It’s another summer Saturday and that means it’s time for Saturday Bonus Questions & Answers.<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019re featuring some of the questions and answers from past issues of our\u00a0InfoAve Weekly<\/a> newsletters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These questions & answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.<\/span><\/p>\n Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 071622<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Eleanor has Windows 10 and wants to do daily backups<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Before we get to that, we recommend that you don\u2019t install the software that came with your external hard drive, it\u2019s unnecessary. Just plug it into a USB port on your computer. And, for best results with your backup make sure you leave the backup drive plugged in all the time. Only unplug it when absolutely necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n Plugin your external drive and use the following steps to turn on Windows 10 File History backup.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Right-click the start button & click \u201cSettings\u201d<\/span> That\u2019s it. With a drive as large as your Seagate, just leave File History set at its defaults.<\/span><\/p>\n File History backs up all your files and folders all the time. While it does not create an image backup, it creates reliable backups of all of the personal files (Pics, Documents, Music, Videos, Favorites, etc.). And with all the ways Windows 10 offers to recover your computer in case of major problems (and the fact you can make free Windows 10 installation media \u2013 DVD or USB flash drive) the need for image backups is less than it used to be in previous versions of Windows.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you!<\/span><\/p>\n Paul is suspicious of a scam<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> If you didn\u2019t give them a credit card number, then just ignore the call. If it\u2019s a cellphone you can block the number they\u2019re calling from. If it\u2019s a landline, call your telephone company and tell them about this and have them block the number.<\/span><\/p>\n You may also want to report the calls to local authorities. It\u2019s illegal to threaten people or attempt to extort money or trick people into paying money for something they didn\u2019t ask for or buy.<\/span> Uwe wants to use Proton Mail in Thunderbird<\/strong><\/span> Please advise. Thanks. Uwe.<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> We hope this helps you.<\/span><\/p>\n Bev\u2019s computer is having sleep issues<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> We set our computers to never sleep and to dim the screen after 10 minutes of inactivity. And that puts the computer into an idle state, but not sleep. The monitor\/screen uses most of the power so dimming the monitor\/screen after so many minutes of not being used is a great way to save power. If you do it our way, you don\u2019t have to worry about sleep mode and you still save power. Depending on your monitor or laptop screen it can use 100 to 200 watts, whereas the computer\/laptop itself when idle uses only 7 to 15 watts (about the same as or a bit more than a nightlight.).<\/span><\/p>\n We do practice what we preach. Here is how I have my laptop power settings. I leave my laptop plugged in 99% of the time. This laptop is over 7 years old. I have been settings this way since the early days of Windows 7 and it has never shortened the life of my hard drives or computers.<\/span><\/p>\n Assuming you\u2019re not using a laptop, right-click on your start button, click Power Options and do this:<\/span><\/p>\n Under Screen \u201cTurn off after 10 minutes\u201d.<\/span> If it is a laptop, under Screen set it to 5 minutes when on battery and 15 minutes when plugged in.<\/span><\/p>\n And under \u201cPower\u201d change it to \u201cPC goes to sleep after 10 minutes\u201d when on battery, and \u201cNever\u201d when it\u2019s plugged in.<\/span><\/p>\n If you want to try to fix your sleep mode\u2026 do this.<\/span><\/p>\n Right-click on your start button and choose \u201cPower options\u201d. Then change whatever settings you have for sleep to something different. In other words, if you have it set to sleep after 10 minutes, change it to 15 minutes -just make sure it\u2019s different. Then restart your computer. Most of the time, just changing the sleep timer works. If this doesn\u2019t work, there are more complicated solutions. Let us know if you need more help.<\/span><\/p>\n Please consider making a small donation and help us to keep on helping you!<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Judy wants to know if this program will speed up her Internet connection<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> It is not spyware, but I think is more of a psychological fix than one that will make a real difference.<\/span><\/p>\n Lee wants to know why links don\u2019t open up with his email program anymore<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Type DEFAULT APPS in the taskbar search and press Enter<\/span> Now open Chrome and click on the 3 vertical dots in the top right corner.<\/span><\/p>\n Click on Settings.<\/span><\/p>\n When Chrome Settings opens, click on Privacy and security.<\/span><\/p>\n Click on Site Settings, then click on the right arrow\u00a0><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Scroll down to Additional permissions and expand that section by clicking the down arrow.