Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - A weekly computer publication featuring tips, tricks, website & freeware picks, answers to your computer questions and more!

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Bev wants to know whether to allow Windows to update drivers
Windows update is asking me to update my laptop manufacture's (HP) drivers. I know you have said not to tinker with drivers but in this case, it specifically says for my HP laptop. Three items are listed...

1. HP keyboard-standard 101/102 - key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 keyboard for Hotkey support
2. HP -image-40.11.1137.17149 &
3. Intel-system 11.7.0.1002.

Should I ignore this notification? Thank you, Bev.

Our answer
Hi Bev. Our rule is to never update drivers unless something is not working correctly. So, we suggest you ignore the Windows notification and then configure Windows Update so it does not attempt to update drivers automatically. See our post here to learn how to turn off Windows 10 driver updates.

We hope this helps you, Bev.

Marie has trouble moving files... she tends to lose them
Good morning. I use File Explorer to move files. Could you please tell me how to get something back? For example: I am opening a RAR file and now I want to move both files,, but when I try to move them, I lose them. How do I get them back? Thanks, Marie.

Our answer
Hi Marie. I cannot tell you how to get the two files you moved back, because I don't know where you moved them to. But I know that it can be frustrating trying to copy/move files by dragging them. It's very easy to lose or misplace files.

There are better ways to copy or move files - and you'll always know where they went because you choose the location you want to move them to (the destination folder).

1.) Add "Copy to and Move to" to your right-click menu

The easiest way to move/copy file from one place to the other is to add "Copy to/Move to" to your right-click menu. That way when you right-click on a file you want to move, you can select Move to and choose the destination (the location you want to move it to). Here's our easy tutorial showing you how to put "Copy to" and "Move to" on your Windows 10 right-click menu.

2.) Use File Explorer to easily copy and move files

There's another way to copy and/or move files that is already available to all Windows 10 users. You can use File Explorer to copy and/or move files. But you have to do it the right way and trying to drag files from one location to another is not the right way.

Below is a screenshot showing the "Move to" and "Copy to" feature of Windows 10's File Explorer. You can read our tutorial here that shows you how to use File Explorer to easily copy or move files from one location to another on your PC or to an external drive.

Now you know 2 easy ways to move files (or copy files) from one place to another without losing them in the process.

We hope this helps you, Marie.

Michael wants a disposable email address
Is there a site you recommend getting a disposable email address, so we can read the articles (and sites) that require an email address?

Our answer
Hi Michael. All "temporary" email address sites work in basically the same way. You create a temporary email address and use that address when you don't want to use your real email address when site requires you to sign up for an account.

Temporary email address sites allow you to check mail sent to your temporary address -- which is important since some sites will require you to "validate" your email address by clicking a link in the initial sign-up email. Once you establish that your email address is "real" your account is activated.

Here are three temporary email sites that seem legit to us:

https://www.guerrillamail.com/

https://temp-mail.org/en/

https://mailpoof.com/

There are many others, but we've checked these three for you.

We hope this helps you, Michael.

Sharon K. is looking for a free backup program for Windows 10
Hi. I'm looking for a free backup for windows 10.

Our answer
Hi Sharon. Windows 10 comes with an excellent backup app called "File History". It's both reliable and easy to use. Like all backups, it requires that you have an external hard drive or a second internal hard drive.

It only takes a few minutes to set up File History and for most people the default settings will work just fine. See our tutorial on how to set up File History here.

File History backs up all your personal files including pictures, documents, music, videos, desktop, favorites, and more.

We hope this helps you, Sharon.

Laura wants the People app back on her Windows 10 Start menu
Hi you two amazing people. Hope you are well and safe! I hope you can help me with this problem. All of a sudden, the tile I had on my Start screen for PEOPLE has disappeared, and People does not show on my start list.

I have tried searching for People or My People, or Contacts, and can't find it anywhere. When I email, I still get addresses finished as I start typing a name, so I know the list is still "out there". How do I check if "People" app is "On" and get the tile for it back on my Start menu??? I am old and NOT tech savvy, so I'm lost. Can you help? Did it disappear because of an "update" or some mysterious glitch???? HELP, please. All my other apps tiles are still there just fine, thank goodness. I'd sure appreciate your assistance! Laura

Our answer
Hi Laura. Thank you! For reasons known only to those at Microsoft, the People app has been removed from the Windows 10 Start menu - and there is no way we know of to put it back. But you can do this however...

