Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 021222

 

 

Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 021222

Here we are. It’s Valentine’s weekend and it’s Saturday. Yep, that’s right, the weekend is here and you know what that means. It’s time for more Bonus Questions & Answers.

Sometimes the best tips and tricks are hidden in the questions and answers we publish. And rarely do we post questions and answers on this website. Today, we’re featuring some of the questions and answers from past issues of our InfoAve Weekly newsletters. 

These answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.

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Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 021222

Sandro wants to know if we can help check his computer for traces of scammer activities
Hello. I read with great interest the Questions and Answers section in your Issue #907 about a person that wrote in about being scammed. This person in question allowed the scammer to take over her computer. A similar situation happened to me about a month and a half ago. I was wondering if I could get my computer serviced by removing the remote connection software and other software installed by the scammer including any other magic you feel needs to be done. I’m interested in your repair service, but I would rather you not put Emsisoft on my computer. I’m happy with my Norton. Thank you, Sandro.

Our answer
Hi Sandro. Yes, we can check over your computer and find and remove anything the intruder installed on it. We recommend Emsisoft, but we don’t force anyone to use it.

You can purchase Cloudeight Direct Computer Care repair keys at https://thundercloud.net/direct.

We look forward to helping you soon.

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Roger has a problem with the Windows 10 Start button
I am 83 years of age and reside in England. I have received your newsletters now for many years – always good reading and tips.

I now have a problem which I hope you can help me with. I have a desktop computer, running Windows 10 -Version 20H2. This week I suddenly noticed that my windows Start button was not working and only allowed me to right-click access. This did not give me access to many of my programs. And whether coincidence or not, it seemed to come after a Windows update.

I have searched for an answer to my problem, and there appear to be several ways to fix my Start button problem. However, at my age, I am not so confident in attempting the solutions I’ve read. Could you suggest a simple way to undertake a repair – step by step? I hope you can help. Your publications are always a good daily and weekly read for me. Thanks, Roger.

Our answer
Hi Roger, thanks so much for your kind words. They are very much appreciated.

Here are some things you can try that may help you fix your Start button issues.

1, The first and easiest thing to do is to shut down your computer completely. Make sure all power lights are off. Leave your computer shut down for 5 minutes, then turn it on and let it boot up. Try your start button. If it is still not working right…

2. Right-click on an empty space on your taskbar. Click on Task Manager. In Task Manager, find Windows Explorer. Right-click on Windows Explorer and choose “Restart” from the menu. Your desktop and taskbar icons will disappear for a few seconds as Windows Explorer restarts. After it has restarted, try your start button. If it is still not working correctly…

3. Follow the instructions on this page. You’ll find easy-to-follow instructions on how to run SFC and DISM scans to fix missing and/or corrupted Windows files.

We hope this helps you, Roger.
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Roger wrote back: “TC – You are an absolute star. I followed your instructions relating to the SFC and DISM and after a testing period of time for me – All is back to order. I cannot thank you enough. Roger.”

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Brenda has a question about disappearing emails and Gmail’s “All Mail” folder
Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed odd emails disappearing from my inbox. None of them have been important, just videos that I wanted to pass on. Today I’ve just forwarded another email and it disappeared from my inbox right in front of me. I’ve searched and found them in the All Mail folder. Although I have tried to rectify this by looking for help, I have not been successful. Would you please be able to help me with this? I would be very grateful. Thank you.

Our answer
Hi Brenda. Gmail’s “All Mail” folder is just what it says, it is a folder that stores all your emails. Depending on your settings, and whether you archived an email or not, messages are moved from the inbox to the archive folder “All Mail”. They are always there for your reference.

At Gmail.com, they stay in your inbox until you move them or archive them. If you are using an email program to check that Gmail account and it is set up as POP3 email, then the mail from your Gmail inbox is downloaded to your computer; Gmail automatically archives a copy and saves it in the “All Mail” folder.

If you set your email program up using IMAP protocol, your mail would be synchronized between your email program and Gmail. For more info about IMAP and POP3 see our article here.

