Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 062125
Yesterday was the longest day of the year in our neck of the woods.. If you live in the southern hemisphere, it was the shortest. And today, in our locale, it is Saturday, and it’s time for another Saturday Bonus Questions & Answers edition.
Sometimes, the best tips and tricks are hidden in the published questions and answers. And rarely do we post questions and answers on this website. 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.
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Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 062125
Patricia wants to know if private browsing is good or bad
Hi. Is in-private browsing good or bad? If it’s bad, do I turn it off?
Our answer
Hi Patricia. Private browsing is good for a lot of things, but keeping your IP address private is not one of them. Private browsing (or Incognito mode on Chrome) is not something you turn on or off – it’s something you can choose to use or not.
Read our article “Some Things Private Browsing is Good For – Hint: Privacy is not one of them“
Hope this is what you’re looking for.
Julia gets a scam call about a compromised IP address from her telephone number
I just received a call on my home phone from someone named Allison saying my IP address has been compromised. I hung up on her, mainly because the caller ID had my name and phone number on it. How is this possible, and was this a scam?
Our answer
Hi Julia. Yes, it is a scam. Always hang up immediately. No one, other than a scammer, is going to call you and say they can see your IP address and tell you that it is compromised. These scammers have auto dialers making millions of calls. They are usually calling from other countries and have hundreds of operators to pick up the calls if someone answers.
To make matters worse, scammers now have the technology to fake the “calling from” phone number so they can make it appear they’re calling from any phone number – even legitimate and well-known companies’ phone numbers or even your phone number.
Always remember that no one is going to call you out of the blue about your computer being infected, your IP address is being compromised, or your computer is in dire need of repairs. It’s never going to happen.
You did the right thing by hanging up. Good job!
Carol asks about Windows 7 Backup & Restore in Windows 10
Is Windows system image reliable? I see it is in the Control Panel under Backup & Restore (Windows 7). I understand it is different than file history.
Our answer
Hi Carol. Windows System Image backup is not reliable – it was introduced with Windows 7 and wasn’t very reliable then. Interestingly, the same Windows 7 image backup is included with Windows 10 and Windows 11 for some unknown reason.
But the good news is that since System Reset is very reliable and since you can reset your computer (completely wipe out Windows and reinstall a fresh copy of Windows while keeping all your files), the need for an image backup has become much less important. See our article about Windows Reset here.
Also, it’s important to remember that image backups created on one computer should not be used on a different computer.
For backing up your files and folders and creating a backup that you can use if you get a new computer, we no longer recommend File History; we recommend using OneDrive with 1 TB of space.
We hope you find this helpful, Carol.
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Frank has a write-protected flash drive and cannot format it
I have a USB flash drive that is write-protected. I have tried everything I can to format it, but every time it comes back that it is protected. What can I do?
Our answer
Hi Frank. Several third-party tools can be used to format a write-protected flash drive. One option is Rufus. Rufus is a free and open-source tool that can be used to format USB drives, create bootable media, and more. To use Rufus to format a write-protected (or password-protected) flash drive, follow these steps:
Connect your flash drive to your computer.
Launch Rufus.
Select your flash drive from the “Device” drop-down menu in the Rufus window.
In the “File system” drop-down menu, select the file system that you want to use for your flash drive.
If you want to encrypt your flash drive, select the “Encrypt device” checkbox and enter a password. (You should skip this step unless you have a reason to encrypt that flash drive.)
Click the “Start” button to begin formatting your flash drive.
Once the formatting process is complete, your flash drive will be formatted and ready to use.
Important: Formatting a flash drive will erase all of the data on it.
We hope this helps you, Frank. If you have any more questions, just let us know.
Candace says her Windows 11 Computer tells her that her device security is turned off
I hope you can help me. I have a security notice saying that my device security is off. it directs me to the settings, but I see no on-off. How do I turn it on? Thanks much! Candace.
Our answer
Hi Candace. Many of us who have older or less expensive Windows 11 computers frequently see this warning. As long as you’ve got good security software like Emsisoft installed (and you do) you need not be concerned.
Here’s how to change your settings so you won’t see that warning again…
•Type Security in the taskbar search.
•When the Windows Security app opens, click on Device Security in the left pane.
•Under Core isolation, click “Dismiss all”.
•On the page that opens, turn the switches to “Off” under “Memory integrity” and “Local Security Authority protection”.
•Close the Windows Security app.
