Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 040624
It’s the first Saturday of April and the “great” American eclipse is Monday. My town is in the path of totality. Port-a-potties are everywhere! And today, of course, is Saturday and it’s time for another edition of Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers.
Sometimes the best tips and tricks are hidden in the questions and answers we publish. Today, we’re featuring some of the questions and answers from past issues of our InfoAve Weekly newsletters.
These questions & answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.
Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 040624
Rich wants to know how to add another Gmail account
God Bless you both (EB/TC). I have been a follower and user of your helpful instructions, and I remember you had sent out instructions on how to “correctly” add a 2nd or 3rd Gmail email to my Gmail account… would you please send me a link to that page so I can print it out? I also want to give a copy to a friend. God bless you and yours. Rich
Our answer
Thanks so much for your kind words and your support.
As for your question, here you go… here’s our tutorial showing you how to correctly create additional Gmail accounts and access them from your main Gmail account.
We hope this helps you… and your friend!
Hi guys. Love your newsletters but after a recent experience, I have to say, I’m not too happy with Emsisoft. I was browsing the web when a warning popped up a malware scanner showed that my computer was infected with over 300 viruses. For $99 they cleaned up my computer and I’m not very happy that my computer was infected. What’s going on with Emsisoft?
Our answer
Hi Chet. Since we’ve been recommending Emsisoft (eleven years now) we’ve never seen a computer protected by Emsisoft with a virus. What you saw scam popup saying your computer is infected and you need to:
A. Download something (malware)
or
B. Call a telephone number for help getting rid of all those viruses (scam)
or
C. Run some fake scanner that reveals you have hundreds of malware files or viruses.
I’m guessing you chose option “C” or the fake scanner ran automatically without any action on your part. Most of these “scanners” are just animations… they don’t scan anything. And of course, after you paid the $99, another fake scanner ran showing your computer free of malware and viruses. If you’ve seen something like or similar to these warnings (see the images below) which can appear as a popup that seems to come from your computer (it doesn’t) or seems to take over your browser (it doesn’t) then you’re not seeing a real warning you’re seeing an advertisement for scam software or tech support.
You can only get rid of these kinds of ads by clearing your browser’s history & cache. See this page to learn how to do this:
<
<
Emsisoft didn’t let you down – you were scammed. You should call your credit card company and see if you can get your $99 back since you were scammed.
Damie asks us to help her find a simple checkbook program
I don’t do a lot on my computer but I did have a really old free Starter version of Quicken 2014 which I used for the check register and the statement balance feature all the time. It won’t load on this Windows 11 computer according to Quicken.
Can you recommend a free program that will let me use it as my check register and balance my checkbook each month? I am 83 years old and don’t use budgets or all that other jazz. Just something simple that I can load and use. I always print out a copy of my balance statement at the end of each month… Thank you both so much for all your knowledge and the help you share in your newsletters.
Our answer
Hi Damie. Thanks for your nice comments.
If you’re looking for simple checkbook software for Windows 11, there are several options available. Here are a few programs/apps we found that you can take a look at.
Ace Money Lite (Free – For Windows 10 & Windows 11): AceMoney Lite is a free personal finance software, the best free Quicken and Microsoft Money alternative. All features from its big brother are there, limited only to two accounts. As AceMoney, AceMoney Lite makes organizing personal finances and home budgets a breeze. All features required by home or even small-business accountants are there…https://www.mechcad.net/acemoney-lite/
No Frills Checkbook (Free – Windows 10 and Windows 11): A basic bank account management program. Keep track of transactions across multiple accounts and balance those accounts at the end of each month. Categorize transactions. Split transactions into subcategories for better reporting. https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/no-frills-checkbook/9PFB6SL6QQW8?hl=en-af&gl=af
Just Checking (Free – For Windows 10 & Windows 11): Just Checking is a checkbook software app that will help manage your checkbook. Enter transactions, mark them cleared, and compare the balance to your statements to reconcile. Print checks using predefined templates. Use the built-in check template editor to make changes if necessary. https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/just-checking/9NXNP4GXWMFM?hl=en-us&gl=us&rtc=1
My Checkbook (Free trial. Buy for $35 – For Windows 10 and Windows 11) My Checkbook personal finance software will improve your money management. Start by entering your daily transactions to keep a good record of your actual balance. You know the importance of balancing your checkbook, make it happen with our easy checkbook software. https://www.surprisesoftware.com/my-checkbook.html
We hope this helps you in your quest to find the right checkbook software for you, Damie.
Our Spring Donation Drive is Underway!
Make a small donation and help us to keep on helping you!