<\/span><\/p>\n Next to \u201d Protocol handlers\u201d, click on the right arrow\u00a0><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n At the top make sure the circle next to \u201cSites can ask to handle protocols\u201d is selected.<\/span><\/p>\n Open Chrome and go to www.gmail.com<\/a><\/span>. In the address bar next to the star, you\u2019ll see an icon that looks like 2 overlapping diamonds. Click that icon. Under \u201cAllow mail.google.com to open all email links?\u201d tick \u201cAllow\u201d, then click \u201cDone\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s it. From now on your email links should open in Gmail.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Lee.<\/span><\/p>\n Mikeal wants to know what we currently recommend to make image backups<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> We not currently recommending or promoting any image backup software. We recommend using Windows 10 File History to back up your files and folders. Windows 10 has System Reset available to reinstall Windows without removing your files, folders, etc. All you have to do is reinstall your programs \u2013 and Windows makes that easier by leaving a list of programs that were removed by the reset, on your desktop.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, Windows 10 is available for free, so you can make installation media (USB or DVD) so reinstalling Windows on a new hard drive is fairly easy. All this makes image backups a lot less important.<\/span><\/p>\n If you still feel you need an image backup, Macrium Reflect works well. The free version is available from here<\/a>. The program is easy to use, and its documentation is excellent.<\/span><\/p>\n I hope this helps you, Mikeal.<\/span> Betty needs to switch her browser<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> There are a lot of good browsers out there \u2013 any of the following would work for you if you want to use a separate, dedicated browser to check your email.<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a short list:<\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft Edge<\/strong> \u2013 This is Microsoft\u2019s browser and you already have it on Windows 10. If you don\u2019t already have a shortcut for it on your taskbar, type Microsoft Edge<\/strong> in the taskbar search to find it. Then open Edge. Once it\u2019s open, right-click on its taskbar icon and \u201cPin to taskbar\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Firefox<\/strong> \u2013 Firefox is a great browser and I use it often as a secondary browser. It\u2019s been around a long time and it\u2019s constantly being improved. You can download Firefox from this page<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Opera<\/strong> \u2013 Not the most popular browser and a bit quirky looking but it does get the job done. If you don\u2019t mind it being a little different, it\u2019s fast and works well. You can download Opera here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Of course, there are many other choices like Brave, Vivaldi, Waterfox, Pale Moon, Chromium, and on and on. But I think you\u2019ll find the right one for you if you just stick with the four listed above.<\/span><\/p>\n If you need anything else, please let us know.<\/span><\/p>\n Paul wants to know why his start menu looks different than ours<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Right-click the Start button.<\/span> Once you\u2019ve checked on Tablet mode, let\u2019s check to make sure you don\u2019t have your Start menu set up as full-screen. If you do, you\u2019ll see no apps\/programs \u2013 all you\u2019ll see are tiles sprawling across your desktop. Let\u2019s check this.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Right-click the taskbar.<\/span> We hope this helps you, Paul.<\/span> Phyllis wants to know what we think of Nord VPN<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Nord VPN makes so many false claims in their TV commercials, I wouldn\u2019t know where to begin. I\u2019ll make it simple. A VPN does not protect you from spam, malware, identity theft, hackers, or anything else. A VPN is like a proxy that routes your Internet traffic through a VPN server. With a VPN provider, you can choose to appear to be from Eastern Europe, Japan, China, the USA, Europe, South America, or some other place in Canada than you are.<\/span><\/p>\n But it\u2019s absolutely not true that a VPN prevents you from having your identity stolen, protects you from malware, or keeps hackers away \u2013 it merely hides your IP address. Most people have their identities stolen by falling for fake emails and counterfeit websites. Most people get malware by downloading bundled software where the program they want is bundled with stuff they don\u2019t. VPNs cannot protect you from being tricked.<\/span><\/p>\n Please read this Cloudeight article<\/a> for more information about VPNs.<\/span><\/p>\n Save your money, Kelly. Don\u2019t believe much of what you hear about VPN<\/span>s.<\/p>\n Yvonne wants to know why she has so many Chrome processes running <\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Chrome opens each tab\/page in a separate process \u2013 and it also opens active extensions in separate processes. While this makes it look like you have many Chrome browsers open in Task Manager, it\u2019s only Chrome showing each tab\/page and active extension as a separate process.