If you're not getting our InfoAve Daily newsletter, you're missing out on a lot of good stuff!

It's free and it only takes a few seconds to sign up. We'd love to have you with us. Visit this page to sign up for our Cloudeight InfoAve Daily Newsletter./ 

This is your last chance to get a Cloudeight SeniorPass

To provide all our SeniorPass holders exceptional service - we will only be offering our SeniorPasses through 12/31/23. Your last chance to get a Cloudeight SeniorPass is right now during our Christmas sale ... plus you'll save $10. Our Cloudeight SeniorPass is valid for unlimited computer care & repair for one computer for 365 days - starting with the first time you use it. The clock does not start ticking until you use your SeniorPass for the first time.

Having a SeniorPass is just like having insurance for your computer. With a Cloudeight SeniorPass you can get help with almost any computer problem whenever you need it and as often as you need it. Plus, our SeniorPass gives you the option of Anytime Support! If you request it, we can set up unattended support for you so all you have to do when you need help is just let us know. We're here to help you. PLUS...during our Christmas Sale when you purchase our SeniorPass we'll give you a lifetime license for Reg Organizer FREE!

Get a Cloudeight SeniorPass while you still can and save $10 too!

Remember... we will not be offering SeniorPasses after 12/31/23. Get yours now and save $10!

Our Christmas SeniorPass sale price is good through December 27, 2023.

Jess wants to cancel NordPass...
How can I cancel my subscription to NordPass?

Our answer
Hi Jess.  We have neither recommended nor have anything to do with Nord Pass. I did not even know what it was until I looked it up. It's a password manager made by Nord. The only password managers we recommend are LastPass, RoboForm, and Bitwarden.

Sharon has questions about using public Wi-Fi
Hi TC and Darcy.  I have a question for you. When I go onto an unsecured network, like at a hotel or library, etc., if I go to a site and my password is automatically entered by the browser, does that mean I can go to my bank or credit union safely because I have not physically typed in the password info? Until now I've just switched my laptop's internet connection to my phone's hotspot, after taking my phone off the motel's Wi-Fi and going cellular.

At one time, also, I think you recommended a VPN. Could you give me the website or article where you did that?

Thanks, and happy holidays and Merry Christmas to you too!  Sharon.

Our answer
Hi Sharon. No, using a browser-based login or a password manager does not keep you safe on public Wi-Fi. You should never connect to a bank or credit card company without using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). We don't recommend using a VPN at home but when you're using public Wi-Fi such as at a hotel, restaurant, airport, etc. it's very important that you use a VPN - especially when connecting to sites that deal with money or personal info -such as banks, credit cards, online shopping, government sites (IRS, Social Security), etc.

The easiest and best way to do this is to use a browser extension that you can easily turn on and off.  Here are a few we've tested:

 

CyberGhost for Chrome & Edge (also works with most other Chromium-based browsers like Opera & Brave)

 

CyberGhost for Firefox

 

Touch VPN for Chrome & Edge  (also works with most other Chromium-based browsers like Opera & Brave)

 

Touch VPN for Firefox

 

The best thing about a browser-based (browser extension) VPN is that you can turn it on and off when you need it. Free VPNs can slow down your browsing so you won't want to use it at home and that's OK  because you don't need a VPN at home despite all the advertising you see saying that you do.  But these free VPNs work well enough to do banking, shopping, etc. when using public Wi-Fi - but you probably won't want to use them for streaming while on public Wi-Fi - but that's okay because if all you are doing is streaming a movie on Public Wi-Fi you don't need a VPN.

 

I hope this helps you, Sharon. If you have any more questions or if I didn't make something clear, just let me know.

 

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas! 

Emsisoft With Free Installation and Setup by Cloudeight.

Here's your chance to get Emsisoft award-winning anti-malware and antivirus protection plus free installation and configuration by Cloudeight Direct. This special offer includes a one-year single PC license for Emsisoft Anti-Malware/Antivirus, complete removal of your current antivirus software, and installation and configuration of your Emsisoft Anti-Malware and antivirus program by Cloudeight Direct Computer Care.

Our regular price for Emsisoft with Cloudeight Installation is $45 With our Christmas Special, you can get Emsisoft plus FREE Cloudeight Installation and setup for just $29. You save $16 and you'll have the peace of mind of knowing your computer is protected by Emsisoft's world-class protection and that it's installed and set up correctly Get more information and/or buy Emsisoft with free Cloudeight Installation for just $29 here.

