It\u2019s those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer here in the USA. The weather has been crazy in many parts of our country, and here in the Great Lake region it’s been hotter than normal but we’ve had brief periods of normal weather. But you didn\u2019t come here to get a weather report. It\u2019s Saturday and it’s time for another edition of our Saturday Bonus Questions & Answers.<\/span><\/p>\n Today, as we do every Saturday, 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 consider giving us a helping hand!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If our computer support & help or our tips and tricks have helped you or made your computer life easier or more productive, please help us with a small donation\u00a0 Your gifts allow us to continue to help you.\u00a0 Take a moment and help us if you can.<\/span><\/p>\n Satur<\/span>day Bonus Questions and Answers \u2013 072024<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Kathy has questions about Hotmail\/Outlook.com<\/strong><\/span> If I create another new Gmail account (or use one of my 2 existing Gmail accounts), & link it to my Hotmail account:<\/span><\/p>\n (1) Will Gmail be as efficient at filtering out the junk\/spam from Hotmail as it does my Gmail or will I still be faced with the same ballooning \u201cJunk Folder\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n (2) Will the folders & contacts I have created in Hotmail also be available in Gmail or will I still have to refer to Hotmail?<\/span><\/p>\n (3) If I still have to deal with \u201cjunk\u201d, I think I should just gradually change subscriptions, etc. as they come in. That would leave only \u201ccontacts\u201d & existing \u201cfolders\u201d to transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n (4) If I do (3), what would happen to accounts I use Hotmail for, & want, (such as registering online purchases) but may have forgotten?<\/span><\/p>\n Lastly, how to do it? You two have more than proven the worth of your newsletter. That\u2019s why my recent donation will be followed by more.<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> 1. Gmail\u2019s spam filters are very accurate. We get hundreds of emails each week at our Cloudeight Gmail account. Rarely do we ever see Gmail\u2019s spam folders miss any spam. And rarely do we see any good email in the spam folder. But, if you\u2019re worried about the ever-burgeoning size of your spam\/junk folder in Hotmail\/Outlook.com, I\u2019m afraid you\u2019re going to see the same with Gmail. There is just so much spam out there. Consider this\u2026 if it was not in your spam\/junk folder, it would be in your Inbox and you don\u2019t want that.<\/span><\/p>\n 2. You can export your contacts from your Hotmail account and import them into Gmail, but you cannot \u2018import\u2019 your Hotmail folders. You\u2019ll need to create new folders in Gmail.<\/span><\/p>\n 3. You are going to have to deal with spam no matter what you do. If someone knew a way to stop spam completely, they\u2019d be a very wealthy person. There are 100\u2019s of billions of spam emails sent every week. The only way you can stop spam completely is:<\/span><\/p>\n a. Create a Gmail account and never use it for anything other than personal emails\u2026 no online shopping, no subscriptions, no credit cards, no business email, no IRS, nothing other than personal email (and even if you do this, if someone you\u2019re exchanging email addresses with is compromised or puts your email address in the CC line with a bunch of others, you\u2019ll end up getting spam).<\/span><\/p>\n b. Use a throwaway email address for all your online transactions (this will be a hassle). Many allow you to create temporary throwaway email addresses like:<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/temp-mail.org\/en\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.throwawaymail.com\/en<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.emailondeck.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n I think most of us would find it inconvenient to use a throwaway email address for everything.<\/span><\/p>\n Darcy and I use Gmail and once a week we scan the spam folder and make sure no good email is in it, then we just \u201cDelete all\u201d in the spam folder. It only takes 2 or 3 minutes a week.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, if you used an old account for online purchases or other transactions and forgot about it, there\u2019s not a whole lot you can do. We don\u2019t have any magic bullets for that. If you remember later that you have forgotten an account, you could advise that account of your new email address.<\/span><\/p>\n We think we\u2019ve answered all of your questions. If we missed anything or you have more questions, please let us know.<\/span><\/p>\n Cathy wants to know what device to use when doing online shopping<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> No matter what security software you use, or if you use a VPN or not, you\u2019ll still be subject to receiving a phishing email. These counterfeit emails appear to be from a real store, financial service, or credit card company. But as we\u2019ve warned many times\u2026 no credit card company, financial service \u2013 or even a legitimate retail establishment is going to send an email to you asking you to \u201cverify your account\u201d, \u201cchange your password\u201d, \u201ccheck to make sure you\u2019ve not been hacked\u201d, or other such calls to action designed to scare you into clicking a link or links in an email.