Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly


Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly
Issue #1181
Volume 23, Number 32
May 29, 2026

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly Issue #1181. Thank you for subscribing and for being a part of our Cloudeight family. We appreciate your friendship and support very much! Please share our newsletters and our website with your friends and family.

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THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!

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.

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Leslie asks about Mechvibes and haptics
Hi, TC & Darcy. I was looking to see if my mouse supported haptics, but it doesn't. I found a mouse that does, but the Logitech mouse MX Master-4 is $119 bucks. A non-starter for me. Anyhow, I found a site called Mechvibes.com that has an app for haptics. It says you can keep it from tracking your keystrokes using a certain setting. It sounds really cool. If you have a minute, would you check it out and see if it is safe to use?

btw, TC, thanks for checking Mitchell's computer and mine. I so appreciate you.  Best, Leslie.

Our answer
Hi Leslie. Thanks!

Windows 11 haptics are about touch, while apps like Mechvibes are about sound. The upcoming Windows 11 haptics feature uses actual, physical technology. It relies on tiny, specialized motors built directly under the trackpad of premium new laptops. When you do something on the screen—like snap a window into place or align a picture—those motors give your fingertips a split-second pulse. It is completely silent, but your fingers physically feel the digital world "snap" or "click."
 
Apps like Mechvibes, on the other hand, are just clever audio tricks. They don't make your computer vibrate or change how the keys physically feel. Instead, the app just listens to what you type and plays a high-quality sound effect—like an old-school typewriter or a loud mechanical keyboard—through your speakers or headphones. It tricks your brain into thinking the typing is more satisfying, but it's entirely an illusion of sound. While Mechvibes is basically safe, it uses the same technology as key loggers used by miscreants to steal passwords. Mechvibes is legitimate, but it's not haptic - it's just a trick. While Mechvibes is safe, it uses the same technology hackers use to record keystrokes, so when you install it, you might get a warning from your security software.
 
It is also important to know that you cannot just buy a haptics-enabled mouse, plug it into an older or non-haptic Windows 11 computer, and expect it to work. For the operating system to send those subtle physical signals to your hand, the entire computer's motherboard and internal hardware must be natively built to support system-level haptics from the factory. Plugging in a fancy mouse into an older system won't activate the feature; the hardware on both ends has to be born to talk to each other.
 
I hope this answers your question and gives you more info about the upcoming Windows 11 haptics-enabled computers.

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Linda wants to create a memory from a wedding video

Hi Darcy and TC. I have video of my granddaughter's wedding from this weekend. I want to turn it into a memory for her. In your opinion, what would be the easiest way to go about it? I don't know what programs or services are out there now. You were my first thought since you're both always on top of everything!
 
Our answer
Hi Linda. First of all, congratulations to your granddaughter! What a beautiful gift to give her. And you'll be glad to know that you don't need to be a professional video editor to make something absolutely amazing for her.
 
Since you have raw video footage and want the easiest route possible, here are some programs and services available to you. You can choose based on how much of the work you want to do yourself.
 
Option 1: The "Do It For Me" Route (Video Montage Services)
 
If you don't want to mess with timelines, cutting clips, or syncing music, you can hand the footage over to a service that does it all for you. Try Momento.  It's incredibly user-friendly. You just upload your video clips, choose a theme and some background music, and their software stitches it together into a beautiful, seamless montage. See more at https://www.memento.com/.
 
Option 2: The "Smart AI" Route (Super Easy DIY)
 
CapCut (Phone, Tablet, or Computer) is the most popular video editor right now for a reason. It is completely free and has a feature called "AutoCut." You literally just select your wedding video clips, click one button, and the app automatically cuts them to the beat of whatever romantic background music you choose. It takes about five minutes. You can learn more at https://www.capcut.com/
 
Option 3: The "Classic" Route (Built into your computer)
 
If you want total control over putting the clips in a specific order, without installing anything new. Since you have a Windows PC, you can use Microsoft Clipchamp. This replaced Windows Movie Maker and is built right into Windows 11. It is incredibly visual, easy to understand, and lets you fade music in and out easily. Just type CLIPCHAMP in the taskbar search, and you will find it.
 
Hope this gives you some ideas and helps you make a beautiful memory for your granddaughter!