Our Emsisoft + Free Installation and set-up is a great deal. Take advantage of our Christmas sale and protect your computer with Emsisoft - the same security software we use on all our business and personal computers.  This special offer of Emsisoft with free installation and set-up and a one-year Emsisoft license for just $29 is available only for a very short time.

This offer applies to single-PC Emsisoft licenses only.

GET YOURS NOW!

Our Christmas Sale prices are good through December 27, 2023.

Our answer
Hi Terry. If you ask a question in Copilot, you can copy the answer the same way you copy the question/answer by clicking the copy button in Copilot or you can copy the text the same way as you copy text from anywhere else by highlighting the text and right-clicking on it and choosing "Copy" from the right-click context menu. You can paste the copied text into an email, text file, Word doc, PDF file, etc. by using the Ctrl + v shortcut. Once you've pasted the text, you can edit it any way you like.

 

We hope this helps you, Terry.

Kay wants to block annoying pop-up ads
Lately, I have been having problems with Google Ads popping up on various sites, one of which is your site.  Is there a good way to stop the ads from popping up?  Thank you for your assistance!

Our answer
Hi Kay. We recommend uBlock Origin - it does a great job of blocking ads and much more. See our recommendation here - the article contains download links too. 

Let us know if you have any more questions.

During our Cloudeight Christmas Sale, when you buy a Cloudeight Direct Computer Care repair key, we'll give you one FREE. That's right! From now through December 27, 2023, when you buy one Cloudeight Direct Computer Care repair key for $50, we'll give you a second one free!.

With our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care service, we connect directly to your computer via the Internet to fix your computer problems, remove viruses or malware, optimize your PC, and more. You never have to leave your home or leave your computer with a stranger. You'll be invited to watch us while we fix your Windows computer. And, we can fix your computer regardless of where you live. Our Cloudeight Direct Service is available worldwide. We offer world-class computer care services from the company you trust.

Take advantage of our Christmas Buy One Get One free special NOW!

Our Christmas Sale prices are good through December 27, 2023.

Use These Handy Keyboard Shortcuts with Your Favorite Browser and Give Your Mouse a Break!
For everyone who browses the Web

Keyboard shortcuts are great for those who don’t like using a mouse. They can also save you time. So, we’ve put together this list of browser shortcuts that work with the most popular browsers. So even if you’re a mouse lover, isn’t it time you gave your mouse a break?

These shortcuts work on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and other popular browsers.

* Shift+Escape opens the browser’s task manager. (This shortcut works with Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge)

* Ctrl+B toggles the bookmarks bar on and off.

* Ctrl+L moves your cursor to the address bar.

* Ctrl+K moves your cursor to the browser's address bar.

* Ctrl+T opens a new tab.

* Ctrl+N opens a new window.

* Ctrl+Shift+T reopens the last closed tab.

* Ctrl+Shift+N opens a new private window (“Incognito Mode" in Chrome (Works on all Chromium-based browsers like Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge.)

* Ctrl+Shift+P opens a private window in Mozilla Firefox and other Mozilla-based browsers like Pale Moon.)

* Ctrl+Tab cycles through all open tabs;

* Ctrl+Shift+Tab reverse cycles through all open tabs.

* Ctrl+J opens Downloads.

* Ctrl+W closes the currently open tab.

* Ctrl+R refreshes the current page.

* Ctrl+F5 refreshes the current page.

* Ctrl+H opens the browser’s History.

* Ctrl+1 through 9 switches to a particular open tab position.

* Ctrl++, Ctrl+-, Ctrl+0 Enlarges, reduces, and restores default text sizes.

* Page down button - Scroll down one screen on a webpage.

* Page up button - Scroll up one screen on a webpage.

And did you know…

You can use the up and down arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll up or down a webpage when browsing, instead of using your mouse. And, if you want to scroll up and down on a particularly long webpage you can click the Page Down button on your keyboard, which will scroll down the page in increments until you reach the bottom of the webpage. You can use the Page Up button to go back up to the top. If you want to go back to the top of the page from anywhere on the page – just hit the “Home” key. And if you are a bottom feeder, like TC, you can get to the bottom of the page quickly from anywhere on the page by pressing the “End” key.

So use these keyboard shortcuts and give your mouse a break – because even a mouse needs rest you know. 

