We spent the last 24 hours dealing with new Gmail rules and working with our web host, and our newsletter-sending service trying to get our weekly newsletter sent to everyone (we hope you all got it!). And if you got more than one copy, we apologize. Thank goodness <\/span>it\u2019s Saturday and time for yet another edition of our Saturday Bonus Questions & Answers.\u00a0<\/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 – 060824<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Leslie says the taskbar search bar has disappeared (Windows 11)<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Right-click on your taskbar and click on \u201cTaskbar settings\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The Settings >Personalization >Taskbar dialog will open. Turn the switch next to \u201cSearch\u201d to the \u201cOn\u201d position.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Leslie.<\/span><\/p>\n Dave wants our comments on Privacy Badger and BitDefender Anti-Tracker Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Is Wish a Chinese company? The majority of the merchants on Wish are located in China. This means that a good portion of the merchandise being sold is counterfeit. So while the company may be legit, its merchandise may not be\u2026 (Source<\/a> ).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n As for your questions regarding Privacy Badger & BitDefender Anti Tracker.<\/span><\/p>\n Anti-trackers are a joke. Who\u2019s tracking you? Advertisers. So? If you\u2019re using uBlock you won\u2019t see any advertising. Anti-trackers have been around for many years. Those who promote them promote them, love to play on people\u2019s fear of \u201cbeing tracked\u201d. Being \u201ctracked\u201d on the internet means having cookies dropped on your computer that tell advertisers what kinds of things you\u2019re interested in. We find it amusing that people will voluntarily \u2013 even eagerly \u2013 sign up for frequent flyer programs, or their grocery store loyalty or frequent shopper programs, wherein every item they buy is tracked and their interests allow these businesses to show them \u201ctargeted advertising\u201d. That BitDefender offers an anti-tracker \u2013 doesn\u2019t surprise me \u2013 many of their competitors do. Most browsers have had \u201canti-tracking\u201d features for a while now \u2013 it protects you from \u201cbeing tracked\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Open Edge, type edge:\/\/settings\/privacy in the address bar, and press Enter. Click on \u201cPrivacy, search, and services\u201d on the left and you\u2019ll see these options.<\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and almost all other modern browsers have \u201ctracking blockers\u201d too.<\/span><\/p>\n As Shakespeare once said (I think), it\u2019s much ado about nothing. There are dozens of real threats out there to worry about without worrying about advertising trackers.<\/span><\/p>\n As far as Privacy Badger, we\u2019ve recommended it along with uBlock Origin for many years. For instance, see this Cloudeight article<\/a> from four years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, Dave, we hope our answer was as direct and honest as you\u2019ve come to expect of us!<\/span><\/p>\n Again, thanks for your nice email.<\/span><\/p>\n Joann can\u2019t get rid of Bing in Firefox<\/strong><\/span> I would like to get back to my normal W\/10 opening page when opening Firefox. I have not been successful in doing that for about 2 days now & I waste a lot of time trying.<\/span><\/p>\n So I would appreciate your help.<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you so much, Joann<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> 1 Type About:Support in the Firefox address bar<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Troubleshooting Information will open<\/span><\/p>\n This popup will appear:<\/span><\/p>\n Click \u201dRefresh Firefox\u201d and Firefox will be reset to its defaults.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Refreshing Firefox saves your bookmarks and saved passwords and removes any customizations you made, as well as installed add-ons and extensions. It will also delete browser history and cache.<\/span><\/p>\n This will quickly fix your Firefox problems as this resets Firefox to its default state but saves your bookmarks and saved passwords (if any). <\/span> Would you be interested in making an automatic monthly gift?\u00a0Visit this page<\/a>. Please help us keep on helping you\u2026 and help us keep you safe on the Web.<\/span><\/p>\n Aria has a failing hard drive<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> The error you\u2019re getting has nothing to do with Windows \u2013 it occurs before Windows starts.\u00a0The error means that the S.M.A.R.T. hard drive system has detected that your hard drive at port 0 (main hard drive) is failing and the drive\u00a0may not be accessible. It indicates also that your hard drive may fail at any time.\u00a0 You can try pressing F1 to try to boot into Windows.\u00a0 If you do get lucky and boot into Windows, you should back up your files and replace the hard drive (or have someone replace it). A new 1 TB hard drive is not that expensive, you can get a brand name for around $50\u2026 or less. And these days they are very easy to install.<\/span><\/p>\n If you have access to another computer, you can use our Windows 10 page to download an ISO file and make a Windows 10 DVD<\/a>. You can use that DVD to boot your computer.\u00a0 Then you can try using the disk repair tools and\/or other troubleshooting tools on the Windows 10 DVD. But even if you get Windows started, if your hard drive is failing, you\u2019re going to need to replace it \u2013 in which case having that Windows 10 DVD will be very handy.<\/span><\/p>\n If you must get a new hard drive, you can use the DVD to install Windows 10. You will not need a new product key if you install Windows 10 on the same computer. Microsoft hard codes the Windows product key to your hardware (motherboard), so if you put a new hard drive in and reinstall Windows, you\u2019ll not need a Windows product key.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you.<\/span> CJ wants to stop Bing from being his default search engine<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> First, ensure you have no Bing extensions in your browser. Read our article here<\/a> on how to check your browser\u2019s extensions. If you have a Bing search extension or an extension that hijacks your search engine, any changes you make will be overridden by that extension.