at the confusion arising from the “Fn” key.

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Why Do I Get Spam Not Addressed to Me?

How spammers do it, and what steps you can take.

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Getting spam that isn't addressed to you isn't a mistake. Spammers use a simple email feature to hide who else they're sending it to. I'll describe how it works, why it still reaches you, and what to do about it.
A split image: on the left, an older Corgi typing at a vintage typewriter with a two sheets of paper with a sheet of blue carbon paper peeking out; on the right, a younger Corgi typing into a modern laptop showing an email window with the Bcc field highlighted.
“BCC” then and now. (Image: Gemini)
Question: Why do I receive junk email not addressed to my specific email address but to several subtle variations of my address? Why do these emails get delivered to my address when they are not addressed specifically to me? And how should I properly dispose of them?

Spammers do everything they can to get their garbage in front of you, and that means using and abusing every tool at their disposal.

One of those tools is also available to you and me when we send email.

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How Do I Bypass Keyloggers? The Guaranteed Way to Avoid Having Your Keystrokes Maliciously Recorded

An answer many don’t want to hear.

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People swear by tricks that can beat a keylogger. I'll show you why none of them are completely effective. Only one approach keeps your keystrokes safe.
Four colorful sticky notes on a corkboard ("Offline," "On-screen keyboard," "Copy/paste," "Password manager"), each crossed out with a marker, and one big green note in the middle reading "Prevention."
(Image: Gemini)
Question: Is there a way to bypass keyloggers? Suppose you go offline (File/Work offline) to type in the password and go back online to submit the webpage. Or suppose you use the on-screen keyboard to enter the password, or copy and paste the password? How about using a password manager to enter it all for me?

No.

If there’s a keylogger on your device, there is no way to know for sure how to prevent it from capturing your keystrokes.

Let’s review keylogging and explain why (for the most part) your suggestions don’t work.

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Why Am I Being Asked to Turn Off My Adblocker When I Don’t Use One?

It’s a blurry line.

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I'll explain the browser setting that's most likely to blame, show you how to test it in seconds, and help you decide what to do next.
An over the shoulder view of a puzzled Corgi at a laptop, looking at a big friendly pop-up that says "Please disable your ad blocker," while a translucent, ghostly shield floats beside the screen.
(Image: Gemini)
Question: There are a couple of web addresses that ask me to disable my ad blocker. I have NO ad blocker installed on any of my three devices. I use both MS Edge and Firefox, and it happens on both browsers. I don’t use Google Chrome, but I installed it just to see what happens. It too tells me to disable my ad blocker. So why do I keep getting notices to disable something I do not have installed in the first place?

I’ve seen this happen. I’ve also seen it come and go.

It can be a side effect of how ads work on websites, how browsers try to protect your privacy, and how blurry the line between the two can be.

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How to Select Text Faster with the Keyboard

You don’t have to use a mouse all the time.

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I'll show you keystrokes that let you select a letter, word, line, or whole document without your hands ever leaving the keyboard.
A Corgi using a keyboard at a desktop PC. The screen shows a document with a sentence selected. An actual computer mouse is lounging in a tiny beach chair beside the keyboard, sunglasses on, while two paws type confidently.
(Image: Gemini)

My recent article, How to Select Text Faster: Six Tricks You May Not Know, was quite popular, but it also drew a common response: what about the keyboard?

Fair enough. Let’s set the mouse aside (mostly) and focus on using the keyboard to select text.

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How Do You Delete Things from the Internet?

The internet is forever… except when it’s not.

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We say the internet is forever. We also say that once you delete something, it's gone. Both are true, and usually at the worst possible moment. I'll describe why deleting rarely removes every copy, why you still can't get those copies back, and two simple habits that protect you.
A close-up of a Corgi's paw pressing a bright red Delete key. Behind the keyboard, colorful threads fan out to small icons: a server rack, a cloud, an archive box, a friend's laptop, a magnifying glass. Each icon still holds a tiny copy of the same document.
(Image: Gemini)
Question: I was taught that it is impossible to delete, I mean totally delete, anything on the internet. The protocol of the computer or network simply buries it deeper in the systems and scrambles a random password to recall it. Find that scramble code and presto! You can recall the deleted item(s).

Um … no. There’s no magical “scramble code” to recover anything.

But that does raise an interesting puzzle. We often say “the internet is forever” while at the same time saying, “Be sure to back up, because once you delete it, it’s gone.”

While these two statements appear to be complete opposites, they’re both very true — often at exactly the wrong time. The ways of both the internet and deletion are more complex than most people realize.

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Microsoft Is Shrinking 365 Family Plan Storage: Check Before You Renew

Where else but OneDrive?