Right-click on your taskbar

Click on "Show People on the taskbar".

You can turn on the People widget and/or make adjustments to it by doing this:

1. Right-click on the taskbar.

2/ Choose Taskbar settings

3. Scroll down to "People"

4. You can modify and change the settings for People there.

Candace has warnings popping up, but Emsisoft shows nothing wrong
Good morning. Hope you can help me. Attached are pictures of warnings that are popping up since yesterday. I haven’t clicked on anything yet. Emsisoft shows that I am protected, but I scanned anyway, and it didn’t come up with anything. Can I delete them? Thanks much.

Our answer
Hi Candace. These are fake virus warnings apparently coming from something in your Chrome browser or from its history/cache. To get rid of these false warnings, reset Chrome.

Instructions to reset Chrome and clear the cache and history are here.

Once you reset Chrome and restart your computer, you should not see any more warnings.
-------------
Candace wrote back: "TC. Thanks for your quick response – it is very much appreciated. I reset Chrome as soon as I received your email and so far, the warnings have not appeared. Again, thanks! Candace."

Sharon A. wants "Copy to" and "Move to" back on her Windows 10 right-click menu
Would you please tell us again how to put “copy to” and “move to” back on our Windows 10 right-click menu? I've lost these options after Windows 10 21H1 (May 2021 Update). Thank you!

Our answer
Hi Sharon. Visit this Cloudeight page. The article explains how to put "Copy to" and "Move to" back on the Windows 10 right-click menu. Download the zip file and open it. It contains two small reg files. Right-click on each (one at time) and choose "Merge" from the menu. You will a prompt and a warning continue at the prompt and ignore the warning. You can trust these files since we wrote them ourselves. One you've merged the reg files you'll have "Copy to" and "Move to" back on your Windows 10 right-click menu... at least until the next version update of Windows 10.

Carole lost her sound after a Windows update
I have lost the sound on my PC. I think it has happened after the latest update. The speakers are working okay. Please help! Your info newsletters are so good. I have followed you for years. Thanks, Carole.

Our answer
Hi Carole. Losing sound on a PC can be caused by dozens of things and can be difficult to diagnose and fix. It could be the sound card, it could be a driver or driver, it could be many things.

So, let's try 2 simple fixes before going into panic mode...

1. Turn off your computer - all power off - for five minutes. Power on your computer and start it up. Check your sound.

2. If you still have no sound...

--- Right-click the Start button and click "Settings"

--- In Settings click on "System" then "Sound"

--- In the Sound settings dialog - under "Sound" make sure the volume slider is turned to 100 and check to see if you hear any sound.

--- If not, under the volume slider you'll see a button labeled "Troubleshoot". Click that button and follow the instructions. Windows 10 now uses AI to help troubleshoot problems. I have used the troubleshooter to repair sound on a couple of computers, so I know it does work. And the new troubleshooters in Windows 10 use artificial intelligence (AI) to help solve problems so they work much better than they used to.

We can fix your computer while you watch. You never have to leave your home. Just sit back, relax, and watch us work. Get PC service from folks you trust at the best prices you'll find anywhere.

How to Save Text files, Word Documents, Pictures, and more as PDF Files
Windows 10 (all versions)

How would you like to be able to convert many different types of files such as images, Word documents, text files, etc., as PDF files without downloading and installing a single program or using a web service? If you're using Windows 10 (any version), you have the power to convert files to PDF format, right at your fingertips.

Let's convert an image file to PDF,

Pick an image, any image, on your PC, open it with whatever program you like (or whatever your default is). Once it's open, press CTRL+P and choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the selected printer and then click Print.

Cloudeight InfoAve Windows Tips and Tricks

(Above: Print dialog in our default image viewer, IrfanView. Your image program will have a similar print dialog.)

Let's convert a text file to PDF,

Pick a text file, any text file, open it. Now press CTRL + P and choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the selected printer and then click Print.

Cloudeight InfoAve Windows Tips and Tricks

(Above: Print dialog in Notepad.)

