Articles tagged: The Best of Ask Leo!
Restoring an Image Backup from One Computer to Another
The concept seems simple: take a system image of one machine, restore it to another, and avoid lengthy setup time. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
Why Shouldn’t I Use the “Report Spam” or “Junk” Button?
The “Report Spam” and “Junk” buttons serve an important function in the war against spam. However, used improperly they can do more harm than good.
Phishing: How to Know It When You See It
Phishing is a way scammers trick you into providing personal and financial details. Phishing opens the door to identity theft and more.
How Do I Permanently Close My Account?
I often hear from people wanting to close an email account for one reason or another. The problem is that closing an email account is often the wrong solution to their real problem.
How Do I Protect Myself from Other Computers on My Local Network?
Many households have computers used for sensitive things sharing a network with less trustworthy users. Here’s how to increase your security.
Never Attribute to Malice . . .
Malicious intent is commonly understood to be the cause of technological trials and tribulations. It’s usually the wrong assumption to make.
What’s the Difference Between an Email Account, an Email Address, an Email Program, and an Email Service?
Terminology around email can be confusing. I’ll review some common and important terms.
How Should I Back Up an Encrypted Disk?
Backing up an encrypted hard drive shouldn’t be difficult, but it’s important to understand what you’ll get.
How Do I Update Drivers on My Computer?
Drivers are critically important components of your computer, but knowing how and when to update drivers isn’t as easy or as obvious as we might like.
5 Reasons Your Closed Email Account Sends Spam
Closing an email account is many people’s first reaction to seeing spam sent from their account. It rarely helps, if it’s even possible. I’ll explain.
My External HDD Shows Not Formatted — But It Has All My Data!
Occasionally, when moving a drive to another machine it’ll show up as unformatted. I’ll look at some possible causes and actions to take.
How Pixels, DPI, Resolution, Picture Size, and File Size All Relate
Photographic images have a number of characteristics that we often don’t consider or understand. I’ll review how digital pictures are constructed and stored, and what you need to keep in mind when sharing or publishing.
Is it Safe to Delete This File?
When running out of disk space, considering what you can delete makes sense. I’ll look at the steps to determine whether a file, such as a .dat file, may be important.
9 Ways Your Account Can Be Compromised, Even with a Super-strong Password
Strong passwords are important, but they don’t protect you from everything. I’ll look at other ways your account can be compromised.
Why Does Word Tell Me a Document Changed When It Hasn’t?
It’s sometimes hard to tell why Word thinks a document changed even though you haven’t done anything to it. I’ll look at a few clues.
If It’s All Digital, Won’t You Lose It Anyway?
A single original of anything is not backed up, and backing up is significantly easier, and of higher quality, in digital media.
Is It Safe to Let Your Browser Remember Passwords?
Letting your browser remember passwords is a convenient feature. With that convenience comes risk — often significant risk. Most folks are much better served by using a password vault. I’ll explain why.
How to Get File Explorer to Display Details by Default
Windows File Explorer defaults to a simple view of files on your machine that isn’t secure. Changes these settings as soon as you can.
The Biggest Risk to Your Privacy Revealed
We worry a lot about privacy, but our concerns are often misplaced. Fortunately, the biggest risk to our personal privacy is right under our nose.
Dealing With Video Starts and Stops While Watching: Two Common Causes and Three Possible Solutions
There are common causes, and sometimes simple solutions, for a video that starts and stops as you watch it.
How Two-Factor Authentication Works
Two-factor authentication is a great way to keep your accounts secure from hackers — even those who manage to get your password.
How Do I Change the Browser Home Page in Windows 10? Take Control with Quick Instructions for Edge, Firefox, and Chrome
Sometimes installers change your browser home page “for you”. Other times, homepage content changes. I’ll show you how to be more productive and set your homepage to what you want.
Why Are There So Many Internet Jerks?
The internet, and social media specifically, seems like a breeding ground for jerks. Did it actually create them, or just expose those already among us?
Can I Tell If Someone Blocked My Texts and Email?
Email and texting usually works, but when it doesn’t, there’s just no way to tell if someone has blocked you.
What Backup Program Should I Use?
Backing up your computer’s data is critical. What backup program should you use? There are many, but pragmatically, the best is whatever you’ll actually use.
What Good Is an Image If I Can’t Restore an Old Backup to a New Computer?