<\/span><\/p>\n If you close a Chrome process, you\u2019ll end up closing a tab\/page or extension.<\/span><\/p>\n I hope this helps explain why you have so many Chrome processes showing in Task Manager.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nHi\u2026I\u2019ve had your Infoave Premium for years and have read all your wonderful suggestions over the years. I\u2019ve wanted to back up my computer for quite a while and finally bought a Seagate 4 TB Backup Plus Portable backup. I have not connected it yet because I\u2019m wondering if there is a program that I could get to just daily backup what\u2019s new instead of backing up everything every day. I don\u2019t know if you could help me with this, but I thought I would ask anyway. Thanks\u2026Eleanor<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Eleanor. Windows 10 comes with a really good backup program that is available to you.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n2. In Settings click on \u201cUpdate & Security\u201d<\/span>
\n3. In Update & Security click on \u201cBackup\u201d in the menu on the left.<\/span>
\n4. Under \u201cBack up using File History\u201d click the big plus sign next to \u201cAdd a drive\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/fhistory.png\")
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\n5. Select your Seagate 4TB hard drive.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nHi. I hope you can help me. In the last two days, I\u2019ve gotten phone calls from a place called \u201cComputer Services\u201d. They said my account has been expired and that I should call them at the number at the end of the call. What Account? They indicated a charge has been put on my account of $399.00. The call sounded like it was computer-generated to me. The amount of $399.00 is for 5 years. I thought I knew a scam when I saw one, but this one if it is has me confused. Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Paul. This is a scam. They can\u2019t charge \u201cyour account\u201d anything if you did not give them a credit card number \u2013 if you did give them a credit card number, call your credit card company ASAP, and report you\u2019ve been scammed, and they\u2019ll remove the charge and prevent them from charging anything again.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nPaul wrote back: \u201cHi. Thank you for the quick reply to the question I had concerning the phone scam. I feel a lot better now. Thanks again. Paul \u201c<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nHello folks. I would like to use Proton Mail that you recommended previously, but I would like to put it into my Thunderbird email program for easier access. I\u2019m not sure how to go about it and don\u2019t want to jam up my 2 existing email accounts that are currently in the program.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Uwe. Proton mail (Free) does not support POP3 or IMAP, so you cannot use Proto (free) in any email program \u2013 Thunderbird, Outlook, or any other.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI am trying to get my computer to go to sleep rather than shutting it down every night. Before the last update, it worked well for me, but now it does not. Any ideas on how I can fix it? I have another computer that is much slower, and it was not messed up with the update, but not the main one that I use for most things. I don\u2019t understand how this can happen like that. You people are so good at helping fix all these silly things. m I don\u2019t know what people who don\u2019t follow you make out. I know I would be totally lost. Thanks for all your help. Bev.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Bev\u2026 thanks! It seems to me that Windows 10\u2019s \u201cSleep\u201d has never worked the way it should. But anyway\u2026 there\u2019s no point in putting a computer to sleep unless it\u2019s a laptop and you\u2019re moving from place to place. Windows 10\u2019s sleep is a hybrid of sleep and hibernation, and many people report problems with it.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/psettings.png\")
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\nUnder \u201cSleep\u201d set it to \u201cNever\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Help](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2021\/donate2021-small.png\")
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\nRecently I did a speed test on my laptop using speedtest.org. Anyway, my download was 5.17 Mbps and the upload was .51 Mbps. Not very good but much better than dial-up. The site pointed out a file to download called SG TCPOptimizer 4 which is supposed to provide an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing Internet connection. I wonder if you know of it and can it make a difference? I don\u2019t want to put it on my computer for fear it is Spyware. I value your opinion. Thanks for your time. Judy L.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Judy. It won\u2019t hurt your computer to try it. And it\u2019s free. And it may increase your speed but only nominally (maybe a few tenths of Mb). Read this honest review here. But whether you have 5.17 Mbps or 5.5 Mbps, you\u2019re not going to notice a difference. The only way you\u2019re going to get noticeably faster speeds is by using an ISP that can provide it, or paying extra if your ISP offers a \u201ctiered\u201d service.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI used to use Outlook 2010 and when I clicked on an email link on a website it automatically opened a new Outlook email for me to complete. However since I had to stop using Outlook as Sky Mail won\u2019t accept it anymore, can you please tell me how to link my new email client, say Gmail, so that a website email link will open a Gmail new email. At the moment it still opens Outlook. Thanks for all the help this past year and all your great advice and tips.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Lee. Thank you! The program that opens email links is not determined by your email service; it is determined by your Windows 10 settings.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIn \u201cDefault apps\u201d click on \u201cMail\u201d<\/span>