Our annual spring donation drive is underway. Sales of our products and services help keep the lights on at Cloudeight. But if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please help us with a donation. Even the smallest gift is appreciated. Every donation helps us to provide useful information that helps you with your computer as well as helps to keep you safe on the Internet. We offer free help to thousands of people every year… and we offer an honest and inexpensive computer repair service too. We do everything we can to help you with your computer and to help you stay safe too.
So, if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please consider helping us with a small donation.
Please help us by donating right now.
Are you interested in making a monthly gift? Visit this page. Please help us keep helping you!
Thank you so much for your support!
Clint asks about 2-Factor Authentication and passwordless logins
What are your thoughts on multifactor identification? I have received an email communication from my LastPass premium account that is confusing. It sounds like they are promoting it in some way but when trying to configure it, it tells me it is for a business. Getting rid of passwords seems very inviting to me and a biometric ID seems much safer if coupled with device recognition. I depend on you so much more than what I read in other sources and would like your opinion as this seems to be the future for security. Clint
Our answer
Hi Clint. A passwordless future is coming but it’s still a few years away. LastPass is jumping the gun a bit because not all banks, email web apps, government sites, shopping sites, or other sites dealing with highly sensitive information and/or money are set up for passwordless logins and 2FA (Two-factor Authentication).
A couple of weeks ago we wrote a comprehensive article on this which, I think, would help you more than me going over two-factor authentication, passwordless logins, and OAUTH2 email authorization here. Read our article here and if you still have questions about the mysterious 2FA/Passwordless future, let me know and I’ll be glad to help as much as I can.
In the meantime, regarding LastPass, we suggest you take a slow and careful approach.
Marta’s sister can no longer easily batch-resize images
Hi guys. I’ve been reading your great newsletters for at least 20 years if not longer! Lots of great tips and sometimes when I read the latest ones I say ‘I know that!’ But I have a question. With her new PC, my sister can no longer easily re-size images, other than doing each one separately. My question is do you know of any software that allows you to re-size multiple images in the same folder simultaneously? I still have Microsoft Office Picture Manager on my PC which I use to re-size but this is not part of the Microsoft software she has on her new PC. I hope you can solve this niggling problem for her. Keep up the good work.
Our answer
Hi Marta. Thanks for your comments and for being with us so long!
We can only recommend software we have used or tested. We’ve never had the occasion or reason to resize all photos in a folder since we usually make the image the size we want it before we save it.
But as chance would have it, Windows PowerToys (by Microsoft) includes an image resizer that can resize multiple images in a folder and we have recommended PowerToys several times. Here’s our most recent recommendation. That article includes the download link. PowerToys is free. We mention Image Resizer in the article, but if you want even more info take a look at this Microsoft page. We hope this helps you, and your sister, Marta.
——
Marta wrote back: “Wow TC, thanks for such a prompt and informative reply. I will look into this on behalf of my sister. Once again you have proved how wonderful you are. Many, many thanks. Just for your information, I send out an email to people who can’t leave home or get to visit me. It has a lot of images in it and I move the selected images to a dedicated folder where I edit them and then finally re-size them before inserting them into an email. Sometimes one of my emails can contain up to 30 images. Keep the good work going. Marta.”
Rose wants to know how to create strong passwords
Hi. I love your newsletter. My question is how do you create a strong username login (passwords)?
Our answer
Hi Rose. Thanks so much!
You can use a password generator like this one, or use a good password manager like LastPass, BitWarden, or RoboForm – they all contain a password generator and they will also remember strong complex passwords for you.
Or you can read our article here that shows how to create strong passwords that are easy to remember.
We hope this helps you, Rose
——
Rose wrote back: “Thank you for your help and the good work that you do. Rose.”
We’ve helped hundreds and hundreds of you with your computers since we started our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Service! If you’re having computer problems – we CAN help you!
We all know that sooner or later our computers will start having problems. We can help you with any computer need — from diagnosing and fixing Windows problems – to setting up a wireless network for you – to safeguarding by creating an image-based backup (the only kind that really works when you really need it to work) – to cleaning up your computer and optimizing it — and more. We can do almost anything you need done and we guarantee our work – you’re either satisfied or we’ll refund your money.
We connect to your computer and fix it while you watch
We will connect to your computer via the Internet and fix any problems you may be having. You can watch us work and chat with us while we do. If you have any computer questions you’d like to ask we’ll be glad to answer them for you. We don’t just fix your computer, we explain what we’re doing and why we’re doing it and we are right there with the entire time. Since we’ve started we’ve helped hundreds of you with your computer problems and we’ve received dozens of referrals and testimonials from our readers and customers.
We offer many other computer services too! If you have a problem with your computer – we can fix it!
Get more information about Cloudeight Direct Computer Care and or get your repair keys here.
