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August runs a speed test on both of his computers but...
I ran the test on both of my computers and the desktop was as follows: Ping 9 download 112 upload was 9.9 On the laptop I get only 57 download upload was 9.8. What could cause the difference between the two? The laptop is much slower than the desktop. Do I need to have you look into this?

Our answer
Hi August. There are many factors at play here. If your desktop is plugged into the router or modem with an Ethernet cable, it's always going to be faster than a wireless connection.

If both computers are using wireless connections, the one closest to the router will be faster. And even if both computers are using Wi-Fi and both are the same distance from the router, you still can have variations. Each computer may have different wireless cards. Also, the age of the computer and the configuration can affect the internet connection speed.

It is certainly not unusual, and it does not indicate any kind of problem.



Candace gets an Emsisoft warning
Hi TC. Help! I entered a link to download a Facebook video, and I got a warning from Emsisoft telling me that the program has been changed. It has an option to update the rule (which was highlighted) or to remove the rule. I’m wondering what to do.

Our answer
Hi Candace. Any time you update a program you've used before, Emsisoft will give you a warning that the program has changed (update the rule Emsisoft uses to recognize the program as safe), Since you know it has changed because you just reinstalled it, it's okay to go ahead and let Emsisoft update the rule.

I have several programs on my computer that I frequently update - Emsisoft warns me the program has changed and asks if I want to update the rule. As long as I know the program and know it has changed, I know it's okay to let Emsisoft update the rule.

Adele likes to use stationery, but she's worried
Hi Darcy and TC. I loved it when I was able to use stationery with my e-mails. It has been a long time. I would love to do it again, but I am nervous about it because every time I change something on my computer, I seem to create a host of other problems.

Our answer
Hi Adele. If you get the OE Classic and have us do the setup, we make sure all is running well with your email during the OE Classic setup session. Here is info page in case you're interested.

https://thundercloud.net/classic/setup.htm



Stanley has questions about finding and downloading software
You have been so helpful in the past that I hope you can help me with this question, which I also think would be of interest to many of your subscribers.

I was looking for a website that is even half as good as you are in giving advice and reviews about programs before I download them. My saga begins when I was looking for a program that could compress a wmv file and/or convert it to an avi file.

When I searched for a program to do this, I got many hits. However, after couple of hours I got more and more frustrated with the information these sites gave me, so I gave up.

The first big problem what was that when I looked at the reviews, they were given by a company that made software to do this, so of course they gave their products rave reviews compared to other products. I could not find any independent websites to give an honest review such as you do.

The second problem was websites who advertise free downloads. If I had my way, I would block them for misleading information. They could indeed be downloaded and then installed on the computer. It was only after spending a lot of time downloading the file that I wanted to convert that I received the error message that the file was too big, but if I still wanted to continue, I could purchase the full program.

I apologize for such a long message but, I am sure you will have heard similar complaints from many people who like me would very much appreciate your help. I wish you good health during this difficult time that we are all going through. Regards, Stanley.

Our answer
Hi Stanley. Thanks for your nice comments.

The problem you detail has been a problem that has faced every single person who has ever searched for software. The worst thing you can do is search for a program and just accept the results. You really have to hone your search skills... I'm lucky as I learned this lesson long ago - Darcy used to call me the king of search.

If I wanted to convert an audio file from one format to another, I would look for an online converter. By using the search term (without quotes) "convert wmv to avi online" I came up with this site:

https://cloudconvert.com/wmv-to-avi

One way I know that site is legit is they offer services for which they charge. Plus, I've used this site before. This is the self-description they offer...

CloudConvert is your Swiss army knife for file conversions. We support nearly all audio, video, document, ebook, archive, image, spreadsheet, and presentation formats. Plus, you can use our online tool without downloading any software.

I don't know what the size of your file is, and I don't know what, if any file size limits CloudConvert's free service has. They have a pricing schedule where you can but 500 minutes of conversion time for $8.00 (U.S.) with unlimited file size (5 gigabytes is the theoretical limit).

We know from experience that downloading most free YouTube converters, file converters, music converters, etc. is an invitation to download software bundled with PUPs or malware. These days more than 50% of freeware seems to be compromised in some way.

And you have to be careful of download sites too. CNET/Download.com, Softonic, Tucows, and many other have been known to take good, clean, free software and bundled it with other software (PUPs/malware/questionable software). There are several you can trust, for instance www.snapfiles.com is the one I trust most, followed by www.majorgeeks.com. I rarely venture from those sites unless I find a good developer who offers software from his/her own site and who does not play whack-a-mole with download buttons.

