Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 032925
It’s the last Saturday in March, and Easter is a few weeks away. Daffodils are blooming, and the grass is getting greener. And besides all that, it’s Saturday, and it’s time for another Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers edition.
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 questions & answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.
Our Spring Donation Drive is Underway!
CAN YOU HELP US?
Make a small donation and help us to keep on helping you!
Our annual spring donation drive is underway. Sales of our products and services help keep the lights on at Cloudeight. But if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please help with a donation. Even the smallest gift is appreciated. Every gift – no matter how small – helps us to provide useful information that helps you with your computer and helps us to keep you safe on the Internet. We offer free help to thousands of people every year, and we also have an honest and inexpensive computer repair service. We do everything we can to help you with your computer and to help you stay safe online.
So, if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please consider helping us with a small donation.
Please help us by donating right now.
Interested in making a monthly gift? Visit this page. Help us keep helping you!
Thank you so much for your support!
Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 032925
Luana wants to know if she switches her default browser will all her desktop icons change?
I have been with you since the 90s when I first started using your stationery. I have kept you as my Home Page all thru the years. Now that I am 87, I try to keep up with things. I have used your service on my computer many times. I have not needed any service for my computer. I have a question. I have used Chrome as a browser and also Edge. All my icons on my desktop have Chrome icons for things I saved etc. Now when I clicked on my browser and your Home Page opened, a question appeared and asked me if I wanted to make Microsoft Edge my default. Yes, I prefer it to Chrome after reading things from you but my question is, if I click on that default, what will happen to all those chrome icons on my desktop? Will they change to Edge Icons, will I lose them, or what? Please send me an answer so that I will know what to do. Blessings and thank you, Luana.
Our answer
Hi Luana. Thanks for your long-time support.
Your icons will not disappear. When you switch your default browser from Chrome to Edge, your icons will all change to the Edge icon (a blue stylized “E”) instead of the Chrome icon.
The Chrome browser shortcut icons look like this:
The Microsoft Edge Browser shortcut icons look like this:
So, your desktop shortcut icons will change in appearance from Chrome’s icon to Edge’s icon, but they won’t change positions on your desktop, and they won’t disappear.
We hope this helps you, Luana.
Rich wants to know how to add another Gmail account
God Bless you both (EB/TC). I have been a follower and user of your helpful instructions, and I remember you had sent out instructions on how to “correctly” add a 2nd or 3rd Gmail email to my Gmail account… would you please send me a link to that page so I can print it out? I also want to give a copy to a friend. God bless you and yours. Rich
Our answer
Thanks so much for your kind words and your support.
As for your question, here you go… here’s our tutorial showing you how to correctly create additional Gmail accounts and access them from your main Gmail account.
We hope this helps you… and your friend!
Hi guys. Love your newsletters but after a recent experience, I have to say, I’m not too happy with Emsisoft. I was browsing the web when a warning popped up a malware scanner showed that my computer was infected with over 300 viruses. For $99 they cleaned up my computer and I’m not very happy that my computer was infected. What’s going on with Emsisoft?
Our answer
Hi Chet. Since we’ve been recommending Emsisoft (eleven years now) we’ve never seen a computer protected by Emsisoft with a virus. What you saw was a scam popup saying your computer is infected and you need to:
A. Download something (malware)
or
B. Call a telephone number for help getting rid of all those viruses (scam)
or
C. Run some fake scanner that reveals you have hundreds of malware files or viruses.
I’m guessing you chose option “C” or the fake scanner ran automatically without any action on your part. Most of these “scanners” are just animations; they don’t scan anything. And of course, after you paid the $99, another fake scanner ran, showing your computer free of malware and viruses. If you’ve seen something like or similar to these warnings (see the images below) which can appear as a popup that seems to come from your computer (it doesn’t) or seems to take over your browser (it doesn’t) then you’re not seeing a real warning you’re seeing an advertisement for scam software or tech support.
You can only get rid of these kinds of ads by clearing your browser’s history & cache. See this page to learn how to do this:
< 
< 
If you’ve received a message that your computer is infected and you need to take action – you don’t have a virus or a Trojan – scammers are attempting to sell you something.< We hope this helps you better understand what’s going on. Emsisoft protects your computer from malware and viruses, but it’s not an ad blocker. If you’re looking for a good free ad blocker, see this page.Emsisoft didn’t let you down – you were scammed. You should call your credit card company and see if you can get your $99 back since you were scammed.
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Linda is having problems with her HP printer
This is driving me nuts. My HP printer keeps giving a message “Scan to computer not enabled” I go through the long process of the scan doctor fix-it but it does not last. It works for a short time and then I’m right back with the error. Can you help me figure out why and how to permanently enable this? My desktop PC is a Dell. Thanks
Our answer
Hi Linda. You can fool around trying to fix printers piecemeal but it almost always never works or if it does work, it doesn’t last very long. We’ve been around a long time and we’ve gone through dozens of printers – and one thing we’ve learned is this:
If you are consistently having a problem with a printer, the best fix is to completely remove the printer, restart the PC and then reinstall the printer just as you did when you first bought it. It fixes almost any printer problem and it usually fixes it in the long run.