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Microsoft is changing how much OneDrive storage comes with Microsoft 365 Family. If you share your subscription, you could run out of room. I'll show you what's changing, walk through an example, and explain how to tell if you're affected and what to do about it.
A family of six Corgis sitting around a kitchen table, where a large pizza is cut into 6 slices. Each slice is labeled "1 TB". Next to them is another table of 6 Corgis, staring at a smaller single uncut pizza in the middle labeled "2 TB".
I could NOT get AI to slice a pizza into six pieces. (Image: Google Flow)
Question: I got an email from Microsoft that’s confusing. I’ve got MS Family 365 now, so me and five family members have 1TB each (6TB total). Simple to manage and monitor. From next year, however, I’ll have 1TB or 2TB or 5TB or dunno what?!? Can’t make sense of it. Please can you explain.

This one ain’t great.

Microsoft is changing the deal they offer for Microsoft 365 Family edition, and reducing the amount of storage available if you share your subscription with others.

If you’re using a lot of OneDrive storage, you’ll want to pay attention.

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Microsoft Listened: You Can Move the Taskbar Now!

It only took five years.

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Windows 11 removed the ability to move the taskbar, and people weren't happy, including me. Five years later, it's back. I'll show you where the new setting lives, what to do if you don't see it yet, and which taskbar complaints are still waiting for a fix.
A Windows desktop displayed on a computer screen. A Corgi stands in front of the computer looking at us, but pointing to the taskbar that is now at the top of the screen.
(Image: Gemini)

When Windows 11 came out, one of the biggest complaints was the new taskbar. From the inside, it appeared to have been completely redesigned and reimplemented. From the outside, it added annoying features and took away popular ones… like being able to put the taskbar at the top or sides of the screen.

Five years later, that feature is back.

It’s implemented slightly differently than before, so I’ll show you how to make it happen.

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How Much Can I Trust Information on the Internet?

Always consider the source.

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There's so much information at your fingertips online, but how much of it can you believe? I'll show you how to spot trustworthy sources, why seeing something everywhere doesn't make it true, and four steps to help you sort fact from fiction.
A bright red fire hose blasting a spray of tiny floating web pages, headlines, and chat bubbles. In the foreground, a Corgi holds a magnifying glass over one page, which appears sharp and clear while the rest blur.
(Image: Gemini)
Question: I’m a computer science student, and I’m confused about the extent to which I should rely on the internet for information about computers. For example, if we take the term “IP address,” then a lot of information has been provided (for example, Wikipedia), which is a lot more than what is written in the recognized books. My question is, how much should I rely on the web for such technical aspects?

I originally addressed this question back in 2012.

It was an important question then, but oh my, it’s amazing to consider how much more relevant this question has become since then. Of course, it’s as relevant to information about anything else you can imagine as it is about tech.

Like the news.

I’ll look at the quality of information available on the internet and offer a few suggestions to help sort out what is good and what is questionable.

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Is It Safe to Store Files on My Desktop?

Safe? Maybe. Risky? Probably. Messy? Definitely.

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A reader's desktop folders suddenly emptied, and some files vanished completely. Here's why the desktop is a risky place to keep anything that matters, where your files really belong, and a cleaner, faster way to reach the programs and documents you use every day.
An over the shoulder close up of a Corgi looking at a Windows 11 desktop cluttered with icons. In a home office setting.
(Image: Gemini)
Question: Hi, Leo. Since the days of Windows 98, I’ve been keeping a few files and folders on my desktop for quick access. I’m now running Windows 11 and up until recently, I’ve kept five folders with photos and some videos in them and three text files on my desktop. Last week, for no apparent reason, two of the folders emptied themselves of all their contents. Also, one of the folders and two of the text files up and disappeared completely. Fortunately, I was able to recover most of the data. I’m wondering what the problem was. I searched the internet for similar things and found one article that said one should never keep files or folders on one’s desktop. The desktop should be only for shortcuts. I’m wondering about your thoughts on this situation.

We’re moving into what I call religious territory here. There are definitely very strong opinions on both sides of this issue.

I agree with the article you found. The desktop should be only for shortcuts, not for files.

I’ll even go one step further: I’m not a fan of putting shortcuts on it.

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Which Files Were Affected by a Hack or Malware?

Inquiring minds want to know. They’ll be disappointed.

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Once a hacker's had access to your machine, there's no guaranteed way to know everything they touched. I'll discuss why backups, not scans, are your best defense, and what to do if you don't have one.
A surprised Corgi looking at a Windows computer screen that says "HACKED!". The setting is a bright small business office.
(Image: Gemini)
Question: How can you determine which Windows files or registry settings have been compromised after your system has been hacked?

You cannot.

Once your computer has been hacked, it’s not your computer anymore.

That sounds serious because it is.

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How Do I Know Whether to Trust AI?

It’s not a new problem.

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AI sounds sure of itself, but it can be wrong. How can you tell when you don't know much about the subject? I'll show you simple ways to check an AI's work, why this problem is older than AI, and the sniff test I rely on.
A Corgi standing in front of Four friendly cartoon robots sitting side by side at a long table, each holding up a speech bubble. Three bubbles hold the same green checkmark, while one holds a bright orange question mark.
Four AIs, two different answers. (Image: Gemini)
Question: If I do not understand it, how can I know if an AI-generated solution is good or bad? Malign or benign?