Let's convert a Word document to PDF.

Pick a Word document, any Word document, open it. CTRL + P and choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" as the selected printer and then click Print.

Are you seeing a pattern here? You can turn almost any image, text file, or document into a PDF file, without downloading any software or using any online web apps. It easy to do, and if you're using Windows 10 you have this option available to you without using anything other than the features of Windows 10.

What to Do When You Need to Close Your Browser in a Hurry
Windows 10 (all versions). All popular browsers

This is to remind you how to close a browser that has become unresponsive or when you click something malicious and suddenly, you’re faced with a tech support scam popup or another malicious popup.

CTRL+F4

We’ll do the easiest one first. If you just want to close the current tab (the one you’re viewing), just press CTRL+F4. This is a quick and easy way to close the tab you’re viewing. This may come in handy if you can’t close the tab normally.

ALT+F4

If your browser is frozen or you have run into malicious scam popup, you may not be able to close the tab. In this case, while your browser is open and you’re looking at it (it’s in focus) try using ALT+F4.

Task Manager

If neither of the above work for you try opening Task Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC) and look in the processes tab. You can right-click on any browser process and choose “End process”. Keep in mind there may be several processes running for the same browser. You need right-click on each and choose “End process”.

Taskkill

Even easier to use is Taskkill. Open a command prompt:

On Windows 10, type CMD in taskbar search and press Enter.

At the prompt in the Command prompt window, type the following (remember these commands must be typed exactly as far as spacing goes – they are not case sensitive though).

Cloudeight Browser tips -Taskkill

To close all instances of Chrome type:

Taskkill /im chrome.exe /f

To close all instances of Firefox type:

Taskkill /im firefox.exe /f

To close all instances of Microsoft Edge type:

Taskkill /im micosoftedge.exe /f

To close all instances of Internet Explorer type:

Taskkill /im iexplore.exe /f

Keep this in mind - when you close your browser using ALT + F4 or Taskkill, and you reopen your browser, most browsers will attempt to restore the tabs that were open when you forced it to close.

If you’re trying to get away from a tech support scam or other malicious popup or advertisement, the last thing you want to do is let your browser restore the tabs/pages that were open. If you allow that you’re likely to find yourself caught in a never-ending circle. Never allow your browser to restore the tabs that were open when you force your browser to close to stop a scam, popup advertisement or other incidents.

Restart your computer...

Finally, you always have the option to restart your computer if you run into something bad on the internet. That will close all open programs. Again, remember, if you force your browser to close by restarting your computer to get away from a problem you’ve run into on the Web, don’t allow your browser to reopen the pages that were open when you forced the browser to close.

Now you know what to do the next time you run into a tech support scam popup that tells you your computer has 9 million viruses and if you close the scam ad all your files will be erased – and telling you to call 1-800-XXX-MMMM to fix your computer. You will know what to do — right?

Maximize Precious Taskbar Real Estate
Windows 10 (all supported versions)

Taskbar real estate is like ocean-front property. It’s valuable. Every icon or item on your taskbar should be something you use often. And having icons on your taskbar should be a quick and easy way to launch your favorite apps and programs.

Let’s look at the taskbar above. Does your Windows 10 taskbar look like this? That huge search box takes up the space of several icons. And Cortana and Task View are two things I don’t use – do you?

Let’s start by trimming down that huge search box. You really don’t need it to search from the taskbar.

Cloudeight Windows 10 Tips

Right-click in the search box. Then hover over “Search” and you’ll see the option to “Show search icon”. If you search using the taskbar search often as I do, the search icon will work just as well as that big search box did and take up only a fraction of the space.

I never use Cortana. If you don’t either, why have it hanging around the taskbar taking up valuable space? Get rid of the Cortana icon by right-clicking on it and deselecting the “Show Cortana button” from the menu.

Cloudeight Windows 10 Tips

When is the last time you used the Task View icon? Ever? Someone at Microsoft thought it was a grand idea. I never use it. Maybe I’m missing something. If you do not use Task View either, why have its icon using up space on the taskbar? Get rid of it, I tells you!

Right-click on the Task View icon and deselect it from the menu that pops up.

