Articles in Category: Administration
Items related to Leo, Ask Leo! and overall website and related operations and administrivia.
How do I stop QuickTime from playing audio files in my browser?
QuickTime Player, a popular player for various formats, has a nasty habit of inserting itself into your browser, and being difficult to remove.
How do I make system tray icons go away permanently?
Many applications like to add an icon to the system tray or notification area. Unfortunately, controlling what goes there isn’t as easy as we’d like it to be.
What's the difference between a recovery disk and an installation disk?
Computers with pre-installed operating systems often include a recovery disk. Unfortunately, you might find out too late that’s not what you need.
How Do Programmers Create Interactive Games?
The techniques used to create games are as varied as the games themselves. We’ll look at a couple of common characteristics.
How easy is it to forge or alter email?
Email is easy, ubiquitous, and almost trivial to forge or alter. We’ll look at why that is, what it means, and one approach to avoiding it.
My laptop only seems to support WEP encryption, how do I get WPA2?
Selecting WPA or WPA2 encryption is important, but not all hardware supports it. We’ll look at what to do if your computer doesn’t support WPA2.
Is Windows Live Hotmail about to close my account?
People continue to fall for what more experienced users would say are laughably bogus phishing attempts. I’ll analyze why one common attempt is so bad.
Restoring A File Using Acronis TrueImage Home
We have our backup program running, now it’s time to try restoring a file from that backup.
Why does the mouse on one computer move the pointer on another?
Wireless keyboards and mice broadcast their information in such a way that other computers might be able to listen in.
How do I disable my laptop touchpad?
Whether or not your laptop’s touch pad can be disabled depends on the software used to configure it. It might be easy, or it might be impossible.
Is Yahoo (or Gmail or Hotmail or …) reading my email?
Many of the free email services run ads along side your email that are targeted to the content of the message. My opinion? Nothing to worry about.
Scheduling Automatic Backups with Acronis TrueImage
Now that we’ve created our first full backup, it’s time to let Acronis do it’s job automatically – we’ll schedule an automatic backup task.
Should I consider the 64 bit version of Windows 7?
With Windows 7 imminent and 64 bit capable hardware more common, many people are wondering if it’s time to make the switch to 64 bits with Windows 7.
Why doesn't accessing a site by its IP address work?
It’s not uncommon for tens, if not hundreds of websites to be located on a single web server. When that happens, an IP address just isn’t enough.
I thought my posts were private/anonymous/protected?
Google was forced by court order to reveal the identity of an “anonymous” blogger. It’s worth understanding the risks that this implies.
How can I best connect to the internet while driving?
There are many options for connecting while traveling, but for connectivity while literally on the road there’s only one practical solution.
Making a Full Backup using Acronis TrueImage
Our first step after installing Acronis and creating rescue media is to create a full backup.
Why can't I copy/paste out of a PDF document?
PDF format is an excellent way to share documents knowing that they’ll display the same regardless of where viewed. You can do more, sometimes.
Why do I have Internet Explorer temporary files if I never use it?
Internet Explorer runs deeper than most people realize. Portions of what we think of as IE are in fact part of Windows itself.
What does "Cannot copy – the request could not be performed because of an I/O device error" mean, and what do I do?
I/O device errors indicate a problem with storage media you’re attempting to read from or write to. I/O device errors should not be ignored.
Why do registry errors keep coming back?
Registry cleaners will often report multiple errors on every run, even after having recently ‘cleaned’ the registry. The registry is … complicated.
Why is there more than one "My Documents"? Does that mean it's taking up extra space?
The “My Documents” folder is treated somewhat differently by Windows. While it can appear in multiple places, there’s really only one.
Creating Bootable Rescue Media using Acronis TrueImage Home
After installing the application there’s a critical step you need to take first, before even thinking about backing up.
Seagate FreeAgent Go – Portable USB External Harddrive
I currently own five of these. If that isn’t a recommendation I don’t know what is
What does "If you change a file name extension, the file may become unusable" mean?