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Mildred asks about uninstallers

I read about downloading uninstallers. Doesn't Reg Organizer do the same thing? Hope both of you are doing okay. Mildred.
 
Our answer
Hi Mildred. Reg Organizer has a great uninstaller - and it has many other features as well. We always include freeware in our recommendations whenever we can, and there are a few good free uninstallers available, too, and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention them. But Reg Organizer comes with a top-notch uninstaller and a whole lot of other useful features and tools as well. Hope this clears things up for you, Mildred.

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Lee asks about Windows Storage Sense
Hi TC and Darcy. Just read an article about Windows 11 Storage Sense, which says that it is far better than any third-party cleaners like BleachBit, etc. Just wondering what your views are on it. Thanks. Lee.
 
Our answer
Hi Lee. It looks like the article you read got a few things mixed up. It confused freeing up disk space with protecting your privacy. While both tools delete files, they are built for completely different jobs. If you rely on Windows Storage Sense for privacy, you're leaving a lot of digital breadcrumbs behind. Here is the truth on how they actually compare: Windows Storage Sense is just for space. Storage Sense is a fantastic "set it and forget it" tool, but its only goal is to keep your hard drive from getting full. It ignores your browsers: It won't clear your Google Chrome, Edge, or Firefox history, cookies, or saved data. It ignores other apps: It doesn't touch the history or temporary files left behind by apps like Discord, Spotify, or Photoshop.

It doesn't actually erase data: When Storage Sense empties your Recycle Bin, the files aren't truly gone. They just sit on your drive until new data overwrites them, meaning anyone with basic recovery software could easily bring them back.

BleachBit is built to clear space and protect your privacy. It's specifically designed to cover your tracks and protect your data. It cleans everywhere. It hunts down history, caches, and logs for hundreds of different third-party apps and browsers that Windows completely ignores. It destroys files permanently.

BleachBit uses "secure shredding." Instead of just throwing a file in the trash, it overwrites the data with random junk so it can never be recovered by anyone.

If you just want to make sure your computer doesn't run out of room for Windows updates, Storage Sense is great. But if your goal is to wipe away tracking cookies, local app logs, and sensitive files so they are gone for good, Storage Sense won't cut it—you definitely want a dedicated privacy tool and cleaner like BleachBit.

Hope this helps you understand the difference between cleaning drive space and deep cleaning drive space while protecting your privacy.

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Cynthia needs a replacement for Movie Maker
I have recently upgraded to Windows 11 and lost Moviemaker in the process.  Your past article only mentions how to download Moviemaker for Windows 10.  Can you still use the same download advice for Windows 11?  If not, is there a free alternative similar to Moviemaker you could recommend?  Thank you for the time and effort you invest in your weekly newsletter to help your subscribers.  You are wonderful to share your expertise with all of us.  I'm a fan!
 
Our answer
Hi Cynthia. I understand the frustration of upgrading your computer only to find that a familiar, beloved program like Windows Movie Maker has vanished. It is a very common headache.

While our past advice for downloading Movie Maker worked beautifully and safely for Windows 10, I strongly recommend against using it on Windows 11. Microsoft officially retired Movie Maker and the Windows Essentials suite back in 2017. Because Microsoft no longer hosts the software, any website offering a download link today is a third-party site.

Unfortunately, many of these sites bundle that old installer with hidden malware, spyware, or viruses designed to compromise your brand-new Windows 11 system. Because Movie Maker hasn't been updated in nearly a decade, it does not understand modern video formats (like 4K video or the files created by modern smartphones). Trying to use it on Windows 11 often leads to frustrating, unexpected crashes, and you risk losing your hard work mid-project.

It didn't take long before Microsoft realized how much people missed Moviemaker, so they bought a modern, free successor to Moviemaker and included it with Windows 11. It is called Clipchamp. You have it on your computer right now. You can find it by opening your Windows Start menu, typing Clipchamp, and clicking on it to open the app.

You can edit and export unlimited videos in 1080p High Definition for free, with absolutely no watermarks over your footage.  Just like Movie Maker, it uses a very intuitive "drag-and-drop" timeline. You can drag your photos and videos into the app, trim them down with a single click, and seamlessly slide transitions between them.

Clipchamp includes a large, free built-in library of stock music and graphics. It even features an AI-powered text-to-speech generator and an automatic subtitle tool that writes out captions for your videos instantly. Think of Clipchamp as the old Windows Movie Maker, just with a modern interface and better security to help keep your new computer safe. I strongly recommend that you open it up and give it a try for your next project. I think you'll like it!