Image backups are excellent protection against data loss, but restoring an old backup to new computer isn’t why you do them.
How Do I Copy Text from a Copy Protected Website?
Assuming your intent is legal or at least moral, it’s not hard to copy content from a webpage that attempts to prevent it.
How Do I Hack Someone’s Account? How Do I Hack My Own?
These are oversimplifications of many variations on the same basic question. People want to hack into other people’s accounts, or even their own, for a variety of reasons. Some sound perfectly legitimate. Others, not so much. And others are just blatant attempts at theft, harassment, or revenge. What’s really scary is that I get these requests … Read more
How Do I Use an Open Wi-Fi Hotspot Safely?
Open Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops and other public places are opportunities for hackers. I’ll review how to stay safe.
Reboot or Power Down: Why Do So Many Tech Support Solutions Start with That?
The first thing a diagnostic technician may ask you to do is reboot your computer. Why?
Online Shopping: Just How Safe Is It?
Online shopping is ubiquitous, and yet some avoid it completely. Why are some people afraid to shop online when it’s arguably safer than offline?
How to Remove PUPs and Other Unexpected Things From Your Computer
Casually installing one download may result in several other things being installed. I’ll review the steps to remove these pesky, problematic, painful, Potentially Unwanted Programs, or PUPs.
What Can I Disable in Task Manager’s Startup List?
Task Manager shows many of the items that run automatically when you start your machine. What you need and what you don’t depends on many factors.
Resist Those Dancing Bunnies
Malware authors often make fantastic promises to get people to bypass their security software. It’s important to remain skeptical, vigilant, and attentive.
Do I Need All These Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables?
Assorted redistributables and shared libraries are installed on your PC by programs that need them. Removing them, while tempting, is fairly risky.
How to Avoid Ransomware
Avoid ransomware the same way you avoid any malware. A full backup will save you not only from ransomware, but from a host of other problems as well.
Why Do I Get Spam Not Addressed to Me? How Spammers Do It, and What Steps You Can Take
Spammers use many techniques to slide their garbage into your inbox. BCCing you on messages is a common way.
What Can People Tell from My IP Address?
People can tell very little from your IP address. For example, they cannot tell who or where you are. How much they can tell varies a great deal.
Why Am I Not Getting the Email Newsletter I Signed Up For? Three Steps to Improve the Situation
Over-aggressive spam filtering can cause email newsletters and other messages to fail to appear in your inbox. I’ll look at why that is, and three steps you can take to improve the situation.
How Do You Delete Things from the Internet?
Realistically, it’s impossible to delete things from the internet. Yet in an apparent contradiction in terms, if you happen to delete something in your control, you also can’t get it back.
Could Someone Reopen My Closed Email Account?
After an online account is deleted, the ID or email address is eventually made available for re-use. It’s the same name but a different owner, and that can confuse people.
Are You Ready for Your Computer to be Stolen?
You might lose your hardware and any un-backed-up data on it, and possibly give a thief access to it all! I’ll cover a few of the basics. A stolen computer or lost computer can open the doors to all sorts of havoc if you’re not prepared.
Using Disk Cleanup in Windows 10
Disk Cleanup in Windows 10 is a handy tool for freeing up space on your hard drive. I’ll show you how it’s done and what to clean up. It’s one of the first places I recommend people turn when they’re running low on disk space.
Where Do I Get Driver Updates?
Device-driver updates can come from several places. I’ll review the best sources for driver updates and where else you might need to look.
What’s the Best Registry Cleaner? What to Use and Not
The best registry cleaner is none at all. There may be cases where you want to use one, though, and I’ll review which I’d use and how to use them safely.
How Can I Securely Delete Everything Except the Operating System? Five Steps to Get as Close as You Can
Before giving away a machine or returning a loaner, it’s important to remove personal information from it. That may be both harder and easier than you think.
How Do I Gain Administrative Access to a Second-hand Computer?
It’s important to understand the risk of buying a used computer.
What are the Internet’s Rules about Free Speech?
Often, when people find their posts or comments removed or altered from websites they visit, they’re quick to claim their right to free speech has been violated. That’s rarely the case.
The Most Important Skill
The most important life skill, for everything from getting your computer fixed to becoming a highly-paid professional, may not be what you think it is.
Are HTTPS Connections Really Safe?
HTTPS is an important part of keeping your data safe, but it’s only a part. It’s important to understand what it does and doesn’t mean.