Filename extensions are important pieces of information that Windows uses to determine what a file contains. Change it, and you could lose access.
Does the Browser Store Passwords in Cookies?
Once you’ve logged into a site cookies are often used to keep you logged in for some period of time. There are risks associated with that, and more.
My ISP has placed a bandwidth cap on my connection. What should I do?
As internet usage grows ISPs are faced with problems meeting the demand for bandwidth. The result may be a bandwidth cap or limit placed on your usage.
Installing Backup Software
The first installment in our backing up series is to install backup software. We’ll install Acronis TrueImage Home 2009.
Just what service packs do I need?
SP2 or SP3 for Windows XP? SP1 or SP2 for Vista? For now, at least, which one do you need, and will that last? I’ll look at the confusing combinations.
I reinstalled Windows and now my sound doesn't work – how do I fix it?
After performing a clean install of Windows it’s not uncommon for some devices like sound to no longer work. The solution is fairly easy.
How do I get un-banned from a site?
If you’ve been permanently banned from a site there might be ways around it. But there’s really only one correct approach.
Should I switch to Windows 7?
Windows 7 is coming soon, and all reports are that it’s a better, more reasonable Windows than Vista. Should you switch?
Is leaving a website open on my computer dangerous?
It’s not uncommon to leave a website open on your computer for long periods of time. That’s not typically a problem, but you should still take care.
How Can Two Programs that Are Nearly Identical Be so Different in Size and Speed?
Software design is as much an art as a science. As a result of various decisions and requirements similarly tasked software can often vary greatly.
How do I tell what svchost is doing?
Svchost.exe is a Windows component that can do many, many things. We’ll look at how to identify exactly which services svchost is hosting.
How do I set what email program my system uses?
Applications, and Windows itself, need to know the proper program to use when sending mail – we’ll look at where that is, and how to [re]set it.
How do I keep my domain registration private?
When registering a domain you’re required to give contact information which is then made public. There are ways to retain your privacy.
How do I copy a picture out of a PowerPoint presentation?
We often see beautiful pictures being passed around in PowerPoint files. It’s not difficult to copy a single image for other purposes.
Should I allow Outlook Express to compact messages, and how do I get it to stop asking me if I don't?
Outlook Express is a very popular desktop email program. Unfortunately, it can be touchy about its files, particularly when it comes to compaction.
Why can't this trojan be removed?
Occasionally, malware will infect files that are critical to Windows own operation. Repairing these types of infections can be difficult, at best.
Can I tell if a keylogger has been installed on the machine I share?
Sharing a computer comes with a lot of potential privacy and security issues. If you don’t trust the person you share with, you shouldn’t be sharing.
What's the difference between an upgrade and an upgrade?
With all the different versions of Windows it’s easy to get confused, particularly when the term “upgrade” can actually mean two different things.
How do I access my email remotely, from more than one place?
There are several options to accessing email, but they all have various tradeoffs depending on how you like to work with your email. We’ll compare.
What does it mean if you get a warning that your hard drive is about to fail?
Most hard drives include technology to self monitor and warn of potential problems. The warnings are worth paying attention to.
How do I install programs on a drive other than C:?
Many, but not all programs allow you to specify their install location. In some, however, that ability is somewhat hidden in the install process.
Link to Leo!
Want to link to Ask Leo! ? – I really appreciate it! Here are some templates and HTML you can use or start with.
Promotional Material
I occasionally get asked for promotional material, biographical information, or other text about myself or Ask Leo!. Here’s a collection of ideas.
I closed my email account, but people are still getting email from it. Why?
Closing an email account seems like a logical solution to an account getting hacked, but unfortunately it doesn’t address all the possible issues.
Why does my computer crash after adding RAM?
Adding RAM can be a cost effective upgrade, but if your computer crashes after doing so, it’s time to double check a few things. Like the RAM added.
Does the Flash Player store things in my computer? Is that safe?
Flash Player can store information on your computer much like your browser stores cookies. We’ll look at the risk, and how to manage the settings.