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Robert is changing from HDD to SSD and has some questions
I’m changing from hard drives to SSD drives. Could you comment in your newsletter on what not to run or do with an SSD drive such as maintaining an SSD drive running DISM/SFC?

Our answer
Hi Robert. For those not familiar with the terminology – SSDs are Solid State Drives; HDDs are standard hard drives. OK on to your questions.

 DISM/SFC are Windows scans, not hard drive scans. They are scans that can repair corrupted or missing Windows files.

There is nothing you can’t do with an SSD drive that you can do with an HDD except defragmenting. Windows 10 automatically defrags HDD but uses TRIM on SSD.

You can run SFC, DISM, or CHKDSK /Scan, CHKDSK /F, etc. on both SSDs and HDDs. But if you’re using SSDs, never download a 3rd-party disk defragmenter. Otherwise, no worries!

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John wants to know how to clean up years’ worth of Gmail email messages.
Quite a long time ago you had an article showing how we could clean up our old emails very quickly rather than one at a time. I have probably got 10 years of emails in Gmail I will never read again. I would appreciate it if you could show us how to do this again. Many Thanks.

Our answer
Hi John. The article we wrote was about how to jump from the newest to the oldest emails in Gmail.

However, you can easily select all emails on a page just by checking a box.

Open Gmail to the page containing the emails you want to delete and tick the box at the top – as below;

Once you tick that box, all emails on the page will be selected. If there are any emails selected you don’t want to delete, just remove the checkmark next to them. To delete the selected emails just click on the trash can icon at the top and confirm you want to delete the selected emails.

You can delete up to 100 emails at a time using this method.

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Mona has problems installing a scanner
When I try to install the software that came with the photo scanner that I purchased, I receive the following message:

I had a ‘live chat’ with the scanner manufacturer, PlusTek, regarding the ePhoto Z300 scanner that I purchased. It was suggested that they suspect that the problem is a corrupted system file. Does that make sense? They gave me the link to download the driver. I am having no success and looking for help.

Thanks for your anticipated help. Over my many years on my computer, I don’t recall ever having an installation problem like this. Mona.

Our answer
Hi Mona. We’ll try to help. Here are some ideas.

Turn off your computer and leave it off for 5 minutes – restart it.

Run both SFC and DISM scans as outlined on this page. Be sure to restart your computer after running both.

Next, right-click on the scanner installation/driver exe and choose “Run as administrator”.

If that does not work, restart your computer, and re-download the installation software from https://plustek.com/us/products/film-photo-scanners/ephoto-z300/support.php and try to install it. This is a zip file with an installer package in it. Unzip it, then right-click on the installer and choose “Run as administrator”.

I think it’s sad that the company blames you/your computer – instead of helping you. I’m sure they have heard of this issue before.

Let us know if this helps you.
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Mona wrote back: “Good Morning, TC. My most sincere gratitude to you for the “extra mile” that you did to help guide me through my installation problem. Your detailed ideas were exactly what did the trick, and my scanner is on a roll. I do admit that there are times when I read instructions online, the technical wording leaves me ‘clueless’. I was able to follow your step-by-step instructions, and all is well. Even with the challenge, the scanner is A-1. I now have a reliable scanner for slides, and this one scans paper photographs, as well as tools for adjusting and rejuvenating the scanned photos. Enjoy your day… stay well… Mona B.”

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Dawn accidentally deleted some important files
Can you tell me if it is possible to recover somehow deleted PDF files? I tried to download a program and Emsisoft kicked it off. Thank goodness. My two-year bank statement PDF files have gone totally AWOL and now I have downloaded them from my bank I do not have access to them anymore. I am a long-time user, and you are my Bible gurus so any help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Our answer
Hi Dawn. Thanks so much for your nice comments and your long-time support. Whether you can recover those files depends on how long ago they were deleted. Our recommended recovery program is called “Puran File Recovery. Please read our post here about Puran File Recovery and see if that sounds like something that would work for you. There are download links to the program in the post.