Remember the Cipher Command
Windows 10 / Windows 11

The Cipher command has been around as long as Windows and is still an available command in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

When you delete files or folders, the data isn't removed from the hard drive. Instead, the space on the disk that was occupied by the deleted data is deallocated. After it's deallocated, the space is available to use when new data is written to the disk. Until the space is overwritten, you can recover the deleted data using data recovery software.

So, simply put, when you delete something on your computer, it's still there until the disk space occupied by whatever you deleted is overwritten by something else. Until that space is overwritten, the data you deleted is easily recoverable.

You can use the cipher command to overwrite the space that was occupied by deleted data thus making it unrecoverable. You can use the cipher command to overwrite deleted data on an entire drive or directory. The cipher command does not delete, change, or affect undeleted data. So, you can run the cipher command without affecting the undeleted data in directories or drives.

To overwrite all deleted data on an entire hard drive, type CMD into the taskbar search and press enter when you see Command Prompt appear.

To overwrite all deleted data on the C: drive, use the command:

CIPHER /W:C

Remember spaces are important.

It's the word CIPHER a space, a slash, a W, a colon, and the letter C (or the letter of the drive you want to clean)

The spaces in the command must be included. W:C means overwrite deleted data on drive C. If you want to overwrite the deleted data on drive E:\ then the command would be

CIPHER /W:E

To overwrite deleted data in a specific directory use the example command below. You can substitute the directory name in which you want to overwrite all deleted data. Below we're overwriting deleted data in the Documents folder. You can substitute any directory name (folder name) instead of Documents.

CIPHER /W:DOCUMENTS

Remember...any files or folders you delete on your Windows computer are not deleted, they can still be recovered until the space that was occupied by those files and folders is overwritten. If you want to make all your deleted files and folders unrecoverable, you can use the Cipher command to overwrite all deleted data.

NOTE: The Cipher command can take a very long time to complete - sometimes more than 12 hours depending on the size of the drive, the speed of the computer, the amount of free space to be overwritten, and the number of background programs. So run the Cipher command when you're not planning on using your computer for a while - like while you're sleeping... 

Two Gmail Tips: How and Why to Enable the Send and Archive Button; How to Set the Default Text Style in Gmail

Enable the Send & Archive button and keep your inbox cleaner

If your Gmail inbox contains a long list of emails that you’ve already replied to (and by default, they’ll stay in your inbox even after you’ve replied), here’s a tip that allows you to reply and archive an email simultaneously. So, when you reply to someone, their email is moved from the inbox to the “all mail” folder as soon as you hit the “Send & Archive” button.

So how do you get the “Send & Archive button”? Easy!

Open Gmail, click on the gear icon near the top right, and click “See all settings”.

Under the “General” tab, scroll down until you see “Show ‘Send & Archive’” and” tick the box next to the Show ‘Send & Archive button in reply.

Next: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Save changes”.

Now when you reply to an email using the Send & Archive button, the mail you replied to is moved out of your inbox and archived in the “All Mail” folder, making for a much less cluttered inbox… plus you will still have a copy of the mail in your Sent folder and the All Mail folder.

How to change the default text style (font) in Gmail

Open Gmail, click on the gear icon near the top right, and click “See all settings”.

Scroll down in “Settings” until you see “Default text style”.

Click the small down arrow next to the current font name to open the text style (font) menu.

When the menu opens, select the font you want to use as your Gmail default.

And don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the “Save changes” button or all your work will have been for naught!

Want more tips, tricks, and information?

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

Subscribe to our free InfoAve Daily newsletter.

Emsisoft One-Year Renewal with Cloudeight Direct PC Checkup just $29!

During our Christmas Sale when you renew a single PC Emsisoft license, we'll add 365 days to your current license, PLUS we will give you a Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Checkup key that you can use to schedule a computer checkup whenever you like - you can use it anytime. Our checkup includes checking your hard drive, checking your Windows services and startups, as well as checking your browser add-ons and extensions, your installed programs, and doing a deep scan to check for hidden problems. The free PC checkup applies to one PC only.

This special Christmas offer includes a one-year renewal license for Emsisoft Anti-Malware/Antivirus and a Cloudeight Direct Computer Care checkup key. The Cloudeight Direct checkup key never expires - it's good until you use it. You can use it any time your computer needs a checkup.

Our regular price for a one-year Emsisoft renewal is $25. You get the Cloudeight Direct Computer Checkup key plus a one-year Emsisoft renewal all for $29!

