Joy lost her MS365 (Office) programs
I had to renew my Microsoft 365. I did it back in April or May. We lost power, and when I turned the computer back on, it was gone. I could not do anything with Word. So I tried to renew, and it showed it took $99.99 using PayPal. I tried to download it, and I did not think it worked. All of a sudden, Word was working again, or so I thought. Now I have nothing against. Help!

Our answer
Hi Joy. Don't worry! You didn't lose your subscription. Microsoft 365 isn't tied to your physical computer; it lives in the cloud, tied directly to your Microsoft account (the email address and password you used when you first bought or activated it).

Getting it back is a pretty straightforward process. Here is how you can reinstall it:

First, open a web browser (like Edge, Chrome, or Firefox, etc.) and go to https://account.microsoft.com/services. You will need to log in using the exact Microsoft account email and password associated with your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Once you are signed in, you will see a list of products you own under "Services & subscriptions." Just scroll down until you see Microsoft 365 (or Office) and click the "Install" button next to it. This will download a small setup file to your computer. Depending on your internet speed, it should only take a few minutes. Once it downloads, open that file and follow the on-screen prompts to let MS365 reinstall.

If you run into any roadblocks, it's usually because of one of two things. If you can't remember which email you used, check your alternative email inboxes (like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail, etc.) and search for the phrase "Your Microsoft order" or "Microsoft 365" to find your original purchase receipt. If you just forgot your password, you can click "Forgot password?" right on the sign-in page to have a reset code sent to your recovery phone number or backup email.

Once the software finishes installing, all you have to do is open one of the MS365 programs like Word or Excel, sign in one last time with that same email address, and your apps will be fully activated and ready to use!

Let me know if you run into any trouble.

Barbara wants to remove her accounts and info from websites she no longer uses
Hi TC and EB. I have a lot of logins in my RoboForm account that I am no longer using and would like to get rid of. I am assuming that I should not just delete the login information from RoboForm but somehow close out the account associated with each website. I have looked at many of them and don't find any way to do that on their websites. What is the correct way to do this? Do I have to contact each one to ask for my account to be closed? And how do I know that they have actually done that? I am trying to be sure that once I no longer use the websites and logins, my information isn't just floating around out there for the "bad guys" to get hold of. Thanks for any help. And, as always, thanks for all you have done for so many of us over the years. It is greatly appreciated. Barbara

Our answer
Hi Barbara. Thank you so much for your kind words!

You are absolutely correct. Leaving old, unused accounts floating around the Web is exactly how the "bad guys" get hold of our data when a random website suffers a breach, even if it is years down the road. Unfortunately, companies intentionally make it difficult to delete your data because they want to keep their user numbers high.

Here is the best way to handle this digital maze.

First, instead of hunting through every website, try the website JustDeleteMe at https://www.justdelete.me. It lists hundreds of popular websites alphabetically and provides a direct link straight to their hidden account deletion pages. If the site you want to get rid of is on there, it will save you a ton of time. The hardest ones to delete info from are in red; the easier ones are in green.

If a site isn't on that list, you'll have to log in and search for the button yourself. Companies usually hide it at the very bottom of pages under menus labeled "Settings," "Privacy," or "Data Management." Look for tiny text that says "Close Account" or "Delete Profile."

For older or smaller websites, you may indeed have to use their "Contact Us" form to message them. Just tell them: "Please permanently delete my account and erase all personal data associated with this email address."

As for knowing whether they actually did it, there is no official receipt, but you can test it yourself. Wait a few days after deleting the account, and then try to log in again. If the website gives you an error saying "Account not found," you're all set.

If you ever run across a website that makes it completely impossible to delete your account, here is a great workaround: log in one last time and change your profile to fake information. Change your name to John Jones, use 000-000-0000 as the phone number, and change the password to random gibberish. That way, if that site ever gets hacked, the thieves only get useless junk.

Once you've confirmed an account is gone or scrambled, you can safely delete the login from your RoboForm.