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Mary wants an easy to use, free, or low-cost word processing program
Would you please recommend a good or low-cost word processing program? I don’t need anything fancy. I just to be able to write simple letters. Thank you for all you do… especially us oldies. Mary.

Our answer
Hi Mary. Thanks for your nice comments.  I think my favorite free word processor is Jarte – but AbleWord is also very good. And every Windows 10 PC comes with WordPad which is a capable word processor also.

Here’s an article we wrote called “A Trio of Excellent Free Word Processors.  In that article, you’ll find information and download links for two excellent free word processors – Jarte and AbleWord, as well as info about Microsoft’s WordPad.

We hope this helps you, Mary.
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Mary wrote back: “Thank you so much for the recommendations. That is what is so extra special about Cloudeight; you are so quick with your responses!”

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Leslie has a freeware suggestion
This freeware program looks interesting. There is a free and a paid version. It’s called Grammarly. It’s a grammar and spelling checker.

You can read more about it here.

All the best, Leslie.

Our answer
Hi Leslie. I’ve been using Grammarly free for over 2 years – can’t you tell? 🙂 I use it as well as Word’s grammar/spelling editor to review our weekly newsletter.

I use the free version; I’ve never tried the paid version.

Thanks for the reminder, Leslie.  Grammarly is especially helpful to those who do a lot of writing.

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Terry wants to send sensitive data
I need to send sensitive data. What would you use? 7zip encrypted file? Word encrypted file? Any suggestions? Thanks, Terry.

Our answer
Hi Terry. It depends on how tech-savvy the person you are sending the file to. Personally, I would not choose any of these methods. I would send a link to the file in my Google Drive (not totally secure but the file can’t be edited). Or you can share files securely using Microsoft OneDrive. Either way is a lot easier than for the person on the other end rather than having them fooling around with 7-zip encrypted files or other password-protected files. If you use OneDrive, read this article about sharing files securely.

You can also send files securely using a site like https://www.sendfilessecurely.com/.

We hope this helps you, Terry.

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Judie is careful. She uses Emsisoft and LastPass but still, her email was compromised
What I don’t understand with Emsisoft and LastPass is how my email could be compromised in the first place. I have been with you since the beginning; you have taught me so much and fixed my computer a few times, so thank you so much again! I have recommended you every time someone I know gets into a pickle and most have signed up and used you and have always been happy. Judie

Our answer
Hi Judie. Thanks for your nice comments. Your email was not compromised, your email password was. Security programs and password managers don’t have anything to do with hackers breaching websites and collecting usernames and passwords. Security breaches occur on Websites where you have logged in – they have nothing to do with your computer or your security software, or your password manager.

For instance, when Equifax was breached, criminals stole user information and passwords from Equifax, not from personal computers. If your user information was stored by Equifax, your info was compromised. The same is true of any breach you read about in the news. If your information is on a site that is breached then your information is compromised.

You really can’t prevent companies on the web from being hacked, all you can do is use strong passwords and change them every few months. There is nothing you can install on your computer that can prevent this.

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Diane is still not sure what to do about LastPass
I am not sure what I want or should do regarding my LastPass. Is it still good or do I need to switch to something else? I sure would love to hear your recommendations. You know I will follow you off the edge of the cliff!

Our answer
Hi Diane. The only reason you would need to change password managers is if you use LastPass on more than one type of device. If you only use it on Windows PCs (laptops, desktops, all-in-ones) you don’t have to do anything. You can continue to use LastPass FREE on all your Windows PCs. There is no reason to worry about switching to something else.

But if you use LastPass on your Windows PCs and your smartphone or tablet, you’ll either have to pay $2 or $3 a month to keep using LastPass or switch to another free password manager, like Bitwarden.

If you don’t want to pay LastPass, we created a tutorial showing how to switch from LastPass to Bitwarden without losing any of your LastPass logins or data.

I hope this answers your question and addresses your concerns. If not, let me know.

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