Articles in Category: Administration
Items related to Leo, Ask Leo! and overall website and related operations and administrivia.
Should I report this malware that I just encountered, and to whom?
Clicking on an email with a Trojan can be dangerous. I explore some
immediate steps to take to check your system and mark it as spam.
Can I restore my system simply by saving and restoring the entire registry?
Restoring the registry is similar to the way System Restore works. The
results as a backup strategy may be unreliable.
How do I make a secure password if I can't use special characters?
Research has shown that the most important technique in creating a secure
password might not be what you think! Here’s a hint… it’s not special
characters!
I cleared cookies and more, so how did a web site still know it was me?
Websites have several methods of tracking visitors from tracing IP
addresses to dropping cookies. I walk through various steps needed to go
anonymous.
Why does IE8 crash when I attempt to attach a photo to email?
Internet Explorer crashes when adding pictures to an email. I go through a
number of steps to clean the system.
Installing my game to an external drive doesn't work, what do I do?
Gaming off an external drive can be very slow, or not work at all. I give my
recommendation on where to install the program.
Why does CCleaner clean up Internet Explorer items when I don't use Internet Explorer?
It’s not unusual to find remnants of Internet Explorer in your system – even
if you don’t use it as a browser. I explain why.
Does using complicated usernames add anything to the security level?
Complicated usernames add such a small benefit to your online security that it’s hardly worth the effort. Better to focus on the basics.
Can I unselect the recovery partition when I backup my C: drive?
A full backup needs to be a full backup. I explain why you need to also
backup your recovery partition.
Connecting my wireless mouse to my computer causes it to not boot – what do I do?
Your computer’s BIOS will be set to look for boot devices in a certain
order. If that is causing problems, you will need to reset your boot order.
My grandson uses my email address, can he use something else?
Setting up a good email account is very simple, so there is no need to share
an account with a grandson. A few simple steps are necessary to separate the
accounts.
How do I keep my PC running all the time?
A screen going black after a time is either a power setting or a
screensaver. It’s an easy setting to change.
How do I fix my Facebook layout problems?
Some webpages do not translate well through the numerous screen resolution
settings available in Windows. If you are having problems, you may need to play
around with several zoom features.
Is there an anti-virus for XP that doesn't require SP3?
There is a reason that virus protection developers are not
offering installations for systems still running XP SP2. The upgrade to SP3
protects your system from numerous security problems.
How do I get my wireless to run faster?
A wireless connection should be capable of the same speeds as a wired
connection. I look at both distance and hardware as possible culprits in
slowing down a system.
Are Clippy and Rover and the Kitty Cat ever coming back?
A minority of people are missing Windows helper animations… but that’s not
going to be enough to bring them back.
Are there alternatives to CCleaner's free space wipe function?
Wiping free space on your hard drive with CCleaner will clean your drive
with a few wipes; you may need to first clean up temporary files, caches, and
deleted files.
If too many bad password attempts cause account locks, how do hackers hack in?
Hackers have a lot of ways to try to get into online accounts. Understanding
how it works can help protect you online.
Is it OK to turn off email scanning in my anti-malware program if it causes a problem?
Scanning email downloads in real-time can interfere with a smooth download.
Sometimes you need to adjust your settings.
Does my Android phone need a firewall, and is tethering safe?
Hackers will be targeting phone software more and more as time goes on, I
look at a few issues related to tethering and firewalls on phones.
My printer stopped printing, what do I do?
When a wireless printer is giving you problems, a good first step is to
uninstall and reinstall the software, but sometimes, you simply need to clear the printer
queue.
How do I use a solid state drive in my PC?
It is possible to set a new, faster, SSD drive as the main drive in your
computer. Many of the steps are the same as reformatting, so you’ll start by
backing up…
How do I read epub and mobi formatted ebooks?
Kindle Reader and Calibre are two programs that can be used to read an ebook
on a home computer. Setting up and using either of them is pretty easy if you
know where to look.
My firewall is slowing down my system, do I really need it?
A number of steps have increased the internet speeds of an older computer;
we look at a few more tweaks to get it in top shape.
My machine doesn't even beep or begin to boot – what do I do?
An old XP computer won’t boot up; it looks like a hardware problem. We’ll
look at a few components on the motherboard.