Again, thanks so much for your very kind words! I hope this helps you find a new favorite movie maker.

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Debbie wants to check the Secure Boot Certificate in Windows 10
In your Thursday tech post, there was an article in there about the "secure boot certificate" that is expiring. It tells you how to make sure to check that you have the “Secure Boot certificate” in Windows 11, but how do you check it in Windows 10? My Windows 10 is enrolled in the ESU.
Thank you in advance for keeping us all safe & fixing our computers!

Our answer
Hi Debbie. Thanks!

Because your Windows 10 machine is enrolled in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, it is actively receiving the necessary security servicing to transition from the expiring 2011 Secure Boot certificates to the new 2023 certificates before the June 2026 deadline.

To check—

Open the Start Menu and search for Windows Security.

Click on Device security from the left sidebar or the main dashboard.

Look for the Secure Boot section.

Check the badge and text:

Green Checkmark: A green badge with the text “Secure Boot is on, and all required certificate updates have been applied…” means your PC is fully updated and good to go.

Yellow Caution Badge: This means your PC knows an update is available, but it might be temporarily blocked by an outdated BIOS/firmware limitation. You will need to check your PC manufacturer’s website for a BIOS update.

 hope this helps you, Debbie.

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Cloudeight InfoAve Premium - Tips & Tricks

We Bust the 20 Greatest Windows and PC Myths of All Time
Everyone who uses a PC

Over the years, we’ve heard just about every computer rumor, legend, and "neighbor's cousin's advice" you can think of. The tech world moves so fast that a bit of advice from the Windows XP days gets twisted, passed down, recycled, and suddenly becomes a bad tip for Windows 11.

Today, we are going to play Mythbusters. We’ve compiled a list of the 20 Greatest Windows and PC Myths of All Time.

Today, Darcy and I will be your local "Mythbusters" and bust these myths once and for all, so you can stop wondering and start enjoying your PC!

1. Leaving your Computer On Overnight is Terrible for It

Modern computers are designed to handle being left on. In fact, leaving them on allows Windows to run its automatic maintenance, security scans, and updates while you sleep, preventing them from interrupting your workday. (Just make sure your settings are configured so your screen dims so it isn’t drawing full power all night!)

2. Turning Your PC On and Off Constantly Destroys It

On the flip side, some people think rebooting damages components due to the "surge" of power. Modern power supplies are incredibly smart and smooth out power delivery perfectly. Rebooting is actually healthy because it flushes your system's RAM and clears out background digital clutter.

3. You Must "Safely Eject" a USB Flash Drive Every Single Time

Remember the panic of pulling a flash drive out without clicking "Safely Remove Hardware"? In modern versions of Windows, a feature called "Quick Removal" is enabled by default. As long as you aren’t actively saving or copying a file to the drive, you can just yank it out.

4. "One-Click" Speed-Up Software Will Fix PC Problems and Speed Up Your PC

This is one of the most dangerous scams on the internet today. You see an ad or a pop-up claiming your PC is infected or running slow, prompting you to download a program that promises a "One-Click Fix." Once installed, it flashes scary red warnings claiming you have thousands of "critical errors" and demands payment to fix them. These programs are predatory scams that slow your PC down, install bloatware, and can completely break Windows. Avoid them like the plague!

5. Defragging Your Hard Drive Every Week is Essential

If your computer uses a modern Solid State Drive (SSD)—which almost all PCs do now—you should never defragment it. Defragging is for old-school, spinning mechanical hard drives. Running a defrag on an SSD causes unnecessary wear and tear, reducing its lifespan. Windows handles SSD optimization automatically.

6. Emptying the Recycle Bin Permanently Erases the Data

Simply hitting "Empty Recycle Bin" or formatting a drive doesn't actually wipe the data. It just tells Windows that the space is now available to be written over. Until new files take their place, that old data can easily be recovered using free software.

7. Having Two Antivirus Programs Installed Doubles Your Protection

This is a recipe for disaster. Running two real-time antivirus programs at the same time will choke your PC. They will fight each other for system resources, flag each other as threats, and often lock up Windows entirely. Stick to one good, trusted security solution.

