Featured
Articles featured in the weekly Confident Computing newsletter from Ask Leo!.
How Do I Force the Latest Windows Feature Update?
Windows feature updates are supposed to be delivered in a somewhat timely fashion. If not, or if you’re just impatient, you can force the issue.
How Do I Downgrade Windows 11 to Windows 10?
Give Windows 11 a shot, but know that you can go back to Windows 10 if you need to.
What Good Is an Image Backup If All I Want Is My Data?
Image backups are great ways to back up absolutely everything on a hard disk. They’re also good for retrieving most anything, including individual files.
Why Do an Image Backup If I Can Factory Reset?
Factory reset is a great option to have, but it doesn’t cover all the scenarios a full image backup does.
How Do I Create a Local Account in Windows 10?
The ability to create a local user account on Windows hasn’t been removed; it’s just not obvious where to find it.
How Do I Prevent a Repeat of Ransomware?
All malware is scary, especially ransomware due to the damage it can inflict. Here’s how to avoid a repeat performance.
Am I Safe?
There is no such thing as absolute safety. But there are definitely steps you can take to be as safe as possible.
Why Your “Unimportant” Accounts Matter
Regardless of your initial thoughts, every account is important, and we are all targets.
How Secure Is Email?
Email is ubiquitous and convenient, yet surprisingly, not particularly secure. I’ll look at why that is and when you should worry.
Can I Move My Hard Drive to a New Computer and Have Windows Work?
Windows configures itself to the hardware it finds — but changing everything at once by moving the system disk to a different machine might be too much.
Why “Always Keep on this Device” Doesn’t
The “Always keep on this device” feature has misled people into deleting and losing important files. Here’s why, and what to do instead.
How Hackers Use Malicious Attachments to Give You Malware
Another day, another report of hackers exploiting vulnerabilities. Here’s how you stay safe.
Why Is My OneDrive Full?
OneDrive tries to make it easy to back up important folders, but at the cost of making some things very confusing.
Should I Repair or Replace My Computer?
Repair or replace can be a difficult decision. I’ll review a few factors to consider when deciding.
How Does Facebook Track Me Even If I Don’t Have an Account?
Facebook can use standard web protocols to get an idea of what you’re doing online, even if you don’t have an account.
Is Passwordless Authentication Safe?
Passwordless authentication removes the need for a password and replaces it with something else. But can that be secure?
I’m Suddenly Getting More Spam Emails. Should I Be Worried?
A sudden flood of additional spam is not unusual. I’ll look at why I think it happens, and when I start to worry.
What Is a TPM? And Why Do I Need One?
Windows 11 hardware requirements brought the TPM, or Trusted Platform Module, into the spotlight. I’ll touch on what it is, why your machine might not appear to have one, and what to do if it doesn’t.
Do Random Words Make Better Passwords?
As few as three random words make better passwords than strings of random characters — but not, perhaps, for the reasons you think.
Responses to Your Three Common Password Manager Objections
Password vaults are a common recommendation by security professionals to improve your online security. Why do so many resist?
A Data Breach Has My Data. What Do I Do?
Data breaches are everywhere but what should you do if your info shows up in one? I’ll break down the risks, explain what really matters (hint: it’s not just your email), and give you steps to protect yourself. Don’t panic, but do get informed and stay safe.
Why Am I Getting Email Sent to an Email Address Similar to Mine?
It’s not uncommon to get unexpected email sent to an email address similar to your own. I’ll review why that is and what to do about it.
My Keyboard Won’t Work after Windows Update. How Do I Fix It?
If your keyboard won’t work after a Windows Update, there’s a lengthy list of things to try to get it back.
Why Am I Still Getting Updates for Windows 7?
Windows Update can update more than just the Windows operating system. So keeping it up to date is still a good idea.
No Email from LastPass? Dealing with Sign-In Problems
While travelling, I signed in to my LastPass account only to be told I needed to confirm an email message that never arrived — or so I thought.
How To Use Microsoft Word for Transcriptions
Microsoft Word online has the option to create transcriptions of audio recordings for Microsoft Office subscribers.
How I Fixed a Failed Windows 10 Update
Windows Update generally works. Here’s the successful approach I took when it didn’t.
When Backups Might Not Save You from Ransomware
Ransomware is known for encrypting your data and holding it hostage. It turns out that it can do more that backups won’t protect against.
Should I Just Hire a Hacker to Recover My Account?
Desperation can lead you to consider hiring so-called “legit”, “ethical”, or “white-hat” hackers to regain control of a your account. Don’t do it.
Just What Is a Hack?
Hack or hacking can mean several different things — both good and bad — depending on the context. I’ll review the most common definitions.
How Should I Back Up Email?
Configuring a PC-based email program to use IMAP and have it constantly download email as a backup is a reasonable way to go.
How Long Will My SSD Last?
We keep hearing that SSDs and other flash-based drives wear out. Particularly when it comes to SSDs, there are ways you can see how close to wearing out your drive might be.
How Do I Contact Outlook.com Customer Service?
People ask every day how they can reach someone at Microsoft to help with Hotmail and Outlook.com problems. There is help.
What Do I Do About Websites Bugging Me About Notifications?
Responding to notification permissions is annoying. In some browsers, we can turn that off completely.
Can Browser Extensions See My Bank Account?
Browser extensions are often installed with little thought to the immense security risk they present.
Facebook Privacy Settings 2021
You can and should be aware of and control your Facebook privacy settings.
Yes, SMS Two-Factor Authentication is Broken; Use it Anyway
SMS messaging has some serious security vulnerabilities, but does that mean you should always avoid it? No.
Should I Worry About Old Lost Email Accounts?
That old account you lost probably won’t come back to haunt you, but it’s wise to take some action and keep your guard up.
What if My OneDrive is Too Big for My Hard Drive?
Cloud storage is ubiquitous, convenient, and BIG. There are options if OneDrive is too big for your hard drive.
What Should I Do About the Changes to LastPass Free?
LastPass is changing the terms of their free service. Find out if you’re affected, and what to do if you are.
What’s Up with WhatsApp Terms of Service?
WhatsApp announced privacy policy changes requiring your agreement to continue using it. Has anything really changed?
Why You’re Being Warned About Windows 10 End of Service and What to Do About It
Windows 10 warns when it’s coming to “end of service”, but what does that mean if Windows 10 is always being updated?
What Do I Do About Adobe Flash End of Life in 2020?
Support for Adobe Flash will end at the end of 2020. The good news is that most sites have stopped needing it. For those that do, there’s really no alternative.
How Do I Report a Bug in Windows?
It’s easy to report a bug in Windows 10. The question is, is it worth your time?
Getting Rid of Bing in Windows Search
We can’t change the search engine used by Windows Search when searching the web, but we can avoid Bing by not having Windows Search search the web at all.
Are You Asking Too Much of Your Computer?
It’s very common for our usage and expectations of our computers to grow over time. Unfortunately, that means we’ll eventually run into its limitations.
How Do I Get Rid of Gmail Tabs? How to Regain Control and Find the Email Gmail Might Be Hiding From You
Gmail introduced a tabbed interface to automatically categorize email messages. Since their categorization often misses the mark, let’s turn it off.
What If I Lose My Second Factor?
When you lose your second factor, there are two things to be concerned about: getting into your own account — for which you should be prepared — and someone else having access to your second factor — which isn’t as scary as it sounds.
Why Can’t Online Services Tell Me My Password?
It’s for your own protection, and the result of fascinating mathematical wizardry. And if they can tell you your password? They’re doing security wrong.