It’s interesting to note that in Windows 10, those settings were turned off by default.
Let me know if you have any further questions, Candace.
——-
Candace wrote back: “Thanks so much, TC.”
Lee and Vera want to know why a recent Windows update affected their browser’s start page
Dear Darcy and TC. My wife and I both use StartPage and have done for several years. Since the recent Windows update, every time we log into it, a pink banner comes up at the top of the page under the address bar, saying… “We’re sorry, the page you requested is not found. The URL may be misspelled or the page you’re looking for is no longer available.”
Yet the page is working. Do you have any idea why this is happening on both of our computers? Thanks very much. Lee and Vera.
Our answer
Hi Lee and Vera. I don’t use StartPage so off the top of my head, I have no idea. But a Windows update would not affect your browser unless you use Microsoft Edge. Since you don’t mention what browser you use, I will assume you use Edge. I suggest you reset your browser. Here is a tutorial on resetting Edge as well as Chrome and Firefox. Resetting your browser and clearing your cache will probably resolve your problem. If you’re using the StartPage extension, resetting your browser will disable the extension, but you can turn it back on.
What happens when you click this link? Does it go to StartPage?
We hope this helps you.
——-
Lee wrote back… “Thanks for the advice. Will do as you say and make Startpage my browser’s home page and default search engine. Best regards…Lee.
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Rosemarie wants to know how to split her computer screen
Dear Friends. Thank you for your constant companionship and help in your newsletters. Living in the deep south of France, where nothing goes and is very much a senior (82) without “computer-speak,” I do occasionally need help. I am using Windows 10. How do I split the screen, either left-right or above and below? I have a long translation to do and need to be able to see what I have to do and what I have done. Thank you so much, and best regards.
Our answer
Hi Rosemarie. Thanks so much for your very nice comments and your support.
You can move any program Window left, right, up, or down by using the Windows key and the arrow keys. You can split the screen into 2, 3, or 4 sections this way.
Windows Key + Left Arrow moves the window to the left side of the screen.
Windows Key + Right Arrow moves the window to the right side of the screen.
Windows Key + Down Arrow moves the window to the bottom of the screen.
Windows Key + Up Arrow moves the window to the top half of the screen.
By using the Windows Key and the Arrow Keys, you can “Split” the screen into four quadrants.
We hope this helps you, Rosemarie.
Ann got a mysterious support pop-up
Hi, Darcy & TC. Just have a question about a System Support pop-up saying that Windows was going to shut down this computer if I didn’t call them immediately. I got it closed after several tries, but I want to see if you can come on and make sure nothing was hacked or if this is just one of those phishing emails.
Our answer
It sounds like a typical tech support scam from what you described. A tech support scam is an ad that pops up when you click something in an email or while you’re browsing the web. You did the right thing by not calling the tech support number.
However, these kinds of popups can also come from browser extensions and other PUPs, but without checking, we cannot be certain where this support scam popup is coming from. If you continue to see it then you may have installed a browser extension or freeware bundle that is initiating the scam tech support pop-up. You would then need to identify and remove the offending program or extension.
If you continue to have problems with these pop-ups, never call the tech support number or you’ll be contacting scammers who will try to get you to give them a credit card number.
If your problems persist, we can check things over with our Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Service. We can make sure that nothing is installed on your computer that is causing these pop-ups and make sure your computer is clean and free from anything that shouldn’t be there.
Please let us know if we can be of assistance.
Phyllis tells us that all of a sudden, her computer is in black and white
I was trying to change the text color from white to black under the desktop icons and all of a sudden, everything on my computer is now black and white. I have no idea what I would have clicked on for this to happen. I looked up how to change it back but every suggestion I found did not get it back so I can have color again…even my photos are black and white. Is this something you can help me with? Thank you.
Our answer
Hi Phyllis. Windows 10 has a feature called Color Filters that when activated can everything to grayscale (black and white).
Try this: Press and hold down your Windows key while pressing the CTRL key and the C key. The Windows + CTRL + C shortcut enables or disables color filters for the screen.
You can also turn off Windows 10 Color Filters this way:
1. Right-click the start button.
2. Click Settings
3. Click Ease of Access
4. Click Color Filters
5. Turn off the switch
Hope this helps you.