I hope this helps you, Barbara. Let me know if you need anything else or have any more questions. 

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How to Quickly Rename All Files In a Folder
Windows 10 / Windows 11

Here’s a quick, easy, and useful tip. If you have a folder full of files with arcane names that do not describe what the files are, you can quickly rename all the files in a folder with descriptive names. This trick is very handy when you have a folder of photos from your phone or camera. Most times, files that come directly from your camera or phone have obscure names that don’t describe the photos. But you can fix that by quickly renaming all the files in the folders using this tip.

Open the folder where the files you want to rename are located. Highlight one file and then press CTRL+A to select them all. Next, press the F2 key to rename one of the files in the list and give the file a new name. Then press Enter. Windows will automatically rename all the other files in the folder with the name you typed, appended with (1), (2), (3), and so on after the file name.

For this example, I chose a folder full of files with names that meant nothing to me. But suppose these were all pictures from a special trip to Niagara Falls. It would be useful to at least have the word “Niagara” in the file name, right? So, I pressed F2, renamed one file “Niagara'” then pressed “Enter” and watched as Windows renamed the rest...

It’s easy – see?

 

How Your Personal Information is Collected, Sold, and What You Can Do About It
For everyone using the internet

Every single time we log onto the internet, check the news, or shop online, we leave behind a digital trail of breadcrumbs. This trail is made up of your Personal Information. It includes obvious things like your name and email address, but it also tracks your hidden browsing habits, the things you put in your online shopping carts, and your entire purchase history.

Companies love this data because your information is worth money. While sharing this data can sometimes give you a more personalized experience when shopping, it also raises major red flags about your privacy and who really controls your life online.

Here is a look at how the data dragnet works—and how you can fight back.

The Data Collection Dragnet: It’s All About YOU!

Data brokers don’t just guess who you are; they gather the pieces of your life from four main areas:

1. Directly from You: This is the easiest way for them to get it. Whenever you sign up for a new website, fill out a form for a freebie, or buy something online, you hand your information over voluntarily.

2. Social Media: Every post you write, photo you share, and post you “like” adds another piece to your digital jigsaw puzzle.

3. Mobile Apps: Many smartphone apps quietly track your physical location, your web history, and how often you use your phone, even when you aren’t actively using the app.

4. Data Brokers: These are hidden companies that buy up public records, store loyalty card data, and court documents to build a massive file on you.

Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together

Once these companies gather your data, they use smart computer programs to link them all together. They take a random email address you used years ago and connect it to your real name, your current home address, your cell phone number, and your relatives.

Once they have a complete profile of you, they put YOU up for sale in the marketplace.

Who is Buying Your Profile?

Businesses buy these massive data files for three main reasons:

Targeted Advertising: Ever talk about buying a new toaster, only to see toaster ads on every website you visit ten minutes later? That’s data profiling at work.

Market Research: Companies want to track overall buying trends to see what people in your age group or zip code are spending money on.

Risk Assessment: Lenders, banks, and insurance companies sometimes buy data to help judge your financial risk or creditworthiness.

Taking Back Control: How to Opt Out

You don’t have to just sit back and let these companies sell your life. Here are a few practical, easy steps to lock down your privacy:

Use Better Privacy Tools: Install a highly rated, free ad-blocker like uBlock Origin, or uBlock Origin Lite (Chrome), and use DuckDuckGo instead of Google for your everyday web searches to stop companies from tracking your clicks.

Manage Your App Permissions: Take a look at the apps on your smartphone. If a simple flashlight or game app is asking for permission to see your location or your contacts, say no!

Opt-Out of Data Brokers: Many of the biggest data collection companies legally have to let you opt out if you ask them to. Keep in mind, though, that new brokers pop up all the time, so keeping your name off their lists is a never-ending chore.

A Quick Note on Privacy Regulations

Depending on where you live (like Europe or states like California), strict new privacy laws give you the legal “right to be forgotten.” This means you can demand that a company completely delete your history from its servers. Check your local state laws to see what rights you have!