8. The "Refresh" Button on Your Desktop Speeds Up Windows

We’ve all seen people right-click their desktop and hit "Refresh" five times in a row, hoping it cleans the memory. All this button does is tell the screen to redraw the desktop icons to ensure they are showing the correct file layout. It does not touch your RAM or speed up performance by even a single percent.

9. Closing Background Apps in Windows Always Frees Up Memory

Windows 11 is highly sophisticated at managing RAM. If an app is sitting open in the background doing nothing, Windows automatically compresses its memory or shifts it aside. Constantly force-closing and restarting your daily apps actually forces your processor to work harder, slowing you down.

10. High-End, Expensive HDMI Cables Give You Superior Picture Quality

Unlike old analog TV cables, digital cables pass data in 1s and 0s. The signal either gets there or it doesn't. A $10 HDMI cable from the local store will display the same digital picture and sound quality on your monitor as a $100 gold-plated cable. Save your hard-earned money!

11. Incognito Mode Makes Your Online Activity Completely Anonymous

"Private Browsing" or "Incognito Mode" only does one thing: it stops your local computer from saving your browsing history, cookies, and form data. It does not hide your activity from your network, your employer, or the websites you visit.

12. If Your Internet is Slow, Your Computer Most Likely Has a Virus

While malware can slow down a PC, slow internet is rarely caused by a virus. More often than not, it is due to an aging router that can't handle modern broadband speeds, or a wireless network card inside the PC that is starting to fail.

13. Deleting the "Prefetch" or "Temp" Folders Makes Windows Blazing Fast

Many internet "gurus" tell users to go into the Windows system files and wipe out the Prefetch or Temp folders to gain speed. This usually has the opposite effect! Windows uses those folders to store temporary launch data so your favorite programs open faster. Wiping them means programs will load more slowly the next time you open them.

14. VPNs Keep My Browsing Private and Protect Me from Malware, Phishing, and Identity Theft, Too!

A VPN is a privacy tool, not a security shield. It creates a secure, encrypted tunnel between your device and the internet—hiding your IP address and shielding your data from snoops on public Wi-Fi. However, it cannot protect you from your own clicks.

A VPN only encrypts your data stream; it doesn’t scan files. If you download an infected file, a VPN will happily deliver that virus to your device securely.

Phishing relies on deception. If you click a fake link to a spoofed bank website, your VPN will gladly and privately take you right to the scammers.

Most identity theft happens via corporate data breaches or weak passwords. A VPN protects data in transit, but if you type your Social Security number into a sketchy site, the scammers still get it.

A VPN protects your connection, not your behavior.

15. More RAM Doesn't Help Windows (The Multitasking Myth)

Some folks think 8 GB of RAM is plenty for anything. The reality is that Windows loves room to breathe. When you step up to 16 or 32 GB, Windows changes how it behaves—it aggressively caches your background programs and browser tabs directly into memory. More RAM means true multitasking power and a much smoother PC.

16. Cookies Are Dangerous Spyware Files

Cookies are just plain text files. They cannot run programs, execute code, or give your computer a virus. They remember things like your login state or what you left in an online shopping cart, so you don’t have to type it in again. Lots of people make lots of money from people who buy into this myth.

17. Magnets Will Instantly Erase Your Computer

Unless you are using a massive, industrial-grade electromagnet, a standard kitchen or refrigerator magnet will not harm your modern computer or SSD. This myth comes from the old days of floppy disks and older mechanical drives, which were highly sensitive to magnetic fields.

18. Dusting Your Keyboard With Compressed Air While It’s On is Fine

Always turn your device off first! Blasting compressed air into a live keyboard can cause a static discharge or force conductive dust particles beneath the keys, potentially shorting out small electrical contacts.

19. Macs Are Inherently Safer Than Windows PCs

This old legend just won't die. While Windows used to be targeted more simply because there were more Windows PCs on earth, cybercriminals target Macs every single day now. Security comes down to safe user habits, not the brand of your computer.

20. "ReadyBoost" using a USB Thumb Drive is a Great Way to Speed Up Windows 11

Back in the Windows Vista and Windows 7 days, Microsoft introduced "ReadyBoost," which let you plug in a flash drive to act as extra memory. Some people still try to use this today. On a modern Windows 10 or 11 computer with an SSD, ReadyBoost does absolutely nothing because your internal drive is already vastly faster than any USB thumb drive.

