Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 062522

By | June 25, 2022
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Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 062522

It’s the first Saturday of summer or winter depending on where upon this pale blue dot you live. And you know what Saturday means –  it’s time for Saturday Bonus Questions & Answers.

Sometimes the best tips and tricks are hidden in the questions and answers we publish. 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 – 062522

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 program Windows to 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 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 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

Cloudeight InfoAve Premium

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


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 own 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!


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 are 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:

Cloudeight InfoAve Premium

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.”


Jackie wants to know how to find her print queue
I am using Windows 10. How can I find the print queue to delete jobs that I don’t want to print? I would appreciate any feedback you have about the print queue. Thanks.

Our answer
Hi Jackie. You should have a print queue icon (it looks like a little printer) in your notification area/system tray (the area next to the time/date in the lower right-hand corner of your screen). If you don’t see it there, click the up arrow on the left edge of the notification area/system tray to expand it so you can see all the icons.

If you still don’t see it do this:

Right-click the start button & click “Settings”. In Settings, click on “Devices”, then click “Printers and scanners” in the menu on the left. Find your printer in the list. Now just click on your printer and click “Open queue”. See the screenshot below:

Cloudeight InfoAve Premium

Hope this helps you!


Jerry wants to know the difference between Windows “Sleep” mode and “Shutdown”.
HI you all, It’s HOT here in Las Vegas, NV. MY question is, what is the difference between “sleep” and just shutting it down? What keeps running in sleep mode? Thanx, Jerry.

Our answer
Hi Jerry. “Sleep” is a low power state where everything is kept in memory but other parts of the PC (like the hard drive) are idle. The PC uses very little power during sleep. In Sleep mode, your computer uses about 12 watts. That’s about the same as a night light.

If you shut down your computer, the memory cache and RAM are flushed (erased) and Windows shuts down. When you restart Windows will have to reload, and your HDD will spin up (an SSD will power up).

We rarely use sleep and rarely shut down our computers. We simply set the screen to dim after 10 minutes of inactivity. Your monitor or laptop screen is the real power gobbler.

We hope this answers your question, Jerry.


Mike’s laptop screen went from landscape to portrait mode
I have a touchscreen laptop and somehow, I touched somewhere on the touchscreen and now my screen is in portrait mode instead of landscape. I can’t find out how to get it back to landscape. How can I change my screen back from portrait to landscape? HELP!

Our answer
Hi Mike. It’s called screen rotation – it’s a feature of your video card. I don’t know what brand of PC you have, but you usually can change the screen orientation by using the CTRL+ALT+ an arrow key.

CTRL+ALT+Right Arrow would put your screen back to Landscape mode. CTRL+ALT+Up Arrow would put your screen in Portrait mode.

Hope this helps you, Mike.
————
Mike wrote back: “THANKS so much! It worked! I was going crazy trying to use my laptop. You guys are the greatest! Thank you again, Mike.”


Donna says she’s an administrator but is still locked out of a folder
In your (Cloudeight InfoAve Premium) Aug.16 issue Walt asked about Apps. When I tried to go into my data I was blocked even though when I check my account I have Admin. privileges. can’t figure out how to access it as I never had a problem accessing anything before. Thanks for all your help.

Our answer
Hi Donna. The WindowsApps folder is locked and being an administrator does not allow you access to that folder. To access it you’ll need to take ownership of the folder. As we stated in the newsletter:

“To see the folder at C:\Program Files\WindowsApps you have to unhide hidden folders in File Explorer / View / Options / Change folder and search options. If you try to open that folder you’ll be blocked by Windows security settings. You can access it changing its security settings or by taking ownership of the folder.”

You can take ownership of a folder by right-clicking on it, clicking “Properties” changing the owner name in the security tab, and taking several more steps. If you want to do it that way, the long way, read this Laptop Magazine article.

If you want to do it the short way, download this reg file to add “Take ownership” to your right-click menu. You’ll be able to right-click on the folder or file that you want to take ownership of and choose “Take ownership”.

Once you download the zip file, unzip it, double-click the first file called “Install Take Ownership, click OK when you see the warnings about adding things to the registry.

If you ever want to remove Take Ownership from your right-click menu, we’ve included a reg file in the zip file called Uninstall Take Ownership.

Remember, being an administrator does not give you access to every file and folder on your computer – as illogical as that seems. Sometimes you have to take ownership of a file or folder to see and/or modify it.


Bob forgot his router password
I can’t remember my wireless router username and password. What can I do? Please help!.

Our answer
Hi Bob. The first thing to do is to find the default username & password for your router make and model. It will be in its manual. If you don’t have a manual, go to this site:

http://www.routerpasswords.com/

… and find your router’s default password by brand and model number.

