Articles in Category: Administration
Items related to Leo, Ask Leo! and overall website and related operations and administrivia.
Using RSS
RSS is a convenient and powerful way to keep track of what websites and blogs are publishing without having to remember to visit each.
Why Can’t My Machine Boot If My External Drive Is Plugged In?
Your computer’s BIOS can be configured to boot from any of several devices. If one looks bootable to the BIOS but isn’t, you can run into problems.
How much of my data can be subpoenaed?
Much of the data that we own can be examined by others and it’s important to understand both the possibilities and alternatives.
Why is Firefox so slow?
I’ve received a number of complaints of Firefox being excessively slow. I’ll look at one possible solution.
Is a wired connection to the internet faster than a wireless connection?
It’s tempting to think that having a wired connection to your computer would make the internet faster. It might, but typically, it doesn’t.
How do I remove the recovery partition on my machine?
If you’re doing backups properly, recovery partitions can become redundant. I’ll look at how to remove a recovery partition and reclaim the space.
What happens to my initial system image if my system takes an update?
Taking a system image immediately after getting or setting up a new machine is good practice. What happens next … isn’t the initial system image.
If I empty the contents of a file and then save it, is the data really deleted?
What looks like overwriting a file’s data often is not. I’ll look at how files are updated and what that implies for their recoverability.
How does my friend always know when I'm online?
Many applications that you run and even some websites that you visit can inadvertently expose your online status to your friends.
Why did I not get the download I wanted?
The download you want may be surrounded by often misleading offers of … more downloads. It’s incredibly important to know which one you really want.
What difference does multiple-overwrite delete really make?
Deleted files may be recoverable. Overwriting data makes it impossible for common tools and multiple overwrites make it impossible for any.
How do I temporarily turn off Microsoft Security Essentials for an install?
Many setup programs ask you to temporarily disable anti-virus tools. I’ll show the setting in Microsoft Security Essentials and discuss if you need to.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts are a great way to keep up on new occurrences of topics you care about on the web.
How do I fix Windows 7 boot problems?
Several things can interfere with Windows 7’s boot process. However, Windows 7 now has a helpful repair utility for just such situations.
Why didn't I have to tell my firewall to allow a technician remote access?
A firewall traditionally protects you from threats coming from the network. A technician’s remote access session might well have been invited in.
How do I find the product key that was used to install my system or application?
Product keys are used to activate or enable a purchased application. You can often find product keys used on your machine with a special application.
Does Google's new privacy policy mean they know everything about me?
Google’s new privacy policy pulls together their existing policies into one place. There’s nothing really new; they already have a lot of data on you.
Webinar #10 – Your Questions, Live
Your Questions, Live – will be Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 1PM U.S. Pacific Daylight time.
How Do I Delete Cookies Automatically?
Cookies do accumulate and while they are mostly harmless there are occasionally reasons to clean them up. We’ll set up a nightly task to do just that.
How do I get my files back from a closed upload site?
When megaupload.com was taken offline, many users’ files were rendered inaccessible. If a service provider goes away, it’s clear that you can lose your data.
Can someone get my IP address?
Establishing a direct file transfer in an instant messaging program can expose your IP address. I’ll discuss whether that’s a problem or not.
Can I get my TV programming over the internet?
There’s a lot of online video and TV available over the internet. However, it’s not yet a true replacement for your cable or satellite subscription.
How long do ISPs keep data on you?
ISPs and websites can keep logs of your activity. There’s no standard retention period, and whatever period that is used is kept private by each provider.
How did I get subscribed to this dating service?
The techniques spammers and even semi-legitimate business use in email can be misleading. Even a single click – or copy/paste – can catch you.
How do I get sound out of the correct speakers in Windows 7 and Vista?
If you have multiple speakers or playback devices, Windows might guess wrong as to which you want to listen to. We’ll set the correct playback device.
How do I use Facebook safely?
With Facebook’s popularity have come concerns about safety and security. I’ll review a couple of things to check and keep in mind as you use Facebook.
How long can I keep running my copy of Windows?