Can I trace email related to social media sites back to the sending computer?
Divorce over social media sites? A technical solution doesn’t seem to be in
the making here, as tracing emails isn’t all that easy…
Can I connect my own router in place of my ISP provided equipment?
You can’t plug a phone line into a router! That won’t work because it’s not
designed to work. I take a look at a network that may need to be set up in tandem.
Should I configure my page file differently if I have lots of RAM?
The page file is meant for use when the system runs out of RAM;
reconfiguring it can be counter-productive if you have plenty of RAM
available.
How do I stop this disgusting email from being sent to me?
Spam happens, and sometimes it really looks bad. The best way to protect
yourself is to learn how to use your spam and junk filters effectively.
I'm getting a message that my system is not clean, how do I get rid of it?
A sudden pop-up saying that your computer is infected feels like malware. To
be safe, treat your machine as if it is already infected.
Are third party utilities better than what's already in Windows?
When choosing third-party software to replace functionality in Windows,
you’ll need to compare tool to tool; some of them are better, some are worse,
and some altogether unnecessary.
Who do I talk to to get Windows Mail re-released?
Windows Mail and Outlook Express are gone, and it’s unlikely that Microsoft
will revive them out of the archives. I have some suggestions for moving
forward.
How do I reconstruct the original source code from a .exe file?
Reverse engineering software is so time consuming as to be impractical. The
source code may have to be written again from scratch.
Why am I getting notices for a service I didn't sign up for?
Sometimes, it’s spam, and sometimes, it’s not, but there is no need to be
scared when you receive subscription notices that you didn’t sign up for.
Follow the general steps for staying safe online and you’ll be fine.
Will malware always invalidate my Windows install, and what do I do if it does?
A computer that has suffered from a virus needs a thorough cleaning to be
sure all symptoms of the virus are gone. It would have been nice to have an
image backup…
How can I save my BIOS settings before replacing the CMOS battery?
Very often, the system will reset itself properly when you replace the
battery, but there is an easy way to grab those screens to make sure you don’t
lose important settings.
How does Facebook figure out who my friends should be?
Facebook has very sophisticated methods of matching you up with people you
might know. It may seem scary, but they aren’t stealing anything from your
computer.
How do I clean up this slow machine and its misbehaving browser?
I had a machine that was having troubles accessing common sites like Hotmail and Facebook. A virus was suspected. I’ll walk you through the steps I took to clean the machine.
How do I uninstall this unwanted browser I got installing something else?
The first defense in unwanted downloads is to prevent them from installing
in the first place. If they do download, you may need to take some extra steps
to get your system cleaned up.
Are viruses attached to my email after I send it?
It’s not really true that viruses attach to emails after they leave your
computer. One confusing issue is that some email is read on the local computer,
and some is accessed online; those two methods have different problems.
Who is accessing Facebook from my machine in the middle of the night?
Logs are showing a mysterious use of Facebook pages in the middle of the
night. I’ll give a few troubleshooting tips to track down the culprit!
Why has opting out of ads in Hotmail not turned them off?
Ad choices in Hotmail only lets Hotmail know that you don’t want to be
tracked for targeted advertising. Can you get rid of those ads? Well…
Does https hide email addresses in Hotmail?
Https encrypts your data without knowing what it is: that includes email,
banking information, or any type of data.
Why don't blocked emails stay blocked?
Blocking is an ineffective way to prevent unwanted emails. It’s better to learn spam filtering.
How can I make an external drive keep its same drive letter?
Drive letters can be manually assigned. In a multiple-machine environment, it
will need to be done on each machine.
Can I move a program from one computer to another?
Most programs need to go through an installation process to run properly on
your machine. That’s why it’s important to keep any kind of installation
media.
Why does my AOL software crash when I download a file?
AOL software can be tricky. I have two recommendations.
How Should I Stay Connected While Traveling?
Fortunately for the wired traveler, mobile connectivity options have improved dramatically. We’ll look at some of the many ways to stay connected while travelling.
Can my company monitor my personal activities?
The only thing that your employer can monitor is what happens on the
computer that the employer provides, so keep your work and personal lives
separate.
How do I extend the backup partition on my hard disk?
The problem with expanding the size of partitions is that they can only be
expanded from the back – but that’s not your biggest problem – backing up to a partition isn’t safe!