Finding good, free, software is like walking through a minefield. You really have to be cautious and wary and you have to hone your search skills so you're more likely to come up with good, reliable, and safe search results.

I hope this helps you, Stanley, but if not, let me know.
----------------
Stanley wrote back: "Wow! That was quick. As always you have really helped me. Why can't you offer a paying service that would give advice in a similar way to the information I received now? I would definitely consider using this. In the long run it would save a lot of time and frustration. I have no doubt that there are many others who feel the same. Keep safe and well. Stanley."

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Erik has a question about SSDs (Solid State Drives)
Hi Darcy and TC. I want to change my SSD drive for a bigger one. I ask your opinion about the different possibilities ... do you think it is a good idea for a CRUCIAL - SSD Internal - P1 - 1To - M.2 Nvme (CT1000P1SSD8) ($125) or the regular SSD? Is the Nvme really much faster than a regular SSD? My motherboard is equipped for an Nvme SSD. But I will only decide after your opinion

Our answer
Hi Erik. According to people who worry about this kind of stuff -- NVMe can deliver sustained read/write speeds of 2000MB per second, much faster than the SATA SSD III, which has read/writes speeds of 600MB per second. So yes, NVMe is much faster than a standard SATA SSD.

So, there you have it. If you have a need for speed, then the Crucial NVMe is faster. Whether you'll notice the difference is whole other animal. Once things seem "instant", it's hard for human beings to differentiate between instant and "more instant".

And just in case you're interested A 7200 RPM HDD (standard hard drive) has a read/write speed of 120MB per second.

Hope this helps you, Erik.

Donald wants to block spam
I am getting a lot of spam emails that I want to block. My ISP allows me to enter either an email address OR a domain in order to block that spam in the future. In many of the spam email addresses the email address is preceded by some words that are in quotes. If I enter the words in quotes will that block all spam emails that begin with those words??

Our answer
Hi Donald. I'm afraid you're fighting a losing battle trying to block spam by email address or domain. Spammers forge email headers and rarely send spam from the same domain or email address.

Since you have a Gmail account, you can control spam the way we control spam which is about 98% effective. We get hundreds of mails each week and rarely ever see a spam email come into our inboxes.

Here's how we do it and you can do it this way too. I can tell you from experience, if you do it this way, you'll get very little spam (if any) coming to your inbox. And you'll rarely find a "good" email in your spam folder.

I hope this helps you, Donald.

Beverley lost her Internet connection
I was working away one night and out of the side of my eye I saw some kind of light and bingo I had no more internet. It was totally gone when I looked down at the bottom bar of my computer. There is nothing there. Can this be fixed to install internet somehow or what has to be done. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It is not the computer that I am using to send you this as this is a very old one that I resurrected to keep me going till I can get me sick computer fixed.

Thanks TC, I really appreciate all the help you have given me over the years. I am not good with words so I hope you can understand what kind of a major problem I have. Beverley.

Our answer
Hi Beverley. Thanks so much.

It sounds like your network card or wireless card stopped working - but I'm not sure about the 'flash' of light though.

If you're using a wireless connection you can buy a USB Wi-Fi adapter for around $25 that will fix your problem if the wireless network card has gone bad. See our article here.

If you were using a wired connection (Ethernet), and you don't want to open the case and replace the network interface card, you can by a USB network interface for Ethernet connections for around $20. See this page.

I hope this answers your questions, if not, let us know.

Angie says her computer shuts down if she's not online
Hi. If I am not online, my computer shuts down after a few moments. How can I change it so it stays un until I shut it down?

Our answer
Hi Angie. Right-click on the start button, click Power Options. Under Power Options change the number of minutes under Screen to a larger number and under "Sleep" change it to "Never".

Let me know if this helps you.
------
Angie wrote back: "It worked! Thank you again. It's so simple if you know what you are doing. It works great! Angie."

Sue needs to clear her backup drive but she's having a problem
Hi, I have gained so much insight from you in all these years and am so grateful you are still here for us! I have a question about File History and backups. My external drive is full (hopefully with backups) and now I need to delete most of it so I can continue to back up. I've tried a couple of things that I found on the internet which haven't worked, I get an error: "Could not clean up File History data. Element not found". Is there another way I can get rid of these files and not have to mess with having to repair Win 10 which was a suggestion?