Cloudeight Windows 10 Tips

Now look:

BEFORE

Cloudeight Windows 10 Tips

AFTER

Cloudeight Windows 10 Tips

Instead of using up the precious taskbar space with things that I don’t use and by replacing the large taskbar search box with an icon, I have a lot more room for the apps, programs, and shortcuts I use most often - and they are right at my fingertips.

Want more tips, tricks, and information?

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Cloudeight InfoAve Premium -Tips & Tricks

Find the Best Software Alternatives at AlternativeTo

This is about evolution – no, not the kind you argue about with atheists and astrophysicists, but about software evolution. Remember when Bill Gates was a skinny geeky, god-like creature who ruled over the world of desktop PCs like a skinny, male schoolmarm with funny glasses – deciding for us what we’d like and then, just like the Wizard of Oz only doling out tidbits, crumbs of things we almost liked but never really did?

Remember when Steve Jobs got fired and came back to Apple and stuck a penny in his ear and invented the iPod and became the darling of the tech world. Oh, ’twas so long ago and far away when we were all younger than today.

For whatever reason, a lot of software gets worse with each new version. What was wrong with Windows XP? Nothing. But everyone had it, and if everyone has something they like, they don’t want anything new.

But Microsoft needs you to buy new things so they can meet the Wall Street forecasts and the executives can get bonuses, buy yachts, and fancy cars and private jets, while the rest of us grovel around like fuzzy little peasants tapping on keyboards looking at the latest incarnation of Bill Gate’s Windows. Microsoft peers down at us peasants saying, “Let them eat cake!” Such arrogance. Still, we grovel and push our little mice around and spend our time searching for the start button. Windows 10 is free but comes with telemetry tracking so Microsoft can make zillions off our habits. What was wrong with Windows XP?

And so it goes with software evolution. Newer is not necessarily better. In fact, most of the time it’s not better. It’s worse. How many freeware programs are no longer free? How many freeware programs have become bundled with malware like a lonely crumb of meat in a large cheese and bean burrito? Perhaps we really are peasants groveling for a voice – a voice that says, GIVE ME THE SOFTWARE I WANT AND NOT THE SOFTWARE YOU WANT ME TO HAVE!

If you are one of the many who have watched your favorite programs devolve into senseless programs managed by ribbons and toolbars that make no sense, don’t give up — search for an alternative.

Our feature site pick today is AlternativeTo. And its name is as descriptive as I’ll ever get. So, because I’m tired, full of beer, and yawning, I’m going to turn this article over to Mr. Alternative and Miss To – and let them fill you in, okay?

About AlternativeTo…

AlternativeTo is a free service that helps you find better alternatives to the products you love and hate.

The site is made by Ola and Markus in Sweden, with a lot of help from our friends and colleagues in Italy, Finland, USA, Colombia, Philippines, France, and contributors from all over the world. That’s right, all the lists of alternatives are crowd-sourced, and that’s what makes the data powerful and relevant.

Feel free to send us your questions and feedback at hello@alternativeto.net, in our forums or on social media.

We have one mission: helping you find the right software for your computer, mobile phone or tablet. Our main focus is to give you alternatives to software you already know and want to replace. Based on our users’ recommendations we list great alternatives to the applications you want to replace. By joining the site, you can participate in the process of making these recommendations better, so please join in!

Stay updated

There are numerous ways to follow AlternativeTo and to keep in touch. Join our Discord server, follow @AlternativeTo on Twitter, follow our page on Facebook, and you can of course send us regular e-mails on hello@alternativeto.net.

Terms & Privacy policy

AlternativeTo knows that you care about how your personal information is used and we take your privacy very seriously. More about that in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Some screenshots for you!

Cloudeight Site Pick - AlternativeTo

Searching for an alternative to Microsoft Word yielded seventy-nine alternatives.

Cloudeight Site Pick - AlternativeTo

Searching for an alternative to Adobe Flash Player for those who can’t live without it gave us eleven alternatives.

Cloudeight Site Pick - AlternativeTo

If your favorite programs have devolved into huge hairless apes with too many buttons and knobs – and when you run them they suck up all your RAM and CPU cycles – perhaps it’s time you found a good alternative by visiting our Cloudeight Site Pick, AlternativeTo.

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