As with most everything in life, knowledge is power.  Stay educated by always being aware of who you can trust and where you can find the most trusted information.

Now that you know the truth about these twenty myths, you can navigate Windows with a lot less worry.

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Save Tons of Disk Space With This Easy Trick
Windows 10 / Windows 11

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to recover a significant amount of wasted disk space or you’re struggling with low disk space on your primary solid-state drive (SSD), one of the quickest and most effective ways to instantly reclaim 4GB, 6GB (or more) of storage is by disabling the Windows Hibernation feature.

When enabled, Hibernation creates a hidden system file named hiberfil.sys in the root directory of the C: drive. We’ll explain what this file does, why it is usually unnecessary, and how to remove it safely.

What is hiberfil.sys?

Unlike Sleep mode, which keeps your session active in the computer’s volatile RAM using minimal power, Hibernation writes the current state of your system directly to the hard drive and powers the computer completely down.

To ensure it can always save your session, Windows permanently reserves a chunk of storage for hiberfil.sys. The size of this file is directly tied to your system’s installed RAM—typically consuming anywhere from 75% to 100% of your total RAM capacity. On a machine with 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM, that represents a massive amount of permanently occupied storage space.

Disabling It Makes Sense for Most Users

Hibernation was once a crucial feature in the era of slow-spinning mechanical hard drives; modern technology has made it largely redundant for the average user:

Fast SSD Boot Times

Modern Solid State Drives (SSDs) boot Windows and launch applications in seconds, negating the time-saving benefits of hibernation.

Desktop users

Desktop computers are constantly plugged into a power source, making ordinary Sleep mode more efficient and practical than Hibernation.

Laptop Users

Most laptop users simply close the lid to put the device into Sleep mode, rarely utilizing the deeper Hibernation state.

If you use Sleep mode or shut your computer down entirely, hiberfil.sys is wasting valuable storage space.

How to Disable Hibernation and Automatically Delete the Huge huberfil.sys File

Because hiberfil.sys is a protected Windows system file, you cannot delete it through File Explorer. Instead, disabling the hibernation feature through the Command Prompt or Terminal instructs Windows to automatically and safely delete the file.

Follow these steps:

Click the Start menu, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator, or if available, choose Terminal (admin) from the menu.

In the prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

powercfg -h off

The command will execute instantly without a confirmation message. You can now close the window and check your C: drive; the space previously occupied by the file will be immediately restored.

Things to Consider Before Disabling

Windows Fast Startup

Disabling hibernation will also disable Windows Fast Startup. On modern SSDs, the difference in boot time is virtually unnoticeable, but users with older hardware may notice a slight increase in startup times. From my personal experience over the years, “Fast Startup” really doesn’t do much – at least not enough so that I notice a difference when it is turned off

Reverting the Change

If you decide later that you want the hibernation feature, you can easily restore it. Reopen a Command Prompt  OR Terminal as an administrator and type the following at the prompt and press Enter:

powercfg -h on

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How to Turn Your Windows 11 PC into a Mobile Hotspot
Windows 11

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where your desktop or laptop has a great internet connection, but your smartphone, tablet, or a guest's device can't get online?

Windows 11 has a built-in feature that lets you transform your PC into a virtual wireless router. This allows any nearby device to connect to your PC and securely share its internet connection. Best of all, it works great whether your computer is connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or a wired Ethernet cable!

Why Turn Your PC into a Hotspot?

Before we jump into how to do it, here are several great reasons why this feature is incredibly useful for everyday tech setups:

Share a Wired Ethernet Connection

If your main desktop or laptop is plugged directly into a wall jack or modem via an Ethernet cable for maximum speed, it doesn't have to stay isolated. You can turn that robust wired connection into a local wireless signal so your phone or tablet can enjoy those fast speeds, too.

Simplify Smart Home Device Setup

If you are setting up finicky smart home plugs, bulbs, or gadgets that require a dedicated $2.4\text{ GHz}$ network, you can use your PC's hotspot as a temporary setup network to configure them without messing with your main home router settings.

Extend Your Wi-Fi Range

If your PC is located on the edge of your home router’s range but still gets a decent, stable signal, turning on the hotspot effectively turns your computer into a Wi-Fi range extender, pushing the wireless signal a bit further into a household dead zone.