The Big Names in Data Brokering

To give you an idea of who is tracking you, here is a short list of some of the biggest data brokerage firms operating today:

LiveRamp (Formerly known as Acxiom)
Experian (Yes, the credit reporting giant is also a massive data broker!)
Epsilon
CoreLogic
Oracle America (Which bought out Datalogix)
Intelius & PeekYou (People-search engines)

There are many more – with new ones popping up every day.

Want to See How Much of You is Out There?

If you want to know exactly how much of your personal information is floating around on the dark web or public databases, you can run a quick, free scan using these reputable services we have tried ourselves:

1. Mozilla Monitor (Run by the trusted folks behind the Firefox browser)

2. Optery (They offer a complimentary scan)

The internet brings us so much convenience every day, but it shouldn’t cost you your privacy. By using a few smart tools and staying informed, you can take control of your digital footprint and navigate the web with a little more peace of mind!

But as we always say, the internet will never be a private place, no matter what you do. 

Four Mouse and Keyboard Tricks for You
Windows 10 / Windows 11

Here are four seldom-used mouse and keyboard tricks that can save you time.

1. Use your mouse wheel to close a browser tab.

You can do it, yes, you can. Most of us use the mouse wheel to scroll pages and other common mouse wheel stuff. But if you press down on your mouse wheel, you’ll notice it depresses just a bit. Well, did you know that just a bit is enough to allow you to close a browser tab (among other things)? Try it and see. Position your mouse pointer in the middle of a browser tab and press down on the control wheel. See?

2. Use the Shift key + the right mouse button to extend the Context Menu.

When you right-click on the desktop document icon, you will see a context menu. But did you know there’s another context menu called the extended context menu? To see the extended context menu, just press and hold the Shift key and then right-click on an icon to open the extended context menu. Here’s an example from Windows 11.

In the screenshot below, on the left, you can see the standard Windows 11 context menu, but by using the Shift key and the right mouse button, you can open the extended context menu. See?

3. Use the Shift key to select text.

Most of you know that you can select files and folders by holding the Shift key and clicking on the first and then the last file/folder. But this also applies to selecting text in documents like MS Word docs as well as text files (and Web pages).

All you have to do is click on the first character in the text you want to copy, then hold down the Shift key and point to the last character you want to copy. All the text between the first click and the last click is selected. Now just press CTRL + C to copy the selected text and CTRL+V to paste it wherever you want…like a Word doc, an email, or a text file.

You can practice the tip above right here. Just click on the Y at the beginning of this paragraph, then hold down the Shift key and click on the period at the end of this sentence.

4. Maximize any program window with a double-click.

Instead of fumbling around looking for the maximize button between the – and the X in the top-right corner of most program and file windows, just double-click anywhere on the title bar (or top bar) to maximize or minimize the window.

The title bar or top bar in Firefox (also referred to as the menu bar.

The top bar or title bar (Microsoft Edge)

The top bar or title bar (Google Chrome)

The title bar (OE Classic)

The title bar (Microsoft Word)

That’s enough, you get the idea. You can maximize or minimize a program window by double-clicking on the title bar, menu bar, or top bar. 

Want more tips, tricks, and information?

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Cover Your Tracks (by the Electronic Frontier Foundation)

Have you ever searched for a pair of shoes online, only to have ads for those exact shoes follow you around the internet for weeks? Most of us know that advertisers use cookies to track us. You delete your cookies, clear your history, maybe even turn on a VPN, and think you’re invisible.

But modern tracking is much sneakier than that.

Today, data companies use a technique called browser fingerprinting. Every time you visit a website, your browser hands over tiny pieces of information so the page displays correctly. When you bundle all those tiny details together, they create a highly specific, unique “fingerprint” that belongs only to your computer. Trackers can identify you across millions of other web surfers without ever needing a cookie or your IP address.

