Articles tagged: The Best of Ask Leo!

What Good Is an Image If I Can’t Restore an Old Backup to a New Computer?

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?

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.

Hacked!

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

Is a periodic password change a good thing?

Is a Periodic Password Change a Good Thing?

Changing passwords periodically is conventional wisdom. I disagree, and then discuss whether periodic password change can even happen reliably.

How Do I Use an Open Wi-Fi Hotspot Safely?

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?

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: 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?

UNwanted

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?

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.

Windows Security

What Security Software Do You Recommend? Basic Protection in Four Steps

My recommendations for specific security software and techniques to keep your computer, and yourself, safe.

Resist Those Dancing Bunnies

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.

How Do I Find Someone’s Email Address?

How Do I Find Someone’s Email Address?

It can be extremely difficult to find the email address of someone you want to contact. To begin with, they must want to be found.

Do I Need All These Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables?

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.

Avoid Ransomware!

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

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?

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

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.

RAID array

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.

Account Closed

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?

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.

Disk Cleanup in Progress

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.

Driver

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.

Hand above a keyboard

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?

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.

Handing Over the Keys

How Do I Gain Administrative Access to a Second-hand Computer?

It’s important to understand the risk of buying a used computer.

Microphone

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.

Writing

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.

https

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.

VPN

How Does a VPN Protect Me?

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a fully encrypted, private internet connection via a VPN provider. I’ll look at what protection it offers.

Undo

I Deleted a File by Mistake. Can I Get It Back?

Sometimes, it is possible to recover a file deleted by accident. Stop using the disk, check your Recycle Bin, and perhaps pull out an undelete utility.

Fake!

“From” Spoofing: How Spammers Send Email that Looks Like It Came from You

“From” spoofing is how spammers send email that looks like it comes from you that you had nothing at all to do with. I’ll look at how it’s done.

Password

How Do I Choose a Good Password?

With occasional security breaches at service providers and rampant email account theft, password security has never been more important. Make sure you choose and use secure passwords.

Windows 10 Backup Underway

Creating a Backup Image Using Windows’ Built-in Backup

I don’t think much of the Windows backup utility–but any backup is better than no backup. Let’s take a look at how to use it.

Goodbye!

How Do I Remove Myself from a Machine?

Although there’s no way to remove all traces of yourself from a machine, there certainly are ways to remove as much as you can.

Time Options in Google Search Results

Why Do Search Results Not Have Dates?

Google’s search tools can help you find websites that have been tagged with particular dates. But be cautious; dates may not mean what you think.

Embracing the Most Important Attitude

There is one approach to life — one setting in your psyche — that affects your experience with technology much more than any lack of skill or knowledge.

Why Doesn't My New, Empty Hard Drive Show All the Advertised Space?

Why Doesn’t My New, Empty Hard Drive Show All the Advertised Space?

Terms used to measure disk space can be ambiguous. As a result, a megabyte to you might not be the same as a megabyte to your computer.

How the internet is breaking journalism

How the Internet Is Breaking Journalism (and What It Means to You)

When it comes to journalism and other information you read online, there’s a very strong argument that things are seriously broken. We all need to be more vigilant than ever to separate truth from falsehood and recognize what’s important over what’s popular.

How Do I Find Who Hacked My Email?

How Do I Find Who Hacked My Email Account?

It’s natural to want to find out who hacked your email and why. Begin by recovering and securing your account. I’ll review what steps you can take after that, and their chances of success.

Am I Wasting My Time Reporting Scam and Spam Emails?

Am I Wasting My Time Reporting Scam and Spam Emails?

Reporting spam in your email program with the spam button is critical. Reporting it by forwarding it somewhere isn’t going to do any good.

Should I partition my hard disk?

Should I Partition My Hard Disk?

Partitioning, or splitting a single physical hard drive into multiple drives, has pros and cons. I’ll look at those and make a recommendation.

Why can't the poor just pirate software?

Why Can’t the Poor just Pirate Software?

Commercial software can be expensive. Can you just pirate software if you can’t afford it? You can guess my answer, but even better: theft isn’t necessary.

Is There a Real Alternative to Windows?

Is There a Real Alternative to Windows?

Only Windows is Windows. There are alternatives, but whether they’re right for you depends on you.

Are PCs Doomed?

While the ratio of PCs to mobile devices may change over time, I believe PCs will not be going away any time soon. They’re just too darned useful.

Crank Your Password Strength Up to 11!

Crank Your Password Strength Up to 11!

The results are in for last year’s most common passwords. The implications are depressing, but important.

Why is My Machine Slowing Down?

Why Is My Machine Slowing Down?

A PC running Windows can slow down for many reasons. Viruses, spyware, updated software, disk fragmentation, and more can lead to performance drops.

How Do I Best Extend My Wireless Network for Laptop Access?

How Do I Best Extend My Wireless Network for Laptop Access?

It can be difficult to get wireless network coverage throughout your home. I’ll look at a couple of ways to extend your wireless network.

Full

Where’s My Disk Space Going?

It’s not uncommon to run out of disk space. A free utility can show where your disk space is going so you can determine what steps to take.

Malware!

I Run Anti-virus Software. Why Do I Still Sometimes Get Infected?

It seems like even the most up-to-date anti-malware package isn’t always enough. It’s frustrating, because you’d think it would be.

How Should I Set Up My Home Network?

How Should I Set Up My Home Network?

A home network allows you to share a single internet connection, as well as data and devices, between multiple devices. I’ll review the basics components of a home network and some steps to take as your network grows.