Thanks so much, I always feel you'll have the answer :)

Our answer
Hi Sue. You can right-click on the external (backup) drive and choose Format. Do a quick format on the drive, then set up File History again on that drive. You might need to reset File History for it to work correctly again.

If you do need to reset File History, see this page.

We hope this helps you, Sue.
--------------
Sue wrote back: "Oh my gosh, TC, thank you so very much!! Of course, formatting!! 😊 Thanks for the link as well. Honestly, I hope you and Darcy know just how very much you are needed & appreciated, how you have saved our hair from being pulled out and our computers from being invaded. You consistently smarten us up for scams and safe downloads. I can’t thank you enough. I’ll be making a donation today! Sue."

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Windows Secrets
Windows 10 (all versions0

1 – Copying the content of Windows dialog box.

Do you want to copy the contents of Windows dialog box? Just click anywhere inside the box, press Ctrl + C, open Notepad and press Ctrl+V.

2 – Navigate to your “home” folder in Windows.

The Windows 10 your home folder is the default folder for your username which contains folders like “Pictures”, “Music”, “Documents” etc. Would you like to get to your “home folder” fast? Press the Windows Key + R and type “.” in the Run dialog, then press Enter. That’s quotation mark, period, quotation mark – just to make it clear. This takes you right to your home folder – just like that.

3 – Want to see your system information?

Press Windows Key + R

In the run dialog type MSINFO32

Press Enter.

4 -- Find out the date Windows was installed.

Type CMD in taskbar search and then press Enter to open the Command Prompt.

At the prompt type:

systeminfo | find /i “Original”

Press Enter.

Above: Windows 10 was originally installed on this computer on 11 March 2020 – or here in America, 3/11/2020.

Please note: If you’ve reinstalled Windows this will give you the date you re-installed Windows and not the original date Windows was installed. But it’s still a great way to see how “old” your current Windows installation is.

Please feel free to copy & paste the commands. It must be entered exactly as shown or, boo hoo, it won’t work.

Want more tips, tricks, and information?

We have thousands of Windows tips, tricks, and more on our InfoAve web site.

Subscribe to our free InfoAve Daily newsletter.

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Find Out if Your Email Address Has Been Breached

Earlier this month (February 2021) over three billion user credentials were posted online as part of a data breach mega-compilation known as COMB. COMB, or the “Compilation of Many Breaches,” is not a new breach, it’s a hacker super database that combines stolen user data from past and present online breaches.

Now there’s a way you can find out if your email address and related personal information are included in COMB. Unfortunately, using the Cybernews tool, I found one of my email addresses was listed as one stolen in the “350 m” email leak.

Luckily, for me, it’s one I rarely use for anything. Even though I rarely use it, I did take the time to change the password as well as the password for the one account for which I used that email address.

I will tell you this much, it was a Yahoo email address, the only Yahoo address I still have. I should have heeded our own advice and deleted that Yahoo address long ago.

Do you want to know if your email address has been breached?

If you want to find out if your email address(es) and related personal information are listed in COMB or the “Compilation of Many Breaches” head on over to this Cybernews page and see if your email address(es) are among the over two billion stolen email addresses.

Besides the search box where you can enter the email address you want to check; you’ll find more information about the tool and some excellent safety tips you can put into action.

Here’s part of what you find on the Cybernews page.

February is the Longest Month of the Year

February is the longest month of the year. And here I am stuck smack dab in the middle of February.

The calendar says that February is the shortest month but it seems like the longest month to me. February this year, like most years, has twenty-eight days. By the time it is over, it will seem like sixty-two days; at least to those of us who live in the Northern part of the United States.

According to the calendar, spring in my neck of the woods begins on March 20th. But where I live it doesn’t really begin until sometime in late April. Some years it takes until May to get here.

When spring doesn’t begin until April or May and winter starts creeping into my little town in mid-October, that doesn’t leave much time for summer, does it?

February is a cruel, cold month. It is the mean, odious stepmother of months. It leads us into March – when spring is supposed to begin. March is nothing if not a big tease.

The calendar keeps telling me that spring begins on March 20th. But I know better. I was born at night, but not last night. Spring does not begin in March. At least not here in my little town.

February is a month of wall-to-wall clouds...

Please read the rest of this essay here. 

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We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly. Thanks so much for your support and for being an InfoAve Weekly subscriber.

With hope and prayers, may you and your loved ones stay safe and well.

Your friends at Cloudeight,

Darcy and TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #906
Volume 18 Number 16
February 19, 2021 

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