If you don’t have the installation software, you can get it from www.hp.com – all you need is your printer’s model number.
I hope this helps you, Linda.
Eva is getting a strange message in Chrome
First, I would like to thank you both for a great site. I have been a long-time user and you have solved many of my computer problems. My question is about my Chrome browser. Why does it say that it is managed by my organization? It’s my personal PC at home and not managed by anyone but me! I have gotten rid of it before but it just keeps coming back. At one time it said it was managed by Yahoo. please help me to permanently get rid of this. Thanks again for your site and your newsletters!
Our answer
Hi Eva. Thanks for your nice comments and your support.
Before you do anything else, try opening Chrome in Incognito mode. Right-click on a Chrome shortcut, choose “New incognito window”, and see if you still get the “managed by your organization” message. If you don’t, then the problem is caused by an extension you installed in Chrome. If you find this is the case, then follow the steps on this page to reset Chrome. That will disable all installed extensions. Then you can turn them on one by one to find the culprit.
If that doesn’t work, keep on reading.
If you have not set group policies on your computer, then this problem is most likely caused by something you installed (malware, questionable extension, etc.)
There are two other ways you can rid of the “Chrome is managed by your organization” message.
Option 1. Edit the registry. Type Regedit in the taskbar search and press Enter when it appears at the top of the search results.
Find the following Registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
Delete the entire Chrome key by right-clicking on it and then choosing “Delete”.
After you do this, you’ll need to restart your computer before you’ll see the changes.
I recommend you create a restore point before editing the registry. To do so type RESTORE in the taskbar search and click on “Create a Restore Point”.
Option 2. Completely remove Chrome from your computer as well as any Chrome folders from App Data. Follow the instructions on this page (the second option under “keep on reading”) to do this. Make sure you follow all the instructions carefully so you don’t lose your bookmarks.
I hope this helps you, Eva.
Jay had files transferred to his new computer and now has duplicates…
I recently purchased a new computer and had data transferred from my old one. The old one had transferred data from an older one on it. How can I find and get rid of duplicate files on my new computer?
Our answer
Hi Jay. You can remove duplicate files with programs called “duplicate file finders”. But be careful, most of them are too aggressive and can delete files you don’t want to be deleted. The only duplicate file finder we recommend (and only when used with caution) is called Anti-Twin. We think it’s the best and it’s completely free.
You can read our review and download it by visiting this page.
I hope this helps, Jay.
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If you purchased or renewed Reg Organizer through Cloudeight within the last 12 months, you’re entitled to a free version upgrade to Reg Organizer 9.31. Works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Save $14 on Reg Organizer right now!
Reg Organizer – A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Tools – Works Great on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Margaret wants to open a Word document but doesn’t have MS Office or an Office Program installed
I have Windows 10, but I do not have Microsoft Office. I am unable to open any MS Word files which I have stored on a CD. Is there a free download of Microsoft Office so that I can have Microsoft Word? Thank you.
Our answer
Hi Margaret. You can open Word Documents with WordPad which comes with every version of Windows. You will have to open WordPad first and then browse to the Word documents on the disk.
You can open WordPad by typing WordPad in the taskbar search and clicking on it when it appears in the search results. Or you can open it from the Windows 10 Start menu – it’s in Windows Accessories/WordPad.
I hope this helps you, Margaret
Jim can’t find the Group Policy Editor (GPedit.MSC) on his Windows 10 computer
I have tried several things to get gpedit.MSC working on my Windows 10 Home PC and I’m not having any luck. It works on my other WIn 10 Home machine. I’ve been with you two for a long time and I’m a Booster and an Emsisoft user. And I‘d appreciate any suggestions. I might be listed as jrmowrey@charter.com also. I’ll be needing my Emsisoft renewal before long if I make it. I’m 90 now. Thank you and have a good day.
Our Answer
Hi Jim. Thanks so much for your support and your kind words.
The Group Policy Editor (GPEdit.MSC) is available natively only on Windows 10 Professional and Windows 11 Professional See this Microsoft page.
Group Policy Editor is in Windows 10 Pro (and Windows 11 Pro) because it is designed for businesses and small companies to set group policies across multiple computers. To use the Group Policy Editor in Windows 10 Home (and Windows 11 Home) you have to use a Windows hack, like the one we outlined here. to enable the Group Policy Editor on Windows 10 Home and/or Windows 11 Home.
We hope this helps you and answers your question, Jim.