Create a Secure, Temporary Guest Network

When friends or family visit and need internet access, you don't have to hand out your master home Wi-Fi password. Instead, let them connect to your PC's hotspot. When they leave, you simply toggle it off.

Setting Up Your Windows 11 Hotspot

Setting this up is simple, completely free, and doesn't require downloading any third-party software. And you don't need to be a computer geek to do it. Just follow these simple steps:

Open Windows Settings

Press the Windows Key + I on your keyboard to open the Settings app.

Navigate to Network Settings

In the left-hand sidebar, click on Network & Internet.

Find the Hotspot Option

On the right side of the screen, scroll down until you see Mobile hotspot.

Click directly on the row (not just the toggle switch) to open its expanded menu.

Choose What to Share

Look for the dropdown menu labeled Share my internet connection from.

If you want to share your wired internet, select Ethernet. If you want to share your wireless internet, select Wi-Fi.

Set the Sharing Method

In the Share over dropdown menu, ensure Wi-Fi is selected.

Customize Your Network Name and Password

Click the Edit button at the bottom of the properties section. Type in a recognizable network name (e.g., Computer Hotspot).

Create a secure network password (it must be at least 8 characters long).

Click Save.

Go back to the top of the window and toggle the Mobile hotspot switch to On.

How to Connect Your Other Devices

Now that your PC is broadcasting, your other devices can find it just like any regular Wi-Fi network.

Grab your phone, tablet, or secondary computer and open its Wi-Fi settings. Look for the custom network name you created above (e.g., Computer Hotspot). Select it, type in the password you chose, and tap connect.

Your Windows 11 settings page will even show you a live list of exactly how many devices are currently connected to your PC, along with their names, making it incredibly easy to manage.

And also please remember this sage advice from both of us:

Turn off the hotspot when you're done to save battery power if you're using a laptop.

In the world of computer features, using built-in Windows tools is always safer than junking up your computer by downloading unnecessary third-party software! 

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Help us help you.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!

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 us keep you safe on the Web.

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Cloudeight InfoAve Premium - Tips & Tricks

What Does Your Browser Tell Websites About You? More Than You Ever Imagined!

We’re going to give you a link – at the end of this article – that you can click to find out what your browser tells every website you visit about you. To pique your curiosity, I’ve taken the plunge – although I did use a VPN to spoof my location  – only because this info will be published and available to everyone, friend and foe alike. This is what my browser exposed to the website I visited.  You can go there too… the link is at the bottom. But read all the info first- you’ll be amazed and maybe a bit paranoid…

As soon as you open a page. a website already knows the following about you:.

Where you are
Manassas, Virginia, United States

You appear to be in Manassas, United States. Your internet provider is Leaseweb USA. We know this because your IP address is 207.xxx.xxx.80 — was the first thing your device sent us. We know the rest of it. We chose not to display it. Most pages would not have made that choice. We did not ask for your location. Your address arrived before you did.

When you arrived

11:13 · America, New York
It is in the morning where you are. Your device reported your timezone before the page finished loading. A website knowing your local time can infer when you sleep, when you work, and when you browse because you cannot sleep. Nothing about this was requested. The information arrived on its own.

What you brought with you
Chrome · Windows · 1280×800 @ 1.774999976158142x · 32-bit color
You are reading this on a computer running Windows. Your browser is Chrome. Your screen is 1280 by 800 pixels, rendered at 1.774999976158142x density. Your device volunteered all of this in the first milliseconds of the connection. It will do this again on the next page you visit, and the one after that.

What renders your world

Intel(R) UHD Graphics (0x000046D2) Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0
Your graphics processor identified itself as Intel(R) UHD Graphics (0x000046D2) Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0. This tells us the manufacturer, the generation, and roughly the price of your machine. Combined with your screen size and font list, this string alone can distinguish your device from most others on the internet. The technique is called WebGL fingerprinting. No permission is required.

How much is left

Battery: 100% · charging
Your device reports 100%, charging, which is also what no-battery-at-all looks like to a webpage. We cannot tell whether you are a laptop on full charge or a desktop without a battery, and neither can any other site. The two are indistinguishable from this side. In 2015, researchers demonstrated that battery level — combined with discharge time — was unique enough to track users across websites for up to thirty minutes. Your exact percentage, right now, is a fingerprint. Firefox removed this API in 2016. Your browser still exposes it.