<\/span><\/p>\n CHROME<\/span><\/p>\n Type (or copy & paste) the following in Chrome\u2019s address bar:<\/span><\/p>\n chrome:\/\/settings\/search<\/span><\/p>\n then press Enter.<\/span><\/p>\n Then scroll down to the \u201cSearch engines\u201d section. Look to the right of the search engine you want to use, click on the 3-vertical dots, and select \u201cSet as default\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n FIREFOX<\/span><\/p>\n Type (exactly) or copy & paste the following in the Firefox address bar<\/span><\/p>\n about:preferences#search<\/span><\/p>\n then press Enter.<\/span><\/p>\n Under \u201cDefault Search Engine\u201d click on the down arrow next to the displayed default search engine to open the drop-down menu. Select the search engine you want to use from the list by clicking on it.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, CJ.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin is having major problems with Chrome \u2014 and he even uninstalled and reinstalled it<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Before you go back and uninstall Chrome again, I suggest you remove any questionable Chrome extensions, clear your browsing history & cache<\/a> and then try your bank\u2019s site again.<\/span><\/p>\n If that doesn\u2019t work, you\u2019re going to need to uninstall Chrome completely, including the Google folder in C:\\Users\\your username\\AppData\\Local then reboot your computer before reinstalling Chrome. If you don\u2019t back up your bookmarks you\u2019re going to lose them so be sure to back up your Chrome bookmarks before you completely remove Chrome & its data folder. See our article here<\/a> showing the correct way to uninstall Chrome and its folder(s).<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Kevin. If you need more help or have more questions, just let us know.<\/span> We\u2019ve helped hundreds and hundreds of you with your computers since we started our\u00a0<\/strong>Cloudeight Direct Computer Care Service<\/strong><\/a>! If you\u2019re having computer problems \u2013 we CAN help you!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n We all know that sooner or later our computers will start having problems. We can help you with any computer need \u2014 from diagnosing and fixing Windows problems \u2013 to setting up a wireless network for you \u2013 to safeguarding by creating an image-based backup (the only kind that works when you need it to work) \u2013 to cleaning up your computer and optimizing it \u2014 and more. We can do almost anything you need and guarantee our work \u2013 you\u2019re either satisfied or we\u2019ll refund your money.<\/span><\/p>\n We connect to your computer and fix it while you watch<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n We will connect to your computer via the Internet and fix any problems you may be having. You can\u00a0watch us work and chat with us while we do. If you have any computer questions you\u2019d like to ask we\u2019ll be glad to answer them for you.\u00a0 We don\u2019t just fix your computer, we explain what we\u2019re doing and why we\u2019re doing it and we are right there with the entire time. Since we\u2019ve started we\u2019ve helped hundreds of you with your computer problems and we\u2019ve received dozens of referrals and testimonials from our readers and customers.<\/span><\/p>\n We offer many other computer services too! If you have a problem with your computer \u2013 we can fix it!<\/span><\/p>\n Get more information about Cloudeight Direct Computer Care and or get your repair keys here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n John is looking for an easy way to find all our tips and tricks<\/strong><\/span> I save all of your newsletters but am beginning to crowd the PC. How can I go search for any problem I have seen discussed in a newsletter, maybe even a couple of years ago? I am sure it is possible, but again, my feeble old mind is drawing a blank. I could then delete the saved letters, freeing up valuable space.<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you so much for all the excellent help you provide. A customer for life \ud83d\ude42 John<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Everything in our newsletters is archived on our website at https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n On the top right side of the page, there\u2019s a great site search engine. Just type what you\u2019re looking for and if we have written about it, you\u2019ll find it in seconds!<\/span><\/p>\n See this page for more information on using our site search to find what you\u2019re looking for.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n And \u2013 just a reminder: If you want to print something, make a PDF from an article, or share it by email, just click the green Print Friendly button near the top of each article.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, John.<\/span><\/p>\n Nick says one of his email addresses has been breached<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> Just because your email address was found on the dark web, or anywhere else, doesn\u2019t mean it was breached or compromised. \u201cHave I Been PWNED\u201d is a legitimate site, but we don\u2019t see any advantages of subscribing unless you want to receive mail from them.<\/span><\/p>\n If you suspect one of your email accounts has been compromised, the best thing to do is change your password and make sure it\u2019s a strong password. We offer password advice in many tips, here is one<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Strong passwords are the key to your security. They are just as important as your security software\u2026 maybe even more. If your passwords are weak \u2013 or worse \u2013 if your passwords are weak and you use any of your passwords on more than one site, you\u2019re just asking for trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n Our advice: Change your password right away on the account you think might have been compromised\u2026 and make sure you use a strong password. And then even if it were breached the hackers\/criminals would no longer be able to access it.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n![\"Please](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/gift23.png\")