Linda is having problems with her HP printer
This is driving me nuts. My HP printer keeps giving a message “Scan to computer not enabled” I go through the long process of the scan doctor fix-it but it does not last. It works for a short time and then I’m right back with the error. Can you help me figure out why and how to permanently enable this? My desktop PC is a Dell. Thanks
Our answer
Hi Linda. You can fool around trying to fix printers piecemeal but it almost always never works or if it does work, it doesn’t last very long. We’ve been around a long time and we’ve gone through dozens of printers – and one thing we’ve learned is this:
If you are consistently having a problem with a printer, the best fix is to completely remove the printer, restart the PC and then reinstall the printer just as you did when you first bought it. It fixes almost any printer problem and it usually fixes it in the long run.
If you don’t have the installation software, you can get it from www.hp.com – all you need is your printer’s model number.
I hope this helps you, Linda.
Eva is getting a strange message in Chrome
First I would like to thank you both for a great site. I have been a long-time user and you have solved many of my computer problems. My question is about my Chrome browser. Why does it say that it is managed by my organization? It’s my personal PC at home and not managed by anyone but me! I have gotten rid of it before but it just keeps coming back. At one time it said it was managed by Yahoo. please help me to permanently get rid of this. Thanks again for your site and your newsletters!
Our answer
Hi Eva. Thanks for your nice comments and your support.
Before you do anything else, try opening Chrome in Incognito mode. Right-click on a Chrome shortcut, choose “New incognito window’, and see if you still get the “managed by your organization” message, if you don’t, then the problem is caused by an extension you installed in Chrome. If you find this is the case then follow the steps on this page https://tinyurl.com/u7j7ltt to reset Chrome. That will disable all installed extensions. Then you can turn them on one by one to find the culprit.
If that doesn’t work, keep on reading.
If you have not set group policies on your computer, then this problem is most likely caused by something you installed (malware, questionable extension, etc.)
There are two ways you can rid of the “Chrome is managed by your organization” message.
Option 1. Edit the registry. Type Regedit in the taskbar search and press Enter when it appears at the top of the search results.
Find the following Registry key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
Delete the entire Chrome key by right-clicking on it and then choosing “Delete”.
After you do this you’ll need to restart your computer before you’ll see the changes.
I recommend you create a restore point before editing the registry. To do so type RESTORE in the taskbar search and click on “Create a Restore Point”.
Option 2. Completely remove Chrome from your computer as well as any Chrome folders from App Data. Follow the instructions on this page (the second option under “keep on reading”) to do this. Make sure you follow all the instructions carefully so you don’t lose your bookmarks.
I hope this helps you, Eva.
Jay had files transferred to his new computer and now has duplicates…
I recently purchased a new computer and had data transferred from my old one. The old one had transferred data from an older one on it. How can I find, and get rid of, duplicate files on my new computer?
Our answer
Hi Jay. You can remove duplicate files with programs called “duplicate file finders”. But be careful, most of them are too aggressive and can delete files you don’t want to be deleted. The only duplicate file finder we recommend (and only when used with caution) is called Anti-Twin. We think it’s the best and it’s completely free.
You can read our review and download it by visiting this page.
I hope this helps, Jay.
Now available: Reg Organizer 9.40
If you purchased or renewed Reg Organizer through Cloudeight within the last 12 months, you’re entitled to a free version upgrade to Reg Organizer 9.40. It works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11!
Save $14 on Reg Organizer right now!
Reg Organizer – A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Tools – Works Great on Windows 10 and Windows 11!
Margaret wants to open a Word document but doesn’t have MS Office or an Office Program installed
I have Windows 10, but I do not have Microsoft Office. I am unable to open any MS Word files which I have stored on a CD. Is there a free download of Microsoft Office so that I can have Microsoft Word? Thank you.
Our answer
Hi Margaret. You can open Word Documents with WordPad which comes with every version of Windows. You will have to open WordPad first and then browse to the Word documents on the disk.
You can open WordPad by typing WordPad in the taskbar search and clicking on it when it appears in the search results. Or you can open it from the Windows 10 Start menu – it’s in Windows Accessories/WordPad.
I hope this helps you, Margaret
Jim can’t find the Group Policy Editor (GPedit.MSC) on his Windows 10 computer
I have tried several things to get gpedit.MSC working on my Windows 10 Home PC and I’m not having any luck. It works on my other WIn 10 Home machine. I’ve been with you two for a long time and I’m a Booster and an Emsisoft user. And I‘d appreciate any suggestions. I might be listed as jrmowrey@charter.com also. I’ll be needing my Emsisoft renewal before long if I make it. I’m 90 now. Thank you and have a good day.