Fantastic question. It’s one we should all be asking ourselves: how far can you trust AI for the quality of its responses, or it’s “intent”?

Here’s the thing: it applies to more than AI. How do you know whether to trust typical search results? Or what you find on social media? Or what you find on random websites online?

The short answer is: you can’t! At least not without further effort on your part.

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Sometimes, the Threat Is in the Hardware

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When it comes to security, you probably think about viruses and scams, but what about the hardware you touch every day? I'll cover four hardware threats and the habits that can keep you safe from all of them.
A Corgi using a debit card at a gas pump. The card reader has a faint malicious looking devil on it.
(Image: Gemini)

When it comes to considering our privacy, our computer’s hardware – the circuits, chips, disks, memory, cables, and connectors – is something we rarely think about.

We would be wise to.

When it comes to getting at our information, hardware represents another way in. While hardware is not as easily compromised as software, since it requires physical access, hackers know we take our hardware for granted. Hardware attacks aren’t nearly as common as software-based threats, but they can happen.

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No, You Don’t Have a Fax. An Analysis of a Spam Email

Examples of clues to look for.

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A fake fax notice landed in my inbox and turned out to be a perfect teaching tool. I'll walk you through the clues that gave it away, from the sender's address to the hidden headers, and show you how AI is about to make spotting spam much harder.
A closeup over the shoulder view of a Corgi looking at the attached email message on thier computer.
(Image: Gemini)

We all get spam.

That might be the most obvious statement I’ve ever made here. Smile Unfortunately, it’s true, and seemingly truer every day.

I decided to use a piece of spam I got to show you how to identify spam.

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How to Select Text Faster: Six Tricks You May Not Know

Some convenient text-selection techniques you might be missing.

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Dragging a mouse across text works, but it's slow and awkward. I'll show you how to double-click, triple-click, or click in the margin to select words, paragraphs, and lines. Learn several easy selection tricks plus one small catch that can break a password.
An over-the-shoulder view of a Corgi looking at a Windows 11 computer screen displaying a Notepad-style window with a bright yellow highlight sweeping across playful "bacon ipsum" text, a mouse pointer mid-drag.
(Image: Gemini)

This might fall into the category of “everyone knows that”, when, in fact, everyone does not know it. As a result, they’re missing out on some convenient and powerful techniques.

This is about several ways of selecting text.

I’ll also explain what selecting means.

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What’s the Best Registry Cleaner? What to Use and What to Avoid

First, do no harm.

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Registry cleaners can be dangerous. I'll review when they might be appropriate, which I'd use, and how to use them safely.
A closeup of Windows 11 desktop computer displaying a scrolling list of registry errors. Underneath the desk a Corgi lies sleeping.
(Image: Gemini)
Question: What is the best software to buy to fix and clean the Windows registry?

There is a wide variety of opinions on registry cleaners and PC cleaning tools. Many people believe they’re valuable, important tools to keep your system running smoothly.

I strongly disagree. Most of the time, they’re so much snake oil.

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What External Drive Should I Get?

There are many choices, and they keep changing.

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I'll review what matters when buying an external backup drive, plus a few current picks worth considering. Capacity, USB speed, SSD versus traditional hard disk, and portable versus desktop can all be confusing.
A close-up of a Corgi paw connecting a USB cable to an external hard drive, the cable glowing faintly blue to suggest USB3 speed. Clean, modern desk setup, warm natural light.
(Image: Gemini)

I frequently recommend you purchase an external hard drive for your backups. Backing up regularly to an external drive is probably the single most important step in an overall backup strategy.

The inevitable question is, “What external drive should I buy?”

The problem, of course, is that the answer keeps changing. Technology evolves, and as a result, so does my recommendation.

Let me give you a few guidelines, and then a few current (as of this writing) picks.

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Should I Repair or Replace My Computer?

You can do either, but which is best?

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Is it time to fix or replace your computer? The right choice depends on your budget, the machine's age, your warranty, and how much time you're willing to spend. I'll review the key factors and tell the story of my own laptop replacement.
A split-screen illustration: on one side, a Corgi repairing an older desktop tower on a workbench; on the other, a Corgi in a home opening a shiny new laptop box. Bright, optimistic lighting on both halves.
(Image: Gemini)

Every so often, it’s time to replace one trusty but tired workhorse with a newer model. But leading up to that, there might be opportunities to repair or upgrade instead.

As you can imagine, there’s no single answer to this question. It depends on everything from your budget to the age of your computer to how you use it and your future plans.

Since I have no way of giving you a clear “repair or replace” answer for your specific situation, I’ll review what you should consider as you decide. I’ll also review the process that led me to replace one of my computers some years ago.

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