<\/p>\n
It’s April and that means if you’re in the USA it’s time to pay your dues to Uncle Sam. If you’ve been procrastinating, we’ve got good news for you. Since tax day falls on Saturday this year, the IRS is giving everyone until midnight on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, to file their taxes.\u00a0 If you had money coming back from Uncle Sam, you’ve already filed and spent your refund, but for most of us who owe taxes, we’re going to wait until the midnight hour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Enough tax stuff, I tells ya! It’s S<\/span>aturday and it’s time for another edition of Saturday Bonus Questions & Answers.<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019re featuring some of the questions and answers from past issues of our InfoAve Weekly<\/a> newsletters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These questions & answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.<\/span><\/p>\n Please help us to continue to help you with your Windows computer questions and help you to stay safe in the crazy world of the Internet. We need your support – even the smallest gift helps us. Please… help us by making a donation.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 041523<\/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 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 your 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, Eleanor.<\/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> Leslie says her computer got messed up when she installed Firefox<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> You can switch your default browser back to Chrome in about 60 seconds. Here\u2019s how:<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Right-click your Start button<\/span> You can\u2019t uninstall or remove YouTube because it\u2019s a website, not a program. All you have to do is go to https:\/\/www.youtube.com<\/a> \u2013 any time you want to. And if you want to add it to your bookmarks again just see this Cloudeight page<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you need more help or have any other questions, just let us know.<\/span><\/p>\n Karen downloads things and then can\u2019t find them\u2026<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> I am not sure what you mean by getting icons on the front page\u2026 do you mean your desktop? Generally, you can put a shortcut to any file, program, or folder by right-clicking on the file, folder, or program, and choosing \u201cSend to > Desktop (Create shortcut) from the menu that appears when you right-click an item. Here\u2019s an annotated screenshot.<\/span><\/p>\n I hope this helps you, Karen.<\/span><\/p>\n Uwe wants to use Proton Mail in Thunderbird<\/strong><\/span> Please advise. Thanks. Uwe.<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> I hope this helps you.<\/span><\/p>\n Don’t have a Cloudeight SeniorPass? It’s a great deal. Learn more here.<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Our Cloudeight SeniorPass is a great deal. You get unlimited support for one full year from the date you first use your SeniorPass. We can help keep your computer running well, fix all kinds of computer problems, clean up malware, and a whole lot more. Our SeniorPass is like having insurance for your computer. And it’s only $99 for an entire year.<\/span><\/p>\n Get your SeniorPass today for just $99.\u00a0 It’s just like having insurance for your computer – only better!<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n To learn more about our SeniorPass, please see this page.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Vari wants to know how to save important emails in Gmail<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> You can save any label (folder) in Gmail by using Google Takeout. Read our article here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n That article describes how to back up your entire Google account \u2013 but you can back up a specified Gmail label (folder) too. All of your Gmail emails are stored in the folder \u201cAll mail\u201d.<\/span> Norman wants to unlock a locked PDF file<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Go to his page:<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.sodapdf.com\/unlock-pdf\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n And follow the simple instructions. Let me know how well it works for you.<\/span> S.B. wants to know why Windows 10\u2019s Print-to-PDF feature is not called \u201cSave-to-PDF\u201d<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Print to PDF is an option in Windows 10 & Windows 11 Print dialog and it results in saving a file\/document in PDF format. It’s time we stop worrying about semantics and start saving documents, etc. as PDF files by using Print to PDF.<\/span><\/p>\n As you know\u2026 \u201ca rose by any other name\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sandy continually has an online photo editor popping up in her browser<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> The fastest way is to reset your browser. Please see our article here<\/a> to learn how to reset your browser. This article covers Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Sandy.<\/span><\/p>\n Please make\u00a0a small donation and help us help you!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n 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 helpful information that helps you with your computer as well as helps us 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 keep you safe too.