NOTE: This offer applies to Emsisoft single-PC license renewals only. 

Learn more and/or get your deal here.

Our Christmas Sale prices are good through December 27, 2023.

4000+ Free Christmas Wallpapers & Christmas Images

Since Christmas is fast approaching, we deemed it a great time to look for some free desktop wallpaper to use to spruce up our desktops for Christmas – as well as the holiday season. Our site pick today has over 4000 Christmas wallpapers and other holiday images you can use for your Christmas desktop or holiday projects. Far be it for us to tell you how to use the images and graphics for holiday projects.

All images are free but watch out for stock photo ads

But one thing we can tell you is all the images are free – unless you click on the images that are labeled “i-Stock”. or other stock photo sites you’ll see advertised on Pixabay. Those are not free.

So, before writing to me and telling me that all of these images are not free, make sure you’re not clicking on i-Stock or other stock photo sites which are ads disguised as non-ads and appear all over the site – especially when downloading the free images.

Also, the site can be irritating in asking for donations (I know, we do that too) and asking you to join the Pixabay group. But they’re easy to click off and you don’t have to join anything or do anything you don’t want to, to get any of the free Christmas images.  We figured the vast amount of free images they’re offering offset the annoyance.

Let’s move on to the fun stuff, shall we?

All of the images you see on this page are free and from our site pick Pixabay who tells me they have “4,061 Free images of Christmas Wallpapers”. Well, that’s what they say. I did not view all “4,061 Free images of Christmas Wallpapers”, but I spent a long time on the site browsing through, let’s say 577 of them. And I liked what I saw. I downloaded a dozen or so images and resized a few so you could get a glimpse of what awaits you.

Let’s take a look at some free Christmas wallpaper from Pixabay!

By now you should have a pretty good idea of what you’ll find when you visit our site pick. If you don’t have a good idea of what you’ll find by now, you should lay off that spiked eggnog!

When you click on the download button a couple of things pop up asking for donations and other stuff, but they’re easy to close. And when downloading the images you can choose from several sizes. When in doubt – especially for desktop wallpaper – choose the largest size.

OK, enough preambles and warnings and commentary…Are you ready to grab some free Christmas wallpaper and images for your holiday projects?

Visit Pixabay’s free Christmas Wallpaper and Christmas Images website right now.

And who knows, we may have more goodies for you before Christmas…

And speaking of Christmas, we used a Christmas image from Pixabay to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Don't need any of our products or services right now?

Help us keep on helping you!

When you support us with a small gift, you help us continue our mission to keep you informed, separate the truth from the hyperbole, and help you stay safer online. Plus, our computer tips make your computer easier to use.

Did you know that we provide support to thousands of people? Every week we help dozens of people via email at no charge. The questions and answers you see in our newsletters are from the email answers and help we provide to everyone free of charge.

Thanks to your gifts, we do a lot more than provide this free newsletter. We help you recognize online threats, fight for your online privacy, provide you with the knowledge you need to navigate the Web safely, provide you with suggestions for safe, free software and websites, and help you get more out of your PC.

Please Help us keep up the good fight with a small gift.

Interested in making an automatic monthly gift? Visit this page. Help us keep helping you... and help you stay safe on the Web. 

The Christmas Tree: The Real True Story

After doing some research, it’s obvious to me that, to this point, no one knew how this whole Christmas tree thing got started. It’s not like someone picked up a pen and kept notes. But I did some digging, and I can now tell you the real story of Christmas trees.

Back in the pagan days, before the birth of Christ, people would get crazy on the first day of winter and start jumping around and hooting and snorting and drinking barrels of rotten corn cob juice, which contained, among other contaminants, alcohol. These pre-Christian hooligans would get drunk, smoke rope, and jump around naked and intoxicated. 

In other words, they had a party.

Like some people in our modern society, they needed an excuse to drink, act insanely, canoodle, and carouse. They picked the shortest day of the year, also known as the winter solstice.

I would like to note here that we modern folks use St. Patrick’s Day, New Year’s Eve, anniversaries, birthdays, funerals, and whatever other occasions we figure we can get away with such foolishness and debauchery.

But that’s the way progress goes – people never get enough...

Read the rest of this essay here. 

See all our great money-saving Christmas deals on one page!

Our Christmas sale is going on now. You'll save on some of our most popular products and services!

And it's your last chance to get a SeniorPass. Don't miss out! Our Christmas sale only comes once a year...

Visit our Christmas Sale Home Page right now and save!