Windows has what’s called a ‘lifecycle’ – a series of stages beginning with release. I’ll review what happens as a version of Windows nears end-of-life.
How Do Download Accelerators Work?
Download accelerators use a number of techniques to make downloads appear faster and more resilient. I’ll cover the most common ways accelerators work.
How do I recover my email password from my mail program?
If your desktop email program has saved or remembered your email password for you, there are tools available that will recover and display it for you.
How do I backup my Yahoo! Mail?
Backing up web-based free email is important. It isn’t obvious how to backup Yahoo! Mail nor is it necessarily officially supported, but it’s not hard.
How do I get rid of IE9's "Speed up browsing by disabling add-ons" notification?
IE9 will notify you if it thinks you can speed up browsing because add-ons are taking too long to load. We can change the definition of “too long.”
How do I delete a contact in Hotmail?
Hotmail includes a contact list/address book for keeping track of your contacts. But that’s not the only place suggestions come from.
Webinar #9 – RSS, Google Reader and Searching Effectively
Webinar #9 – RSS, Google Reader and Searching Effectively – was at 1PM US Pacific time (9PM UTC) on Sunday February 12, 2012. ]]>
Why can't my Windows 7 machines 'see' each other on my network?
In Windows 7, the firewall is on by default. Sometimes, the firewall will actually prevent machines from seeing one another, even within your local LAN.
Why is Thunderbird saying your newsletter might be a scam?
Thunderbird includes a feature that examines links in email and tries to determine if they might be a scam. Sometimes, it’s just wrong.
Does this Email Address that Shows for Auto-complete Mean My Computer or Account Has Been Hacked?
Autocomplete, or “suggestions” made when filling out a web form can be misleading, even frightening, until you realize where the suggestions come from.
What version of Internet Explorer should I be running?
Like many programs, IE is a bit of a moving target. I’ll review where it is today, what version I recommend that you run, and what to do in case of problems.
What's a "live" CD? And why would I want one?
Live CDs are self-contained operating systems on a single bootable CD, DVD, or USB device. They’re handy when your machine runs into trouble.
What image format should I use?
There are a wide variety of image file formats around. I’ll take a look at the most common, how they differ conceptually, and what they’re good for.
Does Changing or Disabling the Broadcast of My Wireless SSID Make Me More Secure?
The SSID identifies your wireless access point to any computers in range. Having a unique one is helpful, but hiding it is only marginally more secure.
How do I make a photo's file smaller and take up less space on disk?
Digital photographs can result in quite large files, taking up space and becoming difficult to share. I’ll look at making those picture files smaller.
How do I deal with a photo that is it too large, visually?
These days, digital camera often take pictures that are much larger than our computer screen’s resolution. I’ll review some techniques to deal with that.
Why do some website pictures display so slowly?
There’s a mistake that website designers sometimes make that can seriously impact the amount of information downloaded to display even a small photo.
What’s the Difference Between a DLL and an EXE, and Why Is It Important?
DLLs and EXE files are very much related, but they are two different things. I’ll cover the differences and explain why knowing the difference matters.
What would you recommend for a small business to provide ftp to clients?
Small business use of FTP can make a lot of sense, but it’s not something you want to host yourself in most cases. I’ll give a recommendation.
Just how dangerous is it out there?
With daily dire warnings and admonitions, it’s easy to believe that the internet is dangerous. With appropriate and simple safeguards, it needn’t be.
How do I disable live taskbar previews in Windows 7?
Live preview shows a small version of a running application’s window when you hover the mouse over its taskbar icon. I’ll look at turning that off.
A (very) brief look at ZoomIt
ZoomIt is a small presentation assistance tool from the folks who made Process Explorer. I’ll give it a quick show.
How do I get a Hotmail password reset if my alternate email address is invalid?
If you lose access to your Hotmail account, the normal way to recover is to have a reset sent to your alternate email address. What if that can’t work?
A brief overview of Vim
With a nod to the super-geeky, I present a quick overview of the ubiquitous VI, Vim, and gVim text editor.