\nSelect \u201cGoogle Chrome\u201d.<\/span>
\nClose Settings<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/default.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2021\/protocol-handlers.png\")
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\nI can\u2019t thank you both enough for all the information you give all of us in your newsletters. My question concerns image backup software. Cloudeight used to have an image backup software you installed and set up. I don\u2019t see the information for that service any longer. Is that no longer available? Thanks again for all you both do to help everyone who asks.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Mikeal. Thanks so much for your very kind comments.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nMikeal wrote back: \u201cThank you so much for the reply, I will do that with a fresh start and back up the files and folders with Windows 10\u2026and again \u201cThat was painless to do the reset on windows 10. I can now trim down the number of apps I had installed\u2026 Thank you so much for the insight into what I needed. Blessings to you both. Mikeal.\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI have Windows 10 and I\u2019ve been using Internet Explorer. My Internet provider is recommending that we stop using IE and use something else. I have Google Chrome installed, but I would like to use a separate one for my email. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks for all your help over the years. Donna<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Betty. Thanks so much!<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI love your newsletters and read them both as soon as I get them. But I have a problem. Whenever you have a tip about the start menu, you show screenshots of a Windows 10 start menu with programs on it. When I open my Windows 10 start menu all I see are tiles. What am I don\u2019t wrong?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Paul. Thanks! I\u2019m guessing you\u2019re not using a tablet. If you are then you won\u2019t get the Desktop\/Laptop Start menu we show in our article. If you\u2019re using a desktop\/laptop, make sure you don\u2019t have Tablet mode turned on. Do this:<\/span><\/p>\n
\nClick \u201cSettings\u201d<\/span>
\nClick \u201cSystem\u201d<\/span>
\nIn the \u201cSystem\u201d settings window, click \u201cTablet mode\u201d in the menu on the left.<\/span>
\nMake sure that the Tablet mode is not turned on. Your settings should look like the settings shown in the screenshot below.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/tabletmode.png\")
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\n2. Click \u201cTaskbar settings\u201d.<\/span>
\n3. When the \u201cTaskbar settings\u201d window opens click \u201cStart\u201d (in the menu on the left.<\/span>
\n4. In the Start menu settings window make sure \u201cShow more tiles on Start\u201d is off \u2013 and more importantly, make sure \u201cUse Start full screen\u201d is turned off.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/startfull.png\")
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\n\u2014\u2014<\/span>
\nPaul wrote back: \u201cThanks so much! You nailed it. I had my start menu set full screen. I have no idea how that happened, but thanks to you, it\u2019s set up right now. Keep up the great work. Paul.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI can\u2019t tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to dig in and get it done. I will be a staunch supporter of both of you as you continue to help so many of us. I will also be more careful and not get into trouble, if possible! Phyllis<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Phyllis. Thanks so much for your kind words!<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI noticed that I have an excess of (11) Chrome.exe 32 processes open in Task Manager. Chrome is my default browser. Do I need all of these? They are using more than a bit of memory. I took a screenshot but I don\u2019t see a way to include it in this form. I haven\u2019t a clue as to what I can \u201cstop\u201d or \u201cend\u201d without screwing up things. My favorite motto is: \u201cThou shalt not screw up my computer.\u201d Thanks!<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Yvonne. Back in the old days, and still, with some older browsers, the browser opened all pages\/tabs in the same process. While this sure looked good in Task Manager, if\/when the browser crashed, all the pages\/tabs that were open, and all your extensions, all crashed together.<\/span><\/p>\n
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![\"Senior](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/telephone.png\")
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