You will have to reset the router back to factory settings. All routers have a reset button on the back or bottom. Normally it’s quite small. You may need to use a pen or other object to press the reset button. See your router’s manual or visit the manufacturer’s website to find out where the reset button is located on your router.

After you find your router’s default username/password. Reset the router and enter the default username and password to access it. After you’ve regained access, you can then go in and change both the username and password to whatever you want.

If you need any more help, let us know.
——–
Bob wrote back: “Thanks so much for this. I was able to get into my router settings and now have a new password. Thanks again! Bob”


Patricia wants to know if private browsing is good or bad
Hi. Is in-private browsing good or bad? If it’s bad-how 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 you are looking for.


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Kathy’s son was tricked by scammers
I’m writing on behalf of my son. This morning he got a notice that his computer had been hacked, and had spyware and other unwanted stuff on it. Believing this guy, my son let him into his computer. My son gave him control of his computer. He watched the guy do everything. Now my son is having second thoughts because the phone number was from overseas. The company is Ad BlockPlus. I was wondering if you know anything about this company or did my son get taken for almost $500. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you, Kathy P.

Our answer
We’re sorry to hear about what happened to your son, Kathy.

AdBlockPlus does not offer paid support. What happened to your son is a typical tech support scam. The first thing he needs to do is call his credit card company and tell them he was scammed and request a chargeback – this is a forced refund. The next thing he needs to do is do use System Restore to go back to a time before the scammers were on his computer.

It’s important to note that even if a company does offer paid support, $500 is an outrageous amount considering you can buy a nice new computer for less than that.

We’re sorry that this happened to him. Make sure he gets in touch with his credit card company right away.

If you need any more help, please let us know.
———–
Kathy wrote back: “Hi TC. Thank you for getting back to me, I really appreciate it. I will pass this on to my son. You guys have always been a help to me throughout the years and I thank you. I just love your stationery and have your “home page”. Thanks again… Kathy.


Bonnie said her text suddenly got very tiny in Gmail
Yesterday, my emails in Gmail went to very small text. Those I send use the settings I set but my Inbox and received emails are very small text. Is there a way to get my larger text back?

Our answer
Hi Bonnie. Text on most websites (including Gmail) is quite easy to make bigger or smaller on the fly.

You can use your CTRL key plus your mouse wheel to increase or decrease the size of the font on Gmail (and most other websites). You can also use your CTRL key and the + (plus) or – (minus) key to change font sizes.

See our article here to learn more.

Please let me know if this helps you, Bonnie,
—–
Bonnie wrote back: “Worked perfectly! Thank you so much! Bonnie.”


Debbie wants more information about the Yandex browser
Have you ever heard of a browser named Yandex? It’s a Russian browser and I wondered what you thought of it. Thanks in advance and thank you for all you do for us!

Our answer
Hi Debbie. Thanks for your nice comments.

I didn’t test the Yandex Browser, but I did some research for you:

Yandex is to Russia what Google is to most of the rest of the world. Yandex is Russia’s biggest & most popular search engine and webmail provider. It’s now expanded into the Web browsing business with Yandex Browser, built on Chromium the open-source version of Google Chrome.

It supposedly has extra protection against compromised websites, fake sites, and questionable downloads using Kaspersky (you guessed it – another Russian company).

The problem we’ve found with these types of browsers – and there have been many over the years – the protection leaves a lot to be desired. Not speaking specifically about Yandex, but generally about browsers with many “extra protection” features built-in — you end up with a lot of false positives, which generally becomes a nuisance.

When I tried to read more about the browser and what the company has to say about it on their blog on the Yandex website, I was greeted with:

Блог команды Яндекс.Браузера…

The entire blog is in Cyrillic. I don’t understand a word of it!

Moving on to the License Agreement which is in English, I found this:

BSD License

Copyright © 2014, The Chromium Authors. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 

Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

Neither the name of the Google Inc. nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

So there it is, Yandex is based on Chromium, just like Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge, and others. I did not test Yandex. There are so many other browsers out there, I don’t see any reason to use a Russian browser. But to each his own. I don’t think there is any danger in using it. You may find it quirky and leaning heavily toward Yandex Search. If you want to try it, I don’t think it will cause any harm. You can download it at https://browser.yandex.com/

We are in no way recommending that anyone download the Yandex browser. But if you do try it, please let us know what you think.


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One thought on “Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 062522

  1. Imogene L

    Good morning. I need your help again as your newsletters have been coming under a new address, feedblitz…, and going to my junk mail folder eventho for few week I have been clicking ‘not junk’. I did add that address to my contacts folder, but not help. thank you

    Reply

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