——-
Jim wrote back: “Thanks TC. I had visited a similar web page before and had no luck. But this time I must have done something right and got gpedit.MSC working. This .bat file seemed to be different than the one I was trying before. I’ve saved the link you sent me in my Cloudeight folder in Bookmarks. Thanks again, and give Darcy a big hug. Ole Jim…”
Jean is wondering if a call she got from Amazon is legitimate
Hi, I’m just wondering if a phone call I received at 11.30 pm last night was genuine or a hack because it was just like how the hacks work ie took a while to answer, then said it was a call from Amazon and I just hung up straight away as I do with hackers because I thought this was one and if it was genuine, wouldn’t they have called me again, but they haven’t. Thanks so much for all the help you give members. Kindest regards, Jean.
Our answer
Hi Jean. Thanks for your nice comments.
Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc. will never call you – the only exception to this would be if you had a problem and had been working with them or in the case of Microsoft you scheduled a call with them. None of these companies would call you out of the blue.
Keep in mind it’s easy for hackers and con artists to change the “Calling From” number to anything they want. This is called “spoofing” and with the right software, it’s easy to do.
Anyone calling you for a legitimate purpose would leave a message if you didn’t answer. And if you don’t have voicemail or an answering machine, they will certainly call you back.
You did the right thing.
Our Spring Donation Drive is Underway!
CAN YOU HELP US?
Make a small donation and help us to keep on helping you!
Our annual spring donation drive is underway. Sales of our products and services help keep the lights on at Cloudeight. But if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please help with a donation. Even the smallest gift is appreciated. Every gift – no matter how small – helps us to provide useful information that helps you with your computer and helps us to keep you safe on the Internet. We offer free help to thousands of people every year, and we also have an honest and inexpensive computer repair service. We do everything we can to help you with your computer and to help you stay safe online.
So, if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please consider helping us with a small donation.
Please help us by donating right now.
Interested in making a monthly gift? Visit this page. Help us keep helping you!
Thank you so much for your support!
Ron asks about Infiniti Kloud
A friend who is almost totally computer illiterate wrote tonight and asked me about a USB backup gadget called InfinitiKloud. I had never heard of it and haven’t seen any articles from you folks about it. So, I told her not to do anything until I had a chance to check into it- with you, that is. Here is a link to their ad- seems like a lot of hype to me for not much space and a pretty good chunk of change. The link- https://tinyurl.com/y5te3d6u
What do you think? I’m going to suggest that she subscribe to your newsletters. Ron.
Our answer
Hi Ron. It borders between a gimmick and scam – like PhotoStick.
Infiniti Kloud is supposed to back up all your pictures on an overpriced 64GB USB flash drive. I checked the reviews at Amazon, and it showed 3 stars which is not great, but when I checked it out with Fakespot, a lot of the good reviews appeared to be fake or manipulated, Fakespot’s adjusted rating was 2 stars -which is really poor. This seems to be a clone of another product we don’t recommend – PhotoStick.
Both are just way overpriced USB flash drives that don’t get very good actual reviews. If you’re friend has Windows 10 and an eternal drive (a 1 TB external drive is about the same price as “Infiniti Kloud”. You can set up File History which comes with Windows 10 and backup ALL your personal files (Pictures, Documents, Music, Videos, Favorites, etc.)
Not sure why anyone would want to invest in very overpriced USB 64GB flash drive.
Hope this answers your question, Ron.
Cheryl wants to know if we offer computer care and repair services for business computers
I was wondering if you offer your computer repair keys for a business computer.
Our answer
Hi Cheryl. We can work on any computer, business or personal. There is no difference in charges for personal vs business computers.
Just visit https://thundercloud.net/direct/ to learn more about our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care service.
I hope this answers your question. Thanks for asking.
Jason’s friend fell for a tech support scam
The Secretary of my Masonic Lodge told the members he contacted a company that he saw an ad for to clean a “virus” out of his computer. They sold him a lifetime plan where they would get into his computer and clean out any virus they found and do this every 3 months for life. It was $699.00.
I told him he not only got ripped off but they probably put a key logger into his computer. Because he just did this a week ago, I told him how to get out of it and told him about Emsisoft. I also just emailed him your latest newsletter to read. Hopefully, he will call me and not only sign up with you but get Emsisoft with you. He may also get a key with you to clean out the program from this other company and look for any key logger that I suspect may be on his computer.
Our answer
Hi Jason. Tell him to contact his credit card company IMMEDIATELY, dispute the charge, and put in a fraud report These are scams, and he could buy a new computer (or even TWO) for what he paid them. The credit card company will always take the side of the consumer.
Thanks for recommending us. And if and when he comes our way and we certainly will do all we can to help him.
The Best Antivirus/Antimalware program is also the least expensive. We recommend and use Emsisoft Anti-Malware on all our personal and business computers. We trust it, and so can you!
Save money and get the best antivirus/anti-malware protection you can buy. We use it, and you should too!