<\/span><\/p>\n Legitimate companies, who need you to check something will not entice you to click a link \u2013 they\u2019ll say something like \u201cPlease log into your account\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n It does not matter if you\u2019re using a tablet, smartphone, laptop, desktop, or all-in-one to access the Internet. It does not matter if you\u2019re using a Chromebook. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re using Windows, Linux, Apple, iOS, or Android. The device and operating system you use to access the Internet is only as safe as the care and thought you use when you are on the Internet.<\/span><\/p>\n This is not to say that you don\u2019t need good antivirus\/antimalware (especially on Windows devices)\u2026 you do. You need it to make sure that your computer is not compromised by software designed to display ads or compromise the info you keep on your devices. For Android and Apple devices- make sure you don\u2019t download software from sources you\u2019re not sure of. Download your apps from Google or Apple sources\u2026 and limit how many you install.<\/span><\/p>\n But as far as identity theft or losing money online\u00a0 \u2014 it does not matter what device you use. To a great extent, it depends on you. Never rush through a purchase. Always use common sense, beware of trickery, and don\u2019t click links in emails from banks, credit card companies, financial institutions, or stores that ask you to verify your information, check your account, or anything else. And most of all, always think before you click.<\/span><\/p>\n If you have any more questions, let us know, Cathy.<\/span><\/p>\n Bev says two of her favorite Web pages are now so big she can’t see the entire pages<\/span> Our answer<\/span> You can adjust a page to any size that looks good to you in seconds and it works on any site and in any browser. So, now you know how to make web page content bigger or smaller so it looks perfect to you — on the fly.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Bev.<\/span> Sandy G. wants to know about Blue Screens<\/strong><\/span> Our answer<\/strong><\/span> If you get Blue Screens more than once in a while, we suggest you take a look at this Microsoft page<\/a> which can help you troubleshoot your blue screen issue.<\/span><\/p>\n If you need more help or have more questions, please let us know.<\/span><\/p>\n We can fix your Windows computer… check out our low prices here!<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/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 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, that 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 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 read or hear about VPNs.<\/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> Clint is having big problems with his PC<\/strong><\/span> I know you don\u2019t address hardware problems but I thought I would just share with you what is going on. The reason I am writing is for help in getting set up for changing to another desktop. I\u2019m not sure I have my backups set up right. You have recommended several times in the past to use file history for backup to an external drive. I have a 2T Seagate external drive and I think I would be well advised to format that and establish a fresh backup in preparation for another desktop pc. You have covered this several times in the newsletter but I can\u2019t seem to find how to search for those instructions. I have at least two sessions of remote from you if I need to have you work on this issue but if you think I can accomplish this with just coaching from you, I can give it my all. I haven\u2019t purchased another PC yet but will probably do it soon as this super slow PC is driving me nuts! Clint<\/span><\/p>\n Our answer<\/strong><\/span> And since you pointed out we never have published a tutorial on formatting a drive, we just wrote one. See our article on formatting a drive here<\/a>. And our article on File History backups is here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n We hope this helps you, Clint.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Help](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/donate23.png\")