\nMake a donation today and help us keep on helping you!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nHi, TC & Darcy, My search bar has disappeared. How do I get the search box back on the taskbar? Thanks so much once again. Leslie<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Leslie. Windows 11 doesn\u2019t have a search bar but it does have a search icon that serves the same purpose. To show the search icon, do this:<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/imaes\/2022\/turnonsearech11.png\")
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\n<\/strong>Hi TC & Darcy. I hope you are keeping well. I have had the uBlock Origin extension in my Firefox browser for many years and after having read about it in your last Newsletter I wanted to thank you for recommending it regularly. You guys are honest and what you guys are doing is unique. Thanks again. Please look at the following picture and you will notice it blocked 296 within 5 minutes (approx.). Wish.com is a wonderful site to buy small items and I have used it too. So guys THANK you so much for recommending the uBlock Origin extension. I also have two more extensions, Privacy Badger and BitDefender Anti Tracker. Do you have any comments on these two? Your comments will be much appreciated. Stay well and safe. Kind regards. Dave.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Dave. Thanks for your nice comments. First on Wish.com. We agree it is for a good purpose \u2014 however, digging deeper we find this\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/edge-track.png\")
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\nSomehow, unfortunately, I now have Bing mixed up all over my opening Firefox page. I wanted to view Bing wallpaper & somewhere along the way I must have missed unchecking something & so everything has changed to BING Bing, Bing\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Joann. All you need to do is reset Firefox to its defaults.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/reset-ff00.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2020\/reset-ff0.png\")
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\nJoann wrote back: \u201cThank you so very, very much. I was able to follow your directed steps & accomplish the task. I will go back to using the Cloudeight start page, which I\u2019ve been very happy with for a long time. Thanks again.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nDonate today and help us keep on helping you!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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\nMy PC does not boot. When I turn it on, I get an error: AHCI Port0 Device error press F2 to set up when I press F2 I get CMOS set up utility. several options there but have no idea what to do. Can you help? I had Windows 10 version 1703. Please let me know my options. Thanks!<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Aria. The AHCI device error you\u2019re getting is generated from the BIOS\u2019 S.M.A.R.T. hard drive detection. Hard drives can fail at any time. We\u2019ve had them fail when they were less than a year old and we\u2019ve seen hard drives last for 10-12 years. The S.M.A.R.T. feature is a warning system that hard drive failure is imminent.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nAria wrote back and she replaced the hard drive and reinstalled Windows from the DVD and she\u2019s now in the process of getting her computer set up. Good job, Aria!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nDear Darcy and TC. Bing wants to be my default search engine and I don\u2019t want it or at least have the choice. When I go into Chrome and Firefox Bing is there so how do I rid myself of this troublesome priest? I am waiting for our exchange rate to pick up and will make a donation as I love your work. CJ<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi CJ. Thanks!<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/chrome-search1.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/chrome-search2.png\")
<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Cloudeight](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2022\/firefox-search.png\")
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\nJust recently this started happening on my laptop only, the other computers work fine with Chrome. When I try to log in with Chrome on my laptop to my bank it tells me that the page I am looking for is not available, and to try later. But on my desktops (2) it works just fine with Chrome. I have disabled all security features and ad blockers, I even deleted Chrome and reinstalled it, but still, it gives me the same message\u2026\u201d the page you\u2019re looking for is not available. Try again later\u201d. But on the same laptop using Firefox or Edge I can log in. Would you have any Ideas? Thanks, Kevin<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Kevin. Uninstalling Chrome is not quite as easy as it sounds. If you uninstalled Chrome and didn\u2019t remove the Google folder at C:\\Users\\Your Username\\AppData\\Local\\Google, then everything that was in Chrome before you uninstalled it (Bookmarks, extensions, cache, history, settings) is still there. So, if you didn\u2019t delete the Google folder in AppData\/Local then all you did when you reinstalled it was replace the Chrome executable.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nKevin wrote back\u2026\u201cYes! I followed your instructions and now that laptop login to my bank is working fine, Thank you.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nHello Everyone at Cloudeight. I have been reading your awesome letters for years and have a question I should know but am drawing a blank.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi John. Thanks so much for your long-time friendship and support.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nThanks for the article on Phishing is the Internet\u2019s Most Successful Con. I read it through and in one part it suggests a site called \u201cHave I Been Pwned\u201d. I tried it and it says that one of my email addresses was breached. It asks me to \u201csubscribe\u201d. I need your advice on this. Thanks, Nick<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Nick. We featured \u201cHave I Been PWNED\u201d in our newsletters and on our InfoAve website before. See this article<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
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