What you speak

English
Your browser’s primary language is English. This is transmitted in the header of every HTTP request. It has been doing this for as long as you have been using this browser.

What you carry
Georgia · Courier New · Comic Sans MS · Impact · Trebuchet MS · Verdana · Tahoma · Lucida Console · Cambria

Your device carries these typefaces, of the seventeen commonly probed by fingerprinting checks. On desktop, the specific combination of fonts is often nearly unique — fonts accumulate over time, with apps and OS updates, and the resulting set becomes a fingerprint made of letters. Advertising networks combine this with your screen size, language, timezone, and GPU to identify devices across websites. Without cookies. Without accounts. Without a name. The technique is called browser fingerprinting. It is legal in most jurisdictions. It is happening on most pages you visit. None of them mentions it.

What you allow

Cookies: enabled · Dark mode · Reduced motion · 0 MB stored by others

Your browser accepts cookies. Websites can write small files to your device that persist after you leave — files that identify you when you return, that follow you across sites, that remember what you looked at, what you almost bought, and how long you hesitated. We have not written one.

Your browser would let this page write up to 2.0 GB to your device — a private room, ours alone, like the one given to every site you visit. We left it empty. Most pages don’t. You prefer dark interfaces — your operating system told us. You or your system has requested reduced motion. This may be a preference. It may be a medical need. Either way, we know. You have not enabled Do Not Track. This is the default. It means either that you chose not to, that you did not know it existed, or that you know it makes no difference. All three possibilities are informative. This page stores nothing on your device. When you close this tab, it forgets you exist.

Every page you have ever visited knows at least this much.
Most of them know more. None of them told you.

And one more thing… You are still here.

You have been on this page for 89 seconds. You scrolled 46% of the way down. You never left this tab. We would have noticed if you had. Your cursor moved 787 times. You paused once for 23 seconds — longer than anywhere else. We were not counting. We were always counting. It identified your device with enough specificity to distinguish it from most others on the internet. It did this in 91 seconds.

This is what free costs.

ARE YOU READY TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR BROWSER IS TELLING EVERY WEBSITE ABOUT YOU? OK, VISIT THIS PAGE AND FIND OUT WHAT YOUR BROWSER IS TELLING THE WORLD ABOUT YOU!

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Cloudeight InfoAve Premium - Essays, Rants, etc.

Before the Light Fades

I think everyone has shadows in their past. Some dark corners that don’t look very pretty when the light of day shines upon them.

Maybe I think everyone has shadows in their pasts because I have so many. Or maybe others have too many, also. Or maybe very few really do, but it is comforting to think they do.

It occurs to me that I can’t base my life on what happens to others. It’s true, I think, that we all need to feel that we’re not alone – that others share some of the same things we don’t like about ourselves. But we all bear the consequences of our own actions – and looking for faults and shadows in others is no way to fix the faults in me or shed light on the shadows I’ve buried deep beside the path of my life.

When I was younger, I used to think I had an infinite amount of time to fix things that needed to be fixed; that I had plenty of time to repair the bridges I’ve burned...

Read the rest of this essay here.

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Cloudeight InfoAve Premium - Back to Basics

Do You Know the "Oops" Button?

We’ve all been there. Your finger slips while typing an email, and a whole paragraph disappears into the void. Or you're organizing your desktop and accidentally delete an important file or photo. Before you panic, Windows has kind of an oops button - a digital safety net you can use to "un-oops" your mistake in a split second.

The Magic Key Combo: Ctrl + Z

The next time you make a mistake—whether you're working with text or files—simply hold down the Control (Ctrl) key on the bottom-left of your keyboard, and tap the letter Z once. Ctrl + Z is the universal command for "Undo."

What Can You "Un-Oops"?

Text and typing errors: If you accidentally delete a paragraph, paste something in the wrong spot, or overwrite your writing, Ctrl + Z instantly pops your text right back to normal.

File mistakes: If you accidentally delete a folder, misplace a file, or rename a document by mistake, Ctrl + Z brings it right back.

Yes, it's a simple back-to-basics shortcut, but one many people don't know. Memorizing it will save you a lot of frustration. Keep it in your back pocket for the next time your fingers move faster than your brain!

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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.

Have a great weekend. Be safe!

Darcy & TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #1181
Volume 23, Number 32
May 29 2026

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