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\nDonate today and help us to keep helping you!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI am disgusted with Hotmail\u2019s ever-burgeoning junk\/spam folder. Rarely does a legit piece end up there? I would love to close my Hotmail account just as I did with Yahoo.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Kathy. First, I know a lot about Gmail and email programs, but I don\u2019t consider myself an expert with Hotmail or Outlook.com. I do have a couple of accounts but I only use them for testing. But I\u2019ll tell you what I know.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\nI was wondering if you could have a topic on tablets like the iPad or Samsung or other tablets. I use mine more than my desktop. But I use my desktop when I want to order things because I don\u2019t trust my tablet for ordering from sites. To let everyone know what\u2019s ok and not ok to use the tablets for. Thanks, Cathy.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Cathy. The device you use to connect to the Internet does not make you safer or less safe. Despite wild claims by security software developers and VPN services, the best way to stay safe online is to take time to think before you click. Almost all \u2013 over 95% of identity theft and online theft \u2013 is the result of people clicking links in counterfeit emails that lead to counterfeit sites that look just like the store bank or service you expected to see. Enter your info into these counterfeit sites, and your data will be stolen.<\/span><\/p>\n
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\n<\/strong>Hi, I first wish to thank you for all your excellent newsletters and daily newsletters. I enjoy both. I have an aggravating issue all of a sudden, that started yesterday. I have 3 start pages I use. One is Pogo.com, and the next is Las Vegas Clark County Library and Cloudeight. Yesterday my Pogo page and Library page are not the 125% that I see is recommended and has been set at forever. They are both magnified and therefore I can’t use them…since I see only part of the page. Your Cloudeight page is normal. Microsoft Edge is normal so I’m using it now till I find a solution. I know my explanation is lacking but I hope you get the gist Lol. Thank you so much. Bev<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Bev. You can adjust any page’s zoom with any browser in seconds using the tips found\u00a0on this page<\/a>\u00a0and\/or\u00a0this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\nBev wrote back:\u00a0“TC, are you kidding me? That’s way too awesome. Thank you so very much for the quickest fix known. You folks are so awesome. I am so happy to have Chrome back in use. I so appreciate you both. Bev<\/em>“<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
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\nRecently, my laptop has done something it never used to do. I am not sure if I can attribute this to the newer version of Windows 10 or not. However, once in a while, not often, right in the middle of doing something, usually while I\u2019m in the web browser, my screen goes to a blue screen with white writing that says my computer has encountered an error and needs to reboot. Then my computer reboots itself. It takes a bit of time to reboot, but it reboots and comes up just fine. I am using a Dell laptop. Any thoughts on what is prompting this to happen?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Sandy. A blue screen indicates that you have hardware issues \u2013 most like driver issues. Make sure you don\u2019t have any automatic driver updater programs installed.\u00a0 It\u2019s common to see a blue screen once in a while, but it\u2019s not common to see them frequently. If you\u2019re seeing more than once a month, then you are having driver\/hardware issues.<\/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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\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 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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\nPaul wrote back: \u201cThanks so much! You nailed it. I had my start menu set to 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\u2019m pretty sure I am developing a hardware problem and will probably have to replace the desktop since it is too old to convert to Windows 11. I was gone from home for two weeks and it took over two hours to get updated and booted. It\u2019s always been fast and I keep it clean and well-maintained (which you tell me every time you have worked on it). When I hit the start button, it shows starting but it never gets far enough to take the monitor out of sleep mode. I just push the power button and stop the PC. sometimes I have to go through this sequence dozens of times until it finally gets far enough to start the monitor. Then it will go on through the boot process but very slowly.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHi Clint. First, Windows 10 will be fully supported by Microsoft until October 25, 2025\u2026 so you have just over three full years to use Windows 10 so there is no urgent reason to buy a Windows 11 computer. If your desktop were my computer, I would do a Windows 10 reset and choose the option to keep all my files. This type of Reset saves your files, wipes out Windows and all your programs, reinstalls a fresh copy of Windows \u2013 and puts all your files back on your PC. Then all you have to do is reinstall the programs you want. Windows makes this easier by leaving a list of programs that were removed on your desktop after the Reset. To learn more see this page.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Help](\"https:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/images\/2023\/gift23.png\")
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\nDonate today and help us keep on helping you!<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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