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So if you don’t need any of our products or services right now, please help us by donating right now<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0Thank you!<\/span><\/p>\n Are you interested in making an automatic monthly gift? Visit this page<\/a><\/span>. Please help us keep helping you… and help us to keep you safe on the Internet,<\/span><\/p>\n Gail wants to find out where spam is coming from<\/strong> <\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> If the spammer is an amateur and does not know what he or she is doing, you can find the IP address of the sender and where he\/she is located, but that\u2019s not going to do you a lot of good. Spammers don\u2019t send from real email addresses (they send from forged or random email addresses) and they use thousands of email addresses so it\u2019s impossible to block them. It\u2019s highly unlikely someone has gained access to her contact list, but very likely that she or someone she sends to has put everyone\u2019s email address in the CC line (instead of the BCC) line, and her address and the others in the cc line have been harvested. We have often seen people put dozens and dozens of people\u2019s email addresses in the CC line and thus expose all those addresses to spammers. All that does is expose email addresses to anyone with access to that email.<\/span><\/p>\n The best way to control spam is not to block senders, it doesn\u2019t work. The best we have ever found is to use Gmail to filter your mail. See this page<\/a> to learn how to get a free Gmail account to block spam.<\/span><\/p>\n We get hundreds of emails each week and rarely do we ever see a spam email in our inbox \u2013 or a good email in our spam folder. We\u2019ve been controlling spam this way for many years and we love it because it works.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014\u2014<\/span> Bonnie wants to convert PDF files to JPG files<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> I hope this helps you, Bonnie.<\/span><\/p>\n Dianna wants to know how to clear the Firefox cache<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> If you don\u2019t see a menu bar at the top of Firefox, right-click on the title bar (the very top bar in Firefox) and choose \u201cMenu bar\u201d. Then follow the instructions above. If you need more help, let me know.<\/span><\/p>\n Pierre wants to use an image backup on his new computer<\/strong><\/span>
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\nHi\u2026I\u2019ve had your Infoave newsletter 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\")
<\/span>
\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 \u201d Computer 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 for $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
\n\u2014-<\/span>
\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<\/em>\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI would like to back up my computer for two days to get rid of the mess I made when I put FIreFox on. I also took YouTube off as I never use it. (Big mistake) I am 75 and all I do usually is play my apps and visit with friends on FB. My son and daughter could do this but they will yell at me because they have told me not to touch anything. So please save me and send me the info. Everyone wants my passwords now but can\u2019t get to them. I was on Chrome and want to back up to the 4th of December. It\u2019s really terrible when you are almost 75 and your kids treat you like you are your great-grandchildren\u2019s age. \ud83d\ude42 Thank you so much<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Leslie. Firefox is a browser, it\u2019s not likely installing it would mess up your computer. If you don\u2019t want it, you can uninstall it. Open your start menu, find Firefox, right-click it, and then choose Uninstall. It sounds to me like you allowed Firefox to be your default browser and you had all your favorite bookmarks, etc. saved in Chrome. Installing Firefox does not remove Chrome but if you\u2019re not careful it can take over as your default browser.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n2. Click on Settings<\/span>
\n3. Click on Apps & Features<\/span>
\n4. Click on Default Apps<\/span>
\n5. Under Web browser click on the icon showing and chose Google Chrome<\/span>
\n6. That\u2019s it.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nI download stuff and I can never find it. please help. Plus how can I get the icons on the front page?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Karen. Unless you have changed the default settings, all downloads go to your Downloads folder. Press & hold down the Windows key and tap the E key. The Downloads folder shows up in the left column as well as in the right pane. See the screenshot below.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/down-folder.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/desktop-shortcuts.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nHello Folks. I would like to use Proton Mail which 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 version) does not support POP3 or IMAP, so you cannot use Proto (free) in any email program \u2013 Thunderbird, Outlook, or any other email client.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Senior](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/telephone.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