In fact, these data points have a 90% to 99% accuracy rate of identifying your specific machine out of millions.

What are websites actually learning about your computer?

When you load a webpage, your browser engages in a massive, split-second data exchange with the website’s server. It doesn’t just see your IP address; it scans your software, checks your hardware, and tests how your computer processes data:

Basic Identity: It logs your precise browser version (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) and your core operating system (Windows 11, macOS, Android).

Hardware & Screens: It checks your exact screen resolution, your monitor’s color depth, and even your device’s battery status.

Your Digital “Font Registry”: The site checks which specific fonts are installed on your hard drive. Because you have custom fonts from software you use (like Microsoft Office or Adobe), your unique list of fonts acts like a barcode.

Canvas Fingerprinting (The Graphics Test): A website can run a script that tells your browser to draw a hidden, invisible 3D shape. Because of tiny variations in your graphics card (GPU) and monitor drivers, your computer renders that image subtly differently than anyone else’s, creating a permanent mathematical tracking signature.

Audio & Peripherals: Sites can play a silent audio frequency to test your sound card’s signature, and check how many microphones, speakers, or cameras are plugged into your system.

Environmental Clues: It logs your precise timezone and checks if you are using an ad-blocker. Ironically, using a generic ad-blocker often makes you stand out more in a crowd because your signature looks unique.

You cannot easily block these scans because websites genuinely need this data just to display properly. If your browser blocked a website from knowing your screen resolution or language, the website would look like a broken, unreadable mess.

Test your defenses in 30 seconds

That’s where Cover Your Tracks comes in. Created by the digital privacy heroes at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), this free, non-profit tool lets you test your security defenses securely.

When you visit the site and click “Test Your Browser,” it simulates loading various hidden trackers and invisible beacons. It then gives you a plain-English report card showing if you are successfully blocking tracking ads, if you are stopping invisible tracking beacons, and exactly how unique your digital fingerprint is compared to millions of other users.

It is an eye-opening reality check for anyone who values their online privacy. If your results reveal that you’re leaving a wide trail behind you, the site provides excellent, simple recommendations on how to tighten your defenses (like using privacy-focused extensions or shifting to a fingerprint-resistant browser).

Don’t take your browser’s default privacy settings for granted! Go see how you look to the rest of the web.

Check out Cover Your Tracks right now! 

The Unseen

The wind howls from the south and rattles the windows. I watch the storm and revel in its power — surrendering to its majesty, admiring its beauty and strength — sitting mesmerized before the glass.

It occurs to me that no one truly knows where the wind comes from or where it goes. It blows where it will, when it will, and we are powerless to stop it. We cannot see the wind, but we can see its effects. We can see the trees bending, the branches breaking; we can see the wind push enormous cottony clouds across an increasingly pale sky.

The wind shakes the house. I watch as shingles are torn from a neighbor’s roof and sent tumbling like scraps of paper down the street. A peaceful lane...

Read the rest of this essay here. 

What is a Shell Extension?

Sometimes a crab will crawl up on land and try to reach low-hanging fruit. But it can't quite reach it because its shell is so limiting. The crab needs a shell extension!. Nah!

Shell extensions are usually very small programs that you install like a regular program, but which do not appear on the start menu. You "run" these programs by right-clicking on a file or folder. When you do, the shell extension displays an additional menu..

Shell extensions are one of our favorite types of software because they are most often focused on performing useful tasks. For instance, one of our favorite shell extensions is called "ContextMagic," which allows the user, simply by right-clicking on a file, to move or copy the file to any other location on the computer, to copy the "file path" to the clipboard and several other useful things - all accessible by a simple right-click.

ContextMagic is a great example of a useful shell extension - but there are hundreds of others. Try ContextMagic and you'll be hooked on Shell Extensions like we are. Shell Extensions - small, useful utilities that you run simply by right-clicking on a file or folder!

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Have a great weekend. Be safe!

Darcy & TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #1184
Volume 23, Number 25
June 19, 2026

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