—–
Phyllis wrote back: “Thank you so much, TC…you saved me from another day of frustration! It restored my colors… Phyllis“
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Norris tells us that a friend is using Windows 11, but it says it’s Windows 10
I visited a friend who had a Windows notebook. When I typed “About” in the taskbar search, it said he had Windows 10 Home Edition and the latest version. Yet the start menu was like Windows 11, with “All apps” showing the list of apps. Confusing?
Our answer
Hi Norris. “About your PC” should say Windows 10 or Windows 11, depending on what version of Windows your friend is using. I don’t know why a Windows 11 computer would say Windows 10.
The best way to see what version of Windows you’re using is to type WINVER in the taskbar search and press Enter when you see WINvER appear in the search results.
The “All apps” button has not appeared on the Windows 10 start menus since Windows 10 version 1607 (2016).
Other ways to tell if a computer is running Windows 10 or Windows 11.
In Windows 11, the taskbar is centered by default; in Windows 10 it’s left-aligned. Also, if the PC is using Windows 11, there are other ways to tell. If you press the Windows key + w in Windows 10, Windows 10 Workspace opens. If you press the Windows key + w in Windows 11, the Windows 11 Widgets panel opens. In Windows 10, in settings it’s Settings > Apps > All apps; in Windows 11 it’s Settings > Apps > Installed apps. There are many other ways to tell, but those are two other quick ways to tell if a computer is running Windows 11 or Windows 10.
We hope this helps you, Norris.
Robert wants to know how to reset Windows 10 and Windows 11
I’m sure you have given instructions on how to reformat a computer and reload Windows. This is to get rid of programs from computer makers, and such. If you can, I know you can give me how to do it for Windows 10 and 11. Thanks, Robert.
Our Answer
Hi Robert. Here are the instructions for Windows 10. This will wipe out all your programs, Windows apps, personal files, and all data, and reinstall Windows 10.
1. Type RESET in the taskbar search
2. Press Enter when you see “Reset this PC”.
3. Windows Recovery will open
4. Click “Get started” under Reset this PXC
5. Choose “Remove everything”.
Once you click “Remove everything,” you’ll see this…
You’ll be asked how you want to reinstall Windows. Selecting “Local reinstall” will save you time. But you can choose either option. However, if your computer has been running poorly and you suspect Windows files may be corrupted, you should choose “Cloud download,” but this will make the reset process take much longer.
You see “Additional settings” next. Assuming you’re not going to sell or give away your computer, you can just go ahead and click “Next”. If you want to completely wipe the hard drive beyond recovery, click “Change settings.” Be forewarned that if you choose that option, the process with take several hours. If you’re not giving away or selling the computer or you don’t expect the person you’re selling it to or giving it to be a computer expert, just click “Next”.
You’ll see this screen next. If you’re sure you want to reset your PC, click “Reset”. You can also cancel at this point if you’re not sure of something…
Normally, a reset with a local reinstall will take about an hour.
Windows 11 Reset is nearly the same as Windows 10.
Type RESET in the taskbar search
Press enter when you see Reset this PC
Settings > System Recovery will open
Click “Reset PC”.
Click “‘Remove everything”…
Click Local Reinstall
Unless you have a reason to spend several extra hours wiping the hard drive and overwriting it with gibberish to prevent file recovery from someone using forensic software, click “Next”…
If you’re sure you want to do the reset, click “Reset”…
We hope this helps you, Robert. If you have more questions, just let us know.
Robert F. can’t change his start menu and taskbar color in Windows 10
Hi Darcy and TC. I followed your directions and went to Personalize, then Colors, and made sure “Automatically pick an accent color from my background” was not checked. I then scrolled down and chose a color, but I could only check one box below the colors because the “Start, taskbar, and action center” buttons were grayed out and unable to be checked. Is there a way to work around and check it? Thank you again for all that you do. Your Friend, Robert F.
Our answer
Thank you, Robert!
You cannot color the taskbar and start menu unless the following are true:
1. Default Windows mode must be set to “Dark,” not “Light”.
2. Default app mode must be set to “Light,” not “Dark”.
3. Transparency effects should be turned “Off”.
See the screenshot below:
If you don’t have it set as shown above (except transparency, which I strongly recommend you turn off for best results), you will not have the option to color the taskbar and the Start menu.
To change your color settings, right-click on your desktop and click “personalize”. In Personalization settings, click on “Colors”.
Let us know if this helps.
—–—-
Robert wrote back: “Perfect TC…couldn’t be better! Thanks again.”
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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.