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\nHi, I am not sure if this is a suitable question for you both but I thought I would try! I would like to save some very important emails in Gmail and wonder what is the best way to do this. I would like them to be all in one folder and easily accessible. I have never done something like this before so not sure how easy it is or if it is possible. Sorry if this is a very basic question but I have not needed help with this before now so I hope you can help. Many thanks for all your wonderful newsletters and tips. Vari.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Vari. Thanks so much for your kind comments!<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/span>
\nVari wrote back: \u201cThank you TC. Just what I wanted! I was sure you would have the answer! \u2026Best wishes to you and Darcy too!\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nI have a locked PDF file and I no longer know the password. Is there a safe way to get it open?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Norman. I don\u2019t have a locked PDF file to test with this, but Soda PDF has been around for a while.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u2014\u2013<\/span>
\nNorman wrote back: \u201cIt worked great really easy to use and gave me a copy of the file unlocked. Thanks so much.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nYou\u2019ve mentioned Print to PDF a few times but I don\u2019t you\u2019ve ever covered why it\u2019s \u201cprint to\u201d and not \u201csave as\u201d. This confuses people into thinking they cannot save their documents as PDF files.\u00a0 So that\u2019s my question: Why can\u2019t I \u201csave as\u201d a PDF? Why does it have to be \u201cPrint to\u201d PDF? Not exactly an urgent, burning question, but I would love to know. Thanks!<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi S.B. If I knew why Microsoft did what they do and called things what they do, I would be living in Tahiti sipping fruity-flavored rum drinks served in coconuts with a tiny red umbrella sticking in them.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nAll of a sudden Pixlr Editor Express shows up. I googled it. It\u2019s an online photo editor. How safe is it, and do you have any idea why it popped up on my computer? Thanks again as always.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Sandy. Pixlr Editor Express seems to be an innocuous online photo editor. I just looked at it, but I didn\u2019t test it. And I don\u2019t know why it\u2019s popping up on your computer. If it continues and clearing your browser history does not correct the issue, try resetting your browser. Resetting your browser removes (or disables) all your extensions, clears the browser history, and resets it to its default settings.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Help](\"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/gift2022.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
\nhave been receiving emails that appear to be from a dear friend but that I know are not. I have informed her about it and have suggested that she change her anti-malware program to Emsisoft because I think someone has gained access to her contact list & sending out fraudulent emails. My questions are: once I determine the real email account from which these emails come, will replying to it be received by that sender? Is there a way to block them? The sender\u2019s real account is always different each time I receive their email disguised as coming from my friend. It\u2019s not so much a big deal as it is annoying. Thanks for any help with this.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Gail. It\u2019s possible that your friend\u2019s (or anyone\u2019s) email address was harvested from the Web and then used as a \u201cFrom\u201d address by a spammer.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nGail wrote back: \u201cHi TC. Thanks for being so sweet & taking the time to reply. I suspect, based on your information, that the culprit is someone to whom she emails because I don\u2019t think my dear friend even knows what the Cc or Bcc is, much less how to properly use it! If I remember correctly, the latest one\u2019s \u201creal\u201d identity ended something like this _ _ _ _ _ @sc.edu, which makes me think it might be originating from a school or college, but I guess I\u2019ll never know. Anyway, thanks again. I sincerely appreciate it.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI would like to know the best and easiest file converter. I would like to convert PDF to JPG. Thank You<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Bonnie. We don\u2019t recommend installing a PDF converter. These kinds of programs seem to be magnets for malware. Rather, we suggest you use an online converter, particularly one that specializes in what you want to do. I tested a few this morning. Some want to play games and try to get you to install or download something, and some like this one https:\/\/jpg2pdf.com\/<\/a> just do the conversion for you. When the conversion is complete, you can download your JPG file. It can also convert PDF to PNG and other file types as well.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nHow do I clear my browser\u2019s (Firefox) cache?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Dianna. If you have a menu bar at the top of Firefox, click on \u201cHistory\u201d > \u201cClear recent history\u201d. A dialog will appear. You can delete your history and browser cache for the last hour, or last day, or choose everything to completely clear your cache.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nHi guys. My question is about that Ashampoo backup I\u2019ve been using\u2026When going to a new laptop I intend to buy, can I simply plug my external drive into it without doing anything else? Could you also remind me about how to make an image copy of my old computer? Warm Regards, Pierre<\/span><\/p>\n