Our Answer
Hi Jim. Thanks so much for your support and your kind words.
The Group Policy Editor (GPEdit.MSC) is available natively only on Windows 10 Professional and Windows 11 Professional See this Microsoft page.
Group Policy Editor is in Windows 10 Pro (and Windows 11 Pro) because it is designed for businesses and small companies to set group policies across multiple computers. To use the Group Policy Editor in Windows 10 Home (and Windows 11 Home) you have to use a Windows hack, like the one we outlined here. to enable the Group Policy Editor on Windows 10 Home and/or Windows 11 Home.
We hope this helps you and answers your question, Jim.
——-
Jim wrote back: “Thanks TC. I had visited a similar web page before and had no luck. But this time I must have done something right and got gpedit.MSC working. This .bat file seemed to be different than the one I was trying before. I’ve saved the link you sent me in my Cloudeight folder in Bookmarks. Thanks again, and give Darcy a big hug. Ole Jim…”
Jean is wondering if a call she got from Amazon is legitimate
Hi, I’m just wondering if a phone call I received at 11.30 pm last night was genuine or a hack because it was just like how the hacks work ie took a while to answer, then said it was a call from Amazon and I just hung up straight away as I do with hackers because I thought this was one and if it was genuine, wouldn’t they have called me again, but they haven’t. Thanks so much for all the help you give members. Kindest regards, Jean.
Our answer
Hi Jean. Thanks for your nice comments.
Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc. will never call you – the only exception to this would be if you had a problem and had been working with them or in the case of Microsoft you scheduled a call with them. None of these companies would call you out of the blue.
Keep in mind it’s easy for hackers and con artists to change the “Calling From” number to anything they want. This is called “spoofing” and with the right software, it’s easy to do.
Anyone calling you for a legitimate purpose would leave a message if you didn’t answer. And if you don’t have voicemail or an answering machine, they will certainly call you back.
You did the right thing.
THE ONLY CLOUDEIGHT-ENDORSED EMAIL PROGRAM
OE Classic is the only Cloudeight Endorsed Email Program – Very Similar to Windows Mail & Outlook Express!
If you’re looking for an email program that feels familiar and works much like Windows Mail & Outlook Express, OE Classic might be exactly what you’ve been looking for!
Cheryl wants to know if we offer computer care and repair services for business computers
I was wondering if you offer your computer repair keys for a business computer.
Our answer
Hi Cheryl. We can work on any computer, business or personal. There is no difference in charges for personal vs business computers.
Just visit https://thundercloud.net/direct/ to learn more about our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care service.
I hope this answers your question. Thanks for asking.
Jason’s friend fell for a tech support scam
The Secretary of my Masonic Lodge told the members he contacted a company that he saw an ad for to clean a “virus” out of his computer. They sold him a lifetime plan where they would get into his computer and clean out any virus they found and do this every 3 months for life. It was $699.00.
I told him he not only got ripped off but they probably put a key logger into his computer. Because he just did this a week ago, I told him how to get out of it and told him about Emsisoft. I also just emailed him your latest newsletter to read. Hopefully, he will call me and not only sign up with you but get Emsisoft with you. He may also get a key with you to clean out the program from this other company and look for any key logger that I suspect may be on his computer.
Our answer
Hi Jason. Tell him to contact his credit card company IMMEDIATELY, dispute the charge, and put in a fraud report These are scams, and he could buy a new computer (or even TWO) for what he paid them. The credit card company will always take the side of the consumer.
Thanks for recommending us. And if and when he comes our way and we certainly will do all we can to help him.
Terry wants to know if we’d recommend this tip for password-protecting a folder
Would you recommend this: https://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/07/tutorial/password-protect-folder-windows-10-without-tool.html.
Is it an easy-to-break password?
Our answer
Hi Terry. I never understood why anyone would want to password-protect a folder. If you have folders you want to protect, password-protect your Windows user account and log out when you’re not using your computer. If you have other people using your computer, then separate and create accounts for them.
If you password-protect your Windows user account all you have to do is press Windows Key+ L to lock your computer. Then a password or PIN is required to log back in. That way no one can access any folders.
Sometimes those little “tricks” like password protecting a folder without using any software are just to show that it can be done. But if you don’t trust those who have access to your computer or don’t want people accessing a certain folder, how hard is it to press Windows Key + L whenever you’re not using your computer? Your computer’s locked, and no one can access any files, folders, or anything else on your computer without knowing your PIN or Windows password.
Don’t need any of our products or services right now?
Please help us to 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 the knowledge you need to navigate the Web safely, provide 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.
Are you interested in making an automatic monthly gift?
Visit this page. Help us keep helping you… and help you stay safe on the Web.