Our Christmas sale prices are good through December 27, 2023. 

What is the "active window"?

EB is cheap. She has a furnace but won't use it unless the outside temperature is below 32 F / 0 C). If it's above 32 she opens her windows to let in some fresh air. She claims she's hot-blooded. The window that catches the breeze is the active window. It is usually located on the windward side of the house. The other windows are open, but inactive since they are on the side of the house opposite from the direction of the wind. I always try to stay away from the active window so I don't freeze to death

NO NO NO... you want to know about the active window in Windows. Right? OK...

When two or more program windows are open on the desktop, only one of them can be the active window. The active window has some unique characteristics:

1. The active window is usually the window on top of all other windows. Inactive windows will be under the active window, so they won't cover up the active window. The only exception to this would be when you have one window selected as "Always on top"

2. In the taskbar the icon for the active window is highlighted with a brighter color.

3. The title bar for the active window is a different color than any of the inactive windows.

4. Anything you enter with the keyboard applies to the active window only. You can’t type or edit content in an inactive window.

Close the active window and turn on the heat, EB!

Sales of the following products and services help support our newsletters, websites, and free computer help services we provide.

Cloudeight Direct Computer Care: Single Keys, SeniorPass, or Season Tickets - always a great deal. Cloudeight Direct Computer Care is like having PC insurance. Get more information here.

Emsisoft Anti-Malware:  Emsisoft is the only Cloudeight-endorsed and recommended Windows security program. It provides users with a complete antivirus, antimalware, anti-ransomware, and anti-PUPs solution. We offer single Emsisoft licenses and multi-computer licenses at discount prices. Also, we offer our exclusive Emsisoft with Cloudeight installation & setup. Get more information here.

Reg Organizer: Reg Organizer is the Swiss Army Knife of Windows tools. It's far more than just a registry optimizer and cleaner... it's a Windows all-in-one toolkit. Reg Organizer helps you keep your computer in tip-top shape and helps you solve annoying Windows problems. Reg Organizer works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11! Get more information about Reg Organizer (and get our special discount prices) here.

SeniorPass - One year of Cloudeight Direct Computer Care - unlimited sessions! Get more information here.

Windows 10 Customization: Make Windows 10 look and work the way you want it to. Learn more.

MORE IMPORTANT STUFF!

Your InfoAve Weekly Members' Home Page is located here.

Print our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Flyer and spread the word about our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care repair services.  Get our ready-to-print flyer here.

Help us Grow! Forward this email newsletter to a friend or family member - and have them sign up for InfoAve Weekly here!

Get our free daily newsletter! Each evening we send a short newsletter with a tip or trick or a computer-related article - it's short and sweet - and free. sign up right now.

We have thousands of Windows tips and tricks and computer articles posted on our Cloudeight InfoAve website. Our site has a great search engine to help you find what you're looking for too! Please visit us today!

Help us by using our Start Page.  It costs nothing, and it helps us a lot.

Print our Cloudeight Direct Flyer and spread the word about our computer repair service! If you want to help us by telling your friends about our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care service, you can download a printable flyer you can hand out or post on bulletin boards, etc. Get the printable PDF Cloudeight Direct Computer Care flyer here.

We'd love to hear from you!

If you have comments, questions, a tip, a trick, a freeware pick, or just want to tell us off for something, let us know.

If you need to change your newsletter subscription address, please see "Manage your subscription" at the very bottom of your newsletter.

We received hundreds of questions for possible use in IA news. Please keep in mind we cannot answer all general computer questions. We try to personally answer as many as we can. We can only use a few in each week's newsletter, so keep this in mind. If you have a support question about a service or product we sell, please contact us here.

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter! Get computer tips & tricks every night. Our daily newsletter features a computer tip/trick or two every day. We send it out every night around 9 PM Eastern Time (USA). It's short and sweet, easy to read, and FREE. Subscribe to our Cloudeight InfoAve Daily Newsletter!



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

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a great weekend too... be safe!

Darcy & TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #1053
Volume 21 Number 7
December 15, 2023 

Not a subscriber? Subscribe to our FREE Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly Newsletter here.



"Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly" newsletter is published by:

Cloudeight Internet LLC
PO Box 73
Middleville, Michigan USA 49333-0073

Read our disclaimer about the tips, tricks, answers, site picks, and freeware picks featured in this newsletter.

Copyright ©2023 by Cloudeight Internet